Age Less / Live More

The Power of Pessimism - COVID-19 Survival with Lucas Rockwood ----- What if this COVID-19 crisis lasts another six months? Or another two years? Our work and lifestyles are being radically redefined, and most people are taking a “wait and see’ approach, doubling down on Netflix, and waiting for big pharma to fix this mess. Maybe it’ll work. Maybe it’s almost over. Or maybe, this is just the start of a whole new future we can’t even fully comprehend yet.  Human psychology is such that fear and pain incite personal growth more than pleasure or optimism. With that in mind, what if we all game-out the worst case scenarios. Let’s assume for the sake of this exercise that this crisis will last one or two years more, and let’s use this uncertainty as a forcing factor for changes that would otherwise take five or ten years to manifest. On this week’s podcast, we’ll explore the power of pessimism, the importance of focus, and how to find the signal through the noise during these challenging times.  Listen & Learn:  Why “Defensive Pessimism” can set you up for a win during crisis times  Why a “smile or die” outlook can be personally and professional dangerous  How to embrace change and embrace loss How to focus on health, wealth, relationships during this time Links & References:  The Power of Negative Thinking  Defensive Pessimism  The Happy Pessimist  ABOUT OUR GUEST Lucas Rockwood is a yoga trainer, writer, and keynote speaker. He founded YOGABODY and The Yoga Teachers College and has certified over 12,000 teachers working in 41 countries.  Nutritional Tip of the Week: Cranberries Any Good? Got Questions? Submit your question: yogabody.com/asklucas/ Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes  

Understanding Your Bloodwork with Todd Strong When was the last time you went to your doctor for a checkup? Did you make any requests or did you just let them do their thing and trust they’d let you know if something was amiss? Allopathic medicine is exceptional at treating illness and disease but not great for preventative care. For health-seekers, this means you need to take ownership of your health, ask questions, and request the tests and analysis you need to understand your own body.  But where do you start? On this week’s show, we’ll help you think strategically about getting your bloodwork done and interpreting the results.  Listen & Learn:  Why elevated cortisol and adrenal dysfunction can often be the root of modern health problems  Why standard thyroid test are often incomplete and how to request comprehensive testing Should you pay out-of-pocket or will insurance cover it?  Why many issues can be correct functionally  Links & Resources: Todd Strong’s website ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Strong is a certified functional medicine practitioner based. He is kinesiologist and chiropractor and helps people with comprehensive, personalized treatment plans. He is the author of the books, Understanding Your Bloodwork and How It Relates to Your Health Issues and Reclaim Your Brain. Both are available on Amazon.  Nutritional Tip of the Week: Addicted to Chocolate Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: yogabody.com/asklucas/ Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

Reverse Aging with Lifelong “Play” with Stephen Jepson ----------------------------------------------- Aging starts with the loss of lean muscle and mobility. Next, you notice you’re not sharp as you used to be, and then things accelerate as you become less active, less engaged in the world, and one step closer to the grave. Death is inevitable, but “healthspan” is something we can control: how healthy will you be in those years you do have on this planet? Do you want to die riding a skateboard or stuck in a nursing facility? Do you want your best years to be in the past or in the future? Our guest on this week’s podcast is in his late 70’s and learning new skills daily, skills that even 20-year-olds find challenging. Listen & Learn: Why bilateral training is the key to cognitive health How there are countless examples of people going from wheelchairs to full function, from bedridden to active—so why not you? How eating and writing with your non-dominant hand can be a simple hack to lay down new neural wiring How neuro-plasticity and neurogenesis can happen at any age if you keep learning and keep playing Why you should never stop playing Links & Resources: Stephen’s Website  ABOUT OUR GUEST Stephen Jepson is the creator of a lifestyle he calls: Never Leave the Playground. He rides a unicycle, juggles while balancing on a bongo board, throws knives and plays jacks with both hands, walks a tightrope, swam across Iowa's Spirit Lake at age 66, and has won over 80 gold medals in swimming since age 65. And more. Much more. After a career in pottery, both teaching and creating, he now dedicates his time to the research of this lifestyle fitness plan. Nutritional Tip of the Week: How Much Fiber Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: yogabody.com/asklucas/ Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes  

