Month: October 2020

We already have socialized medicine in the US, we just don’t want to acknowledge it. Since we don’t want to acknowledge that we have socialized medicine we have the worst and most expensive form of it. People without insurance go to the emergency room for everything and it is expensive. People without insurance wait until they get very sick, or until their cancer has really grown, or their Covid-19 has spread to the lungs before they go in and see a physician. Waiting is expensive. So, the very first thing I would do is acknowledge the system we have and find ways to make it run better.

As a part of my interview series with leaders in healthcare, I had the pleasure to interview Nathan Jones from Xlear.

Nathan was born in Kansas City and he spent his formative years in Idaho, in a small town where his father was the town doctor. Later, in a pursuit to provide needed support for the entire family of 14 kids, Nathan’s parents have made the decision to move to Michigan, Mexico City, where he spent most of his childhood. When he was 16 years old, the family made another move, this time to Utah which is also where Nathan graduated from high school. He attended college for a year, spent a year in active duty, and also went on a two-year mission with his church. He moved back home in 1994 and started attending Utah Valley University. Later, he made a transition to Seattle where he attended school to become a commercial diver — he used skills form this education when he worked as a diver in oilfields in Louisiana between 1995 and 2000. Another transition occurred when he moved back to Utah and founded Xlear in 2000 where he has been ever since.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I came to this career path because my father is the physician that invented our nasal spray, Xlear. Prior to starting this company, I worked doing underwater construction out in the gulf of Mexico, oil rigs and such, as well as underwater welding. However, most of my experience was in construction.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I have had a lot of very interesting stories, the ones that I remember most are the ones where we were rejected by the FDA and by physicians because the products we sell are not drugs, but rather are natural solutions. In the end, with most physicians we actually get a chance to discuss the science behind the products and once the physicians better understand they are on board with what we are trying to do. The FDA, however, still rejects the science behind our product for the simple reason that here in the US we do not have a category for foods that act as drugs.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I do not know that I made many “funny” mistakes. However, I have made a lot of mistakes, expensive mistakes, as I made the transition from Diver to nasal spray and healthcare products sales.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I think that one of my philosophies that guides Xlear is that we want to be able to show our customers how using our products will actually save them money. If by using our nasal spray that costs roughly $6 a month to use saves you from getting sick one time during the year, then you are already ahead. If using the Spry oral care products saves you from getting a cavity in 4 years, then you are money ahead. The results that we commonly see are even better. So yes, we can show you how using our products will save you money. Part of the way we do that is by keeping the price down. Being healthy and being able to breathe should not be expensive and should be accessible to all.

What advice would you give to other healthcare leaders to help their team to thrive?

Think outside the box, think prevention, think hygiene.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s jump to the main focus of our interview. According to this study cited by Newsweek, the US healthcare system is ranked as the worst among high income nations. This seems shocking. Can you share with us 3–5 reasons why you think the US is ranked so poorly?

This is not shocking to me at all. Our healthcare system is based on making money when people are sick. This is a horrible model. I think that a large part of this is the way physicians have passed the buck to pharma companies for innovation. The supposed “gold standard” for a drug to be used is such a high barrier that only big drug companies can do those studies. This means that every innovative drug or product has to cost a lot of money. Doctors think that is great, but they aren’t the ones paying for those studies. I think that physicians should be out there actually being scientists. They think they are scientists, but they are not. Scientists by definition use the scientific method to solve their problems. Define a problem, outline possible solutions that as their motto states first do no harm, then test those solutions and see if they work. Physicians do not do this, and the hospitals they work for make it extremely hard for them to innovate. Hospitals have protocols — follow the protocol or get in trouble. If that is the case then why do physicians go to school, and why are they paid so much? Anybody can be told what to do. I want my physician to be one of the very few that are willing to fight the system and find cheaper, more effective solutions.

Another reason that our healthcare system is horrible is the movement for everybody to think that their body is good the way it is. We are an obese nation. The AMA should be out there doing everything they can to change that, but they are not. We have some of the most innovative minds in the world and we need to find a way to motivate people to exercise a little more and eat just a little better. I have thought about this a lot and while I have a few ideas I am not in a position to implement these changes. But I do think that if you could get insurance companies, employers, and the government to work together on this problem there are some things that could be done, and they would save everybody money and improve health for our nation. We shouldn’t be “body shaming” people, that is straight up bullying and shouldn’t be done. We should be smart enough to find positive ways to motivate people to be healthier.

You are a “healthcare insider”. If you had the power to make a change, can you share 5 changes that need to be made to improve the overall US healthcare system? Please share a story or example for each.

1. We already have socialized medicine in the US, we just don’t want to acknowledge it. Since we don’t want to acknowledge that we have socialized medicine we have the worst and most expensive form of it. People without insurance go to the emergency room for everything and it is expensive. People without insurance wait until they get very sick, or until their cancer has really grown, or their Covid-19 has spread to the lungs before they go in and see a physician. Waiting is expensive. So, the very first thing I would do is acknowledge the system we have and find ways to make it run better.

2. Get rid of hospital “protocols” that dictate how people are treated. A patient and their physician should dictate how the patient is treated.

3. Take medications off of insurance programs. Drugs are not that expensive to make. The fact that they are expensive is simply because insurance is there to pay for them. If insurance did not pay for them the price of most drugs would come down. There are orphan drugs out there that insurance would need to help pay for.

4. Stop drug companies from being able to advertise their drugs to the consumer. Physicians are tired of people that come in with a disease they think they have after seeing an advertisement for it. They don’t need it, but they think they do.

5. Stop the rotating door between big pharma and the FDA. The idea Reagan had was a good idea…on paper it looked good. You want people in the FDA that understand the pharma business, so you recruit people from that field. Again, the idea is sound, but implementing it caused a lot of things to get passed by the FDA that should not have. Many people working at the FDA now work at the pharma companies whose drugs they had helped get through the FDA. So the incentive for the FDA employees is to do what they can to help drugs get through even if they are not safe, even if there isn’t enough science, but to help it get through so they can go get a job that pays a lot more. Stop the revolving door. If someone works at the FDA then they cannot work at a pharma company or consult with or take money in any way from a pharma company for 4–5 years after they leave the FDA.

Ok, its very nice to suggest changes, but what concrete steps would have to be done to actually manifest these changes? What can a) individuals, b) corporations, c) communities and d) leaders do to help?

A. individuals need to start taking control of their own health. Buy better food, and exercise just a little more.

B. Corporations should be looking at ways to motivate their employees. At Xlear we have a few events each year that go on for a month where people do Ironman triathlons. Depending on how many people finish we donate money to the food bank. We also have prizes for the people that finish. We have softball teams and other activities where we try to get employees involved. Also make the deductible on the insurance plan a very high deductible…this motivates the employees to not get sick, and it saves the company money. We also contribute to the HSP of the employees so they can pay the deductible…and if they don’t get sick, they keep the money and invest it for retirement.

C. Make sure that we have community activities that help people to get out and stay healthy. Most communities do have these programs as they are great for people of all ages.

I’m interested in the interplay between the general healthcare system and the mental health system. Right now, we have two parallel tracks, mental/behavioral health and general health. What are your thoughts about this status quo? What would you suggest to improve this?

I am not educated in this aspect of healthcare so I would not know how to comment other than I do believe that the body should be treated as a whole not each little piece by itself. The trend of our healthcare system to do this over the past 50 years is what has led us to be the worst healthcare system in the developed world.

How would you define an “excellent healthcare provider”?

One who puts the health of their patient first. One who takes the time to educate their patients, follow up with them and make sure they are exercising, sticking to their diet, one that communicates with the patients other healthcare providers, including dentists, physicians, counselors, etc. Also, one who is not afraid to innovate and find cheaper solutions, drug free solutions, as long as the patient is not harmed.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Do what is right. This is a principle that guides my work and how I’ve built our company.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We are working on some great things. The most exciting thing is the research being done with our nasal spray and Sars-Cov-2. Turns out that our nasal spray destroys the virus. We have known this since March. The FDA has turned us down every time we approach them as this is not a drug. But human clinical trials that are being done in Florida are showing results that are almost unbelievable. To be included in the study they have to have symptoms. They have to be sick and have a PCR test showing that it is Sars-Cov2. Every patient that is using Xlear is symptom free within 3 days and is testing negative with the nasal swab PCR within 7 days. You mentioned Newsweek — in the near future there will be an article in Newsweek about this. Even with results like this, our FDA will not let us get out and talk about what our nasal spray can do. People are getting sick, some of them are dying, and our country is getting screwed up more than ever. Simple nasal spray solutions could fix this. We are not the only group working on nasal sprays. Universities are, the Australian government is working on one. Journal of the American Medical Assoc. published an article that pointed out that if we can destroy the virus in the nose, we will stop the spread and lessen the severity of the symptoms. So, tell me why our elected officials are not talking about nasal sprays.

What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that inspire you to be a better healthcare leader? Can you explain why you like them?

I like history, ancient history. I have been to Egypt many times, Turkey, South America, India, etc. I love to read about the relationship that ancient man had with their God. However, and whomever that was. I watch Dr. Bean medical videos on YouTube. I like them because it keeps me learning as well.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Stopping drug abuse in this country. Prescription and OTC drugs. We are killing ourselves trying to not be sick.

How can our readers follow you online?

I do not really have much of an online presence but chiapet jones on facebook, @nathanj05747053 on twitter or follow our brand @Xlear and @SprySmile on Instagram

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Nathan Jones of Xlear: “Five Things We Must do to Improve the US Healthcare System” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Nancy Ramaurthi of Proper on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Spend time with people you care about. Make an effort to have that conversation, even if it’s via phone call or text. Be present in your day-to-day interactions — life is short, and while positions and jobs may come and go, your family and friends are foremost.

As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nancy Ramamurthi.

Nancy White Ramamurthi is the co-founder and CEO of Proper. She is a veteran of leadership, growth and the military with over 25 years of experience in marketing the world’s most recognizable brands. Nancy earned a BA from Georgetown University and a Kellogg MBA.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Of course! Adaptability and comfort with change, a desire to give back and make a positive impact on the world, and the drive to continually learn, grow, and challenge myself are core tenets of my “backstory.”

I spent my childhood between Japan and Okinawa, moved to the U.S. when I was 12 years old, and moved to Michigan and New York. I attended somewhere between 7 to 8 schools before I went to college because of all the moves. As a result, I became very comfortable with change, landing in new environments, and quickly adapting. This comfort with change, and recognizing the benefits of change helped me in my personal and professional life.

