Grace & Grit Podcast

Every single day I encounter women who are trying to take a giant leap towards a healthier life, rather than simply focusing on the small, seemingly insignificant choices they are making day in and day out. Big change starts most often starts with very small steps which, taken consistently accumulate over time, create radical transformation. The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson speaks directly to this point. And in this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast, I summarize some of the most powerful lessons presented in this book. If you are looking for insight on how to improve your habits without the agony of having to completely renovating your life overnight, you don’t want to miss this episode. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. To buy the book: Click Here  Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com  

I have long believed that successful people tend to ask for help often and much. I meet a lot of women who think hiring a health coach is a sign of weakness (like they should be able to figure it out themselves). Personally, I think asking for help in the areas we are struggling with is courageous and smart...if what you are doing hasn’t been working...asking for help makes a tremendous amount of sense! I have had coaches and mentors for as long as I can remember…I have hired personal trainers, life coaches, business coaches, movement teachers and health coaches. In fact, that is how I came to cross paths with my guest today, Sheri Lynn. I have known Sheri for well over a decade. Not only was she my own health coach, but she became a professional mentor to me as well. I learned so much from this woman! We have a long history, and I have deep respect for her. It may sound harsh but I have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with her specifically because she is such a remarkable teacher…meaning she holds your hand when you’re having a hard time getting up, and she has no problem holding your feet to the fire when you need a kick in the ass. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. About Sheri: Sheri Lynn is a self-professed citizen scientist and health hacker who has spent much of her adult life relentlessly applying her curiosity about the nature of human change and transformation to both herself and others. She is an independent educator, a preacher of self-responsibility, and the founder of the Genesis Transformation system, which includes a remarkable pathway for human change, a physical training model based on structural biomechanics as well as Genesis - an international award-winning online food journaling tool. Sheri's varied background includes credentialed experience in addictions counseling, public speaking, personal training, civil engineering and mining engineering. To find out more about Sheri, please visit: www.genesistransformation.com www.genesis-kitchen.com Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com

As a chiropractor, Doctor Margaret Durnan works hard to provide high-quality evidence-based management of musculoskeletal problems as well as advice for healthy living. She approaches rehabilitation through a holistic approach involving nutrition and lifestyle changes. Margaret is a devoted student of the Ido Portal method and has found her training with the method to be game changing in her Chiropractic approach…as well as life changing on a physical and personal level. In addition to her Chiropractic qualification she holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Chiropractic and is currently studying her Masters in International Public Health through the University of Sydney. To say I have a lot of love and respect for this woman, is an understatement. She is absolutely a woman who exemplifies grace & grit and I invited her to the show so she could her unique perspective as a chiropractor and generally as someone who goes to great lengths to take great care of herself so she can give her best to the things she cares about. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. Notes: 3:00: Why Margaret chose Chiropractic medicine. 7:00: Margaret’s first experience with a chiropractor and how it led her into more evolved musculoskeletal care. 13:40: What is chiropractic medicine? 16:30: How Margaret’s work as a chiropractor teaches a client to assume responsibility for their own health. “To be a doctor is to be a teacher.” 20:00: How Margaret’s movement journey with Ido Portal, has helped to shape her as a motion-based chiropractor. 27:45: Making time for motivation. 32:00: Using movement to prime the nervous system and help kids be more successful in school. 34:50: Margarets 3 top tips to improve musculoskeletal health. Ido Portal website Movement Culture Facebook Page Learn more and contact Doctor Margaret Durnan Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com

It’s very common for a new client ask (if not beg) at some point along their journey with me, “Courtney! Just tell me what to eat and I will eat it.” To which I always say, “No, because I would be doing you a massive disservice.” My job as a health coach is not to dictate which specific foods you can and cannot eat, my job is to educate you about the nutritional value of the foods you are choosing (and other lifestyle choices you are making) and help you become acutely aware of the physiological response your body is having to those choices. When you pay attention to what your choices are and the consequences of those choices, you can connect the dots to what ails you more easily and, hopefully…after a face plant or 10…you will start making better choices, more consistently; and THAT is how a transformation is hatched! Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. Notes: 4:00: How I define my work as a health coach. 6:30: Why I don’t believe in food plans. 9:00: Why it is so important to me that my clients learn how to fish. 11:00: How I failed as a personal trainer. 15:00: How the diet and fitness industries are crushing critical thinking abilities and independence. 18:00: What it really requires to take radical responsibility for your health and happiness. Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com

Quitting is tempting. It is easy. It is liberating…for a moment. No one ever does it on a GOOD day. Nope. You do it on the days that struggle seeps into your flow, and insecurity whispers lies that you will never arrive at your destination. You start to question everything and, worst of all, you fail to remember why started traveling down this road to begin with. It is on those days that you would do anything for a little more GRIT to keep going, silence the fear, and reclaim your flow. IT is on the hard days that courage is called out of her lair and reigns supreme…IF you unleash her. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. Notes: 3:00: Mature reasons for getting healthier are the linchpin to success. 8:00: How to get back on track once you have been derailed. 10:00: It takes courage to navigate problems along your health journey. 13:00: Practice dancing with resistance in order to improve your ability to take the lead. 17:00: Becoming action oriented rather than outcome oriented. 19:00: Acknowledge how far you have come. 21:00: Creating power statements to motivate yourself to do the work. 22:50: Question the obvious. Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com

