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Delanea Davis 1/26/21 Delanea Davis 1/26/21

MediMindful Moment: Meet Nigel Palmer

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Nigel Palmer, the Director, and Curriculum Developer for Sustainable Regenerative Gardening at The Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition. Nigel talks about his expertise in traditional gardening and why the garden is a quintessential mindfulness place.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

● Nigel shares a little background about his work and his career, as an author. (1:18)

● Nigel mentions his book entitled, The Regenerative Growers Guide To Garden Amendments. (2:03)

● Nigel leads the mindful moment exercise. (3:53)

● Nigel shares some of his practices when feeding his plants. (4:04)

● Does Nigel see himself with purposeful energy into the present moment while gardening? (7:12)

● How does the whole notion of impermanence play a role in traditional gardening? (9:09)

● Nigel mentions one of the most amazing things about nature. (12:53)

● Nigel shares his gardening program at The Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition. (20:52)

● Nigel shares a couple of mindfulness tips in the garden and mindfulness tips in life. (24:59)

Key Quotes:

● “It’s a lovely time to watch the clouds go by, to see the rustle of the wind in the trees. Or notice some birds that are going through their antics on the side of the lawn. Gardening is a quintessential mindless mindfulness exercise.” - Nigel Palmer

● “We’re all in the flow of the universe, you can either participate or not. And we all make decisions as to how we spend our time, and what we do with our time. And we can either ignore the flow of the universe, we can go against the flow of the universe, or we could be part of it.” - Nigel Palmer

● “You don't need an amazing skill set. You don't need all this infrastructure or these ideas, but what you need to do is go out into the garden and put your toes in there and put a seed in, it won't grow unless you plant it, right? So, once you start planting these things, all of these things unravel.” - Nigel Palmer

Resources Mentioned:

● The Regenerative Growers Guide To Garden Amendments

● Nigel Palmer

● The Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition

Delanea Davis 1/19/21 Delanea Davis 1/19/21

MediMindful Moment: Meet Hector Torrens

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Hector Torrens, the Chief Digital Officer at WellSpark Health. Hector shares how he was introduced to the power of mindfulness and how we can still maintain connection and community in the digital world.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

● Jeff leads the mindfulness exercise. (3:24)

● Hector shares how his journey to mindfulness began. (6:42)

● How was Hector introduced to meditation? (10:31)

● In what ways is WellSpark continuing to improve their mindfulness and resiliency skills? (13:11)

● Hector shares how WellSpark is connecting with people digitally instead of in person due to COVID. (16:59)

● What are the implications of the acceleration towards digital technology in healthcare? (27:39)

● What is WellSpark’s approach to mobilizing resources internally for the good of those externally? (31:13)

Key Quotes:

● “One of the constants that I noticed throughout dealing with technology is that you're always at the forefront of change, right? And, with change comes stress. So nothing is ever static, things are always changing and moving, and that there is someone, something, some group of people that are feeling stressed because of it.” - Hector Torrens

● “As human beings in the world have realized we can maintain connection and community using digital tools, unlike we thought that we could in the past.” - Hector Torrens

● “I think we're evolving, and this is an opportunity for us to evolve very quickly, because of the circumstances that happened right around this having to depend upon digital.” - Hector Torrens

Resources Mentioned:

● Hector Torrens LinkedIn

● WellSpark Health

Delanea Davis 1/12/21 Delanea Davis 1/12/21

MediMindful Moment: Meet Adam Latin

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Adam Latin, Empowerment Counselor and the Owner of The Clearest U. Adam talks about the significance of connection, teaching people how to nurture one another, and the value of being cherished.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

● Judith introduces Adam Latin. (00:35)

● Adam believes that every individual has unique strengths and weaknesses, and he has developed tools and techniques to help people in different walks of life. (1:00)

● Adam leads the mindfulness exercise. (3:34)

● Adam thinks that remembering and realizing the significance of the connection is important because having deeper conversations with people is vital. (9:03)

● Adam mentions one of the biggest factors for him is the energy of cherishing. (9:38)

● Adam shares that honesty is about being able to work hard and formulate the most accurate response possible. (11:47)

● Adam believes that learning to use words in a very specific format can be very helpful. (12:15)

● Adam shares that putting energy into convincing someone is draining to your energy and draining to your focus, then it’s much more likely that you will have emotions that are not under your power. (14:05)

● In Adam’s opinion, sometimes we need to have an active exit strategy before moving on to our next activity. (15:13)