My family also had core values around integrity, honesty, and contributing to make the world a better place. I recall one colleague describing me as a “truth seeker”…relentless in understanding and identifying the best solution — not the politically favored one. This “backstory” influenced me to make education, career, and life decisions that were not grounded in the pursuit of wealth or status but were more about mission, purpose, and how I might become a better and stronger person as a result of that experience.

I have an insatiable curiosity, a desire to learn continually, and a natural tendency to steer into, vs. away, from tough problems and challenges. Being comfortable has never been my modus operandi. Once I climbed one proverbial mountain or milestone, I found myself looking ahead and thinking, “What’s next? What’s a large and meaningful problem I can help solve.. .how can I push myself, yet again, outside of my comfort zone.” Ironically, in some ways — I find living outside my comfort zone IS my comfort zone.

The mountain I’m climbing now is, “how do I devote myself to helping people get better health and happiness through better sleep,” and how do we use the best of data, science, and technology to achieve this?

The desire to solve this problem manifested in dedicating myself to our new business, Proper. Proper is on a mission to help solve a complex issue that affects almost every person on the planet at some point: sleep. We aim to use the best of science, data, and technology to create a more personalized and holistic solution for better sleep and, ultimately, better health. Our approach is modern, natural, safe, science-and evidence-backed. We’re not about one-off quick fixes, negative side effects, and one-size-fits-all solutions that proliferate in the sleep aisle today.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Funny enough, there is not one seminal moment that qualifies as the most interesting story. I think it’s the series of choices and decisions I made over time, where I took the less obvious path that delivered me to where I am today. The main lessons and takeaways:

Don’t be afraid to take what looks like the more challenging path. You are better than you give yourself credit for. 🙂 But always do what feels right, deep inside. Don’t take that harder path as defined by society — pick your own.

Surround yourself with the best people — people with shared values of integrity, honesty, commitment to the truth, carving new territory, and forging a better path. Find people who are unafraid, seek new challenges, and can share your impossible dreams. People that are humble, always eager to learn and evolve. The ones who respect others and the dignity of all people.

Listen and be open to change. Listen and get diverse perspectives, but make your own decisions. I’ve had people tell me I could or should never do x, y, or z. Well, I did, and they were wrong — honest from their perspective but didn’t fully know who I was. I also had people who encouraged me to do far beyond what I thought possible, and they were 100% right. In day-to-day interactions, if you are lucky enough to be surrounded by the best people — listen to them!! Evolve with your decisions and co-create with them. Everything will be better, as a result, I promise you.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I’ve thankfully not made a disastrous mistake, but I’ve learned from mistakes and based on that, suggest these two lessons:

Determine, for yourself, what constitutes success. Don’t let others or society define that. I found that doing things outside of my value system and adopting what society might have perceived as “better” (more money, more prestige) — was the wrong decision and one I had to quickly course-correct.

Trust your gut. Especially around cultural fit and values, when you evaluate new opportunities.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’m going to sound like someone getting an Oscar, too many people to thank, and I’d be deadly afraid of missing someone…but the person I’m most grateful to is my husband. He keeps me humble, laughing, loved, and enjoying life.

What’s that old phrase, behind every successful man, there’s a strong woman?

Well, in this case, it’s lovely for me to say that, like many of today’s professional women, I was successful on my own and paved my path with the help of good friends and colleagues. But now that I’ve been married for close to 18 years, I can say that being married to my best friend and supporter has been an essential part of my “success,” — which is about having a balanced personal and professional life.

When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you’re doing with Proper helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

This is what makes me the most excited! Getting good sleep is one of the best ways to achieve better health. The effects of a good night’s rest are immediate, and the impact of multiple nights and years of good sleep go even further.

Proper can literally help people live longer. There is no better mission that the Proper team and I, along with our amazing group of medical and scientific advisors, can dedicate ourselves to.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Get outside every day for at least a 10-minute walk. Clear your head. Feel the sun on your body. Take a deep breath.
2. Spend time with people you care about. Make an effort to have that conversation, even if it’s via phone call or text. Be present in your day-to-day interactions — life is short, and while positions and jobs may come and go, your family and friends are foremost.
3. Drink water. Drink water!!
4. Disconnect at night. Have a wind-down routine away from your work and the news, etc.
5. Of course — get a proper night’s rest!

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Get Sleep. (But there is probably some trademark issue with that!)

5 pieces of advice for those looking to start a new company?

1. Bring your best to your work and your team. That means taking care of your health. Eat well, drink that water, and yes — get that sleep. You’ll be clear-headed and rested as you absorb information and make critical decisions with your team. People are counting on you.
2. Listen, learn, and adapt. You will be inspired by and get fresh ideas by continually reading, talking to others, and more. Don’t ever think there is nothing to learn from X meeting or Y article. There may be that one spark that changes everything.
3. Know, love, and respect your customers. Stay close to their problems and needs. Understand them deeply. Always be looking for opportunities to improve and delight customers with the absolute best in your products and services.
4. Listen and learn from your detractors and enthusiasts — If you satisfy the most exacting customers, you’ll please almost everyone. Set that bar high for yourself. When I first heard, “feedback is a gift,” I didn’t fully understand it, but I now thoroughly embrace it.
5. People, people, people. Surround yourself with the best team — those in the company, agency partners, formal and informal advisors (you know who they are!), consultants, board members, and investors. That’s how you’ll win, be better and stronger, and ultimately be able to deliver against your mission.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Sustainability — from an environmental, social, and economic perspective. Let’s save the planet for our future generations; let’s have a social framework that allows all people to be healthy, happy, and secure. Let’s be sure that all people have access and the ability to enjoy financial security to be healthy, happy, educated, and safe.

At Proper we have embraced sustainability in our packaging (you get your first shipment in a glass bottle, subsequent shipments are sent in a recyclable, food-grade safe pouch). Our five-night sample package is also recyclable. We’re also working on a give-back program and evaluating becoming a public benefit corporation.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I doubt anyone wants to know what restaurant I ate at, so the best place to follow me is on LinkedIn. I’d also check out our Proper handles for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter– that’s where you can see the progress the Proper team is making on our mission to help people get a better night’s sleep — for the long term.

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Women In Wellness: Nancy Ramaurthi of Proper on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Agnieszka Burban on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Being “selfish” in a good way, is actually putting ourselves first and a huge part of self-love. If you can’t put yourself first — why would you expect anybody else to do that for you? When I moved into my ex boyfriend’s house I lost my basic needs- the need for being in a quiet home environment. Remind yourself that your needs matter. If you cannot meet your needs; neither will your partner.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Agnieszka Burban.

Agnieszka is a psychotherapist trained at the prestigious Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience in London. She is the ‘Lasting Love Expert’ for women and an author. She created her first happy relationship in her early 40´s, a story she described in her recently released book, “Wild Wise Women” which received 40+ straight 5-star reviews and became #1 bestseller in multiple categories on Amazon.

With over 10 years of experience, she has helped hundreds of clients create happy, lasting and safe relationships. Her teachings and programmes comprise cutting-edge relationship psychology with a unique energy system designed for those who want to experience a radical breakthrough in their love life.

Agnieszka has an international clientele, working with women over 30 in order to help them tap into their inner power to create the exact relationship they desire regardless of their age, parental or financial status, or previous experiences in love. She shatters the common misconceptions around the challenges in online dating, and helps clients reverse the life-long patterns in love so they start to attract emotionally available, conscious partners “for life”.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

With pleasure! I have always been an ambitious and determined woman who has done very well academically and professionally. I have travelled the world and had the most satisfying social life. Yet, despite all the “external” success, and I guess not the worst looks, I always ended up in relationships which were making me feel anxious, unfulfilled and … very, very lonely. I was attracting men who refused to put me first, (often not even second, or third!). All of my relationships would start with a big spark, and end up with me crying on the kitchen floor, feeling extremely anxious, lonely, and hopeless about love. I used to dream about the simplest things: to come back home and feel safe knowing that my man is there and is happy to see me again. I wanted to have “movie nights in” with him and share meals talking about our days. I wanted to have someone who would be my…rock, my cheerleader, my biggest supporter.

My reality? I felt trapped, walking on eggshells in my own home. Every time I would go through a challenge in my life — say, low mood, or a stressful time at work, my partners would pull away from me. I recall a period of time whilst living in London when I was very unwell. I could not walk up and down the street as my energy levels were that low. I was tied to the sofa during the day, and to my bed at night. I had to cancel our holiday. His response? Devastation. He turned to alcohol for comfort. I was … spoiling his time off. This became a recurring pattern not only in this relationship, but ones to come.

At 40, I found a man who seemed just perfect. After one year of flying between London and Sweden, I eventually left the UK and moved in with him. Here, I hit a crossroads. My heart was broken, when my “soulmate” broke up with me right after New Year’s Eve, 8 months after my move to Sweden. I ended up being practically job-less, in a foreign country with hardly any social support network. I was depressed and had trauma symptoms after the break-up; images from the relationship kept replaying themselves in my mind and I remember having a constant heaviness on my heart.

A few months into this post-breakup stage, I attended a live event in London hosted by the famous relationship guru Katherine Woodward Thomas. Shortly afterwards, I signed up to become trained as a relationship expert with her and her team. Across time, I could see my life shifting — changing from inside out. My intention back then was to meet “the one” by the 30th December. I was so anxious, I didn’t sign up on a dating app until the 28th! I still remember sitting in a café holding my phone in my shaking hands and uploading my profile on Tinder. The “one” crossed my path exactly 6 weeks from that day, and we have been together ever since. One thing I know for sure is that it wasn´t a “coincidence” or “chance” or “luck”. I attracted a loving and conscious man for whom I am a priority, as he was a direct reflection of the internal changes within me.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Whilst I was in my intense training to become a Love Expert, I had a trainee client called Doreen. Doreen was a beautiful women in her 50´s who had never experienced a happy, lasting relationship. Her previous partner was a narcissist, therefore her self-esteem had been flattened.

She found herself attracting avoidant men, who distanced themselves as soon as it became clear she was looking for a secure and long-term relationship. I confess I thought,“how would she ever break through her blocks in love if she is making such basic mistakes in dating?”

