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Wellness to Wonderful – Dr. Alona Pulde & Dr. Matthew Lederman

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Retirement Wisdom · May 8, 2023 ·

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Is there more to wellness than a healthy diet? Dr. Alona Pulde and Dr. Matthew Lederman’s new book Wellness to Wonderful is down-to-earth with relatable guidance and practical advice for a healthy and vibrant life. Drs. Pulde and Lederman bring the book’s principles to life in WeHeal, a virtual healthcare model built on their book’s nine fundamental pillars of health: self, nutrition, activity, play, sleep, family & friends, work, spirituality, and the natural world. As evidence of the model’s efficacy, the Florida-based physicians point to results showing reversal of chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, weight loss, and increased overall well-being. With chapters dedicated to each of the model’s core pillars, Wellness To Wonderful aims to guide readers from the stress and chronic illnesses arising from living in survival mode to a dynamic, thriving, and optimized life that is truly Wonderful.

Drs. Pulde and Lederman join us from Florida.

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Bios

Alona Pulde, MD & Matthew Lederman, MD

Touted as doctors of the future by Dean Ornish, MD and with their work supported by many experts including Sanjay Gupta, MD, Dr Alona Pulde and Dr. Matthew Lederman combined conventional Western medicine, Chinese medicine, Lifestyle medicine, Nonviolent Communication, Polyvagal Theory, and Trauma-Informed, Somatic Principles & Pain Reprocessing to create their groundbreaking health paradigm. They have been successful corporate leaders, starred in the life-changing documentary Forks over Knives, lectured for eCornell, served as adjunct medical school professors and corporate medical advisors, and are NY Times bestselling authors.

Together they have co-authored six books, including The New York Times Bestseller Forks Over Knives Plan, Forks Over Knives Family, and Keep It Simple, Keep It Whole. They co-authored The Whole Foods Diet and The Whole Foods Cookbook with John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market. Most recently they co-authored, “Wellness to Wonderful,” interweaving medical science, psychology, spirituality, and life wisdom to help people achieve lasting health, vibrancy, peace, and joy. They consult for companies such as Whole Foods Market and serve on advisory boards for various organizations.

Alona Pulde, MD is a board-certified practitioner of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine & Family Medicine Physician. She is particularly passionate about supporting clients with nutrition and women’s health.

Dr. Matthew Lederman is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician & CNVC Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication. He is particularly passionate about integrating mind-body health treatment and providing second medical opinions for patients with persistent chronic disease.

After ten years of serving Whole Foods Market as corporate Vice Presidents, helping launch their national comprehensive medical & wellness centers, coaching and retreat programs, and integrated hospital and insurance networks, Dr. Pulde and Dr. Lederman moved on to co-found their new venture, WeHeal, which is the culmination of decades of learning and practical experience organized into an easily accessible program that does everything just short of guaranteeing lasting health, joy and satisfaction in your life.

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For More On Wellness to Wonderful

WELLNESS TO WONDERFUL: 9 Pillars for Living Healthier, Longer, and with Greater Joy

WeHeal website

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Podcast Episodes You May Be Interested In

The Power of Fun – Catherine Price

Self-Compassion – Dr. Kristin Neff

Breaking the Age Code – Dr. Becca Levy

How to Make New Friends in Retirement – Dr. Marisa G. Franco

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Mentioned in This Podcast Episode

Forks Over Knives documentary

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Wise Quotes

On Wellness to Wonderful

“As a blessing and a curse, Matt and I are always maintaining curiosity around how to optimize our lives. And that’s what led us to nutrition and lifestyle medicine in the first place. Focusing on diet and activity and sleep and a lot of the areas that we generally associate with optimal health. But what we noticed along the road is even in optimizing our diet, even in getting enough sleep, even in being regimented about activity, we still weren’t feeling optimized. We were – well maybe – but we wanted our life to be wonderful. And you know, we say that in the book and it really resonates with us. But in a world of infinite possibilities, why can’t our life be wonderful? And so that kind of sparked the journey to what would make it wonderful. And we came upon the nine different pillars that we share in the book. And we feel like each one of those is a key element in taking your life from chronic disease to wellness and way up to wonderful.”

