Zen(ish) Mommy

Send us a text

Episode S2E13: Show Notes.

Naturopathic medicine, holistic medicine, and functional medicine are all different terms for the same holistic approach to healing the body. Looking at the body as a complete system can change your approach to health and wellness, enabling you to unravel your body’s complex systems, get to the root cause of imbalances and support the body’s optimal functioning. Today’s guest, Swathi Rao, is a functional medicine practitioner who believes in the pillars of eat well, sleep well, move well and poop well to be well. We begin our conversation with Swathi by asking her what lead her to functional medicine after making her start in traditional healthcare, and what it means to her. She tells us about her underlying philosophy for health and touches on what eating well looks like in functional medicine. We talk about the role of healthy movement and why it is so important to get enough sleep every night. Swathi explains the role of the microbiome, the gut-brain connection and the cuddle factor. She tells us where to start to address gut issues and we explore food sensitivities and what causes them. Next, we dive into inflammation, leaky gut and the role of gluten, mindful eating and practicing gratitude towards yourself. We dive into the role of supplements versus medication and where each is appropriate and Swathi shares a bit about her most rewarding work. We hope you join us for a wealth of wisdom on functional medicine and holistic health today.

Key Points From This Episode:

•    What lead Swathi to functional medicine from her time in traditional healthcare.

•    Why eat well, sleep well, poop well, live well have become the defining factors of how Swathi practices medicine.

•    What eating well looks like in functional medicine.

•    Why children need 10 to 12 hours of sleep per night and adults need a full 8.

•    Enriching the microbiome as the foundation of wellness.

•    The gut-brain connection and the cuddle factor.

•    Where to start to address gut issues: adopt a paleo diet.

•    Food sensitivities and what causes them.

•    Inflammation, leaky gut and the role of gluten and mindful eating.

•    The importance of practicing gratitude for yourself and your contribution to the world.

•    How functional medicine has changed throughout the global pandemic and what has been revealed.

•    The role of supplements versus medication.

•    The hardest cases that Swathi deals with and the most rewarding. 

•    The problem of inflammation.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Be Well Family Care

ifm.org

Mom, Slow Down!
The Zen Mommy on Instagram
The Zen Mommy

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

Healing Sound Baths with Sarah Gardner

Episode S2E12: Show Notes.

Have you ever felt down and unable to pull yourself out of a funk? When the thought of even trying to meditate or start a yoga practice seems like too much? Well, this episode might just have some answers for you! Have you heard of sound baths? They’re not actually baths at all, but rather an immersive sensory experience where healing sound waves wash over the body, activating the parasympathetic nervous system with very little effort on your part. Want to learn more? Luckily, today’s guest will tell you all you need to know. Sarah Gardner, known as The Gardner Girl, is a sound bath artist and mindfulness facilitator who works with corporate clients, athletic teams, coaching cohorts, students, families, and individuals to provide the ultimate experience in passive self-care. In this episode, Sarah shares her personal path to healing and highlights the very real correlation between sound and the human body, explaining how sound baths activate our natural rest, digest, and heal response and some of the other benefits you can receive from a sound bath session. To find out more, tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

•    Find out why Sarah doesn’t refer to herself as a sound healer.

•    Her personal path to healing, which began with understanding that it must start within.

•    Some of the incremental lifestyle changes she made that amounted to a greater change.

•    Understanding that healing paths are non-linear and continuous.

•    The energetic catalyst that was Sarah’s first sound bath experience.

•    What is a sound bath: an immersive sensory experience involving healing sound waves.

•    The very real correlation between sound and the human body.

•    How a sound bath activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the body’s natural rest, digest, and heal response.

•    You don’t need to be coherent to absorb the benefits of this practice; go ahead, take a nap!

•    Sarah explains why she calls sound baths a “meditation hack.”

•    How sound affects everyone differently depending on our individual human biofields.

•    Hear why Sarah doesn’t recommend a sound bath if you have unresolved trauma. 

•    Learn how she plays the bowls intuitively and improvises depending on the session.

•    The imposter syndrome Sarah had to overcome to begin practicing as a sound bath artist.

•    Sarah shares her self-care practice, which includes listening to ASMR.

•    Some of the other instruments used during sound baths and why the human voice is one of the most powerful modalities.

Sarah Gardner on LinkedIn

Sarah Gardner on Instagram

The Gardner Girl

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on Instagram

Self-Love Collective Waitlist

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

The Power of Hype with Whitney George

We all need someone in our lives who can hype us when we need it. Maybe you are your own best hype-person, or maybe you have a person, or people, who you can go to when you need a pick-me-up to get you through whatever slump you might be in. Whitney George is a GO-TO hype mom, an entrepreneur, motivator-mindset coach, Pilates master trainer, and pre/postnatal expert. Yes, she wears all those hats! In today's episode, Whitney gets vulnerable and talks about why she is so passionate about hyping-up other women. It was not always this way for her, and it is a trait she has worked hard to nurture. We hear about the work she did to overcome her triggers and soften to the world. As someone so focused on helping people feel their best, Whitney understands the importance of taking a holistic approach to wellbeing. She shares how a difficult pregnancy led her to reflect on her health and why she felt compelled to share what she has learned with others. Our conversation also touches on why self-care is not selfish and the value of taking time to fill up your cup, the need for community as an entrepreneur, and the power of being receptive to help. So often, as women, we believe we have to do it all alone, but as Whitney shows us, when you have community and people to hype you, you can always go so much further than you could ever by yourself.  

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Where Whitney gets her boundless energy and ability to hype from. 

•   Surrender, impact, joy, and peace: the four words Whitney wants to exude. 

•   The role Whitney's mom played in her life and the work she did to feel less triggered by her behavior. 

•   Whitney's involvement with yoga, which started when she was in college. 

•   Hear about Whitney's experience of pregnancy, the difficulties she had, and how she came out on top. 

•   How becoming a mother to girls changed Whitney's life and outlook. 

•   Some of the products Whitney created to help pre and postnatal women. 

•   The importance of doing one thing at a time to achieve a grand vision. 

•   We have to be able to receive as well as give; it's not selfish to take care of ourselves. 

•   The value of slowing down and just taking things moment by moment. 

•   As an entrepreneur, you have to be your own hype person. 

•   How Whitney preserves her energy so she can replenish her cup. 

•   Being receptive to help is a skill that we have to learn to cultivate. 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Whitney George

Whitney George on Instagram

Whitney George on LinkedIn

Whitney G Maternity

Claim Your Power

Zach Bush

Atomic Habits

Greenlights

Soulspace Christian Meditation

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on Instagram

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

Learn how to be mindful with author Aimee Morgan, "The Chaos Antidote; a fable about mindfulness"

Episode S2E9: Show Notes.

 Do you find yourself checking on your phone every few minutes? Do you struggle to be present? Are you often preoccupied with worries about the future and past decisions? If so, mindfulness might be a welcome antidote to the chaos of your modern lifestyle. In today’s episode, we get together with Aimee Morgan to talk about her new book The Chaos Antidote: A Fable About Mindfulness along with its accompanying workbook The Chaos Antidote: Six Week Mindfulness Workbook. 

In our discussion, Aimee shares her journey to mindfulness after a life-threatening miscarriage prompted her to reexamine her life. After participating in the comprehensive Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course by John Kabat-Zinn, she felt compelled to distill those ideas and rework them for her two new books. Aimee reflects on why she chose to disseminate these approaches to mindfulness through fables to make them accessible and ensure a broader impact. Listeners will hear how mindfulness techniques have helped Aimee in her life, what her daily practice looks like these days, and how to start your daily practice. Aimee breaks down her original daily reflection practice GLOWY, as outlined in her workbook, and gives some useful tips for overcoming one's fear of difficult emotions during meditation. We loved having Aimee on the show and had a fantastic conversation full of insightful wisdom, kindness, and hope, you won’t want to miss this!

Key Points From This Episode:

●      Aimee defines what mindfulness means for her.

●      Aimee describes her book The Chaos Antidote: A Fable About Mindfulness and why she chose to share her ideas on mindfulness through accessible stories rather than a traditional self-help format.

●      Why the characters in Aimee’s book are relatable, everyday people.

●      How Aimee’s book is an accessible way into mindfulness.

●      Aimee shares her journey with mindfulness.

●      How Aimee took the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course by John Kabat-Zinn and distilled what she learned from it to form part of her book.

●      The challenges that mindfulness has helped Aimee overcome.

●      The benefit of identifying anxious thoughts.

●      How Aimee has learned to self-regulate through mindfulness.

●      A description of the workbook that accompanies The Chaos Antidote: A Fable About Mindfulness.

●      Aimee shares her daily practice.

●      Hear Aimee’s advice for creating a daily mindfulness practice.

●      A look out for Aimee’s Mindfulness Academy, coming soon!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Aimee Morgan

Aimee Morgan on Facebook

Aimee Morgan on Instagram

Aimee Morgan on Goodreads

Mindfulness Academy

The Chaos Antidote: A Fable about Mindfulness

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on In

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

Healing Through Plants with Audrey Barron

Food is medicine, but the industrialized food system has got so many of us hooked on processed, nutrient-poor food that harms rather than heals us. Audrey Barron is a medicine woman, creative talent, and owner of Ezra’s Enlightened Café in Indianapolis, a vegan, gluten-free, and 100% GMO-free restaurant. She is as passionate about plants as she is about empowering women to take back their own power and heal from the earth while trusting their intuition. Audrey is not simply hopping on the growing vegan trend; she has used plants to heal herself and, in this episode, she shares that journey with us. From struggling with a myriad of health conditions like insomnia, skin issues, and gut problems, Audrey found that eliminating certain foods from her diet and adding more plants changed her life, and the better she started feeling, the more she could learn about the healing power of plants. We talk about mainstream medicine, its approach to dealing with disease, and why this often disempowers people. Our conversation also touches on the importance of listening to your body rather than following food trends, insights into Audrey’s Medicine Woman program, and the power we all have when we listen to our intuition. Audrey's approach to plants and food is mindful, aware, and puts women back in the driver’s seat, and to get a taste of what her message is all about, be sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Audrey’s health struggles, when they reached their peak, and her journey of healing. 

•   The improvement Audrey saw after eliminating dairy and gluten from her diet. 

•   Veganism is not necessarily right for everyone; you have to listen to your body. 

•   The stories Audrey has heard about how a changed diet has improved people’s lives. 

•   There is a disconnect between mainstream medicine and proper disease treatment. 

•   We have to find a way to be empowered advocates for our own health. 

•   As mothers, we have to lead by example and model healthy behavior. 

•   The reception to Ezra’s in Indianapolis, a place that did not have many healthy options. 

•   People underestimate the cost of truly organic food; it’s a hard business. 

•   Why Audrey does not like the idea of fake meat as veganism becomes more popular. 

•   Small farming can help people who need meat eat higher quality products. 

•   How having six acres of land has changed Audrey’s life. 

•   Details about Audrey’s Medicine Woman program and the way it empowers women. 

•   Aubrey does not want to be an expert; she wants to guide women to their innate expertise.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Ezra's Enlightened Cafe

Gaia Chef

Medicine Woman

Audrey Barron on LinkedIn

Audrey Barron on Twitter

Audrey Barron on Instagram

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on Instagram

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

Speaking up about the imperfect reality of motherhood is important to dispel the guilt and shame surrounding this topic. It’s okay to say that you need time away from your child for self-care! It’s okay not to “bounce back” after having a baby! Motherhood is an incredible thing, and we are blessed to have that experience, but it’s certainly not all perfect and wonderful. It’s a gamut of emotions, but no one talks about it. Adopting a both-and mentality is important – it’s both beautiful and difficult – as is finding the support you need and making sure not to compare yourself with others. Today we are joined by Jaya, a Healthcare Project Manager, mom of two boys, fashionista who loves yoga, spirituality, and who believes in all the connections of people through the heart and soul. Tune into this episode to hear Jaya share her experience of motherhood, both the ups and the downs, as she talks about dealing with family pressure, discovering there is no “normal”, the need for external support, and taking time for yourself. Find out what she learned between baby one to baby two, including accepting her changed body, taking the pressure off of herself to create aspirational content about motherhood for social media, and taking “perfect” representations on Instagram with a pinch of salt. Tuen in to find out more! 

Key Points From This Episode:

•    Jaya talks about the night she had her first son and the disconnect she felt with motherhood.

•    Learning to deal with family pressure to have kids and sticking to your own timeline.

•    Jaya explains that she wished she knew what she was signing up for – the imperfect reality.

•    Learning that there is no “normal”, as Jaya learned with sleep patterns or breastfeeding.

•    The shame and guilt around breastfeeding (or being unable to breastfeed).

•    It takes a village to raise a child: Jaya talks about the need for external support.

•    The issue with the lack of honest feedback and support for postpartum depression.

•    Why Jaya believes having freedom of choice is crucial – it’s okay to need time to yourself!

•    Accepting changes in your body post-pregnancy and not comparing yourself to others.

•    There is only so much you can do as a mother – to be there, you need time for yourself.

•    The value of potentially taking a break from social media as a new mom.

•    How the tides are changing on social media, with messy, imperfect representations of motherhood overtaking the curated ones.

•    Jaya has taken the pressure off of herself to create aspirational content for social media.

•    Taking what works for you from influencer’s content and leaving the rest.

•    Jaya asks Jessica what inspired her to start her organization.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jaya

Jaya’s Website

Jaya on Instagram

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on Instagram

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

Creating Your Own Recipe for Healing with Samantha Simpson

Episode S2E1: Show Notes.

Healing does not look the same for everyone. Something that works for you, might be totally unhealthy for another person. This is why it is important to find practices that allow your body to heal itself. Today's guest, Samantha Simpson, is a posture and yoga coach and a health speaker based in Indianapolis and has gone on her own incredible healing journey that she wants to share with others. In this episode, Samantha dives into the radical paradigm of alignment she practices and teaches, called bowspring. We hear about how it differs from modern yoga and why it is so beneficial. Samantha then opens up about her health struggles and the different modalities she used to ultimately heal herself and find happiness once more. When your physical health suffers, it impacts every aspect of your life. We also talk about the importance of removing the stigma around conversations about pelvic floor and elimination problems, gut health and some of the emerging findings, and different types of stress and how we can deal with them. Our bodies are truly incredible in all that they can do and their capacity to heal. If we know how to tap into this innate bodily wisdom, the possibilities are infinite.

Key Points From This Episode:

•    Get to know Samantha and the radical style of alignment she teaches called Bowspring.

•    The differences between Bowspring and modern postural yoga.

•    Common pelvic floor problems that many of us suffer from due to poor posture.

•    Samantha’s inspiring story of healing and the different modalities she used.

•    How Samantha learned about neurofeedback from her cat.

•    Pelvic floor tightness is veiled in shame, so we need to have open discussions about it.

•    Hear about the workshops Samantha runs and how she has helped others heal.

•    The importance of treating the root cause of illness rather than just the symptoms.

•    Emerging research around gut health and how it affects our overall health.

•    Work Samantha has done with people on the autism spectrum and those with ADHD.

•    Different types of stress and the range of triggers Samantha has seen.

•    How to tune into your triggers and the way that your body responds.

•    Samantha’s self-care practices and things she does every day to care for herself.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on Instagram

Self-Love Collective Waitlist

Samantha Simpson

Samantha Simpson on Facebook

'What Is Bowspring?'

Global Bowspring

Maya Massage

Neurofeedback

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

How Nourishing Your Body Can Be a Form of Self-Love with Tara Rochford, RDN

Self-love means taking care of yourself in the best way possible, so that you can show up as the best version of you. It makes sense then that a good, wholesome, and nutritious diet would form a part of your self-love practice. Today’s guest is on a mission to share with the world that nourishing foods are delicious and comforting for the soul and should never be tasteless or bland! Tara Rochford, RDN, is a registered dietitian, recipe developer, and healthy living blogger. She writes on her website, Tara Rochford Nutrition, where she shares simple and delicious recipes, science-backed nutrition information, and tips for helping individuals find their version of healthy. Tuning in, you’ll hear from Tara as she explains why nourishing your body can be a form of self-love and she shares some of her secret mom hacks for getting your family fed and feeding yourself a little bit better. From mental health to pain management, Tara believes that nutrition can help us in so many ways, so make sure to tune in to find out more!

 Key Points From This Episode:

 •    Hear about the differences between a dietician and a nutritionist.

•    What led Tara to becoming a registered dietician, starting with a school project.

•    Tara talks about her experience of family dinner; how it sets the foundation for healthy habits.

•    The value of encouraging discussion about how food tastes, smells, and makes you feel.

•    How being a new mom has altered Tara’s perspective, including being more forgiving.

•    How constant exposure can help foods become more palatable for kids with food aversions.

•    Why adult nutrition has to be individualized based on unique goals, preferences, and cultures.

•    Just eat the vegetables; it doesn’t matter if they are pre-cut, frozen, or whole.

•    Why you should curate what works for you from general dietary guidelines.

•    From mental health to pain management, Tara believes nutrition can help with everything.

•    The importance of being mindful and present.

•    While self-love and self-care are depicted as bubble baths, for Tara it’s also prepping food for herself or her daughter.

•    Why prepping ahead is key for lunchtime meals especially.

•    What Tara’s self-love routine looks like, from prioritizing sleep to writing an hourly to-do list.

•    How Tara stays inspired in the kitchen by trying new things from cookbooks.

•    How Tara’s business has been impacted by the pandemic, when people are cooking at home more than ever.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Tara Rochford on LinkedIn

Tara Rochford on Instagram

Tara Rochford on Facebook

Tara Rochford on YouTube

Tara Rochford Nutrition

Dietary Guidelines for Americans

eatright.org

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on Instagram

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

Speaking up about the imperfect reality of motherhood is important to dispel the guilt and shame surrounding this topic. It’s okay to say that you need time away from your child for self-care! It’s okay not to “bounce back” after having a baby! Motherhood is an incredible thing, and we are blessed to have that experience, but it’s certainly not all perfect and wonderful. It’s a gamut of emotions, but no one talks about it. Adopting a both-and mentality is important – it’s both beautiful and difficult – as is finding the support you need and making sure not to compare yourself with others. Today we are joined by Jaya, a Healthcare Project Manager, mom of two boys, fashionista who loves yoga, spirituality, and who believes in all the connections of people through the heart and soul. Tune into this episode to hear Jaya share her experience of motherhood, both the ups and the downs, as she talks about dealing with family pressure, discovering there is no “normal”, the need for external support, and taking time for yourself. Find out what she learned between baby one to baby two, including accepting her changed body, taking the pressure off of herself to create aspirational content about motherhood for social media, and taking “perfect” representations on Instagram with a pinch of salt. Tuen in to find out more! 

Key Points From This Episode:

•    Jaya talks about the night she had her first son and the disconnect she felt with motherhood.

•    Learning to deal with family pressure to have kids and sticking to your own timeline.

•    Jaya explains that she wished she knew what she was signing up for – the imperfect reality.

•    Learning that there is no “normal”, as Jaya learned with sleep patterns or breastfeeding.

•    The shame and guilt around breastfeeding (or being unable to breastfeed).

•    It takes a village to raise a child: Jaya talks about the need for external support.

•    The issue with the lack of honest feedback and support for postpartum depression.

•    Why Jaya believes having freedom of choice is crucial – it’s okay to need time to yourself!

•    Accepting changes in your body post-pregnancy and not comparing yourself to others.

•    There is only so much you can do as a mother – to be there, you need time for yourself.

•    The value of potentially taking a break from social media as a new mom.

•    How the tides are changing on social media, with messy, imperfect representations of motherhood overtaking the curated ones.

•    Jaya has taken the pressure off of herself to create aspirational content for social media.

•    Taking what works for you from influencer’s content and leaving the rest.

•    Jaya asks Jessica what inspired her to start her organization.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jaya

Jaya’s Website

Jaya on Instagram

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on Instagram

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy

Send us a text

Putting Your Oxygen Mask on First with Emily Nichols

Women and mothers are conditioned into believing that being exhausted and constantly busy is part of the deal. Yes, life has inevitable demands. But if you do not care for yourself, you cannot look after others. Emily Nichols is on a mission to show women how to put their own oxygen masks on first. As a self-care coach and host of the wildly successful Self Care Isn’t Selfish podcast, Emily inspires women to create habits where they prioritize their well-being once more. In today’s episode, Emily opens up about her own self-care journey that she and her husband embarked on in 2015. We hear about how the Whole30 program helped her break both physical and mental habits that were holding her back. After working on her nutrition, Emily then turned her attention to fitness and mindset. This three-tiered approach of nutrition, fitness, and mindset is the framework Emily now uses to help her clients establish their self-care routines. We also hear about her podcast and what her goals for this platform are. Taking care of ourselves helps us show up better in all that we do, so tune in today to get some inspiration from Emily’s story. 

Key Points From This Episode:

•   What Emily means when she says she wants to help women ‘put their oxygen mask on first.’

•   The reason that moms often wear exhaustion and busyness as a badge of honor.

•   Emily’s self-care journey, which started in 2015, and how she finds balance now.

•   Details about Whole30, the elimination protocol that kickstarted Emily’s health journey.

•   Food is part of so many of our experiences, so restriction is not sustainable.

•   The physical and mental benefits Emily experienced doing Whole30. 

•   What Emily’s work as a Whole30 coach entails.

•   Why Emily decided to call her podcast Self Care Isn’t Selfish.

•   Find out what Emily’s self-care routine looks like at the moment.

•   How Emily’s faith has grown over time and how it ties into her taking care of herself.

•   Emily’s approach to balance and how she finds flow in her life.

•   What Emily hopes her podcast will achieve and the message she wants to leave women with.

•   Emily’s favorite way to move her body; she loves burpees!

•   Obstacles Emily sees her clients facing when it comes to establishing a self-care routine.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Mom, Slow Down!

Jessica Nicole on Instagram

Self-Love Collective Waitlist

Emily Nichols

Emily Nichols on Instagram

Emily Nichols on Twitter

Self Care Isn’t Selfish

The Whole30

From Coffee to Wine 

Jacqueline Martinez

Orange Theory

Support the show

The Zen Mommy on Instagram
the Zen Mommy