Yet, I trusted my process, and following her completion of the programme, she emailed to say she had thought she found “the one”. Doreen confirmed that she had spent her Christmas with the man who truly was a reflection of the Love Fulfilled intention we set at the beginning. Her success made me realise the energetic process I took her through brought tangible results, and that we truly can reverse the old patterns in love regardless of our age. There is a huge difference between reading about it, and actually seeing it unfold right in front of you.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

As I was commencing my training as the ‘Lasting Love Expert’, I was dating a man who was completely misaligned with my intention. I was charmed by him and the natural flow of our conversations. However, I soon realised that I was not able to apply in practice what I was actually learning on my programme. I was looking for “the one”, which he saw as unnecessary pressure and ‘labeling’. It turned out he was yet another classic example of an ‘avoidant man’; someone who would feel uncomfortable with prolonged emotional closeness, would place blame on their partner for any misdemeanor, and as a result would distance himself. When the accusations became blatantly overwhelming, I woke up to the truth of what I needed to do, and why this man crossed my path. I understood that he was a blessing in disguise. I had to experience someone who was “pushing my buttons” to unblock my squashed voice, to learn how to say, “no, I do not agree with this, I do not want this, this does not feel right”. It created a key shift in my consciousness which later on contributed to finding the real “one” very quickly.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There were many people who helped me get where I am now, but when it comes to overcoming all the blocks in love, I am most definitely grateful to my biggest teacher, Katherine Woodward Thomas. She helped me understand that all the experiences that come our way, are exactly the ones we need. Without knowing the principles of energetic, we don’t know how to use our challenges to our advantage.

This means that we often don’t know how to “decode” them in the right way, so they add to our growth rather than make our world “shrink”. It is thanks to Katherine that I understood why breakups happen, and how to completely transform the pain and disappointment from a breakup into source of our internal power. During my training with Katherine a lot of concepts became clear to me: I began to understand the huge correlation between our attachment pattern and why we get drawn to people who cannot give us what we want. It started to make a lot of sense to me why I, with my originally anxious attachment pattern, was attracting narcissists. I also discovered that some of my past behaviours belonged to the category of love addiction (to my even greater surprise most of our cohort discovered that too being as surprised as I was) and co-dependence, both being far more common that one might think. Without so much exposure to so many vital concepts about love, I wouldn’t be now in a happy, safe relationship.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I am lucky due to the fact that I chose to work online from the very beginning. This means I can reach many women from all over the world. My clients are scattered across the globe, yet they all have similar issues within their love life: disappointment, hurt and hopelessness. Many have nearly given up on the idea that one day they might have the relationship they have always wanted. What my work gives them is hope that every single person can have a happy, fulfilling relationship. I can say this with certainty, as we single-handedly create every single experience in our life. Once my women understand how they (unintentionally) created all the past painful relationships, they begin to understand how they can “reverse” the pattern and how much power to create what they want is actually in their hands. 100% of it.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1.The consequences of this are absolutely devastating. It is not just “a way of thinking” or “seeing the world” — it is a way of being. The way we are, will translate directly into what comes into our life.

By example, following a breakup, people usually hold on to a lot of anger and resentment towards the ex-partner. This is completely understandable, and pain needs to be felt after a breakup. It is also perfectly natural to experience a sense of loss and grief. However, holding on to anger and resentment for months and years after the breakup is whole different story. It’s like having a hole in a roof, eventually the rain and cold will corrode the building from inside out.

2.Ask yourself the question “What is my part in it?”

In my last relationship, I suffered a lot of anxiety and eventually depression. What contributed to that was the fact that I lived in an environment which was completely unsuitable for my sound sensitivity. My ex-partner had a small, open-plan house where every single conversation would be echoing everywhere in the house. When I asked myself: “How did I contribute to the outcome of this relationship?”, the answers became very clear. I turned a blind eye to the fact that the house was unsuitable for me. Deep down I knew it was not the right place for me.

3.Saying,“selfish” here, I do not mean being selfish in a bad way. Being “selfish” in a good way, is actually putting ourselves first and a huge part of self-love. If you can’t put yourself first — why would you expect anybody else to do that for you? When I moved into my ex boyfriend’s house I lost my basic needs- the need for being in a quiet home environment. Remind yourself that your needs matter. If you cannot meet your needs; neither will your partner.

4.Often, you will not consciously realize that you are in control of your love life. You might not even feel reading the sentence “I don’t matter” that it has anything to do with you. In order to create a happy and lasting relationship, you must remove these pre-conceptions, not simply with hypnosis, meditation, affirmations, but with a true belief system. We need to clear the belief and the corresponding behaviours, then install a new belief and the new corresponding behaviours.

The best way I could describe the importance of this element is this: everything we experience in life is a direct reflection of our subconscious beliefs. You could compare those beliefs to the operating system in a computer. What you can get out of the computer depends on that system. Our subconscious beliefs are a bit like the strings on a marionette; the puppet will dance according to how the strings are pulled. Having said all that, this is actually good news, because it means that we do have the power to influence what experiences come into our life. And who comes into it too. Once I had cleared my own subconscious beliefs and installed beliefs on the new ways of being, it took me literally 6 weeks to attract my current partner (on Tinder!).

5. I often see screenshots made by women from their conversations with men on dating apps: “What did he mean by that?”, “Does it mean that he is a low-effort man?”, “How do I respond to that?”

I teach women how to use the ‘Connection Language’: communication that fosters connection with a man without compromising our true expression or concealing our feelings. For example, if a man invites you on the second date to his house for dinner, and you feel it is too early for that, then simply say: “I had such a wonderful time with you at our first date and I am really looking forward to getting to know you better, however I do not feel comfortable coming to your house yet. I would feel more at ease if we met somewhere in town. What do you think?”. This way, you have expressed your feelings, your boundaries, and your preferences in a way which is receptive to another person. Communication is also the Number 1 reason why we have such a high rate of divorces these days so I would say, ‘let’s all learn it!’

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would call it probably the ”DOING ME” movement. A huge part of our human mind is still set in the tribal consciousness which fears rejection from others. Back in the day, it made sense as humans had to focus primarily on safety and being expelled from the tribe meant danger or even death. These days we do not have to be afraid of death if someone doesn’t like us or doesn’t agree with us, yet the fear or rejection or criticism is usually immense.

Are you talking to your friend for one hour twice a week when, in fact, you would much rather have some “me time” and rest after a long day? Or you say, “yes” to your date suggesting a dinner date in his house because you fear what he will think of you if you say, “no”? These are some common examples of how we mould our behaviours into other people’s expectations. It always backfires.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

Progress and expansion always come from getting out of your comfort zone and doing the things we fear most doing. I have recently had a client who turned from a doormat to a powerful Queen of a woman in a very short period of time. She was bullied by her manager at work, her sister was being obnoxious towards her, and the date she really liked was being flaky. We simply tapped her into her power and from that place she stood up to her boss, told the date what she really needed from him, and set up boundaries with her sister. She now has an assistant at work personally allocated to her by her manager (who is now very polite!), there are no more issues with her sister, and she is seeing a new man who is super consistent and attentive. Et voilà!

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health.

Having worked as a psychotherapist for years I can see how a change in our mindset, and changes in the way we do things can literally change the course of our life. I have witnessed many people come out of their mental block and reach their greatest potential. When it comes to love, I think people often give up too fast without even reaching for support. There is no pattern that cannot be undone once we have decided, “I will do anything it takes to make it work”. There is a huge difference between wanting something, and deciding it will happen. Becoming an Olympic champion doesn’t happen from saying, “I want to be an Olympic champion” and doing no training every day or having a diet of fast-food meals. You have to pull all your mind power, will power, and all your efforts into becoming what you want to become.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

My website is undergoing some new developments, so check out my Facebook for all the latest information from me.

https://www.facebook.com/agnieszka.burban

https://www.linkedin.com/in/agnieszka-burban-267179153/

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Agnieszka Burban on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Kelly Ryan of ‘Anchor Meditation’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Love yourself. Forgive yourself for things you didn’t know at the time. The most important relationship in the world is your relationship with yourself. Morally, the more power you have over someone, the greater your duty is to use your power benevolently. Who is the one person in the world you have the most power over? It’s your future self. You hold your life in your hands, and what it will be depends on how you care for it.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelly Ryan.

Kelly Ryan is founded Anchor Meditation in 2019 with the intent of sharing the benefits of mediation with others. Kelly is a Certified Meditation Teacher, Breathwork Facilitator and Reiki Practitioner and has trained more than 300 new meditation teachers. Her meditation studio is based in San Francisco, but her classes and practice are now available virtually (due to the closure of the studio); she has provided meditation services to more than 5,000 people in-person and is guiding more than 5K virtual mediations for members post-COVID-19.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

My career had been firmly in commercial real estate for about 16 years. While I enjoyed my work, there was some lack of meaning in my day to day lifestyle. I am married with two wonderful children, but I still felt something was missing. I also began to suffer heavily from the effects of psoriatic arthritis. In an effort to help with my arthritis, I traveled to Miravale Resort in Arizona and had an epiphany during some meditation sessions with some amazing teachers there.

I began my journey as a student of meditation on that trip in March of 2017. As I continued to learn more about meditation and feel the positive effects on my own sense of purpose and my arthritis, I wondered why meditation wasn’t more widely practiced, spoken about, or offered. I realized that San Francisco, a city which I have always considered “cutting edge” did not have any non-secular meditation spaces or offerings. Meditation was cloaked in religion or in exclusive faraway places on the coast, but not available and easily accessible as far as I knew at the time for “a normal” person like me.

As I healed, I became very focused on finding a way to offer meditation in all its forms to everyday people. I spent over a year researching meditation studios in New York, Los Angeles and retreats like Spirit Rock, and 1440 Multiversity. I started Anchor Meditation in February of 2018 as a pop-up with a few classes per week. Then in October of 2018, I found a space to build out a full time meditation studio. The studio did well and Anchor’s offerings spanned a wide range of regular classes, special events, teacher certifications and workshops. Anchor was thriving and then COVID-19 changed our reality. Anchor has transitioned all our classes and workshops to digital formats. The expansion into digital is a significant advancement in the business, and we hope to begin growing our physical studio business again as we enter 2021.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

The most interesting story that happened to me is my personal growth. Entrepreneurship is a great teacher, and I didn’t realize how many lessons I’d learn on this journey!

I have learned that meditation is so much more than quieting your mind. In fact, you don’t have to quiet your mind in order to gain the benefits meditation offers! I’ve learned to be less reactive and able to respond from a centered space of calmness. I’ve learned to build resilience and mental focus. I’ve increased my ability to self-regulate negative emotions.

