Wellness Wisdom

It's the 3rd week of January. How are your health goals coming along? Do you find yourself in a slump with a lack of energy and motivation? Do you notice yourself getting discouraged with trying to "change" your life?
If so, you are in good company. Most people start out ambitious in their goals, and lose momentum as time goes along.
We are continuing to follow Ryan Pilkington on his health journey. Ryan talks about the reality of losing motivation during the holidays (does this sound familiar). He inspires us with his positive attitude and using the new year for a "Fresh Start." Ryan is making January his time to be resilient and start again. He shares with us how he is creating what he wants in his subconscious mind through creating a Vision Board and Vision Statement.
Ryan shares how he has felt like a "ship in the harbor with no direction." He points out the importance of your VISION and your WHY as a compass leading you in the direction of your dreams. Ryan shares with us what motivates and inspires him to improve his health. He focuses on affirmations with positive language such as "I can" and "I will" instead of "I'll try" or "I hope."
Ryan talks about the importance of being around positive and like-minded people who support and uplift him. He says that other people can help us get out of our own heads. Ryan put a "line in the sand" for 2019 to make his health a priority. He shares with us tiny habits and goals that he is working on this week. Ryan is learning about the "law of attraction" and how our thoughts lead our subconscious brain to create what we want. What we focus on grows. Ryan knows that thinking healthy thoughts leads to creating healthy behaviors. Fight the bullies in your head and fuel the positive.

Follow Ryan's Health Journey every 3rd Monday on Wellness Wisdom and on his Blog http://chargingelephant.blogspot.com/

What kind of life do you want? Are you the kind of person who is over scheduled, strung out, and stressed all the time? Do you say "yes" to everyone but yourself? Have you struggled with chronic health issues?
Kelli Hughart, is a Clinical Herbalist, an Aroma therapist, Reiki Master, and Functional Medicine Health coach. She tells of her personal health journey where she ignored the "check engine light" coming on. She was caring for everyone else, but herself. She shares her "wake up call" when she found herself on the floor with chest pain and soon after being diagnosed with a rare genetic medical condition. Kelli felt unheard by her medical team and there were no answers to help her feel better.
Kelli said she started educating herself on the foundations of health including whole foods, herbs, and better sleep. Kelli talks about how important it is that we value ourselves and our time and recognize that you are "worth saying yes" to. Kelli helps people get their "Mojo" back so they can enjoy their life to the fullest.
Kelli shares how important it is that we prioritize our self-care time. Kelli tells us how we can be more productive and creative in our business and life when we start putting our own health as our primary focus. We can be our best when we take time to meditate, breathe deeply, and gain introspection into our lives. Kelli works with Entrepreneur's to help them determine what is their "zone of genius" and how to delegate, say no, or stop doing what is no longer serving them. She helps people explore distractions and challenges them to spend time on what is the "root of your passion."
Kelli says, "you show up in a bigger better way when you put yourself as a priority." Kelli talks about feeling better in her 40's than she did in her 20's. Kelli helps us explore and recognize where our passion is, set boundaries, and start doing what brings you joy. Kelli shares her 500 jars of herbs she uses to treat herself and others. She talks about how lifestyle changes in body, mind, and spirit are the foundations of health and that herbs, essential oils are adjunct to them.
Kelli shares her process for formulating herbs for people based on their sleep patterns, energetics, and allergies. She shares personal stories from clients who transformed their health through co-creating a plan and looking at all body systems and allergy elimination. She "dives deep" into mindset, health patterns, and diet. Kelli teaches you to connect to your body and allow it to release and heal.

Happy 2019! It's a New Year! A new year to make resolutions, set goals, and decide what you want in this new chapter of your life. What do you want for yourself? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? What is possible? How can you make your dreams and goals a reality?
Carey Conley is a successful Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, and Vision Coach. Carey shares how important having a clear "Vision" is in achieving your goals. You must know where it is you want to go. Carey tells us how the Vision must be compelling and "leap off the page in living breathing color." It's a picture of what you want to be, do, and have. What experiences do you want to have? What resources do you want to create? Who do you want to become? What lifestyle, relationships, and income do you want?
Carey guides us to visualize 3 years down the road what we want to be doing and experiencing. How old will your children and parents be? Where will you live, travel, what values will you live?
Carey shares how "the vision came first" that enabled her to create several businesses and a life she loves. Vision boards and vision statements are good, but not enough. According to Carey the Vision works only when it is 1) Crystal clear 2) Written out 3) Has target dates 4) Includes taking action.
First you tell your brain what is going to happen, by when (with dates), and you make the effort then your brain goes to work to make it happen. Carey says when we know what we want we can "reverse engineer" our goals with small daily step by step actions.
Carey suggests creating a vision in several areas of life including faith, family, fitness, finances, and foundation (character). Carey explores how fears hold us back from reaching our goals and we may lose sight of the clear vision of what they want. Carey encourages us to be quiet and still in order to explore what it is you are meant to do.
Carey explores how the people and environment around us can impact our ability to achieve what we want. She discusses respect, boundaries, and getting accountability from others. Carey will show you how to make your "hopes and dreams become action and achievement."
Go out and create an AMAZING 2019!

Happy New Year! It's almost 2019. It's the time of year when we think about "New Years Resolutions." How do you want to eat, move, and live in 2019? In our society people have a difficult time sticking to their "resolutions" and making behavior change. If you are tired of dieting and want to have a lifestyle of health, this episode is for you!
Wendy Thueson, is a Raw Food Chef (Raw Chef Wendy and Awe Inspiring Life by Design) who shares her own health transformation. She shares how she struggled with chronic fatigue, autoimmune disease, neck and back pain, graves disease, hypoglycemia, depression, intestinal and other issues.
Her career began as a cake decorator and culinary chef. Wendy said her lifestyle and cooking habits consisted of rich buttery sauces, processed sugars, and dried flour that were "messing up" her body. So she began a journey to discover if nutrition was a possible link to her problems.
Wendy began to change the way she thought, felt, and ate. Wendy began eating and cooking with Raw Food (uncooked fruits, vegetables, sprouted nuts and seeds). She reports that within 2 days she had increased energy and within a week most of her symptoms were gone.
Wendy says we can have more energy, release weight, improve sleep and reverse illness through eating raw food. Wendy shares how plants and raw food can be medicine for us. She shares how our bodies are designed to eat fruits and vegetables and how they are better for our digestive system. She shares how eating animal products influence our bodies' functioning.
Wendy believes that to achieve our optimal health we need to move our bodies, change our mindset, eat raw foods, and learn how to release addictions and emotions related to food.
Learn how to create natural energy, prevent disease, and balance our emotions through raw unprocessed food. Eat living food and feel ALIVE and thrive in 2019.

Join Wendy in January for her ONE DAY RAW CHALLENGE!
rawchefwendy.com

Merry Christmas everyone! This is the most Wonderful and often the most Stressful time of the year. It can be a time of joy and sorrow, a time of overwhelm and happiness. What brings you joy this time of year?
Our focus for this month's podcast episodes is on "Gifts your Give Yourself." In this episode, Camille, founder of Wellness Wisdom, explores how we can let go of negative beliefs, and patterns. Camille explores our need for Self-Compassion in Health. It's easy for us to beat ourselves up when we overeat, stop exercising, or don't handle stress well. Camille shares how we can love ourselves through the journey of health. She talks about ways to combat our "inner-critic" and to stop the shame cycle. Camille explains the tenets of Self-Compassion as defined by Dr. Kristin Neff, a psychologist and researcher one of the leading experts on Self-Compassion.
Camille shares her own struggle with shame and disgust from the inner critic about her body image. She discusses what influences the inner critic and how she combats this voice in her head daily. Camille talks about how we can give ourselves compassion by; 1) Recognizing and validating our suffering 2) Acknowledging everyone suffers 3) Giving ourselves love kindness and compassion as we would a good friend. (Self-Compassion Break by Kristin Neff Ph.D.).
Camille believes self-compassion is necessary to find success in changing your health and habits. Camille says all humans make "mistakes", especially when they are trying to change something about themselves. Compassion means focusing on your resilience, your ability to notice something is hard, and to get up again when you fall. We show compassion all the time for those we love, but it's often most difficult to show this to ourselves. Camille walks us through positive health affirmations to prime your brain for success in 2019. Camille believe's that each of us has within us the answers to our problems, that we must give ourselves compassion, be courageous, and recognize how our thoughts influence our actions.
Self-compassion may promote healthy behavior by reducing negative emotions in the face of small setbacks and by “encouraging the positive emotions necessary to maintain motivation during the pursuit of health goals" (greatergood.berkeley.edu).
Camille will guide us through a "Loving Kindness" Meditation to increase positive emotions, empathy, and compassion for ourselves and others.
"You yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."
-Unknown

Have you ever been in a room where there is an uncomfortable feeling? We often call it "the elephant in the room." The elephant can be something BIG that everyone knows about, but no one wants to talk about.
Ryan Pilkington is a graphic designer, podcaster, business owner, husband, and friend. He also weighs over 400 lbs. Ryan talks about the struggles of obesity and feeling like he is the "elephant in the room." He shares feeling shame and judgement for his size. Ryan is vulnerable about his struggles with his weight and the physical, emotional, and mental strain.
We are following Ryan's journey to release weight and take better care of his mental, emotional, and physical health. In this episode Ryan shares one of the biggest obstacles to weight release, "fighting the inner bully." Ryan shows tenacity and courage to keep going and not let discouragement overwhelm him.
Ryan is vulnerable about his struggles with depression, grief, feeling despondent, and not being motivated to do much. Ryan shares his struggles with emotional eating, especially during the holidays with all the food and gatherings. Ryan talks about the battle of moving forward in spite of struggle and how to appreciate other aspects of the holidays that are not food related.
We explore how to show self-compassion for days that you "get off the bandwagon" and how to be resilient and "bounce back." Ryan's advice is to do the best you can everyday and be kind to yourself when things don't go as planned. Ryan shares his approach to holiday eating by adjusting and changing his usual habits. We explore ways to eat well during the holidays and be mindful of your relationship with food. Make peace with your body and enjoy the holidays!

What do you fear? Political turmoil, natural disasters, family conflict, losing loved ones, flying, being embarrassed, or something else. It seems like fear, anxiety, overwhelm and stress are a part of our everyday life.
The holidays can bring extra anxiety and stress- family gatherings, gifts to buy, decorations, events, cooking, and feeling overwhelmed. It's the most stressful time of the year!
What if you could give yourself a gift of "moving through anxiety" in a healthy way? What if you could be resilient to stress and learn how to be in tune with your spirituality and be present in the moment?
Reverend Connie Habash is a minister, psychotherapist, and seeker of truth. Connie will explore how we can "be with" our anxiety in order to feel better. Connie shares her personal struggles with anxiety and transforming her life using spirituality to find inner peace. Connie guides us to notice the sensations in our body and breath in order to make peace with our anxiety. She explores how anxiety can AWAKEN you to a message it has for you. What is the message of your anxiety?
She talks about safety as an "illusion", from a spiritual perspective and the choice we have to change our perception in the moment. Connie will guide us through how to "ride the waves" of anxiety through self-compassion, serenity, and following our own spiritual path. Learn more by delving into Connie's upcoming book "Awakening from Anxiety: A Spiritual Guide to Living a More Calm, Confident, and Courageous Life.
Give yourself the gift of peace and calm this Holiday season.

Happy Holidays! What gift can you give yourself this year? What is holding you back from becoming your BEST version of YOU? What if you had a year to change yourself? What would you do? How would you change?
Tom Corner is a sought after speaker, author, and visionary. He shares what it was like "living a life of quiet desperation", a life spent fulfilling the expectations of others. Tom had successful career in the restaurant and hospitality industry that shifted into a 20 year career in the financial industry. Tom wanted more fulfillment. He hit a wall. From the outside it looked like he had everything, but he felt like there was more to life than struggling and suffering. He experienced what he calls an "awakening" when he decided to leave his career path to explore his mission and find deeper meaning in life.
Tom shares how he struggled with anger, grief, and dissatisfaction in work and life. After hitting the wall, Tom began a beautiful year of self-discovery and enlightenment. He talks about light bulb moments when he began to see the world differently. Tom shares with us how he was able to overcome limiting beliefs, recognize the power of his thoughts and train himself to change what he is saying to himself. He tells about his parents divorce and how his "world crumbled" and it changed the way he felt about himself. He discovered where the anger and hate was coming from. He tells how he "blamed himself" for his parents divorce and internalized the hurt. Tom recognized that most of his life he was looking for love, affection, and approval. He learned how to listen, validate, and allow energy to flow. Tom talks about changing thoughts from worry and anxiety through coaching, meditation, and positive affirmations.
Tom's shares his Amazing A's of Awareness that can shift you from shame and anger to challenging beliefs, exploring possibilities, using affirmations, clearing his mind of clutter, and attracting abundance.
Pay attention to your mind and break through barriers, Overcome FEARS, and live your best life!

“Strength lies not in brute force, intimidation, anger or retaliation. True strength lies in peace with oneself and accepting your enemy, which all too often is one’s self.”

TomCorner.net
Check out his book "Borrowed Eyes and Feet- Finding Enlightenment after Rage."

Loriana Hernandez-Aldama is very grateful to be alive! As an award winning journalist Loriana anchored the news and specifically did health/medical reporting at the local level. Her assignments centered on the transformational power of health, fitness, and nutrition. It wasn't until her own cancer diagnosis that she "uncovered the biggest story of her career."
Loriana tells the story of the news of the cancer, starting chemo, and having the doctor tell her to "Armor Up" because the more healthy and in shape she was, the more aggressively they could treat her cancer.
Lori founded a non-profit, "ArmorUp for Life", with the message of PRE-habilitation "meeting the medicine halfway and showing up for the fight."
Loriana's message is about making your well-being a priority when faced with a cancer diagnosis. She says that "showing up fit for the fight" is a key to the best outcomes. Loriana talks about essential wellness habits to help you "Armor Up" for the fight- getting restorative sleep, reducing stress and drama, taking vacations, working on your mind, and get up and move your body.
Loriana is an advocate for the cancer patient. She creates a supportive "pit crew" for each individual so they can focus on the fight and getting better.
Loriana reminds us to prioritize what is important, to savor life, and to find balance in our lives.
"How do show up when life punches you in the face?"
"If you don't STOP, life will STOP for you!"
-Loriana Hernandez-Aldama

Have you ever been in a room where there is an uncomfortable feeling? We often call it "the elephant in the room." The elephant can be something BIG that everyone knows about, but no one wants to talk about.
Ryan Pilkington is a graphic designer, podcaster, business owner, husband, and friend. He also weighs over 400 lbs. Ryan talks about the struggles of obesity and feeling like he is the "elephant in the room." He shares feeling shame and judgement for his size. Ryan is vulnerable about his struggles with his weight and the physical, emotional, and mental strain.
After being hospitalized with a fever of 104 degrees, having to wear compression socks, struggles catching his breath, being diagnosed with sleep apnea, and not being able to walk, Ryan had a what he calls a "wake up call."
He then did a very courageous thing. He posted on social media about his struggle and asked for support in his goal to release weight. Ryan shares how a village of people reached out to help him.
Ryan talks about his history of using food for comfort and support. He calls it a "quick fix" with an instant dopamine rush and a high, with the feeling of "shame" after. Ryan shares with us how his relationship with food began at home with food being equated with love. Ryan says food was comforting to him during stressful, sad, and difficult times. Ryan says he is on a journey to change the way he thinks, acts, and behaves. Not an easy task to change habits.
Ryan now says, "I'm on a journey of sustainable health" and shares the progress and celebrations he has noticed, easier breathing, sleeping better, more energy, and his pants feeling looser. He reports having a commitment to himself and to his health that has sustained him through the cravings and difficult times.
Ryan shares how important it was for him to... 1) Educate himself on health and food 2) Find budget friendly options 3) Simplify Eating Well so it wasn't complicated 4) Work daily on his Mindset and 5) Have a community of support.

Join us for an episode each month on Wellness Wisdom as we follow Ryan's health journey.
You can also follow him at 'chargingelephant.blogspot.com' and on his podcast, "The Charging Elephant."
"It takes a Village to Be Healthy"
Ryan shares gratitude for what he has learned, his progress, and for his wife, Linda who has joined him in the journey toward improved health!