LYT

Category: Podcasts

  • 149 | Be your own advocate for your health

    149 | Be your own advocate for your health

    We’re so lucky to have modern medicine, but we also need to be advocates for our own health and remember that one person’s point of view, even if they’re a doctor, may not always be right for us. 

     

    I’m a triplet. My brothers were both diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease in their 20s. This means that their thyroid is underactive. They were put on a synthetic thyroid medicine called Synthroid. Because of this and other thyroid disorders in my family, my doctor decided to check my thyroid every year when I went in for my annual check-up. 

     

    I started experiencing a couple of minor symptoms and one year my thyroid numbers came back low, meaning hyperactivity in my thyroid. My doctor sent me to a specialist, who recommended two treatment options. Option one was to be on antithyroid medication for a year, with a risk of damaging my liver. Option two was to take radioactive iodine, which essentially kills your thyroid. And then you take a synthetic thyroid medication for the rest of your life. You can’t be around kids for a weekend because you’re radioactive!

     

    Because my symptoms were very minor, I had the luxury of researching other options. I found that bugleweed plant can normalize thyroid function for those who have hyperthyroid. I purchased a tincture from Herbalist & Alchemist and, when I had my blood retested the next month, my numbers were much better. I took some more of the bugleweed and had some acupuncture and, when I went back for tests again, my thyroid levels were normal. 

     

    My doctor proclaimed me to be one of the 2% of people that heal for no apparent reason. He wasn’t willing to listen to what I did.

     

    I discussed it with some doctor friends and they said people generally want the quick fix and are not willing to try alternative treatments that take longer and require more follow-through from them. 

     

    So my point is, let’s advocate for ourselves. I’m not recommending that you don’t see your doctor or that you reject modern medicine. But investigate and be a critical thinker. You are ultimately the best advocate for yourself.

     

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  • 148 | Power To Do Good

    148 | Power To Do Good

    Today’s podcast is all about the power to do good. What often comes to mind when we think about power is the alpha male standing tall, having lots of money and having lots of ability to make an impact. But powerful leaders can operate by creating fear or by commanding respect. I think of power as the ability to do good things for others and invite us all to reframe power and check that we are assigning power to people who deserve respect. 

     

    I’ve made an acronym from the word POWER to talk about using it to do good.

     

    P is for protection. Protect those who need it like children, animals, the disenfranchised and the oppressed. For non-human animals, I am very committed to veganism, which is about making choices that cause the least amount of harm. 

     

    O is for open the path for others. Truly powerful people are not about holding and gripping onto power. Instead they open the path for others to walk on and to be successful. What are ways that you can open the path for others who may be less fortunate, or younger, or otherwise in need of opportunities?

     

    W is for walk your talk and your values. When you are given power, then one of your duties is to put your values into action because you have such influence. 

     

    E is for extend your power to others. Distribute energy, power, material and spiritual goods because there’s always more to give. Uplift others so they feel more powerful.

     

    R is for resonate and ripple. Let power vibrate you higher and then ripple it out. Use it for good, not to accumulate more power and wealth or oppress others.

     

    We need more leaders who have a sense of purpose in wanting to help others. Your mission has to be about something more than you. You will feel more empowered, more purposeful and more engaged and enthusiastic about life if you are there to help and serve others. So let’s power up, my friends. I’m pulling for you, as always. Lots of hugs.

     

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  • 147 | How to cleanse if you’re feeling like you need a food reset

    147 | How to cleanse if you’re feeling like you need a food reset

    When we cleanse we’re giving our digestive system a break so it’s not overloaded with the work of digesting, metabolizing and excreting all the stuff that we put in there. If our digestive system has less to deal with, it frees up energy that can be used in other parts of the body. Cleansing is also a great time to reframe our ideas about food and make sure we’re really seeing it as fuel. 

     

    My intention with cleansing is to reset after I’ve had a period of time of not eating as well as usual, for example if I’ve been traveling, on holiday or out of routine.

     

    I tried a juice fast, but it didn’t work out for me, so I’m not going to tell you how to cleanse that way.

     

    My tips for cleansing are:

    • Increase your water consumption by at least double because we can resolve a lot of cravings when we’re well hydrated.
    • Eat food as close to its natural form as possible. For example, eat a potato rather than potato chips.
    • Eat a potato daily when you’re trying to reset. It will satisfy all sorts of cravings. Don’t load the potato up with all kinds of junky stuff, add flavoring like salt and pepper or a little bit of ketchup. 
    • Eat a ton of greens and a variety of other seasonal, local vegetables.
    • Eat when you’re hungry and not when you’re just bored.

     

    There are other ways to cleanse. I know lots of people have wonderful cleansing rituals where they just drink water and nothing else. There’s a lot of studies that have shown that fasting is great for your digestion. There’s also evidence that it’s great for suppressing cancer cell promoters and boosting immunity.

    What are your favorite ways to cleanse and detox? Send me your comments to lara@movementbylara.com because I love hearing from you.

     

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  • 146 | Create your own happiness | with Greg Berzinski

    Greg Berzinski is a full-time producer and cameraman for Movement By Lara. He also manages my podcast and updates my website and people love seeing him on my Instagram. 

     

    Before joining my dream team Greg was working in pharmaceutical advertising as a project coordinator/manager. He was driving at least an hour and a half each way to work, he wasn’t feeling inspired and he didn’t get to do much camera and production work.

     

    Now he says he gets to do what he loves and is inspired every day. On the physical side, he’s learnt better body mechanics. He can lift more, has zero pain and stiffness in his back and has also developed a booty!

     

    Listen to this conversation to hear all about why it’s so important to find something you love and make it happen. Plus hear Greg explain how he creates videos and live broadcasts for Movement By Lara.

     

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  • 145 | Less waste; more compassion | with Amelia Barnes

    145 | Less waste; more compassion | with Amelia Barnes

    Today I’m talking to Amelia Barnes. Amelia is a yoga teacher. She also is the creator of PranaVida, an eco-friendly clothing brand, a passionate vegan and a pioneer of the no waste lifestyle. And she’s doing it all while raising two young children. 

     

    Amelia became interested in no waste after she read Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Figuring out what she didn’t need was really appealing to her so she started exploring that further and stumbled upon the next level – not just throwing away a ton of stuff, but actually not buying that stuff in the first place.

     

    In this episode we chat about how we are sold the idea of convenience, but producing unnecessary waste is going to cause a lot of inconvenience in the form of landfill and environmental problems. We also cover how the zero waste movement is largely led by women, the benefits of veganism, how Amelia relied on her intuition and maker skills to start her clothing business and how she got through the worst of her grief when her infant son died. 

     

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  • 144 | How to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped

    144 | How to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped

    How do you help someone, for example a family member in pain who doesn’t want to listen to you, do yoga, move their body or eat differently? This is a tough one because pain can cause resentment and anger and make it more difficult for people to take advice. It’s very easy to think, gosh, I have so many things I could help this person with. I could tell them about movement, about how they should be eating more healthfully and closer to the earth. But it’s important to take it slowly, especially with family. 

     

    I want you to think of the acronym HELP when you see someone close to you struggling. H stands for hang back. Observe what you see the person doing or saying that is a cry for help. See where the person is giving you an opening to assist.

     

    E stands for entrance. Gently enter the conversation and keep looking for cues from the person. Ask them questions such as, would you like to go see a physical therapist? Would you like to start exercising? What do you think is causing it? 

     

    L stands for let them guide you. Often telling them what to do with what’s worked for you really closes people down. Let them guide the direction of the conversation. For example, ask if they have done anything that makes them feel better.

     

    P stands for patience. Patiently give them ideas plus your presence and sometimes presents. For example, you could gift them a massage or a yoga pass or offer to show do a simple exercise with them, like bridge pose for lower back pain. Give them one little gift rather than trying to throw a whole exercise program their way. Patience is key. 

     

    I hope this helps you assist others. As always, I’m pulling for you. You can always reach out to me at lara@movementbylara.com. Please share and subscribe to the podcast rate and review it if you haven’t because that always helps, and I love to hear what you have to say. 

     

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  • 143 | Building confidence

    Today I’m talking about a crisis of confidence in teaching. It doesn’t have to be about teaching yoga, it could be about anything. But yoga teachers often experience times when they lack confidence. 

     

    It doesn’t mean you should stop teaching or that you’re an imposter, but perhaps that you’re standing in a void of confidence believing you can’t do what you need to instruct in the way you’d like to. It happens a lot when I teach yoga teachers my method because I don’t teach the classical vinyasa model. So people think, “Oh, my gosh, what am I going to say to my students? They’re going to think I didn’t know what I was talking about.”

     

    But we should always be learning, evolving and growing. For getting through this crisis of confidence I recommend:

    • Don’t pretend you know it all and don’t feel like you have to be an expert to teach something.
    • Think about how are you going to get more knowledge and more experience to make you more confident. Go and take some workshops, a masterclass or an online course. Commit to always being a student because there’s never just one answer to anything.
    • Think about why you do what you do. What made you fall in love with teaching yoga or whatever it is? Being an expert isn’t as important as being connected to why you want to serve in that particular way.

     

    If it comes from a place of service and not an ego and attachment, you will always always make your way through those moments of lacking confidence.

     

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  • 142 | How To Be A Better Human | with Jen Pastiloff

    142 | How To Be A Better Human | with Jen Pastiloff

    Jen Pastiloff travels the world with her unique yoga workshops. She is also the author of On Being Human, a memoir and celebration of happiness and self-realization over darkness and doubt. In this episode we talk about how yoga helped her fight depression and anxiety, how becoming a yoga teacher enabled her to quit waiting tables and how to quiet your inner asshole.

     

    We also dig deep into what yoga really is, the realities of being a mom, why it’s so important to be proud of yourself and how to attract magical people into your life. I’m so grateful to have Jen as a friend, and I know you’ll love listening to this conversation.

     

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