● Adam believes that we're originally presented with different types of love and people almost demand that we accept love the way they want to present it. (16:53)

● Adam shares that acceptance is difficult for some people. But, everyone is neurologically brilliant in their unique way. (19:39)

● Adam mentions that being engaged with the awareness or perceptiveness is very powerful. (27:06)

Key Quotes:

● “I help people reframe and refocus or, in some cases, I help them celebrate what they felt because sometimes they've done such a wonderful job but they haven't stepped back and looked at what they've created.” - Adam Latin

● “I always tell people when they are starting, it's about bringing a sense of discovery and following a sense of inspiration. It's not about having the right answer the first time. It's really about experiencing and deepening.” - Adam Latin

● “I feel that safety is a foundational issue and it's being disrupted at this point. People meditating simply on the ways that they've previously made themselves safe, or ways that they're inspired to make themselves safe, really helps reduce some of this anxiety.” - Adam Latin

● “It’s better for us to change how we present information than expecting someone to change how they receive it.” - Adam Latin

Resources Mentioned:

● Adam Latin LinkedIn

● The Clearest U

Delanea Davis 1/5/21 Delanea Davis 1/5/21

MediMindful Moment: Meet Dr. Romie Mushtaq

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Dr. Romie Mushtaq, MD, ABIHM, Chief Wellness Officer at Evolution Hospitality, and the Founder of BrainSHIFT Protocol. Dr. Romie talks about utilizing mindfulness in the workplace and how the MediMind App has been helpful in training employees in the workforce.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

● Judith introduces Dr. Romie Mushtaq. (00:38)

● Romie shares that she’s a traditionally trained neurologist and found her path to mindfulness 10 years ago when her stress manifested as an illness and she had life-saving surgery. (1:08)

● Romie mentions that she’s the founder of the BrainSHIFT Protocol, and mindfulness is a core part of what they do for corporations and global associations. (1:51)

● Romie leads the mindful moment exercise. (3:35)

● Romie shares that skills such as emotional intelligence, being mindful, and emotional regulation were considered soft skills in the workplace. (8:51)

● Romie mentions that the definition of mindfulness in her workplace wellness programs is seen as a brain training program. (9:32)

● Romie mentions that you can't manage your business situation until you train your brain, on how to manage it. (11:38)

● Romie explains what the stress success cycle is all about. (13:59)

● Romie shares that clinical data shows that it takes four to six weeks for the positive changes to start happening, and change in the structure and the function of the brain. (15:57)

● Romie mentions that you can change the way your brain cells are functioning by meditating every day. (16:07)

● Romie shares that guided meditations are helpful, and the MediMind App has a variety of meditations. (16:51)

● Romie shares that leadership and adaptation are the two aspects that she learned from being a chief wellness officer. (19:28)

● Romie mentions that bringing in an app is helpful as a tool, but it takes leaders to help implement that. (21:40)

● Romie explains the 21-day study that they do at Evolution Hospitality. (22:14)

● Romie thinks that what mindfulness has taught us is self-awareness. (28:06)

● Romie mentions that they have a group of 55 technology executives that are finishing up her brain shift protocol, and they use the MediMind app and are doing well. (31:37)

Key Quotes:

● “I went on a journey around the world to learn about mindfulness and integrative medicine. I came back, became certified and now I'm a woman on a mission to transform the brain and mental health in the workplace.” - Dr. Romie Mushtaq

● “Soft skills are actually essential for leaders and for a workforce to feel engaged, happy, and productive in the workplace. And mindfulness is a core component to creating a happy workplace.” - Dr. Romie Mushtaq

● “Mindfulness is that brain training, to say, Hey, I don't want my brain to be hijacked by stress and negativity. I want to be able to be focused, and now be able to control my emotions. And that's why mindfulness is so important in the workplace.” - Dr. Romie Mushtaq

● “When we meditate, something that’s known as the relaxation responses elicited in that airport traffic control center and within about five minutes, boom! That stress response is turned off, your airport traffic control center of the brain is no longer hijacked.” - Dr. Romie Mushtaq

Resources Mentioned:

● Dr. Romie Mushtaq LinkedIn

● Dr, Romie

● Evolution Hospitality

Delanea Davis 12/29/20 Delanea Davis 12/29/20

MediMindful Moment: Meet Jen James

In this episode of Cloud9’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interviews Jennifer James, a Mindful Business Coach and Founder of Double J Lifestyle Consulting & Coaching, Partner and Co-Founder of Admit One Productions. Jen talks about the three common issues in seeking mindfulness and her three guiding work principles. She also shares a mindful exercise that everyone can do.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

