This week we’re sharing a Healthy Parenting Connector interview related to stress mastery!
Stress is something we all deal with that can be hugely detrimental to our health and relationships but also something that’s often brushed off as “normal” or “not a big deal.” Have you ever heard a friend laughing off her stress as if it’s a joke to think she has time to deal with it? Maybe you’ve been there too.
Even if we can see the negative effects of stress on ourselves and our families it can be so hard to actually make changes to reduce the stress in our lives. I’ve taken the step of becoming a Stress Mastery Educator this past year. Partially for the personal reason that I was so terrible at managing my own stress!
I highly encourage you to check out these interviews I’ve done with my fellow Stress Mastery students as well as the rest of the Healthy Parenting Connector episodes related to stress mastery which I’ve linked to way at the bottom.
I hope you find these helpful to combat the stress that often comes with the Christmas season and enter the New Year refreshed! 🙂
67: Self Care & the Meaning of L.I.F.E. with Certified Humor Professional Sporty King
Can’t see the video? Click to watch “The Importance of Self-Care” on YouTube.
No time for the whole video? Here are some notes!
- 2:39: Sporty shares his story with us and how he became a Certified Humor Professional. He’s super passionate about taking care of yourself first so that you can take care of others. He wants you to F.O.C.U.S. on yourself. (Finding Ourselves Creates Unlimited Success)
- 8:30: Sporty uses the acronym L.I.F.E. (Lessons Intended For Everyone). He encourages everyone to stay open to learning from all of your experiences.
I’m positive more than I’m negative, I’m up more than I’m down, and I’m going forward more than I’m going backward. -Sporty King
- 10:04: Most people know without a question that the way mom feels affects the family – but we’re not all that good at fixing our attitudes. Sporty shares some advice for parents to start out the day with positive mindsets.
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- 12:52: We live in a society of “busyness” now. It’s important for parents to take the time to fill their own tanks. It’s not an option: it’s a need.
- 19:10: Sporty shares what he thinks are the top 2-3 qualities for parents to instill in their children from a young age to set them up for success.
- 25:07: We end with a message of H.O.P.E. for stressed-out parents. (Having Over Powered Evil)
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Sporty King, Uncle, CSME, CHP, ACS/CL, is an uncle, master speaker, best hugger in the Eastern time zone, and also a CHP: Certified Humor Professional. His motto that he shouts to the world is, “How I feel affects other people!!!”
He currently works with the military through the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, supporting the mental health of our troops and their families before and after deployment. He had a “real job” for 18 years at the Wall Street Journal and continues to use his writing and humor skills through poetry to help people become better listeners, have personal and professional success, and enjoy their lives. He’s also a master acronym and mnemonic creator (that’s an AMC if you’re following), and I guarantee he will drop some phrases during the next 20 minutes that you won’t be able to forget!
Find him for your next event or just some great joyful memes here.
68: Movement to Release Stress (that’s NOT Exercise!)
Can’t see the video? Click to watch “Simple Movement to Release Stress” on YouTube.
No time for the whole video? Here are the notes!
- 1:45: Audrey shares her story and how she began focusing on stress reduction after a heart attack.
- 4:00: Audrey has 2 adult daughters. She shares what she wished she had done differently when she was raising her young kids.
When I’m with my kids, I want to be completely present. -Audrey Weidman
- 5:48: We talk about how stress can show up and be released physically in different ways for different people.
- 7:28: When people hear the word “movement” they think it’s just a gentle word for exercise. We’re talking about movement in a very different way today.
- 8:36: Audrey shares some of her favorite stress release movements. (Here’s the YouTube channel she mentions and my review of the Inner Balance device.)
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- 14:56: We talk about how a family can set up a culture of movement as a stress relief strategy.
- 17:15: We end with one practical step you can take today!
Audrey Weidman’s mission is to show women who’ve had heart attacks the path of holistic recovery. She does this by helping them to become aware of: their stress load, their self-talk, their habits around food, exercise, and sleep. She is passionate about this because she is a HEART ATTACK SURVIVOR.
She mentors women to CONFIDENTLY TRANSFORM their wellness goals into an ongoing sustainable lifestyle. She believes that TRUE HEALTH comes from within – what we put inside our bodies and the predominant thoughts that we think. She walks the talk and invites you to discover holistic solutions that really work.
Audrey has a PASSION for life and loves ADVENTURE. She enjoys outdoor adventure, cooking, yoga, and gardening. And she has been married to the same wonderful guy since 1989 and is blessed with two amazing daughters who are taking the world by storm.
Find Audrey online here.
69: The Stress and Joy of a Bilingual or Multicultural Home
Can’t see the video? Click to watch “The Stress and Joy of a Multicultural Home” on YouTube.
No time for the whole video? Here are the notes!
- 1:20: Sona shares her cultural background and how she came to study stress mastery.
- 6:35: There are challenges to speaking two languages that you might not think of if you aren’t bilingual.
