Beautiful Shifts

Women’s Month Special - Teri Harman: Understanding the Sacred Feminine and claiming your value as a woman, why feminism isn’t scary, and building your own wings

Today Teri discusses with us what she describes as her most meaningful life transition: a feminist awakening including a deep dive into the mindset of the sacred feminine. We discuss what the sacred feminine means, what feminism actually is and why it isn't scary, ecofeminism, the healing and mending that happens with nature, tuning into our intuition and true selves, modeling understanding and open communication with our children, and much more. Teri also shares a few words and meanings from her beautifully written and crafted latest book "Words Instead of Wings: Language to Understand and Embrace the Sacred Feminine" which uses forty-five words to explore the power of being a woman.
 
Teri is an author of fiction and nonfiction, and ecofeminist, and a nature photographer. She's also a yoga and meditation teacher with twenty years experience. Her work focuses on helping women reclaim their wild souls through words, movement, and connection with nature. 
 
Thank you Teri, we loved having you on and learning more about the sacred feminine. It was such an interesting and enjoyable conversation! We're so glad we could have this topic/episode as our last for March for Women's History Month! 
 
Find Teri on Instagram @teriharman and online at www.teriharman.com. 

Brittney Herman: Sexual Assault Survivor, Attorney, Miss Ohio Volunteer and Founder of We Will Organization discusses how we can prevent sexual assault through sexual education

Brittney shares that when she was in high school she was the victim of sexual assault, and how she didn't realize what happened was sexual assault and dealt with the trauma of that event in silence for years. Years later when she was in law school she did a widespread research project on the link between sexual education and rates of sexual assault, and the correlation between the two was shockingly strong. Her research shows that we can prevent sexual assault through sexual education. Her study was published and has been read by over 3,000 individuals. 
 
In this conversation we discuss her experiences, her research project and its implications, the issue of sexual assault, and the work she is doing with her non-profit. It's an interesting and enlightening conversation for parents of children of all ages and adults as well. 
 
Brittney is a tax attorney working with nonprofit organizations, runs We Will, speaks publicly and has authored a children's book about consent called Do You Want A Cookie. Brittney also serves as Miss Ohio Volunteer, a state title in the Miss Volunteer America program which focuses on encouraging women to be their best selves and serve their communities. She will compete for the title of Miss Volunteer America in June. In her time off, she enjoys serving in church, playing her flute in professional orchestras, coaching high school swimming, bodybuilding, and spending time with her cute dog, Wilford. 
 
Thank you, Brittney, for being on the podcast and the conversation, we learned so much and are grateful for the important work you are doing!
 
Find We Will online at wewillorg.com and download a free pdf of Brittney's children's book about consent Do You Want a Cookie under Educational Resources there.
 
Find & follow We Will on Instagram @we.will.organization
Find & follow Brittney on Instagram @brittney_herman
 
Thank you so much for listening! 
 
Find & follow Beautiful Shifts on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook under Beautiful Shifts. 

Marsha Mark-Baird: Olympic athlete shares about growing up in the Caribbean, moving to the US for college athletics to competing in the Olympics, raising a family and being a school LCSW

Marsha shares about being raised in a small town in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean where she grew up playing sports. After a lot of success in athletics she moved to the US to attend college and started competing in the heptathlon, a track and field event including hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter dash, long jump, javelin and 800-meter run. On scholarship competing for BYU she placed ninth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Championships. Next came the Olympics! We get to hear about the road to the Olympics and her experience competing in the Summer 2000 Games in Sydney and the 2004 Games in Athens. 
 
We get to hear how Marsha met her husband Greg, and how now they now have three teenage sons. Marsha has worked as a school social worker in Provo, Utah since 2000, which she loves, and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). She has also been a track coach since 2000.
 
It was a pleasure talking with Marsha and hearing about her many interesting and exciting life transitions. Marsha has a zest for life that is refreshing and contagious and it was so fun to hear more of her story. Thank you, Marsha, for taking the time to chat with us! 
 
***Since this interview, Marsha competed in her first Nationals meet as a Master's athlete and placed 1st/Gold in the Pentathlon, open Long Jump, and the 60 Meter Hurdle. Congratulations, Marsha! 
 
Find Marsha on Instagram @runmarsharun

Women’s History Month & Women We Look Up To

Women's History Month Bonus! Today we talk about the line up of awesome women and topics we have coming up this month and some thoughts on Women's History Month. Then we take turns sharing about a few women we each look up to and why. It was so fun to get to discuss this topic and these women and their influences on history, society, and in our lives. 
 
Thanks for listening! Happy Women's History Month! 
 
Connect with us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and Facebook for photos and info on upcoming guests, quotes and reels from interviews, and other fun podcast content!  
 
 

Elise Jones: Choosing joy while living with heart failure, emotional health and resilience, and living by the mantra ”share your heart”

Elise was diagnosed with atrial septal defect in 2009, had open heart surgery in 2016, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2021. She also had lung resection surgery this past November. As she shares her story we learn that although her ongoing heart health difficulties have brought about many ups and downs and physical and emotional challenges, Elise has chosen to focus on joy, gratitude, and doing the things she loves. We discuss learning to trust yourself and listen to your intuition when it comes to health and other areas of life, building friendships and serving others through disaster, and how beautiful things can manifest from hard things. We also get to hear how Elise and her family fulfilled one of her lifelong dreams of hiking to the base camp of Mount Everest in 2017!
 
Elise is a married mother of two daughters in college. She is a yoga therapist, yoga alliance teacher and trainer, certified in several genres in yoga and fitness, and has been teaching fitness classes for 19 years. She's also a roller skating fitness certified instructor and teaches it in different locations around Utah (so fun!). She is the founder of Utah Yoga and Wellness where she hosts wellness retreats, and is a semi-retired river guide.
 
Elise is a delightful and inspiring person and is truly living by her mantra "share your heart." Thank you so much to Elise for being on our podcast, we absolutely loved talking and connecting and can't wait to go to one of her skating classes!
 
Find Elise on Instagram @elisejonesyoga where she shares about emotional health and resilience, choosing joy, and is such an uplifting account to follow.
Learn about her wellness retreats at utahyogaandwellness.com and on Instagram @utahyogaandwellness

Mason Sawyer & Sam Josie: Best friends through unimaginable loss of wife, son, daughter, brother & nephew in car accident & rare dwarfism condition share 10Ninety Rule, stoicism & more

On July 25, 2021, Mason's family was involved in a fatal car accident that took the lives of his wife Kortni, son Riggins, daughter Franki, brother Race, and nephew Rider. Mason is now solely focused on raising his son, Blue, who survived the car accident, and his mission to help teach others the 10/90 Principle. 
 
Sam has a rare form of Dwarfism called Ellis-Van-Crevled Syndrome that affects bone growth and development and causes various abnormalities. Sam stopped growing at age 17 and stands at 5'1. With over 17 surgeries on various bones in his body, Sam has had to learn to adapt to his situation, rise above the negativity, and find ways to succeed. 
 
Mason and Sam have been friends since high school and join us today to share more about their stories and life transitions including starting their podcast The 10Ninety Rule, the concept of stoicism, and their mission to share lessons learned by using the 10/90 Principle - that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent what you make of it. 
 
These two are amazing, great guys all around and listening to their stories you will laugh, cry, and do it all over again. Thank you so much, Mason and Sam, for coming on our podcast - we enjoyed every minute talking with you and are honored you shared your stories with us. 
 
Find Mason and Sam and their podcast 10Ninety Rule on Instagram @10ninetyrule and on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

Tonia Tewell: Holding out HELP for those coming out of polygamist cultures

Tonia Tewell, founder of Holding out HELP - a non-profit helping people out of polygamy/religious extremist sects - shares her story of growing up in an unstable home, which led to being taken in by her school principal and his wife at age 12, offering Tonia and her siblings safety and unconditional love for the first time. Later in life Tonia moved to the Salt Lake City, Utah area with her husband, began having children, and soon after was diagnosed with stage four cancer. She resolved that if she survived she would serve those coming from broken backgrounds who needed help and unconditional love, just as she had as a young girl.
 
The cancer went into remission and in 2007 Tonia's passion for those who come from a polygamist background grew after taking in a family from the local AUB/Allred polygamist community. In 2008, she launched a non-profit organization called Holding out H.E.L.P. (Helping, Encouraging and Loving Polygamists). Her desire is to encourage and give hope to those who chose to leave polygamist cultures providing them resources, support and love. In her free time Tonia loves the outdoors, bible study, dates with her daughters and crime shows. 
 
Tonia's story of overcoming difficult life situations, providing help to the most vulnerable, and paying forward kindness and love. A big thank you to Tonia for sharing her story with us! We loved talking with her and know you will love her too! 
 
Find Holding out HELP online at http://holdingouthelp.org where you can learn more about the services they provide to those coming out of polygamist sects and how you can get involved and help. Also, sign up to attend their upcoming Silent Auction & Benefit Dinner on March 10 in Draper which includes live music, guest speakers, and meeting the cast of Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey. 
 
