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The Vital Side Podcast

Latest episodes

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Sep 20, 2022 • 50min

53. Believe in Yourself When No One Else Does with Gabrielle Westbrook

Do you find it difficult to give yourself grace during your healing journey and trauma processing experience? We’re talking with Gabrielle Westbrook who shares her journey into believing herself by allowing her mind and body to feel difficult emotions. She discusses ways to develop self-compassion habits, use awareness as the first step of transformation, and traverse your healing journey by allowing yourself to express discomfort in a quiet, healing space with emotional awareness.  Gabrielle is a trauma-informed healing coach whose main passion is to help women come to know and believe that the emotions they want to feel… and the relationships & life they want to have are possible for them. She helps women heal the trauma from self-betrayal or sexual betrayal in their relationship through the body, subconscious mind, nervous system regulation, and the lens of their enneagram type.  Show Notes: -Gabrielle’s story: a reclamation of what “little Gabrielle” wanted -The power of getting to the root cause of our challenges, beliefs, and so much more -Pivotal moments in Gabrielle’s life: her mom asking her what she could have done differently and her husband dealing with a sex & porn addiction -Gabrielle’s experience with nervous system regulation & dissociation -Feeling fear, anger, resentful (i.e. sympathetic response) and paralyzed (i.e. freeze mode) -Recovery always starts with self – even when you feel like you’ve been betrayed in a relationship -Gabrielle’s motto when working with her clients: “You will be okay regardless of what happens in or to your relationship” -Gabrielle’s journey & decision to stay in her marriage and build a new foundation → focusing on SELF first -Pausing & slowing down to connect (or reconnect) with your sense of self-worth -Allowing yourself to grieve your experiences and loss of self-worth  -The importance of expressing anger in order to learn to value yourself (a reference to polyvagal theory) -“Who am I when no one else sees what I am doing?” This can be a painful and uncomfortable question to ask - but important to understand who you are -Enneagram types depict a combination of nature and nurture - you are forever your dominant type but the type that you are is just the mask that you wear -Your enneagram type is how you get your core needs met -Integration & disintegration lines – i.e. stress path vs. growth path -Definition of enneagram & brief history - using it to cultivate own sense of self & how we operate in the world Resources: -Afterglow Membership -Take the Enneagram Quiz -Gabrielle’s Instagram: @gabriellewestbrook_ -CLAIM your FREE 7-Day Brain Retraining Trial with Reset - Offer ends Sept 26, 2022.  -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer
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Sep 13, 2022 • 25min

52. The Gut-Brain Connection, Focused on Food Sensitivities with Lindsay Mitchell

Are you wondering why you’re more and more limited in the foods you can eat? Or perhaps you have been diagnosed with IBS, SIBO, or another digestive condition with no known etiology. This week, Lindsay offers a look into the world of our relationship to food, food sensitivities we have, and how we can begin to shift our perspective on foods that can help ease physical symptoms. Lindsay also explains how the topic of food sensitivities is informed by toxic diet culture, some reasons why you might see some foods as “dangerous,” and how to live a life without fearing food.  Show Notes: -Basic overview of the information food sensitivity tests allow -Deep diving into IgG – the meaning – and asking the question, “Why is my body responding like this food is dangerous?” -Toxic diet culture and how that impacts our perception of food -Why we can be empowered in our own healing journeys, knowing they are unique and individualized -Information on the stress response and the fluctuating cortisol levels we experience - information on histamine and MAST cells -Examples on how the brain impacts the body with food – addressing SIBO, Leaky Gut, and food sensitivities -Why we need to stop always looking at the tests and start looking at how our bodies are responding -Pausing to ask ourselves, “What does food allow me? What does it represent for me?” -Using conscious thought to start to change subconscious beliefs and associations to foods - simple tools we can start to use with ourselves & our families Resources: -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer
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Sep 6, 2022 • 23min

51. The Difference Between Mindset Work & Nervous System Regulation with Cait & Lindsay

This podcast explores the difference between mindset work and nervous system regulation, highlighting the power of the nervous system to affect every aspect of our lives. They discuss the top-down and bottom-up approaches to regulate our nervous systems and provide simple techniques that can be done at home. The podcast emphasizes the need for a combination of mindset work and nervous system regulation to unlock our infinite potential and shift the way we show up in the world.
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Aug 30, 2022 • 46min

