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Exercise Doesn’t Have To Be Hard with Yoga Instructor Nicole Wild - E12
27 Plays1 year ago
Physical activity can play a vital role in our lives, but people who do want to move are often held back by one reason or another. The quest for a balanced exercise regimen can feel like a constant struggle against your own body. But what if the answer lies in a more flexible and intuitive approach? This episode delves into creating an exercise routine that adapts to your body's cues, integrates joy, and fosters long-term health and vitality.
Nicole Wild, a yoga teacher and meditation facilitator, is the founder of The Kula, an online yoga studio that fosters a global community of over 62 countries. Known within the yoga community for her extensive knowledge and comprehensive approach to health, Nicole has spent years exploring the interconnected realms of fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being. Her retreats and training sessions attract participants from all walks of life, offering enriching experiences that blend physical activity with mindful practices. Her journey into holistic wellness has transformed not just her life, but also the lives of many, through her emphasis on balance, intuition, and joy in health practices.
“Practise or exercise or whatever your physical exertion is until you're sore and then rest until you're not.” - Nicole Wild
In this episode you will learn:
- Nicole's approach to supplements, focusing on research-based, needs-driven usage rather than a consistent routine.
- How Nicole incorporates whole foods, particularly for nutrient intake, and her preference for high-protein vegetarian options.
- The vital role of a flexible and intuitive daily routine, including meditation, breath work, and yoga, in maintaining overall wellness.
- Insights into Nicole's physical activity journey, including her shift from strength-focused exercises to more supportive practices like yin yoga.
- Nicole's sleep and recovery strategies, including sleep tracking, the importance of meal timing, and the use of foam rollers and massages.
- The balance and adaptability required in a holistic health approach, emphasising social connection, joy, and nourishing relationships.
Resources
- Connect with Nicole on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolewildcollective
- Follow Nicole on YouTube for online yoga: https://www.youtube.com/c/NicoleWild
- Explore The Kula: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectivekula
- Shop all the products Nicole mentions in the episode: https://alively.com/products/nicole-wild
This podcast was produced by the team at Zapods Podcast Agency:
https://www.zapods.com
Find the products, practices, and routines discussed on the Alively website:
https://alively.com/
Recommended
Transcript
Embracing a Beginner's Mindset in Movement
00:00:00
Speaker
Finding movement that feels good for you. like I don't think there's a one size fits all. like You're not gonna like the flavor or the taste of every different practice, but if you can be open to trying things out and go into things with like the beginner's mindset of like this might stick or it might not, but be open to liking it, then I think we get to surprise ourselves with the things that enter into our lives in beneficial ways.
00:00:30
Speaker
This is the Home of Health spam podcast, where we profile health and wellness role models, sharing their stories and the tools, practices and routines they use to live a lively life.
Yoga Journey During the Pandemic
00:00:44
Speaker
Nicole, it is so great to see you. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you for having me. It's great to be here. This one for our audience is especially special to me, because even though we've never spoken live before, I've been practicing yoga with Nicole for going on four years, not when the pandemic hit. Hers were the classes that I found on YouTube and just absolutely adored. And so I still do those four years later, have them on my computer and and go back to those. So thank you for that. And thank you for being here today.
00:01:13
Speaker
Yeah, I'm so excited to be here. And it's really cool to be in a space like to hear someone say I've been practicing with you on YouTube for four years now, because that was when I got on YouTube. So to now have enough time gone by that people can say I've been practicing with you for that long on YouTube is really cool. So thank you for being the one of the beginning people on YouTube with me.
00:01:36
Speaker
Yeah. You know, there was different people when the pandemic hit that did a really good job of helping the community. So ah Jason Fried, the guy from base camp had this book on remote work and he said, anybody who buys it right now, send me the receipt and I'll i'll refund you. Like everybody needs this book right now. Yeah. Or Sam Harris with the waking up app was like, everybody needs meditation. It's free. Everybody can get on and get this. And then what you did of, Hey,
00:02:04
Speaker
I'm going to go put this out there for people that need to practice at home. They're they're not studios. And so I and put you in that camp and I'm just very, very grateful for what you did. I'm so glad. Yeah. Thank you.
Nicole's Fitness Journey and Exploration
00:02:16
Speaker
I think it probably makes sense since that's how I know you and and how we connected to start with your fitness journey. Now, obviously a lot on the yoga, but at least from the videos that I have going back to the four years you talk about and it's it's spring, which means it's mountain biking season and all of this. And so you're a very active person outside of this. So can you talk about your journey into fitness and movement and how how you move your body?