● Judith introduces Jen James. (00:39)

● Jen mentions that she owns a production company in partnership with her husband, and she owns a coaching and consulting business, as well. (1:16)

● Jen shares that they are storytellers at heart and they’re currently in the process of building a new art of mindful storytelling program, and their purpose is to connect with entrepreneurs and to support their journey. (1:35)

● Jen mentions that as a mindful business coach, she connects people back into their business in a mindful way, and supports them on their journey, as aspiring entrepreneurs or established entrepreneurs. (1:56)

● Jen leads the mindful moment exercise. (3:59)

● Jen shares the three common issues in seeking mindfulness. (7:44)

● Jen thinks that a lot of people have a perspective on what they see and read that; they want to understand. (7:56)

● Jen mentions that if you're going to practice mindfulness, you must always sit and do meditation every day, for 30 minutes. (8:55)

● Jen shares that the micro mindfulness moment is one of her favorites and all you have to do is to stop for a second, put your hand on your heart, and take 5 breaths. (10:58)

● Jen shares a mindful exercise that she recommends to people, and it’s called the stop exercise. (15:26)

● Jen shares that taking a moment to stop is something that most people don’t often recognize. Because we react very quickly when our negative emotions are taking control. (16:40)

● Jen mentions that she’s currently studying mindful self-compassion. (18:49)

● Jen mentions that finding and building self-compassion, within themselves is challenging for most people, but everyone has it. (21:29)

● Jen shares her three guiding principles. (30:47)

● Jen shares an exercise that’s beneficial in any organization, and it’s called a soft landing. (36:33)

Key Quotes:

● “We all adapt much more quickly than we give ourselves credit. But we don't realize it within ourselves. So, our ability to adapt to uncertainty and change is higher than we give ourselves credit for.” - Jennifer James

● “Just stop and take a breath, observe how you feel in that moment, recognize it, label it, and then proceed. Sometimes just taking that moment to stop allows you to ground yourself at that moment, and not react. It gives you that moment of choice and the choice is ours, we own that.” - Jennifer James

● “You have to have a foundation of understanding and believing in yourself before you can actually externally put that out into the world, and allow others to believe in you as well. It starts inside, having the confidence to do that. Not as easy, but it starts with baby steps.” - Jennifer James

● “If you put on your curiosity hat before every single conversation, whether it be at home or work, it helps reframe how you enter into that conversation. Cool. And it allows you to think differently.” - Jennifer James

Resources Mentioned:

● Double J Lifestyle Consulting & Coaching

● Jennifer James LinkedIn

● Admit One Productions

Delanea Davis 12/22/20 Delanea Davis 12/22/20

MediMindful Moment: Meet Steve Wilson

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Steve Wilson, Psychologist, the Founder and President of World Laughter Tour. Steve is also known as 'The Joyologist' and 'The Cheerman of the Bored'. He discusses what humor and laughter hold for human beings, and shares his program called The Prescription For Good Hearted Living.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

● Judith introduces Steve Wilson. (00:39)

● Steve mentions that he’s a formally trained psychologist and he has retired from the private practice of psychotherapy. (1:24)

● Steve shares a story that happened 40 years ago when he attended a workshop in Chicago. (1:44)

● Steve mentions that he was called by the universe to change his life and his practice to focus on what humor and laughter hold for human beings. (2:27)

● Steve shares that it’s been 20 years since he established the World Laughter Tour. It’s a curriculum to teach people how to create therapeutic laughter and to switch those wrongheaded attitudes and ideas. (3:49)

● Steve shares that 7,000 people have taken his course. They want to learn and utilize those tools for the benefit of their own health and happiness and to share it with other people. (6:17)

● Steve shares the difference between laughter and humor is that laughter is a physical act that human beings do. On the contrary, humor acts as a shock absorber and keeps you from being jolted. (8:58)

● Steve mentions one of the aspects that he tried to get across to people is respect for individual differences. Human beings are different and it doesn't mean they are wrong or bad. (12:58)

● Steve mentions that once you have a moment to be mindful of your sense of humor, one of the prescriptions that he will issue is to take five minutes a day for humor. (13:26)

● Steve shares that his program is called The Prescription For Good Hearted Living, and it consists of 6 practices that you can do to prevent the hardening of attitudes. (18:25)

● Steve mentions that the Wednesdays for gratitude is the centerpiece of the program. (23:15)

● Steve explains that a great sense of humor is a crucial ability to identify the absurdity in adversity. (40:39)

● Steve shares the difference between laughing with somebody and laughing at somebody. (42:03)

● Steve explains that it’s significant that we must not lose hope. We should always hope that we can recover, hope that we can repair the world, and hope that we can repair ourselves. (45:40)

Key Quotes:

● “Your sense of humor is something you develop, but the ability to laugh is inborn. Did you know that people who are born blind and deaf, laugh? We don't learn to laugh by watching other people or hearing other people, we have a natural way when the circumstances are right.” - Steve Wilson

● “As soon as you get into that humor and that laugh, and respond to it instantly, your brain chemistry changes and sends a signal that every system in your body to turn on to health, and it does it almost instantly. It will keep the healthy aspects of your muscular system to act healthy when you have a true mirthful laugh.” - Steve Wilson

● “Use this poem as you go through life. Let this always be your goal. Keep your eye upon the doughnut, not upon the hole. Look at what you have not what's not there. Gratitude turns out to be the antidote for self-pity and despair. How can you have that so strongly, if you're grateful for things that you have in your life and what is going on?” - Steve Wilson

● “The modern science of laughter is about compassion. That when we have because, to have a great sense of humor, I think one must have a great sensitivity about humor.” - Steve Wilson

Resources Mentioned:

● Steve Wilson

● World Laughter Tour

Want to learn more about Steve Wilson’s book, Good-Hearted Living? You can find a summary of the book, including six daily practices you can follow to add more laughter to your life, HERE.

Delanea Davis 12/15/20 Delanea Davis 12/15/20

MediMindful Moment: Meet David Nichtern

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview David Nichtern, a senior Buddhist teacher, meditation guide, musician, four-time Emmy winner, two-time Grammy nominee, and the founder of Dharma Moon and 5 Points Records. David talks about the three dimensions of life being fully integrated, what we can learn from Buddhist practices during this time, and how to utilize mindfulness as a tool in our state of mind.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

● Judith introduces David Nichtern. (00:39)

● David thinks that his most significant aspect is being eclectic. (1:36)

● David mentions his book that he wrote entitled Creativity, Spirituality, and Making a Buck. (1:47)

● David leads the MediMindful exercise. (4:24)

● David mentions that if you go to a pure view of the phenomenon, everything is unprecedented. (16:20)

● David shares that from a Buddhist point of view, it’s a great time to practice. Because what was always true is now obvious. (16:35)

● David shares that mindfulness is the best tool for our state of mind, and it enables us to perceive grounded information and the truth of the situation. (18:51)

● David mentions that impermanence is considered to be one of three vital descriptions of life as it is. (21:41)

● David mentions that there are three marks of existence, and only one is impermanence. (24:10)

● David feels that the contemplative element is significant at this moment. (26:51)

● David shares that Sister Pema Chödrön is an excellent meditation teacher and she has a book entitled Start Where You Are. (29:24)

● David thinks that everyone needs some time to play, and creative solutions come out of a sense of less tension, more openness, more sense of play. (32:53)

● David mentions that in some very advanced Buddhist traditions, they say that noticing, recognizing, and remembering is the main practice. (38:02)

Key Quotes:

● “Expressing yourself creatively and relating skillfully to everyday life and livelihood and things like that have equal weight. So, you can see as you travel through different communities that sometimes, one is weighted more than the other significantly.” - David Nichtern

● “Impermanence just simply means that there's a fundamental dimension of reality in which that's just simply true. The condition part of reality it's simply true, you can observe it if it's given as a contemplation to us, everybody should just think about it for five minutes.” - David Nichtern

● “As a meditator, just start where you are, you sat down, you took your seat in the middle of a thunderstorm, in the middle of chaos, in the middle of a prison camp, if that's where you are, just tune in to your body, speech, mind, and work with it from there.” - David Nichtern

● “Everybody in the entertainment industry knows you're only as good as your last movie, and that's true of meditators. There's no accumulation pot for your experience, it's fresh every time, and people who are going to tune their mind to that freshness, then there's a certain kind of sense of creativity and facing adversity.” - David Nichtern

Resources Mentioned:

Delanea Davis 12/11/20 Delanea Davis 12/11/20

Research Ties Mindfulness to Physical Health

The expanding body of research about the impact of mindfulness on physical health and well-being spans a range of topics as diverse as you might imagine. From oncology departments to sports teams, the benefits of learning how to hold potential stressors in gentle awareness are being applied, and studies are tying daily mindfulness and meditation to physical health.

group-of-mature-female-friends-on-outdoor-yoga-ret-SRUAUD4.jpg

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

In a study sponsored by the Canadian Breast Cancer Research alliance and the British Columbia Cancer Agency, researchers, “conducted a randomized, controlled trial comparing two evidence-supported programs, Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR) and supportive expressive group therapy (SET), in reducing stress and improving the quality of life of distressed breast cancer survivors." Both groups showed positive results. However, the MBCR group showed improvement at a greater rate and with effects that lasted nearly a year.

Also, we see studies about the application of mindfulness among athletes. Young soccer players placed in either a mindfulness-based program (MG) or against a control group (CG) showed: "Number of injuries, an average of injuries per team, and days lost to injury in the MG were significantly lower than in the CG.”

Many studies have looked at meditation’s (an example of one type of mindful practice) positive effect on overall well-being by looking at physical health and well-being through various parameters such as pain, high blood pressure, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, sports performance, Multiple Sclerosis, and more.

Most of us accept our body's state of physical health. That does not mean we are free of disease or have a health issue. Some could be minor, like a cut or a bruise, or more serious, like diabetes or cancer.

Mindfulness means we pay attention to our body, tune into ourselves within the noise of the moment. The pandemic forced us to make changes overnight. More of us work from home. Have you given a thought to the routines that had to change? What new habits are you trying to cultivate?

1. Some of us are adding more movement: planning walks, biking, taking a yoga class. Have you tried mindful walking?

2. We can also be mindfully eating: how are we nourishing our bodies?

3. Connecting with others: how are we getting together?

4. Connecting with self: "Being" with self in the moment. We know that what we think affects our biology. If our body is in some pain, it affects how we feel.

We suggest that adding a mindful moment to your routine will be positive. We are an interconnected human being; all systems are interdependent on one another. Our western traditions rely on science, as mentioned above, to understand our state of health and well-being. Eastern traditions start with going within, using meditation or mindfulness practices to quiet the mind.

"Putting your well-being first - like putting your oxygen mask on before you help the person next to you - that really benefits all your relationships." ~ Gabrielle Bernstein

Delanea Davis 12/8/20 Delanea Davis 12/8/20

MediMindful Moment: Meet Chris Salem

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Chris Salem, Executive Coach, Keynote Speaker, and CEO at EFA Movement. Chris talks about the fine line between kindness and compassion. He also shares how mindfulness plays a significant role in building a core foundation.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

● Judith introduces Chris Salem. (00:44)

● Chris shares that he’s working with executives to help build and scale their businesses and their brands by teaching them how to become trusted advisors in their business. (1:16)

● Chris mentions his international best-selling book titled, Master Your Inner Critic: Resolve the Root Cause Create Prosperity. (1:31)

● Chris shares that finding the harmony between work and life can be difficult. (7:36)

● Chris mentions that mindfulness plays a significant role in building the core of that foundation. (8:10)

● Chris shares that a lot of times, people will experience frustration and stress because they tend to focus more on the elements that play into their weaknesses or on the things that they can't control versus the things they can. (8:59)

● Chris mentions the two habits that he always recommends for everyone which are meditation and journaling, daily. (10:46)

● Chris mentions that he’s a big believer that mindfulness is the core nucleus of everything. (15:50)

● Chris shares that mindfulness leads to clarity and clarity leads to the ability to make, calculated risks, learn from mistakes, make better decisions, and take action. (18:03)

● Chris mentions that in reality, multitasking is counterproductive and, oftentimes, it doesn't lead to sustainable results. (22:42)

● Chris shares his advice with everyone is to control what you can and let go of what you can't. (28:25)

Key Quotes:

● “I'm a firm believer that any sustainable results that you seek in your life, in business, overall, start with the foundation, and it’s a process that when you go through the trials and tribulations of life and business, you approach it in a way that you could see the blessings and opportunities disguised and what you become as part of that process.” - Chris Salem

● “To break these cycles, we as people have got to take responsibility for our own lives, our actions, our roles, and duties. We can't assume and speculate somebody is going to help us do that. We’ve got to take that responsibility. That's where change takes place.” - Chris Salem

● “If we commit to it, controlling what we can do our part, and empowering people to do the same for themselves, we can come together interdependently over time, to be more productive, more efficient, more functional in terms of what we do, and why what we do to create a better environment around us.” - Chris Salem

Resources Mentioned: