People often lament that they prioritize others’ needs above their own, and they don’t know how to put themselves first. I believe most of us are mostly selfish, so I don’t think the problem is putting yourself first, I think the problem is putting self care first. People will overcommit to work, family, and community obligations, but ignore free times, exercise, and quiet solitude. I don’t believe that we’re all so altruistic that our days get vacuumed by charity work, I think our time is consumed simply by other seemling more important priorities.

The term self-care conjures up images of manicures or lazy Sunday morning brunches, but what if you expanded that to include art, creativity, silence, adventure, friendship, and whatever else perhaps feeds your soul but almost by definition does not have a quantifiable reason for ending up on your calendar. 

On this week’s podcast, you’ll earn the importance of making time for less strategic, you-focused activities.

Links

Taylor’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Taylor Elyse Morrison is the founder of Inner Workout, a company that aims to make well-being and personal development more accessible. Her book is called, The Inner Workout.

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• Leave us a review
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• Visit www.yogabody.com

Are you familiar with the concept of being time poor? This is when you have your life more or less figured out, but you don’t have a spare minute in your schedule. Since time is your greatest asset, and is in short supply, why not buy some of it back if given the opportunity?

For many of us, hiring help in our personal or professional lives seems too expensive, too indulgent, or just downright lazy. But many of us are living lives that are bigger than a 24 hour day, and the only way to get through it with any sense of control and freedom is to enlist some help. On this week’s podcast discover how to buy back your time. 

Listen and learn:

• How to calculate what you can, or cannot, afford to hire help for
• How code, content, capital or collaboration are the four ways to scale your impact
• Why buying back your time before buying possessions might be worth considering 

Links

Dan’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dan Martell is an entrepreneur, investor and business coach. He founded a number of companies including Clarity and SaaS Academy. He is the author of a new book, Buy Back Your Time.

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• Leave us a review
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There’s a saying: “If you want a new idea, read a history book.” That might be true 95 percent of the time, but for the remaining five percent of the time, particularly when looking for problem-solving techniques, the solution might demand a completely new approach. Lateral thinking is the idea of entering from the side door, flipping the problem on its head, and spitballing completely new solutions. On this week’s podcast, we discuss how to apply this technique to your life.

Listen and learn:

• Why innovation seems to have reached a lull
• How to break free from your siloed information feed
• What if everything you assumed was wrong or misguided?
• What if the solution to your current problems was easy, obvious, and simple?

Links

Paul’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Paul Sloane is a UK-based author, speaker, and consultant, specializing in innovation and creative thinking. He has written several books on these topics, including: Lateral Thinking Puzzlers, The Leader's Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills, and De Bono's Thinking Course.

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If you could meet anyone from history, who would you meet? There’s a saying that you should never meet your heroes because you’d be disappointed–at best. Envisioning the future of human progress in a game of push and pull. We dig in our heels as we cling to the past, and we press the pedal to the floor–all at once.  

My guest on this week’s podcast focuses his work on what he calls, the Longpath, a future-focused vision for living today. 

Listen and learn

• How to not move so fast you break things
• Why old school traditions still have a place in a modern world
• Can a Western perspective truly consider a global view of the future?
• How to be a good ancestor for your kids 

Links

Ari’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Ari Wallach is the founder and Executive Director of Longpath Labs. He is the author of the book, Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs. He has a TED Talk on his concept of Longpath that is a great primer to his work as well.

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Haven you heard that environmental collapse is going to end life on earth in just 8 years? Do you think that World War III is looming? Are robots going to take over while we humans fight over NFTs in the metaverse? As absurd as all this sounds, these conversations take center stage despite the world’s rapid race toward a truly remarkable future of growth and progress. 

On this week’s podcast, I’ll share with you my thoughts on why now might just be the best of times, despite its glaring tragedies, and the real risk might be our propensity for catastrophic thinking. 

• Did you know that there are 35% more calories per person, worldwide, just in my lifetime? 
• Did you know that both North America and Europe are undergoing reforestation not deforestation? 
• Is it possible that falling birth rates are a bigger problem than overpopulation? 
• Did you know that HIV/AIDs is rapidly decreasing, there’s a prophylactic pill, and even a potential cure?

Links

• HumanProgress.org
• Steven Pinker’s Site
• Rational Optimist Book
• Ten Global Trends Book

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Lucas Rockwod is a yoga teacher, trainer, father, and serial entrepreneur. This podcast is a passion project of health, wellness, personal growth and development featuring leading thinkers in their fields. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week

• Cannot Swallow Pills

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There are 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States, and another four million on parole or probation. When you factor in families of inmates, prison employees, and infrastructure, we’re talking about billions of dollars annually and tens of millions of lives affected daily.

My guest on this week’s show is a violent crime offender and former inmate. When I first heard what he had done, my initial thought was, “Lock him up and don't let him out.” Probably, many of you will feel that way. But that’s not possible and it’s not a solution. Crime, and even violent crimes, are part of society. The only hope is that our correctional facilities are actually helping people reform.

On this week’s show:

• Why many people have no access to mental health services
• How drugs are smuggled into prison
• Why most have no access to college education
• Why the correctional system is not doing much in the way of correcting

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Jesse Crosson was recently released from prison and is the founder of Pri-Zen.com. He’s in the process of (re)building his life and is doing advocacy work while pursuing advanced degrees to help people inside the system. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week

• Spicy food

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

You’ve probably noticed the media right now is filled with polarizing voices, rage, and vitriol; but have you noticed that these extreme views are not your own? Have you noticed that hardly anyone you know is truly radical in their views? Most people are reasonable, thoughtful, and concerned. 

On this week’s podcast, I’d like to share my own experiences with courting radical viewpoints, and why they pop right now on social media. I’d also like to address some of the hatemail, critical inquiries, and listener feedback I’ve received.  

Listen & learn: 

• My own politically flip flopping views 
• The dire need for critical thinking amidst a sound-bite media frenzy
• Why listening to people you disagree with might be the most important conversations to have
• How so-called “hot issues” of the day are not actually popular, they’re simply salacious
• My (un)safe space hope for the podcast  

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What Comes Next? Q&As Galore

with Lucas Rockwood
--------------
Will you ever go back to the office? Will kids ever take in-person school seriously again? And what will the bounce-back look like this summer after more people are vaccinated? This week’s podcast is a departure from my usual guest interview, and instead, I answer select listener questions about my post-pandemic thoughts in terms of business and health.

Listen & Learn: 

• Will yoga studios survive? 
• Is the “laptop lifestyle” truly bad for spinal health? 
• How to (re)discover motivation to get into fitness
• Midlife fitness newbie - how to start? 
• What has changed in your diet since COVID? 

Got Questions?

• Submit your question: yogabody.com/asklucas/

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Making Sense of Food

with Robb Wolf
--------

You step into your local health food store, and the confusion begins. Keto, Paleo, low fat, high fat. It’s all so overwhelming. One approach lowers your cholesterol but improves your blood sugar. Another diet is great for combating inflammation but causes constipation.

This impossible choice is happening to you and me locally, and it also plays out on the macro level with our food systems themselves. How do we end hunger, ensure nutritional needs are met, and protect our topsoil at the same time? This seemingly impossible balancing act might be one of the most-important issues of the next 30 years. Let’s get into it.

Listen in Learn: 

• How evolution continues today, and yet we are still mostly cavemen 
• The importance of ruminant animals for topsoil 
• Hidden inefficiencies of lab-grown meat
• Can we evolve to be healthy on carbs and canola?

Links & Resources

Robb’s website

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Robb is a former research biochemist and is The Paleo Solution and Wired To Eat. Robb has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. He’s a former California State Powerlifting Champion and an amateur kickboxer. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Keto salts

Got Questions?

• Submit your question: yogabody.com/asklucas/

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7 Steps to Self Confidence
with David Nurse
----------------
You’re on fire. Every decision, every conversation, and even the way your body moves feels like green lights today. When you’re grounded in self-confidence, everything is possible. But what about those days when your mind muck is so thick, you can’t manage a single email. Self doubt paralyzes you as you flip from your todo list, to Facebook, to Tiktok.

Thinking, re-thinking, doubting. Those days are the worst. 

On this week’s show, you’ll meet a former pro basketball player-turned-coach whose clients need to be at the top of their game, literally, in order to stay employed. His 7-step approach breaks self confidence into manageable steps that can be nurtured as a skill.

Listen & Learn

• Why comparison is not always a bad thing
• How to redefine your vocabulary for self empowerment 
• Why your sense of self is heightened by serving others 
• How to create your own “highlight reel” 

Links & Resources

• David’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

David Nurse is an NBA life and optimization coach, author and motivational speaker. A former professional basketball player smf coach for the Brooklyn Nets, David has personally helped over 150 NBA players with their personal and professional development both on and off the court. David is the author of, Pivot & Go.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Continuous Blood Glucose Monitor

Got Questions?

• Submit your question: yogabody.com/asklucas/

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But What if Your Workplace is Toxic? 
with Robert Glazer
---------------

I had an office job that was so boring, I used to photocopy my face while guzzling free office coffee and snacking on breath mints. As long as I was hovering near the copy machine, everyone assumed I was doing something productive.

After a few days of this linger-guzzle-mint-chomp routine, my colleague, Cynthia, felt we needed to add some occasional stapling to our escapades lest we be found out. So we started making zines out of my best xeroxed smash-face printouts. Oh, good times. 

Life is too short to hate your job, and yet most of us do. With telecommuting at an all-time high, some jobs have become more tolerable, but do you truly feel meaning and purpose at work? Do you feel like you’re working toward a worthy goal? These are hard questions I don’t have the answer to, but my guest on the show has created a multi-award winning workplace, so he’s got some great ideas. 

Listen & Learn: 

• Why lack of value alignment is perhaps the biggest job problem of all 
• How to both employee and employers need to think about the end at the beginning
• Why “2 weeks notice” is terrible for everyone
• How COVID-19 is affecting communication and connection 

Links & Resources

• Robert’s Website 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Robert Glazer is the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners marketing agency.His agency has won numerous awards including Glassdoor's Employees' Choice Awards (2 years in a row), Ad Age's Best Place to Work, Entrepreneur's Top Company Culture (2 years in a row), Great Place to Work & Fortune's Best Small & Medium Workplaces (3 years in a row) and Boston Globe's Top Workplaces (2 years in a row). His writing has been featured in Forbes, Inc. and Entrepreneur magazines, Bob shares his ideas and insights via Friday Forward email newsletter, his Elevate podcast, and his books including: Friday Forward and Elevate.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Restless Leg Syndrome

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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The Meritocracy Trap: How the Myth Feeds Inequality
with Daniel Markovits

-------------------

Every year I live outside the U.S. I’m able to better understand my culture simply due to my physical distance from it. I notice things like promiscuous use of peanut butter and cinnamon in American foods, the endless sports and war metaphors in colloquial language, the ubiquitous nostalgia for the post-World War II family life, and the universal belief that every underdog has a chance to go all the way up. 

Meritocracy.

Study hard, work hard, and show up year-after-year, and you can be just about anything you want to be. In the 1950s, that was somewhat true. Today, the schism between the have and have-nots is so vast that in many cases, no amount of hard work or earned street cred will give you equal access to opportunity.

If you're dealt an unlucky hand, as most people are, your options are limited by gatekeepers you’ll never meet, schools and jobs you’ll never have access to. More perplexing still, if you’re dealt a lucky hand, as I was, and if you play your cards right, you enlist into a lifetime of self-sacrifice, ridiculously long work days, and an almost guaranteed inability to enjoy the so-called privileged life you lead.

Why? Because you’re working all the time.

Meritocracy, like any ideology, sounds amazing on paper, but falls flat in the real world. It’s as mythical as a unicorn. Catch me if you can. On this week’s show, you’ll meet researcher and writer, Daniel Morkovits, who shares his findings on just how broken this meritocratic system is today. 

Listen & Learn:

• How average CEO compensation has grown 940% since 1978 while typical worker compensation has risen only 12% during that same time
  
  
• How elite education, more than any other factor, acts as the gating factor into the ruling class 
  
  
• How the best universities brag about sub-10% acceptance rates, essentially engineering an elite class
  
  
• How middle-level jobs are getting completely eliminated by technology leaving only the ruling and working classes on either end of the spectrum
  
  
• How the meritocracy myth is not just unfair, but potentially dangerous as it threatens the safety and happiness of both the haves and have-nots. 

Links & Resources

• Meritocracy Trap Book 

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Daniel Markovits holds degrees from Yale, London School of Economics and Oxford. He’s on the faculty at Yale Law School, where he publishes on the philosophical foundations of private law, moral and political philosophy, and behavioural economics. His latest book is, The Meritocracy Trap: How America's Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles the Middle Class, and Devours the Elite.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• White Bread Better Than Whole Wheat

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

A close friend lost her husband tragically and suddenly, but she was back in the office just two weeks later. She shed a few tears that first month, but mostly, it was Beth as usual. She didn’t fall behind on any projects or ask for help.

“Beth is so strong. I think she can handle just about anything,” they said. Except they were wrong, and so was I.

Beth was mourning privately for months, and then deeply depressed for years following the accident. She’d kept it hidden. Hidden depression is not just common, it’s applauded; and I’m as guilty of this as anyone.

On this week’s podcast, you’ll meet a clinical psychologist whose recent work focuses on this growing mental health problem hidden from plain sight.

Listen & Learn

• How the “smile or die” positive attitude leads many of use to push down and cover up deep pain and emotions 
• The difference between classic, clinical depression and the hidden type 
• The personal and societal fallout that come from wearing an emotional mask for years or even a lifetime
• How the opposite of depression is engagement or connection - no happiness 

Links & Resources

• Perfectly Hidden Depression Book Site
• Dr. Rutherford’s Site
• Smile or Die
  
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Margaret is a clinical psychologist with over 27 years experience. She’s also a writer and podcaster (SelfWork). She has a new book called, Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism that Masks Your Depression. She has written for HuffPost, The Mighty, Psych Central, The Gottman Blog, Psychologies, StigmaFighters, The Good Men Project, and This Is My Brave. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Moringa

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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Do you have a talky coworker who never gives you space to share your ideas? Do you have a neighbor who does home repairs at 2 am? Or a spouse that never follows through with their shared housework?

Welcome to everyday conflict.

We argue easily about the things we care most about, and the small things seem too petty to be bothered with. Instead, we let them brew and fester until finally, we explode. Healthy conflict is the sign of a healthy relationship, but how can you foster positive conflict at home and at work? What does that even look like? 

Listen & Learn: 

• Whether to avoid conflict or race to conflict (which is better?)
• How to identify your values and aligned with them 
• Exploring shadow values and inner conflict 
• Strategies for communication and positive outcomes 

Links & Resources:

• Dr Goldman-Wetzler’s Book
• Alignment Strategies Group
  
  

About Our Guest: 

Jennifer is a leading expert on conflict and organizational psychology, is founder and CEO of Alignment Strategies Group, and author of, Optimal Outcomes: Free Yourself from Conflict at Work, at Home, and in Life.  

 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Monk Fruit

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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My piano lessons were a dark, 45-minute drive from home. Mom and I left home at 6:30 am on Tuesday mornings to get there before school. “Luke is really good at this,” Ms. McGill said after my third lesson. I was eight, and that simple comment, deliberately made within earshot, gave me confidence with music that I carry even to this day (despite my obvious lack of skill as an adult).

I never said thank you to Ms. McGill. I should have. 

My sophomore year in high school, Mrs. Johnston tortured every paper I gave her with red ink. It was a bloodbath, and I suffered. But at the end of the semester, she gave me an A. It was one of the more meaningful grades I ever received, and her red ink comments continue to help me write better to this day.

Mrs. Johnston smoked and was 50-years older than me, I’m sure she’s passed away by now. I should have said thank you. 

On this week’s podcast, we’ll discuss the simple and powerful practice of writing thank you letters: to people, to family members, to cities, to the diseased, and even to people with whom you’ll never see again. 

Listen & Learn: 

• How to leverage positive recall biased 
• Why gratitude rooted in real-life experiences anchors positivity 
• How to write letters and then decide later if you send or don’t send them
  
  

LInks & Resources:

• Nancy’s Site
• The Thank You Project

About Our Guest: 

Nancy Davis Kho is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, US Magazine, The Rumpus, and The Toast. Her new book is, The Thank You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Should I Eat Dairy

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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“I’m not sure if you feel things the way I do,” she said. “I feel everything.” I was twenty-one, she was twenty-three. The window looked out at a brick wall in my Lower East Side apartment. “I have emotional needs, and you’re buried in your books and your work. You can see me.”

That was how it started on a Sunday afternoon. By Friday, I was helping her load CDs and tattered books into the trunk of a taxi. My first big breakup. Need to know more? Probably not. You’ve probably lived some version of this yourself, maybe more than once. 

The quality of our lives are very much defined by the quality of our relationships, and that person next to you in bed is the most important relationship of all. So how are you doing with that? Do you have a plan? Are you growing or just getting by? Like most of us, it’s probably a work in progress.

On this week’s podcast, you’ll meet relationship expert Maya Diamond shares her experiences from her field work. 

 

Listen and learn: 

• How to determine and establish values and standards - and hold yourself to them
• Why emotional responsiveness is crucial to a lasting partnership
• Why men and women often express desires differently, but ultimately seek the same thing 
• How to navigate online connections, text messages, and modern technologies in your love life 

Links & Resources: 

• Maya’s website

About Our Guest: 

Maya is a Dating and Relationship Coach. She is also a YogaTeacher and Massage Therapist. She has a great TEDx talk you can find online, she holds a Master's in Somatic Psychology. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Maca

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

I always wanted to be a writer. Kerouac, Hemmingway, and Carver were my heros. Later it was playwrights Kushner, Ibsen, and Chekov. I’d drag home backpacks full of books from the public library, and I finagled my way into just about every theater I could find in New York City from Broadway to deep Brooklyn fringe venues. If you met me at age 20, you’d never predict I’d be teaching backbends and low glycemic diets at age 40 - but here we are.

Life is full of surprises. Sometimes the rug gets pulled out from under you; and sometimes, for no obvious reason, you simply shift gears and start driving another direction.

In 2002, I discovered yoga and alternative health. I was a much better writer (even back then) than I was a yoga student, but it didn’t matter. Passion is in short supply, so when you’ve got it, people want to be around you. By 2003, I was teaching and traveling; and by 2006, I founded the largest training school in South East Asia. What a change.

Learning and teaching are among the most rewarding things in my life, and on this week’s podcast, I’ll share with you the “best of” list from what I’ve observed after training more than 4,000 yoga teachers in the past 13 years. Hopefully my journey has some lessons of value for you, whatever your profession. 

Listen & Learn: 

• Why age, background, and athletic ability are NOT predictors of future teaching success
• How passion acts like magnet for opportunity 
• The importance of a life and career plan
• Why you social circle matters just as much as your goals  
• How speaking and teaching are meta skills 

Links & Resources:

• Yoga Teachers College (my school)
• Yoga Business Mastery Podcast
  

About Lucas Rockwood:

Lucas Rockwood is an internationally-renowned yoga trainer, TEDx Speaker, podcaster, writer, and entrepreneur. His early yoga and meditation teachers include Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (deceased), Paul Dallaghan, Alex Medin, Gabriel Cousens MD, and SN Goenka (deceased). Lucas left the USA in 2003 when he began traveling and teaching extensively before making Barcelona, Spain, his home base. In a previous life, he worked in theater, publishing, and as a vegan chef and nutritional coach. He’s the father of three international kids and remains as passionate about yoga as when he first began practicing in 2002.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Fish Oil

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

The three largest mental health facilities in the USA are Rickers, Cooks Country and LA Twin Towers Jails. The mentally ill have literally been relegated to prisons since there are so few public resources for those in need. This is devastating to the mentally ill, of course, but also to their families, neighbors and communities who are forever impacted. 

Listen & Learn: 

• How prisons have replaced mental health facilities in the U.S. 
• Why the mentally ill are treated like criminals 
• The real cost of addiction 
• Why public policy needs to be more compassionate 

Links & Resources: 

• Bedlam Book
• The Film
• Dr. Rosenberg’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Rosenberg is a psychiatrist with a specialty is addiction medicine at Upper East Health. He’s the author of Infidelity and his newest book, Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America’s Health Crisis.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Weight Loss Pills

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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I have a challenge for you. Take a pencil to paper and map out your past five years on a line graph with peaks being the great experiences and valleys being the lows. I’d be willing to guess you have a deep valley (or two!) every single year, but what about a peak? What about a moment or an experience that you’ll cherish as a memory for the rest of your life? Do you have one?

Most people who listen to the podcast value experiences over possessions, but are we doing enough to actively craft amazing moments in our lives? I’m not. I’d like to do better. Listen in on this week’s show to get ideas. 

Listen & Learn: 

• Why it’s important to focus on your life resume, not just your work resume
• How to create peak moments in life
• Why natural + hard things can create magic
• How to live life on your own terms
• How to rethink your relationship with time 

Links & Resources:

• Jesse’s Site
• 29029 Everest Site
  
  

About Our Author:

Jesse Itzler is the author of the books Living with a Seal and Living with the Monks, co-founder of Marquis Jet, and was involved in the Zico Coconut Water rise to success.  He's a former rapper on MTV and wrote and performed the NBA's Emmy Award-winning I Love This Game music campaign, as well as the popular New York Knicks anthem Go NY Go. He runs ultra-marathons and has a new venture called 29,029 where you summit a ski mountain again and again until you gain a total elevation equivalent to climbing Mount Everest.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Lemon Water in the Morning

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Steve Jobs had genius-level intelligence and built one of the largest and most influential companies in the world. This is impressive, but at the same time that Apple was achieving success, Jobs denied fathering his own daughter, was forced to take a DNA test, and ended up paying a tiny amount of child support for her entire youth despite having millions.

I never met Steve Jobs, but universally, he’s portrayed as a jerk. He’s the super-intelligent guy that you’d rather not invite over for dinner. So what good is a high IQ if your family and friends can’t stand you? What is the point of success if you have no one to share it with? 

Intelligence is often put on a pedestal, but the trappings are often glazed over. On this week’s podcast, we’ll unpack the “intelligence trap” and provide a new perspective on contextualizing brainpower.

Listen & Learn: 

• Why smart people are prone to motivated reasoning 
• How entrenchment and earned dogmatism plague some of the best minds
• How to self distance to avoid the traps
• Why a growth mindset can keep you learning and changing with the times  

Links & Resources:

• Intelligence Trap Book
• David Robson’s Site
  
  

About Our Guest
David Robson is a science writer based in London, UK, specializing in brains, bodies and behavior. He was a features editor at New Scientist for five years and is currently a senior journalist at BBC Future. He regularly features on the BBC World Service and his writing has also appeared in the Guardian, the Atlantic, and the Washington Post. His new book is called The Intelligence Trap. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Weight Loss in 2020

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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My worst fear with aging is losing my cognitive abilities, forgetting my kids’ names, and just becoming an old fool. It’s easy to assume that the brain will go along with the body, but there’s pretty good evidence to suggest that your mental age can be a decade younger than your physical body’s age, but you have to start working on it now.

On this week’s show, you’ll meet a neuroscientist whose mission is to help us all understand how to take better care of our brains. 

Listen & Learn: 

• Why your brain needs 7-9 hours of sleep or you'll lose IQ points the next day
• How nutrition and hydration are essential for neural health 
• How exercise can dramatically slow brain aging 
• Why a sense of belonging is the number one factor in neural health 

Links & Resources: 

• Tara Swart's Website
• Tara’s books on Amazon

About Our Guest

Dr. Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, leadership coach, author, and a medical doctor. She helps leaders achieve mental resilience and peak brain performance, improving their ability to manage stress, regulate emotions and retain information. Her newest book is called The Source.

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

I had a rough year in 2006. It was the year I opened my first yoga studio. I should have been on cloud nine, but I wasn’t ready for all that responsibility and all that stress. I had a staff of 12, hundreds of students, courses, a restaurant, and very little support. Mostly, I was alone. An old friend sent me some audio meditation tracks he’d be using that had a technology called binaural beats. I’d never heard of it, but I gave it a try. Right away, I felt something.

Technology and I have a complex relationship, but when it makes life easier, I’m a fan. Meditation is really hard, and anyone who tells you differently is actually just walking their dog (and calling it meditation). The real practices require deep work, and it’s very hard to do all alone at home, even with books and apps. This is why I love yoga breathing, and it’s also why frequency-following music can be very helpful, particularly when you’re just getting started or in a mental and emotional jam.

My guest on this week’s show is an audio engineer who makes meditation music, and he’ll share how this simple technology can potentially help you find more balance. 

Links & Resources

• Cory’s Site
• Try some binaural beats on Spotify

About Our Guest

Cory Allen is an author, podcast host, meditation teacher, and audio engineer from Austin, TX. His first book, Now Is the Way, was just released. Cory has studied and produced music for over 15 years. He has released over a dozen albums. 

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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Would you survive if you had to grow or forage your own food for an entire year? Would you eat roadkill, wild yam, coconuts, and acorn grubs? Rob Greenfield is finishing up 365 days straight growing and gathering (from the ‘wild’) as his own food. Rob is an adventurer, environmental activist, humanitarian, and a guy on a mission to create a more sustainable and just world.

Listen & Learn: 

• Why our current food systems are broken
• How extremes can plant seeds for moderate ideas that make more sense
• Why mono-crops and siloed thinking have a lot in common 
• How our planet will look and feel with 9 billion people on it 

Links & Resources: 

• Rob’s TEDx Talk 
• Rob’s Website 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Rob Greenfield is an adventurer, environmental activist, humanitarian, and a guy on a mission to create a sustainable and just world. He dumper-dived into more than two thousand dumpsters across the United States, cycled across the USA three times, wore all his own garbage as clothing for 30 days, and spent the past year growing and foraging his own food. Rob walks his talk.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Hydration

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

 

“Inhale fresh, life-giving oxygen… exhale toxic, dead carbon dioxide,” said my yoga teacher. I’ve heard some variation of this hundreds of times in classes. Oxygen is good, carbon dioxide is bad. In with the good, out with the bad. Right? 

As it turns out, this kindergarten understanding of breathing physiology is wrong. Most of us could really benefit from more CO2 because it opens up your air passageways, relaxes smooth muscle tissues, and allows for greater absorption of oxygen. Lack of CO2 actually leads to a lack of oxygen. Confused yet? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. 

On this week’s show, we’ll set the record straight and help you understand why slow breathing boosts CO2, and why that’s a good thing. 

Listen & Learn:  

• The CO2 paradox: why you need carbon dioxide to actually absorb oxygen
• Why 4-6 liters of air per minute is what we need but most people breathe 2x that much 
• How over-breathing reduces (not increases) oxygen levels
• Why over-breathing and mouth breathing is associated with dozens of neurological disorders and diseases 
• How to slow down your breath 

Links & Resources: 

• Artour’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Dr. Artour Rahkimov has been teaching the Buteyko method and breath retraining to thousands of students for more than 17 years. He was trained by Ludmila Buteyko and Dr. Andrey Novoh-zhilov, MD, the Chief Physician of the Buteyko Clinic in Moscow. Dr. Artour trained numerous breathing practitioners in the US, Germany and Denmark.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Why bread makes me sick

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

People often compare the human body to a car, but this is a bad analogy (unless it’s a Tesla) because your body doesn’t contain a combustion engine. You’re electric, my friend, and your nerves are in the driver’s seat. One electrical stimulus makes you anxious, another makes you calm; mostly, you’re an out-of-control cross-fire of signals that kicks you around energetically and emotionally throughout the day.

To know your nerves, you must know the vagus nerve. It’s the master controller of the parasympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system - and it’s more complex than simply “rest and digest.” Let’s deep dive into the polyvagal theory on this week’s show. 

Listen & Learn: 

• How to better understand your body’s nervous system responses
• The importance of the vagus nerve for stress modulation 
• How to deal with triggers and embrace and appreciate glimmers
• The polyvagal theory explained
• Ventral vagal complex: readiness to connect
• Dorsal vagal complex: collapse and freeze

Links & Resources: 

• Deb’s website
• Polyvagal theory

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Deb is a clinician, consultant, lecturer, and coordinator of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium in the Kinsey Institute. Her work is based on the Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma, understand the autonomic nervous system, and move into states of protection and connection. She is the author of the book The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy available on Amazon or through her website.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Organic vs conventional

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

My second child has black circles under his eyes in all his photos from birth to age four. He slept as little as possible and willed himself through most days with all the angst and irritability of any insomniac. At age four, he finally started sleeping and quickly became a new person. He learned more, laughed more, talked (a lot) and was a joy to be around. Was it just the sleep? No, but it made a huge difference. No more nervous anxiety in the mornings, no more dark circles, and finally, he seemed to find real moments of peace. 

When kids sleep poorly, parents sleep poorly, and the entire health and happiness of the household are affected. When you sleep badly, you’re obviously tired and grumpy, but there are much more worrying long-term effects that can include malformed jaws (in children), weight gain, mood disorders, and cognitive impairment. But what can you do? 

Listen & Learn:  

• How poor sleep decreases leptin (satiety hormone) and increases ghrelin (hunger hormone) 
• How bad sleep is correlated with hedonistic eating (think Netflix+ Haagen-Dazs binges)
• How attachment parenting may not be the best approach for you
• Why “cry it out” techniques are not for everyone and not for every stage of development
• How to discern what you can and should control and what you should simply let go of  

Links & Resources: 

• Dr. Canapari’s Book
• Craig’s Website 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Craig is a pediatrician at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital in New Haven, CT, specializing in the care of children with breathing and sleep problems. He is boarded in Pediatrics, Pediatric Pulmonology, and Sleep Medicine. His book, It’s Never Too Late to Sleep Train, is available on Amazon or on his website.  

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Eat seaweed

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

The American life expectancy is currently 79, which sounds great until you realize that is the 26th in line worldwide. Despite being one of the most developed and wealthy nations in the world, the US system is not only ridiculously overpriced (at least 2x), it’s also ineffective. It’s a double fail with upstream and downstream effects that are impossible to even begin to quantify. This wonky system was built post World War II with financial incentives going to everyone except the average citizen, and while no one has a clear cut solution, everyone agrees that things must change. 

My guest on the show is a medical doctor and industry insider-turned-whistle blower, and his insights provide an optimistic 10+ year outlook for change. 

Listen & Learn:  

• How the medical industry has 4x the number of lobbyists than the military 
• Why the US medical system is about 2x overpriced 
• How Germany, Canada, and the Scandanavian countries all seem to do it better 
• How spending on medical care is on track to reach 20% of GDP by 2026

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Mike Magee is on faculty at Presidents College at the University of Hartford. He has worked as a doctor, a university medical school administrator, a hospital executive, and head of global medical affairs for Pfizer. He’s the author of the book Code Blue: Inside America’s Medical-Industrial Complex available on Amazon.

Links & Resources:

• About the book
• Mike’s site 
• Buy the book on Amazon

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Choose Seafood

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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Imagine a mosquito bites your arm. You scratch the bump and it grows big and red and doesn’t go away for months. You’d be panicked, right? Now, imagine that the red inflamed area is inside your gut, your small intestines, and your colon. What now? Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. The long-term health impact of gastrointestinal inflammation is devastating. At the extremes, there’s Crohn’s and Colitis, but hundreds of millions of people are suffering from endocrine disruption, nutrient malabsorption, and general malaise due do this lurking problem. 

My guest on this week’s show was so skinny you could see all his bones. He was drugged up and nearly dead from this hardcore bowel disease—but he fixed it. Naturally. No more medicine. Despite the odds, he’s 55 pounds heavier today and looks like a fitness model. His research is solid and his advice takes each individual into account.

You’ll Learn: 

• What Crohn’s and Colitis are
• How inflammation can be a silent killer
• How epigenetics can be influenced by diet and lifestyle 
• Why some people go fruitarian and others meatatarian - who’s right? 
• How cheat days can still happen — you don’t have to be perfect
  

Links & Resources: 

• Dane’s Lifestyle

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dane Johnson is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Health Coach. Years ago, he was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and Colitis that got so extreme he was on a feeding tube, chemotherapy, immunosuppressants, and nearly dead. Today, he takes zero drugs, gained 55 pounds of lean muscle, travels the world, and is super healthy. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Calorie deficit

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

More than 80% of people are dissatisfied with their work, and yet work is where we spend the majority of our waking hours. People say things like “Do what you love and the money will follow” and “Follow your passion…” but is it really that simple? Not for most of us. On this week’s show, author, speaker, and entrepreneur, Evan Carmichael, shares his research for finding meaning and purpose at work. 

Listen & Learn: 

• Why most people run away from their life rather than running toward a better one 
• Why most people choose entertainment and distraction over hard work
• How one word, one value, probably drives 80% of your behavior
• The “who”, “why”, and “how” of your life

Links & Resources:

• Evan’s site
• Books on Amazon
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Evan is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and Youtuber. At age 19, he built and then sold a biotech software company. At 22, he was a venture capitalist helping raise $500k to $15mil. He now runs the biggest YouTube channel for entrepreneurs with 1M+ subscribers. He’s committed to creating more entrepreneurs.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Ice water

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes  

One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted in college in America*, so there are literally tens of millions of victims living every day with guilt, shame, pain, trauma, and baggage.

How can we be body-positive and sex-positive in this environment? How do people trust each other or even themselves? The challenges between men and women have existed since the beginning of time, and yet, the rules of engagement are unclear; and mostly, things are left unsaid, trauma is left to fester, and no one is getting any closer to their true, vulnerable selves.

On this week’s podcast, we attempt the impossible task of unraveling this issue. 

Listen & Learn:

• Why the workplace is one of the most poorly defined environments for men and women to interact — and it’s where we spend most of our waking hours
• Why there must be the possibility of reconciliation or we all become monsters and demons 
• How in the 21st century, men and women still have no idea how to work together, give clear consent, and draw boundaries 

Links & Resources:  

• Dr. Jenn’s Site
• Dr. Jenn’s new book

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Jenn Gunsaullus, sociologist and sexologist, is a frequent speaker about sexual empowerment, healthy relationships, body image, erotic play, and sexual health. She is a TEDx speaker and a recurring intimacy expert on the San Diego Morning News. She’s also a black belt in the Koren martial art, Soo Bahk Do. She is the author of the book Madness to Mindfulness: Reinventing Sex for Women that we’ll be talking about today. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Vitamin timing

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

Just as an infant requires physical touch to ensure healthy development, every adult requires intimacy and connection to be mentally and physically healthy... and yet many of us are left lacking. A lingering hug can increase oxytocin and decrease cortisol, deep conversations can be neuroprotective, and a true friend or lover can alter not just your emotional life but also your biology. On this week’s show, we’ll unpack the role between intimacy and your endocrine system, and the vital importance in finding balance. 

Listen & Learn: 

• How healthy testosterone levels can reduce or even eliminate the risk of Alzheimer's
• Why BPA-lined cans (including sparkling water) can block oxytocin receptors 
• The role of the sex hormones in brain volume and function
• Why the nuclear family is supported by biology 
• Hippocampal shrinkage induced by lack of intimacy   

Links & Resources: 

• Dr. Berkson’s Site
• Books on Amazon 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson is a thought leader in functional medicine and women’s health. She has been in clinical practice for nearly four decades, and her research has focused on hormones, nutrition, and the gut. She has written 21 books. Her most recent include: The Sexy Brain, Safe Hormones Smart Women, and Hormone Deception.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• K2 MK4

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes
  

Any relationship crisis is usually coupled with a communication breakdown. Your needs are not being met, so you shut down. You’re upset about something, but instead of voicing it, you bottle it up. Your partner does the same, and over time, you grow distant, bitter, and even resentful. We’ve all experienced this poor communication pattern at some point.

But what does good communication even look like?

Do you take notes and make an outline of your key points? Do you talk, text, or email? There is no right answer to this, but everyone in a relationship needs to figure it out one way or another to survive. On this week’s show, you’ll meet a couple’s counselor who shares her best practices for couples in crisis and those who want to avoid problems in the future. 

Listen & Learn: 

• How to assign one listener and one speaker during conversations
• The “doing” versus “feeling” part of showing love
• How to navigate the complexities of money, sex, and lack of time 
• Emotional versus physical affairs

• How polarity attracts and also creates conflict

Links & Resources: 

• Sonya’s site
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Sonya Jensen is a marriage counselor, premarital counselor, relationship coach, and breakup recovery counselor with Growing Self Counseling and Coaching. Her practical, positive approach helps couples succeed, and individuals create positive changes in their lives.

 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Ketones

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

 

You don’t manage to leave the office until 8 pm. Traffic is terrible, so it takes you an hour to get home. One of your relatives is sick and has been texting you all day, but you haven’t had a moment to call to check in. Your taxes are due in a few weeks, and you don’t have any idea how much you’ll owe. You’re best friend is just not there for you the way she used to be. She hasn’t called you in weeks.

It’s Thursday evening, and you’re all alone in your kitchen trying to manage this very common mundane overwhelm that comes with everyday life. So what do you do?

No one is looking, no one will ask… Is it a Haagen Dazs and Netflix binge? Sleeping pills and a glass of red wine? Do you vape or watch porn? We all have our escapes. When the pressure cooker of our lives builds, it has to find a release. But most of our choices are destructive. On this week’s show, we’ll talk about how to find a better way.

Listen & Learn: 

• Why sobriety is often a sliding scale
• How dose and frequency often determine damage and risk
• How cocaine was not deemed addictive until 1986
• Why the opposite of addiction is choice
• The challenges of positive escapes in a stressful world 

Links & Resources: 

• Judith’s Book on Amazon
• Video Lecture on Addiction 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Grisel is a behavioral neuroscientist with expertise in pharmacology and genetics whose research focuses on determining root causes of drug addiction. She’s the author of a new book, Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Pink Salmon

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

Thanks to Our Sponsor:

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Learn More

The pursuit of health, wealth, and relationships drive 99% of our action, but just how important are each of these to you personally? How much time are you willing to invest and what are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals in these three areas? My guest on this week’s show has flipped the script in many ways and is doing more with less, simplifying his life, living off the grid at times, and cherry-picking his life experiences.

A truly simple life is not for everyone (mine is oozing with complexity), but we can all benefit from simplifying some major areas of our life immediately.

Listen & Learn:

• How little money you probably need to be free
• Responsible use of social media and the internet
• How meaning and purpose are more important than money and possessions 

Links & Resources: 

• Gary’s website

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Gary Collins worked as a Special Agent for the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He has degrees in Exercise Science, Criminal Justice, and Forensic Science. Gary lives off the grid part of the year in a remote part of Washington State, and the other part of the year exploring in his travel trailer with his dog. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Eat Essential Oils

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

How many of your exes are you connected to on Facebook? How often do you find yourself dredging up past emotional head trash from lost love? For most people, the answer is “too often.” We live in an era where forgetting and moving on has never been more challenging, and most of us need to learn strategies to put the past in its place to make room for a fulfilling future. And some of us are even “exaholics,” literally addicted to the emotional rollercoaster of times long ago. On this week’s show, therapist and marriage counselor, Dr. Bobby, will share her strategies for navigating this emotional minefield. 

Listen & Learn: 

• How we’re biologically wired for love, lust, and emotional attachment 
• The lost art of forgetting: how to relearn it
• How to navigate the booby trap that is social media 
• Ghosting vs. honest conversations about boundaries 

Links & Resources:   

• Dr. Bobby’s Site
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby is a marriage counselor, therapist, and life coach based in Colorado. She is the author of the book Exaholic: Breaking Your Addiction to an Ex Love.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Canned Tomatoes

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

Your home and workspace affect your mood, your sleep, your productivity, and your feeling of belonging, but how much time have you spent to make them truly serve you? For most of us, we’re stuck working in a random office environment, and we might not even be able to control our living space as much as we’d like. The feeling you get is subjective, of course, but there is an emerging science that teaches us fascinating universal truths about what makes a great space. On this week’s show, you’ll meet an environmental psychologist who has made this her life’s work. 

Listen & Learn: 

• How “prospect” and “refuge” tendencies affect our preferred seat at the table (or desk!) 
• Why 50 percent of the human population lives near water, and why we respond so positively to bodies of water
• How to take a BALANCED (biophilia, atmosphere, layout, amenities, noise, cohesion, energy, and design) approach to home design 
• Simple ways to look for and plan the spaces you occupy

Links & Resources:  

Visit: http://spaceworksco.com/

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Lily is an environmental psychology consultant, writer, and researcher. Lily’s first book is The Shaping of Us: How Everyday Spaces Structure Our Lives, Behaviour, and Well-Being. She regularly speaks at forums such as Clerkenwell Design Week, the London Festival of Architecture, and OpenHouse Worldwide. Her work and writing have been featured in The Guardian, BBC Capital, Architecture Today, the London Evening Standard, and The List.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Coffee Pods

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

Whether you’re a devout believer or a staunch atheist, the research is clear: prayer works. Here’s what also works: introspective time, mindfulness, positive focus, and big ideas. Science has proven that your brain physically changes through the regular practice of prayer, meditation, and mindfulness, and the changes can happen in as little as six to eight weeks. Our guest on this week’s show has dedicated his life to the study of positive neural changes through prayer and spiritual practices, and his discoveries will surprise you. 

Listen & Learn: 

• The three-yawn technique for instant mindfulness
• How prayer, meditation, and mindfulness can change your brain
• Why these positive benefits have nothing to do with the existence (or inexistence) of God
• How chanting, singing, and spiritual experiences are only valuable if there is time afterward to integrate and reflect on the experience 

Links & Resources:  

• Mark’s books on Amazon
• Mark’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Mark Robert Waldman is Executive MBA Faculty at Loyola Marymount University. He teaches the NeuroLeadership program. He is the author of 14 books including Words Can Change Your Brain and How God Changes Your Brain. He has been featured on PBS, National Public Radio, Canadian National Television, Oprah and Friends, and in dozens of national magazines. He is also on the faculty of Holmes Institute.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Artificial Sweeteners Any Good

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

Many women start hormonal birth control in their teens and continue for years or even decades. This can be a responsible decision, but most people don’t realize the long-term side effects and risks including infertility, reduced libido, weight gain, and even mood disorders. With all things birth control, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but throwing a pill at the issue without weighing the options is surely a bad idea. On this week’s show, you’ll meet Dr. Jolene Brighten, a women’s hormone specialist who will help you make an informed decision about what’s right for you.

Listen & Learn: 

• How the Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs) can be just as effective as hormonal options 
• Why the pill contributes to increased miscarriage rates and infertility later 
• How the pill can cause adrenal and thyroid problems 
• Why IUDs are back, and why you might try this old-school method 
• How the pill is often misused to treat irregular periods, PCOS, PMS, and acne

Links & Resources: 

• Dr. Brighten’s Site
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Jolene Brighten is a functional naturopathic medical doctor who focuses on women’s endocrine health. She’s an expert in Post-Birth Control Syndrome and the long-term side effects associated with hormonal contraceptives.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Yerba mate

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes 

Did you know that 80 percent of generic drugs are manufactured in India or China, thousands of miles from the US FDA inspectors? When it comes to oversight, manufacturing safety, and transparency, it’s a huge problem when Big Brother is on the other side of the planet. Generic drugs offer consumers huge cost savings, but is safety and regulation the price we have to pay in order to afford our medicines? On this week’s show, you’ll meet an investigative journalist who uncovered the real problems with the generic medicine market.

Listen & Learn:

• Why you should be most concerned about medicines you take regularly
• How carcinogens, toxins, and even bacterial/viral infections are a real risk in manufacturing
• Why ‘surprise visits’ are impossible for non-US-based manufacturing facilities
• Why ‘first-to-file’ incentives encourage companies to cut corners
• How the Indian concept of Jugaad might be at odds with safety

Links & Resources:

• Katherine’s Site
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Katherine Eban is an investigative journalist and author. Her articles have won international attention and numerous awards appearing in Fortune, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, Self, The Nation, and The New York Observer. Her work has been featured on 60 Minutes, Nightline, and NPR. She is the author of Dangerous Doses and a new book, Bottle of Lies.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Raw Honey

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

I used to say, “I’m bad with names!” It wasn’t until my late 30s that I realized this was just an excuse for not learning how to remember names. Turns out, it’s not that hard. I’m not amazing, but I’m now pretty good and getting better all the time. My big secret? I put some effort into it.

My guest on this week’s show is a four-time USA memory champion. Here is a short list of his accomplishments:

• Memorized 217 names in 15 minutes
• Memorized 256 words in 15 minutes
• Memorized 907 digits in 30 minutes
• Memorized a deck of cards in < 41 seconds

Memory skills are more than party tricks. It is a way to train and harness the power of your mind through specific techniques that can spill over with benefits into every aspect of your life. This is a fun one.

Links & Resources:

• Nelson’s Website
• Nelson’s Youtube

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Nelson Dellis is a 4x USA Memory Champion and one of the leading memory experts in the world. He is a competitive memory athlete, memory consultant, published author, and keynote speaker. As a memory champion, mountaineer, and Alzheimer's disease activist, he preaches a lifestyle that combines fitness— both mental and physical—with proper diet and social involvement. He is the author of the book, Remember It!, and he founded a non-profit charity that aims to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's. He has climbed numerous peaks around the world for this cause, including three times on Mount Everest.

Nelson has been featured on FOX's Superhumans, The TODAY Show, Fox and Friends, The Katie Couric Show, CNN.com, ABC Nightline, The Dr. Oz Show, The Science Channel, National Geographic, and SuperBrain China, among many other media outlets.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Sous Vide

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

When you think of a spiritual seeker, you probably conjure up images of shaved heads, orange robes, dark meditation halls, and gongs. But sitting in silence is not the only way to mediate. You can also run around in circles 12-14 hours a day, pushing your body and mental resolve to their limit. Every year, a dozen or so seekers show up in Queens, New York, to run around an unremarkable city block until they hit 59 miles. They do this for 52 days straight, 3100 miles total. This extreme race has been happening since 1997, and many runners are repeat participants. Our guest on this week’s show directed a film profiling this race and the global phenomenon of running as a spiritual practice.

Listen & Learn:

• How average people, older people, and non-athletes are completing this race
• How ultra-running can be mostly a mental challenge
• How transcendence is the goal and a necessity for this type of race
• How humans are truly born to run
• Why a spiritual guru founded this race

Links & Resources:

• 3100: Run & Become Race

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Sanjay is a runner and documentary filmmaker whose films include Ocean Monk, Challenging Impossibility and Food Chains. His most recent film, 3100: Run and Become, details the world’s most elusive and elite multi-day foot race around one utterly unremarkable half-mile urban sidewalk block in Queens, New York. The race demands competitors to complete at least 59 miles a day for 52 straight days.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Eggs & Cholesterol

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Your social media feed is filled with the curated lives of a bunch of strangers who you “follow” for no obvious reason. They are better-looking than you, their lunch looks tastier, their prose is so witty. Wow, what a life. But is it real? Probably not.

On an average day, most of us feel a combination of overwhelm, exhaustion, silliness, joy, loss, fear, anxiety, and depression. For a few wonderful moments, we get lost in our work or family lives, we get sucked into an inspiring story or enchanted by a new idea. And then our stomach hurts and tomorrow’s responsibilities begin to suck away the momentary peace of today.

Real life is a big, sloppy soup of emotions and the challenge is this: How do you find your authentic self amidst all that? Who are you really and what drives you? How can you cut through the Starbucks and puppies selfies to figure out what you’re supposed to be doing with yourself in this one precious life you have? My guest on this week’s podcast has some ideas.

Listen & Learn:

• Why we give ourselves what we feel we deserve
• Why clarity and purpose can cause you uneasiness (at first)
• How to use isolated dreaming to figure yourself out
• What to do when you know only what you don’t want  
  

Links & Resources:

• Philip’s Site
• One Last Talk Book
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Philip McKernan is a speaker, author, and entrepreneur. He teaches people to become more intuitive so they know when they are on the right path. Philip works around the world with individuals, couples, and corporate organizations such as Shell and more recently the Canadian Olympic team before the London games. He’s the author of One Last Talk: Rich on Paper, Poor on Life available on Amazon or on his site.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Micotoxins in Coffee

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

From the melting ice caps to dying marine reefs and depleted fish populations, we’re facing some big challenges right now, but very few people flip the lens to look at their own bodies to ask: “How are these petrochemical toxins affecting me and my family?”

The truth is, toxins affect all of us from the moment we’re born. Newborns enter the world with 200+ chemical toxins inside them, and the quantity tends to go up and up as we age. Plastics can make your fat cells bigger and mess up your hormones. Chemical additives in foods can give you brain fog and mood disorders. Artificial sweeteners can affect cognition, digestion, and hunger. These toxins are huge and growing problems, and most people are not paying attention.

On this week’s show, you’ll meet a medical doctor, a father, and a researcher who is uncovering simple truths about our toxic world along with practical solutions for staying sane and healthy.

Listen & Learn:

• Why you should cook with stainless steel or cast iron
• Why plastics #3, #6 and #7 are the worst (look at the recycling symbol)
• How microwaving plastics can release endocrine disruptors
• Why canned foods of all types should be avoided
• Why hormones-disruptors can affect everything from your mood, waistline and sex drive
• Why Europe has banned 1300 chemicals in household and food products and the USA has only banned 11
• Why flame-retardants are required in the USA, despite questionable efficacy huge side effects
• Why you should buy paraben-free, phthalate-free, and SLS-free products
• Why “fragrance” is often code for “dangerous chemical we’d like to keep secret”

Links & Resource:

• Dr. Leo Trasande’s Site and Book
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Leonardo Trasande is a pediatrician, professor, and researcher. He is the author of the new book, Sicker, Fatter, Poorer: The Urgent Threat of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals to Our Health and Future and What We Can Do About It.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Cashews Moldy

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

The two big reasons marriages fail are sex and money. While finances are by no means easy, you can always go get another job, cut back, add on, or get creative. These creative solutions rarely play out well when it comes to sex, so you can quickly see why challenges often end in disaster. Sexuality is such a private issue, something most people prefer to discuss behind closed doors; but in reality, they don’t even discuss it in privacy either. Mostly, it goes unspoken.

So what do you do? What is sexuality? How does it change as you age, have kids, and grow older? On this week’s show, you’ll meet a sex therapist with a very simple and practical approach to sex and sexuality. He’ll share his time-tested clinical experiences and hopefully shed some light on the challenges in the bedroom.

Listen & Learn:

• Why good sex is fundamentally about getting stupid and happy together
• How children can sometimes kill sexuality in a relationship
• How age and mismatched desire can create new challenges in a couple
• Men vs. women: is there a difference?
• Why we often protest during the day the things we fantasize about at night
  

Links & Resources:

• Dr. Synder’s Website

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Stephen Snyder, MD is a sex and relationship therapist in Manhattan, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine, a regular contributor to Huffington Post and Psychology. Today, a frequent guest on major media, and one of America's most original voices of sex and relationships. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children. He is the author of the book Love Worth Making.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Tahini Raw

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

I had nosebleed nearly every single day in 1988. It would usually happen midday, and while I got pretty good at predicting it, I still remember bleeding on some very important textbooks, my Iowa Basics tests (old school standardized tests), and my white t-shirts. Eventually, my family doctor did some kind of cauterization procedure and it stopped—hooray!

Every kid has some weird health thing, whether it’s bumps on their belly from the swimming pool or endless streams of mucus from their noses, so I never thought anything of it until 30 years later. I met a guy who had an autoimmune condition that the doctors finally traced back to black mold in his home that started after a flood. I’d never even heard of black mold.

Here’s how it works: Your bathtub overflows, water drips into the floor, and then you clean it up. But the water in the floorboards drips down into the walls and ceiling and it gets moldy. That mold might just sit there, but it might spread. It might stay trapped in the walls, but it might start to get into your heating ducts or get released during construction.

And the problem? In many cases, these molds are super toxic, even neurotoxic. What does this have to do with my nosebleeds? It’s one of the top symptoms of mold exposure, and I was sleeping in a moldy basement at the time. Luckily, my nosebleeds were no big deal, particularly in comparison to the conditions that household mold can trigger in others.

On this week’s show, Dr. Ann Shippy will share her research and best practices for protecting your home and family from black mold.

Listen & Learn:

• Why as many as 50% of homes might have a mold issue
• Why some mycotoxins are not visible and don’t necessarily smell bad
• How mold can cause headaches, skin conditions, bloody noses, and even cause much more serious conditions
• How to take care of you and your loved ones

Links & Resources:

• Dr. Ann Shippy
• CDC research on mold

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Ann Shippy is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Functional Medicine. As a humanitarian and founder of two foundations (Good Food Matterz Foundation and Toxicity Matters Foundation), she wants to help create a world of wellness. She has written two books, Mold Toxicity Workbook and Shippy Paleo Essentials.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• What are the essential supplements

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes
  

 

“Change the way you think about things, and the things you think about will change.” This cliche sums up 80 percent of modern personal development, but it’s about as useful as marital advice that suggests a minute-long daily hug will ensure everlasting love or financial advice that suggests if you skip your morning latte and save the money you’ll get rich someday.

Has any of this ever actually worked for anyone? I doubt it.

If I were to ask you about work or family or your country, you’d immediately have an emotionally-charged response—much of which may be negative. You can flip the script and tell yourself a different story, but those underlying emotions brew below the surface. No one has ever thought their way out of any major crisis. It all comes down to action.

What are you going to do?

With mental health problems, unfortunately, most of us do nothing. We feel depressed or anxious, so we try to wait it out. Our home life is suffocating, so we try a gratitude journal to change the story in our head. The office is a black hole where souls get vaporized, so we spend the day on Instagram trying to change the way we think about things.

On this week’s podcast, we’ll talk about the need for the Mind Detox method. Clear out your head trash and make space for new feelings, new experiences, and a new way of living.

Listen & Learn:

• How food and eating habits are often where mental and emotional problems appear
• How self-care techniques like yoga and tapping can empower you to have some control
• How your past is never really the past unless you deal with it and resolve painful issues

Links & Resources:

• Sandy Newbiggings
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Sandy C. Newbigging is a meditation teacher, monk, mentor, speaker, and author. He is also the creator of Mind Detox, Mind Calm, Body Calm and Calm Cure coaching and meditation techniques, collectively known as Calmology.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Frozen Food

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes
  

Your dental health is very often the proverbial canary in the coal mine, meaning that periodontal disease is often a red flag that systemic problems exist which could be very serious. Proper brushing and hygiene are essential, of course, but dental health starts from within, particularly with the foods and nutrients you eat.

So what’s the problem? Our modern diets lack essential bone-health nutrients like fat-soluble vitamins D, K, and A. Foods are loaded with sugar and create an overly-acidic environment in the mouth which can lead to decay. On this week’s show, you’ll meet a holistic dentist who advocates dental care from the inside out, proper nutrition, and of course, great hygiene.

Listen & Learn:

• Is Xylitol good for dental care?
• Fluoride vs. no fluoride
• Fat-soluble vitamins A, K2 (4 vs 7) & D3
• Should you whiten your teeth?

Links & Resources:

• Dr. Lin’s Website
• Book: The Dental Diet
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Steven Lin is a functional dentist, TEDx speaker, and author of the book, The Dental Diet. As a passionate preventative, whole health advocate, Dr. Lin focuses on the understanding of dental disease through nutritional principles.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Insect Protein

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes
  

I signed up for my first 12-day meditation retreat in 2001, and then I dropped out two weeks before the start date. I never drop out of anything. Eighteen months later, I signed up again. This time, I was ready.

It was exactly as you might suspect: a room full of people sitting on cushions—not speaking, not moving—for days at a time. There were no chanting nor prayers, no incense nor gurus. It wasn’t that kind of place. The instructional aspect of the course could easily be summarized in three words: sit, observe, accept.

Within 15 minutes of my arrival, I realized I’d entered a special kind of hell also known as my own head. I sat, and sat, and sat, and sat some more.

On the fourth day, someone sneezed in the meditation hall, and I nearly had a heart attack. By the seventh day, I was convinced I could see through my eyelids. The room remained unchanged for the past week, so for all intents and purposes, I really could see through my eyelids. Open or closed, everything was the same.

The guy next to me stank of mold and armpits. The person in front of me would groan and convulse in discomfort every 15 minutes. At least, I thought, he was suffering more than me. By the end of day eight, I’d re-lived every single unfinished conversation of my life, from the big ones to the most mundane encounters you could imagine. My own mental archives embarrassed me. They were (and are) so petty. On day 12, when we could finally speak again, I had nothing to say. I was hungry and horny; exhausted and thoughtful.

This was my introduction to meditation, and while I wish I could say it was smooth sailing since then, I find it more and more challenging every year; and oddly, the more I struggle, the more benefits I experience. There seems to be an inverse relationship between struggle in meditation and my happiness.

My guest on this week’s show is a meditator, teacher, author, and speaker. I’m a novice, he’s a pro. I think you’ll learn a lot from our discussion.

Listen & Learn:

• How spirituality is about a personal practice of inner transformation
• Why mindfulness means to “remember to wake up” or experience the self in the present moment
• How Jewish culture of suffering, knowledge, and self-inquiry resonates with Buddhist teachings
• Why suffering is an inevitable part of life
• Weapons of peace
  

Links & Resources:

• What’s Beyond Mindfulness
• Stephen’s Website
• Dhamma.org (meditation retreats)

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Stephen Fulder, Ph.D., is a spiritual teacher, author, and founder of the Israel Insight Society (Tovana). He has been teaching Buddhist teachings and meditation practice to thousands of people over the last 20 years. He has 40 years of Vipassana/Mindfulness meditation and dharma practice and Buddhist studies.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Carbonated Water

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

 

I love everything that’s bad for me, and alcohol certainly falls under that umbrella. It’s a love-hate relationship really, and I don’t drink anymore. At this stage of my life, it’s just not worth it. Am I boring and health-obsessed? Probably. But maybe you are too.

Here’s what we know about booze: Sixty-one million Americans are classified as binge alcohol users and 16 million as heavy alcohol users. Alcohol plays a role in one in three cases of violent crimes, and 10,000 people die each year in alcohol-related car accidents in the U.S. alone.

But most people who drink too much or too often are not alcoholics, so the problem goes unaddressed and unresolved—and yet, the lifelong impact is massive. My guest on this week’s podcast was an over-drinker who started a 30-day sober challenge that has lasted over six years. If you’re concerned that you might be drinking too much or too often, this is an important show to listen to.

Listen & Learn:

• The difference between high bottom drinking vs. low bottom drinking
• How moderate drinking can be a story you tell yourself
• Why alcohol can affect just about everyone
• Why if you think you have a problem, you probably do
• What life is like on the other side of the bottle

Links & Resources:

• Belle’s website, book & 100-Day Challenge
• Harvard study on drinking
  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Belle Robertson is Canadian but lives in Paris. She’s a writer, baker, and caterer. She’s also a “sober coach” and her book, Tired of Thinking About Drinking, is available on her website along with her 100-Day Sober Challenge.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Aspartame

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Have you ever driven from your house to the office and were unable to remember anything about the drive? Have you lost track of days and even weeks when stress and frustration turned your brain to mush?  

What would your work and your life look like if you knew how to stay focused yet flexible; if you got more of the right things done; if you were helping to create a more peaceful world at the same time? These questions are posed by mindfulness trainer, Marc Lesser, my guest on this week’s podcast.

Listen & Learn:

• Why asking and listening are rare and yet so valuable
• Why solo meditation practice is miserable for most people
• How corporate culture can dramatically change when people are present, emotionally open, and connected

Links & Resources:

• MarcLesser.net
• Marc’s New Book

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Marc helped develop a program called Search Inside Yourself (SIY) within Google that integrates mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and business savviness for building strong corporate cultures. He founded and was CEO of three different companies. He is the author of four books and has an MBA from New York University. Marc was a resident of the San Francisco Zen Center for 10 years, as well as director of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. His latest book, Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader, is available now.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• 30-30-30

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

I spent my first 27 years of life convinced that men and women were exactly the same except for the obvious anatomical differences and a boatload of socialization. After a big relationship breakup, I read the modern classic book, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, and quickly learned I was wrong about so many things.

Men and women are very different, not just in how we are socialized but in undeniable biochemical and neurological ways that impact us constantly. Different doesn’t mean better nor does it mean worse, stronger, or less capable. Different means different—wonderfully, infuriatingly different.

A huge part of what I’ve been most criticized for in life has nothing to do with who I am as a person; it’s just my masculine self expressing itself strongly. And a huge part of what drove me crazy about women was not who they were as people but their very nature that I didn’t appreciate or understand. Ignorance, in this case, is not bliss. It’s a guaranteed plan for constant conflict at home.

This week, you’ll meet the most influential relationship expert on the planet, Dr. John Gray. His books and his work have made their way into just about every school, university, and bedside table in the world. It would be a mistake not to invest time in learning from John.  

Listen & Learn:

• How most modern lifestyles lead to hormonal imbalances
• How the feminine “recharges” vs how the masculine “resets”
• Why we need to celebrate differences rather than try to suppress them
• How to navigate the challenges of polarity

Links & Resources

• Dr. John Gray’s Website
• John’s Books

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. John Gray, Ph.D. is the best-selling relationship author of all time. He is the author of over 20 books, including Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex. Over 50 million copies in 50 different languages around the world have been sold.

John is a leading internationally-recognized expert in the fields of communication and relationships. His unique focus is assisting men and women in understanding, respecting and appreciating their differences. John's advice can easily be used to improve relationships at home and in the workplace.

For more than 35 years, John has conducted public and private seminars for thousands of participants. John entertains and inspires audiences with practical communication techniques. He is a popular speaker on the national and international lecture circuit and often appears on television and radio programs to discuss his work. He has made guest appearances on such shows as Oprah, The Dr. Oz Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Larry King Live, CNN and many others. He was also the subject of a three-hour special hosted by Barbara Walters. Dr. John Gray lives with his wife and children in Northern California.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Cannot eat raw food

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

The average life expectancy is nearly 83 years where I live. People are living healthier, wealthier, and longer lives than ever before, but what the heck do you do in that last third portion of your life? Golf or bingo? Yoga or CrossFit? It’s really hard to know what options we’ll have in our 80s, but it also seems pretty foolish not to plan for it now.

On this week’s show, you’ll meet a New York Times writer who extensively profiled six elders (over 85) in New York City. He’ll share what he learned about living and dying with us on the show.

Listen & Learn:

• The role of choice in happiness in later life
• Why isolation from a purpose can be just as painful as social isolation
• How pain and illness are less important than how people choose to interpret them in the context of their lives
• How “no regrets” is a common theme with age

Links & Resources:

• John’s Book on Amazon

ABOUT OUR GUEST
John Leland is a reporter at The New York Times, where he wrote a year-long series that became the basis for Happiness Is a Choice You Make. He is also the author of Hip: The History and Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road.

Before joining the Times, he was a senior editor at Newsweek, editor in chief of Details, a reporter at Newsday, and a writer and editor at Spin.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Cooking Oils

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

After the age of 40, there is less space between your spinal vertebrae than when you were 20. This steady degeneration of tissues happens predictably but can be exacerbated by weight, high stress, extreme athletics, and even accidents. Aside from the natural wear and tear on our joints, many people also suffer from autoimmune attacks which affect the soft tissues, causing pain, inflammation, and even deformity in extreme cases. We’re talking about arthritis. And, not surprisingly, yoga can be a very effective management strategy for anyone with these problems.

On this week’s show, we’ll help define and understand the many different conditions of arthritis, and we’ll explore ways to reduce and even eliminate symptoms through movement.

What You’ll Learn:

• How “arthritis” is a general term for hundreds of conditions
• The difference between wear and tear joint degeneration vs. autoimmune conditions
• Why knees, hips, and low back are the most problematic
• How x-rays and scans can give insight into joint-space narrowing
• The risk of rheumatoid cachexia that includes muscle loss
• Responsible use of cortisone, ibuprofen, and other medications
• Why strong quads can add years of life to your knees  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Steffany Moonaz founded Yoga for Arthritis after eight years at Johns Hopkins University where she studied the effects of yoga for people living with arthritis. She now serves as the Director of Clinical and Academic Research at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, which offers the nation's only Masters of Science in Yoga Therapy.

She continues to conduct research on the effects of yoga for chronic pain and joint conditions, and she mentors yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and emerging researchers. She is passionate about ensuring that yoga practices are safe, welcoming, and appropriate for people with arthritis nationwide.

Links & Resources:

• Steffany’s Site
• Steffany’s Book
  

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Sllimming Tea

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Environmental activist, Colin Beavan, and his family decided to make a bold statement: they’d spend an entire year living as close to “zero impact” as possible in the heart of New York City. They’d ditch subways and taxis, food that came from further than 100 miles away, and TV. In the end, they’d gain a new perspective on life.

Listen & Learn:

• How the average American creates 1600 lbs of trash each year
• How Colin and his wife and daughter went “zero impact” for a full year in NYC
• What it means to redefine life without all the consumerism
• How to truly be alive

Links & Resources:

• Colin’s Website
• Colin’s Books on Amazon

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Colin Beavan is a speaker, author and expert on environmental issues, consumerism, and human quality of life. He has spoken at companies including Clif Bar, the North Face, and Ideo. He’s been featured in numerous media outlets and TV programs including The Colbert Report, Good Morning America, and Nightline.

Colin has a couple of books, How to Be Alive: A Guide to the Kind of Happiness that Helps the World and No Impact Man. His documentary film, also called No Impact Man, was featured at Sundance and has been shown in theaters and on TV around the world.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Why is Fruit Sugar Bad

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

When we think of strength and muscle mass, we typically imagine physique-obsessed bodybuilders staring at themselves in the mirror and clanking weights around in the gym.

But what if there is more to the story? What if lean muscle is more than just aesthetics, particularly as we age?

My guest on this week’s show is a trial lawyer who represented two former presidents. He’s an avid skier and a gym rat who still skis at Vail with his granddaughter, still tries cases, and remains as sharp as ever at 86 years old. It’s a remarkable story, and Fred Bartlit credits his health to a lifelong commitment to pumping iron. Don’t miss this show—it’s an eye-opener.  

Listen & Learn:

• How sarcopenia can cause a loss of 1% of strength per year after middle age
• How your telomere length might predict longevity
• How a lack of exercise correlates with early death
• How to “die living” not “live dying” as you age

Links & Resources:

• Fred’s StrongPath Website

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Fred is a former US Army Ranger and trial lawyer who has represented two former presidents. Co-founder of StrongPath, demonstrating that frailty doesn’t need to be an inevitable part of aging, Fred says he’s stronger now at 86 years old than he was in his 20s thanks to a lifelong commitment to good exercise habits.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Healthy skin

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

This no-nonsense health and wellness show features best-selling authors and thought leaders in nutrition, mental health, relationships, and self-improvement. Each episode also includes listener Q&A. Hosted by yoga trainer, writer, and expert speaker, Lucas Rockwood, the founder of YOGABODY and The Yoga Teachers College.

Group dynamics fascinate me. Why does one person take on the leadership role almost immediately without any need for introduction or approval? How did that one person decide he was the joker? And why is there always someone lurking in the back, avoiding eye contact and trying to be invisible?

I’ve been hosting training courses for 13 years now, and I’ve seen time and time again how we all tend to assume different social roles in group settings with enough people. It’s not always consistent or predictable but these patterns almost always emerge. Why?

On this week’s podcast, you’ll meet a behavioral researcher who has uncovered some powerful truths about human behavior that can help you be more effective in all your social interactions both personal and professional. We cover body language, topics of conversation, and so much more.

You’ll Learn:

• Why negative talk can leave a negative impression on you as a person
• How to gush, not gossip, to uplift and influence others around you
• Eye contact vs. no eye contact: finding the balance
• What to do with your hands when you talk
  

Links & Resources:

• Science of People Website

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Vanessa Van Edwards is a behavioral investigator. She runs a human behavior research lab called the Science of People. She's been featured on CNN, Fast Company, and Forbes. She also writes a monthly column for Entrepreneur Magazine and The Huffington Post. Her innovative work has been featured on NPR, Business Week, and USA Today.  

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Fermented Foods

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

 

Most people believe that carbs give you energy, fat makes you fat, and protein builds muscles - but this is not how the body works. In fact, we metabolize macronutrients very differently - often counter-intuitively - and it's important to understand the hormonal impact of food as you attempt to find balance.

Too much protein can be just as problematic as too many carbs but how do you know how much is too much? What are some baseline measurements you can use in your own life? My guest on this week's podcast, Stephen Cabral, ND, will make this easy to understand.

Listen & Learn:

• Risks, rewards, and reality of keto diets
• Why protein is harder to digest
• How 0.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight is usually ideal
• Why too much protein creates too much IGF-1 that can feed cancer
• Ectomorph/Vata: lean and long, difficulty building muscle
• Endomorph/Kapha: higher body fat, often pear-shaped, gain muscle and fat easily
• Mesomorph/Pitta: muscular and well-built, high metabolism, responsive muscle cells

Links & Resources:

•  Stephen's Website

 

ABOUT THE HOST

Stephen Cabral is a board-certified naturopathic doctor with post-doctoral specialties in Ayurvedic and functional medicine. He and his team have completed more than 250,000 client appointments. He is a podcaster himself at the Cabral Concept and is the author of The Rain Barrel Effect and A Man's Guide to Muscle and Strength.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Cabbage

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

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• Leave us a Review on iTunes

 

Open up Instagram right now, and start counting the number of narcissists in your feed today. How many? Three, ten, fifty? Is there anyone real in your feed?

Narcissistic personalities have always existed, but with social media, it's a bigger problem than ever. These hyper-insecure people lack empathy, live in a constant state of conflict, and value status and outward appearances over real human connection and understanding.

Why does it matter? Because we work with them, we live with them, and in some cases, we even marry and spend our lives with them. In this week's podcast, you'll meet a clinical psychologist who shares her pragmatic and down-to-earth approach to living with or running from the narcissists in your life.  

Listen & Learn:

• How to identify a narcissist.
• Why the stereotypical "successful man" today is often the definition of a narcissist.
• Realistic outlook of change (hint: low to none).
• Should you stay, or should you go?

Links & Resources:

• Dr. Ramani's Website
• Dr. Ramani's Books on Amazon

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Ramani Durvasula is a licensed clinical psychologist. She has a private practice in Santa Monica and Sherman Oaks, CA. She is a professor of psychology at Cal State Los Angeles where she was named "Outstanding Professor" in 2012. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg.

She is the author of two books: Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship With a Narcissist (Post Hill Press), and You Are WHY You Eat: Change Your Food Attitude, Change Your Life. She has appeared on nearly every major television network, as well as radio, print, and internet platforms.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Potatoes

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Modern medicine's best thinking pales in comparison to the wisdom of our bodies. The best science only has a very rudimentary understanding of the dynamic and complex organism we inhabit, and yet we're always looking for the magic pill and the prescriptive cure.On this week's show, we'll explore ancestral wisdom for the modern man and the seemingly impossible attempt to find a balance.

Listen & Learn:

• Why dead people don't teach us everything we need to know about living people
• How to work with your body for health and healing
• Why a 'sick' response is often just the body's healthy response to self-care
• How the flawed current medical system is more about maintenance and survival than health

Links & Resources:

• Weston A. Price
• Dr. Cowan's books
• Dr. Cowan's site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Cowan has served as vice president of the Physicians Association for Anthropo-sophical Medicine and is a founding board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation™.  He is the principal author of the book The Fourfold Path to Healing and the co-author of The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care. He writes the 'Ask the Doctor' column in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts. He has lectured throughout the United States and Canada.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Blending Smoothies Any Good

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

By the end of the 1700s, the average American consumed four teaspoons of sugar a day. One hundred years later, that number had risen to eighteen teaspoons. Today, we're consuming 22 teaspoons (93 grams) per day, and it's a huge problem. Diabetes rates are through the roof, and elevated blood sugar levels contribute to nearly every major disease and illness.

But... we all love sugar. We're genetically wired to seek it out and gorge on it. So how do we even begin to find balance in a sugar- and carb-laden world? After a scary bout of Hashimoto's Disease, our guest on this week's podcast dedicated her life to researching and eliminating sugar. She'll share the bitter truth about sugar and how to break free from your addiction to it.

Listen & Learn:

• Why fructose (fruit sugar) gives you a beer belly
• How "natural sugars" can be even worse than plain white sugar
• Why it's nearly impossible to not cook and be healthy
• How to begin your own sugar detox
• Why agave is the worst sweetener on the market

Links & Resources:

• Sarah's Website
• Sarah's Books on Amazon
• Sugar Consumption & Diabetes Research

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Sarah is a New York Times bestselling author, former journalist, and founder of the former site, IQuitSugar.com. She wrote the book, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, as well as 15 different I Quit Sugar books.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

•  Iron

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to Our Sponsor:

Molekule – has completely reinvented the air purifier. From the inside out, Molekule has reimagined what clean air ought to look and feel like—unobtrusive, portable, and 100% effective.

Visit: MOLEKULE and use coupon code “Lucas” for $75 off your first order.

Learn More

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

What in your inner world enables you to fully show up in the outer world? What is more important: What you have or how you feel?

On this week's podcast, you'll meet Susan David, PhD, who has dedicated her life to emotional health. She'll inform you how to ask yourself better questions, lean into pain (when necessary), and craft a truly fulfilling life based on your values.  

Listen & Learn:

• Why our inner world often matters more than the outer world
• How to uncover your individual ‘why’ and define your core values
• Why ‘have-to’ goals are impossible, whereas value-based goals actually work
• Why approach goals are powerful, but adverse goals are even stronger
• Why ‘smile or die’ can actually cause you less joy and make it more difficult to find peace
• How to show up and hold space for pain and suffering
• What was worth my while today

Links & Resources:

• Susan David's Website
• Emotional Agility on Amazon

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Susan David, co-founder and co-director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, teaches psychology at Harvard University and is the CEO of Evidence Based Psychology. As a speaker and consultant, Susan has worked with senior leadership at hundreds of organizations, including the United Nations, Ernst & Young, and the World Economic Forum. Her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Time, Fast Company, and the Wall Street Journal, and she is the author of The Oxford Handbook of Happiness, the definitive text for researchers and practitioners interested in human happiness.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• How Many Supplement is Too Much

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the internet will explode with searches for the best diets, which yield all kinds of good, bad, and absurd advice for getting healthy and fit. Vegetarians duke it out with Paleo people, macrobiotics argue with raw foodists, and the cycle goes on and on with no obvious winner.

Even with the best intentions, 92 to 98 percent of diets fail in the long term, and by Valentine’s Day, most people have abandoned their resolutions for the eating habits they’ve always had.

So what’s a person to do? Well, what do you want to do? What will be important to you in the coming year when it comes to your diet?

Food is complex and deeply personal. It’s a question of culture, tradition, environmental concerns, ethical questions, and socioeconomic status. Over the years, I’ve become much less interested in what to eat and more obsessed with how to eat. I’ve seen people eat and live well on all kinds of diets—and no diet at all.

On this week’s podcast, you’ll meet actor, activist, and plant-based advocate Suzy Amis Cameron, who endorses a very moderate ‘one plant-based meal a day’ approach. Whether you’re a hardcore meat eater or a die-hard veg-head, it’s valuable to experiment, reevaluate your assumptions, and find a balanced diet that works for you.

Listen & Learn:

• How Suzy founded MUSE, the only solar-powered, organic, plant-based school
• Why hope is not a strategy
• How our current food system is broken (by anyone’s standards)
• How a move away from animal agriculture seems inevitable
• Why a ‘one meal a day’ approach can be an interesting way to experiment with new diets and foods

Links & Resources:

 

• MUSE School

• Suzy’s site

• Link to Suzy’s book

 

ABOUT THE HOST

Suzy Amis Cameron is an environmental advocate, the mother of five, and the author of OMD: The Simple, Plant-Based Program to Save Your Health, Save Your Waistline, and Save the Planet.

She is also a founder of Plant Power Task Force and a number of other environmental and ethical organizations. In 2005, she founded MUSE School, a 100 percent solar-powered, zero-waste school with an organic, plant-based lunch program, in Calabasas, California.

Suzy has produced documentaries and serves on several nonprofit boards. As an actor, she has been featured in more than 25 films, including The Usual Suspects and Titanic.

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

 

Positive thinking is great, but how do you handle yourself when your spouse is in a funk or your boss is negative every minute of the working day? With all the best intentions for the day, many of us wake up and get hit with the Fox News or CNN.com onslaught of gloom and doom, and this influence shapes our reality for the remaining of our waking hours.

Our guest this week was neck-deep in news broadcasting for years and now dedicates her research and work life to broadcasting happiness—literally.

Listen & Learn:

• Write down 2-3 new and unique things that are positive
• How to separate the signal from the noise in news media
• Why 3 min of negative news per day can ruin your day
• Happiness = the joy we feel growing toward our potential
• How to start a conversation with a positive “top story”
• Why compassion is a great combatant to negativity
• How you can indeed change people

Links & Resources:

• Michelle’s Site
• Michele’s Books (on Amz)

ABOUT THE HOST

Michelle Gielan is a CBS News anchor turned positive psychology researcher and bestselling author of, Broadcasting Happiness. Michelle is the Founder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research and is partnered with Arianna Huffington to study how transformative stories fuel success.

She is an Executive Producer of "The Happiness Advantage" Special on PBS and a featured professor in Oprah's Happiness course.

Michelle holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and her research and advice have received attention from The New York Times, Washington Post, FORBES, CNN, FOX, and Harvard Business Review.

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

Four Sigmatic - makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

Visit: FOUR SIGMATIC and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

Learn More

As the saying goes, “You can have anything you want in life, you just can't have everything.” However, figuring out exactly what you want is often difficult, as it means compromise, sacrifice, and hard work.

With the New Year around the corner—a natural time to reflect on the year gone by and to plan for the year to come—the subject of clarity has never been more applicable. The same actions and habits that got you to where you are today won’t likely get you to where you want to go. So what next?

On this week's show, we'll look at motivation, commitment, follow-through, and the challenges of goal setting in general to help you find your purpose, get clear on what you want, and define what is standing in the way of that.

Listen & Learn:

• The history of NLP and how it can be a useful tool for changing your emotional reaction to situations
• Why goals should focus on desired feelings rather than desired things
• How to avoid procrastination
• Why trauma, pain, and fear can paralyze us

Links & Resources:

• Jamie's website
• Jamie's books on Amazon

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Jamie Smart is a writer, speaker, coach, and consultant. His work focuses on the concept of clarity: the ultimate leverage point for creating more time, making better decisions, and achieving meaningful results.

He has appeared on Sky TV and on the BBC, as well as in numerous publications including the Daily Telegraph. He's the author of two books, CLARITY and RESULTS, available on Amazon or on his website.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Salt

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

Molekule has completely reinvented the air purifier. From the inside out, Molekule has reimagined what clean air ought to look and feel like—unobtrusive, portable, and 100% effective.

Visit: MOLEKULE and use coupon code "Lucas" for $75 off your first order.

Learn More

What if you become so focused on exercise and healthy living that it becomes an unhealthy obsession? What if you're a parent and eat a balanced diet but struggle to feed your kids well? What if yoga is giving you a hernia?

On this week's podcast, I'll do my best to answer these great listener questions and more.

Listen & Learn:

• Risk vs.reward of yoga
• Whether or not kids should be vegetarian
• 8+16 meal timing
• How to eat healthfully when your friends/family don’t

ABOUT THE HOST

In 2002, I worked for a New York City book publisher doing a job I hated. I drank seven nights a week, abused drugs, and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. For food, it was pizza and takeout—anything quick and easy to keep me going.

No one consciously decides to destroy their health, but over the years, that’s exactly what happened. I was bloated and flabby, unable to sleep without alcohol. My eyes were red and puffy, and I struggled to get excited about anything. I had so much potential, so many opportunities, but when you’re sick and numb to the world, everything feels impossible and uninteresting.

Enter yoga. A friend dragged me to a yoga studio, where I suffered through one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. In that first class, I was sweating and dizzy, unable to do even the most basic postures. I was the youngest person there, but the way I moved, I felt like I was 90 years old. I couldn’t bend forward, sit cross-legged on the floor, or balance in a tree pose. Looking at myself in the mirror, I remember thinking, “How did I end up in such bad shape?”

I hated that first class so much, I knew it was exactly what I needed—so I kept going. People assume yoga classes are meant to be wonderful, peaceful experiences. This is not true. A good class should be the most challenging and uncomfortable hour of your entire day. When you push yourself on the mat, real-life problems become lighter and more manageable almost immediately. Hard yoga = easy life.

For the next 380 days, I practiced yoga every single day. While traveling, I used audio or video recordings. If I was in a new city, I’d go to any studio I could find. When my teacher told me to take a day off to rest, I’d ignore the advice and go to a class at another studio. The same way I’d fallen in love with things that were killing me (drugs and alcohol), I’d now fallen in love with something that was feeding me and fueling my growth.

And it worked. In six weeks, I lost almost 40 pounds (and had to replace my whole wardrobe). I quit drinking and smoking altogether, and most importantly, I found a renewed passion for life that is truly priceless. I remember walking around New York, still dripping with sweat from class, with a big, stupid grin on my face as if I’d unlocked a special secret. My life was changing.

Within six months, I’d quit my job and moved to Thailand. Within a year, I was teaching full-time to packed classes in Bangkok and later, Hong Kong. I opened my first studio in 2006 and that same year began training teachers. To date, I’ve taught more than 30,000 students and trained more than 3,000 teachers in 41 countries. I love my life and my work, and as a result, I’m in better health mentally and physically than I was in my early 20s.

YOGABODY was built on practice, sweat, and struggle. It’s the physical manifestation of everything I care about in life, and my greatest hope is that some of my passion for this practice and lifestyle rubs off on you when you walk through these doors. Nothing worth doing in life is easy. Movement is more powerful than meditation. And practice is everything.

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

Four Sigmatic - makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

Visit: FOUR SIGMATIC and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

Learn More

Most people know more about Game of Thrones than they do about their own digestive system. They know how many nuclear warheads are in North Korea, but they don't know their Vitamin D levels or their fasting blood glucose levels. This is a problem.

The term 'mindfulness' usually conjures up the image of a monk sitting in Lotus Pose in the middle of the forest, but everyday mindfulness is just as important and often overlooked. On this week's podcast, you'll meet a mental fitness biohacker, Kasper van der Meulen, who focuses on personal growth and transformation.

Listen & Learn:

• Biohacking 101
• The risks and rewards of the Wim Hof Method
• How to transition to minimal footwear and even barefoot running
• Crafting your personal health transformation

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Kasper van der Meulen is a Wim Hof instructor, biohacker, coach, author, and speaker. He wrote the book MindLift: Mental Fitness for the Modern Mind

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Rinse Your Rice

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

After your first yoga class, your hamstrings will hurt like hell. After your first day snowboarding, your wrists will ache and your bum will be bruised. After your first week struggling to play Knockin’ on Heaven's Door, your fingertips will be raw.

Welcome to the awkward and irritating world of new skill acquisition. The journey from grossly incompetent to somewhat capable is simultaneously the most challenging and most rewarding part of learning.

In the yoga studio, I see it every day. People poke their head in the door, take stock of the room, the instructor, the students, and proceed home to watch Netflix and eat Häagen-Dazs because it's easier than confronting the learning curve that awaits them. The benefit of avoidance is obvious—Netflix won’t cause you pain, won’t embarrass you, and won’t ask anything more of you—but the losses are catastrophic. Every day you spend stagnant, consuming rather than creating, it eats away at your vibrant spirit until there’s nothing left.

On this week's podcast, you'll meet author Josh Kaufman, who is obsessed with that initial learning phase. He has figured out how to break through the barriers of inertia and uncover what someone really wants.

Listen & Learn:

• Why learning is so important to the human condition
• The importance of pre-commitment to a phase of learning
• Why the 10,000-hour rule applies mostly to elite athletes and musicians
• Why great teachers are so difficult to find—and rarely teach
• How to leverage published material to supplement great teaching

Links & Resources:

• Josh's Website
• Forever Fluent Book

ABOUT THE GUEST

Josh Kaufman is the author of three bestselling books: The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business, The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything... Fast!, and How to Fight a Hydra: Face Your Fears, Pursue Your Ambitions, and Become the Hero You Are Destined to Be.

His TEDx talk on “The First 20 Hours” has been viewed more than 12 million times, putting it in the top 10 most viewed TEDx videos and top 100 most viewed TED Talks published to date.

Josh's research has been featured by the New York Times, BBC News, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes, Time, BusinessWeek, Wired, and dozens of other publications. Josh has been a featured speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival, World Domination Summit, Pioneer Nation, MicroConf, Bacon Biz, Stanford University, Google, and IBM.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Best Form of Sugar to Use

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

Four Sigmatic - makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

Visit: FOUR SIGMATIC and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

Learn More

Xanet Pailet was in a marriage with zero physical intimacy for more than 15 years. Most people don't go that long, but many do wait years before they openly address these issues; however, by then, permanent damage to the relationship may have already been done.

Sexuality is a definitive part of the human experience, and when it's not working, it's one of the top reasons couples split. So what's going wrong? Past trauma, self-esteem issues, guilt, shame, and a general lack of communication all contribute to the complexity of physical intimacy, so it's not surprising most people avoid the issue, if possible. Who wants to open up that Pandora's box?

On this week's show, Xanet will share her insights and expertise based on both her personal experience and decades of coaching others.

Listen & Learn:

• How a sexless relationship can harm your spirit and your life
• Why abstinence is a ridiculous idea, even in spiritual traditions
• Why the definition of 'sex' should be broadened to include many different ways of connecting on an intimate level
• How to navigate the challenges of modern pornography

Links & Resources:

• Xanet's Website
• Living an Orgasm (book)

ABOUT THE GUEST

Xanet Pailet is a certified tantra educator, sexological body worker, and somatica-trained sex coach, who has worked in the therapeutic field for more than 25 years. She's the author of the book Living an Orgasmic Life, available on Amazon, as well as on her website.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Fish Oil

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

Molekule has completely reinvented the air purifier. From the inside out, Molekule has reimagined what clean air ought to look and feel like—unobtrusive, portable, and 100% effective.

Visit: MOLEKULE and use coupon code “Lucas” for $75 off your first order.

Learn More

I struggled with chronic sleep deprivation for more than a decade. During that time, I’d fall asleep in the barber’s chair. If I was talking on the phone while in bed, I’d pass out in the middle of the conversation. On airplanes, I’d be asleep before takeoff and the flight attendant would have to wake me up after landing. My world was hazy. My focus was hour-to-hour. Generally speaking, my head felt like a swamp I had to wade through to get anything done. 

A poor night’s sleep affects your mood, your decision-making, and even your appetite—but we all have bad nights. The only way to escape the occasional restless night is to live a monastic life, without kids, neighbors, construction, work stress or a partner. To live a full life, for most people, means losing some sleep now and again. And you know what? That’s fine, if you can recover.

On this week’s podcast, you’ll meet a sleep expert who focuses on high-leverage strategies, not micro-tactics to improve your sleep.

Listen & Learn:

• How understanding your chronotype can help you optimize sleep 
• Sleep deprivation vs. insomnia, understanding the difference 
• Why 'sleep drive' is like hunger or sex drive—it has its own rhythm and cannot be forced
• Why you should not force yourself to sleep earlier
• Why you should force yourself to wake up earlier
• How light and movement are the key to waking up

Links & Resources:

• Sleepy Head Clinic

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Stephanie Romiszewski has a degree in psychology and behavioral sleep medicine. Her interest in sleep disorders began while studying chronobiology, during which time she assisted sleep research at Harvard Medical School.

Stephanie has worked in NHS clinical sleep disorder centres across the UK, diagnosing and treating a number of sleep issues, such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, parasomnias, insomnia, movement disorders and circadian rhythm disorders.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Flouride

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Four Sigmatic - makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

  Visit: FOUR SIGMATIC and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

  Learn More

Mark Lukach's wife spent nearly two months in total in psychiatric wards during three different bipolar episodes. Mental illness appeared seemingly out of nowhere with suicidal thoughts, delusions, and dangerous behavior. While this story sounds extreme, I promise that someone you know and care about is suffering right now, as well. That being said, there's a good chance you can help.

On this week's show, we'll look closely at mental illness, which affects one in every four households today. My hope is that this family's story will inspire you to find the courage to deal with the darkness.  

Listen & Learn:

• Why suicide is a huge (and growing) problem all over the world
• Medication vs. natural solutions—what's best?
• Why talking and listening will always be important
• How to remove the stigma of mental illness and get help

Links & Resources:

• Mark's Website
• Suicide Statistics (referenced in the show)

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Stephanie Romiszewski has a degree in psychology and behavioral sleep medicine. Her interest in sleep disorders began while studying chronobiology, during which time she assisted sleep research at Harvard Medical School.

Stephanie has worked in NHS clinical sleep disorder centres across the UK, diagnosing and treating a number of sleep issues, such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, parasomnias, insomnia, movement disorders and circadian rhythm disorders.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Fermented Foods

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Everyone has some area of their life where they feel totally stuck, and it usually falls into one of three categories: health, wealthy, or relationships. It's very rare that all three of those areas of life are flowing smoothly at once time, it's usually a balancing act where family life is awesome but work is a mess, or work is cruising but your health is suffering.

Have you experienced this? On this week's podcast, we'll talk about engineering a breakthrough in your life with a counterintuitive approach.

Listen & Learn:

• Why past trauma, pain and unresolved issues often keep you from moving forward
• Why micro failures are better than big fails
• How micro successes can snowball into a flurry of wins
• Why it's so challenging to change, and why it's essential to who we are

Links & Resources:

• Switch On Now Website

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Nick Jankel is an author, philosopher, and professional speaker who develops tools for organizations, leaders and everyday people to transform themselves.  He is the creator of The Switch On Way a process that has been used by over 50,000 people and 50+ Fortune 500 companies across the globe and has been featured on the BBC and MTV. He is the author of two books, Switch On, and new book, The Spiritual Atheist available on Amazon.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Honey Before Bed

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Four Sigmatic - makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

  Visit: FOUR SIGMATIC and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

  Learn More

Recently, my friend returned from a family member's funeral 8 lbs heavier and asked, "What's going on?" Weight gain from stress can be clinically explained by a few different mechanisms. There is emotional eating, where you eat to distract yourself and bury your sorrows, but there is also emotion-induced weight gain, where, during a period of high stress, your psychological state chemically disrupts your hormones. This imbalance can increase (or decrease) hunger and change your body's propensity to store fat.

My friend's follow-up question was: "What should I do to lose the weight?" On this week's show, I'll share my advice (food, vitamins, and blood tests) with you. This is by no means a comprehensive solution, but it's a very simple and non intimidating starting point for a journey back to a healthy weight.

------------

Listen & Learn:

• The plus one/minus one approach to making healthy choices
• Which vitamins are a smart choice for almost everyone
• How to see what's actually going on with your body from a blood test

ABOUT THE HOST

In 2002, I worked for a New York City book publisher doing a job I hated. I drank seven nights a week, abused drugs, and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. For food, it was pizza and takeout—anything quick and easy to keep me going.

No one consciously decides to destroy their health, but over the years, that’s exactly what happened. I was bloated and flabby, unable to sleep without alcohol. My eyes were red and puffy, and I struggled to get excited about anything. I had so much potential, so many opportunities, but when you’re sick and numb to the world, everything feels impossible and uninteresting.

Enter yoga. A friend dragged me to a yoga studio, where I suffered through one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. In that first class, I was sweating and dizzy, unable to do even the most basic postures. I was the youngest person there, but the way I moved, I felt like I was 90 years old. I couldn’t bend forward, sit cross-legged on the floor, or balance in a tree pose. Looking at myself in the mirror, I remember thinking, “How did I end up in such bad shape?”

I hated that first class so much, I knew it was exactly what I needed—so I kept going. People assume yoga classes are meant to be wonderful, peaceful experiences. This is not true. A good class should be the most challenging and uncomfortable hour of your entire day. When you push yourself on the mat, real-life problems become lighter and more manageable almost immediately. Hard yoga = easy life.

For the next 380 days, I practiced yoga every single day. While traveling, I used audio or video recordings. If I was in a new city, I’d go to any studio I could find. When my teacher told me to take a day off to rest, I’d ignore the advice and go to a class at another studio. The same way I’d fallen in love with things that were killing me (drugs and alcohol), I’d now fallen in love with something that was feeding me and fueling my growth.

And it worked. In six weeks, I lost almost 40 pounds (and had to replace my whole wardrobe). I quit drinking and smoking altogether, and most importantly, I found a renewed passion for life that is truly priceless. I remember walking around New York, still dripping with sweat from class, with a big, stupid grin on my face as if I’d unlocked a special secret. My life was changing.

Within six months, I’d quit my job and moved to Thailand. Within a year, I was teaching full-time to packed classes in Bangkok and later, Hong Kong. I opened my first studio in 2006 and that same year began training teachers. To date, I’ve taught more than 30,000 students and trained more than 3,000 teachers in 41 countries. I love my life and my work, and as a result, I’m in better health mentally and physically than I was in my early 20s.

YOGABODY was built on practice, sweat, and struggle. It’s the physical manifestation of everything I care about in life, and my greatest hope is that some of my passion for this practice and lifestyle rubs off on you when you walk through these doors. Nothing worth doing in life is easy. Movement is more powerful than meditation. And practice is everything.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Rinse Tea Rinse Rice

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Four Sigmatic - makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

  Visit: FOUR SIGMATIC and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

  Learn More

I receive questions from listeners every day. On this week's Q&A show, I'll answer a few of them, with topics ranging from flexibility for seniors and what technically breaks a fast to Xylitol and Vitamin K2.

------------

Listen & Learn:

• Is it possible for people over 60 to increase their flexibility
• Is Xylitol really healthy
• Does drinking soy milk/espresso count for fasting
• Is Yin Yoga safe for your joints
• What is Vitamin K2 good for

ABOUT THE HOST

In 2002, I worked for a New York City book publisher doing a job I hated. I drank seven nights a week, abused drugs, and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. For food, it was pizza and takeout—anything quick and easy to keep me going.

No one consciously decides to destroy their health, but over the years, that’s exactly what happened. I was bloated and flabby, unable to sleep without alcohol. My eyes were red and puffy, and I struggled to get excited about anything. I had so much potential, so many opportunities, but when you’re sick and numb to the world, everything feels impossible and uninteresting.

Enter yoga. A friend dragged me to a yoga studio, where I suffered through one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. In that first class, I was sweating and dizzy, unable to do even the most basic postures. I was the youngest person there, but the way I moved, I felt like I was 90 years old. I couldn’t bend forward, sit cross-legged on the floor, or balance in a tree pose. Looking at myself in the mirror, I remember thinking, “How did I end up in such bad shape?”

I hated that first class so much, I knew it was exactly what I needed—so I kept going. People assume yoga classes are meant to be wonderful, peaceful experiences. This is not true. A good class should be the most challenging and uncomfortable hour of your entire day. When you push yourself on the mat, real-life problems become lighter and more manageable almost immediately. Hard yoga = easy life.

For the next 380 days, I practiced yoga every single day. While traveling, I used audio or video recordings. If I was in a new city, I’d go to any studio I could find. When my teacher told me to take a day off to rest, I’d ignore the advice and go to a class at another studio. The same way I’d fallen in love with things that were killing me (drugs and alcohol), I’d now fallen in love with something that was feeding me and fueling my growth.

And it worked. In six weeks, I lost almost 40 pounds (and had to replace my whole wardrobe). I quit drinking and smoking altogether, and most importantly, I found a renewed passion for life that is truly priceless. I remember walking around New York, still dripping with sweat from class, with a big, stupid grin on my face as if I’d unlocked a special secret. My life was changing.

Within six months, I’d quit my job and moved to Thailand. Within a year, I was teaching full-time to packed classes in Bangkok and later, Hong Kong. I opened my first studio in 2006 and that same year began training teachers. To date, I’ve taught more than 30,000 students and trained more than 3,000 teachers in 41 countries. I love my life and my work, and as a result, I’m in better health mentally and physically than I was in my early 20s.

YOGABODY was built on practice, sweat, and struggle. It’s the physical manifestation of everything I care about in life, and my greatest hope is that some of my passion for this practice and lifestyle rubs off on you when you walk through these doors. Nothing worth doing in life is easy. Movement is more powerful than meditation. And practice is everything.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Raw, Cooked, Boiled, Fried

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• PrepDish - is a healthy meal planning service. When you sign up, you’ll receive an email every week with a done-for-you grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. You’ll save time and have amazingly delicious meals.

  Visit: PrepDish and use coupon code “yogabody” for your first 2 weeks for FREE

  Learn More

A stage hypnotist convinced my friend Burton that he was an undercover spy and needed to find a clue hidden in the forest. There were 600 people in the audience, but Burton was all in. He raced off the stage, returning 10 minutes later, covered in sweat (clearly he had been running around campus), at which point he proudly displayed the ‘clue’ he'd found.

If I didn't know better, I would have thought Burton was a paid actor. The experience was disturbing and I immediately put hypnosis in the ‘weird party trick’ category of my brain for the next 20 years. That is until I learned about hypnosis as a real-world, clinically proven method of therapy.

Hypnotherapy is a largely unregulated industry, similar to yoga, which means there are some amazing, highly trained therapists, alongside a boatload of charlatans. Hypnosis also has a big PR problem because most people associate it with stage shows and tricks, not realizing that clinical efficacy for the treatment of phobias, anxiety, addiction and even pain are very compelling.

------------

Listen & Learn:

• How lifelong mental patterns can sometimes be broken through hypnosis
• What the difference between stage hypnosis and hypnotherapy is
• For which challenges hypnosis shows the greatest efficacy
• How to choose between self-hypnosis, hypnosis recordings, and in-person therapy

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Grace Smith is on a mission to make hypnosis mainstream. A renowned hypnotherapist, Grace is the founder of www.gshypnosis.com, the world's number one hypnotherapy hub, as well as Grace Space Hypnotherapy Certification School.

Grace is a regular guest on CBS's hit show The Doctors, and her work has been featured in The Atlantic, Marie Claire, Forbes, MindBodyGreen, Buzzfeed, Bustle, InStyle and more.

Grace's private clients include celebrities, CEOs, professional athletes, and government officials. She has given keynote speeches and workshops at Procter & Gamble, SummitLive, Women Empowerment Expo, Ritz Carlton, PSEG, Soul Camp, Verizon, and HypnoBiz.

She is the author of a new book, Close Your Eyes, Get Free, which you can find on Amazon or Grace's website.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Tanins

Links & References from the Show:

• Grace's New Book
• Grace's Site

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• PrepDish - is a healthy meal planning service. When you sign up, you’ll receive an email every week with a done-for-you grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. You’ll save time and have amazingly delicious meals.

  Visit: PrepDish and use coupon code “yogabody” for your first 2 weeks for FREE

  Learn More

The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your relationships; and yet, for most of us, being in relationship is hard. Most of us find it challenging enough to get our own lives in order, so when you share children, finances, loves and loss with another person, it's never a linear path. What about sex? What about religion? What about independent needs and wants?

On this weeks, Yoga Talk Show, you'll meet Allen Wagner, a couple's therapist with his feet firmly planted on the ground. He shares his best insights for getting your head out of your phone and into the heart of the one you love.

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Listen & Learn:

• How many romantic relationships devolve into roommate relationships
• How to fight fair, versus fighting with pain triggers
• How to determine deal breakers from minor differences of choices and preference
• Why therapy can be used by both strong and broken people, for both short and long term objectives
• Why mental health and mental health care is stigmatized

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Allen Wagner is a marriage and family therapist based in Los Angeles. He specializes in working with individuals and couples. He helps people with anxiety, depression, and challenges.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Raw Vitamins

Links & References from the Show:

• Allen's Site
• 5 Love Languages Book

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• PrepDish - is a healthy meal planning service. When you sign up, you’ll receive an email every week with a done-for-you grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. You’ll save time and have amazingly delicious meals.

  Visit: PrepDish and use coupon code “yogabody” for your first 2 weeks for FREE

  Learn More

This concept of "a pill for an ill" has led hundreds of millions of Americans to take prescription medications every single day. Antidepressants for mood, opioids for pain, and proton pump inhibitors for stomach problems—the list goes on and on. Modern medicine is truly a blessing, but it's gotten out of hand; and in many cases, we've neglected the safer and more obvious choices that are right in front of our faces.

Movement is medicine: running, dancing, stretching, and skiing.

You sweat and smile, your heart races, and you feel peace when you're done. We all feel better when we move, and yet, we don't do it enough. Why? When exercise is such a sure thing with unmatched health benefits, why does Netflix and Haagen Dazs often win our attention?

On this week's Yoga Talk Show, you'll meet an Olympic Athlete whose parents opted out of the psychiatric drug route and instead threw him head first into swimming and diving. He's on a mission to share his "movement is medicine" concept with the world, and it's something we call need to hear.

------------

Listen & Learn:

• How at just two years old, Leon was already unmanageable
• How swimming, diving, and gymnastics calmed him down and gave him focus
• How this physical outlet turned into a passion, and eventually and Olympic legacy
• How you too can find your happy place doing a movement or exercise practice you love

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Leon started swimming and gymnastics from the age of two and took up competitive diving when he was eight. By age 11, he was a national champion. Leon represented Great Britain at three Summer Olympic Games and was a member of the Great Britain team for 16 years.

Among his many awards, he's won a Bronze medal in the the 1999 European Aquatics Championships and a Silver medal in the men's 10 meter platform at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In the  2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he won the Silver medal in the men's synchronized 10-metre platform.

In 1998, Leon invented the what was then considered the World's most difficult dive. Taylor now works as a public speaker, presenter, conference host, BBC commentator and mentor to members of the British team. He's the other of a book called, Mentor.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• How Much Water to Drink

Links & References from the Show:

• Leon's Site
• Leon's TEDx Talk

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Four Sigmatic - makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

  Visit: http://www.foursigmatic.com/yogabody and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

  Learn More

There are more than 10 times as many microbe cells in your body as human cells, but interestingly, we're exposed to our first bacteria at birth—and from there, the process begins. While two humans are almost identical genetically, their microbiomes can be dramatically different, which accounts for differences in the way they digest food, the way they smell, and even more dramatic differences such as their hormonal response.

Microbiome research is fascinating, but still in its infancy. Supplement-makers are quick to label ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria, but they are cherry-picking a couple dozen strains from thousands—many of which are still unknown. Advances in lab testing will likely give average people like us the greatest health advantages in years to come; there are already amazing options available to early adopters.

Enter microbiome testing.

How does it work? You send in a stool sample and get back a detailed report showing exactly what is growing inside you. This can be information overload, for sure, but even with the limited research currently available, you can learn a great deal about how your unique bacterial body functions.

On this week's show, you'll meet the founder of Viome, a company on the forefront of microbiome testing.  

------------

Listen & Learn:

• Why the food that is great for you could be kryptonite for someone else
• How your bacterial body can affect everything from your mood and digestion to your hormones and sleep patterns
• Why lab testing empowers average people to better understand their bodies and maintain a healthy lifestyle

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Naveen Jain is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder of several successful companies, including Viome, Moon Express, Bluedot, TalentWise, Intelius, and InfoSpace. He is a regular contributor to Forbes, WSJ, INC, and The Huffington Post.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Peanut Oil

Links & References from the Show:

• Viome Site + Discount

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Yoga International, a community of 300,000 students learning about yoga, meditation, and mindful living from hundreds of expert teachers. It has more than 1,000 classes, the most popular of which are 30 Classes in 30 Days Challenge, The Busy Yogi Challenge, and Yoga to Soothe Sciatica with Doug Keller.

  Yoga International is offering listeners of the Yoga Talk Show a free Essentials of Yoga Therapy course when you sign up for a 30-day trial membership.

  Learn More

My six-year-old son will approach the person behind the counter at the grocery store and ask, “Do you have anything for kids?” At the doctor’s office, he’ll ask, “Do you have any candies?” He doesn’t break eye contact and his voice is steady, without a shred of insecurity, and it works. People give him things everywhere he goes. This is the power of confidence in action, and it’s remarkable to watch. I don’t take credit for it, he came out this way; but I have come to believe that confidence is a skill that can be learned. Since confidence is a meta-skill that makes pretty much all other skill acquisition easier, this is something we should all train regularly.

On this week’s Yoga Talk Show, you’ll meet a woman who wrote the book, Confidence Creator. Her story and her no-nonsense approach can serve anyone at any age

------------

Listen & Learn:

• Fired from your career job? Try this...
• Sexually harassed at work? Stay strong
• Why doing hard things is the bedrock of confidence
• How confidence can be learned and developed just like any skill
• The importance of journaling for self-awareness and growth
• Simple steps you can do right now to build confidence in your life

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Heather Monahan started from very humble beginnings growing up in Massachusetts, and built a successful career in sales working in real estate and radio in multiple states. Her recent work is focused on coaching and training in the “Monahan Method” and self-confidence is the cornerstone of this approach. Her new book, Confidence Creator, is available on Amazon.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Kombucha

Links & References from the Show:

• Heather’s site
• Heather’s Book

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Four Sigmatic - makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

  Visit: http://www.foursigmatic.com/yogabody and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

  Learn More

You’ve got questions, and I’ve got answers…. join me for this week’s Yoga Talk Show special “Q&A Show” where I do my best to help listeners. On this week’s show, we cover: my recommending reading list, food allergy testing, 18+6 Meal Timing, vaccines, yoga problems and plant-based pitfalls.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Lucas Rockwood is a yoga teacher trainer, digital nomad, green food junkie, and serial entrepreneur.

With a formal yoga training background in Hot Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Gravity Yoga, and the Yoga Trapeze, Lucas has studied with some of the most well-respected teachers on the planet. His most influential teachers (all of whom he studied with personally) include Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Paul Dallaghan, Alex Medin, Gabriel Cousens MD, and SN Goenka.

Lucas founded Absolute Yoga Academy in 2006, one of the top 10 yoga teacher training schools in the world with 2,000 certified teachers (and counting) and courses in Thailand, Holland, United Kingdom, and The Philippines.

In search of nutritional products designed specifically for achy yoga students’ bodies, Rockwood worked with senior nutritional formulator, Paul Gaylon, and founded, YOGABODY Naturals, in the back of his yoga studio in 2007. The company has gone from strength-to-strength and is now an internationally-renowned nutrition, education, and publishing organization serving 81 countries.

In 2013, Lucas founded YOGABODY Fitness, a revolutionary new yoga studio business model that pays teachers a living wage and demystifies yoga by making the mind-body healing benefits of the practice accessible to everyone.

A foodie at heart, Lucas was a vegan chef, and owned and operated health food restaurants prior to diving deep into the yoga world. Lucas is also a highly-acclaimed writer, radio show host, TV personality, business consultant, weight loss expert, and health coach.

Links & References from the Show:

• Vaccine Schedule

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Four Sigmatic makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

  Visit: http://www.foursigmatic.com/yogabody and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

  Learn More

Here is one of my favorite interview questions: "What did you get in trouble for most when you were 12 years old?" The answer often reveals more about who someone really is than an hour-long conversation. Why? Because the things we do that drive people crazy are often the things that define us; and with the right application, the things that enable us to shine our brightest.

What if your weaknesses were your greatest strength? What if your weirdness made you wonderful? Our guest on this week's Yoga Talk Show reveals how this works.

------------

Listen & Learn:

• Why your weaknesses might be your superpower
• Why it's foolish to focus on your weaknesses, and why you should instead focus on your strengths
• Why "perfect" and "balanced" don't exist so we should not go looking for them
• Why almost any personality type can find a way to excel at something

ABOUT OUR GUEST

David Rendall is an author and sought-after speaker with clients that include: The US Air Force, Australian Government, and Fortune 50 companies such as Microsoft, AT&T, United Health Group, Fannie Mae, and State Farm. David has a doctor of management degree in organizational leadership, as well as a graduate degree in psychology. He is the author of four books: The Four Factors of Effective, Leadership, The Freak Factor, The Freak Factor for Kids, and Pink Goldfish.

Prior to becoming a speaker, he was a leadership professor, stand-up comedian, and nonprofit executive. David is also an athlete competing in ultramarathons and Ironman triathlons.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Lemon in the Morning

Links & References from the Show:

• David Rendall's Site

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• SeatGeek - Buying tickets can be complicated and confusing, but there is a better way to buy – with SeatGeek. SeatGeek is the smartest, easiest way to get tickets to every type of live event. Whether you’re searching for a last minute deal, planning a night out with friends, or need to find the perfect gift, SeatGeek helps you find the best seats at the best prices – fully guaranteed.

  Just download the SeatGeek app and enter promo code ‘YOGA’ today. That’s promo code ‘YOGA’ for $20 off your first SeatGeek purchase.

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Colin was on the beach in Thailand and decided to try Fire Poi (fire dancing). A few minutes later, he got tangled up, caught on fire, and burned 25% of his body so badly he was bedridden for months. A former athlete, he was devastated to learn that he might never walk properly again.

Fast forward a couple years... Colin not only walks, but he runs, cycles, and swims. He quits his job and becomes a professional tri-athlete competing in 22 countries. As if this wasn't enough of an accomplishment in and of itself, he then climbed the highest peaks on all 7 continents and hit both the North and South Poles setting two world records.

O'Brady defines what it means to push beyond your limits, and his story and inspiring work will make you want to set an audacious goal for yourself.

------------

Listen & Learn:

• How Colin burned 25% of his body in a random accident
• How the "butterfly effect" can potentially help you transform from "stuck" to "success"
• How Colin completed the "Explorer's Grand Slam" where he climbed the seven tallest peaks on all 7 continents and hit both the North and South Poles
• How he started a non-profit off the back of his twp world records

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Colin O'Brady was born in Olympia, Washington and grew up as an athlete playing soccor and swimming. Col placed first overall amateur at the 2009 Chicago Triathlon and later represented the United States in triathlon competitions in 22 countries and on six continents.

He is now a world record holder who climbed the 7 highest peaks on all 7 continents. He's the founder of, BEYOND 7/2, an organization that inspires the next generation to dream big and succeed through dedication to healthy life choices

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Autophagy

Links & References from the Show:

• Colin's Website
• Colin's TEDx Talk

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Four Sigmatic makes delicious Mushroom Superfood Blends and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believes in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion’s Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

  Visit: http://www.foursigmatic.com/yogabody and use coupon code "yogabody" for 15% off your order.

  Learn More

The world’s bulging landfills mirror our bulging waistlines; and the toxic chemicals we pour down our drains end up in our water supplies, food systems, and eventually into our own bodies. Environmental issues that were previously reserved for special interest groups are now urgent global concerns.

As our planet grows to nine billion people, how will the oceans, the forests, and the people survive and thrive?

On this week’s, Yoga Talk Show, you’ll meet an activist who walks his talk in extreme ways. Rob Greenfield biked across the country (twice!), hitched from South American to California (three times!), lived off the grid in a mini house for year, and scrounged food from thousands of dumpsters. He takes his mission very seriously, and his message is clear and simple: your action matter.  

------------

Listen & Learn:

• Why Americans create an average of 4.4lbs of trash per day
• How Rob hitch-hiked from South America to San Diego with no money
• Why there is no “one answer” for the environmental problems of the world
• Why diversity is the key to environmental and cultural balance

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Rob Greenfield is an adventurer, environmental activist, humanitarian, and dude making a difference. He is dedicated to leading the way to a more sustainable and just world.

Rob is the creator of The Food Waste Fiasco, a campaign that strives to end food waste and hunger in the U.S. He has dove into more than two thousand dumpsters across the United States to demonstrate how nearly half of all food in the U.S. is wasted while 50 million (1 in 7) Americans are food insecure.

Rob has cycled across the U.S. twice on a bamboo bicycle bringing his message of sustainability and earth-friendly living to the United States. His first bike ride across the U.S. is also now a book, Dude Making a Difference.

In 2016 he landed in Rio, Brazil without a penny in his pocket on a mission to travel to Panama, 7,000 miles and 7 countries away, relying on the goodness of humanity. This adventure is a six episode series called Free Ride on Discovery Channel playing worldwide. His travels have taken him to 6 continents and 40 countries.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Lemon for Iron Absorption

Links & References from the Show:

• Visit Rob’s Site

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Four Sigmatic - drinking mushrooms and superfoods can be now delicious and easy-to-do with Mushroom Superfood Blends, and Mushroom Elixirs. Four Sigmatic believe in the real magic of functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion's Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.

  Learn More

Have you ever heard someone say, “Flexibility doesn’t matter!” or “Stretching makes you weak!” For some reason, the misinformation about flexibility training is rampant, and many students are confused what to do about their locked-up hips, tight hamstrings, and stiff spines. How do you safely and effectively increase your mobility?

Since 2007, flexibility training has been a huge part of the YOGABODY world, and we’re revisiting this perennial topic this year with new and updated research and practices. Join Yoga Talk Show host, Lucas Rockwood, for a 101-guide to flexibility training on this week’s episode.

------------

Listen & Learn:

• Why “time under passive tension” matters for flexibility
• Safety myth vs reality of stretching
• Ideal schedule and timing for mobility gains
• Nutrition and recovery
• Realistic expectations and gains

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucas Rockwood is a yoga teacher trainer, digital nomad, green food junkie, and serial entrepreneur.

With a formal yoga training background in Hot Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Gravity Yoga, and the Yoga Trapeze, Lucas has studied with some of the most well-respected teachers on the planet. His most influential teachers (all of whom he studied with personally) include Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Paul Dallaghan, Alex Medin, Gabriel Cousens MD, and SN Goenka.

Lucas founded Absolute Yoga Academy in 2006, one of the top 10 yoga teacher training schools in the world with 2,000 certified teachers (and counting) and courses in Thailand, Holland, United Kingdom, and The Philippines.

In search of nutritional products designed specifically for achy yoga students’ bodies, Rockwood worked with senior nutritional formulator, Paul Gaylon, and founded, YOGABODY Naturals, in the back of his yoga studio in 2007. The company has gone from strength-to-strength and is now an internationally-renowned nutrition, education, and publishing organization serving 81 countries.

In 2013, Lucas founded YOGABODY Fitness, a revolutionary new yoga studio business model that pays teachers a living wage and demystifies yoga by making the mind-body healing benefits of the practice accessible to everyone.

A foodie at heart, Lucas was a vegan chef, and owned and operated health food restaurants prior to diving deep into the yoga world. Lucas is also a highly-acclaimed writer, radio show host, TV personality, business consultant, weight loss expert, and health coach.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Acrylamide

Links & References from the Show:

• Gravity Yoga

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• FreshBooks - a cloud accounting solution specially designed for small business owners. Join 10 million people using FreshBooks and spend less time on accounting and more time doing the work you love. Freshbooks automates tasks like invoicing, organizing expenses, tracking your time and following up with clients in just a few clicks.

  It is also offering now Yoga Talk Show listeners a free 30 days trial.

  Go to freshbooks.com/yoga and enter “yogapodcast” in how did you hear about us section.

  Learn More

LISTENER QUESTIONS! Is borage oil any good? What do you do with heart rate variability data? My kid is sweating like crazy, what do I do? How do I get started on a vegan diet? Are oats any good for breakfast? How do I beat chronic yeast overgrowth? My joints are popping, now what?

Your questions, my answers on this week's show!

Go a question yourself? Send us a voicemail...

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ABOUT THE HOST

Lucas Rockwood is a yoga teacher trainer, digital nomad, green food junkie, and serial entrepreneur.

With a formal yoga training background in Hot Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Gravity Yoga, and the Yoga Trapeze, Lucas has studied with some of the most well-respected teachers on the planet. His most influential teachers (all of whom he studied with personally) include Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Paul Dallaghan, Alex Medin, Gabriel Cousens MD, and SN Goenka.

Lucas founded Absolute Yoga Academy in 2006, one of the top 10 yoga teacher training schools in the world with 2,000 certified teachers (and counting) and courses in Thailand, Holland, United Kingdom, and The Philippines.

In search of nutritional products designed specifically for achy yoga students’ bodies, Rockwood worked with senior nutritional formulator, Paul Gaylon, and founded, YOGABODY Naturals, in the back of his yoga studio in 2007. The company has gone from strength-to-strength and is now an internationally-renowned nutrition, education, and publishing organization serving 81 countries.

In 2013, Lucas founded YOGABODY Fitness, a revolutionary new yoga studio business model that pays teachers a living wage and demystifies yoga by making the mind-body healing benefits of the practice accessible to everyone.

A foodie at heart, Lucas was a vegan chef, and owned and operated health food restaurants prior to diving deep into the yoga world. Lucas is also a highly-acclaimed writer, radio show host, TV personality, business consultant, weight loss expert, and health coach.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Nutritional Density

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• FreshBooks - a cloud accounting solution specially designed for small business owners. Join 10 million people using FreshBooks and spend less time on accounting and more time doing the work you love. Freshbooks automates tasks like invoicing, organizing expenses, tracking your time and following up with clients in just a few clicks.

  It is also offering now Yoga Talk Show listeners a free 30 days trial.

  Go to freshbooks.com/yoga and enter “yogapodcast” in how did you hear about us section.

  Learn More

Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm an idea person... I like to start new things, but I'm not the person who finishes them?" You know who does finish things? Winners. Starting is not hard, or interesting, or worth celebrating. Day 92 of your new exercise program, that's celebration time. Year 6 in your new career, that's party time.

On this week's show, we'll talk about getting stuff done, finding your dream job, and focusing on stacking successes (not failures).

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Listen & Learn:

• Why you can achieve more by lowering (not raising) your goals
• Why "fun" is so important on the way to your goals
• Why it's not always helpful to let others know (publicly) your goals and ambitions
• How to start with baby steps as you move toward progressively bigger things

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Jon Acuff is the author six books including his most recent: Finish: Give yourself the gift of done. For over 20 years he’s helped big companies tell their stories, including: Home Depot, Bose, Staples, and the Dave Ramsey Team. He’s spoken to hundreds of thousands of people at conferences, colleges, companies and churches. Featured regularly on national media, Jon has been seen on CNN, Fox News, Good Day LA among others.

You can learn more at his site: www.acuff.me

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Chaga

Links & References from the Show:

• Jon's site
• Jon's books on Amazon

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• FreshBooks - a cloud accounting solution specially designed for small business owners. Join 10 million people using FreshBooks and spend less time on accounting and more time doing the work you love. Freshbooks automates tasks like invoicing, organizing expenses, tracking your time and following up with clients in just a few clicks.

  It is also offering now Yoga Talk Show listeners a free 30 days trial.

  Go to freshbooks.com/yoga and enter “yogapodcast” in how did you hear about us section.

  Learn More

"I just want to be happy..." is something you've probably said one thousand times. You want to be happy at work, at home, with your partner and friends—but what does that mean?

You've no-doubt felt "happy" while walking on the beach on a warm summer night at sunset, but if you're like me, you've also felt "happy" in a sweaty, controlled mess on your yoga mat—so what's going on?  

Happiness is something we're all seeking and yet almost no one can define. No wonder we struggle to achieve it. On this week's Yoga Talk Show, you'll learn about the four chemicals responsible for happiness, and more importantly, how to cultivate them.

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Listen & Learn:

• Why social status & pride are important for serotonin
• Why the stress hormone cortisol can kill your chances of happiness
• How early life patterns can influence (but not predict) your habits today
• Why people get addicted to "runner's high"
• How to choose healthy ways to trigger happy brain chemicals

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD, is the founder of the Inner Mammal Institute. She's Professor Ammer-ita at California State University, East Bay, and author of I-Mammal, Habits of a Happy Brain, and The Science of Positivity.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Healthy Oils

Links & References from the Show:

• Inner Mammal Institute
• Loretta's Books on Amazon

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• FreshBooks - a cloud accounting solution specially designed for small business owners. Join 10 million people using FreshBooks and spend less time on accounting and more time doing the work you love. Freshbooks automates tasks like invoicing, organizing expenses, tracking your time and following up with clients in just a few clicks.

  It is also offering now yoga talk show listeners a free 30 days trial.

  Go to freshbooks.com/yoga and enter yogapodcast in how did you hear about us section.

  Learn More

It was Christmas 2001. I was 23 years old, and I woke up in the back of ambulance after convulsing in a grand mal seizure in front of my parents. I'd managed to wobble through the previous 3 years in steady haze of drug and alcohol abuse, chronic sleep deprivation, and borderline mania, but that holiday season, I bottomed out.

There was no more hiding the truth from myself. I was in trouble.

I wish I could say that I've always loved yoga, health and wellness—but that's not my story. I took my first swig of gin straight from the bottle at age 13, and I loved it right away. No learning curve. I was never drawn to lotus position or meditation halls in those days. Early in my life, I was obsessed with escaping the overwhelming anxiety and restlessness of my own brain.

My yoga story is one of running away from pain, of channeling negative obsessions into positive ones, and finding a toolkit that made me feel well, every time. I turn 40 this year, and as strange as it sounds, I'd never shared my story in its entirety with anyone because it continues to be a deep source of shame for me. With few exceptions, shame is a pretty useless feeling, so I'd like to share my story with you on this week's Yoga Talk Show. My hope is that if you're at a crossroads or a crisis point now, you can perhaps connect with my "rock bottom" story and begin to find your North Star as I did.

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ABOUT OUR GUEST

Lucas Rockwood is a yoga teacher trainer, digital nomad, green food junkie, and serial entrepreneur. With a formal yoga training background in Hot Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Gravity Yoga, and the Yoga Trapeze, Lucas has studied with some of the most well-respected teachers on the planet. His most influential teachers (all of whom he studied with personally) include Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Paul Dallaghan, Alex Medin, Gabriel Cousens MD, and SN Goenka.

Lucas founded Absolute Yoga Academy in 2006, one of the top 10 yoga teacher training schools in the world with 2,000 certified teachers (and counting) and courses in Thailand, Holland, United Kingdom, and The Philippines.

In search of nutritional products designed specifically for achy yoga students’ bodies, Rockwood worked with senior nutritional formulator, Paul Gaylon, and founded, YOGABODY Naturals, in the back of his yoga studio in 2007. The company has gone from strength-to-strength and is now an internationally-renowned nutrition, education, and publishing organization serving 81 countries.

In 2013, Lucas founded YOGABODY Fitness, a revolutionary new yoga studio business model that pays teachers a living wage and demystifies yoga by making the mind-body healing benefits of the practice accessible to everyone.

A foodie at heart, Lucas was a vegan chef, and owned and operated health food restaurants prior to diving deep into the yoga world. Lucas is also a highly-acclaimed writer, radio show host, TV personality, business consultant, weight loss expert, and health coach.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Boost Immune System

Links & References from the Show:

• J. Brown's Podcast on iTunes
• J. Brown's Site
• Train with Lucas
• YOGABODY Supplements & Products

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Trapeze Teacher Training -- For passionate yoga students who love inversion yoga, this is an exciting opportunity to train with YOGABODY, the leading educator and manufacturer of inversion slings worldwide. The Yoga Trapeze is the most-popular yoga inversion sling ever with over 100,000 students in 81 countries. Despite the ever-growing demand, there are hardly any professional instructors - until now.

  We’re now accepting applications for The Yoga Trapeze Certification course where you’ll learn how to teach both group and private lessons for beginning and intermediate students.

  Learn More

During the World Financial Crisis of 2008, James Lawrence's mortgage business went belly-up, and he started running, cycling and swimming. He channelled his pain and struggle into training, and became a professional athlete in middle age. His preferred race? The Ironman: a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles cycling, and 26.2 miles running—all in one day. As gruelling as that sounds, James decided to do 50 Ironman races, 50 days in a row, in all 50 U.S. states. They call him the "Iron Cowboy," and he lives up to his name.

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Listen & Learn:

• Why there's no such thing as a dream that's "too big" as long as you have enough time to make it happen
• Why fatigue is an injury
• How it's now more-possible than ever to become a professional athlete
• The importance of having a good coach

ABOUT OUR GUEST

James is originally from Calgary, Alberta Canada. He grew up a wrestler and later got into endurance racing to escape the stress of Corporate America. After losing everything in 2008, James turned to his new found passion for triathlon racing and went on to break two world records within three years. In 2015 James completed 50 Ironman distance triathlons, in 50 days, in each of the 50 United States -- The 50-50-50. His first book, Redefine Impossible is available on Amazon.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Bell Peppers

Links & References from the Show:

• James "Iron Cowboy's" Website
• Redefine Impossible Book

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Trapeze Teacher Training -- For passionate yoga students who love inversion yoga, this is an exciting opportunity to train with YOGABODY, the leading educator and manufacturer of inversion slings worldwide. The Yoga Trapeze is the most-popular yoga inversion sling ever with over 100,000 students in 81 countries. Despite the ever-growing demand, there are hardly any professional instructors - until now.

  We’re now accepting applications for The Yoga Trapeze Certification course where you’ll learn how to teach both group and private lessons for beginning and intermediate students.

  Learn More

After interviewing hundreds of health experts, you learn dozens of industry insights that would otherwise be impossible to gather. Our guest on this week's Yoga Talk Show is a veteran podcaster and wellness journalist, and I invited him on so we can learn the "best of" from his experiences over the years.

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Listen & Learn:

• Why real-time blood glucose monitoring is here now and should become accessible to everyone very soon
• Why fat, protein, fiber and water are essential for health
• Why digestive enzymes can be a life saver when bumping up your fiber intake
• Why we all only get about 150 decisions per day—so we shouldn't waste them on stupid things ore we'll run out of willpower
• Why you should treat your phone like  "key person" in your life

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Josh Trent is the founder of Wellness Force, Wellness Force Radio and the Fitness + Technology podcast. His work has been featured in major health and wellness publications such as WellnessFX, NASM, and FitTech CES.

As the host of Wellness Force Radio, Josh interviews world-class experts in the fields of physical and emotional intelligence, mindset, behaviour change, supplementation, nutrition, health, wellness, fitness, and technology that empower the WFR audience with actionable steps for the wellness journey.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Agave

Links & References from the Show:

• Josh Trent's Site

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Health I.Q. — Yoga Podcast is sponsored by Health IQ, an insurance company that helps health conscious people like runners, cyclist, weightlifters and vegetarians get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yogabody or mention the promo code YOGA when you talk to a Health IQ agent.

  Learn More

Can you imagine if your mother died of a sudden brain aneurysm, your young husband died of a heart attack, and then your father-in-law passed away from cancer all in the span of 9 years? This is Amy Morin's story, and she has since turned her immense grief and suffering into strength and balance. Death, pain, battling with emotions are the focus on this week's Yoga Talk Show.

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Listen & Learn:

• How to train your brain to think realistically about your situation
• Why we need to learn to control our emotions
• The importance of positive action during crisis, regardless of how you feel
• Why death and dying are so taboo and yet ever-present

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Amy Morin is a psychotherapist and the author of, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. Her advice has been featured by numerous media outlets including Time, Fast Company, Success, Business Insider, Oprah.com, Fox News, CNN, CNBC, and Today. She also appeared in a Red Bull TV show called Visions of Greatness.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Sodium

Links & References from the Show:

• Amy's Main Site

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Health I.Q. — Yoga Podcast is sponsored by Health IQ, an insurance company that helps health conscious people like runners, cyclist, weightlifters and vegetarians get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yoga or mention the promo code YOGA when you talk to a Health IQ agent.

  Learn More

At one of my first personal growth and development retreats, I wrote down my goals to build a huge health and wellness center with yoga, a restaurant, diet programs, and more. Financially, I wanted it to be so successful that I spent the latter half of my life giving away wealth (think a yoga version of Bill Gates). This HUGE goal got me really excited when I was 25, but it was just too big and too abstract to pull out any specific actions I could implement right then.

It's great to think big, but what do you right now to get started? What is your 1 week, 1 month, and 1 year plan?

On this week's Yoga Talk Show, we learn about incremental (but very significant) growth using the "Better than Before" mindset where we simply put one foot in front of the other and embrace the process without an over-obsession on the destination. This has been hugely important for me and my goals, many of which I have achieved surprisingly quickly (my Bill Gates status is still a work in progress). I think you'll find it helpful.

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Listen & Learn:

• Rewards versus treats
• Inner vs. outer expectations: how to differentiate and utilize
• How to utilize the strategy of treats to increase "self mastery"
• Strategies to quit sugar (internal vs. external)
• Rethinking procrastination

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Gretchen Rubin is the author of several books, including bestsellers, Better Than Before, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. Gretchen started her career in law and was clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer. She is also an accomplished speaker and podcaster herself. Her show is called: Happier with Gretchen Rubin.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Cinnamon

Links & References from the Show:

• Gretchen's Main Site
• Gretchen's Books on Amazon
• Why We Get Fat (book)

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Health I.Q. — Yoga Podcast is sponsored by Health IQ, an insurance company that helps health conscious people like runners, cyclist, weightlifters and vegetarians get lower rates on their life insurance. Go to healthiq.com/yogabody to support the show and see if you qualify.

  Learn More

I'm often praised for my productivity. I have two kids, three businesses, 28 staff, and a hectic travel schedule. So how do I manage to get it all done? To be honest, I'm not sure I do. Work-life balance is not something I pretend to know anything about because in order to keep the wheels on the bus, I have to selectively neglect major chunks of life.

Everything comes at a cost, including a super-productive life.

I share with you my experience because most-everyone I know wants to become more productive. We want to get more done in less time, reach our goals quickly, and become creative output machines. But why? And what are you really building? And do you understand yourself enough to make that happen?

On this week's Yoga Talk Show, we're going to explore productivity: how it works, how to cultivate it, and why it should (or should not) be a priority. There is no one-size fits all solution, but there are small, foundational actions you can take to get more done and hopefully not exploded your life in the process.  

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Listen & Learn:

• How to increase energy by focusing on the fundamentals of health: sleep, nutrition and exercise
• How Chris' wacky lifestyle experiments gave him insight into human behavior and productivity
• Why time deadlines and external pressure can be great motivators for highly productive days
• How to ensure you're doing your work rather than doing unpaid work for social media websites like Facebook and Instagram
• The importance of having a reason "why" in order to be productive

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Chris Bailey turned down two job offers after graduating from university and spent a full year exploring the study of productivity. His research included living in total isolation for 10 days, only using his cell phone for an hour a day, waking up at 5:30am every morning, and working 90-hour weeks. His work has received national and international media attention from outlets like The New York Times, Lifehacker, Fast Company, Fortune, and New York Magazine among others. His book: The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy is available on Amazon.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Conventional vs Organic Apples

Links & References from the Show:

• Chris' Productivity Site
• Chris' Books on Amazon

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• The Yoga Teachers College offers master-level training for those looking to build a career as yoga professionals. Our trainees benefit from the best of modern learning technology combined with old school apprenticeship. Graduates walk away with the skills, confidence and experience needed to become not just teachers, but community and business leaders as well.

  Whether your goal is to teach part time locally, travel and lead workshops internationally, or to open your own studios, The Yoga Teachers College will support your career every step of the way.

  Learn More

Nice Guy Syndrome is when men try so hard to be liked and helpful that they end up miserable and alone. The people-pleasing, caretaker role is something that initially sounds great but often leads to huge meltdowns in personal and professional relationships. On this week's Yoga Talk Show, we depart from our usual discussions about nutrition, anatomy and alignment to explore interpersonal relationships, particularly men's complex and often confused role.  

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Listen & Learn:

• Why avoiding conflict creates more problems than it solves
• Why dysfunctional relationships are the norm
• Why cooperative reciprocal relationships should be the goal
• Caring vs. caretaking – what's the difference?

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Glover is a marriage and family therapist and is an internationally-recognized authority on the Nice Guy Syndrome. Through his book, online classes, workshops, podcasts, blogs, consultation, and therapy groups, Dr. Glover has helped change the lives of countless men and women around the world.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• White Sugar

Links & References from the Show:

• Dr Glover's Site & Book

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Trapeze Teacher Training -- For passionate yoga students who love inversion yoga, this is an exciting opportunity to train with YOGABODY, the leading educator and manufacturer of inversion slings worldwide. The Yoga Trapeze is the most-popular yoga inversion sling ever with over 100,000 students in 81 countries. Despite the ever-growing demand, there are hardly any professional instructors - until now.

  We’re now accepting applications for The Yoga Trapeze Certification course where you’ll learn how to teach both group and private lessons for beginning and intermediate students.

  Learn More

Danish people regularly score as the happiest people in the world, but it's a small, flat, wet country; taxes are ridiculously high, and the weather is generally bad. So what's going on?

What do the Danes know that we don't? Among their secrets is a concept called Hygge, the experience of pleasant togetherness that is an ever-present part of Danish culture from food and family, to home and meal times. It's that cozy, contented, supportive feeling you get at a holiday dinner—only the Danes do their best to create this feeling daily. On this week's Yoga Talk Show, you'll learn how to add some Hygge to your life.   

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Listen & Learn:

• Hygge: the experience of pleasant togetherness
• Why the Danes are the most content people in the world  
• How to make your daily life special and significant
• Why we should optimize on quality of life not the bling of life
• Why the digital age creates this burning desire for human connection

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Louisa Thomsen Brits was born in Uganda to a Danish mother and English father. Louisa is a mother of four, an amateur naturalist and wild swimmer. She has been a radio restaurant and arts critic and a tribal belly dance teacher. She writes about the art of living, the nature of things, our common life and the rhythms and rituals that unite and define us all. Her recent book is called, The Book of Hygge, The Danish Art of Living well and is available on Amazon and major booksellers.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Mushrooms

Links & References from the Show:

• The Book of Hygge
• Ted Talk on Danish Culture & Hygge

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Yoga Teachers College -- The Yoga Teachers College offers master-level training for those looking to build a career as yoga professionals. Our trainees benefit from the best of modern learning technology combined with old school apprenticeship. Graduates walk away with the skills, confidence and experience needed to become not just teachers, but community and business leaders as well.

  Whether your goal is to teach part time locally, travel and lead workshops internationally, or to open your own studios, The Yoga Teachers College will support your career every step of the way.

  Learn More

Do you know yourself? Really? Do you know what makes you tick and what drives you... what lights you up and what dims your fired? Self-awareness doesn't come naturally, like all forms of intelligence, it's cultivate and learned over time—but very few people take the time to invest in this skill. On this week's Yoga Talk Show, you'll learn how both internal and external self-awareness can be meta-skills in modern life.

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Listen & Learn:

• Internal vs. external self awareness
• Why self-acceptance can be better than self-esteem  
• Why the tendency is to avoid giving feedback when we really need it
• Why you must be picky about whom you receive feedback from
• The Dinner of Truth: find a "loving critic" and ask them what the most appreciate and what most drives you crazy
• Calm acceptance: how people  

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times best-selling author. Tasha has contributed to The Guardian, TED.com, The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and CNBC.com.

Her work has been featured in Business Insider, Fortune, Forbes, The New York Times, Fast Company, and New York Magazine, as well as several peer-reviewed journals. She was named a “Top 100 Thought Leader” by Trust Across America, a “Leader to Watch” by the American Management Association, and one of Denver Business Journal's "40 Under 40.” Tasha is the author of two best-selling books, Bankable Leadership, and INSIGHT.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

• Creatine

Links & References from the Show:

• Meyers Briggs Online Quiz (free one)
• Insight Quiz
• Tasha's Main Site

Got Questions?

• Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question
• Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com 

Like the Show?

• Leave us a Review on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsor:

• Yoga Teachers College -- The Yoga Teachers College offers master-level training for those looking to build a career as yoga professionals. Our trainees benefit from the best of modern learning technology combined with old school apprenticeship. Graduates walk away with the skills, confidence and experience needed to become not just teachers, but community and business leaders as well.

  Whether your goal is to teach part time locally, travel and lead workshops internationally, or to open your own studios, The Yoga Teachers College will support your career every step of the way.

  Learn More