I have experienced an increasing ability to accept what life is showing me with trust and without resistance. I have learned to be the master of my mind and not a servant. I have learned to be led by my heart and intuition, rather than fear. I have learned to express myself with love in uncomfortable situations.

I have learned to turn towards myself and to be curious about the lessons life is showing me. Most of all, I’ve learned to love myself, and this allows me to experience greater freedom and authentic happiness.

I have learned that meditation is an exceptional tool for navigating challenging circumstances. It has helped me navigate 2020 and all of its lessons with a greater sense of ease and an ability to be happy at the same time I am experiencing tons of uncertainty.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I’ve had to grow in my relationship with myself, and I am committed to make meditation simple and accessible to everyone so they can learn to love themselves and life. We do this by teaching meditation and mental well-being in a nourishing (online) environment with world-class certified meditation teachers.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I first started the business, I was unsure if I would ever teach myself. I was confident I had what it takes to operate a business, but I was not confident about my own knowledge and ability to share meditation with others.

I began searching for meditation teachers because I was meditating using an app, but as often happens when one is new to meditation, emotions I had not “dealt with” arose. I felt I could use some support, because I recognized that some negative self-talk and stories of wishing the past was different or better than it was, and that was preventing me from experiencing the fullness of life. I was especially motivated because I want to be an example of what’s possible to my kids, and hope that in pursuing my passion and happiness I will give them permission to embrace their own.

I began to find teachers from various backgrounds and traditions, and each of Anchor’s teachers embody a different aspect of qualities I admired, but needed some guidance on how to embody it myself. Because I love and admire each teacher so much, there were many times along the way I found myself in a repeated pattern of “being disappointed” by some of them along the way.

I believe life is reflecting back to us what we need to learn, so when I noticed a repeated pattern of disappointment, I asked “what is this hear to teach me?” When I turned towards myself with curiosity, I realized that I was putting the teachers up on a pedestal! Thinking that they were “further on their journey” than me, and therefore “above me” in some way. I have come to realize that we are all human, and we are all learning different lessons. We are all teachers and students to one another.

Recognizing this helped me have more compassion towards myself, and gave me hope that perhaps I could one day become a teacher myself! I realized didn’t need to be perfect or completely enlightened to be a teacher, and I could still help uplift others by sharing what I do know, and have learned that’s helped me. Now I teach the lessons that I needed to learn along the way, and each of the other teachers do the same! There are so many wonderful meditation practices based in ancient wisdom and modern science, and I am thrilled to be part of our incredible team of teachers who are making meditation accessible so more people can experience the same benefits we have!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am eternally grateful to my teacher Mandy Trapp. Mandy is the Lead Educator at Anchor Meditation, and the Founder of Lifestyle Meditation. I admire her for many reasons; she is exceptionally open-hearted, authentic, knowledgeable and unconditionally loving.

I am so happy to have been a student in the 200 hour meditation teacher certification she led at Anchor Meditation. She is the most unconditionally loving person I have ever been in relationship with. She has mentored me, encouraged me to grow, been an example of choosing love over fear in every situation (not to mention surrendering and being led by her heart!) and stood by me and demonstrated extreme generosity and friendship.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I know we have made a large difference in many of our students’ lives. We have many anecdotes from students about how meditation has helped them overcome so many of life’s challenges. Our hope is to grow Anchor to a much larger audience to offer meditation and be a guide to accessing the great benefits of the practice to as many people as possible.

In digital formats we have met and offered meditation services to students as far away as Chile, South Africa, the United Kingdom and many states across the U.S. The majority of our members reside in Northern California, but we hope to grow our memberships to be as large as possible worldwide, because meditation is good for everyone!

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

While some of these tips may seem simple, there is a reason they are so often emphasized in mental health. They work! You just have to do them on a consistent basis. Like a workout, you can’t just do it for a few weeks and hope for an immediate six-pack. You have to integrate mental health into your routine on a daily basis.

1. Breathe: Breath is free and always available. Breath is your anchor to the present moment, and a bridge that connect you from the external world outside of you (all its demands, other people’s opinions, and information overload) to the world inside of you that is invisible and formless, but powerful. Science demonstrates that slowing your breath to 6 breaths in and out each minute has a remarkable impact on your well-being. That’s breathing in through your nostrils to the count of 5, and out through your nostrils to the count of 5.
2. Meditate: Meditation helps you notice how your mind works when you’re not looking. It allows you to observe which neural pathways you’re strengthening on a daily basis. By learning to sit quietly, you start noticing your mental habits. This opens up a space from which you can change them. When you realize that you can change the conversation inside your head, you discover a tool that can be used to transform your whole life — the power to consciously direct your attention.
3. Keep a gratitude journal: Gratitude has been shown to positively affect well-being. In one study, participants who wrote letters of gratitude for three weeks reported significantly better mental health 4 and 12 weeks after their writing exercise than those who didn’t write at all or wrote about negative experiences. So how exactly does gratitude improve your mental well-being? It takes your brain’s attention away from the “potential threat” that your mind is so stressed about and places it on what is already good in your life. This relieves stress and creates a space from which you can see things in a new way.

If you don’t feel like keeping a physical gratitude journal, consider downloading a gratitude app.

4. Spend time in nature: The benefits are tremendous and helpful in restoring balance. It only takes 10 minutes of being in nature before your stress levels start dropping. Take a short walk or just sit outside in a natural setting for a few minutes — even if it’s in your backyard!

You can benefit from reduced blood pressure and heart rate while also improving your mood! As you step outside, decide to be more present by noticing your environment with all your senses. Tune into the chirping of the birds. Feel the sun on your skin. Notice the different shades of green amongst the trees and plants. As you take in all of this refreshing sensory input, feel what it means to be alive in your body in this exact moment.

5. Connect with others: Research shows that social connection improves our ability to recover from illness and increases life expectancy. The opposite is also true. Isolation and loneliness puts us at a greater risk for early disease than smoking! Connecting with others helps us know that whatever we’re going through, we’re not alone. As soon as our mind recognizes that there is hope of going beyond the current “problem,” it feels relief. This relaxation helps flush out some of the neurochemicals of stress.

Interacting with others can also help us see our problems from fresh angles. We may be able to uncover a solution to a problem that we ourselves would have never thought of. We are wired to help one another heal — not just physically, but also mentally.

Integrating at least one of these practices into your life on a consistent basis can help boost your well-being as your stress levels go down. Anchor Meditation offers a FREE Sunday evening class every week — it’s an easy way to integrate at least two of these practices into your daily routine.

Join us at Anchor Meditation for daily live online meditation classes. Sign up for a FREE Sunday evening class here so you can get your calm on today!

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Anchor Meditation is on the path to becoming a movement itself. Our goal is to make meditation less intimidating, easier to access, and easier to understand for anyone who is seeking the benefits of less stress, better sleep, more focus and a clearer understanding of our own minds. We believe that Meditation can greatly reduce the world’s stress and anxiety and we hope Anchor can provide a pathway or doorway for people to access all these great benefits of meditation.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

There is so much I wish I knew before I started:

1. Done is better than perfect. I can’t recall where I learned this. This simple mindset shift helped me see the benefits of completing projects without worrying about perfectionism.

2. “Everything is figure-outable” — I took a great course called B-School by Marie Forleo, and she shared this motto she learned from her mother. So much of entrepreneurship involves figuring out how to do something new, and having this on repeat in my mind has been a tremendous help!

3. Love yourself. Forgive yourself for things you didn’t know at the time. The most important relationship in the world is your relationship with yourself. Morally, the more power you have over someone, the greater your duty is to use your power benevolently. Who is the one person in the world you have the most power over? It’s your future self. You hold your life in your hands, and what it will be depends on how you care for it.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental Health is at the center of meditation and one of its key benefits. Meditation provides a range of tools to help deal with the world around us, understanding people and how their actions can affect our moods, focus and motivations. Meditation can help us appreciate, focus in the now, and not be stuck mentally in the past or in the future.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Instagram: @anchormeditation

LinkedIn: @anchormeditation

Pinterest: @anchormeditation

YouTube: @anchormeditation

www.anchormeditation.com

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Kelly Ryan of ‘Anchor Meditation’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Ilana Milstein of ‘No Excuses Training’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

More fruits and veggies/less processed food — this is the first step to take towards feeling better. Leave all diets alone as they are diets and not ways of life. Having years of stomach issues and eliminating certain foods from my diet, at the end of the day eating more fruits and certain vegetables and less processed foods have always made me feel better.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ilana Milstein.

Ilana Milstein is a Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor and the founder of No Excuses Training. Ilana teaches both one on one and group classes virtually and in person. She has combined both her practices in functional training and Pilates to create an effective workout available to all bodies and all ages. Currently, Ilana is also enrolled as a student in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to become a health coach.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Fourteen years ago, after just having my first baby I left my corporate career. As a mom, I needed something with a bit more flexibility. I had always had a love for exercise and a desire to help people and I thought I’d combine them into one by becoming a personal trainer.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

COVID hit and my practice fell apart. At the time I had three clients with injuries and the rest of my clientele couldn’t wrap their heads around seeing me virtually. Two weeks into quarantine, the principal of my children’s school reached out to me to see if I would, on a volunteer basis, teach the teachers a virtual Pilates class. All of a sudden, I had a following. Other non-for-profit companies got in touch with me and asked me to teach virtual “fitness happy hours” for their teams and soon I was teaching 5–6 hours a week. I loved it — I loved connecting to new people and having them engage their bodies in ways they never had. Since I started my business, I had never made so little money but it was the happiest in my career that I’d ever been. It made me rethink where I want my business to go in the future.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I made so many mistakes in the beginning, I’ve definitely learned from each one. A big first mistake was mentioning I had a 24-hour cancellation policy, but not having it in writing. One of my first clients was a lawyer and she reamed me out when she suddenly missed a session and I mentioned the policy. Going forward I set up a contract that needs to be signed by every client before our first session. I learned that twenty-four-hour cancellation policies are not mean, rather they hold people accountable. I hate taking money from my clients but having this policy in order means they are less likely to cancel and therefore, get a great workout.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Many — throughout my career I’ve always had a trainer myself and I have learned so much, both bad and good from them. I’ve learned that I don’t like when a trainer gives the same exercises in the same order in each session — I like variety and I don’t like knowing what exercises are coming next. As a result, I am constantly mixing up the exercises in my own sessions. Additionally, my personality did not always work with the trainers I hired and I know my personality does not work with all prospective clients. I think it’s important to meet with clients and asses if the relationship will work before diving in to the work. In the past seven years I worked closely with two female trainers who I look at as my mentors. They helped me perfect my form and during our sessions we really got into the science of the exercise. I will forever be grateful to them for taking me under their wing.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

As a trainer, my workouts are focused on all bodies. I have worked closely with people recovering from surgeries and injuries and gear my workout to all people. I wanted to create a non-intimidating way of movement accessible to everyone. My workouts do not leave you feeling depleted rather they make you aware of how you move your body in space and hopefully leave you feeling energized. I also feel that by focusing on the small muscles in your body there is a meditative aspect of my practice which allows you to be completely focused on the muscles and breath and takes you away from your stressors.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. More fruits and veggies/less processed food — this is the first step to take towards feeling better. Leave all diets alone as they are diets and not ways of life. Having years of stomach issues and eliminating certain foods from my diet, at the end of the day eating more fruits and certain vegetables and less processed foods have always made me feel better.

