Go Play in the Dirt – Details, episodes & analysis

Have you been feeling sluggish lately? Brain fog? Imbalanced digestion? Skin issues?

You probably need a reset!

I am thrilled to announce that Cat Elumba & I are hosting a Spring Vitality Seasonal Reset May 8 -12 2023. Join us for a 5-day virtual group coaching program where we implement simple, seasonal, sustainable solutions to manage your health and wellness from the comfort of your own home. Come recharge & refuel your body each season together in community. Our programs are designed to support natural detoxification processes while nourishing your body and will give you insight into sustainable health choices to bring back your energy and clear your mind. We take a whole foods approach that focuses on cooking your own meals along with lifestyle suggestions, Good To The Bone Bone Broth, and authentic support. We now ship the broth so anyone within The United States can join.

Come reset with us!

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• Cat & Lauren’s journey in the world of holistic health 
• How Cat started hosting reset programs 
• Benefits of a reset 
• What you receive in the Spring Vitality 5-Day Group Coaching Program
• The importance of seasonal eating
• Benefits of Good To The Bone Bone Broth 
• Benefits of Freshly Rooted Tribe’s Sea Moss 
• How to sign up for our Spring Vitality program 

Go Share These Thoughts:

• We integrate traditional medicine practices into our seasonal reset programs. - Lauren Bryson
• We forgot there's something special about either cooking a meal or receiving a meal with your friends or your family. - Lauren Bryson
• In these group coaching programs, we implement simple, seasonal, sustainable solutions for you to manage your health and wellness from the comfort of your own home. - Lauren Bryson
• We incorporate seasonal ingredients so that our bodies are being fueled by mother nature. We want to eat food that is in season because it is more nutrient-dense. - Catherine Elumba

Resources

• Spring Vitality Group Coaching Program 
• YouTube: Benefits Of A Seasonal Reset 
• Good To The Bone
• Freshly Rooted Tribe

Connect with Catherine Elumba:

• Website
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

Research shows that 75% of our eating habits are emotionally driven (Cleveland Clinic, 2021).

My guest today is Kiki Athanas, who helps people conquer emotional eating and practice healthy, balanced eating with consistency and ease - even in the face of life’s challenges. She created The Gut Brain Integration method to help people take control of their cravings and hunger, so eating no longer feels like an internal battle. She makes being healthy fun & doable.

Our body craves variety and one way to tap into that is with the concept of intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is honoring the body’s innate boundaries, and there are two keys: hunger and taste. Intuitive eating is always respecting hunger and always respecting taste. Studies have found that intuitive eating has positive outcomes in comparison to restrictive dieting plans.

The body craves variety, a variety of nutrient-dense, whole foods - biodiversity is key. Tune in to learn more about ways to support your body through intuitive eating.

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• The concept of intuitive eating
• How to tap in and listen to your body
• How eating and emotions are intertwined
• The concept of orthorexia 
• The importance of honoring your body's innate boundaries
• Self-love as a key step in overall health
• Mindful eating

Go Share These Thoughts:

• Intuitive eating is honoring the body’s innate boundaries, and there are two keys: hunger and taste. Intuitive eating is always respecting hunger and always respecting taste. - Kiki Athanas
• Doing nothing doesn’t mean I’m going backwards. Taking time to rest and taking time to literally do nothing is actually making me more productive. - Kiki Athanas

About Kiki Athanas:

Kiki Athanas helps smart women conquer emotional eating and practice healthy, balanced eating with consistency and ease - even in the face of life’s challenges. She created The Gut Brain Integration method to help women take control of their cravings and hunger, so eating no longer feels like an internal battle & they are finally able to manage health. 

Resources

• What is Emotional Eating?
• Emotions Last 90 Seconds in the Body

Connect with Kiki Athanas:

• Website
• Instagram
• Tiktok

Connect with Lauren :

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

We’ve talked about many facets of holistic wellness on Go Play in the Dirt. But one thing we haven’t discussed yet—which is an aspect as important as the others—is our financial health. How do we maintain our physical and mental health if we are not prioritizing building our financial health, too? 

Like it or not, one of life’s biggest stressors is money. Financial stress affects everyone. 

In this episode I brought on one of my favorite people to talk about financial fitness, Chief Financial Officer Anna Bryson. In this episode Anna gives us simple, tangible, sustainable tips on ways to be financially well. What I discovered is that financial health is very similar to holistic health: start with simple commitments which can lead to to lifelong healthy [financial] habits. Start small and stay consistent.

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• Anna Bryson’s journey in the financial world
• How she fulfills her mission working for the healthcare ecosystem
• The importance of not putting all your eggs in one basket
• The power of (bio)diversity for your overall financial health
• Debit or credit card—which one should you use?
• The first steps in taking the leap into investing
• Sustainable investing,  ESGs and why it is becoming a trend
• How to prepare for retirement when you are an entrepreneur
• The type of mindset to have when you’re working on your financial health
• Three simple financial tips we can use to support ourselves and our loved ones

Go Share These Thoughts:

• Diversifying is one of the most important things you can do from a financial wellness perspective. It's also one of the most important things you can do from a stress perspective. - Anna Bryson
• ESG's are all about sustainable investing. You're investing in companies that are focusing on things like health equity, diversity, or carbon-neutral emissions. But what that also means is it allows individuals like us to invest in what we're passionate about. - Anna Bryson
• Financial stress affects everyone. Health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, insomnia, and gut-related issues—a fair amount of them I'm sure stem from financial stress. - Lauren Bryson

About Anna Bryson:

Anna Bryson is the Chief Financial Officer of Doximity, the leading digital platform for doctors. Prior to joining Doximity, Anna was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of ACB Capital, an investment advisory firm. She holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford in England.

Resources:

• Doximity

Connect with Anna Bryson:

• LinkedIn

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, professional financial advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

Biodiversity is a word used to describe the vast variety of life on earth. This podcast celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion and is a safe space to elevate diverse voices. These conversations can support developing biodiversity in our own hearts to see each other as humans and encourage ways we can listen to, relate to and support one another. 

True to the podcast’s mission, we chat with Shalonda Ingram, a placemaker, strategist, and producer, who will walk us through the depths of grassroots activism and how acknowledging one another's heritage, experience and diversity becomes a holding space for collective healing to occur.

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• Shalonda Ingram’s mission of elevating consciousness and empowering collective liberation 
• The importance of awareness, accountability and creating harmonious environments
• Biodiversity of ancient wisdom, evolution, leveraging resources, taking risks, and learning from each other
• Why land acknowledgement is important 
• Community conversation of health and wellness for the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities
• Allowing each other to live a biodiverse life 

Go Share These Thoughts:

• Biodiversity represents the ancient wisdom and practices of my relations. -  Shalonda Ingram
• A land acknowledgment is a simple way to tell the truth - Shalonda Ingram 
• It's very powerful to be on an island with these sisters and to share our art with each other without the oppression of anti-blackness in America and without the distractions of whether or not this is gonna make sense. -  Shalonda Ingram 

About Shalonda Ingram:

Born and raised in St. Louis Missouri, Shalonda is committed to elevating consciousness and empowering collective liberation. Shalonda has deployed worldwide for the transformation of people, principles, practices, and systems. Native to grassroots activism, Shalonda works with social justice, spiritual, and corporate organizations to explore network effects and elevate opportunities for resource sharing while scaling.

Resources:

• Land Acknowledgement
• Angela’s Pulse
• The Pride Study
• Loophole Retreat
• Born Brown
• Nursha Project
• Bauman Wellness

Connect with  Shalonda Ingram:

• Website
• Born Brown

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

Let’s get more junior chefs in the kitchen! In this episode we discover how the quality of a child's diet impacts their overall health and some simple ways to get kiddos involved in the cooking process. 

This episode is a fun one. I worked with my brother and we created a remix of the holiday classic The 12 Days of Christmas - I present to you, for the holiday season of 2022, The 12 Days of Kids Cooking. ‘Tis the season for some big kid energy.

“On the first day of kids cooking, a junior chef said to me…”

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• The CDC reports that 40% of school aged children and adolescents have a chronic health condition
• The power of education at a young age
• How to help kids cope with an increasingly stressful world 
• The importance of including junior chefs in the kitchen 
• Studies show that children who are involved in the cooking process can develop lifelong healthy eating habits
• The 12 Days of Kids Cooking—a fun rendition of the famous holiday song

Go Share These Thoughts:

• I believe deeply in the power of education at a young age. - Lauren Bryson
• Establishing healthy behaviors at a young age can help set our children up for success. - Lauren Bryson
• Community creates resilience and kids' cooking creates community. - Lauren Bryson
• Always remember to keep organic. - Will Bryson

Resources:

• Kids Cooking For Life
• Ceres Community Project
• Blog: Kids In The Kitchen
• CDC Managing Chronic Health Conditions in Kids 
• Relationship Between Diet and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: A Systemic Review
• Adolescents' Cooking Skills Strongly Predict Future Nutritional Well Being

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

“The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter.”

