The Quiet Life

Today we celebrate International Women's Day with a guest who has made it her life's work to advocate and promote empowerment, rights and equality for women around the world. This week Brita Fernandez Schmidt sit's down with Michael to discuss why she uses the word in-powerment today instead of empowerment, the most valuable lessons she's learned, and how she shares them to help elevate others.  Brita believes that every woman has a fierce power to fulfill her dreams. She coaches women to help them transform their lives by awakening, and acting on, the power they have within. She frequently writes and speaks publicly about the challenges women face all over the world in the context of poverty and conflict. Originally from Germany, Brita went to school in Venezuela and has throughout her career worked with women from many countries around the world. She now lives in the UK with her husband, two daughters and two dogs. Her first book, Fears to Fierce is out now! You can learn more about Brita and the work she does on her website www.britafs.com and you can follow along with her on Instagram @britafs, on Facebook here, Twitter @BritaFS, and LinkedIn. While she strongly believes that we are not our job titles (something you know is a pillar of ours here at Just Breathe!), we like to point you to where you can find out more about ways to connect with Brita and the work that she does. Brita currently serves as the Executive Director of Women for Women International - UK and is the Senior Vice President for Europe and External Relations globally. She co-founded Women for Women International in Germany in 2018. Brita is also the Chair of the Network Gender Action for Peace and Security and Chief Adviser to Fair Share. Previously she was the Programmes & Policy Director at Womankind Worldwide and she started her career as Policy Officer at the European Women’s Lobby. For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. You can also download our app for both iPhone and Android as a new exciting update is just around the corner!

This week Rebecca Dennis shares the wisdom she's found through her breathe work practice and how simply breathing helped her find a more quiet life. She tells us who has gifted her the greatest advice, why its important to teach the young ones to notice their breathe, and how to start your own practice if you're curious and wondering where to begin. It's a lovely listen, we hope you enjoy! Rebecca Dennis is an international author, coach and workshop leader is the founder of Breathing Tree. She is based out of London and works globally as a breath coach, fervently believing that conscious breathwork is the ultimate key to our well-being, health and inner peace. She is continually inspired by the simple power of our breath and how it can change lives including her own. Rebecca is on a mission to teach as many people as possible to empower their lives and improve their physical and mental wellbeing with conscious breathing techniques and somatic bodywork. She has an audio guide called Breathe, a book And Breathe, and you can find out more about her work and how to work with her https://breathingtree.co.uk/. You can follow along with her on instagram @breathing.tree and on Facebook.  For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe.

This week on The Quiet Life Michael speaks with Rachel Hunter - Mother, Yoga + Meditation Teacher, Supermodel, and Author. She talks about where she came from and who she was as a young woman, the challenges she's faced throughout her life as well as the joy's, and how she found her way to where she is today through quiet practices. She shares what it was like to face judgements throughout her life in the public eye, why she loves feeling resistance within, and the moment she realized she was running from being fully herself.  Rachel was born in New Zealand and left home at 17 to become a supermodel on the other side of the world in New York City. Her career took off, landing her with FORD Models and on the pages of Italian Vogue, Australian Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Revlon Covergirl, and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She found herself married by 21, further thrust into the public eye, and soon after her daughter and then son were born. After years on and off the road traveling, she started to ask herself existential questions - who am I? Where am I going? She left her high profile marriage and became immersed in motherhood, exploration, and work. She rode the waves of life until her mother's diagnosis and ultimate demise to cancer. In her mother's final days, Rachel asked her what she regret - her mother's reply changed everything. She said “I regret not being + doing me! Being fully who I wanted to be!” Rachel stepped off a plane in India in 2017 to process her grief, never intending to teach. She has since spent many hours studying yoga and meditation in the foothills of the Himalayas, and has found her place as both a student and a teacher of these ancient wisdoms and philosophies. You can find out more about Rachel on her website https://www.rachelhunter.com/ where you can join  her online yoga membership, Rituals. You can also follow along with Rachel on Instagram @rachelhunterx. For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!

We've all undoubtedly spent more time with ourselves in the last 18 months then we ever have before. This week Michael speaks with Francesca Specter, the alonement specialist. She coined the term to encourage alone time to be as buzzy as self care, and asks people to consider how they dedicate their time alone - what is the experience, what is the length of time, how frequent. Have a listen to perhaps gain a new perspective on why spending time alone isn't a negative thing nor the same thing as being lonely. She shares solitude skills to support you on your journey towards alonement, as well as ideas and suggestions of where to even start, especially if you're in a relationship.  Francesca is an author, podcaster, and journalist, and you can find out more about her here. Her first book “Alonement: How to be alone and absolutely own it” was published in March of this year, and she’s also a freelance journalist for multiple publications. She hosts Alonement, which is a podcast about the positive side of spending time alone. This word Alonement is Francesca Specter's empowering new word to express valuing your own company and dedicating quality time to yourself, whoever you are and whatever your relationship status. You can follow along with her on instagram @chezspecter and @alonementofficial. For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!

This week on The Quiet Life Michael sits down with Dr. Robin Hart to chat about mental health. They talk about how important it is to have things that nurture us, excite us, and challenge us, as well as the uplifting impact of bringing more play into our lives. Dr. Robin shares some tools for supporting ourselves as we transition further outside the home while the pandemic shifts, and offers suggestions of when speaking with someone other than family or friends might be helpful and who else you can turn to if you choose to do so. Dr. Robin Hart has extensive education, research and experience in cognitive and behavioral psychotherapy. He has a particular interest in working with a range of anxiety disorders and depression, family and relationship problems. He works with an integrative clinical approach, and has created Companion, an app that shares tools to support mental health for the modern worker. You can download Companion app for Android here and for Apple here, and follow along on Instagram @cbtcompanion. You can contact Dr. Robin Hart via The Basil Street Practice.  For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!

This week Molly J Forbes chats all about nurturing our own hearts, nurturing the hearts of the children in our lives, and how she's finding her way to a more authentic and true existence in the world. She shares from real lived experiences of how she (and we all!) get it wrong sometimes, how we don't have to know everything or strive to be perfect, and the importance of allowing curiosity and the space to seek answers to arise in our lives. This is a brilliant conversation we hope you'll enjoy! Molly is a mother, podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat - for both moms and kids alike. She is the founder of Body Happy Org, co-host of the Body Cons podcast, and author of Mother’s Always Right blog. Her FIRST book is out April 1, 2021 and is titled Body Happy Kids, you can order it here. You can read Molly's blog here, follow her on instagram @mollyjforbes, watch her YouTube, listen to her podcast BodyCons, and check out The Body Happy Org for all sorts of resources for parents, teachers, and anyone with young people in their lives.  For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. You can also download our app for both iPhone and Android as a new exciting update is just around the corner!

This week Dr. Rupy Aujla shares what gratitude means to him, why he believes it's important to celebrate the small things, and how a gratitude practice can support celebration. He also talks about why service is such a vital part of both who he is and what he does. Known as Dr. Rupy or @doctors_kitchen on instagram, Rupy is a medical doctor in General Practice as well as a firm believer in the power of food and lifestyle change as medicine. He is the founding director of Culinary Medicine, a non-profit organisation which aims to teach doctors and medical students the foundations of nutrition, as well as teaching them how to cook. He is a Sunday Times bestselling author, with three cookbooks published by Harper Collins - “The Doctor’s Kitchen”, "Eat to Beat Illness", and  recently Doctor's Kitchen 3-2-1: 3 fruit and veg, 2 servings, 1 pan. Most importantly he is a human being like you and me, and thoughtfully shares the wisdom he's learned on his way to a more quiet life. You can also find Dr. Rupy at https://thedoctorskitchen.com/ on Facebook and cook along with him on YouTube.  For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe.

Rhiannon joins Michael this week to talk about what has made her unsteady recently, where she feels most safe, and how she returns to being grounded. She also shares the wisdom she will undoubtedly pass on to her sweet son Zach, who at the time of recording was 9 months old. Rhiannon is a Registered Nutritionist and founder of the Harley Street clinic Rhitrition, as well as an author and podcaster, but most importantly she is a Mother. Becoming a mom during the first peak of the 2020 pandemic brought unforeseen challenges, and in this episode Rhiannon speaks quite candidly about how she faced them. You can find out more about Rhiannon's work at https://rhitrition.com/ as well as follow her on instagram @rhitrition twitter @rhitrition and listen to her podcast Food For Thought. For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe.

