Holistic Life Navigation

On this episode, Luis brings back biochemist and holistic nutritionist, Karen Hurd - from [Ep. 8 - Healing Your Body With Beans], [Ep. 19 - Caffeine & Adrenaline: How They Affect the Body], and [Ep. 34 - How Dairy Affects the Body] to talk about what sugar is actually doing in our bodies. "Some things take a lot of time to break down and enter into the bloodstream. That is not so with sugar. Whenever we put in sugar, it's what we call saccharide. Its molecular construction is such that it takes very little digestive effort - basically none - for it to cross the barriers that allow it into the bloodstream.""You produce insulin in response to the spike. So if you're going up really rapidly with your blood glucose levels, you're going to release a boatload of insulin to bring down your sugars just as rapidly. Insulin is very effective. It actually grabs these sugar molecules in your bloodstream and will convert them into something known as a triglyceride.""Sugar is so addictive and satisfying on so many levels and I think because initially it's this concentration of life force because we're breaking down all these foods into the building block of the life, which is the glucose feeding our cells so they can function."To follow Karen's work or take one of her courses, visit www.karenhurd.com.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode, Luis talks with James-Olivia Chu Hillman about self-inquiry, regulation vs. relation, attunement, somatic embodiment, blame, certainty, animism, Disobedience School and more."I believe the willingness to change is the willingness to live, and the willingness to witness others without judgment as they change is the willingness to love.""What is my relationship with myself like and therefore all of my other relationships with everyone and everything? There's a thing that my dear friend Nic Strack who facilitates conversations with parents, and people who are self-parenting, re-parenting, preparing to parent: 'The relationship you have with yourself defines the relationship you have with your child.'" "Magical I think is exactly the right word for it, for me. A thing that I've come to recently is that everything doesn't have to make sense... Let me be more specific: I don't have to make sense in order to regard myself. Which I get kind of emotional even just saying it because it's fairly new in the last few months for me to even have that idea as something I'm willing to commit to. Like oh yeah, you don't have to be logical, the math doesn't have to add up, the machinery doesn't have to run smoothly. Everything doesn't have to make sense, I don't have to make sense, and there's magic that's holding it all together. I don't have to do this myself."To follow James-Olivia, you can find them on Instagram at @inquisitive_human or their website: www.inquisitivehuman.com.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode, Luis shares a pre-recorded workshop he led for Tending the Roots Festival, founded by Karine Bell, about the way we use our food and treat our bodies as a direct result of colonization, which includes a Q&A at the end."Part of the most effective way to getting to the trauma and healing the trauma is creating a body that is so well-nourished that it reflects safety in its biochemistry. That the foods it eats grounds and supports and strengthens rather than depresses or depletes or activates. Food is a powerful medicine and tool for healing trauma because food can create a safe body or an activated-slash-depressed body.""What I do believe is that a lot of the things we call 'symptoms', and 'conditions', and 'problems' are unprocessed trauma responses that are stuck physiologically. So what's amazing about food - amazing and difficult and confusing - is it's, I mean, to say it's a necessity dilutes it. It's something that our bodies know, it's something our bodies need, it's something we depend on. 'It' being food, food being Earth.""Decolonizing and colonizing is simply the difference between being in dominance over or being in relationship with. It's that simple. Now where it stems from is quite complex, we've seen that in our history, in our social constructs, in our criminal justice systems. We see how complex it's gotten. But at the root of it -- it's a mentality of: Is this here for me or is this here with me?"Connect with Karine Bell's work at https://www.rootedandembodied.com and @karinebell on Instagram.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode, Luis dives into animism with Daniel Foor, Ph.D., a teacher of Earth and ancestor reverence, and author of Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing. "[Animism] is a way to refer to a set of values that basically says living humans are just one kind of person in a much wider field of kinship, community, and other kinds of people. Those other kinds of people include the ancestors, the plants, the animals, deities, nature spirits, planets... you name it.""If we can’t see other people, we can’t really see them on a soul level, we’re not going to be as useful to them. And there’s going to be something that doesn’t quite click. Making a study of the different forms and patterns and expressions of the sacred is important if you’re going to be in a healing capacity, because you’ll be more able to see people accurately.""Like any of the binaries we’re being asked to disrupt, there’s who we’ve been and there’s who we are now. And it’s not that we choose one over the other, but how do we bring all of what we are into the moment? And see the powers that are unifying, the earth that is beneath all of us, and the stars, the bigger frame that we’re being held in. It’s important to spend time resting in what’s unifying, as well." To learn more about the Ancestral Lineage Healing online course, ancestor circles and the work of Daniel Foor, visit www.ancestralmedicine.org.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode, Luis embarks on  a new conversation with an old friend, Lindsay Christine, centered around Juneteenth. Christine shares what it was like growing up as a Black woman in this country, from the way she was raised to the narrow messaging we are sold about African American stereotypes."My skin tone and the weight that it carries in America really doesn’t have anything to do with me. It is to do with our society and the way it’s been structured and the way that it’s been set up, but racism doesn’t have to do with how good I am as a person or what I’m like internally. I think I was able to develop a sense of self that was separate from the idea of what it means to be Black in America. I know it’s a part of me, I know by many standards it defines me, but it’s not all of me." "The reality is there’s still work to do, but I’m not going to wait to be free until that work is done. I can be free in myself and they can catch up to me, and I’m going to keep doing the work.""Everything I try to work towards and do in my life is to just spark positive change not just for me but for the next generation."You can follow Lindsay Christine and sign up for the newsletter at her new project, The Wellness Feed, which is a hub for sustainable champions around the world. You can also find her on Instagram at @the_wellnessfeed. You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Somatic Psychologist Joshua Sylvae discusses spiritual experiences through embodiment, emphasizing the importance of being present in the body for connection with ourselves and the universe. Topics include somatic experiencing for resilience, connection with nature, mask-wearing impact, transitioning from activism to eco psychology, and embracing body awareness in advanced group courses.

I found Lorcan after I was searching for resources regarding the indigenous, pagan ways of the Irish people. My mother is half Irish and, when I was 13, I found myself reconnecting to my Irish roots through Wicca. Speaking with Lorcan was so lovely. He exemplifies the respectful balance of reconnecting to his indigenous roots while respecting the delicate nature of the word indigenous.It's thought that only people of color are indigenous, but this is a stereotype that furthers racial constructs & divides. Indigenous means what land you originally belong to. Connecting to our own indigenous roots doesn't mean we have the indigenous experience, however it can help us understand how to co-create with the indigenous peoples of the lands we live on now through commonality of values that come naturally from connecting to the Earth.This is because indigenous ways have several foundational practices in common. They are Earth-based, see everything as a relative, and are rooted in reciprocity. Connecting to your own indigenous bloodlines means you can access these traditions, rituals, and powerful ways of connecting so that you can relate to other indigenous peoples, as well as the lands you currently reside and travel on.In short: you get to use your ancestral wisdom to relate better to everything around you.For more information on Lorcan's work, please visit https://indigenous.ie/ or follow him on IG @indigenous.ieYou can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

I welcome back Dr. Amber McZeal to speak with me about  decolonizing the psyche through a spiritual, somatic, and philosophical lens. I first had Amber on back in September. It was Episode 14: Decolonizing The Psyche & I recommend listening to it first if you haven't yet. It will help you with the language and understanding to fully receive this episode.For me, Amber is pure medicine. Her tone, her delivery, her essence, and her work. Just sitting virtually with her feels like something is shifting and softening in me. The fertile Earth in me is opening up to some new sprouts of growth that I didn't know were there.After really meditating on her work and our discussion from last year, I started finding the colonizer in me and, from that experience, discovered some clarity around what colonizing even means.I see colonizing as being in control of, dominating over, or opposing something's nature. I see de-colonizing as unlearning that so we can be in relationship with everything around us. This is what I've learned from indigenous elders and witches: everything is a relative. In this episode we explore personal experiences & philosophies in this episode to create more clarity and understanding so that we can guide ourselves, and others, toward unlearning the conditioning we grew up in and reclaiming the original ecosystem of reciprocity, respect, and relationship. For more info on Dr. Amber McZeal, please visit: https://decolonizingthepsyche.com/You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

My wife showed me Stasia's Ted Talk in 2018 and I was instantly taken by her story. Like most people I have on my podcast, Stasia discovered, through trauma, a gift and a tool that she could apply to her life and teach others to aid in their healing journey. And that tool was style.She found how much style impacts your psychology and emotional state. She first discovered this through her daughter, who was born with a myriad of medical issues and developmental conditions. Her daughter had low confidence and felt quite removed, but when she put on boy's clothing she felt alive and ran around the house saying "I feel outside how I feel inside!". And that was the moment for Stasia.From there she developed the term "inner-outer congruency". It's the practice of developing the capacity to express your internal experience through your style. This is huge for trauma healing because we often feel threatened around being seen. The ability to use your closet and your clothing as medicine to call up pain and then transmute it into glorious style is a true magical practice that Stasia teaches now.Have a listen, have a feel, and go back into the closet to see what's still waiting to come out.To follow, or work with, Stasia you can visit her website at www.stasiasavasuk.com or her Instagram @stasiasavasuk.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

I love speaking with Carolyn. She's such a kindred soul in the way that she welcomes the trash of life as equally nourishing as the treasures of life. I find transmutation to be the exact work that I do. I'm teaching people how to feel a sensation that is threatening to the body and, rather than constrict against it, we expand into it which gives it more space to be free, move, teach us something, or simply dissipate.We talk about how this practice and lifestyle is the epitome of abundance. Especially in terms of how much capacity do you have to receive. Receive what? Everything!I will say that I went into some detail about my own sexual trauma history, so if you're feeling tender you may want to give yourself extra comfort before listening. I found it necessary to explain, through my own suffering, how transmutation was working me before I even knew what it was. Have a listen, notice what you feel in your body, and see where this takes you.BIODr. Carolyn Elliott is the author of Existential Kink: A handbook of life-altering magic, and cult-favorite creativity book, Awaken Your Genius. She runs a 7-figure online business specializing in helping people achieve dramatic positive change in their lives through shadow integration practices and applied occult philosophy.Carolyn is known for her uncanny and uncomfortable ability to trick really smart, high-achieving magical people into doing the things that they actually want to do. She’s the teacher of life-altering online courses, including WEALTH: the alchemical community where leaders come into their full power.You can follow her on IG @carolynelliott_You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com