by Theresa Larson | Feb 27, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Tony Blauer is the founder of the SPEAR System, a close quarter protection system that uses a person’s reflexes for self-defense. In other words, Tony teaches people how to use their innate survival instincts so it can be used in life-threatening situations for themselves and their families. He is now teaching a Crossfit workshop called Be Your Own Bodyguard (BYOB).
All throughout his career, he had suffered multiple injuries because of the nature of his work. Just recently, Tony suffered an injury that prohibited him from doing what he loves, working out and teaching self-defense. Because of his fear of medical machines and procedures, he prolonged his suffering with his injury that eventually brought him to utilizing proper breathing.
On this episode, join Tony as he tells his story of knowing fear, the challenge of having Stenosis and these topics:
- What is Be Your Own Bodyguard and how can it protect you and your family
- How traveling and being on the road affects Tony’s health
- What it means to choose safety
- Finding out and using natural remedies for Stenosis
- How breathing helped Tony with his injury
- Turning fear to no fear
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
by Theresa Larson | Feb 20, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Max Conserva was born and raised in California who’s living a normal life when a tragedy struck. He was hit by a semi-truck as a kid which left his legs broken. Through many medical efforts of making his legs work normally again, they just became deformed which gave him the need for a brace for life.
Although Max lived a normal life as a kid growing up with the help of his carbon-fiber and steel made braces, there was one pressing problem he was dealing with, shame. He was so afraid of people getting to see his legs and as a result, limiting his activities. It came to a point where he wasn’t showing his legs to his girlfriend.
Max took a leap of faith in his life when he joined a triathlon race where he made himself vulnerable and finally shared his condition to the world. This led him to the creation of GoodLeg.org which helps adaptive individuals face their hard problems such as Max’s through the mastery of their condition.
On this episode, listen to Max Conserva as he talks about the following topics:
- How Max faced the challenges of his condition at an early age
- What is condition mastery and how important it is for Max
- Participating in a triathlon race and making himself vulnerable
- What is GoodLeg.org and what prompted Max to start it
- How to become a master of your hard problem
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
To Contact Max Conserva, you can email him at max@goodleg.org or visit Goodleg.org
by Theresa Larson | Feb 13, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Please welcome Ally Armstrong to My New Normal podcast! Ally is originally from Pennsylvania, but just recently moved to the San Diego area. She’s an Occupational Therapist and is starting work at a local school, as well as finding new hobbies to get involved in.
Before Ally moved to San Diego she was commonly referred to as someone with a disability, or with a wheelchair, or the disabled girl She’d never even heard the term “adaptive” until she got into the community in San Diego. And while she didn’t take offense, she also wished that people would realize that she was so much more than just her wheelchair. She’s an athlete, a professional, a woman that works out and does CrossFit.
Ally Armstrong was injured when she was 17 in a sledding accident. She suffered a complete spinal cord break and was paralyzed. While a lot of people suffer depression and go through really dark times after their injury, Ally credits her faith with really not having any “down” time. She believes that this is the path that she was meant to take, and she’s dealt with as such.
She had an amazing support group, through her family and friends, and was really connected through her church and her faith. Which she credits to stepping out of her comfort zone and not letting her injury rule her life.
Ally Armstrong is seriously an inspirational woman and I cannot wait for you to listen to this full episode!
In this episode we’re talking about:
- Ally’s injury and how she dealt with it
- How sometimes you have to just suck it up in life
- What a “complete” spinal cord injury means
- What “adaptive” means to Ally
- How laughter is really the best medicine in life
- What advice Ally would offer someone in her position
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
To Contact Ally Armstrong, email at alarmstrong01@gmail.com or visit her instagram at @alstrongg
by Theresa Larson | Feb 6, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Trigger Warning: this episode contains discussion of body dysmorphia and eating disorders.
Joining me today is Steph Gaudreau, formally stupideasypaleo, my good friend, colleague, and mentor.
Steph and I met through a mutual friend several years ago and she hosted me on her Harder to Kill Radio podcast. When I was writing warrior, my publisher needed me to find a strong woman to write a quote for the book and Steph was the person I turned to.
She has definitely been through a lot of new normal in her life and this episode we’re going to go through some of those and talk about some hard topics like body dysmorphia, job changes, and being a highly sensitive person.
Steph moved to San Diego in 2005 by way of Massachusetts >> Arizona >> then she landed in sunny California. She was a Biology teacher and started to feel like she might need a change, so she initially changed schools, but still felt like she needed something more. She was blogging while teaching on stupideasypaleo (a food, fitness, and health website) and she decided to take the leap and quit teaching and take on being self-employed full-time.
Which was a HUGE step for her. She was terrified of what people would think, of failing, of making the wrong decision, but she took the leap anyway. Fast-forward 5 years and she’s still has that fear every once in a while, but she’s doing the thing that she was afraid of every day. And she’s been hugely successful doing it.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- Why facing change is frightening for her,
- How she faced fear to be able to move forward,
- How Steph faced and overcame body dysmorphia
- How she made blogging her business,
- What steps she took in learning new skills in her new job,
- Making her perceived weakness as an introvert into her strength
Show Notes:
Steph Gaudreau is a health and fitness coach who advocates healthy eating and embracing your own skin. Before she started eating a more balanced diet, which includes the foods she feared, she advocated paleo and working out in order to achieve her ideal body but she wasn’t happy. Steph used to be a teacher but as an introvert, she needed to find a job that is comfortable for her, therefore, she took a drastic change of direction and went into blogging.
Steph experienced body dysmorphia as a kid, it changed her relationship with food and how she perceived her body. Steph took health and fitness seriously in order to make her body smaller to overcome her condition but it wasn’t the solution she’s looking for.
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
by 5dmin | Jan 25, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Dr. Kate left the Marine Corp in 2008 with big plans to transition to “normal” civilian life, not knowing just how hard that would be. Her whole family, life, and identity were wrapped up in the Marines, so she stayed in the Reserves and started working on her Master’s degree.
As a result of an injury her brother suffered in Iraq, Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas knew she had a passion for public health and wanted to work with the Veteran community, specifically Adaptive Veterans. She started studying Health Promotion and Public Health, with an emphasis on yoga, and how the mind and body function while dealing with the actual cause of the problem.
Because of Dr. Kate’s struggles with leaving the Marine Corp, she volunteered with a Veteran’s service organization called Team Red White and Blue where she finally spoke to someone else about what she was dealing with in her relationships and life and discovered that she wasn’t struggling alone. It was that moment that she credits with inspiring the passion for finding out how to prevent and help that struggle for other Veterans, like her brother.
SHOW NOTES:
Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas (aka Dr. Resilience) is a dear friend and mentor and I’m so honored to have her on my podcast! She is someone who helps eliminate suffering for others and helps them live better lives, specifically the Veteran community.
Nursing the flu can be hard and sometimes it disables us from doing our normal routine. Now, imagine having a stage 4 cancer and the doctor has put an expiration date on your life. Wouldn’t that be discouraging? Dr. Kate was diagnosed with cancer but it did not put her down.
As a former Marine Corps military police officer, she had a hard time in transitioning to the private citizen life. Dr. Kate struggled and faced challenges that would eventually lead her in helping people with their mental fitness. She’s an author, speaker, and professor among other things.
In this episode Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas is telling her story of facing life, motherhood, and cancer with positivity and resilience.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- How a person can cultivate resilient traits
- What steps she took in transitioning from the Marine Corps
- Why is mental fitness training important
- How Dr. Kate came to know that she had cancer
- What things did she change in facing her diagnosis
- How cancer changed how she manages her time
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
To Contact Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas Visit: https://dockate.com/
by 5dmin | Jan 23, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Losing a loved one, whether family or friend, is really tough especially when it coincides with your other problems. Kenny Kane not only lost one but 13 in a span of 2 years. Notably, his mother passed when his son was born in Denmark and he has to juggle his attention from his one family to another as well as financial responsibilities.
Kenny Kane, a comic, a passionate hip-hop dancer and a soccer player, got heartbreak after heartbreak but he has emerged from it as a better person. Kerry is a co-host on the Body of Knowledge Podcast.
Listen to this week’s episode to hear Kenny’s heartfelt stories and find out more about these:
- How losing important people affected Kenny
- How did Kenny explain when confronted by his child
- What are the tough choices he had to make
- How Kenny was able to recover on these challenges
- What are the steps he took to heal
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
