Tipping The Balance

Today we hear from The Positive Mindset Coach, Sandra Ng. In this episode Sandra shares some of her incredible life story. We discuss what it was like growing up Chinese in Scotland and the difficulties of always feeling different to her peers. Sandra shares how racism and bullying impacted her and touches on her unconventional family dynamics which led to her being raised by different Scottish families and starting to work in her family business from the age of 8 years old.

Sandra describes the many challenges she’s faced in her adult life as well and how her life experiences helped give her insight into the world of mindset coaching. We cover, debt, unemployment, loss, infertility and what factors contribute to our mindsets and approach to life. Why do so many of us feel as though we aren't good enough and live our lives based on the expectations of others?

Sandras story is truly inspirational and I know you will love hearing her share her story as much as I did.  

You can connect with Sandra on IG - @sandra_thepositivemindsetcoach and on FB - https://www.facebook.com/sandrangthepositivemindsetcoach/

Today we hear from Kemi Johnson, Kemi takes us on a journey through her life and explains how she always felt a calling to become a midwife from a very young age. Kemi was finally able to accept that calling in her late 30s and she retrained as a midwife whilst raising her children as a single mother.

Following your dreams isn't always plain sailing and Kemi shares the highs and lows she experienced, including some hard hitting lessons that are painful reminders of how she wants to support the families she works with.

We discuss what it means to find balance in the birth world and the seemingly opposing sides of birth, the medical institution on one side and the staunch opposition of anything medical on the other. We talk openly about the failings of the current maternity system so please take care of yourself whilst listening if you are currently pregnant or have experienced birth trauma yourself.

Kemi shares her experience of racism as a black midwife and what she’s learned by going through the system and coming all the way out the other side.

You can connect with Kemi on instagram @kemibirthjoyjohnson

Today we hear from Mandy Hyde. Mandy worked a high pressure job as a top television producer for the BBC and Channel 4 for many years. Mandy worked on some of my favourite TV shows growing up, the clothes show, embarrassing bodies, 10 years younger are just a few of them.

Mandy says in her 20’s she was burnt out, working hard and playing hard and eventually that took its toll and she was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid at a young age.

Despite three years of very strong medication to try and make Mandy better nothing was working and her symptoms were getting worse, not better.

A close friend of hers suggested giving homeopathy a try and despite Mandy’s scepticism she did give it a go and that decision changed her life forever.

Mandy’s story is one of taking control of her own health and recognising what was important in her life in order to maintain a healthy balance. Mandy decided to walk away from her highly paid, well sort after job in TV and started her own business as a homeopath. This was a scary decision at the time but she has never looked back.

Mandy is a fellow cold water swimmer and she shares what regular cold water dips has done for her.

You can find Mandy online https://www.homeopathybymandy.co.uk/index.htm

This episode is a really uplifting chat, please share with a friend who you think will enjoy it.

Today we hear from Sarah Kennedy Norquoy. Sarah moved from Cambridge to the Orkney Islands, a single mum with her 2 children in 2008. She is now happily married and has lived in Orkney for 13 years.

When Sarah turned 49 she wrote a list of 49 things she wanted to do before she turned 50 and cold water swimming was one of those. She was hooked straight away. She describes how this list and the cold water swimming was part of a much bigger journey of self discovery. 

In January 2019, Sarah’s world was shattered by the death of a close friend and her mother’s dementia diagnosis, both within the space of two weeks. Sarah’s book, Salt On My Skin, details how she coped with these devastating events and the effect that cold water swimming had on her life.

In this episode we discuss some of the factors to consider to stay safe whilst wild swimming in the sea. Sarah has swum in the Orkney sea thousands of times and it was really interesting to hear what she’s learned in order to stay safe.

We touch on the mystique of living in Orkney and the importance of being immersed in nature, cold water swimming and the healing power of nature.

Sarah shares her experiences of supporting her parents whilst her mums dementia is steadily getting worse each day. It is an open and raw account of grief and worry about caring for a parent with such a devastating disease. Sarah says that although it is incredibly difficult there are still beautiful and tender moments that she will cherish forever.

You can find Sarah on Instagram @seasaltandsarah

If you enjoy the show please subscribe and share with a friend who you think will enjoy listening.

Love Katie x

Today we hear from Dr Natalie Girling. Natalie is a palliative care doctor, a cold water swimmer and a mother of three young children. Natalie came close to quitting her career in medicine but she was able to find joy and fulfilment in her profession when working in the field of palliative care.

We discuss the often misunderstood specialism of palliative care and how actually accessing palliative care early on in the course of a non-curable disease can improve not only your quality of life but also increase life expectancy in some cases.

Natalie shares how she enjoys being able to spend proper time with her patients and focussing on the mental wellbeing is one of the most crucial elements of her role. It seems like this is certainly one area of medicine that the mind body connection is well recognised.

Natalie is a fellow sea swimmer and cold water enthusiast and she explains how the cold water immersion is like an intense exercise in mindfulness when you really can only focus on that moment and the tingling sensations all over your body. We discuss the benefit of having that quiet time outside, surrounded by nature and away from the stresses of family life.

As well as cold water swimming, we discuss what else she likes to do to try and tip the balance in favour of her mental health.

This is a short bonus interview for you to enjoy! I interviewed the amazing Hannah Palamara for Episode 3 of Tipping The Balance and we recorded this extra chat just after.

Hannah and I have both had VBAC births (vaginal birth after caesarean.) Hannah was my birth photographer and managed to capture my VBAC birth at home in 2019. I will cherish those photos and birth video for ever.

During my labour I was flooded with fears and doubts and it really caught me off guard. I was sure I had done "the work" and preparation to be able to sail through my second birth but it turned out I was wrong.

Even though I had spent the best part of 2 years preparing and planning for my home VBAC I found the labour incredibly challenging. You can read my birth story and watch my birth video here.

In this bonus episode Hannah shares her experience of preparing for a VBAC for her third baby after 2 emergency caesarean births. We discuss how her preparation for her third baby differed from her other 2 births. We focus on the mental aspect of preparing for birth after previous traumatic birth experiences and how crucial that can be.

You can connect with Hannah via her website or instagram

Please share this episode with someone who you think will benefit from hearing this uplifting chat.

Love Katie x

Today we hear from Steven Laureys MD. Steven is an award-winning neurologist and neuroscientist recognised worldwide as a leading clinician and researcher in the field of the neurology of consciousness. He is head of the GIGA Conciousness Research Unit and Brain Clinic of the university and university hospital of Liege in Belgium and Professor at the CERVO Brain Centre in Laval University, Canada. He has published over 500 scientific articles on the workings of the human mind.

Laureys new book, 'The No-Nonsense Meditation Book,' is released in the UK on 15th April 2021. The book has been translated into 9 different languages and this is the first publication in English. The book includes fascinating research on expert meditators such as Matthieu Ricard, Buddist monk and translator for the Dalai Lama and as Laureys described him, "a rock star of buddism."

The book scientifically proves the positive impact of meditation, and shows how we can easily add meditation to our routines. I love how Laureys makes meditation feel accessible to everyone. Meditation costs nothing and you can do it anytime and anywhere. "Do what you can," this is the basic philosophy of Laureys.

Laureys admits himself that he used to be a skeptic but after a personal crisis in 2012 he started to discover the benefits of meditation and now he prescribes it to his patients in his clinic.

The benefits of meditation are far reaching. Delayed ageing, anti-inflammatory effects, reduced stress and anxiety, pain management. These are just a small number of positive side effects of meditation!

Laureys is also involved in some other truly fascinating work researching hypnosis, consciousness of comatose patients and near death experiences.

I felt so excited after reading this book as I felt as though there was a very real possibility of living a less burdened life with more joy and less suffering, all available to me through my own brain and for free. I can't wait to continue on my meditation journey and to feel the benefits.

If you enjoy the show please subscribe and share with a friend who you think will enjoy listening.

Love Katie x

Today we hear from Helen Boyle. Helen is a full time Police Officer, an author, and also the co founder of iX Global. Helen has been through a lot of personal difficulties both linked to physical and mental health.

In this episode Helen takes us through the journey of her life where she says the first 20 years were close to perfect and the next 20 years seemed to go from one major trauma to another. This left Helen with severe PTSD but she is now in a place where she feels content and happy with life.

Helen lost her mother to a brain tumour when her mum was only 43 years old and after Helens daughter was born she started developing headaches. To her shock and disbelief Helen also has a brain tumour in the same place as her mum. Thankfully Helen's tumour is benign and not related to her mums tumour in anyway.

Helen suffered a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a Police baton whilst on duty at a music festival in Manchester and this left Helen needing neurological rehabilitation for 9 months.

Helen shares how her life events have shaped her and what she’s learned along the way. Helen has taken control of her own healing on several occasions. When she discovered Dr Joe Dispenza that helped her take control of her own personal healing journey after suffering PTSD after years as a Family Liaison Officer for the Police. We discuss how one size does not fit all when it comes to recovery from physical and mental health trauma.

Helen is cofounder of iX global. It is primarily a financial education company that also encourages self development and personal growth. They offer in-depth beginner to advanced Financial Education Courses in Forex, Binary, Crypto, & Equity. They also offer a network marketing scheme for those interested in growing their own business.

Helen is co-author of an exceptional book, 'She Is Unstoppable." with a group of outstanding female authors who have risen through adversity and became true inspirations to all. The book uncovers the lives of 12 global leading influencers, thought leaders and change makers by stripping back the glitz and glamour and deep-diving into the real, authentic rollercoaster, the wonderful and the heart-breaking moments of their lives. If you’re looking for inspiration, a shift, a change in perspective, the motivation to take action, then this is a must-read for you. 'She Is Unstoppable,' is available on Kindle and Amazon.

Helen is truly an inspirational woman and I know you will really enjoy hearing her tell her story. Please remember to subscribe to the show and share with someone who you know will enjoy hearing these uplifting and inspirational stories.

Today we hear from Caroline Domanska, Caroline is a money mindset coach and has worked in the finance industry for over 20 years. In this episode we discuss all things money. How can we get the balance right with working, managing homes and childcare whilst also working towards financial freedom?

Money can be such a taboo subject and for women especially, even in 2021, it’s still all too common for women not to be in charge of their own finances.

We debunk the myths around financial freedom and what that might mean for different people. Financial freedom doesn’t have to mean zipping around the world on yachts and sipping on champagne (although that does sound rather nice!) Caroline shares how you can have a more open mindset when it comes to money. We all have a relationship with money, we have conditioning and our beliefs to go with it. Do you know what your beliefs are around money?

“What do you want money to do for you? What dreams do you want brought into reality? That’s all money does, it brings dreams into reality.”

Caroline asks, "Do you give money “jobs”? Money that doesn’t have a job tends to disappear! You can start taking more control of your finances even if you only have £1. It can help to get you psychologically in the right place."

Caroline gives loads of practical steps to help you unpick what your relationship is with money and how you can take simple steps to be better in control of your finances. I learned so much from my conversation with Caroline and I know you will too. If what you hear today resonates with you please do share this episode with your friends.

Caroline gave birth to her second baby during the lockdown in March 2020. "It's a very weird time to have a baby," Caroline recalls. "I went into the hospital on the 6th of March and the world seemed normal, my mum was allowed to be with me the whole time. Two weeks later when I left the hospital the world was a different place."

You can connect with Caroline through her website: https://moneymindsetcoaching.co.uk/

Today we hear from Toni Crock. In this episode Toni explains how beautiful things are starting to come back into her life again after a difficult year in rehab. In April last year Toni went to Camino Recovery, in Spain, to get help for her substance abuse addiction. Toni explains how she started self medicating with cocaine to help counteract the debilitating symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis.

Toni has had a complex medical history and was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 30. She set up a charity to help others called MS Positive

During our chat she explains how she sees a link between addiction and trauma caused by illness. As Toni says during the interview, shame survives in the dark but dies in the light and she hopes that by sharing her experiences this might help others who are dealing with addiction at the moment.

Doing this podcast interview marks one year since going into recovery and I think you'll agree Toni is a remarkable woman. It takes strength, courage and bravery to open up about these topics, especially in a public forum. I am so grateful that I met Toni last year and so proud of the work she's done and continues to do on herself, not only for herself but also for her family and friends.