When your family notices the self empowerment that is the product of the habits of ayurveda, they start to get curious about what you’re doing. Alexandra’s partner started to embrace some of the habits that she teaches to her course members and she wanted to figure out how to involve their 11-year-old daughter. What Alexandra has found is that letting your family follow your lead works better than making rules or forcing your habits on others. For children, everything is still an exploration.

As they grow older and are more influenced by their peers, parents have to be consciously creative when it comes to redirecting their attention and values.

Alexandra’s family has embraced family meetings. Family meetings provide a format in which every family member has an equal seat at the table. For Alexandra’s daughter, that meant understanding that with an equal voice, she also assumed an equal level of responsibility and mutual respect. To Alexandra’s delight, she has observed her daughter exhibiting her own values, and she knows she is giving her a strong foundation from which to grow.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• How to incorporate family values and family meetings into your home life.
• How to introduce your children to the habits of ayurveda.
• How couples can use the “family meeting” model to improve and strengthen their relationship.

Links Mentioned in the Episode:

• Alexandra’s website
• Body Thrive
• Yoga Health Coaching
• Values Workshop

Show Highlights:

• 0:00 – When your family notices the self empowerment that is the product of the habits of ayurveda, they start to get curious about what you’re doing. Alexandra’s partner started to embrace some of the habits that she teaches to her course members and she wanted to figure out how to involve their 11-year-old daughter. So they started having family meetings.
• 5:00 – Family meetings provide a format in which every family member has an equal seat at the table. When interest in the family meetings started to wane, Alexandra employed Cate’s values workshop to help her family see each other in a new light. For her daughter, that meant understanding that with an equal voice, she also assumed an equal level of responsibility and mutual respect.
• 10:00 – One of the values that Alexandra had identified for herself was nurturance. She recently found her daughter exhibiting that value. Alexandra also has weekly one-on-one values meetings with her partner that she feels helps recalibrate their relationship on a regular basis. Carly also prescribes one-on-one time with her husband that has saved her marriage.
• 15:30 – Carly is also involving her kids in the practices of ayurveda. What Alexandra has found is that letting your family follow your lead works better than making rules or forcing your habits on others.
• 20:10 – For children, everything is still an exploration. As they grow older and are more influenced by their peers, parents have to be consciously creative when it comes to redirecting their attention and values.

Your Favorite Quotes:

• “What an incredible gift that you’re giving your child. Your empowering her to make her own decisions and to reflect on what she really wants in life. And you’re letting her have a seat at the table. You’re inviting her to be seen and heard, and you’re letting her know that she has a voice.” — Carly Banks
• “It’s not about striving all the time, but about finding an even keel.” — Alexandra Kreis
• “To think that this is what my kids consider to be normal, versus what other kids consider to be normal in a day, it just fills me up. I feel like I’m really giving them a strong foundation to grow from.” — Carly Banks

Guest BIO:

Alexandra Kreis is a yoga teacher, ayurvedic lifestyle consultant, wellness masseuse, and yoga health coach. She lives in Berlin, Germany with her partner and their daughter. Since childhood, she has always felt happiest participating in the community while engaging in spiritual discovery in her private time. In the community, Alexandra experiences herself through the reflection of others, while ensuring that she makes time to connect inwards and maintain her roots.

It is, therefore, no coincidence that her professional career has brought her into the deeper layers of self-awareness and self-discovery, while assisting others on their own path.

Connect with Alexandra on her website and her facebook.

Mariko is a yoga teacher, yoga therapist and yoga health coach who has been running her own business since 2006. The habits of Body Thrive have made it easier to strike a balance between work life and home life, between caring for others and self care. By waking before dawn to practice self care, Mariko is able face each day with a positive mindset.

Body Thrive and Yoga Health Coaching help us understand who we are and get grounded in our being. We refine our days and find time for learning and creativity. And there is no endgame. We continue to grow and deepen our practice. We’re not satisfied with “good enough.”

Our goal is “extraordinary.”

If you’re done with “good enough” and ready for “extraordinary,” have a conversation with one of our coaches.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• Why “good enough” is no longer good enough.
• How the habits of Body Thrive make it easier to strike a balance between self care and caring for others.
• How Yoga Health Coaches find time for learning and creativity while working and caring for their families.