00:02:45
Speaker
Yeah, it's a good great question. I would say I haven't always been like I didn't grow up in an environment where that was a focus for me. And so I kind of had to find it on my own a little bit in some time around high school, I started to become more and more interested. I mean, I guess even as I say that I did do some gymnastics as a kid or I remember all my friends got a gym membership in high school. So I wanted to be cool and have a gym membership and I'd go like move on the elliptical for a little while. But at some point in like late high school, I realized that I didn't feel very connected to my body.
00:03:25
Speaker
And I also didn't feel like I i understood that there was a mind body connection and that movement benefited both. So I understood to some extent that if I moved my body, it would help my mental state. And if I worked with my mental state, that that has its like ripple effects into body as well.
Creating Connections Through Movement
00:03:46
Speaker
Did you know this because you had a mentor teaching you because you read something or you just felt it, you just sensed it of how you personally were Yeah, I think I sensed it. I was in therapy from a young age. And that was like hugely beneficial to my journey. And I think she probably was um one of the people that was nudging me to find some sort of connection to a movement practice. And so at that point, it was like late in high school.
00:04:14
Speaker
probably my junior senior year. I wrote out a list of all sorts of things that I wanted to try that were just very unfamiliar to me, but that I like saw people doing and it looked interesting. So things like kickboxing and running and hiking and yoga was on that list. I tried like peer bar classes and some cycling classes and kind of was just like, I'm going to give anything and everything a shot for the purpose of like connecting with myself.
00:04:41
Speaker
And that was um I don't know what inspired me to create that list to start with. I remember writing it all out in a notebook and being like, you know, I'm giving everything a shot because I don't know what's going to land. And I did not expect yoga to be the thing that stuck at all. And it took a while for it to stick. But that opened up all sorts of doorways for me to just connect with my body in general and to find movement from a place of like I'm taking care of myself and I'm I'm like moving in ways that are fun and
Influence of Gymnastics on Yoga Style
00:05:11
Speaker
playful. Also, I grew up in Montana, so I was surrounded by a lot of just outdoor culture. yeah um yeah
00:05:19
Speaker
And I really fell in love with being on the trails in like, especially throughout the summer. I'm a very fair weather person. As far as being a Montana goes, I liked the summer and the spring and the fall. And then in the winter, I like hibernate like the bears. But yeah, so I really became connected with running at that point too. And even just hiking and being upright and in nature. There are two things I'd like to double click on there if you don't mind. The first is when you said early on you're a gymnast,
00:05:50
Speaker
I was thinking that that kind of may got you more in tune with your body. that That was one thing. My daughter's probably too tall to be a great gymnast, but it just seemed like something that helps you learn your body, especially as you're growing and it's changing in a way different than a lot of other sports. I guess you don't know the difference since you started with it, but how did you feel about that?
00:06:14
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think I was too young to intellectualize it, like I was too young to put words to that. But I do think, I mean, people ask me all the time if I have a background in gymnastics, um I think specifically put because a lot of the the styles of practice that I do are more like physically demanding and like both strength based on a lot of flexibility, not by any means that you have to like have those things to practice yoga and to have a successful yoga practice. So I'm sure that there's a bit of like,
00:06:45
Speaker
things that I gained from having like time spent doing gymnastics as a kid that have come with me into adulthood that I probably just never put words to at the time, if that
Diverse Movement Practices and Personal Resonance
00:06:57
Speaker
makes sense. Yeah. and I think that makes a lot of sense. so the The other one was your list and all these different activities. And yeah because you hear all the time, yeah, I should work out more, but I just hate running or I should work out more, but I just hate X. And yeah I love your approach of saying, hey, I don't know what I like or love, yeah but it's a big world. There are a whole bunch of options out there. So let me taste because if
00:07:24
Speaker
If I thought all candy was licorice, I just tasted licorice. I'm like, I hate it. Kidney's awful. Then you think, oh, I don't like anything, but you love skills. Now, maybe we should have picked a healthier example there. But the the same idea holds. I wish I could remember what the like exact moment of inspiration was for me to write out that list, but I will say that's a very classic thing for me to do. like I'm definitely someone who's like,
00:07:48
Speaker
I have a feeling about something. What can I do about it? And I'll like brainstorm it, journal it, write it out, create lists around it. And then I'll just put it into my calendar and I'll like sign up for things and be like, okay, we're doing this. It's on the calendar now. We're going to feel it out. I think for me, a couple of things come to mind. like having a willingness to like follow your curiosities and follow the things that you're like that may or may not end up having a pull to it but at least like let me feel it out and see it through and then also finding movement that feels good for you like i don't think to your point i don't think there's a one-size-fits-all like you're not gonna like the flavor or the taste of every
00:08:29
Speaker
every different practice, but if you can be open to trying things out and go into things with like the beginner's mindset of like this might stick or it might not, but be open to liking it, then I think um i think we get to surprise ourselves with like the things that enter into our lives in beneficial ways.
Evolution of Yoga Practice
00:08:52
Speaker
And it's probably dynamic too. I mean, I think about, we know our taste buds change with age and yeah different seasons of life and of the year, there may be different kinds of movement. I'm loving this analogy.
00:09:06
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's definitely true. I would say my movement has shifted a lot throughout the years. And also even just within my yoga practice, it's shifted. Like when I first started practicing, I was most excited about all of the arm balances and inversions, like building strength. And that's still a big part of my practice. But I'm recently like just before this, I recorded a yin practice for the Kula. And I was sitting there like melting into this yin puddle. And I was like, how did I ever not love yin? But at this point in my life, it's become really supportive. So definitely being open to things evolving is I think really beneficial.
00:09:44
Speaker
yeah Now, with with your practice and we go a bunch of different directions, but do you have kind of go to what's what's the mat that you like to use? At least on the video, this seemed like you had a very large mat. I have an oversized Manduka mat. People ask me every single day, I get messages and emails about my mat. I like it because it's big enough that I can like move outside of the lines of a traditional you know come that with and I definitely recommend it. I love it. Nice. And then what about yoga clothing? Like what what do you find gives you the best fit kind of flexibility? what What do you enjoy most there?
00:10:24
Speaker
I am not like super particular about brands. I would say the clothes that I end up having the most of are like things that I feel like are high quality are and are going to last me time. So I'm not like rebuying consistently all the time. I have some really classic Lululemon pieces that I wear a lot. I've also been really liking Free People's Movement line recently. That's been really good. And I would say those are my main two.
00:10:52
Speaker
Do you wear anything, you said you got more into running too, do you wear different things for running or is it similar between the two? I really like on runnings things, um specifically their shoes, but I also have some other apparel from them that I really like to run in. And then, yeah, blue lemon stuff for for running too and for hiking. Yeah, yeah makes sense.
00:11:16
Speaker
Now you touched on, you know, early on in your practice, it was a lot about pushing the body, right? The the arm balances, the inversions, the getting strong, and then now more of the appreciation of, yeah, and some of these other things. How do you think about recovery? You have this one line in one of the the sessions about know, man, my body is tired.
Balancing Exercise with Recovery
00:11:43
Speaker
Yeah. And they say, but that's why we yoga. That's okay. That's, that's why we yoga. So how do you think about that for your recovery when you're doing all these different things and moving your body consistently like you do?
00:11:55
Speaker
Yeah, I think i'm I'm more and more interested in having a practice that's really well rounded and thorough. And if we're using the analogy of before, like having all of the flavors in it throughout different times and spaces and even different like weeks that are super busy or months that are super busy or or winter versus summer like i am interested in the flax of like. How can yoga be a toolkit that you have all of these resources that you can tap into different styles of practice when you need it and as far as recovery goes specifically this is so simple but i heard someone say once like.
00:12:33
Speaker
practice or exercise or whatever your physical exertion is until you're sore and then rest until you're not and like have that be the cycle. And it's so simple but it's something that I've leaned into a lot over the past many years and also the more that I get to know my body and what my body needs. I've really leaned into things like foam rolling and using tennis balls to kind of like fascia release type work, yeah gotten really into cupping. I love cupping. I have a set at home that I use. And then I schedule. Oh, you're doing yourself at home. Yeah. If it's like certain areas of your back, you definitely need someone to help just as far as like reach those, but I'll do my hips and my glutes myself for sure. and and like shoulders. And then I also schedule a lot of massages. I've like made it a point to to not even necessarily, yes, massage getting massages is a luxury and a privilege and i I don't want to undermine that, but also I've made it less of like, a this isn't something that I'm doing as a special treat, it's something I'm doing because it's part of taking care of my body and part of that routine.
00:13:43
Speaker
Yeah, that it's like so much else people say, I don't have time for x or I don't have the money for x. yeah Sometimes that that is legitimately true. and but it's also
Importance of Sleep in Wellness Routine
00:13:53
Speaker
When it's time, we all have the same 24 hours. So what you're saying is I'm prioritizing this over this. I'm prioritizing this over physical movement. And there may be things like, look, i I have to prioritize rent and food over a massage. But sometimes it's not. Sometimes you're spending on things saying, should I be prioritizing that over feeling good in my body? right And that's that's a totally different question that people really could and should be asking. yeah you use So you have the the at-home cupping.
00:14:22
Speaker
And the foam roller, do you use any other kind of tools for recovery? You know, Asana, hot cold stuff. like that I've been loving hot cold. I don't have a hot cold system at my house, but I have the gym that I go to has Asana. So I at least get that. And then I've been hopping around other like spas or places that have drop ins that you can do like the hot cold cycle. And anytime I get a chance to do that, I will. I'm living in Seattle now and I'm not far from a place called Golden Gardens where I can go be in the cold water like year round. I'm not great at making myself do that in the winter when it's freezing outside.
