For Life on Purpose Episode #22, my guest is Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor, yoga and meditation teacher, and author Michelle Fondin. Michelle joins me to discuss all things Ayurveda — from how it helped drastically change her life after she was diagnosed with cancer at age 28 to how it can help you find the health answers you're seeking by tapping into your body's inherent wisdom, as well as some of the tools she uses to live a purposeful life.
About: Michelle Fondin is an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor, yoga and meditation teacher, author, and since 2008, the Owner of The Ayurvedic Path. She holds a Vedic Master certificate from the Chopra Center and has worked with Drs. Deepak Chopra and David Simon at Chopra Center events teaching yoga and meditation. She regularly sees clients and teaches them how to live an Ayurvedic Lifestyle and achieve optimal wellness. She’s a member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, The Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America and Yoga Alliance and writes for Chopra.com. She lives in Virginia with her three kids and two cats.
Her most recent book, The Wheel of Healing with Ayurveda: An Easy Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle (published by New World Library) offers an in-depth exploration of Ayurveda, which originated in India at least five thousand years ago and has stood the test of time. Ayurveda, the “science of life,” is a complete wellness system that includes all that we associate with medical care — prevention of disease, observation, diagnosis, and treatment — as well as self-care practices that are generally absent from Western medicine.
The book is built around eight “spokes” of the Ayurvedic wheel of healing — physical, spiritual, emotional, relationship, occupational, financial, and environmental health, as well as healing the past. Using the system of three principle doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha), Michelle offers readers a self-assessment for discovering their mind-body type, as well as practical ways they can enhance their health based on their type.
To learn more about Michelle and her work, visit: http://www.michellefondin.com.
For Life on Purpose Episode #21, my guests are Heather Thorkelson, a location-independent business strategist, certified life coach, occasional Antarctic expedition guide, and founder of the Republic of Freedom and Leah Kalamakis, a location-independent freelance web designer & developer and the founder of The Freelance To Freedom Project. Heather and Leah join me to discuss making the LEAP to self-employment and freelancing (which we've all three done); the joys and challenges of self-employment; and their helpful LEAP Guide, which includes "everything you need to know to start and grow your freelance business so you can quit your soul-sucking job and start living life on your own terms."
About Heather: Despite seven years working for a pharmaceutical company that she’d rather forget, she left the golden handcuffs behind with no plan and still managed to do all kinds of grown-up things like buy a house and get a dog and travel the world while building an awesome passion-fueled business where she gets paid to help people. (She’s still in disbelief about that.) 43 countries traversed, 7 continents visited, and 7 countries inhabited outside of her homeland (Canada), Heather is an entirely self-made woman who knows fear, uncertainty, adventure, and personal responsibility (plus a few languages) like the back of her hand. She can often be heard waxing poetic over a craft beer, “It ain’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.”
About Leah: She spent years in a corporate job because that’s what she was supposed to do, but was only thinking, “This is as good as it gets?” She decided to learn a new skill (web design) after discovering you don’t need a 4-year/$40k degree to do so, side-hustled to build her business and surpassed her corporate income 3 months after her LEAP. Along with running a rockin’ web design business, Leah now helps freelancers take their skills, escape their soul-sucking jobs and start living life on their terms. When she’s not hanging out online, you can find her eating popcorn, riding her scooter along the French coast, or taking le apèro on a terrace in Biarritz.
To learn more about the LEAP Guide, visit: http://www.leapguidetofreelance.com
To learn more about Heather, visit: http://heatherthorkelson.com
To learn more about Leah, visit: http://freelancetofreedomproject.com
For Life on Purpose Episode #20, my guest is author, speaker, and teacher Gregg Krech, one of the leading authorities on Japanese Psychology in North America. Gregg joins me to discuss the importance of taking informed action, how maintaining awareness of our finite reality can infuse your life with passion and urgency, the Japanese philosophies of Naikan and Morita Therapy, and some of the tools he uses to live a meaningful and purposeful life.
About: Gregg Krech is an author, speaker, teacher, and one of the leading authorities on Japanese Psychology in North America. He's also the founding Director of the TohDoh Institute, an educational center for purposeful living, based in Vermont.
He is the author of the award-winning book: Naikan: Gratitude, Grace & the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection, which has been translated into five languages, and he's the editor of Thirty Thousand Days: A Journal for Purposeful Living. His work has been featured in a wide range of publications including THE SUN magazine, Utne Reader, Fitness, Counseling Today, Cosmopolitan, and Experience Life.
His most recent book, The Art of Taking Action: Lessons from Japanese Psychology brings an eastern perspective to the issue of purpose is currently an Amazon best-seller in the Zen category. It offers an empowering approach to meeting our own personal goals, but also focuses on the impact on our actions (and inactions) on the world..
To learn more about Gregg and his work, visit: http://www.artoftakingaction.com or http://www.todoinstitute.org.