Remember this line from our all-time favorite Harry Potter? There are many lores about the wand to explore; for one, the wand picking its person is a combination of the wood and core and the personality of its holder—meaning, the wand is not a one-size-fits-all kind of instrument. It’s personalized—distinct to every wizard.

Similarly, our body functions the same way. How our body heals and maintains our health is different for each person - the concept of bio-individuality and biodiversity. 

Heads up: You don’t need to box yourself in that same old method! There are multimodal approaches to health and healing that are available. All that awaits is for you to seek it out and try it. After all, the wand chooses the wizard.

In this episode, my friend KJ dropped by the pod to hang out with me and ask questions about my journey in the holistic health space, thoughts on biodiversity and the inspiration behind Go Play in the Dirt.

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• The balance between being in the “clouds” and going back to the “ground” and playing in the dirt
• Lauren's personal health journey & how she currently manages her autoimmune disease with diet and lifestyle
• The concept of using biodiversity to heal the body
• Resistance to feeling good vs. permission to feeling good
• Writing yourself a "Permission Slip"
• Lauren's top three priorities to staying healthy: movement, healthy eating, and meditation
• Examples of small, simple acts of self care
• The inspo behind Go Play in the Dirt

Go Share These Thoughts:

• The symptoms that your body shows you are clues… It's your body showing you something is off, and getting to the root cause of the issue is the goal. - Lauren Bryson
• That's when you notice that easy, magical flowing things happen—when you're locked into that stream of being fully present. - KJ Nasrul
• My whole identity doesn't have to be being someone with a chronic illness. There are moments of joy, and giving myself permission to feel good was real hard but it's possible.  - Lauren Bryson
• We've talked about permission, and sometimes if we just give it new light, we might know more. So [permission] is this allowance, this acceptance of feeling good… It's all about perspective. And in some ways, labels and language around it, and changing the way that we assign evaluation around it. - KJ Nasrul
• I really like to emphasize small forms of self-care—small daily habits which can turn into life-long patterns. - Lauren Bryson
• Diversity is the way forward, and our society is not moving in that direction right now. - Lauren Bryson

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

Recent statistics show that the average American consumes about 70 pounds of added sugar a year. Sugar is everywhere!  Sugar can be seen as a comfort food. Some of these foods even take us back to our core memory of childhood: moments of freedom and happiness.

But while sugar is a huge part of our society today, it can also jeopardize our health in a multitude of ways. In this episode, Netta Gorman, a self-confessed sweet tooth and dessert queen, recounts how she finally realized that the root cause of her long list of health problems is because of sugar. Tune in as she narrates how she found a healthier relationship with food and herself.

And no, hers was not a bittersweet story.

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• How Netta Gorman discovered the world of health and wellness
• The reason why the self-identified dessert queen cut out sugar from her life
• How adding in fermented foods was key for healing her gut and overall health
• Step 1 in beginning the process of removing sugar from your diet
• How to move through sugar cravings
• The importance of building your own reality
• How our taste buds change over time depending on the food that we eat
• Netta’s testament to living a sugar-free lifestyle

Go Share These Thoughts:

• We all know intellectually that sugar's not good for you. But why is it such a huge struggle for so many people to even entertain the possibility of cutting sugar? It's because we have this deep emotional connection with sugary foods. - Netta Gorman
• The body's ability to heal is really incredible. And we don't give it enough credit. I think if we give it the right tools—I always like to say food is information for your body, so if you give your body the right information, then it has the supplies to heal. - Lauren Bryson
• What I help people with is to go through the reasons why they're so connected to sugar, and to start letting go of that, which is no small feat. - Netta Gorman
• It really takes courage to make changes in your life that seem scary. - Lauren Bryson

Resources:

• After Sugar Club membership
• Free Resource - 5 Tips to Get Rid of Sugar Cravings

Connect with Netta:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Youtube
• LinkedIn

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

Have you ever had a gut feeling? Butterflies in your stomach? An immediate instinct? The way our bodies give us clues is truly a work of art.

The gut-brain connection explains where your gut feelings come from. The gut and the brain are in constant communication with each other and the gut is home to the enteric nervous system aka “the second brain.” Our brain sends signals to every part of our body and where it is usually physically manifested is in your gut. This is why when we’re emotionally distressed, anxious, or depressed, we generally get discomfort in our stomachs.

Prioritizing your mental health is key for your overall health. Remember, do whatever it takes to take care of you! Whether it be movement, mindfulness, medication, therapy, group support or by using food as medicine.  We often forget the brain is an organ that needs specific nutrients to thrive. 

In this episode, I dive into the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry and outline seven specific foods to help support your mood. 

In this Episode, You’ll Discover

• The emerging field of nutritional psychiatry 
• The importance of prioritizing one’s mental health
• The gut-brain connection
• How to use food as medicine 
• Seven foods to help support your mood
  • Turmeric
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Sauerkraut
  • Berries
  • Cold Water Fish
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Dark Chocolate

Go Share These Thoughts:

• The more we share our truth as messy and imperfect as it is, the more we grow, evolve, and connect. - Lauren Bryson
• When I began to prioritize my mental health, it was key for supporting my overall health. - Lauren Bryson
• Remember, do whatever it takes to take care of you—whether that be therapy, group support, medication, mindfulness, or movement. - Lauren Bryson
• One way to support your mental health is through food. It is theorized that if you treat inflammation in the body and support your microbiome, you can treat inflammation in the brain. - Lauren Bryson
• Listen to your gut. Trust your gut. - Lauren Bryson

Resources:

• Blog: 7 Foods to Support Your Mood
• Clinical Use of Curcumin in Depression: A Meta-Analysis
• This Is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo, MD

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

The world has put such pressure on women regarding the way we look, we walk, we talk, we dress, we act, and carry ourselves. The standards of beauty are skewed and society pushes many products on people (botox, fillers, serums) that actually contain toxins, accelerate the aging process and can negatively affect your overall health.

Jessica Rose, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Licensed Cosmetologist, and Beauty Expert, educates us on ways to get glowing, vibrant skin from within by using food and lifestyle methods. She breaks down simple, tangible tips for us to understand that what we eat will not only make us look good but also feel good within. This is an empowering episode that encourages you to get back to the basics and take your health and skin into your own hands and out of the toxic products that are pushed on consumers today.

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• How connecting with the earth as a morning practice can help shift mood and set the day off right 
• How to use food to support mood
• How to use food and lifestyle practices to support skin, hair, and nails
• The importance of hydration
• Foods to eat that can support glowing skin from within
• The importance of collagen
• Toxins in our cookware and some non-toxic alternatives 

Go Share These Thoughts:

• I try to keep it diverse in my friendships, too. I associate with a wide range of people whom I feel are really supportive of my mental health. I spend time with good people, have good conversations, and [create] genuine connections. - Jessica Rose
• People are starting to realize that what you cook your food in is almost equally important as the food that you're cooking. - Jessica Rose
• I strive to be as clean and as healthy as I can. But it can be overwhelming at times. So meeting yourself where you're at is a really key point.  - Lauren Bryson

Resources: 

• Free Non-Toxic Beauty Guide
• Blog: 7 Beauty Foods For Glowing Skin

Connect with Jessica Rose:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Youtube
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider. 

Dr. Ed Bauman has been at the forefront of the holistic health and nutrition renaissance for the past 50 years.

Dr. B literally learned nutrition from the ground up by starting in the soil as an organic farmer.

In our conversation, Dr. B discusses how compromised our food systems have become and why there is such a great need to go back and play in the dirt, produce and eat local, community-based food. We dive deep into ways to be well by using the 5 Wellness Practices: Eating for Health, Joyful Movement, Mindfulness, Healing Relationships and Soulful Service. Dr. B outlines how intricately connected the gut and immune system are and goes over specific foods and herbs to support your immune health.

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• From law school to becoming a doctor: How Dr. B discovered the world of holistic health and nutrition
• Eating for your SOUL: Seasonal, Organic, Unprocessed & Local 
• The importance of establishing community-based food buying clubs
• The concept of Affordable Nutrition and ways to eat healthy on a budget
• How the gut and the immune system are connected
• Ways to support your immune system using food and herbs

Go Share These Thoughts:

• All the foods are powerful and nourishing—animal foods, vegetable foods, dairy food. They've just been compromised. Unfortunately, the industry for over a hundred years now has been dumping poison on the fields that have really screwed up the food system, which is a big contributor to disease patterns. - Dr. Ed Bauman
• I'm usually not playing on the fear theme, but playing on the we-can-do-it theme. We are part of a community. We are part of nature. We are part of our surroundings. - Dr. Ed Bauman
• The most important thing is to build strength and to build hardiness and to eat strengthening foods. - Dr. Ed Bauman

Resources:

• Sample Affordable Nutrition E Book
• Sign Up for Fall Affordable Nutrition Class Series
• BW Free Online Community
• Fall 2022 Trainings & Events

Connect with Dr. Ed Bauman:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram

Connect with Lauren:

• Book a Free Discovery Call with Lauren
• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. The Go Play in the Dirt Podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of disease. If you have questions about a medical condition, please see your physician or other qualified health provider.