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, s...
Apr 25, 2019•42 min•Ep 356•Transcript available on Metacast “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 immedia...
Apr 17, 2019•37 min•Ep 355•Transcript available on Metacast 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 e...
Apr 10, 2019•49 min•Ep 354•Transcript available on Metacast 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 w...
Apr 03, 2019•45 min•Ep 353•Transcript available on Metacast 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 i...
Mar 27, 2019•53 min•Ep 352•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Mar 20, 2019•48 min•Ep 351•Transcript available on Metacast 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 bette...
Mar 13, 2019•46 min•Ep 350•Transcript available on Metacast 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 lea...
Mar 06, 2019•41 min•Ep 349•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 27, 2019•43 min•Ep 348•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 20, 2019•44 min•Ep 347•Transcript available on Metacast 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 a...
Feb 13, 2019•42 min•Ep 346•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Feb 12, 2019•58 sec•Transcript available on Metacast 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 pr...
Feb 07, 2019•45 min•Ep 345•Transcript available on Metacast 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 wee...
Jan 30, 2019•38 min•Ep 344•Transcript available on Metacast 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 i...
Jan 23, 2019•47 min•Ep 343•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Jan 16, 2019•49 min•Ep 342•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ca...
Jan 09, 2019•51 min•Ep 341•Transcript available on Metacast “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...
Jan 02, 2019•57 min•Ep 340•Transcript available on Metacast 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 t...
Dec 27, 2018•53 min•Ep 339•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Dec 19, 2018•50 min•Ep 338•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Dec 13, 2018•44 min•Ep 337•Transcript available on Metacast 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 fo...
Dec 05, 2018•45 min•Ep 336•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Nov 28, 2018•48 min•Ep 335•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Nov 21, 2018•43 min•Ep 334•Transcript available on Metacast 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 co...
Nov 14, 2018•47 min•Ep 333•Transcript available on Metacast 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, ...
Nov 07, 2018•54 min•Ep 332•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Oct 31, 2018•46 min•Ep 331•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever heard someone blame their weight gain on a 'slow metabolism?' It sounds logical, but what does it mean exactly? What is considered 'slow?' When we talk about metabolic health, it's important to define what it really is. You'll quickly learn that it's multifaceted and you'll need to work separately on each area. On this week's podcast, we'll talk with Ann Louise Gittleman, the first lady of nutrition, who has very practical advice based on decades of extensive work in health and nut...
Oct 24, 2018•41 min•Ep 330•Transcript available on Metacast If you can balance well, your yoga practice is more fun, you’re faster and nimbler, and you might even live longer. Sound far-fetched? Check it out: falls are the second leading cause of accidental or unintentional injury deaths worldwide. 424,000 individuals die from falls globally. My balance has improved massively in the past couple years, but historically, I’ve had terrible balance. I assumed it was something I just had to live with, but I’ve learned that poor footwear, bad walking patterns,...
Oct 18, 2018•43 min•Ep 329•Transcript available on Metacast 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 counterintuitiv...
Oct 10, 2018•45 min•Ep 328•Transcript available on Metacast 
