Episode 184: How to Use Your Breath to Manage Stress, Sleep Better and React Less with Maya Bahar Castle

Jun 29, 2023 | Podcast | 0 comments

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In this episode, Dr. Lisa discusses the benefits of breathwork for ourselves and for our kids with certified breathwork coach Maya Bahar Castle. Listen in to find out how different breathing techniques can be used to: calm your nervous system down, lower cortisol, support mindfulness, enhance sleep, reduce anxiety and more! It doesn’t take long…even a few minutes of intentional breathing can have profound impacts on our mental, emotional and physical health and well-being. Maya also shares some ways to incorporate breathwork into you and your kids’ schedules. Every little bit helps!

Maya Bahar Castle (@breathingwithmaya) is a Certified Breathwork Coach and homeschooling mama. Prior to leaning into motherhood and breathwork practices, she enjoyed more than a decade long career in EdTech.  She’s honoured to guide journeyers through down-regulating forms of Breathwork that bring awareness back into one’s body, still the mind, connect to intention and restore the nervous system. She works with moms and children in Toronto, and when she has a spare moment, you’ll find her writing away.  

In today’s episode we cover:

  • Maya’s experience with homeschooling her son
  • How breathwork transformed Maya’s postpartum anxiety
  • The importance of grounding and responding instead of reacting to situations in your life
  • How you can breathe in a healthy way
  • The difference between healthy breathing and breathwork
  • The breathwork practice that has been proven to lower your cortisol level in 5 minutes
  • How breath can influence your hormones through your menstrual cycle and ease the transition through perimenopause and menopause
  • The importance of introducing breath work to your kids
  • How you can incorporate breath work into your day and remember to breathe properly

You can connect with Maya on Instagram @breathingwithmaya

Check out Maya’s 5-minute breathing exercises for kids: here and here.

Listen to the Hubermann Podcast episode on how to breathe properly here.

What Else is Happening?

Dr. Toni’s next HypnoBirthing session for expecting parents looking to decrease fear and anxiety to support their natural instincts around labour and birth is this fall. Join her at https://www.hypnobirthingcalgary.com/register

Join Dr. Lisa’s Facebook group Wild Woman Adventures Toronto if you want to get out in nature, connect with other women and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Activities include: sunrise/sunset SUP, tree-top trekking, a new moon workshop and more!

Thanks for joining us!

Email us or connect with us on  Facebook  and  Instagram.

We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.

You can also support us by visiting our Patreon page.

Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!

Stay safe and healthy everyone!Disclaimer:The information provided is not meant to replace treatment with a licensed health care practitioner. It is for informational purposes only. Consult with a Naturopathic Doctor or other licensed health care professional to determine which treatments are safe for you.

Episode 19 – Interview: How to Stay Motivated During the Pandemic, Have Better Productivity, and Use Technology to Download Your Brain (and Sleep Better!)

Apr 30, 2020 | Podcast | 0 comments

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In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa talks with Valeri Hall-Little, Efficiency Business Coach and Tech Guru, about how busy mamas can leverage routines, mindfulness and technology to maximize productivity, efficiency and energy while minimizing overwhelm and mental exhaustion.

Valeri discusses how to use simple tech tools (such as apps for: meditation, note-taking, task-management and streamlining to-do lists) to help you step back from the daily grind and improve the flow of your day (even if you are working from home right now and are trying to care for your kids at the same time!). She also emphasizes the importance of taking breaks from work and technology, when needed, to recharge and refocus.

In today’s episode, we cover:

  • The importance of sticking to a routine, juggling your schedule with your partner according to the times each of you are the most productive and harnessing the times when you can focus on work
  • Different morning routines to set the tone for a productive day, even if you only have 2 minutes
  • How combining movement and mindfulness can jump start your focus and attention during the day
  • The importance of using technology that serves you and makes your life easier (and avoiding technology that drains and overwhelms you)
  • How to easily compile and access all your online resources using tagging with Pocket
  • Why now is a good time to play with your technology and increase your mastery with tech tools that help you like Evernote
  • How taking the time to “sharpen your saw” and plan is key so that you’re working on the right things and doing it as effectively and efficiently, and not getting stuck in busy work
  • The need to recognize that the most productive thing you could be doing right now is to stop working and take a break
  • The importance of the ergonomics of your workspace at home
  • How noise-cancelling headphones can Increase your focus and decrease interruptions while working from home

Get Valeri’s FREE Ultimate Guide to Untangle Your Tech

Today’s Mama Must Have:

Dr. Lisa is using the Insight Timer app and Tapping Solution app to calm her brain and not get into overwhelm.

Valeri is using the Calm app as a sanity saver – not only to meditate, but also to fall asleep to the ocean soundscape function. She is also listening to Calm’s sleep stories and masterclasses, starting and ending her day with it.

She is also loving Zoom to connect with family and friends, especially for special birthday celebrations.

Thank you for joining us today! 

Email us or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.

Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!

Stay safe everyone!