I’m recording solo today and in this episode, I am covering three coaching tips to help you thrive during the holidays. I also share an exciting health tech startup I recently met and what they’re doing to change the narrative around menopause — a topic very close to my heart.
In today's episode, I share three coaching tips to help you thrive during the holidays and explore how these self-care strategies can raise energy, shift perspective, and promote healing. I also provide specific examples to help integrate these tips into your daily life beyond the holiday season.
Tip #1: Give yourself permission to take timeouts when with extended family or during large gatherings. Carving out time for yourself will keep your energy tank properly refueled. I detail why I call these the “islands of respite.”
Tip #2: Practice a 12-hour fast and be mindful that your daily habits include consuming protein, fiber, and fat. Also, make sure you’re staying hydrated and properly digesting and eliminating. I illustrate how this allows the body to properly reset and heal throughout the day and night.
Tip #3: Use the Freeze Frame five-step HeartMath technique to shift you from a triggered state to a state where you can heal. I share why this is a powerful tool to call upon our Higher Self and observe the beneficial shifts.
Plus, I detail an exciting health tech startup called The Metapause that wants to change the menopause narrative and experience for women. I share how my own menopause story was related to my 2011 health crisis involving a pacemaker, various doctors, and learning the role of hormonal health beyond our physical structure. I want to invite you to evaluate every aspect of your life in support of an easier menopause transition and healing in a healthy way.
Listen to this episode for three coaching tips to help you thrive during the holiday, plus information on an exciting new health tech startup that wants to change the menopause narrative. How do these tips land for you? I would love to hear your perspective.
If you are enjoying these conversations, help me hit 100 reviews in celebration of my 100th episode! It would be a lovely holiday treat. Please subscribe and spread the love by leaving a review and sharing it with your friends. Thank you.
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Dana Frost 00:07
Welcome to Vitally You a podcast created to introduce you to the tools that will be your roadmap for feeling younger while growing older. I'm your host Dana Frost, a wellness expert, life coach and energy medicine practitioner. Here's what you can expect conversations about vitality from the inside out with guest experts in the field of health, culture and spirituality, and solo episodes along the way from me where I do deep dives into the topics of aging, heart intelligence, energy, medicine, and your innate capacity to heal. If you want to feel younger, while growing older, this is the place for you. Hi, everyone. Welcome to the Vitally You Podcast. I'm Dana Frost, your host coming to you this week for a solo episode to share three pro coaching tips so that you can thrive during the holidays.
Dana Frost 01:04
Before we start today's conversation I want to share about an event that I attended over the weekend in Miami. About a month ago, I was approached by a friend here in Miami who had recommended that I share lifewave Light Therapy patch technology at an event that was hosted by a health tech startup company called the meta pause. Now I met with one of the founders and I was super interested. This company wants to change the menopause narrative and experience for women. The founders aren't even menopausal yet. But they have forward projected themselves and other women and they already know they don't want the same experience. Those of us who have gone before them have had and they saw this gaping hole in our medical system where menopause was concerned and they decided to do something about it. And to that I say a men go younger women I am so inspired by you I am even more inspired by you after I attended your event.
Dana Frost 02:08
Now regular listeners might know that my menopause story is intertwined with my health crisis that started in 2011. Okay. Now, when I had my health crisis, the emergent health concern was that my heart wasn't pacing, and it was determined that I needed a pacemaker. So just for your perspective, my heart rate was below 40 beats per minute that is really low, I am not an endurance athlete. And it was missing a lot of beats. And I was told that after the pacemaker was implanted, that I would feel amazing, primarily that I would have my energy back only that did not happen. And I will tell you, I felt nothing post pacemaker except the annoyance of the pacemaker pacing, I could literally feel it, which is an abnormal for sensitive people. And I also had these episodes when it felt like my heart was speeding up quickly for no reason. It was really disconcerting. It felt like someone took control and put their foot on my gas pedal. It was just very, very weird. I still felt exhausted. My sleep sucked. I had horrid mood swings. Nothing about me post pacemaker implant felt like my usual self. So I went to talk to my electrophysiologist and he said, All My concerns were in my head, and I should calm down and relax. Hmm, huh. That didn't sit right with me. I will tell you I left his office multiple times in tears. I started doing my own research, you know that. That's pretty much why I'm here. Anyway, I had consultations with an endocrinologist and my gynecologist the endocrinologist said I was pre diabetic, but I didn't need to do anything until I was actually diabetic. Now, I didn't even have the training that I have now and I knew she was misguided. Please hear me on this very important point. adult onset diabetes is easily reversible. And glucose levels are the first place you should look when you start having hormonal issues. Okay, that's a really important point. It's the first thing I do with any client who's having hormone problems. Okay, well, let me just say they're not problems, their challenges. My but okay, now my gynecologist I have to say, this was my most disappointing consultation with zero empathy and without asking me very many questions. She said, Women at your stage go on antidepressants. You know what I told her I'm not depressed. And I ended up saying hell to the no on that option. I was not depressed. I felt possessed. but I didn't feel depressed. Thankfully, I'm tenacious and independent and I walked away from that doctor and I never returned. But it did take me a while to find a doctor who would listen to me and seek understanding by taking a full health history to figure out my health complexities. Fortunately, I found one.
Dana Frost 05:21
Um, many of you might know the story, I'm just giving you this little bit of review, because it, it hones into why I am so excited about this startup company. So this doctor found a storm of health issues. She did a thorough review with lots of different labs, we ended up treating h pylori parasites, blood sugar dysregulation and other gut dysbiosis. And we needed to decide on how we were going to approach my hormonal symptoms, and I decided on acupuncture. So after one year of cleaning up underlying issues, she suggested that there was still room for improvement. And so I at that point went on bioidentical hormones. And I want you to hear that my story is not uncommon for menopausal women. There's not a menopause quick fix that works for all women, we are complex, the mind. by that. I mean, the narratives and beliefs and our emotions impact our Hormonal Health, and no one is really giving us that education around this.
Dana Frost 06:27
Your hormones aren't isolated systems within your physical structure. They're intertwined with every other system. And when we look through the functional lens, this it actually includes your community, your sense of feeling supported your beliefs, your purpose, everything gets intertwined with the function of our hormones. Now, you can easily conclude that there is no quick fix for all women. Because we are all unique. And as we approach menopause, I believe the invitation is to evaluate every area of our lives. Now it sounds daunting, and more daunting than it needs to be. But with education and recommendations like best practices and best products, and a sense of community within the feminine, I believe a kinder menopause transition is possible. My menopause transition could have been so much smoother if I had had prior education about lifestyle best practices if I would have known the signs and symptoms, if I would have had knowledge about how stress negatively impacts the menopause transition. I mean, I could have done things differently. I didn't even know that my middle of the night wake up calls were due to low progesterone, I was missing knowledge. And knowledge is power. When you know better you do better.
Dana Frost 07:47
And if you know what to expect, you can empower yourself with lifestyle changes so your life isn't up ended by menopause possession like me seriously. I was possessed by menopause. It was terrible. I was pushing myself on all cylinders. I wasn't sleeping. I was still raising all of my children. My workouts were way too intense. But I had no idea. And I had to totally retrain my way of thinking about what's healthy and how to heal. So I will be cheering on the startup company the menopause. I will be supporting them in all possible ways. So go Lauren and Ashley, the founders for tackling menopause on behalf of all women. On behalf of my four younger daughters. Stay tuned for more information as the company is launched and grows and no, this wasn't sponsored by them. I'm just excited about it and I wanted to share it with you.
Dana Frost 08:41
Okay, so let's get into the three tips so that you can thrive during the holidays. Okay, tip number one, I'm going to go through them first. And this isn't gonna be very long. By the way. Tip number one, give yourself permission to take timeouts when you're with your extended family when you're together with everybody or your kids all come home from school or when everybody convenes. Give yourself permission to take time out. And I'll go back and say more about that.
Dana Frost 09:10
Number two, practice a 12 hour daily fast and make sure that you are pooping, you're hydrated and that every time you eat you have protein fiber and fat.
Dana Frost 09:22
Number three, this is my last tip and it was inspired by my mentor who shared her Reset Tool on a recent group call. And I was like oh I recognize this as the HeartMath tool freeze frame. And so I've been using freeze frame forever and it is one of my top pro coaching tools so that you can thrive during the holidays or during any time these these tools are not just for the holidays, but they're very very powerful.
