The Greatest Secrets to Thriving in Women’s Health: Mindset, Movement, and Metabolism
In this episode, Dr. Cassie Smith, a functional endocrinologist, dives into the crucial role mental health plays in women’s wellness, especially during menopause. She’s joined by Jana Danielson, an award-winning wellness entrepreneur and the founder of Bloom Better. Jana opens up about her personal journey of overcoming physical pain and highlights the importance of a holistic approach to health, which includes focusing on mindset, movement, and metabolic health. Together, they discuss how mental health affects women’s lives, the importance of self-care, and the strength found in community support. The episode encourages women to embrace their health journeys with openness and mindfulness.
Relevant timestamps:
(00:01:04) From Pain to Empowerment: Jana Danielson’s Inspiring Journey
(00:03:06) Unmasking the Silent Struggle: Mental Health and Women
(00:05:25) The Healing Power of Mindset
(00:10:00) Gratitude: The Secret to a Happier Life
(00:15:33) The Triple Threat: Mindset, Movement, and Metabolism.
(00:20:50) Hydration: The Elixir of Life
(00:24:18) Breaking Free from the Comparison Trap
(00:30:25) Embrace Your Body: A Journey of Curiosity
(00:39:13) Movement and Mental Health: A Dynamic Duo
(00:43:43) Movement: Nature’s Prescription for Well-being
Cassie info and links:
Check out the website
Follow Cassie on Instagram
Follow Cassie on Facebook
Follow Cassie on YouTube
Follow Cassie on TikTok
Guest info and links:
Full Transcript
0:01 it’s Dr Cassie Smith and welcome to back to the basics a simple approach to
0:06 Health in the modern world I appreciate you taking the time to join me today and hopefully learn ways that could help you
0:12 improve your health the modern world has left little time to focus on health and wellness I hope to give you some quick
0:18 and simple ways to be well and live your best life welcome back to this week’s episode of back to the basics this
0:25 episode today is so packed full of things that everyone needs to know I am in interviewing Jana Danielson she’s an
0:32 award-winning Wellness entrepreneur who transformed her personal struggle with physical pain into a mission to elevate
0:39 women through self- Lov and empowerment in this episode we talk about some amazing things but we really focus on
0:45 how mental health is affecting so many women and affecting their mood and
0:51 affecting how they feel about themselves and causing them to become ill and then how women take those illnesses and those
0:57 ailments and they become those so how it is affecting women being able to function and do their job and she makes
1:04 some very powerful points about our thoughts and our mind and how those things affect you she talks how talk she
1:12 talks about how we should you know how we can heal ourselves and how we can become lighthouses for other people just
1:18 very powerful stuff she is a the founder of CEO of Bloom better she’s the founder
1:24 and CEO of blo better um which is something that she created she helps women discover their sacred cell and
1:30 integrate physical wellness with mental and emotional health and she focuses on mastering mindset movement and
1:36 metabolism and so she’s going to explain to us why mindset movement and Metabolism how they all go together and
1:42 how when you actually fix your mindset and you fix your movement that can fix your metabolism so again how a lot of us
1:48 are focused on how we exercise and how long we exercise and how maybe that’s not the part of the garden that we need
1:54 to be weeding she is a Pilates Master instructor she’s a certified Pilates
1:59 instructor a certified well well a certified weight loss specialist and an Amazon international bestselling author
2:06 she created the bo the coach ball and the world’s per first pelvic floor
2:11 Fitness tool for women she’s also pioneered in the mindset space and she
2:16 launched this emotional intelligence AI app called Orchid which she’s going to tell us about fascinating app so I’m
2:23 getting it myself in 2023 she got the Mind Sher Leadership Summit future of
2:29 Health the word she’s having she’s coached thousands of women globally and she continues to inspire and guide them
2:35 towards enhancing their quality of life their confidence and their impact her work proves that women when women invest
2:42 in their health they invest in their power to change the world this is one of the one of my favorite episodes I’ve
2:47 done in a really long time so let’s hear what she has to tell us welcome to this
2:54 Summit hormones and mental health overcoming Anxiety depression and ADHD and women I’m your host Dr Cassie Smith
3:00 I’m a functional endocrinologist and today I have Janet Danielson she’s an
3:07 award-winning Wellness entrepreneur transformed her personal struggle with
3:12 physical pain into a mission to elevate women through self-love and empowerment as founder and CEO of Bloom better she
3:19 helps women discover their their selves by integrating physical wellness with mental and emotional health focusing on
3:27 mastering mindset movement and metabolism she was a Pilates Master
3:32 instructor she is a Pilates Master instructor certified Pilates instructor certified weight loss specialist and
3:39 Amazon international bestselling author Jana created the coach the Kush ball the
3:45 world’s first pelvic floor Fitness tool for women she’s also a Pioneer in the mindset space thanks to the launch of
3:52 her emotional intelligence AI app called Orchid which we were just talking about and so she’s going to talk to us about
3:58 that she was the recipient of the 2023 mind share leaders mind share Leadership
4:04 Summit future of Health award which is a big deal I was at M share in September
4:10 um she’s having she’s coached hundreds and hundreds of thousands of women globally and she continues to inspire
4:16 and guide them towards enhanced quality of life confidence and impact her work
4:21 proves that when women invest in their health they invest in their power to change the world so thank you for
4:27 joining me today hi Cassie so we were talking right before this
4:33 about some really cool stuff and so I think um you know if you’re watching this Summit hopefully you’re watching it
4:40 because we wanted to talk about some of the things in menopause that maybe don’t get as much um attention as they should
4:48 so anxiety depression ADHD just like the mental aspect that goes with with menopause and these are very
4:55 real um symptoms that can affect your life right and so a lot of times
5:01 unfortunately in medicine the treatment for that is here’s a prescription and my
5:06 problem with that is that there is not a Xanax deficiency there’s not a Zoloft
5:12 deficiency there are not medication deficiencies that cause this this is all things that we really need to address
5:19 and like you said like mindset we really need to address mindset and we really need to address like what is causing
5:25 this now hormone imbalance can cause this but there are other things and so you were saying to me and I just want to
5:31 kind of start with that because it was like mic drop you were saying to me you know you think that with with mindset
5:37 you know people say it’s important but nobody really does it and you were telling me something about about the thoughts that we have and so why don’t
5:44 we just start with that because I think that was very power I think um I think what’s important to kind of Kick this
5:50 off is that you know for myself at 51 years old I feel like I am you know Head
5:58 and Shoulders in a better space than I was when I was 21 years old right at 21 years old I would go to bed literally
