Heartseed Health Podcast

In this heartwarming conversation I talk to Avani Dilger, founder of Natural Highs, about the work she's doing to cultivate health in our community and throughout the world.

We discuss:

Why Avani dedicated her life to understanding drug use and addiction and to helping treat and prevent it. She wanted to know:

"Why do beautiful people end on a path that can hurt them?” What is the internal thing that drives people to do destructive things?”

How Avani's experiences with altered states through dance fit into her understanding of addiction.

How her experience with dance speak to the experience of craving, seeking, and despair.

Why she chose to study “alternative forms of psychology”?

How the work of Christine Caldwell, a pioneer in somatic psychology - helped Avani reach a body centered approach to working with addiction and helped her understand how addictive dynamics show up long before people ever use drugs and how we can address those issues early on.

What she learned from working at traditional addiction centers:

We explored the relationship between substance abuse and the justice system, the criminalization of substance abuse.

How Natural Highs got started

Avani started listening: When people use substances, what are they actually looking for? What’s underneath? Avani had conversations with kids and adults and understanding what they were looking for.

“Substance abuse is complicated and complex and we need to come to this topic with humility. The reason we’ve been so successful in connecting with people who are struggling is because we don’t pretend we have all the answers. It’s more about collecting the building blocks that are helpful to people. The program is not a finished thing, it’s a living process."

So some of the things they do in the Natural Highs programs includes:

Hosting Sober Raves

Open Mics

Started a Record Label.

The Importance of Rituals:

The Yerba Mate Ritual: Avani incorporates the sharing of Yerba Mate as central part of the Natural Highs programs because a big part of addiction is not just the chemical substance, but is the ritual. People can’t imagine not doing something that’s so tied into their social life. The gesture of a ritual: handing something to someone.

“It’s not the drug that gets people together, it’s the ritual and we can be more creative with that”

The Rituals in our modern lives are often not healthy. How can we create healthier rituals for ourselves in our lives? Rituals are important because they can provide a sense of safety.

The Number one most important thing youth and adults want to get out of Natural Highs: Learning about Brain Chemistry.

People want to understand how their brain and bodies work and don’t usually have an opportunity to learn. Natural Highs doesn’t tell people whether or not they should take drugs, but rather says “this is what the drugs do to your brain and body, you decide what to do.”

Over 85% of participants say they either decrease their use or stop their use of substances.

What are people looking for when they take substances: altered consciousness and spiritual experiences. Natural Highs acknowledges the intelligence behind the impulse to change our perception and experience of consciousness. Learn how to change your state of mind without hurting yourself. Learn how to do it in a way that can allow for shifting consciousness long-term.

We discuss how sex and love are related to drugs.

We explore the difference between seeking growth and transcendence and the desire to escape and the reality that all of us have both of these impulses within.

“The moment you name something and make it okay a space opens up for you do something with it.”

Natural Highs includes classes around mental health issues like anxiety and depression. What is anxiety and how can you work with it?

Now they have more people coming to the Natural Highs programs who are coming because they’re interested in learning about anxiety and depression.

The next phases for Natural Highs… expansion of the program globally.

To Learn More or Support Natural Highs Please Visit their website.

In this episode we talk about:

How and Why Jo co-created the Conscious Cleanse (hint: it involves a radical turn of events due to a major car accident).

In the inspiring story of how Jo was able to challenge the medical paradigm to overcome a diagnosis of long-term disability and the role that yoga and nutritional therapy played in her recover.

“You can Heal”

Why diets didn’t work for Jo and what she learned from trying one after the next and why weight loss was not the primary answer to her recovery (hint: inflammation played a primary role).

Love your body. Food is not the enemy, food can be medicine.

Why it’s more important to focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t do when working to improve your health.

How Jo reduced her pain from 9/10 to 5/10 in two weeks by shifting how she eats.

The importance of Wisdom and the power of the mind in the healing process.

“Everytime I found someone that said, “I believe you can heal,” I said, “You’re on my team.”