Links Mentioned in Your Episode:

• Yogidetox
• Mariko Yoga
• Yoga Health Coaching
• Awake Living

Show Highlights:

• 2:00 – Since going through Body Thrive, Mariko has aligned her daily activities with the Ayurvedic, or “dosha,” clock in order to maximize her days. She wakes before dawn to practice self care and do some creative journaling. This enables her to face each day with a positive mindset.
• 8:45 – Mariko has been running her own business since 2006. Ayurveda, and particularly dinacharya, makes it easier to strike a balance between work life and home life, between caring for others and self care.
• 11:04 – Having a predominantly vata constitution and having moved from Tokyo to Singapore to London, establishing a daily routine was key to Mariko feeling grounded and focused.
• 13:47 – Body Thrive and Yoga Health Coaching help us understand who we are and get grounded in our being. We refine our days and find time for learning and creativity. And there is no endgame. We continue to grow and deepen our practice.

Favorite Quotes:

• “We talk with Cate [Stillman] about the difference between having a life that’s good enough and having a life that’s extraordinary, and I feel like this Ayurvedic shift is the difference.” — Carly Banks
• “Cate talks about spanda, meaning pulsation. . . . In my mind, balance is like this: an infinity mark. If you go to one extreme, you come back to center, and you go to the other extreme and come back to center. You need both, don’t you? All work is not good. All play is not good.” — Mariko Lavender Jones
• “I believe there is no really final end, you know? It’s always changing. We are always changing.” — Mariko Lavender Jones

Guest BIO:

 Mariko discovered her passion for yoga in 1995. After relocating from Tokyo to Singapore in 2002, Mariko gained her ‘Diploma in Teaching the Science and Art of Yoga’, certified by Svastha Yoga and Ayurveda, under the guidance of Sri A G Mohan. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, yoga was a key influence in her journey to recovery.

Mariko continues to study under guidance of her teachers and mentors and completed one the most comprehensive level of yoga therapist training at Functional Synergy Yoga Therapy in June 2016, which is accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Now living in London, Mariko teaches Therapeutic yoga privately, as well as Hatha and Yin group yoga classes, both in English and Japanese. Connect with Mariko on her website and Facebook page.

Chantel started traveling at the age of 22. For 12 years, she explored the world. Life was good, but yet, something was amiss. She eventually realized that with all of her traveling, she was having trouble connecting to her inner rhythm. Like many of us, Chantel was settling for feeling “good” or “okay,” until she started to suspect the potential for more. Even while studying and teaching ayurveda in India, she had trouble applying and transferring the knowledge in a way that was relatable, digestible, and DOable.

Chantel’s experience in Body Thrive gave her the tools she was missing for thrive. Her life went from super cool to incredible. She’s grounded, clear, and able to receive (and to pass on) the ancient traditions of Ayurveda and yoga using tools so simple to implement, her body is breathing sighs of relief. She knows now that all of her experiences prepared her for Yoga Health Coaching.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• How Body Thrive makes the habits of Ayurveda simple and digestible.
• How the Body Thrive habits free up time and energy and allow us to get beyond the stress of day to day living.
• How Body Thrive teaches us what our bodies already know.

Links Mentioned in Episode:

• Body Thrive
• Yoga Health Coaching
• Living Ayurveda

Show Highlights:

• 2:00 – Chantel started traveling at the age of 22. For 12 years, she explored the world. Part of her time was spent in India, learning ayurveda and yoga. She eventually realized that with all of her traveling, she was having trouble connecting to her inner rhythm. She knows now that all of her experiences prepared her for Yoga Health Coaching.
• 5:30 – Like many of us, Chantel was settling for feeling “good” or “okay,” until she started to suspect the potential for more. Even while studying and teaching ayurveda in India, she had trouble applying and transferring the knowledge in a way that was relatable and digestible. She found that Body Thrive does that in a way that taps in to what our bodies already know.
• 10:00 – Rather than taking up more time, the habits of Body Thrive free up time and create space for us to get beyond the stress of daily living. Chantel has found a different, easeful mindset with her daily self care routine. She feels lighter and clearer. Even on the occasions when she strays from the habits, she’s able to bounce back quickly. And the longer she continues to practice the habits, the more insightful she is about what makes her body feel its best.
• 16:50 – Body Thrive has changed Chantel’s relationship with food. She no longer feels controlled by the highs and lows of blood sugar, and she’s grateful for the more relaxed approach she takes toward eating.

Favorite Quotes:

• “If I did not have the basic, foundational habits of an Ayurvedic lifestyle under my belt, there is no way that I could run a business. I couldn’t show up for myself the way that I need to. I couldn’t show up for my family. Couldn’t find balance. Couldn’t honor my priorities.” — Carly Banks
• “I do know that that movement and that lack of having any structure or rhythm in my daily life really kind of ran havoc on my body.” — Chantel Alcaraz
• “I was settling for ‘good’ when there’s really much more potential.” — Chantel Alcaraz
• “We already know these things. We just forgot how to be in rhythm because we’re so busy.” — Chantel Alcaraz

Guest BIO:

Chantel Alcaraz is the founding owner and mentor at Abhasa Yoga and Wellness in Mosier, Oregon. She took her first yoga class at the age of 18, resisting each and every moment.

She wanted to run, or hike or bike, not just sit and “waste” her time on the mat. Fifteen years later, Chantel can’t imagine her life without her practice, her awareness and understanding, her love for nature. She sees herself in the world and the world in herself. That is what aims to share.

Carly went through her first round of Body Thrive while working two jobs and raising two young children. Six months later, she had lost 35 pounds and was keeping it off. She felt better in her body and was better equipped to handle her day-to-day life. For Carly, the self care she learned in Body Thrive had to come first, before she could even consider starting her own business as a yoga health coach.

At the age of 52, Carolyn has worked in farming, banking, retail, and dental assisting. She retired this past February to focus on her health and her dharma. Carolyn gained 20 pounds following a knee surgery. Body Thrive helped her get back to where she was pre-surgery and has eliminated aching and cracking joints, which she had experienced for several years. Carolyn is picking up more and more self care habits with each round of Body Thrive and has found that her body responds well to intermittent fasting.

Having solidified her habits and her health in the Living Ayurveda course, Carolyn has her sights set on upleveling her dharma in Yoga Health Coaching.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• Why Body Thrive is a prerequisite for finding your dharma.
• How physical self care leads to easeful living.
• Why putting off self care until retirement is the WRONG approach.

Links Mentioned in Episode:

• Body Thrive
• Yogidetox
• Yoga Health Coaching

Show Highlights:

• 0:00 – For Carly, the self care she learned in Body Thrive had to come first, before she could even consider starting her own business as a yoga health coach. Carolyn gained 20 pounds following a knee surgery. Body Thrive helped her get back to where she was pre-surgery and has eliminated aching and cracking joints, which she had experienced for several years. Having completed the Living Ayurveda course, her next goals include building her self confidence as she begins the Yoga Health Coaching course.
• 3:30 – At the age of 52, Carolyn has worked in farming, banking, retail, and dental assisting. She retired this past February to focus on her health and her dharma.
• 8:00 – Carly went through Body Thrive while working two jobs and raising two young children. Six months later, she had lost 35 pounds and was keeping it off. She felt better in her body and was better equipped to handle her day-to-day life. But it doesn’t all happen at once, and we sometimes experience setbacks. In Body Thrive, we implement small steps toward better self care with the support of our online community.
• 10:00 – Carolyn is picking up more and more self care habits with each round of Body Thrive and has found that her body responds well to intermittent fasting.

Favorite Quotes:

• “That’s the kind of mindset that we get, right? You’re going to go to work. And you’re just going to work and just do it and keep pushing until you reach that moment where you can retire and then you’re going to focus on self and then you’re going to relax. Well, sometimes before you even get to that point of relaxation, your body runs out of steam because you’re pushing too hard. You’re not listening to it.” — Carly Banks
• “My circumstances had not changed whatsoever. But the way I felt inside my body and my ability to function and take on responsibility had amplified tenfold.” — Carly Banks, (post Body Thrive)

Body Thrive is the prerequisite to Yoga Health Coaching, and it is the model we learn to coach. Prior to Body Thrive, Colleen was overwhelmed – teaching a lot of yoga and bartending at night into the early morning hours and sleeping til noon. Dinner was often between 9 and 10 pm and getting out of bed in the morning was really difficult.

The first habit of Body Thrive (Earlier, Lighter Dinner or “ELD”) was the hardest habit for Colleen. ELD often involves a whole recalibration of family values and long-held habits and beliefs. To get it to work, she had to change her schedule, which is the case for a lot of us. There were also some emotional and compulsive eating factors that she needed to address. Her conclusion is that there is always a workaround for any of the habits that challenge us.

Each habit is very simple, but emotional issues and self-sabotage  issues often get in our was, which is why we need the support of group. If you suspect you might need the support of a group.

Have you experienced the ten habits? Check out the details here https://bodythrive.com/

Ready to dive in? Time to talk to the team.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• Why we need to be in a group in order to successfully evolve our habits.
• Why and how yoga teachers are often living out of alignment with what they teach.
• Why the Body Thrive annual pass is so valuable.

Links Mentioned in the Episode:

• Colleen’s website
• YHC Have a conversation
• YogiDetox Fall

Show Highlights:

0:00 – Body Thrive is the prerequisite to Yoga Health Coaching, and it is the model we learn to coach. Prior to Body Thrive, Colleen was overwhelmed – teaching a lot of yoga and bartending at night into the early morning hours and sleeping til noon. Dinner was often between 9 and 10 pm and getting out of bed in the morning was really difficult.

6:48 – The first habit of Body Thrive (Earlier, Lighter Dinner) was the hardest habit for Colleen. To get it to work, she had to change her schedule, which is the case for a lot of us. There were also some emotional and compulsive eating factors that she needed to address. Her conclusion is that there is always a workaround for any of the habits that challenge us.

9:00 – Each habit is very simple, but emotional issues and self-sabotage  issues often get in our was, which is why we need the support of group.

11:15 – Because Body Thrive offers a year long pass, we repeat the course 4 times, giving us an opportunity to learn, rebel, return, and recommit.

12:40 – Because Earlier, Lighter Dinner (ELD) is such a keystone habit, Cate offers a free ELD Challenge.

14:10 – ELD often involves a whole recalibration of family values and long-held habits and beliefs.

16:40 – If you’re interested in learning the habits of Body Thrive or in Yoga Health Coaching, go to https://yogahealer.com/conversation/

Favorite Quotes:

“There’s always a workaround [for Earlier, Lighter Dinner], but the workaround was like a “come-to-Jesus” moment: That schedule does not work. I think that’s the hard truth. You hear people talk about what their schedule is and how they can eat dinner and you’re just like, ‘Well there’s a part of that that’s going to have to change.’ And we dance around it a little bit, but that’s what ends up happening.” — Colleen Hieber

“Every single one of the habits is so simple. . . . The reason we why we have to go through these programs in a group and have all this accountability is because of that emotional bit and that self sabotage bit and that discounting bit and our crazy amounts of justifications we come up with for why we CAN’T do the thing. When at the end of the day, something has to change.” — Carly Banks

Guest BIO

Colleen Hieber. As a professional dancer, I was first drawn to Yoga as a reliable method for physical therapy that I could practice on my own. Eventually, Yoga became so much more – I was hooked to its alignment principles, philosophy, mindfulness, and meditation. I also found a community of people on a similar path to personal growth. I made teaching Yoga my path in life, after experiencing the healing power of this practice, during a particularly traumatic event. I have never looked back. It is the greatest gift to share this practice with students and new teachers.

Currently, I am leading Yoga Alliance approved 200-Hour Yoga teacher trainings at Spectra Yoga in Costa Mesa, CA and 85-Hour Ma Yoga® Prenatal Teacher Trainings internationally throughout the year.

I have a deep and abiding call to bring the teachings of yoga to all different types of people. The lessons of yoga are universal. There is an innate intelligence and inherent power in the human body that is both accessible and transformational. I can give you the tools to dig deep and realize the power of grace. Connect with Colleen on her website.