6:05 with 11 different medication bottles on my nightstand and I would wake up and see those 11 bottles literally I was
6:12 told by my doctor that the pain I was experiencing was in my head and that I was seeking attention and that’s when
6:17 the shift for me happened was literally 30 years ago and so I went into a
6:24 depression I was newly engaged finished my degree and didn’t know what my life would be like and it wasn’t until I
6:30 found Pilates that I actually healed myself in four months that I had this
6:36 big aha moment about the body about health and wellness our mind how it
6:41 impacts every cell in our body and I realized that going to bed looking at
6:48 those 11 bottles of medication and waking up and looking at those 11 bottles of medication were was actually
6:54 a big deal in what was making me ill and so through my learning over the last 30 7:01 years and you know working with many many women we become our ailments we
7:06 become our inability to drop weight we become our sleepless nights we become
7:12 our incontinence right we become that and when I would meet with women they would they would talk about they
7:17 wouldn’t almost sometimes even get tell me their name before they started going through the grocery list of what was
7:23 going on in their body right and so understanding and and this is from Dr
7:28 Joe dispenza’s work and this is what really gave me Clarity and confidence with what you were just saying we pay
7:34 lip service to this mindset but here’s the thing we would rather live in our familiar past than step into a new
7:43 version of ourselves in an unfamiliar future and he backs this up by saying we
7:48 have every single day 60 to 70,000 thoughts that’s a lot of thoughts but
7:54 here’s the kicker of those 60 to 70,000 thoughts 80 to 90% of them are the same
8:02 as the thoughts we had yesterday and last week and last month and last year
8:10 so we might consciously be craving change right like that we just want it
8:16 so badly and we do all the things we think we need to do we eat the right
8:22 food we do our 10,000 steps we get our morning sunshine we you know we drink
8:28 our water all of that is going to be minimized the impact will be minimized
8:35 if those voices in our head that are subconscious we don’t know they’re happening it’s like a movie playing over
8:42 and over and over if that continues to happen change long-term change becomes a
8:50 pipe dream and then you hear women and I’m sure in your office you hear them say like i’ I’ve just I’ve fallen off
8:55 the wagon right i’ that metaphor of of being on a wagon off the wag wagon I
9:00 just there’s no wagon there’s no wagon right there is understanding how
9:07 powerful your thoughts are your thoughts become your actions they do your actions
9:14 become your character your character becomes you know how you live your life and one thing I don’t think a lot of
9:20 women know is that the brain doesn’t discern between success and gratitude so if we employ a simple
9:27 gratitude um Str y getting up in the morning what are the three things you’re grateful for speak them out loud think
9:35 them in your mind even that can start to shift us so you know that’s how I wanted to kick this conversation off is that we
9:43 have so much power as women and I feel like so many of us are actually walking
9:49 around this planet numb sleeping settling for a life because we
9:56 were told or conditioned that this is what happens when you hit menopause so you’re just supposed to you know deal
10:03 with it accept it and um you know hopefully it’s not that bad but ladies
10:10 I’m here to tell you that that actually is not that belief system does not serve us any
10:15 longer yeah I completely agree that’s one of the like I worked on that last year but that’s my big thing this year
10:22 is like being present in the moment I feel like so many people are just numb right like they wake up with this list
10:27 and it’s like I must do this and this and this and this and even and I thought of this last last year so I have a
10:34 trainer I work out with a trainer now and I realized when I go work out with my trainer because when I’m with him
10:39 versus when I’m not it’s like he’s got this like set of activities for me to do right like I’m going to do these exercises this many times and this many
10:46 reps I was just doing it and just like doing it with like just mindlessly doing it and but when I worked out by myself I
10:53 was like oh contract my muscle like I’m just more I don’t know present and
10:59 um it’s it changes like so much when you’re actually present you’re not just
11:05 like I almost used my workout as like a check off list like everything else we do right um but when you’re actually
11:11 present in the moment doing it it’s just different and like you feel different you’re everything’s different and so I I
11:18 think that a lot of people unfortunately like you said we’re in this world where
11:24 it’s like you have so many things to do every day and you’re trying to get through this like your medicines you had to get through all 11 of those medicines
11:30 that you just become numb and it’s like when you’re numb like that and when you’re not grateful and when you’re not
11:36 happy then you’re depressed then you’re anxious because you have all these things you need to do then when you
11:42 actually need to sit down and focus on something and do it you can’t and you feel like you have ADHD and you need
11:47 Aderall or whatever because it’s not that you can’t focus it’s that your brain is like I’m done like you’re
11:53 there’s too much going on right and we just don’t listen to those cues at all
11:59 like no no and you know I think while we’re like kind of deconstructing this there’s
12:06 a really important um emotion that we all experience the emotion of Shame
12:13 right and I think that that’s for some women that is like their modus operandi here’s something I learned maybe about
12:18 three or four years ago from a women’s health perspective and it actually that was a mic drop moment for me so the main
12:25 nerve that runs from our brain to our p Flor and genitals in both a man’s body
12:31 and a woman’s body okay both both sexes have this nerve it’s called the pudendal nerve all right the pudendal nerve is a
12:37 motor nerve so it sends messages um you know it’s time to go to the bathroom so
12:43 the pelvic floor relaxes um it’s time to pick up a heavy weight the pelvic floor contract so it’s
12:49 it’s a messaging center but it also is a sensory nerve which which means it’s a it’s a feeling nerve so everything from
12:55 pleasure through through pain is also running through the pudendal nerve well if you were to Google what is the Latin
13:02 root of the word pudendal do you know what pops up what pops up is an area of
13:09 shame that is the Latin root of the word pudendal for this nerve that connects
13:15 our brain to the most beautiful part of our body our it’s like this beautiful magic cauldron in a woman’s body where
13:22 life if a woman chooses that’s where life is created right um we hold a lot
13:27 of stress and tension there and to know that we are actually born into this
13:33 world with the energy and frequency of shame in and around our pelvis from a
13:40 women’s health perspective from a per menopause and menopause perspective that’s a pretty big deal and so just
13:47 understanding that you know it’s not just it’s not just you it’s not just you that you know holds tension and and
13:54 squeezes and there’s there’s fear and there’s anger and there’s shame in that area it literally is all of us and the
14:00 first piece that has to happen to move through that is understanding that it’s actually there yeah that’s crazy it’s
14:08 very true I think you know I I take care of a lot of people just like you and to your point a lot of them come in and
14:14 I’ll introduce myself hi I’m Dr Cassie are you fill in the blank yes and they
14:21 just immediately like attack you with I’ve been tired for this long I like they want to come at you with like I
14:27 like to start the conversation with know nice to meet you what do you do for a living like try to kind of get to know
14:33 them and 95% of the time it’s just like this word vomit of like the here are all
14:38 my here are all my issues right here all my issues fix me and it’s like I like to try to start on a positive note because
14:45 I always want to know like well what do you do for a living what makes you happy what you know like what drives you like I try to that usually doesn’t happen and
14:53 it it’s interesting because and maybe you know maybe it’s because they think well I’m coming to you and you know I
14:59 don’t know but it is interesting that we all like you said we become our ailments
15:05 right it’s not like because I take care of I take care of some very high functioning phenomenal women and I mean
15:13 they do a lot of cool things in this world and all they want to talk about are these you know like oh I’m I’m I’m
15:19 five pounds overweight or you know I can’t sleep right but I’m like but you do all these things to change the world
15:25 you know and so it is I think it’s this mindset is so important like you said U
15:30 mindset movement all of this is so important it actually and Metabolism these things help shape your mental
15:38 health at any point in your life but especially when your hormones are changing so much and like you said
15:44 there’s this lip service given to mindset where people are like oh you should have a good mindset but then like
15:50 nothing is you know nothing is done and mental health is very undervalued in this country um you know it’s almost
15:57 like a stigma if you see a therapist like I’m very open that I see a therapist every week it’s the best day
16:02 of the week it’s on Thursdays at 5:00 I look forward to it every Thursday I’ve seen her for a long time but then some
16:08 people I mean I’ve had people literally say to me well why do you see a therapist every week you don’t need to see a you know and it’s like but you do
16:15 like you need to process things you need to so it’s interesting um so so how do
16:23 you define like mindset movement metabolic Health like how can you explain exp these to like individuals
16:31 and like how do these things help with mental health yeah so when you think
16:37 about um you know alone M working on your mindset will impact your mental
16:43 health moving your body will impact your your your health um understanding I mean
16:49 metabolic health I if we would have been doing this chat 12 months ago I don’t think we would have been using the word
16:56 metabolic Health like we do now I think that has gotten a really big boost over 2024 and so just to help women
17:03 understand that you know from the from the metabolic health or the metabolism perspective I think we’ve come to
17:08 believe that you know we think that when we’re young our metabolism is high and we can burn fat quickly and when we age
17:15 and get into you know menopause metabolism slows but at its very basic definition you know metabolism truly is
17:23 how efficient is your body at taking energy from food and converting it into
17:29 energy for your cells because when your cells have energy to do their job they are going to serve you at the highest
17:35 form right so when you are doing your meditation going to your yoga you know
17:40 doing your prayer and those mindset strategies you can gain more clarity and
17:46 confidence when you move your body in in whatever way you love to do you will gain more clarity and confidence when you understand like I said morning
17:52 sunlight making sure you’re hydrated you will get clarity and confidence but here’s the beautiful thing what I found
17:58 with the women in my Community is that like if we were braiding our hair with those three strands mindset movement and
18:05 Metabolism when you braid them together all of a sudden they amplify each other
18:13 and you start to realize that when you are out for your walk that maybe you
18:18 want to pull your headphones off and just listen to The Sounds or smell the air because you’re dialing into being
18:25 more present which is part of the mindset kind of recipe right that you
18:30 like you said when you’re working out on your own you are focusing on what does that feel oh what does my glute feel
18:36 like when I do that same thing when you’re walking can you feel your glute you know the number one reason event
18:42 that people go from Independent Living to assisted living is because they can’t get up and off the toilet well guess
18:48 what ladies that is a squat right that is a squat um position and so when we
18:56 understand and try and plant these seeds for what am I doing this I am doing this
19:01 am I doing this for a size on my pants yes maybe that’s one of the outcomes but
19:07 what about that longevity that we all strive for like I think back to when I
19:12 was young and would go to my parents my great aunts 50th wedding anniversary or
19:18 50th birthday parties these women in a very respectful way looked old they
19:24 Dressed old their body moved right and I’m like she that’s me I’m 51 right I
19:31 don’t I don’t feel that I don’t you know I I still want to out plank my kids and so when you bring these pillars together
19:38 and understand like I said how they optimize each other it’s kind of like putting fuel on the fire and we are so
19:46 conditioned to want to see an outcome we want to see something different we want
19:51 to see maybe less of that double chin or we want to see that tummy change or we want to get a full night’s sleep so we
19:57 don’t have a bunch of puffy bags under our eyes but here’s the thing is when we get so focused on being outcom driven we
20:06 miss the beautiful learning that happens in the process of trying to reach those
20:11 outcomes so that’s where a lot of women you know get very frustrated is when we’re outcome driven then you get the
20:19 women like you do in your clinic Cassie is I need your help doing this can you fix me versus here’s how I can support
20:26 you here are you know your daily I call Habits in rituals those are chosen
20:32 actions that boost your life they’re like the superheroes of habits in rituals well when I pick up my bottle of
20:39 water and take a sip because I know that my brain is going to get hydrated first
20:44 my vital organs are going to get hydrated second and my joints are going to get hydrated last my FAS is going to
20:51 get hydrated last if I got a little knee issue going on and want to heal that you better believe that I’m going to be
20:56 dialed in and committed to getting hydrated because because I know how my body is using that hydration ladies
21:03 there is absolute power in this education that you are getting in this
21:08 Summit um with Dr Cassie and there’s going to be so much information it’s not
21:14 all going to stick the first time and that’s why it’s important I feel like when you have these moments of learning
21:20 to take advantage of them what is resonating and what resonates actually becomes learning you’re going to start
21:25 living that information and then we pass it on to others and that’s when it becomes that women’s wisdom that I feel
21:32 like we just gloss over and I also feel like we’re returning to that again so
21:38 that’s where the mindset the movement and the metabolic Health all intersect
21:43 in this beautiful way to give us the longevity that we are craving yeah I like that I think a lot
21:50 of people are outcome driven very outen especially like high functioning women
21:56 and so they don’t Focus on the journey and the learning they focus on the outcomes and then that you know it’s
22:03 kind of like I say this sometimes uh living in the the gain instead of the
22:08 Gap so coach Michael B talks a lot about this I used to live in The Gap my whole
22:14 life and it was exhausting it was like it didn’t matter what I did there was always more to do right and that’s
22:21 everyone like it doesn’t matter what you do you never I I I personally don’t believe that there’s a single human in
22:27 this planet that goes to bed every every night and thinks oh I got everything I wanted to accomplish today it’s so good
22:33 for you like awesome but what we forget is all the things we actually did get
22:38 done so I used to go to bed very anxious thinking like oh my gosh I didn’t get those two things done today that I
22:44 really wanted to do negating the fact that I got a hundred other things done that were really important because I am
22:50 very good at prioritizing by importance right so if I don’t get something done it’s something that like just did not
22:56 have to be done and it has to be done I’ll get it done and most people are like that like if it’s something that’s
23:01 going to affect you living breathing you know your children something like you’re going to get it done those other things
23:07 that you don’t get done a lot of times you may put pressure on yourself but it’s not something that necessarily has to get done but I think a lot of people
23:13 lay down at night to the point of these symptoms we’re talking about depression anxiety insomnia some of you people
23:20 listening to this that have these you’re the people who lay down at night and go oh my gosh I still have five things on
23:25 my to-do list I didn’t get done and oh my gosh let me roll over and put another one that just popped into my head instead of thinking like oh my gosh I
23:32 got all my children fed today I got them all to school we did their homework I made sure everyone had a nutritious
23:37 dinner I got my job done I did some laundry I you know like all the things that you actually did do to make the
23:43 world go around um you know or maybe you’re in a later stage of your life where you’re not dealing with kids but I got all this stuff done at work and I
23:50 made sure that I dropped my husband’s clothes off at the dry cleaner and I made sure he had dinner and you know I took myself to the gym like all these
23:56 things you get done you just like I don’t know forget that I don’t don’t give yourself credit for that it’s just
24:02 like on your checklist to do and I think that’s a lot of the problem too and so then your mindset is always You’re not
24:08 good enough you didn’t get enough done you know and so then that when you have that negative mindset and I want you to
24:14 talk to this that drives the anxiety and depression right like and then the other
24:20 thing that I hate that a lot I think a lot of women are in this toxic culture right now I had this conversation with
24:25 somebody yesterday I to the gym this lady this particular person works out every single
24:31 day I go to the gym every single day I lift every single day at least 20 sometimes 40 minutes but I don’t do
24:38 enough cardio I only do like 20 minutes of cardio every day and I’m like dear God you work out like three times more
24:43 than I do you know so it’s just like it’s never enough no matter what we do and I think some of that is society some
24:49 of that is social media some of that is just I don’t know do we just naturally compare ourselves to other people or do
24:56 we just hold ourselves like are we always harder on oursel I don’t know can you talk to some of that yeah absolutely
25:03 you know I just I created this what’s in and what’s out for you know mindset movement and metabolic Health this list
25:09 that I made for what’s out for 2020 or what’s what’s what’s so 2024 and what’s so 2025 and this was exactly you know
25:16 part of the pieces of my list that we live in this comparison culture right
25:21 there’s always going to be someone who is looks to be
25:29 doing it better they are they drive a better car they have a better house the relationship with their husband seems
25:35 better they have a better job there’s always going to be that and that’s why I put comparison culture on my what’s out
25:41 for 2024 um I also put on that list that
25:46 believing that Fitness includes a puddle of sweat on the floor every single day
25:53 or it’s not worth it um I had on there in my what’s in l
25:59 I had things like restorative movement and I’m a big proponent of this so I
26:06 created something with the cooch ball and scooch ball that I that I have called terrain Fitness all right and so
26:11 if you think of your body as a garden well let’s do that let’s just let’s just come with me on this little journey okay
26:17 our body is a garden there are some Gardens you know think about um you know
26:22 seeing different Gardens that are just covered with weeds right they are neglected
26:28 and you maybe you see some flowers popping through or you know you see some vegetables that were planted popping
26:35 through but obviously you know neglected um even if there is optimal sunshine and
26:41 optimal rainfall those weeds are going to be suffocating the fruits and vegetables that are trying to flourish
26:47 in that Garden okay um on the other hand there might be a garden that is
26:55 meticulous right meticulous but maybe that meticulous Garden has an owner that
27:01 is using toxic spray to get rid of the weed so that we don’t even see the weeds
27:07 and we walk by and we think oh my gosh look at how amazing that Garden is but we don’t understand what’s going on
27:13 underneath and the long-term implications of that strategy right and
27:19 then there’s a garden that we see that we’re like huh okay getting optimal sunlight getting optimal rainfall you
27:26 know we see you know we see the the the potatoes you know starting to bloom
27:31 maybe we see the raspberry bushes with fruit on them and yeah maybe there are some weeds in between that I I love to
27:39 use that metaphor because our body truly is a garden and fitness is one little
27:47 sliver of that formula and so Dr amyia
27:54 pigan uses this uses this term for trauma so she defines trauma as too much
28:00 too soon or too little for too long all right like what a beautiful definition too much too soon or too little for too
28:07 long ladies that is all of us we have all experienced that whether it’s been
28:14 you know going through our our schooling whatever level high school college
28:19 postdoctorate there’s lots going on whether you chose to become a mom I mean the physicality of growing a baby
28:26 delivering a baby you know nurturing in a baby um the relationships we have you
28:31 know we might we might not always be in the same city as our family and and being able to not have those hugs for so
28:38 long I know our middle son is a big big hugger right and so when he comes home from college he loves that physical
28:46 touch aspect of it and so too much exercise that is too intense so instead
28:53 of like I said in my terrain Fitness World laying on your cooch ball and doing some breast release doing some you
28:59 know lymphatic work to make sure that that lymphatic fluid is moving that it’s our body’s garbage disposal system can
29:07 work wonders imagine a body that is being worked out every single day we are
29:14 going to put ourselves literally into that state of cortisol Spike the body
29:19 thinks we’re in danger because we are it’s wondering what the hell are we training for what when’s the when’s the
