Something Admired

Today I am speaking with Lily Sais who is a former school psychologist and registered three principles practitioner helping people heal from anxiety, OCD, and panic. My conversation with Lily dove into both our personal stories with anxiety and OCD, tools to help you along the journey, and insightful wisdom to remember when these feelings arise. 

In Today's Episode: 

• Finding peace from within 
• Health Anxiety 
• OCD & Panic 
• Eating disorders 
• Tools to heal anxiety 
• Intrusive thoughts 
• & more

Resources:

• Lily Sais 
• The Three Principles 
• CODA 

This week I am admiring ceramicist Rachel Saunders and had the pleasure of diving into the many realms and roads that she walks. We explored her foundations and what got her to where she is today and the power of prayer, play, and clay. 

Welcome back to something admired, this week I am speaking with Dr Kelly J. Blodgett, DMD, NMD, IBDM who is an integrative oral health expert based in Portland, Oregon. Today we dove into topics such as biological dentistry, foundations of oral health, ways to remineralise your teeth from a whole foods perspective, the future of dentistry and much more.

In This Episode We Talk About:

• Biological dentistry vs traditional dentists 
• Foundations to dental health 
• Root canals and how they are systemic problems 
• Implants 
• Dental health in children 

Resources:

• Dr Kelly Blodgett
• The Dental Diet by Dr Steven Lin 

In this week’s episode, I am speaking with Carson Meyer who is a birth doula, prenatal & postpartum nutrition consultant and found of @candthemoon, a clean and conscious skincare line. Together we dive into Carson’s experience as a birth doula, how she is currently experiencing pregnancy first-hand, preconception nutrition, and how to cultivate a deeper relationship with oneself during your birthing years.

In This Episode We Talk About: 

• What walked Carson to the birth world
• What pregnancy is like for Carson first-hand
• Tools & practices during pregnancy 
• C & the moon 
• Preconception nutrition 
• How to tap into your own birth 
• & more

Resources:

• Carson Meyer
• C & The Moon 

In today's episode, I am speaking with Jenna Levine who is the founder of Linne Botanicals. We explore Jenna's personal skin journey and how her childhood inspired the making of her toxic-free skincare line.

In This Episode We Explore:

• Jenna's Skin Journey 
• Morning to dusk skincare routine 
• Hydration & emollients 
• Using whole foods and easy home remedies 
• Pregnancy and skincare 
• Melasma 
• Retinal 
• Best foods to eat for your skin 
• & more 

Resources:

• Linne Botanicals 

Today’s conversation is with Tonya Papanikolov who is a holistic nutritionist, educator, and the founder of Rainbo a medicinal mushroom line of supplements and functional foods. We dive into all things medicinal, how to get to know each mushroom in the wild and each of their magical properties, healing from mold toxicity, and Tonya’s personal story on how she got to where she is today working and advocating for the mushroom kingdom.  

Today I am speaking with Ali Bonar. Ali is the founder of @oat.haus and host of Alicast where she shares topics on body image, food, relationships, mindset, and business. I first came across Ali through her granola butter, the world’s 1st oat spread, it's organic, nut-free, GF, and has only 4g of sugar. It honestly tastes like liquid teddy Grahams and she has now released a handful of new flavours that are so delicious. In today’s episode, we dive into Ali’s journey with disordered eating and how she is continuously practising her tools, which tools she loves to use and why, the ins and outs of running her own business, and some practical takeaways if you are a female founder. 

This week’s conversation is with Nina Karnikowski, the author of two books, Make a living living and go lightly. She is a teacher, mentor, and steward of the land. Today we spend our time together diving into all things conscious travelling, building a deeper relationship with your journal, and the foundation to making a living by simply living with intention and purpose. I have looked up to Nina over the years and after attending one of her ritual and writing workshops in person over in Byron Bay my whole world opened up to cultivating a relationship with my morning practice. 

Today’s conversation is with flower grower, female farmer, and alchemist Tara Luca. We dive into how Tara got to where she is today, in the abundance of Olive Gap Farm growing medicinal tea trees, and flowers, and distilling her own essential oils. If you are new to flower farming and are looking for tips and tricks to get you successfully started this episode is for you! Tara walks us through the plant cycle for each season and how to prepare your garden bed according to where you are and your climate. 

Today I am speaking with my dear friend Erin Lovell Verinder who is a herbalist, nutritionist, energetic healer, author and mentor. Erin is someone who is in tune with the rhythm of the seasons and harnesses the magical properties of plants to awaken our bodies natural healing capabilities. Today we meander through the many paths Erin walks between community and the natural world, the creation of her two books, Plants For The People & The Plant Clinic, as well as how to nourish our bodies in new ways amongst the expansion of the outside world. 