50. Using Human Design to Activate Growth and Expansion with More Ease & Success with Kaila O’Connor

Do you want to use Human Design to create more expansion & success in your life? Or in your business? We’re talking with Kaila O’Connor to discuss how she has implemented Human Design as a foundational strategy to help her achieve her goals and grow into the successful entrepreneur she is. Kaila shares about her personal career journey, debunks common myths related to Human Design, and dives into Cait & Lindsay’s HD profiles as examples of how to use HD to create more growth and expansion in your life. Kaila O’Connor is the founder of KMO Consulting -- the first agency to offer live Affiliate PR training for industry professionals. Her company has trained more than 80 Condé Nast editors in Affiliate Marketing, all while ensuring she and her team operate in pure energetic alignment. As a certified Human Design reader, Kaila loves sharing how she has personally and professionally embodied her energetic alignment -- from building a successful PR business as a Projector type to continue amplifying the parts of her that were conditioned to feel weird or wrong.  Show Notes: -Kaila’s story & personal journey: from a young age, she observed animals and how they instinctively move as a model for how she best operates according to her own Human Design - Taking PR 101 in college as a catalyst for uncovering her purpose & life’s work - Kaila’s journey with panic attacks: presenting slides to a team at 3M’s office in one of her first corporate jobs induced her first panic attack - Kaila’s relationship with her “flight” response to manage anxieties and stressors in her earlier life, including an abusive relationship - Discovering Human Design and her Projector energy type → feeling equal parts relieved and having an “oh no, I am in the wrong career” moment - Kaila experienced a major shift when she turned 30 - meeting her wife & getting her first affiliate job - Debunking a common myth in Human Design.... “There are no limitations.” This is not a system designed to put you in a box or limit you in any way. - Using Human Design to better connect, collaborate & communicate in our relationships - Projectors: keep in mind invisible expectations; Generators: keep in mind direct questions - Thinking about the “authority” type when it comes to communication in our relationships - Profiles are identities or personalities: look at the “body graph,” and look at the sun top right and top left decimal; the first number is “how you see yourself,” the second number is “how people see you” - Profile types: 1: natural learners; 2: natural wisdom; 3: lived learner; 4: quality vs quantity when it comes to connections; 5: problem solver; a very social connector; 6: the role model - Simple steps to let our energetic alignment guide our lives: Know who you’re serving, why they need to be served, and the HOW can be led by human design - Shifting from being a consumer to being a creator on social media - On the HD chart, if you have undefined parts of your chart, what you consume impacts how you feel; for example, if you have an undefined heart center, your self-worth can be determined by external factors - On your HD chart, if you have a defined root, always give yourself a deadline - procrastination can be an attribute - When it comes to manifestation, it’s important to understand if you’re a non-specific or specific manifestor; leaning into understanding your most important sense to understanding how you feel; understanding how to thrive in certain environments Resources: -Curious about your Human Design? Check out these resources here and here -For an introduction to Human Design, listen to Episode 10 of the Rewire Podcast  -For more information on the 4 arrows of your HD Chart, see here -Visit Kaila’s website  -Kaila’s Instagram: @kmo.hd -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer
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Aug 23, 2022 • 27min

