Today, I’m speaking with Hadassah Eventsur.Hadassah is an occupational therapist, educator, transformational coach, Mishpacha Magazine contributor, speaker, and the founder and CEO of MindfullyYou, an educational and support platform dedicated to helping neurodivergent individuals better understand their brains and build lives that work with—not against—them.In her program, she helps women who feel overwhelmed by daily chores and responsibilities, those who are struggling time management and organization and others who simply want more peace, structure and confidence in their daily lives.While she targets her work toward those who struggle with executive functioning skills, there are tips and strategies both in her course and in this episode that can help anyone.This episode is like a giant deep breath. It will remind you to actually examine what you can handle and dial it back vs getting caught up in the just one more thing mindset or the feeling of needing to try every new recipe or that fancy one that looks super impressive. If you want to sign up for the Mindfully You program that is starting after Sukkos, (on Monday, October 5) you can register here.To reach out to Hadassah personally, you can email her at Hadassah.mindfullyyou@gmail.com.
Today, I’m speaking with Torah educator, Goldie Sion. Goldie was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and raised in Hollywood, Florida. She has worked with organizations in the past that include Olami Manhattan, Aish Aspire, Jam Israel and now works for Olami Souled. She is passionate about teaching Torah, giving shiurim, and inspiring others through creativity and connection with her Instagram: @goldiesjournal.If you want to be feel connected and are on Instagram, I highly recommend you checking it out. Goldie’s words truly enter the soul. She has a way of making a connection to Hashem feel effortless, even though she acknowledges that it takes work. Our conversation is basically like one big emunah injection which is perfect as we’re about to enter the final week of Elul leading up to Rosh Hashanah.In our conversation, Goldie speaks so eloquently about:-How she brings Hashem into her day to day life from the big moments to the mundane-How she elevates basic actions that make up her life-What to do when you’re going through a difficult time or having trouble feeling connected to Hashem-How to reframe your mindset when the answer you keep hearing is “no”-What prayer can look like when you’re completely overwhelmed-What the healthiest form of growth looks like-How prayer really changes our lives...and so much more!If there is someone you want to see on The Chai on Life Podcast, email me at alex@chaionlifemag.com or send me a DM @chaionlifemag. Thanks again, see you next week!
Today, I’m speaking with Sara Eisemann. Sara is a licensed clinical therapist and educator based in Oak Park, Michigan.Sara currently serves as Co-Director of Education for Core's Mashpia Mentor Counselor (MMC) Training Program—a rigorous two-and-a-half-year initiative that equips women to provide Torah-based spiritual mentorship and emotional support within their communities. In addition to her clinical work, Sara is a certified dating coach. She is a regular contributor to Family First and she hosted the MakeShift podcast.Today, Sara is speaking about the concept of “shalom,” or finding peace within all of the parts that make up who you are. In her clinical work, she’s come to see it as the thread that goes through so many different issues that come up with her clients.As we move through Elul and gear up for the chagim, it’s a transformational framework to keep in mind. In the episode she uses this mindset to speak about:-What shalom looks like within a family, community and within yourself-How this helps a recovering perfectionist move away from unrealistic standards-How we can make space for the “and” in life — the things that bring us joy and challenge at the same time, or the parts of ourselves that we both like and struggle with, for example-Letting our authentic selves come through and getting rid of the “shoulds” that come up in any scenario -How we can avoid getting caught up in the worry about what others think of us and put more emphasis on what we think of ourselves-The power of this work and how it’s designed to help you stay in the healthy headspace it creates…and so much more!While this topic may feel esoteric or lofty on the surface, it is filled with practical steps and shifts that you can make as soon as you turn off the episode. As we move through Elul and this period of self-reflection, it will help unlock that version of yourself you are striving for — or honestly, just let her come through.
Today, I’m speaking with educator and author Ilana Cowland. Ilana is the perfect person to kick off our Elul series with — she has spoken around the world, bringing warmth, humor and hard-won insight into the topics of love, intimacy, authentic connection and more.She has seminars for couples that are known for being fast-moving, practical and genuinely fun. Her teaching is grounded in real life — she and her husband, Jamie have six children and now, grandchildren and the joys and challenges of building a family are woven into everything she shares. She is the author of the book, The Moderately Anxious Everybody and has a new book coming out which we touch on about raising children in a materialistic world.I was so excited to speak to Ilana. She has been a speaker I have respected and looked up to for years now, and have heard her name so many times on my own Jewish journey. She has so much to share and she’s really someone I could have kept talking to forever about honestly any topic related to a woman’s life. In this episode, we try to go through as much as possible to get you to and through the upcoming chagim in the most connected way. We speak about:-How she got into teaching and doing the work she’s doing today-Anxiety and how it’s plaguing so many of us— we speak about the relationship between emunah and anxiety, how to diminish anxiety, what may be causing it and more-How we can feel comfort in knowing Hashem is running the world instead of fear of what could happen as a result-How to reframe what Rosh Hashanah is really about — I love Ilana’s approach here and thinking about it will completely change how you go into the holiday-What prioritization really looks like when it comes to our relationship with Hashem, in motherhood, in marriage and more and how it changes as we move through life stages-How we can find value in who we are in a world that is constantly throwing different messages toward us-The power in slowing down…and so much more!
Today, I’m speaking with Fally Klein — a teacher, facilitator and founder of Azamra Breathwork. Her work helps participants access the wisdom of the body, breath and soul, returning to the truth already held within.Fally has an incredible story. Like the last episode, there was so much to fit in, we ended up going even longer than I usually do and I promise you it is worth the listen. Every minute is so rich - I was hanging onto her every word.Fally has already lived through so many things — more than some go through in an entire lifetime. Some of which — like battling cancer — she speaks about in the episode and some of which she is preferring to keep private right now. When you listen to how eloquent she is, how much depth she brings to her journey and challenges, you will be blown away and if you’re like me, only want more from her.In the episode, we speak about:-Her battle with cancer as a teenager and what that experience taught her-Her perspective on closure in life-What real healing feels like-How she worked to figure out her career and mission throughout her challenges and how that continues to evolve today-How her connection with Hashem has deepened through her journey-The power of breath work and how our breathing mimics the spiritual realm-Two breathing techniques that can help you find more calm right now…and SO MUCH MORE.Get more from Fally on her website fallyklein.com.Get her book, Miracle Ride, here.