How the Conscious Cleanse was designed with a universal message to apply to different people with different body types, lifestyles, and dietary preferences.

“Vegetable are the center of your universe” - “Dark Leafy Greens are an inflammation powerhouse, the more dark leafy greens you get the better you’ll feel.”

Fresh local foods taste better.

The Conscious cleanse isn’t really a cleanse, it’s about getting back to basics and eating a healthy whole foods diet.

It’s important to feel empowered to choose what you eat - that’s how this is different from a diet, you can choose what and how you eat.

It’s important to be in community and have support when we’re shifting our lifestyle or diet and working to create new habits and positive behaviors - this is built into the Conscious Cleanse in a really great way.

We discuss the Chinese medical concept of digestion and how that informs when and when not to eat raw or cooked foods.

 

Resources Mentioned:

Anna Forrest Yoga

Michael Pollan - Omnivore’s Dillema

Inspirational Video - “Never Give up” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

 

Getting in touch:

www.conciouscleanse.com - [email protected] -

[email protected] - www.heartseedhealth.com

Welcome to the Heartseed Health Podcast (http://www.heartseedhealth.com/podcast). Together we’re learning to cultivate health as we talk to incredible health-inspiring people about projects, programs, and events.

The beautiful and inspiring story of:

-> What the Grief Support Network is and why Wendy created it?

-> The importance of culture and how people relate to people who are grieving in the healing process.

-> The Role of mindfulness in experiencing and moving through grief.

-> The importance of being in community with others who are going through the same experience and a safe space where you’re allowed to show up authentically

-> The importance of being with oneself and processing the grief within oneself as an individual

The Art of listening - how to listen to themselves and others, connect and be in community

“I actually think that connection is the greatest way we have to heal”

“The opportunity to express what was true and to not have to pretend that we were okay”

The importance of Rituals

“I experience grief as a catalyst, for really powerful change, for personal growth on so many levels”

Why Yoga was essential to Wendy’s ability to move through grief. And What it is about Yoga that is so helpful.

Hint: It brings together the physical, emotional, and spiritual

Grief breaks you open and through that we have the capacity to feel more”

“I want to teach people how to work with that thing that’s happening in their hearts, that opening,  which leads to greater vulnerability, which leads to greater authenticity in our relationships and ultimately more joy”

The role meditation and journaling can play in working through grief.

The resistance that can come up working through grief.

The importance of being witnessed.

“No one can tell us what we need or how we should be or the answers to our questions more than we can find from within and grief is powerful teacher.”

“How to find greater self-love and acceptance through grief”

Find everything at: http://www.heartseedhealth.com/podcast

In this episode we talk about meditation and mindfulness and how they cultivate our awareness and capacity to get the most out of life. 

We talk with Ben Gaibel, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Louiseville, CO, who works at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, CO

Learn about Ben Gaibel's personal journey in becoming a social worker and therapist.

Why moving towards life’s challenges and uncomfortable elements are an essential part of healing and growth and how facing challenges doesn’t have to be scary or depressing.

How and why meditation and mindfulness are a part of the mental health work that Ben does.

Learn about Jon Kabat Zinn and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction includes:

formal meditation, yoga, walking meditation, body-scanning practices

Informal practice of bringing awareness into daily life - asks participants to commit to practicing every day home.

Integrate mindfulness into life in a supportive community atmosphere

Why it’s essential to cultivate awareness and the ability to self-regulate.

MBSR deepens the capacity to work with the challenges that come about being a human being.

How meditation and mindfulness practices give us more choice in life

How mindfulness and meditation can serve as an antidote the “screen-time”.

Why the mind-body connection is so important.

How Technology can help us increase our awareness and mindfulness

The value of of mindfulness and meditation for people affected by cancer.

Why embracing our vulnerability can liberate us to experience more joy and gratitude

We end with some incredibly useful tips on how to start and maintain a mindfulness practice.

Ben Gaibel is leading a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction workshop series that is open to the public February 7th- March 28th, 2018 (orientation session January 31st 4:30-6:00pm) at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, CO . You can learn more and sign up here…

You can connect with him at Ben Gaibel Counseling or download free guided meditations at Mindful Train

Center for Integrative Medicine at Good Samaritan

Resources mentioned:

Full Catastrophe Living - Jon Kabat Zinn

The body Keeps the Score - Bessel Van der Kolk

Apps: Headspace, Breathe

Peter Levine

We discuss: -Why it's important to be able to both "take the driver seat or the passenger seat" in bed and how a couple can explore both roles. -How boundaries are essential for healthy vulnerability. -How to identify your "intimacy threshold" and grow beyond it and why it's important to have access to multiple types of intimacy. -How Daniel is modeling manhood, fatherhood, and intimacy for his two sons. -The role intention plays in creating intimacy. We finish the interview with some great practical advice from Daniel about how to improve your relationships.

We all seek connection with those around us because it’s an innate human need. There are many ways we connect. We have casual conversations with our friends and small talk with strangers and acquaintances. Typically, we seek a deeper more intimate connection with our loved ones, and yet sometimes it’s surprisingly difficult to get there. Despite years of living together, deep love, and an everlasting commitment, it can still be difficult to talk about certain needs and desires. This is all the more so true in a newer relationship. In this potent conversation, Daniel and I transcend taboos to explore the territory of intimacy and vulnerability. We learn about what Daniel does as a sex therapist and he shares insights, useful advice, and tips around how we can improve our relationships and sexual connections. “What isn’t working in your sex life? How can you develop a vision of what you to cultivate in terms of a healthy relationship to your sexuality?” Daniel shares how to overcome the awkwardness of talking about sex and the importance of vulnerability. We discuss and important new metaphor for sex (https://www.ted.com/talks/al_vernacchio_sex_needs_a_new_metaphor_here_s_one) and we explore why we avoid speaking up about what we’re most thirsty for. Some additional topics include: - Why Suffering in Silence around sexual connection is harmful for everyone and how to better communicate with your partner about sex. - We explore of the commonality of sexual dissatisfaction in men and women and what can be done about it. - We discuss the place of power and privilege in conversation around sex, sexual pleasure, and intimacy. “Rather than saying any one group should be silenced or not heard either because we don’t agree with that group or because they’ve had power, or for any reason, ends up defeating the purpose of all of working to develop ourselves in a way that creates individual change on a community level”. - We explore the obstacles to intimacy for men and how men can go beyond that. Men avoid intimacy with other men in general. - Why it’s a common mistake for men look to get ALL of their intimacy needs from their romantic relationships. and how to grow beyond that. Murky unclear set of emotional, physical, and sexual intimacy needs. Don’t know how to articulate, what’s in the basket. - We also explore how Daniel is modeling healthy manhood and fatherhood for his sons. Come on, it doesn’t get much better than that! ;-) I think this is a really important episode and believe that there’s something out there for everyone to learn here. If you listen and enjoy it, please share with a friend or a family member that will enjoy it, and most importantly, put what you learn to use. Start a vulnerable conversation and see where it goes. Think about what you want from your sexual life and talk about it with a friend. Explore vulnerability and intimacy with someone other than lover. A lot of the change our culture needs will start right here in these conversations. Feel free to comment or get in touch with questions etc. Contact me: [email protected] or Daniel via www.theintimacyinstittue.org As always, thanks for listening!

Astrid and Leela are two special woman who have co-created The Red Earth Herbal Gathering - a safe and sacred space to grow community centered around honoring the feminine and the divine. This two day transformative event happening August 19-20 on Pachamama Farm will be offering powerful workshops about plant-medicine and womanhood. The programs include a Rite of passage for girls becoming woman which will be facilitated by Lorene Wapotich - Founder and Executive Director of Feet on the Earth Programs Listen to our discussion to tap into the life-nurturing impulse behind this event, learn about other community events, and take away some inspiration. Join the movement of human beings promoting peace and nourishing life.

This is a great interview with Dakota Hindman, a doula and ceremonialist. It was a lot of fun to connect with Dakota. I enjoyed hearing her thoughts on supporting families while they birth and appreciated the inclusion of ceremony and sanctity in the transformative process. We discussed some of the cultural shifts we’d like to see occur and how the current culture impacts the experience for a lot of people.

Hi Everyone and welcome to the Heartseed Health Podcast. In this episode we’re exploring the midwifery model of birth. We’ll be talking with 2 midwives from the Community Roots Midwife Collective in Longmont, Colorado. All of us (as far as I know) were birthed onto this planet by our mothers one way or another (thanks Mom!). It is a powerful and sacred event the can carry a lot of significance for the family. There are many different ways of approaching birth, and as a culture, here in the US, we tend to see it as a medical event that belongs in a hospital rather than a natural event that can happen in our homes. Now, most of us are incredibly lucky to be living in a place and an era where adequate health care options are available and where birth, which can involve life or death situations, can be supported by medical help if and when needed. Birth is a miraculous undertaking for the human body regardless of where it takes place. Every family has to make the decision of how they want and are able to bring new life into the world. Birth is the last place we want to be bringing shame or guilt and I think it’s incredibly important, that we treat everyone else’s choice with dignity and respect. As an acupuncturist I work with women in all of the stages of bringing new life into the world. From supporting fertility and conception, to dealing with morning sickness and other pregnancy challenges (including breech baby presentation), and in the promotion of labor and postpartum recovery. My experiences have taught me humility and respect for the strength and resilience of the human body and spirit, and has given me an equally deep appreciation for ancient and modern medicines. I hope everyone is able to listen to the episode with curiosity and an open mind. I’m happy to field any questions and I know Nichole and Lo are as well. I hope you Enjoy the interview - How Lo and Nichole decided to become midwives - How the Community Roots Midwifery Collective Came to be - Who tends to choose home births and why - What some of the common barriers to home birth are (and how some people overcome them). - The sliding-scale and the birth fund. - How birth affects everyone in our community. - A little about the experience of a home birth and how it can differ from other perinatal care. - How expecting couples can stay connected and maintain a supportive environment. - What do midwives do to take care of themselves? - Birth as a Rite of Passage… - Important things to think about with postpartum care. Recommended Resources: -Aviva Romm’s postpartum book (https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Health-after-Birth-Postpartum/dp/0892819308) - Citizens for Midwifery - http://cfmidwifery.org/index.aspx - Midwives Alliance for North America - https://mana.org/ - Colorado Midwives Association - http://coloradomidwives.org/ - Ina May Gaskin’s books: http://inamay.com/books/ Contact info: [email protected] www.midwifecollective.com Facebook Page Thank you again for listening the Heartseed Health Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with other who may appreciate and enjoy it and I encourage you to subscribe either via iTunes or our website to get updated when the next episode comes out. I look forward to connecting again soon.

We are excited to announce the Heartseed Health Podcast! This podcast is part of an endeavor to promote more connectivity and awareness throughout our community about beautiful health-inspiring events, people, projects, and organizations. You can think of it as a local holistic health focused radio show. It is a mixture of interviews and “resource episodes” that include guided meditations and educational information on different topics. Here we have an interview with Rachael about her journey to becoming an somatic psychotherapist and dance movement therapist. We explore:  The impact of her childhood and growing up in rural western Virginia on her attitude towards life. The importance of curiosity, wonder, and awe and ways they can be cultivated. The value of exploring murky hidden places for growth and personal development. Pregnancy and Birth as a rite of passage. The role of partners in supporting the pregnancy and birth process. We hope that you enjoy our candid conversation and get some tangible benefit from it. Please feel free to offer feedback. You can Subscribe below via our website or iTunes app to be notified about future episodes and continue exploring health together!