- 8:59: Sona shares the benefits of being bilingual and teaching her kids both Czech and English. (The book she references is Raising a Bilingual Child.)
- 15:53: We dispel some myths about dual language speakers.
- 19:45: When a family adopts from another country, the parents often speak English and the children may have another language. There are some ways you can reduce the stress of assimilating into a new language and culture.
It takes a village to make a great world – remember that you don’t know what you don’t know about your neighbors. -Sona Lesmeister
- 23:21: We do a lot with food at Kids Cook Real Food™, of course, we discuss cross-cultural issues surrounding food.
- 31:23: There are unique stressors when a family lives here in the US, the parents don’t speak English but the children have learned English from school and friends much more quickly.
- 34:17: As teachers or neighbors, is there anything we can do to make things easier for non-English speaking families?
- 37:45: We end with Sona’s message of hope.
Sona was born in a small town in the Czech Republic, Europe and has lived in the US for the last 15 years. She is passionate about experiencing life to its fullest by creating a life by design, instead of living complacently. After realizing that she was putting off living her life because other things and people always took priority for her attention and energy, Sona began re-learning how to be, love herself and others and determine her real priorities. She started studying stress, its varying forms, and how to use it as an advantage instead of letting it destroy people’s health, relationships, and careers.
Today, she lives in North Dakota with her two sons, a pet lizard, and several newly adopted house plants. She enjoys cooking, meeting people, traveling, dancing, skiing, and discovering life as an essentialist.
70: Can Screens and Tech Actually Humanize Us? Finding the Positive with Zach Renner of huBhu
Can’t see the video? Click to watch “Can Screens Humanize Us” on YouTube.
No time for the whole video? Here are the notes!
- 3:12: Zach shares his journey growing up with technology. (You can find the book Screenwise which I mentioned here.)
- 4:59: Zach began becoming aware of his screen usage more in college. He shares how that awareness impacted his views.
- 7:04: When we interact with others, it’s inherently human. When we interact with technology, we can begin to adopt the technology’s methods of interaction. Does this dehumanize us?
- 11:03: We get practical about when a child should be allowed their own device or phone.
- 16:18: Zach has been pretty successful in athleticism and business. He talks about how technology helped him in his endeavors.
- 19:00: We talk about how to help our kids discern the good side of technology and avoid the pitfalls.
In this day and age, the ability to be alone with yourself and garner insights and wisdom is bar none the top superpower. -Zach Renner
- 27:52: Zach has an interesting perspective on what an “inner athlete” is. He shares what that means and how it applies to our relationship with technology.
- 31:14: We talk about social media. It is so addicting! If it’s difficult for us adults to manage, how much harder is it for our kids to navigate!?
- 37:58: We end with a message of hope for parents.
Zachary is an elite Mind-Body Mastery Coach and Founder of Awakened Athlete, LLC. He combined his background as a record-holding collegiate athlete and CrossFit Level 1 Trainer with the latest research in Applied Integrative Neuroscience, Performance Focused Somatic Therapy and Energetic Psychology to develop the most comprehensive and holistic transformation framework on the market today.
For nearly a decade, his services have only been available to technology companies and financial institutions like IBM, Goldman Sachs, Bridgewater Associates and First Republic Bank, but now he also works with individuals and their families, focusing specifically on current and former athletes of all levels.
Zach also co-founded huBhu, (Humans Being Human) in 2015, a collaboration with Harvard trained psychiatrist and brain researcher Dr. Srini Pillay and CEO-coaching expert Daron Shepard. huBhu is devoted to furthering authentic human connection through technology.
Find more about Zach at Step Up Coaching.
Other Healthy Parenting Connector Episodes About Stress Mastery
- 1 Easy Step to Take Your Stress Back
- Making Stress Your BFF Instead of Your Frenemy
- Can Mindfulness Make You a Better Parent?
- How to UPgrade Your Parenting and Perform Your Best with Dr Ryan Wohlfert
- Happy Parents Aren’t a Myth
- How to Listen with C.A.R.E. (with a stress educator)
- Managing Stress in Difficult Times with Heidi Hanna
- Kicking Stress to the Curb and Find the Best Parent within You with Erin Taylor
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About Katie Kimball
Katie Kimball, CSME, creator of Kids Cook Real Food™ and CEO of Kitchen Stewardship®, LLC, is passionate about connecting families around healthy food. As a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks, she’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine and contributes periodically on the FOX Network.
Since 2009, busy moms have looked to Katie as a trusted authority and advocate for children’s health, and she often partners with health experts and medical practitioners to stay on the cutting edge. In 2016 she created the Wall Street Journal recommended best online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food™, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook. She is actively masterminding the Kids’ Meal Revolution, with a goal of every child learning to cook.
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is also a Certified Stress Mastery Educator, member of the American Institute of Stress and trained speaker through Bo Eason’s Personal Story Power.