The We Heal Model

“So the essence of WeHeal model is based on these nine fundamental pillars. We call them our pillars of practice. And it really starts with a self in a discernment around what am I needing? What am I feeling? What am I needing? It’s an authentic connection with yourself to even have awareness that things aren’t working the way you’d like them to. And once we have that discernment, that awareness, then we can start tending to these other pillars. Things like activity and nutrition and sleep and play, which is something that is so important and we have completely forgotten about as adults – at least most adults have. Then our connection, not only our connection to family and friends and work and our coworkers, but a connection to spirituality or something bigger than us. We are not alone. And so many of us feel alone and isolated. So just that notion of connection to something greater than us and then to our natural world, to the world around us, to the animals and plants and the environment that we live in on a day-to-day basis. And what’s helpful about the nine pillars is that you don’t have to get ’em all right. You just have to tend to them and care about them and, and use that as a guide. In fact, it’s a lifelong journey.”

On Play

“I think one of the most beautiful gifts that play provides us is presence in that moment. You are so absorbed in something that is bringing joy and that you are having fun doing. And it’s really, it’s almost impossible to be stressed and mobilized and play at the same time. And that’s a huge benefit. You see children and children’s natural desire is to play. They also are naturally inclined to be very present. And that is something that allows us to have that discernment as well. When we are able to look at this moment, we’re so many of us are involved in kind of getting through the day, getting through our lives, and we don’t look back and say, Oh, what did I actually enjoy about today? What didn’t I enjoy about today? What would I like to be different tomorrow? Play gives us that opportunity to practice presence. Which is the definitely one of the keys to experiencing life as wonderful. Being present with what you’re feeling, being present with what you’re needing, being present with your connections, being present with the experience of eating and, it’s just even the activity. When you’re present with it, it’s just a different experience versus checking up the box and worrying about all the stuff you gotta do an hour from now. So if you really want to experience that, play – it’s fun. It also usually brings connection with other people. And that’s really essential also to experiencing a more joyful and satisfying life.”

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About Retirement Wisdom

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Schedule a call to see if a 1-on-1 program or a small group Designing Your New Life program can give you an edge in your next chapter.

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About Your Podcast Host

Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1.5 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes. Business Insider has recognized him as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

Retirement Wisdom · Apr 30, 2023 ·

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Is there a pivot in your future? Perhaps you’re considering – or going through – retirement, semi-retirement, a second career or a major life transition. All of these entail getting unstuck and skillfully navigating a transition. Joanne Lipman, author of NEXT! The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work, interviewed people who have successfully steered through these shifts, along with experts who’ve studied them. She found a specific sequence of stages that unfold in these moves to reinvent yourself at different stages of life.

Joanne Lipman joins us from New York.

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Bio

Joanne Lipman is author of the No. 1 bestseller THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID and NEXT! The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work. An award-winning journalist, she has served as Editor-in-Chief of USA Today, USA Today Network, Conde Nast Portfolio, and The Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Journal, leading those organizations to six Pulitzer Prizes. She is an on-air CNBC contributor and Yale University journalism lecturer.

Lipman began her career as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, ultimately rising to deputy managing editor – the first woman to attain that post – and supervising coverage that won three Pulitzer Prizes. While there she created Weekend Journal and Personal Journal, and oversaw creation of the Saturday edition. She subsequently was founding editor-in-chief of Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, which won Loeb and National Magazine Awards. Most recently, she served as Chief Content Officer of Gannett, where she was Editor-in-Chief of its USA Today and the USA Today Network, encompassing the flagship publication plus 109 metro newspapers including the Detroit Free Press, the Des Moines Register, and the Arizona Republic. In that role, she oversaw more than 3,000 journalists and led the organization to three Pulitzer prizes.

Lipman’s work has been published in numerous outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time, Fortune, Newsweek and the Harvard Business Review. She has appeared as a television commentator on ABC, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS, among others. She is a frequent public speaker, with engagements including the World Economic Forum in Davos, the United Nations, the Aspen Ideas Festival, TEDx, the International Lean In conference, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Milken Institute Global conference, and has worked with numerous companies on issues of gender equity, diversity and inclusion. She also is co-author, with Melanie Kupchynsky, of the acclaimed music memoir “Strings Attached.”

A winner of the Matrix Award for women in communications, Lipman was the 2019-2020 inaugural Distinguished Journalism Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. She has served or is currently serving on boards including Yale University Council; the World Editors Forum; the Knight Commission on Trust, Media and Democracy; the Yale Daily News; Spirited Media; the Yale Alumni Magazine (where she served as chair); the Knights chamber orchestra, and the advisory boards of Data.world, Breastcancer.org, The Wire China, and the Yale School of Music. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She and her husband live in New York City and are the parents of two adult children.

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For More on Joanne Lipman

NEXT! The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work

Website

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Podcast Episodes You May Like

The Skill Set for Life’s Transitions – Bruce Feiler

Self-Compassion – Dr. Kristin Neff

The Future You – Brian David Johnson

How’s Your Network? – Kelly Hoey

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Mentioned in This Podcast Episode

New York Times article: Want to Make a Change? Conjure Your ‘Possible Selves’

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Wise Quotes

On The Stages of Reinvention

“I call it the reinvention roadmap. And the four steps are Search, Struggle, Stop, and Solution. And I’ll go through those real quick and then we can kind of dig in if you would like. The Search, the first step, what’s interesting about this is when you are collecting information, you’re collecting experiences. You are accumulating knowledge. But the really cool thing about this step is you’re you’re sucking in all this information that will ultimately lead to a transition, except very often you’re not aware of it. It’s unintentional, which is so interesting. It’s going to lead you somewhere unexpected. The second stage, is the Struggle. The Struggle is when you start to disconnect from your previous identity, but you have not quite figured out the new identity where you are going to. We don’t like to talk about this stage because it’s really uncomfortable. It’s kind of miserable, honestly. And when we go through it, we tend to think we’re all alone and that we are the only people in the world going through this. Everybody else is on this glide path to success, and only we are struggling. But the key here is to know that when you’re in the midst of this struggle, you’re not alone, because everybody goes through it. And you feel like you’re standing still or you’re stuck, but you’re actually not, you’re actually moving forward. But this stage can last for quite a while for some people, and often it doesn’t end until you reach the third stage, which is the Stop. So the Stop is something that pulls you out of your routine. It could be something that you choose like, I quit my job or I retire.”

On Possible Selves

“I just wrote a piece in The New York Times about this, about the idea of thinking about your possible selves. Now that’s a psychological term, but essentially what it means is to imagine what you might be, what you could be, and to go beyond the daydream to take some sort of action on possible selves. So that means if, let’s say I’m pivoting in a career, take a course or shadow someone, or do an informational interview. Don’t just like sit with it and cogitate. You’ve got to get out of your own brain.”

On Expert Companions

“I’ll give you a second one. This one I love and it is called the Expert Companion. You want to find your expert companion and speak to that person. So an Expert Companion, I’m borrowing that phrase actually from trauma psychologists who I interviewed who work with trauma patients, survivors who actually experience what’s called post-traumatic growth. We all know about post-traumatic stress. This is people who actually can grow and find something positive in the wake of a disaster. And these psychologists say that the survivor needs to talk to someone who can help them rethink their narrative. I think we all need an Expert Companion – all of us. And that person is someone who has an objective view of you, who can reflect back to you what your real strengths and talents are. And if you think about it, we all have sort of innate talents that very often we don’t even recognize because they come to us so easily. Or if we do recognize them, we tend to kind of diminish them because it seems like everybody can do that. We don’t recognize how unique it is. So your Expert Companion can reflect back to you where your strengths are, what they see in you. And it very often could be surprising to you – or it can certainly help you focus on where you want to pivot to. And by the way, the Expert Companion can be a coach like you, it could be as well it could be a friend or a family member. But the key is that they’re helping you. They’re not actually telling you what to do, which is really important. They don’t tell you: go do this. What they say is, what I see in you is this. And that helps you in turn, make your own decisions about where you wanna pivot to.”

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About Retirement Wisdom

Are you clear on what’s next for you? Don’t put it off. Get started on designing your future. Schedule a call to discuss how my one-on-one Designing Your New Life in Retirement, Tiny Habits and Mental Fitness coaching programs can help you defeat uncertainty, gain clarity and direction.

About Your Podcast Host

Retirement Wisdom · Apr 23, 2023 ·

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Getting older is something to celebrate according to today’s guest Cathleen Toomey, of the RiverWoods Group. But there are also realties to plan ahead for and adjust to along the way. You’ll want to do your homework and get sound advice so you’re well-educated on the options available for you to consider. And if you’re planning to age in place, you’ll want to hear what Cathleen has to say about that option.

Cathleen Toomey joins us from New Hampshire.

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Bio

Cathleen Toomey has led the sales and marketing efforts of the RiverWoods Group since 2007, during a period of expansive growth, when the organization doubled their size. She has done a TEDx talk “Secrets to Successful Aging“; and is a frequent presenter. In 2021, she launched a podcast, Seniority Authority, “Let’s Get Smarter About Growing Older” to answer questions on aging. New Hampshire PBS recently aired a short series featuring Cathleen’s Seniority Authority content.

Prior to RiverWoods, Cathleen’s extensive brand building experience included work for Timberland, Stonyfield Farm, Babson College and Bentley University. A graduate of Fordham University (MA) and Fairfield University (BA), Cathleen began her career in ad agency work in New York City.

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For More on Cathleen Toomey

Insider’s Guide: Choosing a Continuing Care Retirement Community

Seniority Authority podcast

Video series on New Hampshire PBS

RiverWoods Exeter website

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Podcast Episodes You May Like

Where Will You Live Next? – Ryan Frederick

An Anti-Ageist Second Act Business – Jan Golden

Are You Ready for The New Long Life? – Andrew Scott

Where to Retire – Silvia Ascarelli

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Mentioned in this Podcast Episode

Arthur Brooks

Robert Waldinger

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Wise Quotes

On Celebrating Aging

“I am very positive about aging. I think aging is a great thing because if you’re not aging, you’re dead! <laugh>So don’t we want to celebrate the fact that we are living another day, another month? Yes. Is aging hard? There’s no question. It’s hard. It comes with losses, it comes with emotional losses and financial losses and losses of friends and spouses and sometimes even children. It is not easy, but it is better than the alternative. Not everyone gets the gift of aging. So I would like personally for the world to start appreciating aging instead of denigrating it. Celebrate it! Don’t denigrate it. Don’t beat up on yourself because here are things you can’t do anymore.”

On Planning for Long-Term Care

“You need to be prepared to be able to think about care. And the more prepared you are, the more you plan ahead, the more choices you have and the better you’ll feel about it. Because you’re going to be thinking about what your needs will be. Don’t stick your head in the sand and pretend it’s never gonna happen to you. Then you will have an advantage over most other people. Most other people are not thinking about this.”

On Aging in Place

“The biggest fallacy that people have when they think about retirement is they say, “I’m going to age in place” and I’m putting quote marks in for your listeners age in place. Age in place means nothing. Age in place is a way to say, I’m going to stay in my house and ignore the world and myself changing. So if you want to age in place, you have to modify your home. You have to set aside money for internal caregivers. You have to make a plan, you have to share it with your financial advisor, your kids, et cetera. You can’t just stay in your home and say, I’m aging in place – because that’s not a plan. So my big message to to your listeners is no matter what age you are, assuming you’re let’s say over 60, make a plan, cost it out, share it with your financial advisor, your elder care attorney, your attorney, your kids and and think about that. And if your plan is that your kids are going to take care of you, tell them. Let them in on that.”

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About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

Take charge of your future.

Schedule a call to find how how the Designing Your Life process (developed by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans at Stanford) can help you unlock a new direction. Learn more about our One and One coaching and small group programs. Take the first step toward your new life today.

Are you prepared for the non-financial side of retirement? Take our free quiz and see what you should be preparing for in your retirement planning.

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About Your Host

Joe Casey is an executive coach who also helps people design their next life after their primary career. He created his own next chapter after a twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1.5 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes. Business Insider has recognized him as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

Retirement Wisdom · Apr 16, 2023 ·

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Are you kinder to others than you are to yourself? Dr. Kristen Neff is a leading researcher on self-compassion. She shares with us the multitude of benefits of self-compassion and how to learn the skill of being kinder to ourselves – and turn your inner critic into an inner ally.

Kristin Neff joins us from Austin, Texas.

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Bio

Kristin Neff received her doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, and is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.

During Kristin’s last year of graduate school she became interested in Buddhism and has been practicing meditation in the Insight Meditation tradition ever since. While doing her post-doctoral work she decided to conduct research on self-compassion – a central construct in Buddhist psychology and one that had not yet been examined empirically. Kristin is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, creating a scale to measure the construct almost 20 years ago. She has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential research psychologists. In addition to writing numerous academic articles and book chapters on the topic, she is author of the book Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, and her latest Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive.

In conjunction with her colleague Dr. Chris Germer, she has developed an empirically supported training program called Mindful Self-Compassion, which is taught by thousands of teachers worldwide. They co-authored The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook as well as Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program: A Guide for Professionals. She is also co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.

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For More on Dr. Kristin Neff

The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive

Website

The Mindful Self-Compassion Program (8 week course)

Research Overview:

Self–compassion: Theory, method, research, and intervention

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Podcast Episodes You May Like

Chatter & Your Inner Voice – Ethan Kross

Happier Hour – Cassie Holmes, PhD

Retire Happy – Dr. Catherine Sanderson

The Emotional Side of Retiring – Kate Schroeder

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Mentioned in This Podcast Episode

New Study:

Wise Quotes

On the Benefits of Self Compassion

“The research is very, very clear. There are both mental and physical health benefits of self-compassion. So if you think of the word in Latin – compassion – passion means suffering. It’s how are we with our suffering? And if we aren’t with it in a healthy way, in other words, if we dive into it or we become overwhelmed by it, we may develop depression or anxiety or sleep disorders, eating disorders, and then it also may start affecting our health. We might have a lot of cortisol, high blood pressure, and it can have these knock-on effects. So what happens with self-compassion is when we’re struggling, we’re hurting in some way. If we’re there for ourselves, like we would be for a supportive friend, that means we’re stronger and we’re more able to deal with the tough stuff without being knocked over by it. And so it’s linked to better mental health, not only fewer negative things like depression, anxiety, stress, but also positive mind states like happiness and optimism. And that’s because if you think about it, kindness and connectedness, these are positive emotions. So we’re kind of framing our difficulty. We aren’t pretending it’s not there, but we’re just being kind and supportive ourself to ourselves in the midst of the difficulty. And these are positive emotions that help us cope. And then that’s in turn linked to physical health. So for instance, we’re more self-compassionate, our cortisol levels are lower. We’ve got greater heart rate variability, for instance, and that means we also sleep better because we aren’t just beating ourselves up all night so that we can’t sleep. And so it’s linked to both physical and mental wellbeing.”

On Asking What Do You Need?

“The quintessential self-compassion question is, what do I need? And often we don’t even ask ourselves that question. It’s been dictated to us: Oh, I need to go to college. I need to get a graduate degree. I need to get a job. I need to have children. I need to send my children to college. I need to do this and this and this. We don’t ask ourselves: Well, what do I need? And again, one are the beauties of retirement is you can actually pause and say: Well, what is it that I need? What is it that I value? What’s really important to me? But you need to do it for yourself at this point. No one else is doing it for you. The structure isn’t given from the outside, it’s given from the inside. But it’s a beautiful time to be able to do some exploration of what are my values, what really gives me pleasure, what’s important to me. For many people, it’s a time of will actually service giving back that gives me pleasure.”

On Learning the Skills of Self Compassion

“So I started researching self-compassion in 2003, and then in 2008 I met, someone named Chris Germer who said: Kristin, I love your research, but it’s not enough just to research this stuff. You need to teach people how to be more self-compassionate. And then you can research that. And so I started teaming up with him. He had much more experience leading workshops. I had no experience in that area. And so we created something called the Mindful Self-Compassion Program, an eight week empirically supported program, with really good benefits. And so the workbook basically walks you through that eight week program, but in a workbook format, exercise by exercise. And it’s actually our bestselling book, my bestselling book, because if you want to learn self-compassion, it’s like all there. All the steps you need to learn self-compassion are in the workbook, all the basic concepts. It kind of takes you through an order starting small, working your way up. And it really lays out the skills of self-compassion. And they are skills. It is a resource. The good news is even if you aren’t used to doing it, it’s not a totally new skill because almost everyone has developed the skill of compassion for others. We know what it sounds like. We know what it feels like. The skill is just giving yourself permission to turn this resource inward and then not just outward. So it’s actually easier than you would think to practice self-compassion. The biggest hurdle is giving yourself permission and remembering to do it. But the workbook can be really handy for that reason.”

