The Pursuit of Enhancement Podcast

Welcome back to  The Pursuit of Enhancement Podcast.

This week I’m grateful to be joined from California by Jeddy Azuma - creator of The Rising Man Movement and host of The Rising Man Podcast

Millions of men feel a deep yearning to serve but don’t know how to start. Through his work, Jeddy offers his wisdom on hearing the subtle messages and tapping into our highest vision.

Open relating and transparent sharing are essential elements to the Rising Man Movement. Finding the courage to communicate our deepest desires, fears, and emotions often leads to huge breakthroughs.

Jeddy has been deeply involved in this area of men’s work for over a decade and I’m delighted to get the chance to glean some wisdom from him, to find out more about him and his work.

In our conversation we talk about

What is men’s work

Initiation from boyhood to manhood

I loved this discussion with Jeddy. What really stood out for me is the need and importance of this kind of work in our world today. It doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female, or however you associate, there is huge value in all of us breaking free from our unconscious patterns to live more in alignment with our higher selves. If each of us takes on that responsbility, it will raise the collective vibration. Through that we will see cultural and societal shifts. It goes back to the age old saying, if you want the world to change you have to first change yourself.

Let me know what stood out for you. If you could do me the favour of leaving me a review for the podcast on whatever platform you’re listening, that'd be amazing! I'd love to hear from you.

If you’d like to follow up on Jeddy all the links will be in the show notes to the show. You can find him on instagram @jeddyazuma Check out his podcast The Rising Man Podcast @risingmanmovement and risingman.org.

As always, If you enjoyed this episode or any other episode, share it with your friends and family in person or on social media. You can follow me on instagram @thepursuitofenhancement for details of upcoming guests and other updates.

Thank you so much for tuning in, I’m so grateful that you chose to give of your precious time in listening to this podcast.

That’s all from me for now I’m Peter Ledwidge, this is the Pursuit of Enhancement podcast, I’ll catch you next on the next one, in the meantime remember to work hard, be kind, stay humble and smile often.

Welcome back to  The Pursuit of Enhancement Podcast.

My name is Peter Ledwidge and I am your host.

Each episode I sit down to talk in-depth with guests that push the boundaries of conventional living, driven by the singular pursuit of being on an unrelenting quest to continually expand the horizons of their body, mind and spirit.

The aim is to learn more about them and from them; their story, the work they are doing, the highs, the lows, the triumphs, the heartaches and everything in between.

We have at our grasp all the tools to be happy, strong and healthy, we all have the desire to live happy and fulfilled lives; but for so many of us this can seem out of reach or unattainable. The reality is that it will look different for all of us. The challenge is to find out what that looks like for you. I hope that through these conversations you might be set on a path of self-discovery, come to understand that you don’t have to have it all figured out and that you may find a way to live with greater passion, purpose and peace.

Sorry that it’s been so long since I’ve had an episode. Life was a bit topsy turvy there for a while, we moved country again, we’re back in Australia. It’s taken us a while to get settled again. I wanted to wait until I could give the proper time to creating episodes before getting back into it, rather than pushing out something that was maybe substandard or that was adding to my stress to commit.

And that’s okay in life too. Just because we stop something for a while doesn’t mean we can’t pick it up again. So thanks for sticking around. Thanks for coming back to the podcast. So what’s in store for this Best of Episode?

Coming up I’ve selected extracts from a few of the episodes from this last season, perhaps they’ll encourage you to go back and listen to the episode again, perhaps there was a decision you made when you listened to these episodes of a positive change that you were going to make that maybe, you’ve lapsed on. This could be a chance to get it back on track. Whatever it may be, I hope you enjoy this recap

Click here for the full show notes.

The clips I chosen for you today are;

Teaira and Dumebi from Episode 35.  

From Episode 39 with Wim Hof Method Instructor, Niall O’ Murchu 

From episode 36 with Katarina Riddle. 

From Episode 40, Justin Caffrey 

Erwan Le Corre from Episode 44 

And Tony Riddle from Episode 45 

I’d like to wish you all a happy holidays and a Happy New Year whatever that may be for you. Try to make some time to evaluate what this last year has taught you. What you want to bring into next year and also what you want to manifest and create for 2020. What do you want life to look like. What do you want to achieve. How do you want to feel in 2020?