49. Cultivating Self-Compassion in the Hustle Era with Cait & Lindsay

Are you wondering how you can establish strong boundaries in today’s fast-paced world? Lindsay and Cait discuss how to set boundaries and cultivate more self-compassion. They also dive into addressing the root of people-pleasing tendencies (i.e. the fawn response), compassion fatigue, and learning how to put on your own oxygen mask first.  Show Notes: - Lindsay’s perspective on self-compassion - Self-awareness, kindness, and common humanity as the main ingredients of compassion - The “oxygen mask” analogy in giving ourselves compassion before we can give it to others - Cultivating healthy boundaries as a tool to cultivate self-compassion (especially for caregivers) - The power of saying “no” - Regular check-in’s to ensure there is alignment with your daily activities & to-do’s and your core values - Cait’s experience using self-compassion in her life - Empathy + action: this creates a forward-moving trajectory in our lives to cultivate the habit of self-compassion - Allow yourself space to feel all your feelings – give yourself a container to do this on a regular basis - Stepping away from the “people pleasing” nature or the “fawn response” - In order to set a boundary, we have to start small. Find one area where saying “no” feels accessible to start. The more frequently you do this, the easier it becomes. - Recognize your personal body cues that feel like an aligned ‘yes’ or an aligned ‘no’ - Ask yourself: “What need is being met by shifting my focus towards others and away from myself?” - Compassion fatigue is common among founders, leaders or teams who feel like they are focused on others more consistently. This is an invitation to turn inwards & prioritize your own needs. - The fawn response: a stress or trauma response that includes people-pleasing behaviors; feeling challenged by self-expression; stifling your own desires or needs; having trouble setting boundaries; being overly apologetic; assuming responsibilities for the emotional reactions of others - Through self-awareness, ask yourself: “Is it kindness or am I fawning?” - Remember: compassion is an innate skill that exists within all of us Resources: -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer  
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Aug 16, 2022 • 42min

48. Finding Food as Freedom with Kate Martino

Are you wondering how you can improve your relationship with your food? Physician assistant and food lover, Kate Martino, joins us to explain all the ways we can re-establish a better relationship with the food we eat. With so much information on food, it can create overwhelm. Kate outlines how you can reconnect with your own intuition, choosing foods that better align with what you need, and why you shouldn’t have to sacrifice loving what you eat in order to be happy.  Kate is a physician assistant, who educates and empowers others to improve their health through diet, lifestyle, and mindset shifts. She's passionate about helping people have a healthier relationship with food and believes everyone can access their own unique relationship with food in a positive way. On her blog, Kate shares simple, healthy, and balanced recipes as well as health and wellness tips. She also hosts workshops that dive deeper into healthy eating and living.    Show Notes: -Kate’s early experience with food – carrying extra weight, acid reflux – and treating patients with chronic conditions -Mindfulness as the first step in shifting Kate’s relationship with food -Weight loss as a side effect vs. a goal -How you can make a more conscious choice on what to eat as a form of self-care -Shifting from restriction to freedom & adventure with our food choices -Connecting with worthiness in choosing the foods that nourish your unique self -Knowing that there is a balance you can create with the foods that we eat -Stress can impact blood sugar balance - when you experience ravenous hunger throughout the day, it’s harder to make better food choices -Explanation of hypoglycemia - sugar lows and spikes -Food freedom means losing stress around food, choosing what you want, when you want it without experiencing a sense of guilt -Taking inventory of the foods that you eat, then creating a plan - how do those foods make you feel? Set yourself up to succeed for the week -Checking in with your body after you eat - are you feeling nourished? -The Hunger Scale - eat until about a 7 if 10 is the fullest you can feel -Connect back to your bigger intention and your personal “why” (i.e. your vision, goals, etc.) as a catalyst to drive more conscious decisions around your food choices -If “healthy eating” causes a lot of stress in your life, prepare yourself with a plan of action to help you enjoy the meal more -Start to connect with an enjoyable process of making food: put on music, a podcast, and connect with activities that are fun during this experience   Resources: -Sign up here to receive an exclusive healthy copycat Reese's Balls! -Visit Kate’s Website -Kate’s Instagram: @kate.martino -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website   Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer
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Aug 9, 2022 • 50min

47. The Power of Plants on Your Nervous System & Overall Wellbeing with Maria Failla

Do you feel the craving to spend more time outside with nature? We’re talking with Maria Failla to discuss the power of plants and connecting with nature. Maria explains how our connection with nature relates to the nervous system, as well as how you can use plants as an alternative to other tools like meditation, how to engage all of your senses, and how you can use one simple daily tool to improve your connection with nature.  Maria is a “Plant Killer Turned Plant Lady” on a mission to help people successfully care for plants and make the world a kinder and greener place. After learning to care for plants successfully and experiencing the exponential joy caring for plants brought to her life, she founded the Bloom and Grow Radio Podcast. Since the launch of her podcast, she also launched the Bloom & Grow [Virtual] GardenSociety and authored Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants). Show Notes: - Going from being an avid plant killer to connecting with the natural world - Moving from overstimulated millennial to living more intentionally and mindfully through the power of plants - Maria’s journey into entrepreneurship – starting one of the first plant podcasts, Bloom & Grow Radio - Using plants to create space & regulate your nervous system - Engaging in nervous system regulation as a lifestyle - Caring for something else as a way to disconnect from your own problems or challenges - Tuning yourself into the frequency of plants - Pruning a plant as an analogy for healing & personal growth in us humans - The science + research behind using house plants for nervous system regulation and for overall wellness - Biophilia Theory – humans evolved in nature amongst trees, hard wiring us for connection to something bigger than ourselves - “Plant Bias” (Plant Blindness) – not recognizing nature as a living & breathing ecosystem - Forest Bathing (a book by Qing Li) + its benefits for our wellbeing - Going from a busy city to a silent relaxation in the middle of the forest, we can drop into an overall state of calm - When we step away from fast-paced life, we can feel initially anxious, then step into a more regulated way of life that benefits our health - Rewiring the “perfection” mentality & how to integrate wellness & regulation practices into your life using your intuition - One simple daily tool: look at a plant before you look at a screen - Using a traditional alarm clock instead of using your phone in the morning - Grounding & earthing first thing in the morning before you start your day to regulate your nervous system - Maria’s Plant Course – link here - How to take care of houseplants – 1) assess your current lighting environment & window direction 2) choose plants based on that lighting 3) put your plants in pots with holes at the bottom - The same plant can require different conditions - and the same goes for people! Resources: -Read Maria’s Book “Growing Joy” -Read Qing Li’s “Forest Bathing” -Listen to Maria’s Podcast Bloom and Grow Radio  -Take Maria’s Plant Personality Quiz! -Visit Maria’s Website -Maria’s Instagram: @bloomandgrowmaria -Maria’s TikTok -Maria’s Pinterest -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer
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Aug 2, 2022 • 24min

46. “Is My Mind or Body Unwell?” with Vital-Side Founder, Lindsay Mitchell

Are you feeling that your healing journey is at a standstill? This week, Lindsay discusses how the relationship between our brains and bodies can impact our physical symptoms. Lindsay also dives into how she coaches people with chronic illness at Vital-Side and the individualized approach she takes to get you started on your nervous system regulation journey.  Lindsay Mitchell is the founder of Vital-Side, a membership program that empowers those with chronic illness and limbic system impairment (LSI) to retrain their brains out of the chronic stress response. When we’re operating from the parasympathetic growth-and-repair response, we can start connecting with our innate healing properties… but we need simple & structured tools to access these. That’s the information she gives you in Vital-Side; she uses her training in medicine as a physician assistant, work as an NLP practitioner, and experience having recovered from Lyme disease to assist others in learning how to shift out of a state of stress and into a state of resilience and balance within their nervous systems. Show Notes: -Lindsay’s story of overcoming Lyme disease -Addressing chronic symptoms of fatigue, pain, brain fog, anxiety, dizziness, and more -3 pillars to healing: physical body, nervous system, trauma processing/ subconscious beliefs -Each pillar of healing is not exclusive to one another - the brain and body are always communicating -We cannot treat each pillar separately & expect results  - Using the body as a vehicle- reframing chronic symptoms & chronic illness in a way that benefits our own physiology -Addressing the nervous system does not mean we need to start processing immediately -We can use understanding of our limbic brains to shift & change the way we feel - more information on chronic inflammation & Limbic System Impairment (LSI) -Receiving information from our internal and external environments through our 5 senses always occurs, and then we ask the question, “Is this something that I need to be afraid of?” -We can get clear on WHY we are using a more holistic approach & connect with our own self-worth Resources: -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -YouTube Video: Uncover your natural resilience in Vital-Side - Omar Akther's Episode 43 Rewire Podcast - Lindsay Mitchell interviews Dr. Daniel Amen -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer
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Jul 26, 2022 • 29min

45. Normalizing Acute Anxiety - The Good, The Bad, and Everything in Between

Are you wondering what possible benefits anxiety could provide you? Do you struggle with anxiety and want to learn how to begin to understand it? This week, Lindsay and Cait discuss anything and everything to do with anxiety from the different ways it can manifest in the body to how we can begin to normalize acute anxiety and associated symptoms. They also discuss the chronic stress response & how to acknowledge it, then begin to make small shifts to transform your life. Show Notes: -Lindsay’s free 7-day RESET program in Vital Side for somatic & mental tools -Acute anxiety can be a normal part of life & show up in different phases of the menstrual cycle & different situations -The definition of “good anxiety” -  normalizing a fun, challenging situation that can help you feel connected to your purpose when it's over -Cait shares an example of how anxiety shows up for her before a speaking engagement -When good anxiety occurs, it’s likely because something is at stake that is connected to your core values -When experiencing acute “good” anxiety - connect with greater/future vision; locate sensations in the physical body that you’re feeling; move energy through shaking, dancing, or stretching; reframe what is going on in the moment even if it’s uncomfortable -Anxiety and excitement can feel very similar and are similar physiological responses -Chronic anxiety and the differences between acute & chronic anxiety -The science behind what happens in the brain and body when we experience about anxiety -Fight / flight / freeze responses and their associated signs & sensations -When acute anxiety becomes chronic, we can get stuck in a negative feedback loop -We can be open, understanding, and gentle with ourselves when we experience anxiety -Emotions shift and change Resources: -Link to Lindsay’s 7-day RESET Program -An Unspoken Voice By Dr. Peter Levine -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer
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Jul 19, 2022 • 55min

44. Connecting with Happiness While Living In An Era of Overwhelm with Jai Dev Singh

Are you overwhelmed by the daily inundation of crises happening around our world? We’re talking with renowned international teacher of Kundalini yoga and Ayurveda, Jai Dev Singh, to discuss how we can connect with our own happiness and what that looks like in our everyday lives. Jai also discusses what makes Kundalini different from other yogas, the values of interconnectedness, moving away from conditional happiness, and moving through change by practicing self-compassion. Jai Dev Sing is the founder of Life- Force Academy (LFA), a global training academy for the yogic arts and sciences with members in over 60 countries around the world. LFA offers (virtual and in-person) courses and workshops on Kundalini yoga, Ayurveda, and meditation. The courses are designed to improve your health, mental wellness, inner confidence, increase prosperity, and so much more. Show Notes: -Jai’s childhood journey with food health struggles which led him to Ayurveda -Real health is intertwined with real happiness -Dharma practice - an exercise system regulating the nervous system, balancing the glandular system, and connecting with your resilient physiology in order to connect with your prana, the life force -Definition of Kundalini Yoga - adjusting the body, the mind, and the nervous system; anyone can do it! -Intuition is natural and available to everyone -Ayurvedic Medicine (‘life wisdom’) - a modality used for healing & health and how it supports bio-individuality -The 5 element system: earth, water, fire, air & space -The key to happiness is prioritizing it and having patience with the process -Jai’s relationship with his priorities: put it on the calendar -When dealing with a chronic condition or symptoms, this is an opportunity to prioritize happiness & connect with health -Moving through any change by practicing self-compassion -Being an investigator of our minds -Subconscious beliefs can cause us expansiveness & suffering -How to operate in a society of interconnectedness to all events - positive & traumatic ones alike -The hypnotizing nature of social media and the news & how to have discipline in our relationship to these information platforms and sources -Engaging in information & the dialogue happening around world events without so much polarization -Being of service to others and seeing our shared collective happiness as an important tool to support ourselves and others -Accessing unconditional happiness and joy in spite of what’s happening in our lives -The dance between desire and detachment -If we have self-compassion, we won’t be scared to be real with ourselves in order to be loving to ourselves -A quick breathwork tool to use when feeling overwhelmed & in need of self-compassion Resources: -Visit Jai’s Website to learn more -Jai’s Instagram: @jaidev108 -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

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