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Retirement Wisdom · Apr 9, 2023 ·

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Have you ever worked on being more mindful? It takes practice and patience. But mindfulness may help you age wisely. Berit Lewis, author of Ageing Upwards: A Mindfulness-based Framework for the Longevity Revolution, believes so. In her view, “Ageing isn’t about decline. It’s about transition.” Listen in for how mindfulness can enhance your life in the years ahead.

Berit Lewis joins us The Netherlands.

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Bio

Berit Lewis is an accredited MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) Teacher, trained in ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and also trained at Mindfulness in Schools Foundations (MiSP) to teach .B Foundations for teachers.

She is a category 1 member of VMBN (Vereniging Mindfulness Based Trainers Nederland en Vlaanderen) and holds a BA (Honours) in Psychology, a MA of Communication and a MSc of Vitality and Ageing. She has extensive experience in teaching MBSR courses in groups or to individuals.

Recently as part of her master thesis at Leyden Academy for Vitality and Ageing she developed, taught and researched an online Mindfulness Based Vitality and Ageing (MBVA) course for older persons. She has previously also developed a successful mindfulness course for teenagers.

Before founding Thriving Life she worked as a communication – and PR – specialist in Denmark and Australia – including 10 years as a communications specialist at the Danish Defence. Berit is Danish, married to a Welshman and lives in the Netherlands with two teenage children.

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For More on Berit Lewis

Ageing Upwards: A mindfulness-based framework for the longevity revolution

Thriving Life (Website)

Berit’s Blog and Newsletter

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Podcast Episodes

Honest Aging – Rosanne Leipzig, MD & PhD

Chatter & Your Inner Voice – Ethan Kross

Are You Living Gratefully? – Kristi Nelson

Retirement Planning Includes Getting Good at Getting Older – Rabbi Laura Geller

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Wise Quotes

On Successful Aging

“I really think that that whole term Successful Aging is hugely misleading. So, it’s success criteria for, for what? To avoid ageing? To stay young.? And it also really feeds into this whole story we have in our culture about aging being bad and it’s something we should avoid. Ageing is not about decline. It’s about transition. And so if we want to really use the term Successful Aging, I think the success criteria should be more how to embrace these transitions – according to what each one of us and as individual thinks is important to us. And the four skills that I mentioned in my book, Ageing Upwards, is to be aware of this ability to change our mindset, to see things in a different perspective and, and to be able to broaden out our awareness so that we can meet all the challenges we see with affection and self-compassion.”

On Mindfulness

“That whole idea about being in the present moment and relaxing is a part of mindfulness. It helps us to practice our ability to pay attention to the present moment, and for some people it also helps them calm down their nervous system. But I think there’s so much more to mindfulness than just being present. The true benefit from mindfulness really lies when we start to see, to gain this awareness as I explained before, so we are not just in the present moment, but we are aware of being in the present moment. It’s like this extra layer of it.”

On Learning to Practice Mindfulness

“Unfortunately, mindfulness is not a quick fix. I wish it was. It takes a lot of time and effort and it can also be unpleasant because we are seeing things that we might not want to see. And instead of running away from discomfort and pain, we’re turning towards it and meeting it with curiosity. So that’s what you have to be prepared for. And what’s funny is a lot of people, whenever I teach mindfulness, they come back to me after maybe three weeks and say, I’m supposed to feel less stressed by doing this stress reduction course, but all of a sudden I have more thoughts. And they don’t really notice the thoughts more, they become much more aware of the busyness that we have in our head. And in the beginning it can actually be a source of even more stress. So that’s also something that you might want to be prepared for when you you go into mindfulness – and it’s the beginning. But then eventually you start to see what it all is and how you can also cope with it. So it’s not easy to learn mindfulness. It does take some time. It’s like learning any new skill really. When you learn to play the violin or play soccer, it takes time and you’ve got to practice it. And finally, another thing that’s also hard is you can’t understand mindfulness with your intellect alone. It’s not something you can just read a book about and understand. It’s really something you have to practice. You have to feel it with your body and your senses and trying to let go of this analytical brain that most of us spent most of our time in.”

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About Retirement Wisdom

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Wellness to Wonderful – Dr. Alona Pulde & Dr. Matthew Lederman

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Have You Forgotten How to Have Fun? – Monika Jansen

The Power of Imagination in Retirement Planning – Cassandra Vieten, PhD

Are You Fit Enough for the Retirement You’re Planning? – Dr. Gregory Charlop

Season 9

When Your Time Becomes More Valuable than More Money – Daniel Goldie

Don’t Wait Until Retirement to Find Your New Thing – Charles Chumley

Spend More, Worry Less: The Forever Paycheck – Jean Chatzky

Can You Learn to Be More Optimistic as You Age? – John Trauth

Who Are You Without the Title? – Marisa Franco

Take Charge of Your Health – Lucy McBride MD

The Art of Creating What’s Next: Best of 2026 – Part Two

Map Your Days & Build Wellbeing – Matt Bloom

Don’t Reinvent. Recalibrate – Dr. Denise Taylor

Long Arm of the Past – Neal Lipschutz

The Missing Pillar of Healthy Aging – Esther Gokhale

Becoming a Rookie Again – John Fisher

How to Try Again – Steve Kamb

The Art of Pacing – Elizabeth Svoboda

The Best of 2026 – Part One – The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

Inside The Healthcare Heist – Jordan Grumet, MD

Say It Now – Walter Green

Grand Expectations & and the Unspoken “But” – Celia Dodd

Design for Optionality: Rethink Retirement – Pam Krueger

What If You Pivot Instead of Retiring? – Scott Siff

The Future of Work is Grey – Dan Pontefract

What If Retirement Is the Wrong Goal? – John Coleman

Turn Into The Swerve – Jerry Goodstein

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life…in Retirement – Marilee Adams, PhD

Two Grannies on the Road – Beth Sobiloff & Marcia Rothwell

Letting Go to Become Who You Truly Are – Deborah Santana

How to Flourish…in Retirement – Daniel Coyle

The Caregiving Trap…in Retirement – Pamela D. Wilson

The Grandparenting Blueprint – Richard Eyre (Part Two)

The Grandparenting Blueprint – Linda & Richard Eyre (Part One)

Eat Your Ice Cream – Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD

How to Stay Sharp in Retirement – Dr. Majid Fotuhi

What Do You Want Out of Life…in Retirement ? – Valerie Tiberius

Making & Keeping Friends…in Retirement – Janice McCabe

Mattering…in Retirement – Jennifer Breheny Wallace

Love & Happiness…in Retirement – Sonja Lyubomirsky

What Can Make or Break Your Retirement – Rod Yancy

Retiring Soon? What No One Tells You – Michael Kay

The ‘One More Year’ Trap – Zach Morris, CFP

Can I Retire Yet? – Darrow Kirkpatrick

Retire with Purpose – Cesar Aguirre

How to Live a Meaningful Life – Dave Evans

Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives – Daisy Fancourt

Navigating the In-Between – Monique Rhodes

Design a Phased Retirement – Anna Rappaport

The Myth of Aging – Dr. Arnold Gilberg

The Retirement You Didn’t See Coming – Dan Haylett

Season 8

Best of 2025 – Part Two

The Vintage Writers – Kim Gottlieb-Walker & Roselyn Teukolsky

A Creative Pursuit with an Intergenerational Assist – Neil & Michelle McLaughlin

My Mother’s Money – Beth Pinsker

Coming of Age in Retirement – Tom Marks

A Guide to Thriving – Jon Rosemberg

Hire a Financial Advisor or DIY? – Glenn Frank

Aging with Agility – Michelle Pannor Silver

How to Prepare Mentally for Life After Work – Joseph Maugeri

Why Brains Need Friends – Ben Rein

Re-Visioning Retirement – Susan Reid, PhD

What Matters Most – Diane Button

Less is Liberation – Christine Platt

A Serendipitous Second Act – Richard Moran

Healthy to 100: Lessons From Abroad – Ken Stern

The Art of Relationships with Adult Children – Francine Toder, PhD

The MasterChef Dentist’s Fight vs. Cancer: Food as Medicine – Chris Walinski

Life in Three Dimensions – Dr. Shige Oishi

Joyspan – Kerry Burnight, PhD

Grandparents’ Day – Kerry Byrne & Ted Page