Conversations to Connect

Episode 47- Create Your Own Light: Finding Post Traumatic Purpose with Travis Howze

"We are not exempt from loss, pain or personal turmoil.  These three things can absolutely destroy, control and define us, and they most certainly will if we choose to lay down and let them.  Once we have OWNED and ACCEPTED the things we cannot change, we are in control and privy to change.  With change in mindset, change in perspective, and change in attitude comes a more peaceful lifestyle and personal growth  beyond our wildest imagination."  Travis Howze~ Create Your Own Light: Finding Post Traumatic Purpose

 

In this episode Kristy is joined by Travis Howze to discuss the importance of mental health awareness and treatment for first responders.  Travis is a Marine Corps Veteran, former Police Officer and Firefighter.  He is author of Create Your Own Light and stand up comedian, motivational speaker and trainer.  

 

The Village Center for Holistic Therapy will be hosting Travis' Finding Post Traumatic Purpose training September 29th 2022 free of charge to veterans, first responders and their family members.  Check out this episode to find out more.  

 

You can find Travis and his podcast, Create Your Own Light, at www.travishowze.com and follow him on Instagram @travishowze

 

We hope you enjoy!

MUSIC CREDIT: "Reach For The Sky" courtesy of purple-planet.com

 

Episode 46 Max Strom- Breathe to Heal system

“Heal your heart, your emotions. The more your heart is open and filled with joy and gratitude, the more you will enjoy life and be able to shine your light out into the world. The more light you shine into the world, the more you can help others with your very presence.” Max Strom

In this episode, Kristy is joined by Max Strom, creator of the Breathe to Heal system for personal transformation.  Max is a 3x TEDx speaker, author, and global breathing teacher, known for teaching breathing patterns for personal transformation worldwide.

Max’s training will take you deep inside yourself to experience and fully understand the power of the Breathe to Heal system and learn how to implement the techniques into your professional sessions. In this training you will explore the powerful and undeniable interconnectedness between anxiety, loneliness, and suppressed emotions. Max's proven method of breathing patterns delivers immediate relief and can profoundly impact your clients and accelerate their healing process.

This course is ideal for therapists, social and health professionals, coaches, and (yoga) teachers who want to add Max’s method to their healing repertoire.

Episode 45 - EmpowHERment & Women’s History Month

“The success of every woman should be an inspiration to another.  We should raise each other up.” ~Serena Williams

In this episode, Kristy talks with Bhavna Meta and Jemiriye about their upcoming empowHERment workshop and the power of being in community with one another.  We invite you to listen in and reflect that, together, we can collectively exhale and step into our power.  

Take a moment to yourself. Breathe in deeply and exhale all you’re been carrying that isn’t serving you.  

 

We hope you enjoy!

Kristy & G

Episode 44 - Relationships with Lodro and Adreanna

"Love is a living, breathing thing.  There is no need to force it to grow in a particular direction.  If we start by being easy and gentle with ourselves, we will find it is just there inside of us, solid and healing." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

 

In episode 44, Kristy has a conversation with her meditation teachers, Lodro Rinzler and Adreanna Limbach, about life, love, and relationships.  Listen in to learn about how meditation can be the opening for our willingness to seek to understand ourselves and the people around us as well as how mindfulness can be the antidote for divisive times.  Meditation can help us open our hearts to not only those who are easy to love but also to those we perceive to be insignificant to our direct experience, to those who have proven to be difficult, and ultimately to ourselves.  

 

Lodro was named one of 50 innovators shaping the future of wellness by SONIMA.  Rinzler's work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Good Morning America, CBS, and NBC.  He is the author or seven meditation books, including "The Buddha Walks into a Bar" and the brand new "Take Back Your Mind: Buddhist Advice for Anxious Times".  Lodro has taught meditation for 20 years in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and travels frequently for his books, having spoken across the world at conferences, universities, and businesses as diverse as Google, Harvard University and the White House.

 

Adreanna is a meditation instructor, personal development coach, and the author of Tea and Cake With Demons: A Buddhist Guide to Feeling Worthy.  Her work has been featured in The New York Times, OPRAH Magazine, Refinery29, Women's Health and Yoga Journal.

 

Follow @lodrorinzler and @adreannalimbaach on Instagram for opportunities to practice and connection to community

Episode 43 - Connect to Your Essence & Find Your Anchor with Rachel Grant Jackson

In this episode we welcome, Rachel Grant Jackson, to the podcast to have a conversation with Kristy on the importance of finding an anchor or practice (spoiler alert it doesn't HAVE to be yoga) to connect you spiritually as you navigate chaotic times in life.  We will cover simple practices that will help align you with your heart and help to keep you connected to this part when you speak, move and act rather than reacting and responding in ways that might not be useful to situations and relationships. 

 

Rachel will be offering the Ultimate Gift- a 21 day meditation challenge beginning on January 9th, 2022.  Presence, or awareness of ourselves, is the ultimate gift we can give ourselves. It allows us to navigate the turmoils of life with perspective and enjoy the abundance of life with supreme joy. We access this through a daily spiritual practice, a concept that is much mis-understood. This 21 day course is designed to share some of this wisdom and the practices that changed my life and I believe will change yours.

 

Contact Rachel: rachelgrantjackson.com

 

We hope you enjoy!

 

Kristy & G

Episode 42 - Set Boundaries & Live Freely with Max Strom

"Being crystal clear about who you really are is vulnerable and it takes courage. It will also set you free of worrying, overthinking, misunderstandings, and people having to guess what it is you truly want and need. Sustaining loving relationships requires that we define our boundaries with kindness and firmness, while at the same time protect those we love from our own anger." ~ Max Strom

In this episode we welcome back Inner Axis creator, Max Strom, to the podcast to have a conversation with Kristy on the importance of boundaries in our lives in order to live to our fullest.  

Max Strom is a 3 time TEDx speaker, author and global breathing teacher.  He is known for teaching breathing patterns for personal transformation worldwide. We are honored to have Max join us again to explore boundaries, why we need them, and how to best implement them for our own peace and the benefit of healthy relationships.

 

Max will be offering an online workshop about boundaries October 10th in acknowledgement of World Mental Health Day.

https://maxstrom.com/schedule/set-boundaries-live-freely-oct21/

 

We hope you enjoy!

Kristy & G

Episode 41 - Military and Mental Health Part 2

"The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have." ~ Pema Chðdrðn

What happens when your date is set to leave the military and 9/11 happens?  Join us for a very special episode where our good friend, J, shares his experience living with uncertainty and the stop-loss that kept him in active combat for 5 years longer than he anticipated.  He opens up about reintegrating into society after serving, dealing with anger in his life, and ways he has worked to change himself to show up authentically for his children.

We hope you enjoy!

Kristy & G

Episode 40 - Military & Mental Health Part 1

"Recovery is an idea whose time has come.  At its heart is a set of values about a person's right to build a life for themselves, with or without the continuing presence of mental health symptoms." ~ Geoff Sheperd

In this series, we will be talking with different members of the military in an effort to connect and bring awareness to the experiences of the men and women who currently serve or have served our country.  In the first part of this series we welcome Bob Dzvonick from the United States Marine Corps (USMC).  

We hope you enjoy!

Gretchen & Kristy

Episode 39 - Authenticity

"Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are." ~ Brene Brown

Welcome to the new year!  We are here to tell you that you are badass just as you are and there is no need to be who others think you should be or have told you to be.  In this episode we explore authenticity, what it means, and how to show up authentically in your life.  Hope you enjoy!

 

Gretchen & Kristy

Episode 38 - Pandemic Grief & Loss

"Life may never go back to what it was like before, and we are all grieving that loss.  But I hope you'll join me in recognizing that this is not our new normal." 

 

In this episode we talk about the grief and loss we are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.  We all have been struggling with the grief that has been a result of the pandemic but we also might have lost loved ones, jobs, or had huge changes in our lives that we are struggling to manage.  If we have had a loss prior to the pandemic, we might be struggling now even more due to a loss of support system.  Whatever your situation, this is new territory and we are all having a hard time.

We hope you enjoy.

Gretchen & Kristy