Dana Frost 09:53
Okay, so let's go back to number one giving yourself a timeout. Now this was a lesson I had to learn and I I learned it through my coach training. And then subsequently just learning to coach myself as I moved through life. Many of you don't know this, but I am truly an introvert. And I love people so much, but I actually only refuel when I'm alone. And actually, I can refuel if I'm with an intimate friend. And I can definitely refuel with my husband. But when there are a lot of people around, I have a hard time refueling and my energy is drained. And that doesn't mean that I don't love being with people, because I do. But this pattern I've noticed recently is that I have a hard time setting boundaries.
Dana Frost 10:44
When I'm in the midst of a bunch of people where my work is concerned, I just, I don't concentrate well, I don't work well, when there are a lot of other people around. So one of the things I learned is to give myself a time out. And I ended up calling these islands of respite. So an island a respite can be five minutes, where you put yourself you know, in a quiet room, and you just be quiet with yourself. Just give yourself a timeout, you know, at different times, it's looked like I'm going to do 15 minutes of legs up the wall, I'm going to sit in a specific pose that I know will restore myself, I'm going to use a purposeful breathing pattern that I know we'll restore myself just a little time out.
Dana Frost 11:33
So that I can refuel so that you can refuel. It's really amazing. But the thing is, you have to give yourself permission. And I just wasn't accustomed to doing that I had a wrong, wrongly held pattern or habit that, you know, when everybody's around, I needed to be in the mix with everybody. And if you will give yourself their permission for a timeout, it really can transform how you move through the holidays. So think about what are your normal self care strategies. Don't abandon them just because you have guests or you are a guest carve out time, and I promise you, you'll keep yourself properly fueled. Okay, now, if you have any questions about these, please don't hesitate to send me an email.
Dana Frost 12:22
Moving on to number two, I want to acknowledge that we change our eating habits during the holidays. And yes, I do as well. Celebrating almost always involves food. And I think that's a beautiful thing. I think food is beautiful. I think gathering around a table is fuels, not just our bodies, but also our hearts. And we all have favorite holiday foods. Now I approach these holidays by keeping on top of these practices. Typically, I will have a 14 hour fast from dinner until I eat I wait to eat in the morning until I'm hungry. I find that that's harder to do when the holidays are around because we're eating later in the evening, at least we are and so I you know just a regular or a 12 hour fast is pretty easy to do. It can be 8pm to 8pm or 10pm to 10pm or 7pm to 7pm it's pretty easy.
Dana Frost 13:21
You know that's not too hard to accommodate. But what it allows it allows your body to do the resting and resetting that it needs to do and allows your digestive system to really close down and reset when you give yourself that knightly 12 hour fast that allows your body to heal. So that 12 hour daily fast I think is a game changer as a daily practice during the holidays. The other thing is every time you eat and this is pretty much how I eat all the time anyway, but it's easy to get off the rails during the holidays. But it's really important each time you eat even if it's a snack to include fat fiber and protein. So that may might look like avocado, maybe you're doing vegetables and nuts. Avocado has a little bit of protein. It has the fat that you need. Your vegetables have fiber, the avocado has some fiber, you could add in some nuts for a little more protein. You could sprinkle it with hemp seeds or another seed. You could have some cheese involved in that snack It could mean a piece of fruit and nuts. And that would be your fat fiber protein. So every time you eat even you can do this as you're planning maybe appetizers to make sure you have fat fiber protein that is going to allow your body to efficiently digest your food. Okay.
Dana Frost 14:54
The other thing that is really important to pay attention to is pooping Every day you should be pooping once to three times a day. And make sure you're hydrated. It's very easy when we're in the holiday season to forget about hydration. And I'm highlighting it because it's so important. It's really going to help your energy levels it's going to help you move through your foods so that you are actually digesting and eliminating properly, it's going to help you while eliminating help you with your poop. It's just very important to stay hydrated. If you're drinking alcohol or more caffeine, typically we do have more caffeine and more alcohol during holidays.
Dana Frost 15:38
Hydration is even more important. So you want to make sure that you are hydrating. With liquids that are hydrating not dehydrating like alcohol or caffeine. You want to make sure that you have at least one half 50% of your body weight in ounces. I am typically drinking about 80 to 90 ounces a day and I weigh 130 Oh had like 134 is normally what I weigh. Okay, so acknowledge that we eat differently. We change their eating habits during the holidays. And that's okay. That's really a part of the celebration. But practice a 12 hour daily fast so your body can rest and heal on a daily basis. Make sure every time you eat, you're eating fat, fiber and protein. Make sure you're hydrated and make sure you are pooping at a minimum once a day. Hey, and if you aren't pooping once a day, I actually met a woman at the menopause event. And I had such a great time there. I had a booth with the patches and I had so many rich conversations. But I got into a conversation with this one woman about her health. And she was raised. Her mom told her it wasn't normal for women to poop. And so seriously, she only poops a couple times a month. So we had a long chat about that. And I said, Well, you know, why don't you start by hydration and doing a castor oil pack every day. Actually, she texted me and said that she did her first castor oil pack. So one for the win.
Dana Frost 17:19
Okay, let's move on to number three. Number three is a HeartMath tool. And it's called freeze frame. I use this all the time, but it's super helpful during the holidays when most people are more easily triggered when they're together with family. And I don't know why that is it just is and that's okay, let's get a tool so we don't panic and we know how to handle ourselves when we have triggers. This HeartMath tool is so very powerful. So step number one. Well, first of all, just I want you to begin heart focus breathing. But step number one acknowledge the problem, the feeling you have the attitude, the issue I want you to even if you have to whisper it out loud to yourself, there's something very powerful about vocalization. I want you to talk to yourself about the issue that you're experiencing what is the trigger. Step number two, focus your attention in the area of your heart.
Dana Frost 18:24
And imagine your breath is flowing in and out of your heart area. 360 degrees around your body. Breathe a little slower and deeper than usual. You can you know just do us a very gentle without forcing counting of the inhale. You could inhale. One, two, exhale, one, two. If you have the capacity to do an inhale to five and an exhale to five whatever rhythm is comfortable for you. Focus your attention on the area of your heart. Deepen your breathing, visualize that breath to flow to and from your heart center. Step number three, make a sincere attempt to experience a regenerative feeling such as appreciation or care for someone or something in your life. Offer some gratitude draw that up.
Dana Frost 19:17
Okay, so a feeling of appreciation or it could just be maybe you feel peace about something you feel proud, you feel excited, just some regenerative feeling and allow that to flow to and from your heart center. Step number four so this year we placed you in cart coherence with step number two and three. And from this more objective place, I want you to ask yourself what would be an efficient or effective attitude action or solution. My mentor mentioned this as you know her suggestion was call upon your higher self. And so from my perspective, this is what we're doing. We're calling upon our higher self to give us some insights. What is, you know what's going on here? And what's an effective solution? How can I see this differently? And listen, pay attention, what is your Higher Self saying to you?
Dana Frost 20:22
Step number five, quietly observe any subtle changes in perceptions, attitudes or feelings, and commit to sustaining this beneficial attitude shifts and acting on new insights. Freeze Frame is so powerful, it shifts you from a triggered state, which is fight and flight, which is sympathetic to parasympathetic, which is the state where we can heal, where we can actually have new perspective and shift something internally in a way that we can absorb those shifts and changes. So, Tip three, freeze frame. And this is all about acknowledging what the challenge is, what the trigger is. Getting yourself centered with heart focus, breathing, and the heart lock in which is calling up a regenerative feeling of appreciation or some other feeling. And allow that just to grow as you focus your attention on heart focus, breathing and from this coherence space. Ask yourself what you need to see and what is an effective or efficient solution. And then observe changes and perceptions, attitudes and feelings. These are very, very powerful.
Dana Frost 21:45
Tip number one, give yourself timeout. Give yourself permission for a timeout. Step number two, practice a daily 12 hour fast. Every time you eat include fat fiber protein, hydrate, and make sure you're pooping every day. And tip number three, freeze frame the HeartMath technique. Okay, so I would love to hear from you do these three tips land for you? Maybe you want to practice them? And then let me know I really it fuels me so much when you send me your perspective on the podcast what you hear me talking about. So yes, please just get in touch with me.
Dana Frost 22:25
So this is the end of this episode this week. Thank you for joining me if you know of someone who could benefit from this specific episode, please share it with them. And if you haven't already, if you're new to the show, subscribe, download. Please leave me a review. I'm still pushing for 100 reviews. I've been stuck at 63 So if you haven't left a review, please leave me Leave me a review. That would be a lovely holiday gift. I want you to know that I'm very excited about an upcoming episode where you are going to get to hear one woman's cancer journey. She went from limping along post double mastectomy to thriving because of the lifewave light therapy patches. You are not going to want to miss her story. Thank you for joining me this week. Until next time, I am streaming love from my heart to yours. Bye everybody.