Find/follow Holding out HELP on Instagram @holdingouthelp
And on Holding out HELP on Facebook 

Janet Mumford: Surviving a skydiving accident, learning patience and resilience through adversity, and life lessons on rebuilding and getting through hard things

Janet shares her story of how her life almost came to a halt one day that will forever be defined as life before and after her skydiving accident, in the fall of 2020. Experiencing debilitating injuries, her natural determination combined with lessons she had learned prior to the accident through therapy and working on mental health and inner strength helped greatly in her path to healing. She shares many takeaways that can be applied to getting through hard things in life and learning from setbacks, such as how growth comes in small steps, finding something to hold onto, trusting ourselves, and how our human minds and bodies are truly amazing.
 
Janet is a 43 year old mom of two adult kids, full time dental hygienist and a part time online health and fitness coach. She explains that learning patience and resilience through adversity while trying to gain back what you once had is a challenge, but those exact things motivated her as she rebuilt and grew more than she ever thought possible. 
 
Thanks so much to Janet for sharing her story with us and being an amazing example of strength and resilience. It's inspiring to hear and see all she has overcome and to see where she is today! 
 
Find Janet on Instagram @janetmumford23 where you can see more of her amazing recovery and reach out to her about her health & fitness coach/certified nutritionist business. 
You can also find her on Facebook - Janet Mumford
 
Thank you for listening! You can follow Beautiful Shifts on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook. 

John & Brooke Buck: Adventures as a couple in Major League Baseball career, navigating baseball life and family life, supporting each other’s dreams, and prioritizing relationship and love that lasts

Today we get to hear from John and Brooke Buck - our first couple interview! They are genuine, fun and have a great love story, and we are so glad it worked out to release this on Valentines Day.
 
John and Brooke share how they were high school sweethearts and got married as John was pursuing playing professional baseball. John's career as a baseball catcher led to adventures moving around the U.S. playing many years in the minor leagues and 12 years for major league teams including the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Pittsburg Pirates, Seattle Mariners, and the Angels of Anaheim. They share about the ups and downs of starting a family including fertility treatments and the premature birth of their twin boys, and enjoying and embracing new places and experiences. Eventually John chose to retire and later supported and encouraged Brooke in her goal of going back to school to become a nurse. Brooke is now a NICU nurse at Primary Children's Hospital. 
 
John and Brooke are a fun, positive couple and have great takeaways about life and cultivating lasting relationships. They currently live in Bluffdale, Utah, with their three boys. Brooke loves being a nurse working with premature babies, and John enjoys coaching youth sports teams and hosting a baseball podcast, Behind the Dish @behind.thedish, along with other projects.
 
Thank you so much to John and Brooke for being on the podcast. We love their story and are grateful we got to hear and share it! 
 

Holly Wever: Loss, acceptance, and value of connection - Sister’s addiction and eventual overdose leads to forming nonprofit Second Chance 5K, learning and sharing valuable life perspectives

Today we are grateful to hear from Holly, who is thoughtful, wise, and has many great perspectives and life lessons on going through difficult things. 
 
Holly shares the experience of having her younger sister, Kristi, struggle with drug addiction for many years, which led to an accidental heroin overdose. Through sadness, regret, and acceptance, Holly became inspired and motivated to start a cause in Kristi's memory to raise awareness and funds for those in addiction recovery. Holly shares what she has learned about the importance of connection, empathy, and listening to understand, as well as the concepts of impermanence and equanimity, and that our cracks and imperfect lives are an opportunity to let light in. Holly loves teaching and practicing yoga, eating Nutella, and spending time with her four kids and husband, Tod.
 
Holly co-founded the nonprofit organization Second Chance 5K in 2017 with her friend Jennie Slade, who lost two sisters to overdose. Second Chance connects communities impacted by substance use disorders and celebrates second chances for those in recovery. On March 25th they will hold their 6th event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Learn more about Second Chance and how you can get involved and help below. 
@secondchance5k on Instagram
www.secondchance5k.org
 
Other organizations/resources Holly mentions in this episode: 
Shine a Light Foundation @shinealight on Instagram 
Darren Waller Foundation @darrenwaller_fdn
 
Thank you so much to Holly for taking the time to share her story with us. Also, listen to Holly's mom Karen's episode released last week (episode #17). 
 
Thank you for listening! 
 
Find Beautiful Shifts on Facebook and on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast