0:00

okay welcome to the show Cindy thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today how are you I am well thank you

0:08

very much for having me here today absolutely well love to always kick off with a little bit of background so you

0:14

know you've been in the Fitness and Wellness industry for some time how uh how did you get into it it's hard to

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believe that I've been involved with the industry for it's well over 40 years now

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my journey kind of just started more as a competitor swimmer that turned into a coach that then led to me being a

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fitness instructor from being a fitness instructor it just seemed like every decade I wanted to know more about how I

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could help somebody mind body and it just kept growing so I'm I'm pretty

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proud to say that I am a certified fitness and yoga instructor I am a

0:51

holistic nutritionist and natural supplement advisor an energy and massage

0:56

practitioner and I'm currently working on my doctorate in ual Health amazing that's quite the list of

1:04

it is expertise there that's wonderful it is I know how do you find that all those um work together you know um I

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guess some of it was my own journey through health and wellness and and then of course watching either my clients or

1:20

classes or presentations I did and it never seemed to be just one part of it

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right it never was just the fitness side of it it never was just the nutritional side of of it was really seeing how

1:32

everything worked together synergistically and then um I just wanted to know more which then led into

1:39

certifications and I'm I'm just I'm one of those kind of people that it's an avid learner I just want to and our

1:45

industry has grown so much like what I knew 20 30 years ago and what we did

1:55

those years ago and what I know now it's just amazing what we've learned about the body and all the different parts so

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it's been pretty amazing place to I forget that I'm working in this industry because it just feels more like fun

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that's cool yeah the obviously the when it comes to healing or know looking to

2:17

advance yourself whether that's with your um yourself as a person as a personality or you know your your

2:23

physical body yeah absolutely you've got to take that that kind of holistic approach to it You' got to be looking at

2:29

all those different aspects and I'm sure as you um learn one different modality

2:34

and you you would you know connect that to another part and again yeah it's all beautifully connected and it's really

2:41

important to be aware of all of these little areas yeah you got it awesome well I know you've worked with many

2:48

different health organizations in Canada um how how how do you does your

2:53

expertise how do you collaborate with these organizations what what's happening there yeah well I have been

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very very fortunate uh both in Canada and internationally as well being able to work with a number of different

3:05

organizations uh whether that was in the fitness industry yoga industry Wellness ball um Natural Health retail outlets it

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can be oneon-one it can be working um coaching an individual it could be

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facilitating a seminar mentoring staff so lots of different parts and pieces to

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all that working with vendors one one I've just I've really tried to embrace

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in all different areas currently I am teaching a holistic Aqua Fitness class

3:39

which is beautiful in a private swimming pool and um getting to not only do the workout with the wonderful amazing group

3:47

that I'm with but also getting to teach them about the nutritional Parts having to do with joint care and muscle and um

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bone health I've got um an online program with Parksville pharmace right

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now and um we I I have a health topic that I I talk about each month with some

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interactive challenges and different supplies suppliers and vendors will

4:13

provide us with little goodie bags and things that go off so I had the the Zen lemonade that went out this month in in

4:20

that little bag for the healthy traveler and I've got an evening chill down and

4:26

stretch meditation and stretch program that I'm doing online so lots of different ways to be able to either

4:32

interact oneon-one or in person or even online wow yeah that's great that you're

4:38

able to I it's wonderful with the technology we have available to us to be able to use the skills that we have and

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the knowledge that we have and provide a a course or a learning experience that people can you know take kind of

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anywhere yeah and develop their own personal Journey with their learning I think that's yeah that's a really

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wonderful part of our technology try to just make it as easy as possible and and

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break it down as easy as possible for individuals so yeah yeah people like that for sure easy kind of bullet points

5:10

and you know what do I really need to know here and getting right into it Mak really

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practical yes that's what it's all about right a lifestyle making it be as practical as possible for people have

5:23

you seen the supplement Health industry change much Through The Years through

5:29

the your 40 years experience oh yeah how oh well from the formulation to how

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we deliver it how we talk to individuals about it

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um you know I I just think that every aspect of it has really changed over the

5:49

years um when I think about even what products were

5:55

available 20 30 years ago you know was very minimal and now we have a huge

6:04

selection of product products to work with but even with that being said the

6:10

delivery system and and how it's going to be best utilized for individuals

6:15

right in the formulations I you know and that for me that's a real big one I didn't realize that I was such a a

6:22

sciencey geeky kind of person until um I really had the opportunity to look at

6:27

the formulations and how the body then is able to absorb different types of

6:32

nutrients Etc so yeah so you've seen the quality of product and the science

6:38

attached to that improved through the years and as's more companies put out

6:44

different and sometimes very similar products that's forcing these companies to um make much more quality yes

6:52

ingredients and and more bioavailable ingredients and that's only you know as the as the market and the consumers

6:58

become a little bit more aware of the difference between let's say a really good product and a not so good product

7:04

yeah that's that's forcing these manufacturers to um provide provide the science and provide really good quality

7:10

products and that's only yeah that can only really benefit the consumer yes yes

7:16

and a lot of what as a a natural supplement advisor I I feel my role is

7:22

is being able to um help the consumer be able to decide what product and why and

7:31

so having beautiful things like true hope to be able to you know say well this is why you want to look at these

7:37

products so so yeah as a as a um natural

7:42

supplement advisor like what do you look for in a supplement and also the comp I

7:49

suppose you look at the company as well and how they're manufacturing where they're getting their ingredients from

7:54

like what are you what are you looking for you know for for me a big part

8:02

of talking to a a consumer is to have that background story so even when you

8:10

know with true hope I was introduced to the product probably oh 10 plus years

8:16

ago but where I really learned about the product I was an instructor trainer for

8:23

a a big uh health food store in Alberta and I had the opportunity to meet with

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um an adviser from True hope that came in told the story about the company this

8:36

is why the product was kind of developed and and then of course learned about the

8:42

formulations and the sourcing and the research in the science and the support

8:48

to clients behind it so those as an advisor those are really big things for me so when I'm talking to a consumer

8:55

it's this whole line was developed specifically for you know we are mental health and stress

9:03

and and and and of course um sleep which are two huge ones that I get a lot of

9:10

questions about they're in Canada they you know that's another big one for me as an adviser I like to support anything

9:17

that is you know locally here been created and and and sourced and put together and then and and having the

9:24

support afterwards as well so um at as a

9:30

adviser true hope is is just a beautiful product to be able to mark off all those

9:35

things that I look for and in the how it's been created formulated and and

9:41

supported and the story is beautiful as well so yeah certainly is yeah it's quite quite remarkable um in regards to

9:48

the so when you're looking at a supplement company you know you're somebody who's been in the game for a long time and I think that a lot of

9:55

people who take supplements you know I'm a holistic nutritionist as well well when I speak to my C clients about

10:04

supplements not many people are aware about you know it's really important to look at the Quality and looking at these

10:10

companies so people don't really look past the actual like label of the bottle somebody's been recommended to take magnesium for um muscle cramps or

10:18

something you know they're just going to go in and there's like eight different forms of magnesium that you can find in different stores right so how important

10:25

is it that um for a specific product that you're looking looking for how important is it that it's um it's

10:32

researched well and maybe you could talk a little bit about about that because I

10:37

think it's important to notice that so we have 35 36 independent third party um

10:44

control trials for our for empow plus as a micron nutrient supplement and that's independent third party that's not like

10:51

we've paid a university and given a load of product to do you know can you tell us the the importance of first of all

10:57

the research behind the actual product in the the the actual supplement you're going to get in the bottle and then also

11:04

why it's important to have like third party independent studies in in talking to a consumer as

11:11

to why they would want to look at those things yeah um you know for me it's

11:16

really about going back to getting the best bang for your

11:22

buck and and and looking at it that way for an individual if you're going to put something into your body you want get

11:29

you want to pick the best things that you're going to put into your body to get the the quickest and fastest results

11:36

so um and I and you know we live in a world where we're looking for everything happening super quick and fast and um

11:44

and we don't want and we want to make sure that we're managing our funds as well so when I look at a product that's

11:52

on the shelf that may be a higher and a higher price it's of course explaining

11:58

that it's going going to have more ingredients in it as well as how it is

12:06

going to be sourced and what type of products that you're going to get into that and I just I you know a big thing

12:12

for me is saying things like getting the best bang for your buck and um being

12:18

able to get the fastest results that you want sure you could take and use something else but you may not get the

12:25

results that you're looking for and that will usually have an individual really rethink their

12:33

purchasing power and how and put their nutrition at the Forefront and then to

12:41

what I you know I'm pretty lucky in the sense that I am certified and Avers in

12:47

other areas as well so to say to them that on the Nutri you know right in the

12:53

nutritional side is a key component of your health so you want to make sure

12:59

that your micronutrients and your macronutrients are the highest quality

13:05

as possible in order to get you know assuming that your results are to be

13:11

longevity and age gracefully and be able to have great Mobility um I usually can

13:18

get away with the fact that you know um I look 10 to 15 years not only look but

13:24

feel and act 10 to 15 years younger than my my actual chronological age so um

13:33

that does me pretty good in in talking about that with individuals as well and letting them know that you know my my

13:39

choices have been high quality supplementation through all of that so

13:46

um and then you know getting to have the the brochures or the background to to

13:52

lay it down on paper for some of those individuals that that need that paper and um W follow that trail you can go to

14:00

this website you know with true hope and you can see all the independent studies

14:05

you can talk to somebody about them as well so certainly yeah I think it's really important to recognize that all

14:12

these products are on the Shelf um these different supplements you know they're on the they're on the shelf for a reason

14:17

you know like they've been they've been studied they've been utilized and if you're going to go and look at the actual research for a product like empow

14:24

plus you know micro nutrient formula they've been and they've used very specific spefic forms in very specific

14:30

doses to work together synergistically and during the different

14:36

types of studies that they do whether they're looking at its effect on ADHD or um anxiety or depression they're using

14:43

very deliberate um dosages and they're monitoring these know they're monitoring

14:48

against a placebo group very very closely so it's very important to make sure that we're taking the right forms

14:55

in the right dosages that connects with the research that's actually been done because because you know a lot of people can get the the wrong forms of let's say

15:03

magnesium and not taking enough or maybe taking too much so it's really important to be aware of like what do the research

15:09

show us what are they doing in these studies for the kind of effect that I'm looking for and obviously working with a

15:14

a health professional who is you know aware of the supplement industry and you know works with good quality supplements

15:20

and you know why am I taking this product how much of this do I need to take maybe this is the best brand for me

15:27

obviously we have to take budget and everything into account as well but all this information is like super available

15:33

and if it's um maybe a little bit too hard to read some of the studies then there's always health professionals like

15:40

yourself that can help translate this for people and I feel like most good quality supplement companies like true

15:46

hope there there's plenty of them out there that have this literature in very easy to understand forms and if you want

15:52

to dive a bit deeper you can jump into the journals themselves and um check it

15:57

out for yourself so I think yeah and I think the the big point that that you are making is that you know you can take

16:04

people should be taking this responsibility for the for them for themselves into diving into their own

16:09

health and you know if you're taking something I think you should be really aware of like what it is what are you doing and and you know being really

16:16

conscious and aw aware of that rather than just taking something because you know you you think you should do or you

16:23

read an article or something you know I think you should friend next door told me that it was really good and helped them so yeah exactly that doesn't hold

16:30

too much weight behind it that whole process so yeah I'm glad I'm glad we're on the same page there that's yeah yeah

16:36

I really I really love to educate and Empower individuals to look at why

16:42

they're doing the things that they're doing and um and of course having the opportunity to direct them to different

16:49

suppliers vendors with the information that do all of that as well for us so

16:54

awesome have you used our products personally I have I do actually daily so

17:01

um some are some of them are a daily thing for me others are ones that I have in my supplement regime and they I

17:07

Circle through them and netol is a big one for me it's it's in my daily water intake I have the the um the Zen

17:16

lemonade every day and um I have at lunchtime if I don't have

17:23

it in in the lemonade I have it in a little container that I have kind of as my oh sweet little kind of snack after

17:31

my lunch so I always kind of pull off into a little corner out lunchtime and

17:36

um that way I can do some meditation and do some stretching and things like that and there I have my little white powder

17:43

that I'm eating away at um quite interesting some people wondered about that for I had to do a little explaining

17:49

on that one to to let people know what that white powder was but it gave me a great opportunity to you know chat a

17:55

little bit more with individuals so um so it is yeah I do I use them um true

18:03

hope is like I said part of my regime of supplements and Cy either cycling

18:08

through or daily using them wonderful and do you like tell tell us about your some recommendations that you might give

18:16

um to some people for our products so in no for an example like why would you recommend that usually for oh a niol is

18:26

usually that one that I asked stress anxiety that's that that's the primary

18:33

one that that conversation comes up is um which I I I myself am a little bit

18:41

more of a proactive which is why I like to drink it just every day just to to help calm the nervous system I work in a

18:48

fast busy environment so just trying to support it that way um but for

18:54

individuals as a as needed I find it works very quickly as needed and then um

19:02

also for Sleep helping with with sleep as well it's to me it falls in the realm

19:08

of of more of a food food source it's in a powdered form which I love that for um

19:16

being able to suggest something to an individual because we can put it into a liquid and then be able to have it me

19:23

more bioavailable for the body um so that one's a that's a big real big one

19:29

for me the EMP uh Power Plus is another big one for

19:36

speaking with individuals usually that one will be someone who has been chronic

19:44

stress or and whether that's physical emotional environmental they've been under some

19:51

there's been some kind of trauma or or long-term chronic stress and um that

19:57

would be another real big go-to do for me as well and whether that becomes a

20:02

shortterm or a long-term supplement for them and um and and and and of course

20:08

everyone is a little bit different for that so yeah but those are two really big ones for me that I um that I speak a

20:17

lot to uh stress and sleep seem to be huge conversations for individuals of

20:26

all different age groups and which is why I really like the NL in there

20:31

because I can even speak that one you know for a much younger crowd and um you

20:37

know all the way up to my 80 and 90 year olds at walk in asking for help and

20:43

support too so yeah wonderful yeah my my two-year-old loves it in his camera mile

20:48

tea before he goes to bed yeah yeah it's great settles him down a little bit he has this really beautiful transition

20:54

into um play into like that routine for bedtime and then just goes to sleep no

21:00

problem and I find I find it as well if I'm feeling a little bit agitated or irritated I need to just like gra myself

21:07

in also to in just um water and some lemon juice just just awesome super

21:12

refreshing as well yeah why um why do you recommend true hopes EMP Power Plus and

21:19

an oror rather than other brands I think it goes back

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to the formulations the sourcing the studies behind it the support as

21:32

well um you know usually these individuals

21:38

are requiring some help and support in that area and needing a powerful

21:45

well-manufactured supplement for their for them so um

21:51

Canadian you know supporting can those are really those are the big ones those are the reasons you know behind yeah

21:59

that the choice over others so yeah I I have the um I'm blessed to um know do a

22:05

lot of work on our website and I you know I deal with the the live chat that comes through there and um people are

22:12

really Blown Away in regards to like our micronutrient support team yes who who you know if somebody's looking to I

22:19

think a a classic message I get every day is I'm on so and so medication for

22:26

my depression or anxiety and I'm looking for a natural um health

22:32

supplement micro micronutrient formulation multivitamin that's going to help me um kind of come off that slowly

22:40

yes and we have this incredible micronutrient support team that you can that you can email you can call you can

22:45

get the information from our website if if you're interested but they can communicate with you in regards to your

22:51

own personal situation and they can help guide you in regards to um what which of our products to implement and how to do

22:58

that um because obviously when we're dealing with you know psychotropics or any other like medications we have to be

23:04

super um aware that these you know these are serious drugs yeah and they have to

23:10

be taken seriously and not many other companies um provide that especially like first that that first initial

23:17

consultation you know like there's not many companies that provide that and if you were in a specific area in Canada we

23:23

can easily hook you up with our our rep there so you can start building relationship and asking all those kind of key questions we have a really

23:30

amazing relationship with a lot of our our customers and I've been working with the company for about four years now and

23:36

that always blows me away about how you know how quickly and how efficiently we communicate with uh our customers

23:44

because a lot of them who you know need Empower Plus in their lives quite

23:50

desperately and they they need that support quite quite quickly yeah and

23:56

that's huge for me that's huge having that resource available to that customer

24:02

that comes in because being on the floor in a retail environment um there's only

24:09

so far I can go and being able to help and support so to be able to have that next step for them is just so empowering

24:17

for them and and to watch to to watch them light up and and just see that

24:26

they've got hope because of course um sometimes they're told that being on that medication is is the only answer

24:33

for them and it's just it's beautiful it honestly it it just makes my heart so happy when I have those conversations

24:40

and know that when I give them the brochure and they walk away that they're going to be well looked after with that

24:47

so thank you for that yeah there's a lot of amazing people behind the scenes that work a true hope and yeah you're recommending

24:53

much more than a product that's for sure yeah um how have you seen that power

24:59

plus support and help people um well I i' I've you know I've

25:05

seen it with my own family members there's been times where uh whe was my

25:11

son um and my both my son and my daughter both adults that you know had

25:17

some pretty rough spells in their lives as we all go through that right we all go through that at one point in time and

25:23

knowing that they needed they needed that help and support and could see the

25:28

change and the difference in them physically as well as as em you know in

25:34

their whole physical being as well as talking to them and you know from an emotional perspective but for them to

25:40

walk away and also being able to recognize that I I can't tell you how

25:45

many customers I've had come in and give me testimonials about product as well um

25:54

so you know if I haven't seen it myself then i' I've had you know other

25:59

customers come in and tell me as well so yeah that's always amazing feedback when you hear that in in a clinic in a

26:05

clinical setting as well that's really amazing yeah how um when you're recommending EMP Power Plus how do you

26:10

Rec how do you explain to people how it works um well for me whenever I'm I'm

26:18

doing any consultations it it's a little bit like looking at it holistically right and talking about the body systems

26:24

and how they kind of work synergistically together um big thing off is something usually has

26:32

happened that has brought them to that place where they're looking at um or I'm suggesting looking at something the the

26:40

the EMP uh Power Plus so there's there's usually been a big traumatic event or

26:45

they're really stressed or whatever that may be so just letting them know that

26:50

they're not alone in that whole process and that when the mind and the body get out of balance that there's a deficiency

26:57

that occurs and then of course I take the product I look at the back and I say

27:02

look it in here you're getting everything everything that your body needs from your all your micronutrients

27:10

your vitamins your minerals it's been synergistically kind of put together then you've got your amino acids and

27:16

you've got some antioxidants there so the way it's been formulated and how

27:22

it's going to support you you from a nutritional perspective and then you

27:27

know I always in there how the body systems kind of work that we also want to make sure that we're looking after

27:33

gut Flora that we are looking after how the nutrients get sent to the rest of

27:40

the body so your um Omega-3s and that it's not just about

27:46

taking the product that they need to look at some lifestyle changes so whether that

27:51

is some stress reduction techniques that they need to bring in and or if it's EXT

27:58

exercise or getting outside so um being able to kind of just pull it all

28:04

together for them and and knowing that it's been synergistically put together

28:10

for someone just like them that they need that yeah I find that um well there's no

28:18

magic bullet for anything no absolutely not and I find that Empower plus gives a

28:24

lot of people the ability to have the extra energy Clarity mental

28:31

thought whatever that might be to do the other things yeah that are going to fuel them in a very positive way whether

28:37

that's to have the energy to go through a walk or lift this kind of foggy

28:43

thinking and have a bit more clarity or give her a little bit of um relief from

28:49

the kind of like dark cloud of depression that people very often describe and once you've got the ability

28:54

to um see things a bit differently and you've Tak a little bit of that weight off the shoulders because you're giving

29:00

your body Super Nutrition that's super available and you don't have to have the best digestion in the world to up uptake

29:07

all this stuff because it's just ready to go be be absorbed it really gives people the um the opportunity to take

29:15

the next step for themselves because you know just one product or one thing isn't going to really do much in the long term

29:21

but it might give you the opportunity to focus on those other lifestyle factors that will you know put you in the right

29:27

direction a great foundational component right and

29:32

that's kind of where I try to speak to it from is it being the foundational part of it all so yeah yeah and that's

29:40

why we that's why we see it work for so many people whether it's like on this wide scale of like you know really

29:46

serious psychological conditions like bipolar or schizophrenia and then all the way down to like mild stress if your

29:53

foundations aren't taken care of it doesn't matter like yeah you're going to you're going to struggle so that's why we see it supports so many different

29:59

people and you know we're super blessed that we're able to um to do that for for so many yeah how um I'm interested to

30:07

get your answer on this because you've so experienced and you you've been in the game for a long time but like how are you supporting your mental health

30:15

and well-being during this insane couple of years yeah um well you know what I have

30:23

to say it's really really stretched or pushed or

30:30

solidified my pract I feel very grateful with the fact that I I have a daily practice of yoga meditation so that

30:37

that's just what I do I do it in the morning I do it midday I do it in the evening I have for years and years and years so that helps a lot the other big

30:47

thing for me is um very fortunate to live on Vancouver Island and I love to

30:53

be outside so my day either starts or ends or both that's usually how it goes

31:00

starts and ends with um either a beach walk or a forest walk Barefoot in the

31:08

sand in the grass connecting with nature um that's allows me to just really kind

31:15

of clear a lot looking after my nutrition I you know uh reducing any

31:21

sugar is huge one making sure I'm well hydrated and and taking my

31:26

supplementation and I already mentioned and the Zen um

31:31

lemonade the netol is for me a daily thing that's thrown in there laugh is

31:39

another big one I think that's really important that we forget to do I totally

31:45

get an understand and I'm not um discounting the devastation that's happened in the world or the people that

31:51

have had to deal with you know illness or suffering but um I think smiling and

31:57

laughing being kind and and just REM remembering the love of either yourself

32:03

others the environment is um big ones big ones for me so that's how I'm taking

32:10

care of myself and how I have taking care of myself luckily enough I've I've

32:16

been able to be introduced to those things for quite some time and I know what it's like when I don't do those

32:21

things so I just have I've had to turn them up a little bit have to say there's

32:26

been a few times that really had to crank it up and there's a few more times that I've had to um be down at the beach

32:34

and and um just grounding a little bit more than I I normally would but um yeah

32:40

that that's that's me that's how I kind of what I do how I hang out they're your

32:46

they're your they're your tools right they're your they're your your your your tricks and tools to be able to settle

32:54

your body down settle your mind down and your ground and being in one place and

32:59

reflect rather than you know we just you know our body is just carrying our mind

33:04

around from task to task thought to thought feeling to feeling all the time yeah I think it's super important that

33:09

we all have some sort of practice I feel that my nutritional experience my

33:15

understanding of the body and the mind and the power of meditation and fitness and all these things like is really

33:22

really you know those things I've learned have really prepared me for kind of like these these events yeah and um

33:28

yeah super I really really encourage people to even just kind of take up one one thing in regards to their

33:35

own personal health mental physical on a daily basis and really really commit to

33:42

that practice because it can do absolute wonders to your to your psychological State yes wonderful well how can people

33:50

how can people connect with you so you're on the island where whereabouts Parksville I'm in Parksville yeah yeah

33:57

that's where I am at the current moment yes okay wonderful and then and what's

34:03

the best way to people to connect with you if they want to learn more information yeah um Facebook so if you

34:08

want to connect with me on Facebook uh Cindy Walker 13 I think is where I kind of pop up there uh Instagram I'm am

34:16

under Zen Gypsy and the Gypsy is spelled with SE

34:22

EA yes with C and or you know what send me send me an email too I'd like to go

34:28

old school send me an email so email address is holum that's H

34:34

wh i b r IU M gmail.com wonderful we'll make sure that

34:42

all of that information is available in the show notes so people can connect with you thank you appreciate your time

34:47

today Cindy thank you so much thank you from my heart to yours

34:53

yeah absolutely thank you so much yeah it's uh really wonderful to connect with people and again like the um the

34:59

technology that we have on our hands to to connect and be able to share this information out to many people who you

35:05

know need need some constant reminders about how to take take care of themselves I

35:12

think it's uh yeah we're truly blessed with what we can do these days yes wonderful well thank you so much for

35:18

joining with us everybody for more information on anything that we've spoken about in this episode don't forget to check the show notes please

35:24

subscribe if you if you haven't yet thank you so much for listening this is true Hope cast the official podcast of

35:29

true hope Canada we will see you next week

35:34

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