Sex Robots & Vegan Meat Jenny Kleeman -------------- Disruptive technology has defined our generation and captured our collection imagination. I haven’t owned a television or a landline phone since the 90s. Google Maps has made it possible to navigate any city as a tourist with more accuracy than a local resident, and healthy food is becoming cheaper and more widely acceptable every day. But there are downsides to disruption too - lots of downsides.  In the next decade, technology won’t just disrupt industries, it will disrupt the moral fabric of society. How do we navigate the complexity of artificial wombs, lab-grown meat, sex robots, and euthanasia? Do you have a firm moral stance on any of these issues? I don’t, and I’m not sure how to resolve these open loops. On this week’s show, you’ll meet journalist and author, Jenny Kleeman who shares her deep-dive research into morally disruptive technologies.  Listen & Learn:  The reality of sex robots and the real risks vs. rewards in the future  How lab-grown meat could replace our dependence on factory farms Where to draw moral lines in the sand when it comes to artificial wombs, designer babies, and medically-assisted death  ABOUT OUR GUEST Jenny Kleeman is a journalist and documentary filmmaker. Her articles appear regularly in the Guardian and also in the Sunday Times (London), The Times of London, The New Statesman, and VICE. She won the “One World Media Television Award” for her work on, Unreported World', and was nominated for the Amnesty International Gaby Rado Award.  Nutritional Tip of the Week: Kitchari Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: yogabody.com/asklucas/ Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

How to Succeed with Yoga & Fitness At Home  with Lucas Rockwood COVID-19 has forced and inspired hundreds of millions of people to start at-home yoga practices and exercise routines - this is amazing! But how do you make it last? How do you stay motivated? And perhaps most importantly, how do you avoid the temptation to bail out of your workout halfway through and scroll through your social media newsfeed instead?  This week’s podcast is a solo show where I’ll share five tips for success with an at-home yoga or fitness regime based on my 17 years experience.   My Top Five Tips:  Get some nice clothes Get a nice mat or some nice equipment Pair your practice with learning or entertainment Trust someone else, not your own system Try not to be alone ABOUT LUCAS ROCKWOOD Lucas Rockwood is  yoga teacher, speaker, trainer and serial entrepreneur. He’s the founder of YOGABODY and the Yoga Teachers College.  Nutritional Tip of the Week: Plant vs Animal Nutrition Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: yogabody.com/asklucas/ Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

Is Personality Permanent? with Benjamin Hardy Have you ever taken an online personality test? Myers-Briggs, Kolbe or the “Big 5”? If you have, you no-doubt read the results with both pleasure and unease. Am I really a pushover? Am I more neurotic than most? It’s true past behavior is probably the best predictor of your future self - but it doesn’t have to be. The guest psychologist on this week’s show dispels the myth that personality is fixed and unchangeable, and suggests strategies for creating a new future for who you are, personality-wise, that is not bound by the past.  Listen & Learn:  Why proception, the ability to dream and plan for the future, even future emotional states, is a huge part of what makes us uniquely human   How to measure the gain (not the gap) from who you were and who you are  How to look for past evidence of who you’d like to be not evidence of the smaller you  The importance of a growth vs fixed mindset  Links & Resources Benjamin’s Website  Triumph of Experience ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Benjamin Hardy is an organizational psychologist and author of Willpower Doesn't Work and Personality Isn't Permanent. He has been featured on Forbes, Fortune, CNBC, Cheddar, and Big Think.  Nutritional Tip of the Week: Vit D & Covid Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: yogabody.com/asklucas/ Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

Fast, Feast, Repeat with Gin Stephens -------------- When we think of dieting and weight loss, the first thing that comes to mind is calorie counting, portion control, and a list of “good” and “bad” foods. But what if there was a much simpler way to start? What if, before you superimpose restrictions and rules, you could achieve huge benefits simply by altering your meal timing?  Enter: time-restricted eating (aka intermittent fasting). The simple practice increasing the break time between your last meal today and your first meal tomorrow can have exciting effects on your hormones, blood sugar, body fat, and overall weight. For most people interested in weight loss, this is the simplest, safest, and easiest place to start - so why not?  My guest on this week’s podcast lost 80lbs with timer-restricted eating, and she’s kept it off since 2005. Listen & Learn:  How diets involved trying to override your biology and fight your body instead of working with it naturally How simply skipping breakfast and reducing your eating window can sometimes lead to exciting changes in your body and health  How quickly the results of meal timing can manifest How to stop with negative self-talk, guilt and shame around food  Links & Resources:  Gin’s website 2016 Nobel Prize for fasting and autophagy  ABOUT OUR GUEST Gin Stephens is a teacher, writer, podcaster and intermittent fasting advocate. She’s the author of a number of books including: Delay, Don’t Deny, Feast Without Fear, and Fast, Feast, Repeat. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Herbs for Libido Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes  