I’ve already got some new episodes in the bag which I’ll be releasing in the New Year. I want to thank you again for listening and following me on instagram @thepursuitofenhancement See you in 2020.

For those that listen on Apple Podcasts, if you could take the time to please leave a review, that would be amazing, it would really help in spreading the reach of the podcast.

Welcome back everyone to the Pursuit of Enhancement Podcast.  

The Riddle-man is back!  This week I''m delighted to have Tony Riddle back on the podcast.  

Tony was a guest in Season 1 back in episodes 26 and 27 if you want to check those out. I also got to spend time with him in London recently, which was a real treat. 

For those of you that don't know Tony he is aka The Natural Lifestylist - helping us to reconnect to our biological norms one small action at a time. As he says himself, ‘We can’t all live in nature but it doesn’t mean we can’t life more naturally.’  

He helps his clients and followers to dare to reconnect. Reconnect with what I hear you say? With ourselves, with nature, which IS reconnecting with ourselves.Our modern world has disconnected us from our biological norms. We are out of sync with our natural rhythms caused by artificial light and artificial environments.  

Our minds and our cells are over stimulated which all have a multitude of repercussions. Furniture restricts our movement, footwear disconnects us from the earth and contorts our feet which in turn distorts our entire musculature, devices and bright lights keeps us wired and tired but unable to sleep, so we rely on caffeine and processed foods to give us artificial energy, which throws out our digestion and we get all sorts of health ramifications. By simplifying all of that we can step away from our strung out, turned on society to relax and breathe, be at ease and operate as we are designed to which is with the rhythm of nature. 

Tony has been on the podcast before, if you haven’t heard that make sure you go back and give it a listen. Tony’s next big undertaking is a 30 day barefoot run from lands end to john o groats. The length of the United Kingdom. He’ll be covering over 30 miles a day in his bare feet. He will be working alongside the finest minds to help raise awareness and money for 5 key charities fighting the top sustainability issues of our time.  

He’ll also be talking with top sustainability experts along the way with workshops. There are lots of ways for people to come and be a part of this with Tony. 

We’ll be talking about all that today, as well as the deeper spiritual connections he has been experiencing recently through running and we’ll also discuss his latest program called BARE, spelled B-A-R-E as in barefoot, which stands for barefoot analysis running experience. 

The conversation goes off on a tangent at the beginning but we eventually bring ourselves back on track :) 

I always love talking to Tony and I hope you enjoy it too.You can find Tony on Instagram @thenaturallifestylist and via his website www.tonyriddle.com 

As always, If you enjoyed this episode or any other episode, please leave a comment or a review, share it with your friends and family in person or on social media, it really makes a huge difference.  

Make sure you follow me on instagram @thepursuitofenhancement where I share updates on all guests as well as behind the scenes on IG stories and on IGTV. 

Don't forget to check out our new affiliate partner NordVPN. Right now all listeners can get 75% off a 3 year plan and a month free. Go to bit.ly/nordvpnthepursuit and enter code thepursuit and start protecting yourself online today. 

That’s all from me for now I’m Peter Ledwidge, this is the Pursuit of Enhancement podcast, I’ll catch you on the next episode, in the meantime remember to work hard, be kind, and smile often. 

The Riddle-man is back! Here's a sneak peek of what's coming up on this week's episode.

This week I''m delighted to have Tony Riddle back on the podcast. Tony was a guest in Season 1 back in episodes 26 and 27 if you want to check those out. I also got to spend time with him in London recently, which was a real treat.

For those of you that don't know Tony he is aka The Natural Lifestylist - helping us to reconnect to our biological norms one small action at a time. As he says himself, ‘We can’t all live in nature but it doesn’t mean we can’t life more naturally.’ He helps his clients and followers to dare to reconnect. Reconnect with what I hear you say? With ourselves, with nature, which IS reconnecting with ourselves.

Our modern world has disconnected us from our biological norms. We are out of sync with our natural rhythms caused by artificial light and artificial environments. Our minds and our cells are over stimulated which all have a multitude of repercussions. Furniture restricts our movement, footwear disconnects us from the earth and contorts our feet which in turn distorts our entire musculature, devices and bright lights keeps us wired and tired but unable to sleep, so we rely on caffeine and processed foods to give us artificial energy, which throws out our digestion and we get all sorts of health ramifications.

But by simplifying all of that we can step away from our strung out, turned on society to relax and breathe, be at ease and operate as we are designed to which is with the rhythm of nature.

Tony has been on the podcast before, if you haven’t heard that make sure you go back and give it a listen. Tony’s next big undertaking is a 30 day barefoot run from lands end to john o groats. The length of the united kingdom. He’ll be covering over 30 miles a day in his bare feet. He will be working alongside the finest minds to help raise awareness and money for 5 key charities fighting the top sustainability issues of our time. He’ll also be talking with top sustainability experts along the way with workshops. There are lots of ways for people to come and be a part of this with Tony.

We’ll be talking about all that today, as well as the deeper spiritual connections he has been experiencing recently through running and we’ll also discuss his latest program called BARE, spelled B-A-R-E as in barefoot, which stands for barefoot analysis running experience.

The conversation goes off on a tangent at the beginning but we eventually bring ourselves back on track :)

I always love talking to Tony and I hope you enjoy it too.

You can find Tony on Instagram @thenaturallifestylist and via his website www.tonyriddle.com

Don't forget to check out our new affiliate partner NordVPN. Right now all listeners can get 75% off a 3 year plan and a month free. Go to bit.ly/nordvpnthepursuitand enter code thepursuit and start protecting yourself online today. 

Thanks for listening. Please leave me a comment or a review when you've finished. I'd love to hear from you.

Catch you on the next episode. Peter.

This week I’m delighted to speak with Rick Cooper, speaker and men’s retreat facilitator.

If you were to Rick now you’d think he had the ideal life and had it all together but as the saying goes ‘Don’t judge my story based on the chapter you walked in on.’ To do so would be to undermine the immense journey he has been through and the challenges he faced.

Growing up he was witness to a lot of domestic violence, which thankfully did not transfer into his adult relationships. Although there were some unconscious insecurities that he had taken on.

At a young age he took up rugby and showed promise early on. An opportunity to channel and release some inner aggression. He dedicated himself to the craft, receiving praise and attention from his father he pursued a professional career. At 16 he signed for local pro team Saracens as the youngest member of their U21 academy.

His career was cut short by a broken spine and multiple slipped discs. He was deemed too great an insurance risk and was sent home with partial mobility. He had to wait 16 months for surgery and doctors only gave him 67% chance of walking again but Rick chose to focus on the 33%. At 20 years of age he wasn’t about to accept this fate he had been given.

As soon as he could walk again he would walk 3 miles to the pool and not leave until he had completed 30 laps. Everyday increasing the number of lengths. He was mentally forcing his body to go to places he had been told it would never be able to.

The next few years were a dark time for Rick, losing his dad, being evicted with his family and struggling to make ends meet. Coupled with his own low self-esteem and not knowing what he wanted to do with his life.

Over the next few years he was always searching for the next thing, the next goal, the next achievement all of which only gave a short reprieve from his feelings until he would need to find the next pursuit. It wasn’t until the birth of his son that is all got put into perspective.

Eventually after many years of serving the ego he started to look within for meaning. For the first time in his life what anyone else thought or how he looked no longer mattered. The only approval he was looking for was his own.

Rick then took himself on a self-mastery and self-development journey. This has had a profound effect on him. He now knows that life is to be enjoyed for what it is now, in this moment, chasing doesn’t bring happiness. He has stripped back all the layers. He now enjoys a simple life based around cold immersion, movement, coffee and breakfasts with loved ones and careful choice of who he gives his energy and time to.

Rick regularly speaks publicly on the topics of self mastery, discipline over motivation, triumph over adversity and using it as a catalyst to extreme growth. He works with small businesses in relation to health & wellness and adopting a holistic approach to staff welfare, he coaches teenagers through depression & anxiety and leads men’s retreats to help them heal the wounded child within to become the fully actualised men that they were born to be.

