Path of Wellness

Stretching back to the very earliest episodes, I reflect, on the very nature of a Path of Wellness. Be clear that every moment that you are capable of noticing in your life is a point along your journey to pause and observe the choices in front of you. So many moments in which to make a mindful decision based on what you’ve learned works for you along your personal Path of Wellness.

This episode gets us straight to the point of the pandicular story. Practicing purposeful pandiculation is a wonderful way to identify where physical issues exist within the body and to reconnect the parts of muscles we’ve forgotten about over our lifetime. Learn how to use this wonderful and ancient mechanism to help get physically well and stay that way along your personal Path of Wellness.

Get ready to connect a few dots and learn about the powerful and common phenomenon of yawning. A little bit of history and a little bit of science help along the way to understanding just how important the yawn is to our physical lives, and how it connects to the ancient process of Pandiculation. This episode will certainly get you thinking along your personal path of wellness.

It's the most important "stretch" that no one talks about. Dogs, cats, and even the squirrel in the back yard all experience the amazing ancient and usually unrollable phenomenon called pandiculation. If we're healthy enough, we should be experiencing pandiculation at least once a day. As we age or become less physically active, however, this process begins to shut down. This strange experience we...

This could easily have been the official book impact episode for Burkeman’s 4,000 Weeks. Like so many of my stories, it twisted and turned unexpectedly and, by the end, truly became about that book’s impact on my wellness journey. But it’s much broader than that. It’s a bout how one, newly discovered philosophy can fold into our existing philosophical frameworks to continue building a tool box of...

After being forced to stop all nonessential activities in my life I was, thankfully, able to see a clear path back to health. And the first order of business had to be finding a way to live my best life without putting so much darn pressure on myself to do it in a specific way. In fact, I learned a very clear lesson on how to allow “nothing“ to occur far more often. Indeed, an unexpected addition...

Sometimes we have to look inward, as I did when dealing with my mysterious leg issues. If we are lucky, it’s a voluntary look. When we are unlucky, life throws another unexpected curveball that forces a deep search into the core for the truth of our actions. For me, the last year culminated in a traumatic event I won’t soon forget and I, quite literally, stopped doing just about everything.

It's often a challenge to identify and overcome wellness obstacles...even when you choose to do so. But, sometimes the need to shift your wellness choices is forced on you and responding to the change with thoughtful intention is what matters most. Whether it takes weeks, months, or even years to figure out the best options, staying focused on the wellness levers that work for you will help make s...

It was a an important trip back to New York City several years ago that helped me overcome a troubling theme in my life. That trip and its vocal purpose reaffirmed the value of living with intention, a concept that continues to be a major factor along my personal Path of Wellness.

I wanted to do something extra special for this 50th episode. Something that would capture the essence and the overarching message of this podcast. I’m not sure another episode will follow so that makes this one even more important. Thankfully, I routinely look back at my ideas and the writing prompts I’ve jotted down over the years. One of those thoughts presented a perfect topic for this special...

Throughout this podcast, I've made clear that seeing the positives where negatives might dominate is very valuable for improving personal wellness. Examples of this are everywhere. Recently, however, I've had a chance to put this theory to work through an unexpected turn of events. Nothing more serious or impactful than what a lot of people deal with every day, I'm sure, but the circumstances gave...

Since paying closer attention to the birds, I’ve recognized, more clearly than ever, something about the world around me. The broader idea that all of the animals and plants around us seem to exist as one. A whole living system that, I’m pretty sure, humans are supposed to be a part of. It does seem obvious, though, that we have lost that connection to the natural world around us. A connection tha...

Making sure you take some time to “smell the flowers“ can also include taking time to watch the birds. It’s been a wonderful and eye opening summer of noticing things about bird behavior that I’ve never seen. Actually, I’ve seen it all but was never very mindful about what, exactly, I was looking at…until now.

A long-standing desire is finally being quenched. A decision that’s been delayed and buried in doubt is a tough one to come to terms with but so important for continuing to peel away any fears of being wrong.

When something is happening that doesn’t make sense, your brain will often just make something up to explain it. One of the brain’s most important jobs, actually, is to put a story together that you can and will believe…no matter what the truth really is. And the shock of being caught in a candid camera joke, with clearly obvious clues being still so hidden and denied, has stayed with me for over...

For the longest time, I’ve wanted to do book reports. Share some of the books that had the most impact in my life. But, it turns out “report” isn’t quite right and what I really care to do is discuss how and why they’ve impacted me. Kathryn Schulz’s “Being Wrong” is the first and possibly most important of those selections, as it opened the door for objective and defense-free self exploration, a c...

After talking about changing my "north star" of wellness, i thought I'd further explore what value my new star brings to my wellness journey. More broadly, what value a longevity mindset has brought to my life. Science can help define "how" I can achieve more than 130 years of healthy living, but "why" I would want to is entirely in my hands. And it's not in order to see what the future holds...it...

As I work with the various wellness factors in my life, moving towards my North Star of being the best version of me possible, it’s important to be open to the changes that are needed along the way. Living an examined life allows me to encounter all those wellness opportunities I’ve explored, but it also provides opportunities to reassess the larger framework and map I’ve created to direct me alon...

The things we choose to focus on will, in turn, dictate how we experience our lives. Is the focus on the obstacles that get in the way or on the good things that push us forward? It can certainly be both but it’s likely one dominates over the other. And cultivating a clearer view of the blessings and possibilities can have a wonderful way of pushing you forward along your personal Path of Wellness...

Sometimes, the impact fear can have on our lives is immeasurable and long lasting. I’ve spoken of my depression and anxiety but haven’t spent a lot of podcast time on fear. It certainly has had a very broad impact on me, driving doubt and causing immobility. And it is something, very much, worth exploring along my personal path of wellness.

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to get hit by it, does it still make an impact? Encountering wellness in our every day lives includes the obvious opportunities to improve our responses to people and circumstances but it also includes inspiration. Inspiration to help clarify problems or, perhaps more importantly, to see the importance of living every moment that we’re lucky enough...

What’s the deal with stretching? It’s hard to get used to and is often uncomfortable but is it really necessary? Put on your thinking caps and bring your pretzels because we’re going to keep working your brain while we chew on some very important details about the nature and value of stretching. Spoiler alert - it’s pretty darn important.

When your body is aligned, body parts well connected to each other and to the brain, amazing things can happen. Another level of strength and stability becomes possible, allowing you to withstand and recover from whatever life throws at you…even if it’s an SUV.

I appreciate, every day, how lucky I am to have the training and practice of healthy movements in my life. And when I experience an unexpected ankle “twist“ during a run, I count on that experience to give me faith in the fact that I can recover. But avoiding a long-term injury as a result of this “twist” is going to depend on my response to it the moment. All the work I’ve done to practice good m...

If all is well, movement has been a part of life since before birth...but that doesn't mean that the movement is healthy. Even the simplest movements, done incorrectly, can cause significant problems that might manifest as an immediate muscle spasm or cause years of micro injuries that create issues later in life. Incorporating the Standing Plank exercise into your daily movements is a great way t...