29:26 big fight coming or when you know when is threat coming because we must be training for something really major to
29:32 happen we don’t allow ourselves to think you know if a lot of women will be like
29:37 should I go and do cardio or should I go to my yoga class nine out of 10 of those a type personalities will choose the
29:44 cardio the hard run the high-intensity interval training over that yoga class or that pilates class because they’ll
29:51 quickly do the math in their head and they’ll think well I’m going to get way more out of the 60 minutes running
29:56 because they physically get sweaty and their heart rate goes up but for most of us what we actually need is that 60 30:04 Minutes on a mat diaphragmatically breathing getting that main muscle of respiration shifting us into a
30:11 parasympathetic mode getting the diaphragm to start to talk to the pelvic floor because they’re upstairs and
30:16 downstairs neighbors taking in 600% more oxygen when we’re breathing that way
30:21 right like that’s truly what our body is craving and because we didn’t come with
30:27 an owner’s manual for the different phases of our life we just subscribe to
30:32 what others are doing and that we are aspiring to that recipe or that recipe
30:38 and so bio individuality the N of one like imagine that you are back in your
30:44 grade 10 biology class and it is your day for your lab you are your lab ladies
30:50 like what happens when I exchange two cardio sessions for you know a breath
30:59 work class and some meditation what happens after four weeks let me let me
31:04 commit to this short term and see what happens right what happens when I get my feet on the ground or my morning
31:10 sunlight within half an hour of waking up how does that help to reset my circadian rhythm at
31:17 night these you know I I feel like if I could invite
31:23 one one thing for the women in your audience Cassie is I want to invite you to be curious about
31:30 your body like what return find a picture of yourself at six years old or seven years
31:37 old or eight years old ask yourself would that six-year-old version of yourself like go hard or go home every
31:45 single day no there’s some days where she’s going to be rambunctious there’s going to be some days where she’s just
31:50 going to want to play house and there’s going to be some days where she’s going to want to read a book and there’s going to be some days right and so why why in
31:58 our 40 and 50 and 60 year old selves don’t we honor that Curiosity anymore
32:04 that’s one of the major things that was on my in for 2025 is the
32:12 restorative curiosity about our mind our body and our soul and watch watch and
32:19 feel what starts to happen to yourself when you reframe a lot of the
32:28 those belief systems that were promoted to us right the no pain no gain how
32:33 often did we hear that calories in calories out I just got to burn more calories than what I take in and the scale should tell me you know the
32:39 outcome no actually not what about macros what about how much protein you’re taking in how many like what what
32:46 are your what’s your good fat profile look like what so this is this is the
32:51 Curiosity and this is what like I said Summits like yours offer women is huh I
32:57 didn’t know that or you know talking to your sister you know what I just heard on the summit have you ever heard that
33:03 that’s the Curiosity the spark that I feel like events like this gift women in
33:09 your audience yeah and what’s so cool about you saying this is so I’m a huge advocate and proponent for weightlifting
33:16 everyone that listens to myself knows this I was honestly last year lifting weights pretty heavy weights probably 5 33:23 days a week sometimes six I don’t do a lot of cardio I might get on stare climber for 10 or 15 minutes but a lot
33:30 of Weights because last year I was like I really want to put on some muscle MKS the end of last year I felt so terrible
33:37 my trainer could even tell he was like what is wrong with you and I’m like I don’t know I’m just tired like my body’s tired I don’t and so I decided I went on
33:45 vacation last week I barely lifted weights my husband was even like are you okay I lifted weights maybe two days but
33:51 the days that I lifted I felt really good and I did a lot of walking and I do yoga occasionally it’s hard for me to
33:58 shut my my mind on off but when I do it I love it and I did Pilates one day never done Pilates embarrassed to tell
34:04 you that never done Pilates I did a reformer pilates class it was the cool coolest coolest thing like I loved it I
34:11 was like a little kid in a candy store and so when we came back I told my husband and I told my trainer who’s not
34:17 very happy with me I said I’m going to work out with you one day a week for the next two months and he was like what because I’ve been working out with them
34:22 five days a week I said I’m going to work out with you on Mondays and I am going to go to yoga two days a week and
34:28 I’m going go to pilates at least one day a week I might go two and I don’t know what else I’m going to do but I’m just going to do that because I feel like I
34:33 need something different and so I will tell you that this week it’s Wednesday now I’ve lifted weights one day I went
34:39 to yoga I’m going to go to pilat state like and I’m just going to see so it’s interesting that you said that because I
34:45 don’t know because I just felt like I was at this point where I was tired and I was like I told you I I was lifting weights but I wasn’t really present and
34:51 I wasn’t really and to your point I’m in this busy point of my life where like I I have a lot of stuff going on I’m
34:57 trying to finish my book I’m trying to make this course I just and so I think I need that restorative like hour time to
35:04 just relax and just like I don’t know mindfully do something else because I do
35:09 have muscle I mean I don’t have you know too much but I have muscle so maybe to your point I need to get rid of some of
35:14 these pesticide weeds things you know I need to work on some of that as opposed to building muscle and so it’s kind of
35:20 cool that you said that because I’m sitting here thinking like that’s exactly and I and I actually felt guilty when I texted him and he kind of made me
35:28 feel guilty when he texted me back about like what you don’t want to you know and so I I have had this like man I feel bad
35:34 because I probably should be working that more I probably should but then when you just said like you need to rewrite your own owner’s manual like
35:40 maybe I shouldn’t feel bad though because maybe my body is telling me like I need more of that restorative like
35:45 time because I’m stressed out all day right I take care of people all day I’m five minutes behind all day some days I
35:50 get to eat lunch some days I don’t like so it’s okay for me to want to go sit in a on a mat and breathe for an hour and
35:57 just not be stressed like I think that’s okay you know I think that’s a beautiful thing and you know you’re what you’re
36:03 doing Cassie is you’re actually listening to your to your woman’s wisdom to your to your body your body is communicating with you and what most
36:10 women don’t do is you’re listening to it now it’s maybe not whispering it might
36:15 be like a little bit of a you know in a quiet voice but most women well that’s
36:20 what I was going to say is most women wait till till she’s screaming which maybe that’s what’s happening with you and the beautiful thing about the
36:26 movement that you’re inviting into your body is going to optimize everything
36:33 you’re doing with your weight so your weightlifting is concentric movement right like those muscles are getting shorter and longer and shorter and
36:38 longer in response to a load at the end of a lever it’s it’s simple physics right but now with your yoga and your
36:44 Pilates what you’re going to be working is the muscles are going to be working opposite to concentric which is that
36:50 Ecentric or Ecentric way so you’re going to be working your muscle fibers through a lengthened position through a range of
36:56 motion so now your joints are going to get yummy love the range of motion is going to be improved I bet you you’re
37:02 going to see you should make like I would take I would take some photos um you know maybe take a few measurements
37:08 just just to do a little nof one experiment with your own body and then in 12 weeks from now let’s see you know
37:15 how you’re feeling how you’re sleeping what your body looks like because what I have known with the women that I’ve
37:21 worked with who have been in that must Li weights must run my five miles a day
37:27 and then we do a little bit of a shift which includes some fascia release lymphatic work um diaphragmatic
37:34 breathing they will actually release and it’s not necessarily fat but it’s the inflammation they’ve been holding on to
37:40 because their body’s been in this inflammatory State trying to keep up with everything our prefrontal cortex
37:48 CEO has been telling the body no we got to do it got to do it more more more right they actually start to release a
37:54 lot of the weight through the middle we start to see their mental health improve
37:59 because again we are a society of like outcomes for sure so when we can shift
38:06 the process and then the outcomes start to happen then that CEO is like huh look
38:11 at that I didn’t know that doesn’t make sense we didn’t work we’re supposed to work harder for those outcomes not
38:18 different so it’s not necessarily working easier or less you’re just working different so good on you I’m
38:24 excited I want to keep tabs and see how you feel over these next few months yeah and like I told you I’m going to this
38:30 Yoga Retreat at the end of February with these people who I’m assuming are like huge yoga like I’ve done yoga very
38:37 minimal times I can barely touch my toes and so to your point it’s very awkward when I do do yoga I have a friend who
38:43 owns a yoga studio and I’ll go and I like to like be in the very corner and hope nobody’s looking at me but at the
38:48 same time like I told myself the other day when I went I was like you know what I don’t really care I don’t care if people can see like I don’t I’m here I’m
38:54 breathing so like I kind of closed my eyes the last time I went because normally I’m like looking around you know and there are people doing
39:00 headstands and all this crazy stuff and I’m like God I can’t even touch my toes but the last time I went I was like I’m
39:05 just going to close my eyes the whole time I’m not going to open my eyes and I’m just G to like and I felt my body
39:10 like just kind of like it was weird just like release and then I was like I could almost touch my toes and like it just
39:16 throughout it was more comfortable and so to your point I think I haven’t done it because I’m uncomfortable and when I went to that pilates class super
39:23 uncomfortable all these like skinny little ballerina people doing all this crazy stuff I can’t do at all but the instructor was really nice and she was
39:29 like oh you’re doing great but I actually really liked it so I’m going to do it although it’s uncomfortable and
39:35 it’s kind of weird and I’m not but to your point I realized I needed to do it because you know my thought was like
39:41 I’ll take any of you people on this yoga matter at this pilates class let’s go deadlift like I could probably murder you I can’t touch my toes like that’s a
39:49 problem you know like so I probably need to work on that right like I need to stress I need to so I’m actually kind of
39:56 excited and I’m kind of getting to that age where thankfully I don’t care what people think anymore I’m over it um I
40:01 think when you get into social media you just get over it too you have to real quickly because people are real nice with their comment sometimes but um yeah
40:09 so I’m kind of excited to see what happens I’m very that’s my goal for 2025 with you I’m out with the like this is
40:16 what everyone else does this is a I’m very I promis myself this year I’m going to listen to my gut I’m G to be in tune
40:21 with myself I’m G to be nicer to myself so to your point I’m G to get rid of some of these like weeds
40:27 yes and so I think that’s very important that people realize that and so when you
40:32 do like you’re talking about the benefits with weight when you move your body and you do all these things but what benefits do you see as far as like
40:39 mental health with people do you see that the movement in the exercise and all of these things do they actually
40:44 help their anxiety do they help their depression how long does it take like what are some of the things that you see
40:50 yeah so you know it can be the length of time it takes before someone sees or
40:56 feels a difference obviously is very individual but here’s what I know is that the more vulnerable you can be to
41:03 allow that guard to your point of going to your yoga class and not being able to touch your toes you did something just
41:11 innately Cassie that I tell all of my women close your eyes get rid of the
41:16 visual stimulation go inside your body and feel the movement Dr Joe dispenza
41:23 talks about that the F he this I love this statement because he says thoughts
41:28 are the language of our mind and feelings are the language of the body and when there is a disconnect between
41:35 our thoughts and our feelings so I’ll give you an example of just to make that more clear you’re in line at the grocery
41:41 store you’re you know you’re in the checkout line the clerk says to you how’s your day what’s our Cann answer
41:47 good fine how’s yours good having a great good day how’s yours right in that moment if you are in a state of
41:54 depression or anxiety and you are you know your stomach is in knots you’re
42:00 you’re maybe having a bit of a even a hot flash in that moment you feel your armpit sweaty um you feel you know it’s
42:07 it’s it’s a challenge to take big breaths what’s going on in your body are
42:12 all these little messages like no you’re not you’re not good like look at you’re
42:19 guts and Knots you’re squeezing your butt with all this tension you have you have a a killer headache all you want to
42:25 do is open this bag of Doritos instead of going home to cook a nice meal right so there’s this inner dialogue between
42:31 your mind and your body that’s like you’re lying you’re not good so we when we understand that inner dialogue that
42:38 thoughts are the language of our mind and feelings are the language of our body we don’t want to change that but
42:46 what if we lived a little less here or started here but then closed our eyes
42:52 and you know maybe you just got off a phone call with your mother-in-law or maybe you just got a call from the school or something at work and you’re
42:59 here in your head Vibe what if you just took a second and went in your where do I feel that where do I feel that is my
43:07 heart feeling like a raisin is my gut in knots and feel it and acknowledge it so
43:15 when people come in and start moving their body it’s like they have this canvas and some canvases are like a um
43:23 you know like a paint splatter they’re all over the place some canvas are completely white not even a drop of
43:29 paint some are being very meticulously and trying you know we’re we’re controlling what the outcome is oh gez
43:36 that line was too thick I got to fix that now so movement can become movement
43:41 is medicine in itself because especially when you can go within especially when you can get off the treadmill get the
43:48 headset out lay with yourself putting on you know some sort of you know a there’s
43:56 these amazing free frequency type playlists you can get off Spotify that have healing frequencies or abundance
44:02 frequency um and as uncomfortable as it might be or as what is the point of this
44:10 as it might be there is there’s Beauty in that because like I said earlier we
44:15 live in this state of sympathetic nervous system where the body is preparing for war and that actually that
44:22 system it’s it keeps Us Alive because in those moments when we do need to get the heck out of a
44:30 space because there is danger you know our our thirst mechanism gets um shut
44:36 off our hunger gets shut off our our heart pumps blood to our extremities so we can physically get out of an unsafe
44:43 situation the issue has become that we live in that modus operandi the the the
44:50 Sabertooth tiger is always right behind us the danger is always right behind us so we never get to tap into the rest and
44:58 digest right we don’t I think I read a stat that said that 60% of North
45:04 American families eat one meal or one or two meals a week at a table otherwise
45:10 it’s in their vehicle in front of the TV what do you think is happening when you’re watching your favorite crime
45:15 drama and you’re eating what do you think’s happening to that nutrition it’s going into an anxious body right it’s
45:23 not being received in a beautiful way so that’s what I see when it comes to
45:29 movement and you know and mental health is that you know the women that come to
45:34 me that are defined like we talked about earlier defined by their pain point you
45:39 start to see like almost like the snake of a skin being shed and the
45:45 vulnerability and the rawness get to like I’ve had many many women you know
45:51 we’ll be in a pilates class we’ll start breathing we’ll start moving the spine because spinal movement is what Pilates is all about the health of the spine
45:58 dictates the health of the body and they’ll come up to me at the end and I’ll see tears just streaming down their
46:03 face we’ll be doing little baby swans right which is a heart opener tears and they’ll come up to me at the end and
46:09 they’ll be like help me understand what just happened and that is that that is
46:15 where movement does become medicine where it’s like a little chisel and it’s gently chiseling away at this hard
46:21 exterior that we have believed for so long that’s how we have to show up as
46:28 these super women we got it wrong ladies an independent woman doesn’t mean doing
46:33 it all ourselves it doesn’t mean doing it alone even a wolf has moments where
46:39 they are the Lone Wolf but when that wolf looks back there is a pack behind
46:45 behind her right there’s a pack of women that are ready to support and that’s well I’m just getting
46:53 kind of Goosebumps that is what movement can offer the body and the mind and the
47:00 spirit is like a playground that’s why when you said a Pilates reformer class I was like I love it because that reformer
47:06 is like a playground for an adult body that can let down her guard and just
47:11 feel her body move um so you know what that for me in my body on those 11 47:19 medications it took me four months from my first pilates class to literally
47:24 weaning myself off of those 11 indications that four years of white coats and stethoscopes had no impact on
47:33 my health so that’s I mean that’s what it took for me was 16 weeks of twice a week Pilates mat yeah that’s awesome
47:40 yeah what Pilates did for me was make me realize like man I really do need to stretch because like I when I did those
47:45 things it hurt right and I was like you should probably be able to do this so to your well that yeah and even yeah go
47:52 ahead no and your point too like the whole uh when you made the comment about like we’re as women we’re supposed to be
47:58 this like hard person that gets everything done I’m like it took me until 2024 to realize you need a a a
48:05 team of people and when you start having that team of people that you can rely on changes your life so like I have a team
48:11 of people now I’m still working on it but like I have an amazing social media team I have an amazing podcast team I
48:17 have an amazing assistant I have all these you know staff like Mas I have so
48:23 many people that help me do things and there’s no way I could do like you know my husband helps me do the AV the audio
48:29 for this like if you don’t have people to I have a therapist I have a trainer I have you have to have these people
48:36 because if not like it just it but it for so long in my life I was like no you should just be able to do it you should
48:41 just be able to do it you don’t need an assistant you should be able to go through your emails you should be able to and when you finally are like nope I
48:46 need the help it’s like yeah and then you show up so much better like I feel
48:51 like I show up so much better for my patients I show up so much better for my husband I show up so much better for myself
48:57 because I have these people helping you now you just have to get the right people and I joke I sort of joke but
49:02 like I say 2025 is is my year 2025 is the year where you’re either on the Cassie Smith modern endocrine MD train
49:09 or you’re not either get on or get the hell out of the way like that’s it and we’re looking for people to get on and
49:16 help but like that’s where you have to be right so that you can take care of yourself and so that you can and like
49:21 then you have to listen to yourself and that’s the hard part I think for people is like it’s uncomfortable and it’s weird and it’s like it is weird for me
49:28 to ask my assistant to do things that I know I can do it is weird for me to send emails to Stephanie and say hey can you
49:33 book this or can you but it also like I know I don’t have the time to do it right it gets a little uncomfortable but
49:38 then the longer you do it it just it happens right so so to your point I think that that’s something people need
49:44 to remember and realize too and it yeah I think yes I think all of everything
49:50 that you said is is so amazing and I think that if we didn’t just listen to ourselves and we did more movement and
49:56 and mind fness and did some of these things people would feel a lot better so will you kind of tell everyone where
50:03 they can find you where they can learn more about you I guess your app like tell everyone that of course we’ll put
50:08 it in the notes but I want you to be to tell people that too no absolutely so um
50:15 on all the social medias just Janna with one N.D danelson that’s where you can I do have a free telegram group called the
50:24 blooming babe so I’m in there you know kind of twice a day answering questions leaving little videos on uh I do like
50:31 little recipes and little restorative type movements or hey you know what I was feeling a headache come on today I
50:37 actually used my swell bottle as my tylenol today you know here’s what I did
50:43 right so um that’s a great Community my YouTube channel my Instagram and then Bloom better.if is my website where you
50:51 can see um you know information on the bloom room experience which is my
50:57 community membership I just launched a a book last fall called The Sacred woman’s guide to Blooming better so there’s
51:04 information there and I mean I’m just here DM me I am here to support and this
51:11 is the way I explained myself last night on a master class or this this is the way I explained women is that I feel like we are lighthouses in the ocean
51:19 right what is a lighthouse do a lighthouse shines lights for boats that
51:24 have lost their way okay so just think of us Cassie you’re a lighthouse I’m a lighthouse and we’re trying to shine our
51:31 light and there’s all these boats out there but imagine a lith housee with dirty windows so the light we shining
51:39 the boats can’t see what I feel like I love doing is showing women how to take
51:45 a non-toxic cleaner maybe some vinegar and water and clean a little bit of
51:50 their Lighthouse window so that two things happen all of a sudden they realize oh my gosh there are both boats
51:56 out there that I can help I thought I was helping right and the boats are like oh my gosh there’s the light that’s the
52:03 way I have to go when you talk about you know getting on the Dr Cassie train that’s what you’re doing is you’re
52:08 shining a light that’s exactly what we do in this space and it’s usually because we’ve been in the dark and we
52:15 know that cont I mean you can’t know what health is without disease or
52:20 sickness right we wouldn’t know what day is if we didn’t have night so in those shadowy moments that you and I have had
52:27 throughout our life that’s how we’ become who we become and that’s how we can take that experience to show up for
52:33 the women to show them the contrast dark doesn’t last forever winter doesn’t last forever this Summit might be the kind of
52:40 the the the little bit of momentum remember momentum only exists when you have a moment and you add another moment
52:47 and you add another moment You Can’t Catch the Wave right without having these little moments and um that’s what
52:54 you create that’s what I create so Bloom better. like and jan. danelson is where I can be found on the worldwide web
53:00 thank you so much for your time I think that this is very beneficial and so if you’re listening to The Summit and you
53:06 found it beneficial make sure you check Jana out and then make sure you listen to the rest of the summit and share this
53:12 with other people so thank you okay so miss Janet at the end of every podcast I
53:18 ask all my guests the same three questions and people love it don’t overthink it very simple but I just want
53:23 to ask you the same three questions so the first question what is one food that’s most beneficial and why I would
53:30 say avocado because it is so satiating it’s got a great fat profile and it’s so
53:39 um you know you can you can make avocado toast you can put it in a smoothie you can put it in a salad you can and I just
53:45 so avocado my answer okay I get a lot of avocado I love them second question what
53:51 is one thing anyone can do for their health that’s completely free oh my gosh
53:56 breath is the first and the last Act of life and somewhere in the middle we forget how to do it one hand on your
54:03 heart one hand on your belly button eyes closed inhale through your mouth or inhale through your nose fill your
54:09 waistband with air exhale out of your mouth draw your belly away from your waistband 10 times three times a day
54:17 golden completely agree I knew you were GNA say something with did as a Pilates
54:23 instructor yes that’s the first thing we learn how to do properly figured and then the last question is what is one
54:29 thing you wish you would have known about your health 10 or 20 years ago that you would have done differently
54:34 like everything that you’ve learned about heal and your health what would you have done differently 10 or 20 years ago the
54:41 wisdom of my grandmothers like when I would get a sore throat or if I fell off my bike and they would make this my my
54:47 Ukrainian Baba used to make this she called it a polenka so it was like heavy cream and flour and a little bit of salt
54:55 and she would make this little dough she would literally cuz I fell off my bike at her house it was I had like puss on
55:00 my knee the next morning the penka it it was healed so here’s what I wish I wish
55:08 I would have taken the time to spend with my grandmothers to get their wisdom
55:14 of how they use Mother Earth for healing that I’m just now dipping my toe into
55:21 and I’m like damn that was that is such a missed opportunity um so yeah that’s
55:27 for me that’s what I wished I had known is that mother nature supplies us truly
55:33 with everything we need to be healthy and our bodies are meant to heal themselves that’s what I tell everyone
55:38 as long as you put it in the right environment the right head space give it the things that needs your body can feel
55:44 so okay thank you so much for coming on this uh episode of back to the basics we’re going to link all your stuff in
55:50 the show notes you told everyone where they can find you as well and just for our listeners I mean episode was so full
55:57 of so many amazing things so I know this should have resonated with everyone but if there’s someone you can think of that
56:03 this might help somebody that maybe needs some help with finding their light or just some head space maybe you think
56:09 that they exercise too much or they could benefit from movement or anything that we talked about please make sure that you share this with them and we’ll
56:15 see you next week on the next episode of back to the basics the information presented
56:22 including any materials discussed referenced or linked within this podcast are for General educational purposes
56:29 only not the practice of medicine no doctor patient relationship is formed
56:34 from you listening to this podcast or utilizing any of the information provided I am a doctor but I am not
56:40 talking to you as your doctor the information provided is not intended to diagnose or treat health problems or
56:47 take the place of the professional medical care provided by your doctor if you are experiencing any health problems
56:54 including problems you believe have been been touched upon in any respect within this podcast you should consult your
57:00 doctor about the problems without delay you may ask your doctor whether he or she believes the information I have
57:07 provided would be helpful to you but you should still consult your doctor immediately and follow his or her
57:12 medical advice as your treating physician I’m just here to provide you basic knowledge about the issues we
57:18 discuss so you are more aware of them and can better discuss them with your doctor that’s why we call it back to the
57:25 basics join me on the next episode as we continue our journey
57:30 [Music]
Disclaimer:
The information presented including any materials discussed, referenced, or linked within this podcast are for general educational purposes only, not the practice of medicine.
No doctor-patient relationship is formed from you listening to this podcast or utilizing any of the information provided.
I am a doctor, but I am not talking to you as your doctor. The information provided is not intended to diagnose or treat health problems or take the place of the professional medical care provided by your doctor.
If you are experiencing any health problems, including problems you believe have been touched upon in any respect within this podcast, you should consult your doctor about the problems without delay. You may ask your doctor whether he or she believes the information I have provided would be helpful to you, but you should still consult your doctor immediately and follow his or her medical advice as your treating physician.
I’m just here to provide you with basic knowledge about the issues we discuss so you are more aware of them and can better discuss them with your doctor.
That’s why we call it Back to the Basics. Join me on the next episode as we continue our journey.