In This Episode We Explore 

• Erins journey as a herbalist 
• The creation of her two books
• Finding their forever home in Tasmania 
• Community Herbal Care 
• Rest & Balance 
• Plants for the nervous system 
• & more 

Resources

• Erin's website 
• Erin's Instagram 
• The Plant Clinic 
• Plants for the People 

Organic India 20% code - SOMETHING ADMIRED 

Hello and welcome to this week’s something admired episode, life lately has been full in all ways as we are embracing the peak of Summer’s heat here in California. Eliot and I are headed over to Europe in August and are looking forward to spending the month with family and friends, it’s been a long time coming and can’t wait to be there. Do send over your favourite cafes, outings, galleries, and beautiful things to do around France. 

Now today’s episode is with Gye Bennetts who truly changed my life about 6 years ago. Gye is a 5 element practitioner and has been practising for more than 25 years in his field with a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. We explore the difference between Traditional Chinese Medicine and 5 Element Acupuncture and how to use each for specific tools.

In This Episode We Explore: 

•  5 element acupuncture VS traditional Chinese medicine 
• Gye's journey in recovery 
• Addiction & finding sobriety 
• 12 step 
• Codependency 
• Navigating your core feelings 
• Way's to work with anger 
• Anxiety 
• & more 

Resources:

• Gye Bennetts 
• CODA
• Facing Codependency by Pia Mellody 
• NA 

"Trauma doesn't have to be my resting place"

Today’s conversation is with the author, restorative writing teacher, and mother Alex Elle. She is an advocate for self-care as community care and words as medicine. You can find Alex showing up daily on @Alex, teaching workshops on “writing to heal” and hosting the podcast “hey girl.” In this episode, we dive into how Alex truly lives her medicine day in and day out, the ways she cultivates community, and how healing is not a linear journey we embark on. It was truly an honour to sit in conversation with Alex and digest every word of wisdom she spoke, do check the show notes for more details and enjoy this next hour or so.

In This Episode We Explore: 

• Self-care as community care 
• Where to begin building a relationship to self (note to self)
• Words as medicine 
• One walk at a time / one day at a time / the simple pleasures of putting one foot in front of the other 
• Community and building community 
• Boundaries, intuition, and family lineage
• Intentional everyday soul work
• Trauma doesn’t have to be my resting place 
• The duality of healing this and still

Resources 

• Alex Elle
• Do Walk by Libby Delana
• #Thismorningwalk

Something admired has been out in the world for roughly 3 months and I can’t be more proud and excited about what has transpired. I always feel the need and desire to honour something once it has been brought to life and in the different stages, something evolves. I used to always throw birthdays for passion projects or milestones and today is one of them. I would love to share a recap on how these past 3 months have been for me personally and what has been evolving behind the scenes here at Something Admired… 

Firstly, I landed back in the states after almost 2.5 years of being in Australia and was unable to come to visit my family or friends. It’s been almost 2 months here and it’s been so special to reconnect with everyone I love and cherish so deeply as well as bask in the presence of the mountains, ocean, and rivers! I come back and a majority of my close friends have had babies and almost everyone I am surrounded by here is a flower farmer that is the ultimate gift to witness and partake in the picking. 

Over the past few months, we have been…

• Farm sitting (Sweet mountain top / Palomar Farm) 
• The farmer’s market weekly haul 
• Working freelance for a handful of brands in the realm of art direction, social media, photography, modelling, and copywriting
• Rekindled with family I haven’t seen since childhood
• Lots of dinners and long coffee dates 

And in honour of Something Admired the past 3 months have been a melting pot of lots of learning, curiosity, and sitting with a constant stream of questions… 

So what has transpired is… 

• 16 podcast recordings (1+ weekly) every Friday 
• 2,700 downloads 
• With the most loved episode being ‘Cultivating Creativity and Building a Business You Love with Annie Tarasova” and the second most listened too ‘The Future of Sustainable Gardening with Charles Dowding

What has worked… 

• Recording bulk content to roll out a few months in advance 
• Investing in a good microphone (I bought the yeti blue off of amazon) 
• Keeping organised with each recording, filing them and recording each intro right after the recording so it’s still fresh. 
• Schedule interviews when you are ovulating LOL
• Organic conversation, yes have some planned questions but also allow the conversation to unfold by their responses. Actively listen and ask questions from there. 

Mistakes or things I would have done differently…

• Create an organised calendar to send to each person so they can pick a slot time that is available rather than lots of back and forth 
• Hone in on specific people or focuses I am aiming for rather than asking anyone and everyone for an interview 
• Allocate time in my week each week to record, edit, and schedule each podcast so it feels less all over the place
• Video, share more video and in-person interviews! 

In today’s conversation, Los Angeles-based photojournalist Molly Steele joins me as we explore the lens through which she sees her inner and outer world. We dive into the many adventures her camera takes her and the relationships made along the way. Molly indeed leads with passion, connection, and feeling in every creative capture she takes. 

I personally discovered Molly’s work many years ago through Instagram and her images truly took me somewhere deep within myself. There’s that phrase a photo is worth a 1000 words and I feel her work distils every inch of realism and beauty. Our conversation today was humbling in various ways, one because I could relate with Molly on various topics we covered, and to witness the evolution of a creative.

In This Episode We Explore: 

• Molly's upbringing and how that influenced her journey as a creative
• Photojournalism and staying true to you
• What it feels like to be on the open road and that sense of adventure
• Tools of self-care 
• Building connection and trust with your subjects 
• Following what makes you feel alive and making a living doing so

Resources:

• Molly Steele 

In today’s episode, I am speaking with Waylon Lewis who is an author, teacher, and founder of the online community and publication, Elephant Journal. We cover everything from cultivating a deeper connection to writing, how to create and engage with an online community as an artist and tools from an experienced author on how to self-publish the eco way. 

This is my second time speaking with Waylon on the topic of writing and building an engaged community and Waylon has been a huge inspiration for me personally as a writer. A handful of my work has been published in Elephant journal over the years and this online platform has been a pool of resources and inspiration for my own journey.

In This Episode We Explore: 

• How Waylon created a thriving online community 
• The life cycle of a book
• Ways to self-publish sustainably 
• Building exposure as a writer 
• Procrastination and tools to assist you through the journey 
• Waylon's new book and how the simple moments of life heal humanity 

Resources:

• Elephant Journal 
• Waylon Lewis 
• "It's Never too Late to Fall in Love with your Life" book 

Today I am speaking with Madelyn Soldner Sullivan who is a biodynamic craniosacral therapist, storyteller, and founder of Made of Myth where she spends her time hosting and teaching courses and workshops. Today we spoke about the importance of community and how we heal by simply being with one another, honouring the liminal space within each of us, resources to regulate our nervous systems, the power of storytelling and how that shapes our present reality, and tools for tending with the sacred. 

In This Episode We Explore: 

• The art of storytelling 
• Creating an altar to connect and alter time/space
• Coming home to yourself through times of change and the seasons
• Reclaiming prayer and ritual
• The history of ceremony 
• The Heroines Journey 
• Tools to regulate our nervous systems 

Resources:

• Made of Myth 

Welcome to another episode of something admired, today we spoke with Miles Garber who is a father, model, and founder of open up dad. We dive into the rite of passage that is fatherhood, the power of feeling your feelings, and the humbling experience that life is when raising children in today’s day in age.

In This Episode We Talk About:

-The journey of fatherhood
-Growing up without a father and how that led to a deeper connection to his sense of fathering
-Navigating birth and pregnancy through a man's perspective
-Raising a daughter in 2022
-Allowing space for grief and praise during rite of passages
-The power of feeling your feelings

Resources:
Open Up Dad
Miles Garber 

• Nadine’s connection to the seasons 
• How Living Libations began and where it is now
• The many microbiomes of the body
• Holistic dental care and her recommended steps 
• A guide to biological dentist’s 
• The best place to start on your dental health journey 
• Foods to eat for optimal dental health 
• Rebuilding calcium in your teeth 
• Building a relationship with the sun 
• Getting natural exposure to vitamin D 

• Living Libations 
• Renegade Beauty Book
• Holistic Dental Care Book 
• Biological Dentist Recommendations 
• 8 step guide to caring for your teeth 
• Probiotic melts for your teeth 
• Dr. Nunnally in Texas (recommended biological dentist)

Today I am speaking with Annie Tarasova who is an author, artist, and visionary behind Dreamy Moons. Today we dive into leading life through the lens of creativity, courage, and self-expression. We explore how Annie's childhood growing up in Russia planted seeds for her future business and life as a creative entrepreneur.     

In This Episode We Explore: 

• Building a relationship with creativity 
• How to cultivate intuition
• How travel has shaped her inner and outer landscape 
• Manifestation and how to connect with whatever it is you are desiring 
• Turning your passion into profit 
• Taking the leap to work full time and investing in yourself 

Resources: 

• Dreamy Moons 
• Annie Tarasova 

Today's conversation is one very near and dear to my heart, I am speaking with Lucy of Seed Psychotherapy. Lucy and I share our journey as co-sponsors, codependency, and the road to recovery.  5 years ago my life changed for the better and this episode dives into the tools and resources that support my journey every step of the way. 

In This Episode We Explore: 

• Codependency and what that means 
• Our personal recovery stories
• What it means to have a co-sponsor
• Feelings and what each core feeling is
• Tools that help regulate the nervous system
• Building a connection to a higher power
• Addiction & boundaries

Resources 

• CODA Anonymous 
• Seed Psychotherapy