Grace & Grit Podcast

Every single day I encounter women who are trying to take a giant leap towards a healthier life, rather than simply focusing on the small, seemingly insignificant choices they are making day in and day out. Big change starts most often starts with very small steps which, taken consistently accumulate over time, create radical transformation. The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson speaks directly to this point. And in this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast, I summarize some of the most powerful lessons presented in this book. If you are looking for insight on how to improve your habits without the agony of having to completely renovating your life overnight, you don’t want to miss this episode.

I have long believed that successful people tend to ask for help often and much. I meet a lot of women who think hiring a health coach is a sign of weakness (like they should be able to figure it out themselves). Personally, I think asking for help in the areas we are struggling with is courageous and smart...if what you are doing hasn’t been working...asking for help makes a tremendous amount of sense! I have had coaches and mentors for as long as I can remember…I have hired personal trainers, life coaches, business coaches, movement teachers and health coaches. In fact, that is how I came to cross paths with my guest today, Sheri Lynn. I have known Sheri for well over a decade. Not only was she my own health coach, but she became a professional mentor to me as well. I learned so much from this woman! We have a long history, and I have deep respect for her. It may sound harsh but I have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with her specifically because she is such a remarkable teacher…meaning she holds your hand when you’re having a hard time getting up, and she has no problem holding your feet to the fire when you need a kick in the ass.

As a chiropractor, Doctor Margaret Durnan works hard to provide high-quality evidence-based management of musculoskeletal problems as well as advice for healthy living. She approaches rehabilitation through a holistic approach involving nutrition and lifestyle changes. Margaret is a devoted student of the Ido Portal method and has found her training with the method to be game changing in her Chiropractic approach…as well as life changing on a physical and personal level. In addition to her Chiropractic qualification she holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Chiropractic and is currently studying her Masters in International Public Health through the University of Sydney. To say I have a lot of love and respect for this woman, is an understatement. She is absolutely a woman who exemplifies grace & grit and I invited her to the show so she could her unique perspective as a chiropractor and generally as someone who goes to great lengths to take great care of herself so she can give her best to the things she cares about.

It’s very common for a new client ask (if not beg) at some point along their journey with me, “Courtney! Just tell me what to eat and I will eat it.” To which I always say, “No, because I would be doing you a massive disservice.” My job as a health coach is not to dictate which specific foods you can and cannot eat, my job is to educate you about the nutritional value of the foods you are choosing (and other lifestyle choices you are making) and help you become acutely aware of the physiological response your body is having to those choices. When you pay attention to what your choices are and the consequences of those choices, you can connect the dots to what ails you more easily and, hopefully…after a face plant or 10…you will start making better choices, more consistently; and THAT is how a transformation is hatched!

Quitting is tempting. It is easy. It is liberating…for a moment. No one ever does it on a GOOD day. Nope. You do it on the days that struggle seeps into your flow, and insecurity whispers lies that you will never arrive at your destination. You start to question everything and, worst of all, you fail to remember why started traveling down this road to begin with. It is on those days that you would do anything for a little more GRIT to keep going, silence the fear, and reclaim your flow. IT is on the hard days that courage is called out of her lair and reigns supreme…IF you unleash her.

In part two of this interview with Irene Lyon, we dive deeper into WHY it is so important to heal the nervous system in order to optimize health. In this episode, Irene explains what the Vagus nerve is, and how our early childhood experiences can impact the proper development of that nerve. Irene also dishes out advice for those wondering what simple strategies they can start implementing to heal and better care for their nervous system.

I have been working with women to improve their health story now for nearly 20 years, and the longer I am at this, the more I believe that focusing on nutrient dense food and regular movement is actually the EASY part of getting healthy. When clients sign up to work with me, they are under the impression that I am going to have them do MORE to create the change they are seeking, so you can imagine their surprise when I ask them to do LESS. And why less…because most people are coming to work with me in stressed out state that is on hyper-drive. Stressing out their system MORE with less food and more exercise is not a great starting place to create positive and sustainable change. So the I am at this health coaching business, the more I have come to appreciate the incredible power of slowing down and HEALING before we ask more from our bodies. So…I am ridiculously excited about today’s guest. Her name is Irene Lyon and she helps people to heal and honor their nervous systems, so they can create real, sustainable change and, ultimately get the most out of every aspect of their life. Irene has loads of education to back-up her work, which includes: degrees in exercise physiology and biomedical science. She is a certified Feldenkrais practitioner and certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner.

In this episode, we are talking with Chinese Medicine Practioner and Teacher, Brodie Welch, because when it comes to our optimizing and maintaining our health, western medicine isn't always the best route to take. I think western medicine can be hugely beneficial for so many health conditions but my perspective on western medicine is that it often fails to address the whole person and often provides a band-aid solution rather than dealing with the root cause of the problem.

We are living in fast and furious times, making decisions without thinking about the long-term impact of those decisions, which is ultimately causing a lot of dis-ease and dysfunction not just within our bodies but within our environment. I often tell the women I work with that their health has everything to do with them AND yet it is SO much bigger than them. And what I mean by that is that YOU are the only person who can take responsibility for the choices that affect your health, and at the same time the choices you make in regards to your health will impact so much more than just you. Your choices affect the people around you, the environment you live in and ultimately the health of our planet.

With all that science has taught us about the metabolic power of muscle, I still meet women daily who think the best route to a healthy lean body is doing copious amounts of cardio combined with extremely low-calorie dieting. These same women are often very reluctant to strength train for fear of becoming “too bulky”. The truth is, muscle mass isn’t all that easy to gain, ladies. To end the madness that the diet culture has perpetuated for far too many years and to improve our relationship with our body, we must change our perceptions of WHY we exercise. What if more women viewed exercise as a means to be more, rather than a never-ending struggle to be less? Strength training can help with that…and so much more.

Your body is listening to everything you say and really it should come as no surprise that your body is going to be less-than-compliant to the changes you are trying to make, if you are trying to bully it into submission (which…let’s face it, isn’t working, has never worked, and will never work). How about extending a bit of grace to yourself? You know…kindness and compassion? It’s probably been awhile since you have granted yourself any grace, so let me help you out.

There is a lot of talk these days about the importance of sustainability in regards to how we live, but we all know… talk is cheap. Our actions speak volumes and are saying something else. As consumers, far too many of us are still buying into quick, fast and easy solutions that provide little to no long term success. Many people don’t want to pay the cost in terms of time, money and energy to build a solid foundation of great health. They want to commit for brief periods of time, often through extreme measures, to create massive change that disappears nearly as quickly as it was achieved. In this week’s podcast, we discuss the secret to not only achieving health goals, but being able to sustain them for years to come!

If you are deeply committed to up-leveling yourself in any way…you will mess up, fall down and fail often and much. Sorry, my friend…it will not be a paved, leisurely track all the way to your goals. Does that mean all of your progress goes out the window and you should quit when you make a mistake? Absolutely NOT! And, yet…so many women do. Which just perpetuates the madness of our diet culture. In this week’s podcast, we talk about reframing failure so you can stay consistent with your efforts and crush your goals!

Summer is in full swing and with it comes loads of reasons you could loose footing with the progress you have made with your health goals, or rationalizations about why you won’t start taking responsibility for your health until the fall. In this episode of the Grace & Grit Podcast, Courtney talks about how to not just survive the summer months, but how to thrive through them despite the obstacles that will surely arrive.

Traveling can be wildly disorienting when it comes to taking care of yourself; you’re away from your kitchen, your workout space and your familiar schedule. Travel demands that you become more creative and flexible to ensure you still give your body, mind and soul what they deserve…your attention. And while it isn’t always easy, with a little pre-planning, it is possible.