00:14:59
Speaker
But yeah, hot cold has definitely become a somewhat regular part of my recovery that I've i've really kind of like nerded out into the the science of it a bit. And I think it's really interesting and I enjoy it a lot. Yeah. and How about sleep? I mean, what is your sleep routine or hygiene look like? That's such a big part of recovery.
00:15:21
Speaker
Definitely. Sleep is super important to me. I would say over the past like five years, I've really, maybe four, four to five years, I've really started to prioritize long nights of sleep more and being more consistent with not just like the number of hours of sleep, but consistent in like going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time. I feel like my most optimal sleep is about 10 PM to 6 AM ish. Yeah.
00:15:51
Speaker
Obviously there's there's wiggle room and room for life to happen in there, but i I actually recently bought an aura ring. I don't know if you're familiar with the ring. And I'm loving like every morning I roll over and I'm like, how did I sleep last night? And I look at the app and and look at my sleep. It's really interesting to learn about the different depths of sleep that you go to. And then it'll give you like a readiness score for your day of like based on the previous days and previous weeks activity and sleep and all of its factors that that it'll give you some input about how you might approach the day. And I've been loving that. Have you played with what impacts the quality of that sleep? Like the days that you're able to do the hot cold contrast, you find, oh, wow, I actually get 20% more deep and REM sleep during those. Have you seen anything like that?
00:16:41
Speaker
The biggest thing I've seen is that if I exercise too late in the day, I don't sleep as well. Like my heart rate doesn't lower until later in the night. Um, caffeine also, like I hate to say it. I'm always, I've always been the person who's like, I can drink coffee and it doesn't affect me. And I love, I've, I've been lucky enough to travel throughout Europe quite a bit in the past few years. And I love like the dessert espresso after dinner is just like my favorite, but I definitely see it in my sleep. Also, alcohol I pretty much don't drink at all anymore because
00:17:18
Speaker
Like I, it just, it doesn't feel good. And then I see it on the aura ring and the stats and I'm like, no, my body doesn't want that. So that affects my sleep hugely.
00:17:29
Speaker
it all All of that is true. everything he's at you know There's like well-documented research ah behind. But it's it's things like coffee, that because we can tell ourselves it's fine until you get a ring. You're like, oh, yeah, maybe I was in bed with my eyes closed for eight hours. yeah But my rim and deep sleep are very, very different. like I lost an hour of each. Oh, and here's what that does in terms of early onset dementia and all these other things that are going to be real problems if I and don't start addressing.
00:17:56
Speaker
So that's great that you're doing that. Do you do any like temperature wise? Do you keep the room cool? Do you and do anything around that? Hmm, I definitely prefer to sleep in a cooler room. Like I'm someone who's always pretty cold in general. So I'm like always bumping the heat up in spaces. But as far as sleep goes, cooler is definitely preferred. My room doesn't have air conditioning. So in the summers, unfortunately, that gets like a little challenging. Yeah. So I don't have like a ton of control. I guess there are ways that I could I could figure that out. But
00:18:31
Speaker
Anyways, i don't I don't adjust the room temp too much, but if I can make it cooler, I do prefer that at night, and I notice a difference in my sleep. I know this is about you, but one thing I will share with you that you might end up enjoying is the 8 Sleep. Have you heard of this? No. So it goes over your mattress. OK. And it doesn't mess up the the quality of the mattress. You have a good quality mattress. But it adjusts the temperature. So it it uses AI to read. So it'll start going lower to get you in deep sleep. It'll adjust through the night to get you better REM. And then as you wake up, start warming up a little more.
00:19:07
Speaker
And so it reads what works for you. And especially if you can't change the air temperature, having that for the mattress can help help with those temperature issues. Are you saying eight? Like the number eight? Eight. Yeah, the number eight. I believe you just spell it out like asleep.com. Yeah. OK, great. I'm going to look it up. That sounds super interesting. Thank you.
00:19:28
Speaker
Absolutely. So we we touched on some things that you try to avoid potentially before sleep to to get a
Flexible Nutrition Approach
00:19:36
Speaker
good night's sleep. But other than kind of caffeine and alcohol, how do you think about your nutritional profile, how you fuel your body to be able to do the things you know you want to do each day? Yeah, it's a great question. And I i think it's ah it's a piece that I've put a ton of both like actual research and also just like trial and error with and I feel like if anything is evolving it like nutrition is is always seems to be evolving for me like I'm always I'll find things that feel good and then something will shift that I like I'll switch it up um so I don't feel like I have a answer that's like I've been doing this for five years or ten years and it's great
00:20:21
Speaker
Nutrition is always like seems to be a little bit influx for me, but I would say, I mean, I definitely focus on eating as whole food as possible. So as like as many single ingredient food items that I can eat, that is ideal. I've learned about myself that i I tend to like to eat bigger meals left less often than be snacky throughout the day. And I think that's a bit of a personal preference thing. And I also don't love to eat right when I wake up, but that's, again, just a me thing. i'm I'm actually trying to be better about everyone saying, like eat your protein first thing in the morning before your coffee now. And I'm like, OK, let me try that. That seems the out of my, that's different for me. but
00:21:07
Speaker
um Anyway. And why do they say that? In doing it before coffee is supposed to do what? I think, I mean, I guess I shouldn't speak too much on this because it's like out of my information house, but I think the understanding and it's maybe a little bit more geared towards women and like our hormone fluctuations in the morning throughout the day is that if you can get protein in your system before coffee, then the coffee will like shift your hormones less.
00:21:36
Speaker
And it may it may yeah make the the caffeine more of a slow release and instead of a spike and getting jittery, it may help with that. I know my daughter's mom wearing a CGM would see when she would have protein first.
00:21:51
Speaker
She could eat almost anything after, a and and it wouldn't have the spike. But eating the same stuff without the protein first, you could get a real big glucose spike. And so I wonder if it's similar yeah with caffeine. And this is back to even within your own body, right? Because the the microbiome changes. Seasonally, things change. We move our body. There's not a consistent answer person to person or even within the person over life.
00:22:14
Speaker
Yeah, because things are changing. So that's there's that on the morning. Back to the sleep side, you see, depending the timing that you eat, does that impact the the quality of your sleep?
00:22:27
Speaker
Definitely. I have been really making an effort to eat dinner early. I'm like becoming the person that's like, can we eat at 5 p.m.? I would say I really try to eat before seven. like Once it hits seven o'clock, I'm like, this is feeling kind of late. But there are definitely times when when that doesn't end up happening.
00:22:47
Speaker
Yeah. As you said, life, life kind of comes into play. So I have to imagine, I mean, you're, you're thoughtful about it. You're, you're getting a lot of the nutrients from whole foods. So yeah you don't have to probably supplement as much as maybe some other people, but are there any supplements you say, Hey, no, I'm in the Pacific Northwest. I'm probably not getting enough vitamin D or whatever it is um that you yeah you add in.
00:23:13
Speaker
Yeah, I don't have anything that's like, again, super consistent all the time for years and years. But there are things that I've brought into over time. There was a while where I was using chlorophyll, which was for I was playing with it for skin. And I mean, I think it has a whole list of benefit of potential benefits, but I was really enjoying that for a while. I feel like i I go in and out of like, if there's a something that I feel like I'm interested in like noticing in my body, I'll do some research around supplementation and then use it for a while and then at some point it kind of
00:23:54
Speaker
like exits my my daily routine. yeah Also, there's a supplement that I take sometimes at night before sleep that is a mixture of, I'm not gonna say it right, melatonin and L-glutathioneine, is that how it goes? Yeah, and it has a couple of other things in it that are that are beneficial for sleep, and that's been great, but i'm I really try to not become reliant on it, because I found that there was a while where I was taking it every night, and then if I missed a night,
00:24:23
Speaker
I wasn't falling asleep without it. Yeah. yeah Do you know who makes that that blend? Calm. Oh, calm. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I've been loving tart cherries at night.
00:24:36
Speaker
I'll just do, cause they have high magnesium content just as a whole food. And so I have just a bag of frozen tart cherries in my freezer and it's kind of like a little dessert moment, like sweet tooth. I definitely have a sweet tooth. So anyway that I can like check that box is great. Um, and before I go to bed, I'll just take like a spoon right out of the bag in the freezer and just have a couple, a couple spoons of frozen and tart cherries. That may need to be my new go-to.
00:25:05
Speaker
Yeah, try it out. A lot of people are doing tart cherry juice. And I think that as with a lot of juices, you kind of miss out on some of the benefits of like the whole food itself, of the fiber. and Yeah, if you don't have the fiber, you're you're not dampening the glucose spike. and yeah because you know I typically hit that same box post-dinner. It'd be a square or two of dark chocolate, which is great. and There are a lot of good things there. But yeah there's also a little bit of caffeine, too. So sure do that earlier in the day. Maybe do that with lunch and the tart cherries with dinner. Yeah.
