Tag: Health

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62. Adult Health and Wellness, PG18

“The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness. “

-Arthur Schopenhauer

Oh, this was a fun one and the FIRST cast I give a mild adult warning to, this is more for the ears of an 18+ year old… but, if we are really honest, you could walk down any average high school hallway and hear far more aggressive speak (if you can crack the millennial language code #botox).

On this cast I welcome, Connie Pretula, a Certified Nutritional Practitioner, Menopause Mentor, Burning Man enthusiasts (does that could if you’ve gone at least once? I think so:), and all-around specialists in having fun, enjoying life, and seeking balance in all that she pursues. Connie is bold, open, and experienced and her willingness to share and be honest made for an amazing conversation that everyone can learn something from. Including the “healthiest” alcohol drink you can order, you guessed it, TEQUILA, and she shares why. Connie’s journey is a varied one, including a wealth of corporate experience, a body building contest at 51, and pivot into the entrepreneurial world, again, Burning Man (completely SOBER!?!), and all the angles on wellness and nutrition (for life, not just competition) that you can pack in between. Wellness is a balance of all things and Connie is the living proof: fitness, nutrition, sex, mentality, community, spiritually, and continuous evolution. Let’s just say a consultation with Connie is a one stop shop, haha… but seriously. Enjoy!

The all-natural “moisturizer” that Connie recommends. Fellas take note as well, it’s a team effort… Too much? Middle school is that way–>

Highlights

Questioning a better way… on ALL levels. Nutrition and wellness and sexuality. Libations, liberation, and being ok talking about our bodies and minds changing as we age. It’s never too late or too early to improve your life, try something new, or start over. Open your mind, your heart, and chase what you really want to do. Full body wellness and varsity spirit… and spirits.

Connie Pretula

Nutrition is the foundation of our health, as a Certified Nutritional Practitioner and Mentor for women navigating menopause, Connie Pretula guides her clients to better living through better food choices and taking time for themselves.
Experiencing first-hand the challenges of menopause and extreme pain due to adrenal fatigue, her passion is to educate and guide women 40+ to experience the restorative and therapeutic effects of nutrition along with incorporating lifestyle enhancements. Yes, you can feel amazing in menopause! 

While nurturing healthy eating habits, Connie also helps her clients understand the impact food, personal care products and lifestyle choices have on the planet. Her belief is that our health extends beyond our body, if we don’t do what is healthy for the planet, what we do for our body is of little value. 

Connie’s career has focused on personalized one on one consultations, she is a seasoned public speaker, former faculty of The Institute of Holistic Nutrition and life- long learner.
She lives in Vancouver BC and works with clients in-person and virtually. 

Fun Fact – Her passion for nutrition stems from personal experience and competitive body building at the age of 51. 

www.conniepretula.com

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@conniepretula

@menopausenavigator Are your customers raving about you on social media? Share their great stories to help turn potential customers into loyal ones.

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55. Pro Sports and Mental Health

Today I welcome Kris Beech, who had a 15-year professional hockey career including being drafted into the NHL at 18 and is now the Founder of AIM Mind Training in Canada. Kris shares his incredible journey as a widely sought out young athlete and managing the overwhelming pressures of going pro so young. Kris talks about his love for the game, the business side of it, and how his journey to dialed in mental health and mindfulness really began (from the inspiration of his Mom!). Over the 15 years Kris was traded numerous times, went from majors to the minors and back again, all while working to keep his personal relationships moving forward and his mental state in a safe space. It was no easy journey, but it did inspire Kris to establish AIM Mind Training, where he works with youth athletes to help flex the mental muscle alongside the physical one. Any great athlete knows, it absolutely takes the physical AND the mental to reach your full athletic potential, in addition to general happiness in life. This is an awesome cast for any athlete working to get to the next level (youth or adult) and seeking that mental competitive edge. Parents, if you have a young athletic star, this is also great for you (and your kiddo), be ahead of the game!

Highlights

Breakdown, breakthrough. A million-dollar contract before you’re 20? Adult pressures on a kid. Questioning a better way. Managing your love for the game in a business environment. Mental health, depression, and self-awareness, real solutions for real people. Life skills through sport. 

A Message from Kris:

Like any athlete, my love of athletics grew as a kid, and my desire to play was driven by pure enjoyment. I developed the greatest appreciation for the game of hockey, and I was fortunate that my skill, dedication and commitment to improvement allowed me to play in the NHL and have Like any athlete, my love of athletics grew as a kid, and my desire to play was driven by pure enjoyment. I developed the greatest appreciation for the game of hockey, and I was fortunate that my skill, dedication and commitment to improvement allowed me to play in the NHL and have a 15-year pro hockey career.  But my experience as a professional was far from always pure joy.

​Like any high-level athlete, there was a mix of success and adversity, and as I navigated that experience as a young adult, it became evident I was not prepared to handle the ups and downs in the mental game. I had unknowingly encouraged and solidified some thinking and behaviors that would all but eliminate my ability to enjoy the game I so deeply loved. The support I received from family and others around me helped me to realize I needed to make some changes.

After some personal research and exploration, I found training the mind in the form of meditation and mindfulness played a significant role in making those changes. Consistently training the mind enabled me to shift my thinking and make choices that uncovered my skill and ability to perform at my best and enjoy the game again. This period of my life had a significant effect on how I viewed athletics and helped me understand the importance of a proactive approach to taking care of the mental side of the game.

About AIM Mind Training

AIM Mind Training is a proactive performance and health system that creates a thriving student-athlete community.

Many things can take away from the true nature of sport and the ability to fully maximize potential, enjoyment and long-term development opportunities. 

How an individual interacts with the student-athlete experience is only part of the equation.

It’s the culture of the community our athletes are subjected too that will ultimately determine potential, enjoyment, and their ability to transition the student-athlete experience into many other aspects of life.

The result is a user that better understands who they are, what they want, the importance of community and how to approach life with a mindset suited for success, happiness and well-being.

● The system analyzes, guides and supports student-athletes, parents, and coaches.

● Provides a personalized approach to cultivating an optimal performance environment. 

● Uses cutting edge technology to determin the strengths, desires, and areas of needed improvement in each user. 

● User information is kept secure and anonymous.

● User information is used solely to enhance the effectiveness of the system for that user.

● The system assures each user is working with the coaches or counsellors that suit individual needs. 

● Creates positive shifts in mindset and leadership that allow our youth to flourish in any environment.

https://www.aimmindtraining.com

@aim.mind.training

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36. The Power of Connection: People, Work, Energy, Organs

The older we get, the more we see how it all connects… all of it! If you want to maximize positive output, you have to learn the balanced recipe of covering all the bases, as much as you can, in all that you do. That sounds overwhelming, but it’s really about pulling back and potentially doing less if you can identify what habits, behaviors, or beliefs are actually contradicting and delaying your growth, evolution, or gains in general. For example, you can follow a high end, elite training regiment, but if you fuel like crap and don’t sleep- it’s going impact the way you show up to work out. Thus, limiting your ability to perform and then impacting the overall progression of your growth as an athlete/competitor. It’s not about training more, it’s about training smarter and looking at a “whole life” approach to living in general… not just to train better and more effectively:). How can we pull back the curtain and see what’s really going on? To be a better athlete, spouse, business owner, person? If you are into health and wellness or new to the conversation, you quickly realize that addressing one thing only leads to another and you see how everything really connects. 

On this cast, I sit down with longtime friend and personal go-to for all things health, Dr. Missy Albrecht. I have known Missy for over 6 years and she has seen me through the thick of my competitive athletic journey, professional marketing/branding biz and so much more. We riminess of the good ol’ days of common connects (humans and beliefs) and the initial conversations and really helped propel both of our personal and professional missions. Missy shares her journey as a medical professional, entrepreneur, and human balancing science with energy and spirit in an evolving wellness practice field. If you are into human optimization on a very high level or looking to just wake up feeling better, this is a good listen. Little tricks and inside views are shared from a doc that has been around the block in many environments with a wealth of knowledge and experience to back the convo. Health, wellness, nutrition… it can be a lot and it’s so hard to find great voices to lead the way without a marketing agenda. Dr. Missy is your go-to. We scratch the surface on so many larger, deeper convos around overall health, but this cast is a great general intro to those bigger, more specific conversations… reach out to Dr. Missy accordingly:)

Highlights

All around health, wellness, and balance. Inner and outer health, mental, physical, and even organ movement? Harboring negative energy. Exuding positive vibes. The power of connecting. Human connection. Body and mind and organ connection. Movement is medicine, our muscles, our minds, our organs. The associate between stored energy and belief. Human and body support, it takes a village. The evolution of the environment, the career, the self. Filter your audience, maximize your impact. 

Dr. Missy Albrecht, PT, DPT – Visceral Manipulation, Physical Therapy & BirthFIT Professional


Dr. Missy received her doctorate in physical therapy in 2011from Mount St. Mary’s College and opened Invincible in 2014. She works with active people to help improve movement from the outside in and inside out. She has also trained extensively through the Barral Institute to help her clients with a full body healing approach through visceral manipulation, as well as non-toxic lifestyle education using doTERRA essential oils. You can learn more about Missy at www.StayInvincible.com & @stay_invincible

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13. Body, Mind, Spirit…Humanizing Your Brand

All things CBD! We cover all the good questions you SHOULD ask before you purchase something you’re about to put into your body…mind, and spirit! Being a Colorado native, you’d think KO knows a lot about CBD and anything to do with weed in general, not so!  KO sits down with Erba Essentials Founder, Briana Austin, and covers everything from sourcing, to dosage, to stigma around CBD. Did you know there is a difference between CBD and marijuana? Don’t laugh, most people don’t and will be disappointed they don’t get a high from CBD… but might be less inflamed:) Bri shares her path from her holistic upbringing Armenian roots to her deep passion for mental health (not to mention her master’s degree in it) and how her good practices in a mostly unregulated space are in place for long term, positive societal impact via CBD. Bri also shares how these core values stem from her family and their support- entrepreneurship is in her blood. Thanks Mom!  Major point of the conversation is around humanizing your brand, bring transparent with what’s in your product and who is behind it. How refreshing! We discuss the impact of CBD and the traditional medical and pharmaceutical space, the audience that should be taking CBD, and why it might be ideal for your pet AND your kids?! It’s all about responsibility, as a business owner, consumer, and human being.

Highlights

Quality> Quantity, responsibility, marketing and supplements, the right fish> the big fish, questions to ask when buying CBD, holistic healthcare, inflammation, help with sleep, pro sports and retired athletes, seeking the truth and voting with your dollar. Mental Health. The universe speaks, you just need to listen.  

Briana Austin, Erba Essentials:

Erba Essentials is a hemp CBD oil company based in Boca Raton, Florida. Founded by its all female team, Erba was inspired by the natural beauty of Florida, from its famous beaches to the everglades. These places are known for bringing peace, relaxation, and happiness to those who get the chance to experience it. We aim to create those same types of experiences for people who use our products.

Our products provide our customers with a sense of peace, relaxation, & happiness by being held to the highest standards of quality. Our full spectrum, CO2 extracted hemp CBD oil comes from organically grown, NON- GMO industrial American hemp in Kentucky, that is free of pesticides, herbicides, solvents, and other harmful ingredients. After the product is grown & extracted, it is sent to our headquarters in Connecticut where your final product is finished, packaged, and sent
right to your doorstep. We guarantee a high quality product & experience, from start to finish. Don’t just take our word for it though!! Take a look at some of our customer reviews and the 3rd party lab results that we provide with each product on our site.

Erba Essentials is a brand that you can trust to produce a high quality hemp CBD oil product everytime you order. Your satisfaction and well-being are essential to what we do! You can feel confident that when you buy a product from us, that you’re getting the most affordable, all natural, eco-friendly product on the market.

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09. Smoke, Mirrors, and (UN)Filtered Health Careers

LOVE THIS CAST! KO sits down with Lara McGlashan, Brand Director and Editor-in-Chief of Oxygen Magazine, to rap about print media now, its future, and the all-around impact of showcasing fitness influencers/athletes on culture and society today . They get into all the burning questions around Lara’s journey in the print (and fitness ) world, social media, the power of marketing, fitness influencers and the impact on consumers (young women in particular), and so much more. Lara is a special being with unique responsibility and power, she is quite literally one of the few filtering out the “not so real” so Oxygen Magazine can highlight the real, unfiltered. Very few marketing and/or magazines can claim that truth. Including unedited magazine covers, hand picking talent (not based on social following), and living the lifestyle herself… she is a long-time fitness competitor and current competitive CrossFitter! We discuss knowing your value and being direct… print world, write this down, do the right thing, share the truth. It’s good for the world and the bottom line, we promise:) AND because Lara already does. 

Highlights

No office required. In fact, they are not allowed:) Evolution of the print world. Advertisers and standing moral ground. diversifying the mag from fitness to lifestyle, social following vs. ROI. Impact vs. celebrity. The “magic middle” and finding the budding star. Creating the platform. And again, knowing your value and being direct in what you want. 

Lara McGlashan

Lara McGlashan is the Brand Director and Editor-in-Chief of Oxygen Magazine. She has been in the health and fitness industry for more than 20 years and has worked for the majority of the large publications and brands in some capacity, from writing to editing to technical advising and photo editing. She is a lifetime athlete and has participated and competed in all manner of sports including skiing, mountain biking, Spartan races and beach volleyball, and is currently a master’s CrossFit competitor and full-time mom. She lives in Connecticut with her son, Alex. 

Oxygen Magazine @oxygenmagazine 

IG @laraoxyeditor

FB larafitnesseditor

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08. Mental Wealth (Health)

Mental Wealth (Health)! KO sits down with NeurOptimize Founders, Rachel Ragsdale and Carli Streich, and Laura Mahony, professional photographer, mom, and currently getting her Masters in mental health counseling. Mental health is becoming quite the conversation these days, finally! So, we called in the pros to chat on it all. Discussing mental health overall, what is, what stigmas are around it, what options there are to address it. We touch on the different angles as well: concussion in sports, learning abilities, behavior, brain waves and make up. Understanding your brain will help you understand yourself- exponentially. 

Highlights

Options around medications, sports performance, human optimization, young people and mental health, impact on the whole family, identity based on strengths, function vs. fixing, a great start to a much larger and very important continuing conversation!

Rachel Ragsdale, LPC, BCN

Rachel, Founder and Owner of NeurOptimize, studied Psychology at Baylor University where she earned her undergraduate degree. She went on to earn her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Denver Seminary. Rachel oversees all clinical operations and team specialists across all locations, while serving as a licensed professional counselor and board-certified neurofeedback specialist and handling all qEEG analysis, treatment planning, and protocol creation. Rachel’s own life was transformed by neurofeedback more than 10 years ago. She has unique insight and personally values each and every client’s own journey thanks to her own experience with neurofeedback. In her free time, Rachel is an avid golfer and adrenaline junky. She loves spending time with her dog and her two-year-old son, Jordan. Rachel would tell you that NeurOptimize is her other baby and she cares for it as such.

Carli Streich, LPC, BCN

Carli, Founder and Owner of NeurOptimize, graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of New Mexico with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. She went on to earn her Master’s in Clinical Counseling from Colorado Christian University. In addition to overseeing all clinical operations and clinical team of neurofeedback specialists, Carli is a licensed professional counselor and board-certified neurofeedback specialist, handling treatment planning, protocol creation, and qEEG analysis. Carli believe that communication and clear expectations are key contributors to the exceptional client experience she strives to provide at NeurOptimize. She believes that life, especially the challenging parts of it, are not meant to be done alone and she works to offer that support to each and every client who walks through the door. In her free time, Carli loves to hike, do yoga, and spend time outdoors with her family and her puppies.

Laur Mahony

Laura is an intuitive that combines different modalities to connect with spirit and to provide guidance and healing. Laura is also a portrait and commercial photographer. Laura uses natural light, studio lights, strobes, small flashes, ginormous lights, itty bitty lights, existing light, no light, and just about any kind of light she can get her hands on. Her style is playful, warm, and comfy, and she focuses on movement and relationships in her photos. Her photographs range from ethereal to dynamic and always portray the genuine and personal. Laura works with schools, political campaigns, famous people, not so famous people, businesses, professionals, people in Colorado, people outside of Colorado, and anyone who wants exceptional photographs. She feels privileged to capture each amazing slice of life. All sessions are held on location, whether natural light or other. All sessions are fun and playful, whether portrait or commercial.  Laura can be reached at www.thejapaneselantern.com or laura@thejapaneselantern.com.