2. Love your movement — don’t punish yourself by going to the gym doing workouts you don’t like doing. Love the movement you do and know what you love now may not be the movement you love a year from now. . I used to love running, I ran two marathons — I needed it to clear my head. Fast forward to my forties and I have minimal interest. Running just doesn’t give me the same high it used to. I feel depleted after I run and enjoy walking and Pilates.

3. The above being said try slowing down. Cardio queens, and I was one, need to experience how their body feels when they are not always pounding the pavement or the spin bike. I spent years like this and realized during this time I could not engage my core and even always had a bit of a belly. Pilates changed all that. I was able to connect to my muscles more, and found enjoyment out of exercises that lengthened my body as well.

4. Have good relationships — Yes, that is included in wellness. Five years ago, my brother suddenly passed away. His death taught me life is short and there is no time for toxic relationships. While my circle of friends may have gotten tighter my friendships now only support me and build me up and I hope I do that to them in return.

5. Self-Care!!! We’ve all heard about it, and no its not only a massage or facial. Self-care is self-compassion, loving yourself and allowing yourself time and space to enjoy life and free yourself momentarily from your stressors. I find its best when it takes the form of a practice or ritual. For myself, it waking up early while everyone is still sleeping, doing some sort of movement and then enjoying my coffee and breakfast.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

It would be a movement of self-love. I think wellness can only start from there. One has to love oneself, not doubt, not compare, but start wherever they are at loving themselves and know they are worthy of change and worthy of betterment. Today so much of wellness is on social media comparing one’s elf, looking for the “right” answers or following what some influencer is doing. The path of wellness is extremely individual and looks different to different people but we all can start at this baseline of loving oneself.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Be confident in your product — for years I wasn’t because I felt like I needed a master’s degree in exercise to be a good trainer

2. Put a contract in writing before starting with each client

3. Don’t underestimate the power of social media — I was very late to the game as I was so nervous to put myself out there but I finally did

4. Create boundaries — for me that turned into setting a specific weekly time for each client and not winging the schedule week by week. As a business owner you decide the hours you work — clients can only take advantage of you if you don’t.

5. Love your clients — don’t stay with clients who deplete you. You deserve more. Also you will come to despise the 1–2 hours you spend with this person, which may not lead to the best workout from both you and from them.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health — having gone through depression and OCD as a teenager, I can only stress the importance of these issues. The importance of being heard, loved and supported in terms of dealing with mental health and how society as a whole need to embrace these issues.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

@noxcusesfitness on Instagram. NO Xcuses Training on Facebook

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Ilana Milstein of ‘No Excuses Training’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dr. Kylie Burton on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

VITAMIN D!!!!! So many people take this just because. But they aren’t taking enough. Instead of a maintenance dose of 2,000 IU’s/day, it needs to be 10,000 IU’s per day; especially if they struggle with anxiety or depression and/or the winter blues.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kylie Burton.

Dr. Kylie is a licensed chiropractor and a functional medicine expert who’s helped thousands of individuals with seemingly impossible health struggles, find answers, healing, and hope, even if they’ve been told their labs are normal. After getting suspended in medical school for refusing to fit inside the mold, she’s plowing a new path by teaching other practitioners (of all backgrounds) how to incorporate a better way of reading labs inside their practices. Her recent series of webinars for a supplement company, Systemic Formulas (who only dispenses to licensed doctors), has been viewed over 1,000 times leading to many seeking mentorship.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I grew up in western medicine. You felt a little sick, you went and got an antibiotic. I don’t think I ever took a supplement in my life until I was in my 20’s. Alternative medicine was a foreign concept to me. I’d never heard of chiropractic or functional medicine until I applied to become an assistant to a chiropractor right out of undergrad. I had a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and thought dairy was a good source of calcium. Little did I know.

His leap of faith in me forever changed my life. I knew absolutely nothing about what he did in his office. In fact, my first day on the job, I passed out in a treatment room with a patient! Thankfully he didn’t give up. And neither did I.

As time went on, I started to learn this entire new approach to health, to healing, to medicine, and it worked! It worked for those who nothing had worked before! But there was one problem: the doctor was male. I was female.

“Shhh, don’t tell the doctor.” I heard many times from women who would tell me all sorts of issues regarding menopause, fertility struggles, hormone chaos, low libido, the list goes on. Once they would share with me these issues and how what they’ve tried isn’t helping, they would always say, “Shhh, don’t tell the doctor.”

I truly believe the entire reason was because women don’t want to talk to a man about women problems. I know I would rather have an OB female or a midwife who is female. Nothing against men. It is just more comfortable talking to a girl about girl problems because she understands.

So I did a thing. I applied to chiropractic school. I figured, if these women were not receiving the care that they needed, I would go get that stupid piece of paper which allowed me to put a DR in front of my name so they could receive the care they needed. And I did.

4 years later, I began my own practice — because I knew the care that was not being offered, but was needed. And if I worked with or under someone else, I’d just be another doctor in their long story and that wasn’t okay with me. I want to be the last doctor people tell their current story to — I want to help them change it.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I remember the first time someone paid me to mentor them. I had been in practice for less than 2 years. She had been a nurse practitioner for over 20! Having been introduced to functional medicine through seminars, she knew this was the route medicine needed to go for chronic illness. So one of my patients was also one of hers. She first connected with me on social media. As trust was built, she reached out to me and after creating a roadmap, I started mentoring her in the ways of functional medicine.

But she had one problem: insurance. Insurance dictates care. Because she was unwilling to escape the insurance model, she couldn’t continue on with practicing functional medicine as it was too big of a roadblock.

My lesson: I learned the biggest factor for my success is having confidence in myself. I have no idea who’s watching and listening. All I know is that they’re listening. And one day I’ll get a phone call saying they’re ready and jump.

Second: if you truly want to heal, you must escape the world of insurance. People always ask me if I take insurance and my reply is, “insurance doesn’t take me because I get you out of the system.” When insurance dictates care, you stay in the system. After all, a patient cured is a customer lost.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My biggest mistake was believing that I needed a brick and mortar practice before I could start “practicing.” Thankfully I didn’t spend any fancy money on a fancy location. Instead, I got one that would suit my needs. The one thing I did spend money on was a brand-new chiropractic table with all the drop pieces. I lost over $1,000 selling it a few months ago as I no longer perform chiropractic work. I literally am a functional medicine specialist and no brick and mortar practice is going to keep me trapped.

Lessons I learned: don’t spend money on something you think you want right away. Spend money on what you know you want later. I had no idea a virtual practice was even possible until my mentor shared the concept with me. “What’re you gonna do when you have another baby? Shut your practice down for 3 months?

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I decided to drive 60 miles to my brother’s college track meet one Friday morning. Once it was over, mid-afternoon, my family and I decided to get dinner before driving home during rush hour traffic. We went to a restaurant we rarely attend — only on special occasions. But this was no special occasion.

My family had gone inside. I had stayed in the car so I could feed my baby before joining them. Tears were coming down my face as I had just found out my brother was having a baby girl. Less then 3 months previously, I had lost my baby girl at 20 weeks in pregnancy. So there I was, in the car, in an emotional state; when my dad knocks on the window.

“There’s someone here you need to come meet. He’s well-known in the functional medicine world.” A few names ran through my head. “Who on earth is in Provo, Utah, that knows functional medicine?” I remember thinking.

So I wiped the tears (though he could tell I had been crying when I approached him).

“Hey, I’m Dr. Greg Mongeon. I hear you just started your own functional medicine practice.” And so the conversation began.

What are the chances that his family was sitting at the same restaurant as my family was? Divine Intervention. My mom had just sparked a conversation and learned what he did, who he was, and success he’s had (both in business and with patients). From then on, he’s been my mentor.

Not only has he transform the way I run a business (from brick and mortar to completely virtual so I could be a mom), but he’s transformed my confidence in my own ability to be a doctor.

That’s who I’m grateful for. Together, we have taught in conferences, performed webinars, and joined each other’s podcast. It’ll be a lasting relationship and I wouldn’t be where I am today without his influence.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Chronic diseases affect more than 40% of American’s and over $329 billion is spent on prescribed drugs yearly. These drugs are meant to manage symptoms and are designed for people to depend on them to survive. The U.S. spends more money on healthcare than any other country, yet, out of all first-world countries, we are the sickest — with the highest obesity prevalence — and the trend is only worsening. 2/3rds of people who file for bankruptcy cite medical issues as a key contributor to their financial downfall.

I have helped thousands of individuals break free from the mold; get control of their health (which means their finances for many) and stop fearing the future. By helping them discover the WHY behind their health struggles, they can truly begin to live the dreams they’ve never dared to dream.

My one desire: empower more people to take action, to start thinking beyond the diagnosis, to gain hope.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. VITAMIN D!!!!! So many people take this just because. But they aren’t taking enough. Instead of a maintenance dose of 2,000 IU’s/day, it needs to be 10,000 IU’s per day; especially if they struggle with anxiety or depression and/or the winter blues.

2. Change your Mindset: stop searching for a diagnosis

The biggest problem with our healthcare system is that we are indoctrinated to find a “diagnosis.” Once we have a diagnosis, then we have answers. Wrong. Once we have a diagnosis, we have a label next to our name, and hence, a pill to take the rest of our lives. Our health does not change when we receive a diagnosis. All that means is our symptoms fall underneath an umbrella, which means they can now prescribe a medication to manage the symptoms. That’s it. A diagnosis tells you nothing about “why.”

