Grow the Good

Some people are wonderfully infectious with their smile and enthusiasm.  Caroline Burckle is one of those people.  Not only is she a positive force that transcends the 2 dimensional boundaries of social media, but she mentors athletes who are rising stars through her RISE LIFE business.  Caroline is a veteran in what goes on behind the scenes of human performance.  She knows about pressure, accomp...

Goal setting is tricky. It's most common around January 1 when people are setting their New Year's Resolution. In fact, 92% of people who set them for the new year fail!  Here's a post I wrote about goal-setting. We are told that we need to have a 5 year plan, find our purpose, and set challenging goals but it's rare that you read about the actual process behind goal setting.  ...

When it comes to food and all the different views on what is healthy, how do you know what to believe? Overwhelmed with confusion and decision fatigue, most people simply just give up and I can see why! With so many different opposing views on what you should eat and what it means to be healthy, it’s often hard to know where to turn, who to trust, or what to do when it comes to our diet. I’ve pers...

Sonya Looney and Amy Beth McDougall won the La Leyenda Del Dorado - a 7 day ultra-endurance mountain bike stage race.  Amy is from South Africa and they met when Sonya raced the Joberg2C Stage Race in South Africa last year as competitors. This episode is about their experience as a team, how to race as a team, how to do a stage race, and all about their experience in Colombia.  The La Leyenda Del...

Matt Ruscigno knows a thing or two about extreme ultra-endurance sports and thriving on a plant-based diet. He has been a vegan for the last 20 years after being influenced at a teenager through punk music. His passion for his diet led him to his career path: a world-renowned vegan dietician with a Master's in Public Health from Loma Linda, California. Interestingly enough, Loma Linda is one...

“Stress is global. It’s really important to not just switch tasks but to try to build some space into your day, into your life where you can really just check out from all of those stimuli... the lowest hanging fruit is sleep. Sleep is so important [for mind, body, and emotional capacity].”     -Brad Stulberg libsyn  Have you ever felt overwhelmed like every part of your day was spiraling out of c...

"There are always opportunities every single day to challenge yourself mentally and grow and progress as a human." - James Lawrence James Lawrence, The Iron Cowboy , is a man with seemingly no limits.  He holds not one, but two different records in the  Guinness Book of World Records for insane Ironman Triathlon feats.  His most recent record was called the 50-50-50.  He completed 50 Iro...

What if you found out that Heart Disease, type 2 Diabetes, most cancers, high blood pressure, and even Parkinson's Disease was preventable and even reversible by changing what you ate?   I found out about 4 years ago and changed my diet. Getting control back over what you thought was simply your genetics is a very powerful feeling.   The answer is eating a plant-based diet.  I'm really e...

Being Intentional in Your Life  How would you show up in your daily life if you felt like all of your needs were met and you treated yourself with compassion? In this day and age with our electronic devices constantly demanding immediate attention, overcommitted schedules for both ourselves and our families, managing our work and trying to take time out of each day to take care of our health and w...

Rob Krar is a special breed of human being.  It's not only because he was crowned Ultra-Runner of the year in both 2013 and 2014, has won the Western States multiple times, or excels in Ski Mountaineering around the world during his off-season.  Rob's inspiring energy and sense of calm is easily conveyed behind his beard and crystal blue eyes.  It's that energy that propelled him to...

How do you define success and where does personal motivation come from? Jessica Lahey is a law school graduate, writer, educator, speaker, and researcher. Her book, The Gift of Failure :How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed (Harper Books) is about how to motivate kids, the different types of motivation, how to avoid overparenting, and how to give your kids the right am...

How would your approach to challenges change if you focused on giving your best effort for that moment instead of focusing what you wish the end result could be?  2016 Mountain Bike Olympic Bronze Medalist, Catharine Pendrel knows. Her plan going into the Rio Olympics was to work hard, but to show up with a mindset to ride a race she could be proud of, regardless of what the final result would be....

Rob Loud is a yoga instructor in Boulder, Colorado. His story is unique and courageous. Rob transformed from someone who struggled for many years with dark drug and alcohol addiction into a person and teacher who transmits so much positivity in the world through his work as a yoga instructor. In Rob’s classes, he always has an insightful message on cultivating mindfulness, acceptance, suffering, d...

This special edition of the podcast is with myself and Matt Ewonus.  I raced the Transsylvania Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race: a 5 day event in the rocky, dense forests outside State College, PA. We recorded this special edition while in New York City and were doing a vegan food tour of the city!   Make sure you're subscribed to my newsletter  - I'll be writing about NYC soon!  Leading up...

There is no such thing as overnight success. This is a story about hard work, a magnetizing passion, and transparency with Brian Kennedy on his wildly popular adventure mountain bike YouTube channel BKXC .   Brian says “I always wanted that mission to pour myself into 100%.... I’m not going to sit at my stupid cubicle for the rest of my life making some other guy rich when I have this crazy passio...

Dr. Brent Barlow is a Naturopathic Doctor. Naturopathic Medicine is a holistic practice where the doctor works with the patient to make lifestyle changes to treat the cause of a disease or ailment rather than simply providing drugs to mask symptoms. NDs look for natural ways to help the body heal itself through changes in sleep, energy use, and diet.  Treat the cause, treat the whole person. In th...

Today’s episode is an interesting conversation about my background and how I’ve arrived at the place I am in my life with a special guest co-host: my husband, Matt Ewonus! I sincerely appreciate all of my listeners, but I realize not everyone has followed my journey and I think there are some important themes that come out along the way. Mainly, the ability to make changes in your life, being open...

  “It’s not just about time management, it’s about energy management.” Today is episode 1 of The Sonya Looney Show! My guest today is dynamic sports psychologist, Dr. Kristin Keim. Dr Keim has her doctorate in clinical psychology and masters in sport’s psychology. Physical effort can only take you so far when it comes to achieving your goals. The power of the mind gives you the extra edge, especia...

Episode 2 with Brenda Davis RD   “Diet is the king pin, there is no debate about that. Diet is the king pin where chronic diseases are concerned. We see athletes who drop dead of a heart attack because they have severe atherosclerosis because they are eating garbage.”   Brenda Davis is a world class Registered Dietician and specialist in Plant-Based Nutrition. She is co-author of nine vegan and ve...