Join us as we return to The Quiet Life with Richie Norton as our first guest of the new year. In this episode Richie shares what inspiration means to him, what he's left behind to feel more inspired, and how he found his way to a more quiet life.  Richie is an Ex-rugby player turned Yogi Flow junkie. He's taken everything he's learned working alongside sports professionals, the most inspiring pioneers of human performance, and actors over the last 10+ years, as well as insights from his own personal journey, to help others along theirs. Personal Trainer, Movement Coach & Yoga teacher, you can find him at The Strength Temple and on instagram @richienorton_.  For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe.

Justin Finlayson is a solution provider - his passion is to show people their potential. He is the founder of the London-based youth empowerment nonprofit United Borders which uses music as a tool for engagement to reduce violence among youth, and he believes that it is imperative to highlight young people’s voices so we know where we are as a society - their voices reflect their reality. In this episode he talks about how music impacted his life, the tragic event that led him to create United Borders, and how the work of the organisation has evolved within the neighbourhoods Justin grew up in - hint, the impact has been epic. Working out of a converted double decker bus, United Borders is a music production studio on wheels. With youth violence and knife crime on the rise in the capital of London, Justin wanted to do more for young people within these communities trapped by youth violence. The music is simply a way to get the youth to show up - the real work is in showing them that there is another way by taking them out of their environment so that they can assess it, showing them compassion and caring, and connecting them to experiences they otherwise wouldn't have.  You can find out more about United Borders at http://unitedborders.org and follow them on Twitter @UnitedBorders and Instagram @unitedborders. For more conversations like this, or to join our monthly Quiet Club where we discuss important issues and ways we can support in our communities visit justbreatheproject.com or follow us on Instagram @justbreathe. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join The Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Gingernut Chai, which is available to buy online now and at all T2 stores. Guest research for this episode completed by Camilla Besley.

This week we talk to Vanessa Sanyauke, a global diversity and inclusion specialist and the founder of Girls Talk London. Gender and Racial inequality are still very much present in our world today, and Vanessa experiences their intersection regularly. In this episode we talk about her role as a community leader and all things gender and racial equality - where we are now, where we would like to see us moving towards in the future, and how we can all be a part of this change. Her organisation works as a consultancy to engage millennial women, particularly women of colour with FTSE 100 businesses in technology, financial services and law. She is wrapping up the 5th year of the pan-industry technology mentorship program she set up called Step into STEM (Science, technology, Engineering and Math), funded by O2, BT, Vodafone and Ericsson. It gives female students who study STEM subjects a mentor to support their career aspirations and to address the under-representation of women working in the STEM sector. She's also preparing for the second year of black girls tech summit coming up in November which is supported by Facebook and Snapchat this year, which you can learn more about or sign up for here. To learn more visit girlstalklondon.com as well as follow them on Instagram @girlstalklondon and on twitter @GirlsTalkLondon.  For more conversations like this, or to join our monthly Quiet Club where we discuss important issues and ways we can support in our communities visit justbreatheproject.com or follow us on Instagram @justbreathe. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join The Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Chai, which is available to buy online now and at all T2 stores. Guest research for this episode completed by Camilla Besley.

Michael talks to Dale Gibson, the founder of Bermondsey Street Bees - a sustainable beekeeping practice on the rooftops of London. In his own words he feels he has a duty to care for the bees, and believes their interest is of paramount concern, as the importance of bees goes far beyond the honey we enjoy. Bees form an essential part of our way of life, with 2 out of every 3 spoonfuls we eat a product of pollination. In this episode we learn about why bees continue to form such an important part of our ecosystem, and delve into the ways we can look to eat and live more mindfully. Founded in 2007, Bermondsey Street Bees is named as such because it's all about the bees - you might see honey in the name of other beekeeping operations but for Dale and his wife Sarah, honey is not where it stops. They work tirelessly to grow gardens to feed the many beehives in the area of London. You can download Sarah's guide to planting for honeybees here. Their mission is to promote the importance of bees in the world, and how they’re essential to the world's food production. To find out more visit bermondseystreetbees.co.uk and you can follow them on Instagram @bstreetbees, and Twitter @bermondseybees. To purchase your own honey visit https://provenancehub.com/producer/bermondsey-street-bees. For more conversations like this, or to join our monthly Quiet Club where we discuss important issues and ways we can support in our communities visit justbreatheproject.com or follow us on Instagram @justbreathe. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join The Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Apple Maple Muffin, which is available to buy online now and at all T2 stores. Guest research for this episode completed by Camilla Besley.

This week Michael talks to Amy Peake, Founder of Loving Humanity, a non-profit who provide the materials, tools, training and support to manufacture period pads and nappies in war zones, refugee camps and slums. All people who menstruate deserve safe sanitary products, and hygienic spaces in which to use them without shame or stigma, in this episode we delve into the inspiring work at Loving Humanity, as well as uncovering the power we all have to give back and play a positive role in our own communities. Amy Peake is the founder of Loving Humanity, a non-profit organization that is working to provide reusable nappies and pads to women and mothers in war zones, refugee camps and slums. Their ethos is shaped around education, empowerment and equality, and they’re doing some great work elevating vulnerable communities. The factories are staffed by refugee or vulnerable local women who, through their work, find or rediscover their self-worth. Amy’s journey to put a stop to period poverty in third world countries has been met with obstacle after obstacle but she has persevered and has achieved a great deal since she founded the business in 2014. To donate and find out more visit lovinghumanity.org.uk or follow on Instagram @loving_humanity.  For more conversations like this, or to join our monthly Quiet Club where we discuss important issues and ways we can support in our communities visit justbreatheproject.com or follow us on Instagram @justbreathe. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join The Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Blueberry Crumble available online now and at all T2 stores.  Guest research for this episode completed by Camilla Besley.

On this episode we welcome Presenter, Writer and Director Tyson Joseph to tackle the subject of storytelling and stereotypes. Taking an important look at why stereotypes can be so damaging in society, and how the stories we share, as well as the ones we tell ourselves have the power to bring great change. Tyson is a passionate advocate for the power of hope, and a compelling speaker on all things relating to personal transformation. His insights and ideas have been developed through a challenging childhood, and a lifetime of study in New Thought Philosophy, meditation and mindfulness. His film I Am Not Your Villain for the UK charity Changing Faces resulted in the creation of a new policy by the BFI, stating they will no longer fund films in which the villains are portrayed as having facial disfigurements. His work also includes films for Goldie Hawn for Mind Up, Ruby Wax’s Frazzled Tour, The Oxford Mindfulness Institute, the NHS, Heads Together and the government-backed Mindfulness in Schools Project. To find out more about Tyson follow him on Instagram @iamtysonjoseph and visit his website storieslikeus.com. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join The Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Singapore Breakfast available online now and at all T2 stores. Guest research for this episode completed by Camilla Besley.

On this episode Michael talks to to Lucy Jones, Author of Losing Eden, about how getting out in nature affects our mental health, and what happens when we lose our connection with the outdoors completely. This is a powerful episode reminding us why stepping away from our desks and connecting with the natural world does more than we realise, and a passionate message on how taking care of the planet we live is a priority that we simply cannot afford to ignore. Lucy Jones is a writer and journalist based in Hampshire, England. Her writing on culture, science and nature has been published in BBC Earth, BBC Wildlife, The Sunday Times, the Guardian and the New Statesman. Her book Losing Eden, is about the relationship between the natural world and the human psyche; a wide-ranging inquiry into the mechanism by which contact with ‘nature’ is therapeutic. It has been long-listed for the Wainwright Prize and received a Society of Authors’ award. Her book is available to buy now at all good book stores, to find out more about Lucy visit lucyfjones.com or follow her on Instagram at @lucyfjones.  This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join The Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Melbourne Breakfast available online now and at all T2 stores. Guest research for this episode completed by Camilla Besley.

On this episode Michael talks to Dave and Steve of The Happy Pear, about their connection as twins and how they can always rely on each other - no matter what they're going through. This episode takes a closer look at why companionship, friendship and community are so important for us as humans, and why working together can make us stronger than we know.  Dave and Steve Flynn started plant-based brand The Happy Pear in 2004 to inspire people to live a happier, healthier life, create more togetherness, and to show delicious ways to eat more veg. The Happy Pear has grown into one of Ireland's most renowned and loved brands, and today they're renowned plant-based chefs with 4 cafes, their own product range and online courses, they are award-winning and bestselling authors, YouTube hits and regular contributors on TV. Find out more about The Happy Pear at the happy pear.ie, find them on YouTube and follow them on Instagram @thehappypear.  This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join The Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is English Breakfast available online now and at all T2 stores. Guest research for this episode completed by Camilla Besley.