00:25:35
Speaker
Yeah, highly recommend. I've been loving the tart cherry train. Yeah. So it sounds like, I mean, you're thoughtful on the micronutrients and things, but you still even then trying to get it from the whole food as opposed to saying, Hey, I'm going to take this magnesium supplement or I'm going to take this on top. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've played around with supplementation. I've definitely had supplements that I've loved. I also, there was a period of time. So it was quite a few years ago now where I was seeing a naturopath and they had me on like,
00:26:05
Speaker
more, I don't even know how many pills I was taking every single day of supplements to the point where I was nauseous and I was having like, I just wasn't because your body having to break that down. Yeah. And I was paying like a crazy amount every single month. Like it was basically like an extra utility bill every month in supplement, which I am, I'm always happy to invest in things that will support my body, but I just wasn't feeling like it was
Community in Yoga Practice
00:26:30
Speaker
Right? And so I kind of reached a point where I was like, as close as I can get through Whole Foods and things like being out in the sun, like all, I'm definitely the person in Seattle who's like, oh, the sun is out. I'm going to go like put my eyeballs into it for a couple of minutes and more of like those. If I can utilize Whole Foods and and and those sorts of practices first, then I will.
00:26:56
Speaker
What about protein? I mean, for somebody moving as much as you do, do you think about how much protein you need or want in a day and how do you go about getting that? Yeah, I actually am a vegetarian. So I have been vegetarian for about eight years. And I've toyed with the idea of bringing meat back into my diet for the purpose of Like people always ask the first question is always like, well, how do you get enough protein? I feel lucky as a vegetarian that I've i've never had a moment in eight years where I've felt like I've struggled to get enough protein or felt like energy levels have been affected from that. But I do i do definitely focus on getting a good amount of protein through like really high quality Greek yogurts, cottage cheese, tofu, um beans,
00:27:50
Speaker
Nuts and stuff, I guess you get some. yeah Yeah, I do do some nuts and nut butters, but I've never felt like i've I'm not getting enough protein in my diet as it is.
00:28:02
Speaker
Yeah. So you don't use a protein powder because I went kind of vegetarian, yeah having gone from eating meat and getting tons from there. I was doing way too many legumes and doctors like this is not good for you. You've gone over the top. So I've had to go to a pea protein yeah to try to get enough in there, but you're able to do it with whole foods.
00:28:22
Speaker
Yeah, I have some protein powders and if I'm like running a lot, like if I'm training for a race or something, I'll probably be more likely to bring some protein powders in. I have some protein bars that I really like. I think I prefer bars over the powder. I think I prefer to eat. They're called Aloha.
00:28:42
Speaker
there Yeah, yeah, plant-based. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. i am They have a mint chocolate flavor that is literally like that's another dessert moment for me there. It's like my treat after lunch or something.
00:28:57
Speaker
Yeah, so I'm more likely to do the bars than I think the the powder. I think sometimes the powder's up at my stomach, but I i have had protein powders that I've liked too. um Yeah. I mean, the the eating, it's more satiating too. I haven't gotten it yet. I forget what it's called, like ice cream monkey or something, but there's one where you can take your smoothies or your proteins and turn it into ice cream. And so it feels much more filling, yeah um getting the exact same nutrient profile, but it's just eating something versus just drinking. It's a very different experience. Yeah, definitely. And you probably don't do creatine or anything like that then.
00:29:35
Speaker
So I have in the past tried creatine. I think I didn't use it long enough or consistently enough to be able to say, yes, it I'm noticing a difference, but I have tried it.
00:29:48
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. It was, or my high school coach tried to push it on us and my mom was very against it. So I never did it even through college when I was put about the never did it. Yeah. But then we're starting seeing some of the mental impact on performance and the acuity and everything like, Oh, okay. Well, it's going to help me there. Then fine. I'll go. So it's a more recent addition for me. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting.
00:30:13
Speaker
the other The other thing that I was going to say this earlier and then it kind of escaped my brain, but just nutrition wise in general, I think something that's made in my nutrition more in flux over the past couple of years is that I've traveled quite extensively. I spent like several months in South Africa and I've spent a lot of time throughout Europe, um a bit of time in Central America. And I think with that, I've realized It's been cool to see different humans in different places and cultures and diets and to see the way people are nourishing themselves. And like there's healthy populations within each culture and they're all eating some. There's some through lines, some things that feel like they're pretty solidly like healthy decisions across the board. But there's also a lot of flux. And I think that's so interesting. Like I just got back from spending um several weeks in Italy
00:31:09
Speaker
which Italy is the place of the the bread and carbs and pasta. And I was asking for more protein in some of my meals, because we had a chef on site for the the training that I was hosting. And I asked for more protein, and they gave me like an extra slice of mozzarella. And it was the most delicious mozzarella that I've ever had in my life, but it also wasn't like what we would put into the box of like a protein source. So I think that's been really eye-opening for me, is like traveling, and some things are more or less available when I'm abroad, and it's like several months at a time that I'm then adapting to that new place. Less so now that I'm, i'm I've based myself in Seattle, I've been here for about a year. um But the past several years, there's been long extended periods where I'm like, re-navigating to a culture into a place, and that's really interesting too.
00:32:03
Speaker
I think this lends ourselves really good to the next topic, which is when you talk about those through lines me and what health looks like, and and it's not just the fuel that we put into our bodies, it's how we engage with that community. yeah And I know with the Blue Zones work, that is one thing that shows up in all these places, and these people stay socially engaged.
00:32:28
Speaker
yeah and even though initially connected with you from an at-home yoga practice is through YouTube. Yeah. I know a big part of what you do with the Kula is community. You do these in-person trainings, you do these in-person retreats. So can you talk a little bit about how you came to that as a deliberate practice in your life to say, hey, this is something I want to proactively
Stress Management Techniques
00:32:53
Speaker
cultivate?
00:32:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's a great question. I was always because I taught yoga in person for quite a few years in studio before I ever posted anything online. And I was the teacher who was like, I will not teach online because I don't think you can connect with people that way. Like you're just teaching to a screen. And then when the pandemic hit was when I was like, OK, I'm going to give it a shot. Here we go. And I'm blown away at the amount of connection that really is possible through online spaces and the amount of people like it really has just blown the doors open for like.
00:33:30
Speaker
the the range of people that can connect in in one place. like there's Inside of the Kula, there's I think 62 countries represented in there right now, which is just like, when I look at a map of the world, I'm like, we're covering so much of it. And then we'll host within the Kula, we'll host like an online Zoom call like a community hang and people will be turning their cameras on and their microphones on and you're seeing humans from all over the globe and like hearing their accents and their voices and their culture come through within one space and that's just like so profound to me. It blows me away when I when i think about it and every time I talk about it. So I've been really, really grateful to be able to connect with people in an online space and I've totally changed my mind about
00:34:20
Speaker
what it means to connect with people through a screen. I think ah so much of the time we can demonize technology yeah and social media and the internet and say hey it promised to bring us closer together but all it did is put us on our couches scrolling.
00:34:35
Speaker
and i think At the end of the day, it's all a tool and it's how you use that tool. And so if the entire tool was 20 second videos and people are just scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, it's one thing, but you've gone and deliberately crafted a platform in a community that gets people off the couch from scrolling and it gets them engaging and moving together. And you know Not everybody feels comfortable going into a yoga studio. yeah Initially they say, look, I don't know some of the movements, maybe I'm not comfortable in my body right now, whatever is going on. Whereas this, lower that bar for them, say, I want to do this. yeah And maybe if this wasn't available, I wouldn't be doing it.
00:35:20
Speaker
Yeah, and so true. I've also found that there are people who there's lots of people who have shared that they might even be interested in going to a studio, but they're from a small teeny tiny town in the Netherlands and there's not a studio where they live. yeah So just like the accessibility at such a wide reach is also really cool to see.
00:35:42
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. And then, and not only are you building that virtually, but you do stuff in person, right? You've referenced a couple. So can you talk a little more about those in person, whether it's the trainings or these are retreats you do? Yeah, absolutely. So the coolest online platform, online yoga studio that has new uploads multiple times a week from me and some guest teachers.
00:36:04
Speaker
And then in person, I host kind of a variety of different things. First, I have yoga retreats, which yoga retreats are open to anyone and everyone who's interested in having a week long bubble or container of practicing yoga. A lot of times we incorporate hikes or other like if we're near the ocean, we might surf or just depending on where we're at, just like getting out into nature is a big part of those retreat settings. And then also a lot of space in the schedule to rest and relax and to really drop into like a of a week away from life. And those happen all over the world. I've hosted in lots of different countries, which is really always exciting. And then I have teacher trainings, which are more specifically for people who are interested in yoga education, people who are either interested in becoming a yoga teacher. So that would be a 200 hour teacher training that they would attend.
00:36:57
Speaker
Or people who are already certified to teach who want to expand their knowledge and take further continuing education modules or bigger trainings. Those are part of the 300 hour modules. So I offer teacher trainings my first ever 300 hours coming up.
00:37:13
Speaker
this fall, which is really exciting. i'm excited have curriculum And then I also travel and host some workshops too. And those are more just in local studios. I have one coming up in Guatemala and one in Banff. And those are more just me going into a studio for a day or a weekend or a week at a time and teaching to ah a community.
00:37:34
Speaker
That's already established. Yeah. And how do how do you connect with those? Is it people in the Kula say, Hey, can I connect you with my local studio? Or how does that? It's a little bit of everything. Yeah. Sometimes I will reach out if there's a location that I know, like I can see in the Kula that Germany is our second highest country.
00:37:55
Speaker
I'm currently reaching out to studios around Germany to see about coming to do some workshops there. um And then sometimes people will reach out to me or a student will reach out to me and say that they've got a connection for a studio. So okay, pretty organic. Yeah. Yeah. yeah Now with you're very mindful around all these different things. And so when I think about the that kind of mindset, the stress management bucket,
00:38:25
Speaker
you could think, hey, maybe that's just that box is ticked with yoga. But I can imagine if yoga is also somewhat your your profession, right? There's a lot of reward and fulfillment that comes from it, but it can still probably at times feel like a job versus something else. So do you have other avenues, other practices,
00:38:48
Speaker
breathwork anything to to help with your kind of stress management or managing mindset? Yeah, I would say I mean, meditation and breathwork are both very much a part of my daily weekly routine. um And I incorporate that really into yoga practice just in general. Okay.
00:39:07
Speaker
meditation, breathwork, journaling, movement, like those are definitely all boxes that all need to be checked for me all the time, as well as time in nature, like getting outside. And even if it's just a quick walk or like, anytime I can be near water, that's always really really useful for me. And sleep is a big one too. Like i I know that I'm not going to function as well if I don't prioritize sleep. And I used to be someone, especially as I was building the kula and I was in those early, early moments of like, output and creating and building I would work until 2am and then I would regret it so much the next day and now I've gotten to a point where I'm like, lights are out like not even lights out but screens are off for a while before I then go to sleep and I put myself on like a early enough bedtime that I know I can
00:40:00
Speaker
I can rest and recover.
Integrating Joy and Balance into Health
00:40:02
Speaker
So I would say like, I mean, it's taken a lot of time, but I feel lucky that I'm in in a pretty good flow with things now. And I'm also really lucky that my schedule allows me the flexibility to feel out like if I have a day that's low energy or that I'm not like creating the the level of work that I want to create all, I'll tell myself like I'm calling a Saturday on a Wednesday.
00:40:27
Speaker
and I'll take these off when I need it in the moment and I'm lucky that I can do that. I know a lot of people can't. Yeah, but I do think there's something to that with you and your mindset that I think has come up a few times here, which is not being overly dogmatic on anything, right? It's not overly dogmatic on how I need to move today. Let me listen to my body, not overly dogmatic in what I eat or don't eat because that may need to change or should change with time.
00:40:56
Speaker
yes I really feel better if I go to sleep at 10 and up at 6, but life sometimes happens and I'm not going to overstress if that happens or if I'm in Italy and I'm like, you know, but that that little espresso at the end of the meal, you know, it's not going to be great and I sleep tonight, but it just tastes so delicious. I'm going to treat myself. Yeah, that has to come into play yeah as well.
00:41:18
Speaker
I think for me like I'm so interested in like living in a very thorough way thorough is a word that has been like top of mind recently. And that doesn't fit into boxes like sometimes you have to drink the espresso at night or do do whatever the thing is for the sake of joy. I think that's a big a big piece that is so important on any sort of like health chart or like scan of the system is like, where's your joy at? Is that still a part of your daily, weekly routine or things that you're doing to nourish yourself? I was having a conversation with my mom this morning about
00:41:59
Speaker
She she was like I'm so talking about a friend who or a someone that she knew who had a heart attack and she was so confused because she was like but he ate so healthy and I told her I was like mom eating healthy isn't the whole picture like you have relationships that were nourishing to him was he like seeking play in his life was he doing these things that also like sometimes don't mean just eating healthy or just doing the one thing. Like it's really a well-rounded picture that has like a thoroughness to it and a depth to it and a width to it. That's like more of a zoomed out perspective. So I don't know if that answers your question, but it's definitely a part of my mindset that I, I feel lucky that that comes, I think pretty intuitively to me. It answers better than my question because I think
00:42:50
Speaker
We can a lot of people focus on health and healthspan and probably a lot of listeners will measure right with the aura or other things. We we have metrics that we can see and we measure to those. But what matters most?
00:43:05
Speaker
does not have a metric. yeah It has a feeling. yeah right that That social connection, that mean that purpose, that joy, it's it's a feeling. yeah And over-optimizing on some at the cost of the others, it's it's a fool's trade-off because we know you could do everything right everywhere else. But if you feel lonely, yeah you have higher risk of early onset dementia. You have higher risk of or early cardiovascular event.
00:43:31
Speaker
Yeah. All of this matters. There's not mind, body, soul. It's it is all together. What you put in your mind is going to impact your cortisol levels, everything in your body, what you do with your body is going to impact your mindset. It all comes together. And so I can't thank you enough for the work you do on on all these fronts and sharing and making it public and making it available to people. yeah I love it so much. It's honestly like I wouldn't be doing anything else. Thank you for um for highlighting it and for giving me a space to talk about it. Well, thank you so much for taking time to to come share with our audience. And I look forward to practicing with you again soon. Absolutely. Likewise. Thank you. Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Home of Health Fan podcast. Remember, you can always find the products, practices and routines mentioned by today's guests, as well as many other health fan role models on the lively dot com. Enjoy a lively day.