Madeleine Shaw became a health and wellness warrior when the word 'wellness' was barely a part of our lexicon. In fact, I started following Madeleine's blog back in the day in 2014 and was so inspired by her fresh and holistic approach to health and 'getting your glow'. In this heartfelt and fun chat, Madeleine opens up about her own early health challenges with IBS and how a mindful, 360 approach helped her heal. Now she is helping others do the same through her truly revolutionary 'Happy Gut Guide' online program that she designed with a a Clinical Nutritionist that puts mindfulness front and centre in the IBS conversation. Madeleine shares her tips on how to get that elusive glow in #momlife and being a mother of a toddler, she has sure been in the trenches like the rest of us. Madeleine's approach is gentle, compassionate and delicious (her recipes will make you salivate truly). Don't miss our chat for just hearing Madeleine and tuning into her calm, genuine vibe will bring you closer the glow. You can follow Madeleine on instagram, subscribe to her blog for delicious weekly inspiration, and check out her revolutionary IBS healing program. 

Kimberly Snyder has worked with some of the most beautiful, A-list stars in Hollywood but knows that real beauty is anything but skin deep. In this rich episode packed with actionable tips and authentic, heartfelt wisdom, Kimberly shares her four pillars of wellness, why self-care is about going within (not about seeking pleasures outside of ourselves), how her #GGS smoothie saves her in #momlife, how to deconstruct and approach sugar and other unhealthy cravings and why difficulty losing weight is an emotional, not just a physical issue + SO MUCH MORE. Buckle up and get ready for this is a chat you don't want to miss.  Kimberly Snyder, C.N. is the multi-time New York Times bestselling author of The Beauty Detox book series and Radical Beauty, co-written with Deepak Chopra. She is the founder of Solluna, a holistic lifestyle brand and the #FeelGoodMovement, which promotes eating and living to be connected to our unique bodies, intuition and true worth. Snyder is also a nutritionist, renowned speaker, meditation teacher, certified yoga instructor, and holistic wellness expert. She hosts the top-rated Feel Good Podcast with Kimberly Snyder, which airs on the PodcastOne network. 
 Kimberly has worked with dozens of A-list celebrities, such as Drew Barrymore, Reese Witherspoon and Channing Tatum, and has been featured in media outlets including Ellen, Today, Good Morning America, The Dr. Oz Show, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, Elle, and InStyle, and is a member of the Wellness Council for Well + Good. Named one of the top “results-oriented nutritionists” by Vogue, she runs her Solluna organic juice and smoothie bar at the iconic Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

Amrit-Sadhana’s path to wellness started from a young age. She was raised in a yogic home where early mornings, meditation and cold showers were a part of her every day life. She went on to live her life, received her BA in Voice Performance from the University of Oregon and moved to Los Angeles. It was there that she worked for a holistic chiropractor and her passion for health and wellness was relit. She has found that no matter how much trauma you survive, how depressed or anxious you are, or how hopeless you feel, you can heal and live in joy in your body, mind and spirit. You can conquer all the fears and programming that is holding you back and follow your deepest dreams. It was her experience in changing her relationship with her own anxiety that she realized she could help others to do so. She uses her lifelong experience with yoga and meditation and her deep knowledge of food and nutrition to give you a grounded base in which to work from. She’s committed to a career in helping others heal, fall in love with themselves and live their absolute best lives. Amrit-Sadhana attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and here we are. She is a passionate, compassionate and supportive coach who is here to help you find peace and joy in your life. You can follow her @bodyblisslife 

Disclaimer: While this podcast episode was not sponsored by SEED, I am engaged in a paid partnership with the company whereby if you purchase their daily SYNBIOTIC (pro and pre-biotic combination) here, I make a commission at no extra cost to you. You can use the code MOMLIGHT for 15% off your first month's purchase. Now onto the show! This week I sat down with Ara Katz, mompreneur extraordinaire and a profoundly thoughtful and wise human to dive deep into the world of bacteria and particularly, our microbiome. Ara is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Seed, a consumer life science company pioneering applications of bacteria to improve human and planetary health. Seed (the consumer division of Seed Health, Inc.) develops broad spectrum and targeted consumer probiotics from strain-specific research validated in human clinical trials. Seed’s life science approach brings much-needed precision, efficacy and education to the rather unregulated global probiotics market. Ara’s breastfeeding experience led her to the microbiome and inspired a personal mission to bridge science and consumer health.  A serial entrepreneur, Ara previously Co-Founded and served as CMO of mobile commerce marketplace, Spring (recently sold to Shoprunner), was on the Founding Team of social commerce company, BeachMint (sold to Conde Nast), advises various companies across health, tech, and consumer, including Violet Grey, Tamara Mellon and, Stadium Goods, which was recently acquired by FarFetch and is an angel investor to companies like Mahmee (women’s health startup) and Hong Kong-based ALLIES.  Ara has been a fellow at the MIT Media Lab’s Center for Future Storytelling and CCA’s Design MBA program. She was named in Marie Claire’s “The New Guard: The 50 Most Influential Women in America”, listed on Business Insider’s “Silicon Alley Top 100” and “36 Rockstar Women in NYC Tech”, and was recently included in Create + Cultivate’s 100 List for STEM. Ara was the Founding Board Member of International Non-profit, I AM THAT GIRL, a community and movement for any badass young woman who is looking to find her purpose, lift her voice, and make positive change in her world.  She lives in Venice, California with her husband and three-year-old son, Pax–without whom Seed wouldn’t exist. Oh, and she’s the proud owner of several tardigrades who now live at Harvard’s Museum of Natural History.  You can follow Ara on instagram @arakatz @seed @seeduniversity

Dr. Stephan Guyenet is a world renowned expert on the neuroscience of obesity and author of the New York Times bestseller, The Hungry Brain. In this episode of Momlight, Stephan sheds light on why so many of us struggle with overeating, weight gain, and obesity in the modern day. Stephan explains that the hardwired, brain-derived impulses that allowed us to thrive in an ancestral environment of food scarcity backfire and cause us to eat too much of the wrong foods in modern times. This is not a matter of low will power but rather, innate, non-conscious brain circuits that are "doing exactly what they are supposed to" but have now been placed in a new, mismatched environment where, for most of us, food excess rather than scarcity is the biggest challenge. Armed with this understanding, Stephan makes valuable recommendations on how we can maintain a healthy weight without it seeming like a constant uphill battle. If you or a loved one have ever struggled with losing weight and keeping it off, or if you're curious about the science of body weight regulation, you will find this conversation fascinating and thought-provoking. Learn more about Stephan's work at www.stephanguyenet.com, The Hungry Brain and  his new non-profit that provides unbiased reviews of popular health and nutrition books so you can separate fact from fiction at www.redpenreviews.org

In this information-packed episode, Dr. Christian Gonzalez popularly known as Doctor G shares his vast knowledge of diet and lifestyle changes that can profoundly lower your risk of developing cancer. Dr. Gonzalez subscribes to the belief that the body has an innate ability to heal itself when given favourable conditions to thrive. He completed his Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine at the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine in 2014. His doctorate work included a thesis reviewing the current and complementary treatments for bladder cancer. As part of his training, Christian completed clinical rotations in pediatrics, general medicine, oncology, homeopathy, botanical and mind-body medicine, along with a preceptorship at the NYU Langone Integrative Urology Center.  Dr. Gonzalez completed a two-year residency position at the competitive Cancer Treatment Centres of America in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here, he became proficient in Integrative Oncology through exposure to various disciplines and modalities. Dr. Gonzalez’s rare balance of focus and bedside manner during his residency caused him to grow very popular amongst his peers and patients. He provides optimal patient care, by incorporating Naturopathic modalities, such as botanicals, homeopathy, nutrient and nutritional support as well as various other therapeutics. He integrates the latest understanding of Naturopathic therapeutics into all types of medical conditions. Don't walk but run to listen to this actionable, useful and super important conversation that will empower you beyond belief. You can follow @doctor.g_ on instagram for amazingly useful tips and tools for cancer and disease prevention and also listen to his wildly popular podcast Heal Thyself. 

In this solo episode, I dive into the science and the basics of time restricted eating and intermittent fasting especially focused on mothers and busy #momlife. I suggest actionable steps you can take to implement these science-backed powerful practices in your life as a mom with potentially game changing health benefits. Hope you enjoy! 

Nicole DeLeon is a surfer, yoga instructor and teacher who has battled anxiety before and after becoming a mother and is now creating a forum and safe space for other mamas to do the same. Through her platform and podcast ,SoulMamasPodcast, Nicole speaks to women navigating the challenges and changes that come with motherhood whether its a new identity, new body or new set of worries and anxieties. Nicole's journey and wisdom inspired me to soften into motherhood and let go a little because as she explains, only then can mental, physical and spiritual health and vitality emerge. Listen to Nicole and a host of amazing and inspiring mamas at  https://www.soulmammas.com/podcast-2/

Anu Sehgal was a successful, health conscious, busy mama in her 40s with no genetic predisposition to cancer when she was blindsided by a breast cancer diagnosis. In this episode of Momlight, Anu shares her journey from feeling utterly shell-shocked, helpless and afraid to going into 'warrior mode' to get the job done and get past the cancer. This conversation is incredibly inspiring and shows us how in the face of the most intense challenge, we all have an inner strength that helps us rise to the occasion. Anu shares changes that she has made in her life after her battle with cancer including intermittent fasting, a mindfulness practice and an attempt to slow down and sleep more #workinprogress I know you will find this episode moving and inspirational.  Anu Sehgal is the Founder of The Culture Tree. She lives in New York with her husband and her two sons. She is a marketer by profession. She holds an MBA from Yale University and has worked in the corporate sector for almost 15 years. Anu grew up in India and is a native Hindi speaker. She is an active parent and believes an awareness of one’s heritage, culture and language is key for children to become self-aware and confident individuals. Anu founded her company The Culture Tree four years ago, with a desire to fill a vacuum for quality and educational South Asian events and classes in the New York City area. Her company continues to grow and expand. As a cultural educator, she is always looking forward to providing children with authentic, immersive and inspiring experiences. In general her focus is at providing children and their families cross-cultural exposure that can help develop knowledgeable, open-minded and respectful individuals. Anu is a health enthusiast, she leads an active and healthy lifestyle. For exercise she swims and does yoga regularly. She is also into mindful eating and healthy cooking, she is constantly making delectable Indian dishes that are healthy and made with fresh and seasonal ingredients. She teaches cooking classes both to children and grownups and is an active volunteer at WITS (Wellness In The Schools).

In this episode of Momlight, Lisa Roberts Hurd, the founder of Food.Body.Soul and M.Phil in Classical Archeology from Oxford University, shares her journey to sobriety and vitality. Lisa used alcohol and prescription drugs to escape her reality where she wasn't living her truth. When she hit rock bottom and entered rehab, she finally had her metamorphosis and felt like she had been given a second chance at life. Her goal now is to inspire others to take care of themselves through food, lifestyle and being present even when it can get uncomfortable. You can learn more about Lisa and how to work with her at http://www.foodbodysoul.net/ and follow Lisa on Instagram at @food.body.soul