3. Diagnosis: IBS. The real problem: SIBO.

“I had constant stomach aches and diarrhea. My stomach cramping was so bad it interfered with daily life. I felt so frustrated! I constantly went to different doctors and specialists looking for answers. I received many different diagnosis’ but little answers. But for the first time, Dr. Kylie looked at what was going on with the whole body and not just alienating the symptoms. With her help we finally got to the root cause. From the first treatment, things started improving. Within a week of starting the supplements I could tell a difference. Now life doesn’t revolve around food and bathrooms. I am very happy! I can go more places and not have to bring my own food or worry about being sick.” Mason, 14

4. Never give up, even if you’re told your labs are normal!

Problem: “normal” thyroid labs but she still had all the symptoms

“I’m one of those hot mess mama’s that couldn’t get a straight answer from my doctor about my thyroid. All my labs were normal and I was sick and tired of getting nowhere with every visit. My neighbor told me to try functional medicine so I found Dr. Kylie. Best. Decision. Ever. She transformed my normal labs into answers and a personalized supplement plan. It was less than a month in when I already noticed I felt generally better. My digestive problems were resolving. Joint pains were not requiring ibuprofen for survival. And my energy — even my kids and husband have noticed! If you’re thinking about reaching out to her, do it. You’re not only going to start saving money, you’ll get your life back.” Erin, 36. Keeping your home healthy is just as important as keeping your body healthy.

5. Is your home making you sick?

“I’ve spent my whole retirement on my health and it’s gotten me nowhere. I’ve done it all. Coffee enemas, check. IV’s, check. Naturopaths, functional medicine doctors, the best specialists in the world. And it has gotten me nowhere. Until Dr. Kylie asked me one simple question: Have you lived in the same home the entire time? We tested it and sure enough, my home was a very toxic environment. Less than 2 months later, after treating my home, I feel like a brand-new person! I wish someone would have mentioned this years ago — it would have saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of grief. I can now be the grandma I want to be!” Mary, 57

6. Lower your toxic load. Make one simple change in your house by removing a toxic cleaner and replacing it with a natural cleaner.

Returning home from Iraq and Afganistan left this vet with health problems he’d never dreamt of — and doctor’s had never seen. His muscles would seize throughout the day leaving him unable to work. And nobody could explain it. Well, as he started telling me about his experienced over seas, serving our country — I quickly deciphered what the issue was: toxins! In the two countries mentioned above, they have no sewer, no garbage system. The only way to remove things were via bomb fires. So imagine the smoke, the toxins, being inhaled!

“I have been working with Dr. Burton and Kellie for about a year. They are great! Dr. Burton is very personable, accessible and knowledgeable. She is treating some heavy metal problems from my time in the military and she has become quite good at it. I would highly recommend them.” Michael, 63

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Live Beyond the Diagnosis. Stop searching for one. Stop being one.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. How many people I would pay to help me build before paying myself. I knew the first year it would be like that. But I’ve almost completed year 3 and still haven’t paid myself. Patience.
2. How useless school is — I mean, I already knew that but it is frustrating to spend all the time and money and not do anything you learned in school.
3. It’s a marathon, not a sprint — with school you always had deadlines. You knew when something was going to be completed. Not in business. Not in clinical practice.
4. Patient’s will have adverse effects from supplements. You’ll need to navigate them through that. — I literally thought this wasn’t going to happen. But I’m getting pretty good at navigating and preventing (if I do say so myself).
5. Get a mentor ASAP — I wouldn’t be where I am today without my mentor. The right mentor is priceless.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Definitely mental health. I wish I could just shout to the world that there is a reason why your loved ones are suffering and seeing a counselor isn’t going to solve the problem; nor are anti-depressants. Discovering the true cause to why their body’s are in survival mode is. But people don’t know this. So suicide rates are increasing; especially right now with the pandemic.

It just always breaks my heart when I see posts on social media regarding suicide. It could all be prevented if people just knew how to help change mental health. That’s the power of functional medicine.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drkylieburton

Youtube: Search Dr. Kylie Burton

Podcast (spotify, podbean, and apple podcasts): Beyond the Diagnosis with Dr. Kylie

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Dr Kylie Burton on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Jou was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Vicki Mayo of The TouchPoint Solution: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

Healthy Thinking — So much of what we do, say and feel comes from our internal dialogue. If what we are saying to ourselves is negative, then the world around us will result in negative space as well. Like exercise, we must exercise our thought patterns. Say positive mantras, say positive things and over-all speak well about ourselves, others and our personal situations.

As a part of my series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vicki Mayo, founder and CEO of The TouchPoint Solution.

Vicki Mayo is a self-made serial entrepreneur and business powerhouse behind the TouchPoint Solution, inventor of a patent pending technology that alleviates stress in 30 seconds. A mental health advocate, Vicki founded TouchPoints to help children and adults regain focus, while reducing stress and anxiety to improve their lifestyle. As of 2020, Vicki has helped 12 Million people press and destress thanks to The TouchPoint Solution.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness?

I have always had a passion for fitness, wellness and mental health. Pursuing it both in my personal and work life, I would incorporate various wellness initiatives for my employees. And then in 2015, my daughter started experiencing night terrors. After a particularly rough night, I mentioned it to a mommy friend. She recommended a technology that she was working on. After the first night of using TouchPoints, my daughter’s terrors abruptly ended. I called her and said, it’s time to turn this into a business, I knew we had the power to help so many people. And we have. Since then, The TouchPoint Solution has helped more than 3 Million people press and destress.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

Since we’re speaking of health and wellness, I’ll focus on a story that relates to that field. When my husband and I started our contact center, I really wanted to incorporate something that was going to meaningful and set us apart from the rest. After reading the book, we decided to begin the Dream Manager Program. The Dream Manager Program helps our employees achieve their dreams by keeping them accountable to actional steps to making that dream come true. A few months after we started the program, I heard of a young man that had been a refugee after his country was war torn. In the midst of leaving his country, he had believed that his sister had succumb to the violence. Through a friend, he discovered that indeed, his sister had survived. He hadn’t seen or heard from her in 10 years. So, I worked to reunite the long-lost siblings to make his dreams come true of a reunion. The result was beautiful. And that was 12 years ago — that employee is still with us and still thanks us for making his dreams come true. There are so many other interesting dreams but that being the first and so pivotal, sticks with me always.

Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?

It’s not funny in the comical sense, but when we launched — we grew fast. Like, really, really fast. We didn’t have an office yet, so we were doing everything out of my home. And then, we couldn’t keep up with the orders! So, there we were, my young kids, my husband, my mom, my friends, everyone I could find — helping us pack and ship orders. It was chaos! And boy, was I using my TouchPoints to destress. At the time, it was overwhelming, but looking back — it’s funny. It’s funny that we thought we could do it all. And although we did, it was a challenging experience. As I look back on it, I would have prepared for that success. Had an arsenal, a back-up plan shall that happened to us, so we didn’t have to rush and cause unnecessary stress.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

The TouchPoint Solution’s products TouchPoint for Calm and TouchPoints for Sleep help those with anxiety and stress to decrease said stress and anxiety in 30-seconds. Our patent pending technology works to alter your stress response from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System. In latent terms, no longer does stress engage your fight or flight response, instead it taps into your more logical and peaceful side of the brain.

With this technology, my unique contribution to the wellness field has been using technology to help aid in our mental wellness. I am STEM leader in my field and to be able to use that education and expertise to help others feel relief has been a dream come true.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Both my father and my husband are born entrepreneurs. They have shown how to fight the adversity of being immigrants to this country and achieving the American Dream. I started and sold my first business in my teens due to witnessing what my father was able to accomplish with only a few dollars in his pocket. When I met my husband and saw that he had that same grit that had been engrained in me, I knew we were a match. We bought our first commercial building before a home. I find myself to be so lucky to be surrounded by people with the same mindset as myself, as we can use that power to overcome so many adversities and still accomplish our BHAG’s!

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

We at the TouchPoint Solution believe that there are 6 Dimensions of Health. The first three are what you just mentioned: exercise, nutrition and sleep. But the other three are what a lot of people don’t always think about when it comes to health: Healthy Thinking, Healthy Relationships and Mindfulness. These three things are also what tends to be the main blockages to being healthy. If you can work on and refine your healthy relationships, thinking and mindfulness, the other three will come easily to you. We offer a variety of wellness tips, articles and other resources to help both TouchPoint users and our general community.

Can you please share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”? (Please share a story or an example for each, and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional and physical health.)

I touched into this a bit above but will go into more detail here.

1. Healthy Thinking

So much of what we do, say and feel comes from our internal dialogue. If what we are saying to ourselves is negative, then the world around us will result in negative space as well. Like exercise, we must exercise our thought patterns. Say positive mantras, say positive things and over-all speak well about ourselves, others and our personal situations.

2. Healthy Relationships

Read any relationship book, listen to any therapist and you will hear the same thing “cut toxic people out of your life.” Easier said than done when you don’t understand what is toxic about them or the relationship. When focused on a relationship being healthy — you’ll start to see what those professionals are talking about. Like your physical health, you have to work on relationships to keep them healthy — from dating your spouse, to intentionally spending time with your children, to setting boundaries with office relationships — it’s all work. But it’s work that makes a huge difference in your overall health and wellness.

3. Mindfulness

Mindfulness is in my blood and culture. But its impact is so great that it has incorporated itself into western culture and medicines. Mindfulness is about intentionality, being present in what you are doing and where you are. This can be refined through meditation practices — something I do daily. Have you heard the saying that depression is the past, anxiety is the future — but now, now is where we feel our best selves.

4. Stress + Anxiety Reduction

Okay — while healthy thinking, healthy relationships and mindfulness will help in reducing your over-all stress, it’s still something we must intentionally take care of. Whether it’s through a tech wearable like TouchPoints or through yoga, deep breathing, essential oil — your body will show signs of physical destress as a result of stress and anxiety. We as a society have to learn to control and overcome to have a healthier and happier life.

5. Movement

So much focus is on exercise — which is important. But what if we shifted that to movement. Than it wouldn’t be so overwhelming for so many people out there. We can’t exercise without movement. So instead of aiming for some crazy sweat-filled cardio sesh, instead we change the conversation to aim for thirty minutes of movement. Walk, play with your dog, go outside with your kids, dance while you prep dinner. Imagine how many more people would be healthy if we took the pressure off.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are 3 benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?

Better Stress Response: We’re all stressed. It doesn’t matter your career field or your economical situation, you’ve got something important to stress about. Move. Shake. Get your heart rate up. And that stress? It starts to melt away and you, you get to control how your body reacts to it.

Better Sleeping Habits: We’re a sleep deprived nation. But with regular exercise at the right time for your sleeping pattern, you can help sleep better and more sound with movement.

Better Mindset: It’s been proven that regular movement or exercise increases self-esteem. And with improved self-esteem comes healthier thinking. And with healthier thinking, comes all of the rest of the health and yearning to continue moving your body in a way that makes you look and feel good inside and out.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical?

Yoga: Great stress relief, full-body workout and is great for anyBODY , anyWHERE in their healthy lifestyle journey.

Meditation: You must also exercise the mind. Start with 5 minutes first thing in the morning (outside of your bed of course) and go from there. It’s amazing how clearer your mindset is.

HIIT: I’m a wife, I’m a mom and I’m a multi-business owner. I’m busy — so I love HIIT workouts. You can do them in a short period of time and still reap all of the benefits of a good, solid exercise routine.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

Fit Gurl: The Total-Body Turnaround Program.

I started this book at the beginning of quarantine and was able to keep myself accountable and feeling good in the time that the entire world was turned upside down. I did her daily workouts and followed the author (Mel Alcantara) on Instagram to keep it going when I was done with the teachings.

Outside of fitness, Deepak Chopra books have a significant impact on all aspects of life — particularily The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. I use his meditation practices and followed his 21-Days of Abundance for guided meditation.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Mental Health and STEM. I think there is so much still to be discovered. I recently started a Scientific Advisory Board, so we’re starting

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

“In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you” — Deepak Chopra

A reminder to always practice mindfulness and to always stay true to yourself — no matter what is going on outside of you.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

Deepak Chopra, I’ve met him once and would love to do it again.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

@vicki.mayo via Instagram

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

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Vicki Mayo of The TouchPoint Solution: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbei was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Lindsay Huelse of ‘The Fitt Cycle’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Hands down, the number one and first thing I always mention is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting helps with health and wellness on a cellular level without even needing to exercise or change what you’re eating… it’s just about changing WHEN you’re eating.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lindsay Huelse, Founder of The FITT Cycle.

Lindsay Huelse is a fitness expert, entrepreneur, and creator of popular female wellness app, The FITT Cycle.

As a Registered Nurse, Lindsay worked in the intensive care unit until 2018. As a geriatric nurse, she enjoyed educating the elderly on manageable ways to change their diet and reduce inflammation, something they’re not always willing to do.

After retiring from nursing, Lindsay energetically began a new journey in approachable healthcare, helping thousands of women transform their lives. Her experience as a nurse has given her the ability to understand health history and apply nutritional strategies in creating a versatile lifestyle for clients.

A retired nurse, Lindsay is now a certified nutrition coach and self-proclaimed “queen of carb cycling,” a regimen that focuses on alternating daily carbohydrate intake to promote weight loss and overcome weight loss plateaus.

The mission at The Fitt Cycle is to equip clients with the tools needed to ditch the quick fixes and create a sustainable lifestyle. With multiple features, including carb cycling macros and an in-app nutrition tracker for weight loss success; daily workouts and targeted training for the home or gym; an in-app guide to intermittent fasting with a timer to indicate when the fasting window is complete; a community to keep members accountable; and a library of more than 250 recipes, The FITT Cycle app is truly customizable for your health, wellness, and fitness goals.

Learn more about The FITT Cycle at https://thefittcycle.com/.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I started my “health and wellness” journey as a registered nurse graduating from Texas Tech University. I progressed to the ICU and took various step-down cardiac units. I love the ICU but it was more of saving that next life without having a chance to connect with the patient. I found myself wanting more, so I started to work for a local home health and hospice company. I started as a field nurse, treating people in their homes, working my way up the corporate ladder to the Regional Director of Sales for North Texas. If the Fitt Cycle was no more, and I went back into the workforce, I would go back to home health and hospice, I loved it so much. My only problem was that I felt like I was getting there too late; I could educate the patients on certain diets to follow, or movements to decrease exacerbations of their heart disease but it wasn’t really sticking. This is where I fell in love with teaching women the preventative measure, we can do early on to decrease the chances of us experiencing those chronic diseases. All along this “career” journey I was constantly learning new things about fitness. I obtained my personal trainers certification, small group fitness certification, and various nutrition certifications along the way. It really started to stick when I was implementing what I learned in regards to the science behind carb cycling and intermittent fasting, that women started to ask what I was doing, and how can I help them. I realized there was such a need to reframe women’s mentality around carbs and eating in general. So, I started my online business, originally as a 6 week program but with the foresight of knowing I would eventually want to build a mobile app platform for my program. I started my membership which helped to fund a multiple 6 figure mobile app build. That is also something I can proudly say, is that The Fitt Cycle is debt free and completely self made.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Experiencing the impact of COVID 19 has been the most interesting thing that has happened since I started my business. I have learned that pivoting and connecting with/keeping your customer/client’s best interests in mind, thinking of them as actual human beings and not just a number, and letting them know that we’re here to support them during this unprecedented time really went a long ways with continuing to create a platform build on trust and loyalty.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Wow! I sure do feel like I’ve made a lot of big mistakes along this short entrepreneurial journey but there is one that sticks out. When I was first starting my business I ended up trusting a few of the wrong people who completely took advantage of me, my company, and my platform. It taught me to be extremely careful with whom I allow in my inner circle and how I trust people with the intricacies of my business. I also look at it as a situation that was helping to build my character and helping me to become the woman and CEO that I want and need to be.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

As cliche as it sounds, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support and guidance from my husband, Jordan. I think a lot of women who start their entrepreneurial journeys don’t necessarily have a support system helping to build them up. From Day 1 when I was participating in other people’s fitness programs, he was always telling me I should create my own! And when I had my own, he was the one saying, “You need to make your program an app.” He has helped me to think bigger and longer term/end game, he’s always inspiring me to get more education, read more books, go back to school, get different certifications. He’s also very realistic and business minded and talks me off the ledge when I need it!

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I am truly on a mission to help women ditch the quick fix mindset and create a sustainable lifestyle, while also fostering a community where women can come together and support each other, cheer each other on, and have a judgement free zone while gaining their confidence back. Not just confidence in their body… confidence in themselves as a mom, a caregiver, confidence in their eating choices, etc. Training women NOW that food is fuel and it’s not bad… will completely change the conversation in front of their daughters and children at the dinner table, changing the way young girls view food, exercise, and their own bodies. I want to change the narrative.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Hands down, the number one and first thing I always mention is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting helps with health and wellness on a cellular level without even needing to exercise or change what you’re eating… it’s just about changing WHEN you’re eating.

2. I would also encourage someone to just get up and start walking. Walking is the most underutilized and underestimated fat loss tool we have. Not to mention the many mental health benefits it provides. And it comes natural to most of us. We just have to carve out the time to get those steps in. I would recommend starting at 8k steps a day and work your way up as you can.

3. Add in some sort of resistance training, whether it’s with bands or dumbbells or going to the gym.

4. Carve out some quiet time for yourself to set your intentions and goals for the day/week/year and write down what you’re grateful for today. I usually like to pick 5 things I’m grateful for every morning, big or small. And then at the end of the day reflect on everything that went WELL that day, rather than dwelling on everything you have to do the next day. Be present with what is GOOD.

5. In fact, we just wrapped up a free 5-day challenge involving all of these tips I mentioned, and we had women reporting a loss of over 7 lbs in less than 5 days!

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would like to create a #iamfitt movement where women get to define what success and being fit and healthy looks like to THEM. Not based on what society tells them “fit” “skinny” and “healthy” is.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

I wish that someone would have told me how detrimental to my mental, hormonal, physical and internal health quick fixes, diet pills, and deprivation diets are. I have spent YEARS reversing metabolic damage from all the trendy fad diets that came along in my younger years. This is why I’m so passionate about creating a sustainable lifestyle for women… not a quick fix that takes you’re on an emotional and hormonal roller coaster! So sustainability would have to be the big topic that is near and dear to my heart. If you can find a wellness lifestyle that you enjoy and be in for the long game. You will be so much happier!

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

The best place to find me is on instagram @lindsayhuelse or @thefittcycle

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Women In Wellness: Lindsay Huelse of ‘The Fitt Cycle’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Kelsey Kennedy of ‘Blossom and Stone’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Honoring your mind, body & soul everyday is very powerful. They are all connected so they all need to be in sync to create harmony and balance. I usually incorporate mediation, stretching and journaling into my morning routine.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelsey Kennedy of Blossom & Stone.

Kelsey Kennedy has been in the world of fitness and wellness for more than 10 years, helping transform thousands of women into stronger and more resilient versions of themselves. After opening her barre studio in 2012, Kelsey started to develop anxiety and began searching for a holistic remedy. Finding CBD was life changing, and through her own healing, she felt called to share her discovery with others. An astrology addict with a strong belief in the power of plants, Kelsey found a way to harness all the magic of each moon cycle with the amazing therapeutic effects of CBD into one little bottle, created in her home sanctuary. Enter Blossom & Stone, our new ritual for the everyday.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I’m born and raised a socal girl and after graduating college I did the most practical thing I could think of — I moved to LA to be an actress. While I was waiting to be discovered, I fell into a job at a barre studio called The Bar Method and absolutely fell in with helping women feel their best. In 2012 my best friend and I opened our own studio, which we still run today. A few years back I started to battle anxiety. Running a brick n mortar business is hard! A friend of mine introduced me to CBD and I started incorporating it into my daily routine. I saw such a positive change in myself that I felt called to share it with my community and that is how Blossom & Stone came to be.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Well I just launched in April of this year so I think the most interesting thing would be COVID. It’s been a real curve ball. Nothing has gone to plan this year but it has made me release some of my expectations and control and just go with the flow. More importantly, the pandemic has revealed that now more than ever women need support and community which is why I created Blossom & Stone in the first place.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I would say that the 2 biggest things I’ve been struggling with since our launch is comparing Blossom & Stone to others and trying to do too much. I think with social media it’s so easy to get wrapped up in what everyone else is doing and then try to “out do them”. I was fixated on other brands’ successes and thought I needed to add 100 products all at once. I took a breath(or a few), and realized it’s all about authenticity. Focus on staying true to our mission and everything else will fall in place.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’m very fortunate to have an amazing support system of friends and family. But I have to give a special shout out to my husband. When we started dating I was at a bit of a loss. He really supported and held space for me to figure out who I wanted to be. Patience is a virtue I don’t have, but he makes up for it :).

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Well I firmly believe that to do good for the world, we must do good for ourselves first. My hope is that Blossom & Stone can help women find time to take care of themselves, even just for a moment. Daily ritual is such a powerful tool to help relieve anxiety and help us be at our best.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. 5–4–3–2–1-GO: anytime I am resistant towards something (getting out of bed, a phone call, meeting, anything) I literally say “54321 GO!” out loud and just do it
2. Every morning before I look at emails or the gram, I do my morning rituals. Putting myself first allows me to set the tone for the rest of the day.
3. Get outside EVERYDAY, even just for 10 minutes. Coming back to nature is essential to standing grounded.
4. Honoring your mind, body & soul everyday is very powerful. They are all connected so they all need to be in sync to create harmony and balance. I usually incorporate mediation, stretching and journaling into my morning routine.
5. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t be too hard on yourself. There is always room to grow and improve. Give yourself some space and grace to get there :).

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would love to start a wellness summit membership for women. A mix of virtual classes, lectures, meetup groups, and retreats. Once we can be together again irl, I’d love to do these live all over the world. I’d also like it to be a sliding scale membership so that anyone could join and improve their understanding of wellness, regardless of their financial situation.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Don’t overthink it, just go for it!
2. You will hit bumps in the road but they are all learning lessons.
3. Staying authentic is the key to success. Don’t try to copy anyone else, just be you and your people will find you.
4. Lead from the heart. If you ask the question “Is this serving my community in the best possible way?”, and the answer is YES, then you are on the right path.
5. Create healthy boundaries for yourself. No one will be as passionate as you about your business but you need to create some space to take care of yourself so you don’t burn out.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was in 1st grade and ever since it has really taken a toll on my self esteem and self worth. Being put on numbing medication with no real understanding of why can make you believe you are not intelligent. Even after owning 2 businesses, I still have moments where I feel this way and I know it was a major contributor to my anxiety. I think it’s so important that mental health and learning disabilities be discussed and normalized at a young age. That there are no right or wrong ways of learning, just different. And they should all be championed. I firmly believe we all have such unique and magical gifts and they should be nurtured as much as possible.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

You can follow this little business on @blossomandstone and my personal page @kelseymegankennedy

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Women In Wellness: Kelsey Kennedy of ‘Blossom and Stone’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Joi Sumpton of ‘Step n Wash’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

I strongly believe in the Laws of Attraction. I listen to podcasts about manifesting success at the start of every day. I believe in the power of mindset. I did not finish college and was constantly told that only people who go to college will be successful. I worked hard, saved money and wanted to start my own successful business. I knew I could do it. It took seven years before I was profitable, but it happened.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joi Sumpton.

Inventor Joi Sumpton created Step ‘n Wash — the first and only self-retracting step that enables children and short-statured people to safely reach the sink and soap dispensers to wash hands properly in public restrooms — as she, like most parents, struggled to get her two young children to wash their hands properly outside of their home. Today, Step ‘n Wash can be found in thousands of businesses all over the United States and Canada — in places like Disney, Costco and The Home Depot — and it has been particularly useful as businesses seek new ways to help customers stay healthy in the age of COVID.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I invented Step ‘n Wash — the first and only floor mounted step for children to stand on so they can reach the sink and wash their hands in public restrooms. I have always wanted to invent something. When I was in high school, I can remember dreaming of creating a product that everyone would use. It took a few more years than I thought it would, but I eventually did it.

When I started working on a prototype for Step ‘n Wash, I was working full-time as a flight attendant and I was the mother of a 2- and a 3- year-old. Starting a business requires a lot of money, which I didn’t have, so I took on a lot of debt to follow my dreams. A few short months after I started the business, my husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I can remember many nights laying in the fetal position, crying and feeling totally overwhelmed.

When I look back, I’m amazed that I was able to stay focused and march on, despite what we were going through. I remember feeling that I was “past the point of no return” and if I gave up on Step ‘n Wash, I would be in debt for years. I just pushed forward. My husband had surgery to remove the tumor and spent the next two years on chemotherapy. It was the ultimate balancing act — working for the airline, caring for my young children, ill husband and starting a business — but I had no choice but to push through.

Years earlier, I had opened a bakery that was not successful and lost a lot of money. Thankfully, I never quit my job as a flight attendant! I will always remember looking at my bank account and I was down to $100 at eight months pregnant. I was working two jobs and my business was failing. Closing the bakery was a devastating turn. It took time to get over this failure, but I knew that someday, I would start another company. I soon realized that failing at something was a survivable event, so I wasn’t afraid to fail again.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

The most interesting story with Step ‘n Wash was when I got a call from a mom whose daughter is a Little Person. Her daughter was out with her friends at a shopping mall and they went to the restroom. They found Step ‘n Wash in the restroom and her daughter was so excited that she was finally able to wash her hands by herself without needing her friends to lift her up. The story brought tears to my eyes because I had invented Step ‘n Wash to help young children — it never occurred to me that it would also give Little People independence to use the restroom. Today, schools all over the country have installed Step ‘n Wash to specifically to address the needs of students who are Little People. Often the district will start by installing Step ‘n Wash at the elementary school, then the middle school and then the high school so the needs of the student are met throughout their time in public school.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The biggest mistake I’ve made with Step ‘n Wash was when the first prototype was completed, I was so excited about how great it looked that I ordered 200 units so I could get out there and start selling. When the 200 were finished, I realized that there was a pinch-point on the unit where a child’s finger could easily be injured. I knew that if I was going to be successful that Step ‘n Wash would have to be 100% safe so I met with the engineers to see what we could to fix the problem. Unfortunately, to fix the problem meant having to change the design and those first 200 units went into the scrap bin…I was devastated. My enthusiasm to get started quickly cost me $18,000 — all borrowed. Now, whenever we make even a small design change, we always make one prototype and take time to review and conduct a lot of tests.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I owe a lot of my success to my husband. I have a lot of energy and want things to happen quickly. His practicality tempers my energy and is enormously helpful. He once woke me as he walked out of the bedroom in the middle of the night. When I asked where he was going, he said he’d thought of a new design idea and was going down to create a sketch. I’m always thinking of big ideas and don’t like dealing with production issues, which he always takes care of. Over the years, his ideas have helped to significantly reduce manufacturing costs and improve production time so we always have inventory.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

As a result of my hard work and determination to get businesses to add Step ‘n Wash, millions of children around the world have learned the importance of washing their hands. When children learn this habit at an early age, studies show that they’ll continue this into adulthood. Step ‘n Wash is now installed in thousands of businesses including airports, shopping centers, zoos, aquariums, restaurants, theme parks, hospitals, churches, grocery stores and schools.

Even though most parents understand the importance of washing their children’s hands, lifting a 35-pound child is too difficult so often they’ll just use hand sanitizer. While not quite as effective at killing germs as soap and water, the other problem is many hand sanitizers are alcohol-based, which can dry out and crack the skin on children’s hands. The CDC has said for years that the best way to stop the spread of germs and viruses is to wash hands for 30 seconds with soap and water (and recommend using hand sanitizer if washing with soap and water isn’t an option).

In the past ten years, Step ‘n Wash has been used over 1 billion times, including over 5 million times just at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. That’s a lot of germs that haven’t had a chance to spread and a lot of school sick days avoided.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

• I strongly believe in the Laws of Attraction. I listen to podcasts about manifesting success at the start of every day. I believe in the power of mindset. I did not finish college and was constantly told that only people who go to college will be successful. I worked hard, saved money and wanted to start my own successful business. I knew I could do it. It took seven years before I was profitable, but it happened.
• I used to work every day and felt that if I wasn’t working, I wasn’t trying hard enough. I soon realized that you can’t be fully productive if you’re exhausted. I now mark two days off every month on a calendar where I don’t do work of any kind on those two days. I call them ‘Joi days’ and I only do things that are for me.
• I exercise every day for at least 30 minutes while listening to podcasts on positive thinking and the Law of Attraction.
• I’m lucky to work from home, and take small breaks during the work day to work in the garden and gather my thoughts. The beauty of planting flowers and listening to the birds helps me to relax and enjoy being in nature.
• I’ve learned that if I’m starting to feel afraid or anxious, I should immediately write down all the things that I’m grateful for. I’ve read that when you do this your body can’t be anxious while your brain is focusing on things that you’re grateful for. I also find it helpful to list 5 things that I’m grateful for in the morning and another 5 at night before bed.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

If I could start a movement, I would like teachers to talk to children at a young age about the power of their mind. It may be a bit cliché, but I believe that people can accomplish anything that they set their mind to. I know that most teenagers are not very happy and would benefit from learning that they do have control over their life and ultimately their happiness. One of the most popular classes at Yale University is The Science of Well Being. I took the class this summer and it really helps to makes you think and have a better understanding of people.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

• In sales, keep pushing forward and don’t take “no” personally.
• That idea creation is the easy part — executing, selling and creating demand for the product is 100 times more difficult. Just because you’re passionate about your product, that doesn’t mean that everyone else will be. Over the years and even still to this day, I talk with businesses who tell me that adding Step ‘n Wash ‘just isn’t for them.’
• Work smarter not harder — you can work 20 hours per week and be very successful and can work 60 hours a week and struggle.
• When doing a sales call, make sure that you’re talking to the decision maker.

I was once on a sales call at a museum and the person I met with turned out to be a janitor. He stopped me mid-presentation to say he didn’t like our product because he thought it would make mopping the floors more difficult by having to clean around it. I went back to the receptionist and asked to meet with someone in charge. She found me someone and after I did a quick demonstration, he bought 12 Step ‘n Wash units for all the restrooms at the museum.

• This is something I continually work on: Ask more questions. You can always learn a lot from other people about what worked in their business and what didn’t. I was able to save money by just asking our accountant what other small businesses he works with are doing to save money. Sometimes people just go through the motions of their job and you need to ask question to make them think.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is the most important to me. Sometimes I’ll go weeks without knowing what is going on in the news. There’s so much negativity in the world and I can’t change a lot of it — so I focus on what I CAN control in my life.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Follow Step ‘n Wash on Facebook and Instagram — @stepnwash, https://www.facebook.com/StepnWash.

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Women In Wellness: Joi Sumpton of ‘Step n Wash’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.