In part two of this interview with Irene Lyon, we dive deeper into WHY it is so important to heal the nervous system in order to optimize health. In this episode, Irene explains what the Vagus nerve is, and how our early childhood experiences can impact the proper development of that nerve. Irene also dishes out advice for those wondering what simple strategies they can start implementing to heal and better care for their nervous system. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. Notes: 2:20: The Vagus nerve explained and how early childhood experiences impact its development. 8:00: The power trauma has to disrupt your nervous system and ultimately your health. 10:00: The brilliance of neuroplasticity. 16:00: Why meditation is an “advanced practice”, that many people may not be ready for. 20:00: The importance of understanding the biology of stress. 24:00: Trauma is being disconnected from the present moment. 26:00: Being engaged with our body and our environment is what breeds and sustains health. 30:50: Overeating is not a product of laziness, it is a product of disconnect. Find out more about Irene Lyon. More resources: Raising healthy babies and a little crash course in the vagus nerve. Why anger is essential. Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com

I have been working with women to improve their health story now for nearly 20 years, and the longer I am at this, the more I believe that focusing on nutrient dense food and regular movement is actually the EASY part of getting healthy. When clients sign up to work with me, they are under the impression that I am going to have them do MORE to create the change they are seeking, so you can imagine their surprise when I ask them to do LESS. And why less…because most people are coming to work with me in stressed out state that is on hyper-drive. Stressing out their system MORE with less food and more exercise is not a great starting place to create positive and sustainable change. So the I am at this health coaching business, the more I have come to appreciate the incredible power of slowing down and HEALING before we ask more from our bodies. So…I am ridiculously excited about today’s guest. Her name is Irene Lyon and she helps people to heal and honor their nervous systems, so they can create real, sustainable change and, ultimately get the most out of every aspect of their life. Irene has loads of education to back-up her work, which includes: degrees in exercise physiology and biomedical science. She is a certified Feldenkrais practitioner and certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. Notes: 4:00: Learn more about Irene, how she became so passionate about the nervous system and made it her life’s mission to educate others about the power their nervous system has to help them build and sustain health. 10:15: The Feldenkrais Method explained in Irene’s own words. 15:30: The nervous system explained, how it becomes dysfunctional and its role in our health story. 22:45: The power of PTSD and how far more people are suffering from this condition than we are lead to believe. 28:00: How to deal with resistance when starting to retrain the nervous system. 34:45: Why “expression” is so important to developing a healthy nervous system. Find out more about Irene Lyon. More resources: Raising healthy babies and a little crash course in the vagus nerve. Why anger is essential. Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com

In this episode, we are talking with Chinese Medicine Practioner and Teacher, Brodie Welch, because when it comes to our optimizing and maintaining our health, western medicine isn't always the best route to take. I think western medicine can be hugely beneficial for so many health conditions but my perspective on western medicine is that it often fails to address the whole person and often provides a band-aid solution rather than dealing with the root cause of the problem. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it.   Notes: 3:30: Brodie’s personal journey to Chinese Medicine and why she is so passionate about being an educator of it. 6:15: Health is not something you can outsource. 12:00: The healing power of balancing your nervous system and how acupuncture acts as a reset mechanism. 15:00: How doing less can be the linchpin to big change. 20:25: What acupuncture is, how it works, and what it is used to treat. 28:00: Why Brodie is calling herself a self-care strategist. And her top 3 tips for helping women to slow down. 31:00: Brodie’s take on the characteristics of grace & grit. To find out more about Brodie visit: http://brodiewelch.com   Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com

We are living in fast and furious times, making decisions without thinking about the long-term impact of those decisions, which is ultimately causing a lot of dis-ease and dysfunction not just within our bodies but within our environment. I often tell the women I work with that their health has everything to do with them AND yet it is SO much bigger than them. And what I mean by that is that YOU are the only person who can take responsibility for the choices that affect your health, and at the same time the choices you make in regards to your health will impact so much more than just you. Your choices affect the people around you, the environment you live in and ultimately the health of our planet. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. Notes: 4:10: More about Laura’s story and how she ended up developing a company dedicated to helping educate people about living a more eco- friendly lifestyle. 12:15: Eco-ceptional living defined and how to create an eco-ceptional life with ease. 14:20: The power of toxins in the environment have to disrupt your health and how you can lessen their impact. 16:10: Laura’s top 3 tips for making your life more eco-friendly. 20:15: How to garden with simplicity. 23:40: How to lessen green guilt and prioritize what is MOST important. 27:00: Tips for raising environmentally responsible children. 29:00: How grace & grit has shaped Laura’s journey. To find out more about Laura’s signature Detox Program, the Home Detox Bootcamp go to: Home Detox Bootcamp To find more about Laura and her mission visit: www.lauratrotta.com Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com

With all that science has taught us about the metabolic power of muscle, I still meet women daily who think the best route to a healthy lean body is doing copious amounts of cardio combined with extremely low-calorie dieting. These same women are often very reluctant to strength train for fear of becoming “too bulky”. The truth is, muscle mass isn’t all that easy to gain, ladies. To end the madness that the diet culture has perpetuated for far too many years and to improve our relationship with our body, we must change our perceptions of WHY we exercise. What if more women viewed exercise as a means to be more, rather than a never-ending struggle to be less? Strength training can help with that…and so much more. Loving this podcast? Head over to iTunes and leave a review so the Grace and Grit message can spread to more women who need to hear it. Notes: 3:15: Using exercise as a means to be more, rather than a never-ending struggle to be less. 7:00: Why trying to improve your health with cardio and calorie cutting initially isn’t a great idea. 9:15: Why you should know your body composition numbers. 12:00: “Use it or lose it” a very valid statement when it comes to muscle. 17:45: Why I ask clients to step away from cardio in the initial stages of their process. 20:00: Steady state cardio vs. high interval training. 27:00: Fat loss is a bi-product of health. Looking for more Grace & Grit? Visit GraceandGrit.com