This week we welcome 17 year old Siena Castellon, an autistic neurodiversity advocate and anti-bullying activist to discuss her experiences growing up,  and the negative assumptions and ideas that surround autism. A moving conversation that may challenge everything you think you know about life on the spectrum, embracing and celebrating difference, and how we can all show up as kinder, more compassionate humans in our communities. Siena was diagnosed as autistic when she was twelve, her diagnosis came as a welcome relief after years of being rejected by her classmates for being odd, eccentric and weird and always feeling out of place, she felt she finally had an explanation. But, it was only when she started delving deeper into understanding what this really meant for her that she learned many girls continue to fly under the radar, as behaviours  can vary drastically and many textbooks only studied male behaviours. She discovered that there were very few books and resources aimed at autistic girls, and they didn’t address many of the issues she faced as a teen. So, she decided , to write her own book: The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic, which is now available at all good book stores. To find out more about Siena follow her on Instagram @qlmentoring or visit her website sienacastellon.com This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is New York Breakfast, find out more about this tea here. Guest research for this episode completed by Camilla Besley.

On this weeks episode Michael talks to Sharath Jeevan, Founder of Intrinsic labs and a leading expert in intrinsic motivation. Listen in as they chat about finding our inner drive and building a life where we can feel fulfilled without the need for external gratification, a subject many of us struggle with, whether at work or at home. A gentle conversation about finding your way in life, and remembering the importance of finding moments of joy and happiness in each day. Sharath is one of the world’s leading experts on how to practically re-ignite the inner-drive, or intrinsic motivation in our lives. He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Intrinsic Labs, and his work has been featured in the likes of The New York Times, The Economist, CNN, National Public Radio and The Times of India. He gained first hand experience in the field through founding STiR Education in 2012. STiR represents the world’s largest initiative to improve intrinsic motivation - in this case in education. Through partnerships with governments and leading donors, it has grown from supporting 12 schools in 2012 to over 35,000 schools today, across India, Africa and South East Asia and has helped over 200,000 teachers and 6 million children. Connect with Sharath on LinkedIn or visit intrinsic-labs.com. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is Just Camomile, find out more about this tea here.

This week on the Quiet Life Michael talks to Anthony Warner, known as The Angry Chef - a food writer, chef and author of multiple books all of which explore and break down the ways in which we think about how and why we eat. This is a much needed conversation which tackles the problems, misleading information and guilt surrounding food within the wellness industry, and instead allow us to explore the positive experiences of food.  Anthony's writing explores food, obesity, sustainability and the many food fads that often consume us as we make our way through life in the hope of staying healthy. His book 'The Angry Chef: Bad Science and the Truth About Healthy Eating' uncovers unscientific claims about the health benefits of diets, recipes and ingredients and, with the help of psychiatrists, behavioural economists, food scientists and dieticians explores why people are so easily taken in by the latest food fads. Anthony's books, 'The Angry Chef' and 'The Truth About Fat' are available at all good book stores, to find out more visit  angry-chef.com and follow him on Twitter @one_angry_chef. This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is The Quiet Mind, find out more about this tea here.

On this episode Michael talks to Emmy-nominated journalist and filmmaker Shaunagh Connaire about why journalism plays such a huge part in shaping the future. An eye-opening chat about the importance of connecting with the more difficult stories within humanity, and how in order to have impact we need to be able to empathise, and put ourselves in the shoes of the people at the receiving end of the news headlines we often feel so disconnected from. Shaunagh is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker whose work has taken her to all corners of the world to highlight both the challenges and resiliency of humanity. Working for the BBC, Channel 4, CNBC and The Financial Times she has covered stories on Ebola in Sierra Leone, conversion therapy in Beijing and Iran, where she reported on the country’s first ever Islamic online dating institute. To find out more follow her on Instagram @shaunaghconnaire or visit her website shaunagh.com This season of the Quiet Life was made possible by our friends at T2. Receive 10% off your first order and heaps of benefits such as rewards, experiences and personalised offers when you join the Tea Society, to start brewing the benefits and redeem your offer visit T2tea.com. This weeks featured tea is The Dreamer, find out more about this tea here.