The mindbodygreen Podcast

Lauren Bush Lauren always knew she wanted to give back. Raised in a family of people who believe in the power of the individual to make positive change (she's the granddaughter of former President George H.W. Bush and niece of former President George W. Bush). Her mother started a nonprofit organization when Lauren was just a child, and Lauren said conversations about how to make a difference were things they "talked about at the dinner table." Unsure of how to direct her energy and desire to give back, Lauren traveled to Guatemala with the World Food Programme the summer after her freshman year at Princeton. After her trip, Lauren felt a sense of purpose, and devoted herself to her new role as honorary spokesperson for the World Food Programme. The FEED bag—the iconic burlap bag which opened the door for all of FEED Projects subsequent fundraising efforts—was intended as a one-off, Lauren said. She hoped to raise awareness and funds for malnourished children via the WFP. Ten years and 96 million meals later, FEED has become a household name in charitable commerce, and inspired countless socially responsible business concepts. Now, Lauren is taking FEED even further, and she's bringing the scoop to mindbodygreen's latest podcast episode. Along with the moving story of that first trip to Guatemala, Lauren opens up about how she balances her passion for social entrepreneurship with being a mom to her 15-month-old son and what's next for FEED (there's a retail store and fair-trade coffee from La Colombe on the way, but that barely scratches the surface). To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

Kathryn Budig is arguably one of the world's most famous yoga teachers. With an Instagram following of 219,000 (and counting), a past in Hollywood, background in acting, and a conventional "yoga bod," she was driven to disprove the stereotype that often comes with being young, blonde and beautiful. She set out to show the world that her teachings were substantial, spiritual, and meaningful. And she did. In this episode, mindbodygreen's CEO Jason Wachob touches on all the key milestones in Budig's life—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Budig, who is as relatable and authentic as they come even with all her acclaim, did her initial yoga teacher training in LA with Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller, owners of Yoga Works, and subsequently studied with visionaries such as Seane Corn, who are credited with tastefully shaping yoga practice into the modern Western version we know and love today. After committing to teach yoga full time and moving on from her dream of acting, Budig was ready to leave LA and travel through central Florida for a brief interlude before plopping down in Charleston, South Carolina where she married her now ex-husband. Going through her marriage and divorce in the very public venue of social media left her struggling with anxiety and vertigo, but also fueled a newfound personal and spiritual practice that inspired her book, Aim True. Budig has since started her own wellness and sports podcast with her girlfriend Kate Fagan called Free Cookies, has become a budding public speaker, and has started working on book No. 3 as well as a comedy-based show. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

Siggi Hilmarsson is the founder and CEO of Siggi’s Dairy, dubbed the fastest-growing yogurt brand in America by Forbes. Siggi moved from Iceland to the United States to study at Columbia University, but after graduating and heading to Wall Street with so many of his peers, he soon realized that this straight path wasn’t a good fit. Loving his life in New York but missing the food from his home country, Siggi started playing around in his kitchen, whipping up Scandinavian staples like Skyr (Icelandic yogurt) after work. He was disturbed by the fact that the average American yogurt contained more sugar than a can of Coke and committed himself to perfecting his own low-sugar, grass-fed dairy alternative. Now, 15 years later, Siggi has gone from delivering his yogurt personally by hand to selling 35 unique products in more than 25,000 stores across the country. In this episode, we’ll find out more about how Siggi’s Dairy went from a one-man show to a company with more than 40 employees and the important lessons Siggi has learned about growth along the way. He opens up about the challenges he’s faced on his road to success, from going bankrupt in 2008 to figuring out how to transport cold yogurt via the NYC subway in the middle of summer. He’s also sharing the best and worst entrepreneurial advice out there, why he thinks you should always hire people who are smarter than you, and a foolproof way to plan for success. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

Ophira Edut is one half of The Astro Twins, a generation-defining pair of astrologers that have made the complex world of astrology accessible to millions. Ophi has been reading charts with her identical twin sister Tali for more than two decades, revealing the secrets of the zodiac to A-listers like Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Sting, and even Gloria Steinem. The twins’ astrological adventure all started when they were in NYC running their own alternative online magazine for women of all shapes, sizes, races, and sexualities. Publishing this ‘90’s-era Lenny Letter of sorts led them to start writing regular horoscopes, introducing them to the world of astrology that they love. Now the twins are undeniably a driving force in the astrological community, writing for dozens of major publications, launching a class on mindbodygreen.com, and most recently publishing their new book, “How To Get Along With Anyone: The AstroTwins’ Compatibility Book.” And with the recent surge of interest in astrology (which the twins obviously saw coming thanks to the stars), it’s clear that these gifted intuitives have more insight to share with us than ever. In this episode, we’re getting the scoop on all of those astrological phenomena that you need to know about—like what it really means when a planet goes retrograde and how to handle it (hello Mercury, we’re looking at you). Ophi also shares her insight on what to do if you’re in a relationship that’s astrologically incompatible, the best rituals to do under a full moon, and the real reason Hillary Clinton lost the election. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

Lauren Handel Zander is determined to help you get exactly what you want out of life. Co-founder of the international corporate consulting and life coaching company, The Handel Group, and author of the new book Maybe It’s You: Cut The Crap. Face Your Fears. Love Your Life, Lauren was turned onto life coaching at age 11 and has never looked back since. Determined to help people create actual, actionable change, Lauren created the Handel Method, which is a style of life coaching that inspires everyone to face exactly what’s holding them back from true happiness—and to own it. Her team at The Handel Group works with everyone from CEOs to celebrities, and as Lauren says herself, there’s never been someone that she hasn’t been able to help. In this episode, we’ll dive deep into Lauren’s no-bullshit style of coaching, discussing the most common problems people come to her with, why lying really is the worst thing you can do to yourself, and the kind of addiction that is the hardest to beat. We’ll also learn more about how Lauren’s passion for the environment pushed her into life coaching, the girl gang she swears by to keep her sane, and the one book she asks every single one of her clients to read. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

John Mackey is the co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, a company that has shaped the American diet for the past three decades. After joining a vegetarian co-op as a teenager, Mackey discovered a philosophy that would drive him to create one of the nation’s biggest and most beloved supermarkets. Whole Foods has changed the way the world thinks about food and what we expect from a grocery store, thanks to their decision to exclusively sell foods without artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, or hydrogenated fats and their commitment to creating a truly unimagined shopping experience. John is not just your average, brilliantly successful entrepreneur. Embracing the vegan lifestyle for nearly 15 years, he is vocal in his belief that a plant-based diet can not only save the planet but also everyone living on it. John goes to great lengths to ensure that his company is run as consciously as possible—such as by sending his sickest employees (those struggling with obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and more) through the Whole Foods Total Health Immersion—a $4,000-per-week, medically supervised program designed to reset their diets and kick-start their health journey. In this episode, we’ll learn more about how the small, organic grocery store running out of a Victorian house (that John also happened to live in) morphed into the international success that is Whole Foods. Mackey will dive into his meditation practices, his go-to matras, his positive associations with stress, and what gets him excited to jump out of bed every morning. If you’re ready for a jolt of motivation, listen on. John’s new book The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity comes out this month. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

Hill Harper is truly a jack-of-all-trades. You probably recognize him from his roles on CSI, Covert Affairs, or Homeland, but he’s also a Harvard Law grad, author of a litany of self-help books, and a philanthropist. When it comes to inspiration and eloquence, Hill is your man. In fact, he’s even been known to recite poems off the top of his head at a moment’s notice, which you’ll hear shortly. In this episode, Hill gets candid about his recent battle with cancer and describes the holistic arsenal that is helping him recover both mentally and physically. He dives deep into his personal life, sharing stories of his friendships with luminaries from Barack Obama to Gene Wilder (yep, you read that right) and how his colorful past has shaped him into the brilliant activist he is today. If you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking conversation that will leave you feeling all the feels, then listen on. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

Melissa Hartwig is the creator of one of the most successful diets of all time, Whole30. Chances are you or someone you know has tried Whole30, with the goals of increasing energy, losing weight, and improving health but also to cut the damaging emotional ties we all hold with food. What started as a husband-and-wife experiment quickly became an international movement that has spawned a mega-successful website, three best-selling books, numerous must-follow social media accounts, and more. Melissa is known as the super-fit poster child for the Whole30 lifestyle, displaying the kind of positive, entrepreneurial, and vibrant life that so many of us aspire to lead. However, many people are unaware of the fact that Melissa’s interest in health started after she hit rock bottom as a heroin and ecstasy addict who spent all day, every day, using. In this episode, Melissa shares her untold story for the first time, touching on everything from the trauma that started her drug problem to her divorce, the creation of Whole30, and her life as a thriving single mom who has positively affected millions. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

Amanda Chantal Bacon is a world-traveling chef, mother, sustainable lifestyle leader, passionate food educator, and the founder of Moon Juice. Celebrating the power of plant alchemy, Moon Juice burst onto the scene in 2012, and the wellness world has never been the same. Perhaps most well-known for her “controversial” daily food diary published on Elle, it’s safe to say that Amanda is otherworldly. In our inaugural podcast, we dive right into what makes the Moon Juice CEO so unique, dissecting the esoteric practices and food philosophies she subscribes to that keep her mind and body cosmically aligned. Though Amanda is a longtime friend of mbg, this is the very first time she has gotten so candid about her past and journey toward a successful career in the food and lifestyle industry. This discussion unveils the nontraditional path Amanda took to get to where she is today—from dropping acid in the woods as a sixth grader to moving to South America, working in a bakery, and eventually shaping the vision that is Moon Juice. Amanda is living proof that the path to success is anything but linear— and we can’t wait to share her unconventional story with you. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.

Real stories behind the biggest names in wellness! Settle in as your host, Jason Wachob, provides a quick overview of the upcoming conversations with the best and brightest personalities in the wellness world. You’ll be inspired, you’ll be moved, and you’ll hear firsthand about how wellness transforms lives. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit http://bit.ly/mbgpodemail.