 If you’d like to follow up on Rick you can find him on instagram @rick__cooper and his website will be released in the near future. 

 Leave me a comment and let me know what stood out for you. 

Don't forget to check out our new affiliate partner NordVPN. Right now all listeners can get 75% off a 3 year plan and a month free. Go to bit.ly/nordvpnthepursuit and enter code thepursuit and start protecting yourself online today. 

This week I’m delighted to speak with Rick Cooper, speaker and men’s retreat facilitator.

If you were to Rick now you’d think he had the ideal life and had it all together but as the saying goes ‘Don’t judge my story based on the chapter you walked in on.’ To do so would be to undermine the immense journey he has been through and the challenges he faced.

Growing up he was witness to a lot of domestic violence, which thankfully did not transfer into his adult relationships. Although there were some unconscious insecurities that he had taken on.

At a young age he took up rugby and showed promise early on. An opportunity to channel and release some inner aggression. He dedicated himself to the craft, receiving praise and attention from his father he pursued a professional career. At 16 he signed for local pro team Saracens as the youngest member of their U21 academy.

His career was cut short by a broken spine and multiple slipped discs. He was deemed too great an insurance risk and was sent home with partial mobility. He had to wait 16 months for surgery and doctors only gave him 67% chance of walking again but Rick chose to focus on the 33%. At 20 years of age he wasn’t about to accept this fate he had been given.

As soon as he could walk again he would walk 3 miles to the pool and not leave until he had completed 30 laps. Everyday increasing the number of lengths. He was mentally forcing his body to go to places he had been told it would never be able to.

The next few years were a dark time for Rick, losing his dad, being evicted with his family and struggling to make ends meet. Coupled with his own low self-esteem and not knowing what he wanted to do with his life.

At 25 Rick decided to apply to be a London Firefighter and found a new lease on life. He wanted to be the fittest recruit they’d ever had and he succeeded. He was selected first time and out ran the beep test.

He spent 10 years in the fire service and witnessed things he wouldn’t wish on anyone. Over the next few years he was always searching for the next thing, the next goal, the next achievement all of which only gave a short reprieve from his feelings until he would need to find the next pursuit. It wasn’t until the birth of his son that is all got put into perspective.

Eventually after many years of serving the ego he started to look within for meaning. For the first time in his life what anyone else thought or how he looked no longer mattered. The only approval he was looking for was his own.

Rick then took himself on a self-mastery and self-development journey. This has had a profound effect on him. He now knows that life is to be enjoyed for what it is now, in this moment, chasing doesn’t bring happiness. He has stripped back all the layers. He now enjoys a simple life based around cold immersion, movement, coffee and breakfasts with loved ones and careful choice of who he gives his energy and time to.

Rick regularly speaks publicly on the topics of self mastery, discipline over motivation, triumph over adversity and using it as a catalyst to extreme growth. He works with small businesses in relation to health & wellness and adopting a holistic approach to staff welfare, he coaches teenagers through depression & anxiety and leads men’s retreats to help them heal the wounded child within to become the fully actualised men that they were born to be.

Here's a quick preview of what's coming up on this week's episode.

You can find Rick on instagram and his website will be live in the near future.

The full episode will be available on Thursday. Make sure to follow me on instagram @thepursuitofenhancement for all the updates and make sure to subscribe to your favourite podcast source so you get notified when it goes live.

Thanks for listening. Speak to you soon.

 Welcome back everyone to the Pursuit of Enhancement Podcast. Today I am joined by Erwan Le Corre,

Author of ‘The Practice of Natural Movement: Reclaim Power, Health, and Freedom’ and creator of the world-renowned fitness system MovNat.

Erwan Le Corre, is on a mission to reintroduce natural movement to our modern lives with the most ancient movement skill set: walking, running, balancing, jumping, crawling, climbing, swimming, lifting, carrying, throwing, catching, and self-defense.

We are not meant to live in a confined environment. We are not meant to be disconnected from the natural world and our own true nature. Chronic pain, immobility, depression and lack of vitality, these are the symptoms of our age of comfort. Modern society has conditioned us to consider this as normal and unavoidable. 

We need to get back to natural movement. In The Practice of Natural Movement, Le Corre demonstrates our innate and versatile ability to perform practical and adaptable movements. With countless techniques and movement variations, as well as strategies for practicing anytime and anywhere, he will inspire you to build a naturally strong and flexible body and to form yourself anew into a mindful, skillful, and physically capable human being.

Featured in Men’s Health, The New York Times, outside magazine and the Washington post

Before starting the worldwide Natural Movement fitness trend in his late 30s, Erwan spent a lifetime pursuing true, real-life fitness, from France to Brazil. Synthesizing his studies of ancient and modern physical training methodologies, martial arts, his experience in specialized sports and his expertise of training in nature, he founded what is now known as the MovNat method.

To quote erwan himself

“We are meant to grow strong and to age gracefully. Reclamation of authentic movement is the starting point.”

MovNat offers workshops, certification and licensing for fitness professionals to set up their own MovNat centre

And here to inspire us to do just that is the man himself, Erwan Le Corre,.

Natural movement is for everyone. And you can get started at any age, ability, or fitness level – whether you have a gym membership, live close to nature, or neither. The truth is natural movement comes naturally to all humans, but efficient movement does not.

His website movnat.com has tons of resources that you can start using and training with today. Obviously the best way to learn is through a workshop or a certification course. These are in depth and immersive, surrounded by like minded individuals where you’ll get to deep dive into the practices and really accelerate your learning.

If you’d like to follow up on Erwan you can find him on instagram @erwanlecorre as well as via his MovNat website. 

As always, If you enjoyed this episode or any other episode, please leave a comment or a review, share it with your friends and family in person or on social media, it really makes a huge difference. 

Make sure you follow me on instagram @thepursuitofenhancement where I share updates on all guests as well as behind the scenes on IG stories and on IGTV. 

Don’t forget to checkout our affiliate partner NordVPN who right now are offering listeners 75% off a 3 year plan and a month free. Go to bit.ly/NordVPNthepursuitand enter code thepursuit at checkout to avail of this great offer. 

Thank you so much for tuning in, I’m so grateful that you chose to give of your precious time in listening to this podcast. 

This week I am joined by Erwan Le Corre,

Author of ‘The Practice of Natural Movement: Reclaim Power, Health, and Freedom’ and creator of the world-renowned fitness system MovNat.

Erwan Le Corre, is on a mission to reintroduce natural movement to our modern lives with the most ancient movement skill set: walking, running, balancing, jumping, crawling, climbing, swimming, lifting, carrying, throwing, catching, and self-defense.

We are not meant to live in a confined environment. We are not meant to be disconnected from the natural world and our own true nature. Chronic pain, immobility, depression and lack of vitality, these are the symptoms of our age of comfort. Modern society has conditioned us to consider this as normal and unavoidable. 

We need to get back to natural movement. In The Practice of Natural Movement, Le Corre demonstrates our innate and versatile ability to perform practical and adaptable movements. With countless techniques and movement variations, as well as strategies for practicing anytime and anywhere, he will inspire you to build a naturally strong and flexible body and to form yourself anew into a mindful, skillful, and physically capable human being.

Featured in Men’s Health, The New York Times, outside magazine and the Washington post

Before starting the worldwide Natural Movement fitness trend in his late 30s, Erwan spent a lifetime pursuing true, real-life fitness, from France to Brazil. Synthesizing his studies of ancient and modern physical training methodologies, martial arts, his experience in specialized sports and his expertise of training in nature, he founded what is now known as the MovNat method.

To quote erwan himself

“We are meant to grow strong and to age gracefully. Reclamation of authentic movement is the starting point.”

Here is a quick preview of what's ahead on this weeks episode.

You can find Erwan on instagram and via his website and youtube, which are linked in his instagram bio.

The full episode will be available at the end of the week. Be sure to follow me on instagram @thepursuitofenhancement for all the updates and subscribe to your favourite source so you get notified as soon as it goes live.

Thanks for listening. Speak to you very soon.

 This week I’m delighted to be joined from the UK by Josh Connolly

Josh is a Life, Leadership & Performance Coach who helps people realise their true potential in the world.

Working with individuals and organisations, he coaches and nurtures them to explore their inner strengths and utilise them to their greatest effects.

He specialises in confidence building, resilience, wellbeing and working through deep transformational journeys.

Whether it’s through one to one coaching, group workshops or giving a keynote speech, he always works in service of his clients to give them the best start to their transformational journeys.

Before he became a coach, Josh had a lifetime of obstacles to overcome.  As a small child he suffered the impacts of living with an alcohol dependent father, who subsequently took his own life as a result of his dependency when josh was just 9 years old. He then fell into alcohol and drug dependency himself. This resulted in suffering mental health issues, to being on the brink of suicide.

Fast forward six years, he is now a business and life coach, a spokesperson for NACOA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics).  He regularly gives keynote speeches on a variety of topics including mental health, wellbeing, resilience and his transformational journey.  

Josh has discovered a freedom from within that has propelled him into alignment with his core values of helping other people discover their own powers with their own freedom from within.

His story is the perfect example of how anybody can overcome the obstacles in their life and achieve greatness. He has contributed and been featured on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

 In this episode we discuss topics such as;

 I really enjoyed this conversation because it enabled us to cover some hard hitting topics. Topics that perhaps many people don’t have any context around. Topics that I feel sometimes can go unspoken about because they are deemed too real or taboo. I believe that by discussing them openly we can distigmatise them, we can also empower ourselves with the emotional intelligence of how to cope and react when we encounter someone that is facing these issues so that we can hold space for them.

Let me know what stood out for you.

If you’d like to follow up on Josh you can find him on instagram @josh_ffw as well as via his website and youtube. There are links to all of those in his instagram bio.

As always, If you enjoyed this episode or any other episode, please leave a comment or a review, share it with your friends and family in person or on social media, it really makes a huge difference.

Make sure you follow me on instagram @thepursuitofenhancement where I share updates on all guests as well as behind the scenes on IG stories and on IGTV.

Don’t forget to checkout our affiliate partner NordVPN who right now are offering listeners 75% off a 3 year plan and a month free. Go to bit.ly/NordVPNthepursuit and enter code thepursuit at checkout to avail of this great offer.

Thank you so much for tuning in, I’m so grateful that you chose to give of your precious time in listening to this podcast. 

This week I’m delighted to be joined from the UK by Josh Connolly

Josh is a Life, Leadership & Performance Coach who helps people realise their true potential in the world.

Working with individuals and organisations, he coaches and nurtures them to explore their inner strengths and utilise them to their greatest effects.

He specialises in confidence building, resilience, wellbeing and working through deep transformational journeys.

Whether it’s through one to one coaching, group workshops or giving a keynote speech, he always works in service of his clients to give them the best start to their transformational journeys.

Before he became a coach, Josh had a lifetime of obstacles to overcome.  As a small child he suffered the impacts of living with an alcohol dependent father, who subsequently took his own life as a result of his dependency when josh was just 9 years old. He then fell into alcohol and drug dependency himself. This resulted in suffering mental health issues, to being on the brink of suicide.

Fast forward six years, he is now a business and life coach, a spokesperson for Nacoa (National Association for Children of Alcoholics).  He regularly gives keynote speeches on a variety of topics including mental health, wellbeing, resilience and his transformational journey.  

Josh has discovered a freedom from within that has propelled him into alignment with his core values of helping other people discover their own powers with their own freedom from within.

His story is the perfect example of how anybody can overcome the obstacles in their life and achieve greatness. He has contributed and been featured on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Here is a quick preview of what's ahead on this weeks episode.

You can find Josh on instagram and via his website and youtube, which are linked in his instagram bio.

The full episode will be available at the end of the week. Be sure to follow me on instagram @thepursuitofenhancement for all the updates and subscribe to your favourite source so you get notified as soon as it goes live.

Thanks for listening. Speak to you very soon.