But What if Your Workplace is Toxic?  with Robert Glazer --------------- I had an office job that was so boring, I used to photocopy my face while guzzling free office coffee and snacking on breath mints. As long as I was hovering near the copy machine, everyone assumed I was doing something productive. After a few days of this linger-guzzle-mint-chomp routine, my colleague, Cynthia, felt we needed to add some occasional stapling to our escapades lest we be found out. So we started making zines out of my best xeroxed smash-face printouts. Oh, good times.  Life is too short to hate your job, and yet most of us do. With telecommuting at an all-time high, some jobs have become more tolerable, but do you truly feel meaning and purpose at work? Do you feel like you’re working toward a worthy goal? These are hard questions I don’t have the answer to, but my guest on the show has created a multi-award winning workplace, so he’s got some great ideas.  Listen & Learn:  Why lack of value alignment is perhaps the biggest job problem of all  How to both employee and employers need to think about the end at the beginning Why “2 weeks notice” is terrible for everyone How COVID-19 is affecting communication and connection  Links & Resources Robert’s Website  ABOUT OUR GUEST Robert Glazer is the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners marketing agency.His agency has won numerous awards including Glassdoor's Employees' Choice Awards (2 years in a row), Ad Age's Best Place to Work, Entrepreneur's Top Company Culture (2 years in a row), Great Place to Work & Fortune's Best Small & Medium Workplaces (3 years in a row) and Boston Globe's Top Workplaces (2 years in a row). His writing has been featured in Forbes, Inc. and Entrepreneur magazines, Bob shares his ideas and insights via Friday Forward email newsletter, his Elevate podcast, and his books including: Friday Forward and Elevate. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Restless Leg Syndrome Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back  with Esther Gokhale  ---------------- Office chairs were always bad news for spinal health, but now most people are working hunched over a laptop on their coach - and many of their kids are doing the same! In 2019, we spent too much time on screens, but in 2020, it’s gone to a completely new level and we all need to spend some time thinking about work stations, postures, and spinal health. On this week’s show, you’ll meet returning guest, Esther Gokhale who has spent her career researching, writing, and teaching spinal health.  Listen & Learn:  Why an S-curved spine is incorrect, and why a J-shape is more natural  Why to stop chasing ideal posture and simply work with the body and life you have in our modern world  Chairs, shoes, and workstations - what do do? Links & Resources Esther’s Site ABOUT OUR GUEST  Esther Gokhale studied biochemistry at Harvard and Princeton and, later, acupuncture at the San Francisco School of Oriental Medicine. Post-pregnancy back pain and a failed back surgery inspired Esther to begin a lifelong crusade to vanquish back pain. Gokhale's book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, has sold over 200,000 copies and has been translated into ten languages. Gokhale has taught at corporations such as Google, IDEO, and Facebook, presented at conferences including TEDx(Stanford) and Ancestral Health Symposium, consulted for the trainers of the SF 49ers and several Stanford sports teams. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Top Food for Weight Loss Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes  

The Importance of Friendship with Lydia Denworth----------------I spent six weeks in March and April of this year in a fairly strict lockdown in Barcelona, and then two weeks in May completely housebound in Germany. COVID-19 has affected every single aspect of my life both for good and bad. What about you? Were you on lockdown? If so, who did you call? Who did you turn to (virtually) for help? If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s taught us that humans are social beings through to our core. Even the most introverted types (like me) have felt the longing for group gathering, social interaction, and connection with friends.  But what is a true friend? And how does that change from your teen years into adulthood, middle age and beyond? From an adaptive perspective, why is it that strong friendships are correlated with longevity and overall healthspan? On this week’s podcast, we’ll explore the importance and science behind deep social connections.  Listen & Learn:  Why you really only need one true friend (but more are great too)  How digital and long-distance friends stack up to old-fashioned, in-person connections  Why true friendships should be long-lasting, stable, and cooperative  How to embrace the natural change of friends at different stages of life Links & Resources Lydia’s Website Lydia on social media  ABOUT OUR GUEST  Lydia Denworth is a science journalist and contributing editor for Scientific American. She writes the Brain Waves blog for Psychology and her work is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Healthy Eating While Travelling Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes