Just wanted everyone to know that the discounted “early access” rate for the online Certified Mental Wellness Coach (CMWC) is scheduled to close at midnight tonight – but we are going to keep it open over the weekend for anyone who wants to join at the discounted $300 rate before it reverts to it’s normal cost of $500 (which is still amazing).

I read a short but interesting article from the guys who run Growth Equation (which I support and recommend – you can do the same here).

They were writing about how an astronaut, a Navy SEAL, an elite runner, and a world-class Ironman coach could teach us about peak performance (I know, it sounds like one of those ‘man walks into a bar” jokes)…

They were all speaking at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference – which I’ve never been able to fit into my schedule, but as a Sloan alum (entrepreneurship), I’ve been trying and dying to get to!

The fun part was that they they ALL described how the approach to peak performance involved some aspect of the “soft” skills like “love” or “joy” or “connection” with teammates. These are often thought of a ‘woo-woo’ and definitely not the kind of “data-driven” metrics that drive many of the “marginal gains” that characterize modern discussion about peak performance and yet they work and make ALL the difference.

As Steve writes, “Of course you also need the hard work, the deliberate practice, and even some data, science, and gadgets to understand how to perform better. But too often, we reach for the special routine, the supplement, the optimization of our work schedule, and neglect the human component. We don’t cultivate joy and love—of the process and of those on our team.

LOVE WINS!

I just loved this little piece of advice from Ryan Holiday’s newsletter (which you should subscribe to)…

For everything you add, take something away. There’s a great story of Mark Parker who, just after he became CEO of Nike, called Steve Jobs for advice. “Just one thing,” Jobs said. “Nike makes some of the best products in the world. Products that you lust after. But you also make a lot of crap. Just get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff.” “He was absolutely right,” Parker said. “We had to edit.” Because we’ve always done it this way, is not a good reason.

I also liked this one – because while Ryan and his wife opened a bookstore – my wife and I opened a wellness-oriented Bed & Breakfast – because none of us should be waiting for “someday”…

The number one thing people say when they hear we have a bookstore is “I’ve always wanted to do that.” That’s a sad thing to say. If you want to do something, do it. I’m not saying it will be easy or even fun…but Seneca is right when he said that the one thing fools all have in common is that they are always telling themselves someday.

I’m very excited to deliver the Keynote presentation tomorrow at the NAMI Conference in Honolulu – here are the slides that I’ll be using (download link below) – it is a LOT of slides, but many are for reference because I want the attendees to have a deep understanding of the Microbiome-Gut-Heart-Brain-Axis as a new paradigm to help our clients feel their best with optimized Mental Wellness.

UPDATE – I recorded the audio of my presentation – so you can download the audio and the slides and “follow along” as I present the ~1-hr seminar and Q&A session – it was a lot of fun!

Last week, we opened a special “Early Access” registration for the online version of the Certified Mental Wellness Coach program (CMWC) – to bring education about #MentalWellness to as many people as we can – and the response has been amazing! There is clearly a huge need for education around natural approaches for improving Mental Wellness…

If you’re interested in the type of content that we cover in the CMWC, you can get a good idea by watching the recording of the 2-day class (16 hours!) that we did in Nashville a few months ago (Day 1 and Day 2 are posted on YouTube – which you can subscribe to for notifications about new uploads).

Here is the outline of my presentation for the NAMI Conference – we will try to record it and post the video here…

Hearts & Minds & Microbiomes – Oh My!

-optimizing mood, motivation, and mental wellness by optimizing the brain-body-biome.

Presentation Description…

1. How the Microbiome-Gut-Brain-Heart-Axis is related to mental well-being

2. How to engineer their microbiome for ultimate mental performance (stress, mood, energy, focus, sleep, resilience, etc).

3. How to choose probiotics, prebiotics, and other nutrients for maximum benefits.

Learning Objectives…

1. Understand how bacteria in our gut determine what happens in our brain and relate to our overall mental well-being?

2. Understand how those signals get out of balance – and how to rebalance them?

3. What are some of the mistakes that people make when they think about “gut health”?

4. Can people do this with food and exercise alone – Where do supplements fit in?

Top resources…

Mental Fitness by Shawn Talbott

The Mind Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer

The Psychobiotic Revolution by Scott Anderson

Brain Changer by Felice Jacka

This is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo

Bio…

Dr. Shawn Talbott is a PsychoNutritionist who integrates nutrition, biochemistry, and psychology to help people feel, look, and perform better. 

As a scientist (PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry, Rutgers) and entrepreneur (EMP in Entrepreneurship, MIT), his recent projects include two academic textbooks, an award-winning documentary film, several best-selling books translated into multiple languages, and numerous top-selling nutraceuticals and functional foods.

Dr. Talbott runs the Amare Wellness Center and trains people as Certified Mental Wellness Coaches in Plymouth, MA and online at Marietta College.

An intriguing article in New Scientist, describes PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) more as a “whole body” syndrome rather than “just” a condition of the ovaries (which is brilliant – see the graphics below).

PCOS is typically characterized by high testosterone levels (which can also cause acne, excess hair on the face and body and thinning head hair); irregular periods (suggesting estrogen/progesterone imbalance, and often interfering with fertility and leading to difficulty getting pregnant); and presence of “cysts” on one or both ovary (which are not actually cysts, but rather undeveloped eggs that are “trapped” in a state of immaturity).

PCOS is estimated to affect somewhere around 10-20 percent of all premenopausal women – making it more common than diabetes – and yet it is so poorly understood. A high percentage of women with PCOS also develop insulin resistance (pre-diabetes), gain weight, and see their moods fluctuate between depression and anxiety.

Luckily, there are a number of effective lifestyle approaches for restoring hormone balance, blood sugar control, and mood. These include the Mediterranean Diet (and my favorite version – the Mental Fitness Diet) to rebalance overall metabolism, as well as traditional herbal remedies such as Shatavari (to balance estrogen) and Fenugreek (to balance testosterone).

In a recent review of research papers on the symptoms associated with post-viral infection with SARS CoV-2 coronavirus – what is commonly now known as “long-COVID” – researchers have estimated that with 755 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world, and a conservative estimate that ~10% of infected go on to develop long-COVID, there are more than 75 million people suffering with symptoms of long-COVID globally.

Symptoms of long-COVID look a lot like other conditions associated with viral infections and microbiome disruptions, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, but the scale of the long-COVID pandemic is truly staggering (see full list of symptoms in the graphic below).

Most commonly, symptoms include brain fog, shortness of breath, post-exertional malaise, disrupted immune system (sometimes suppressed leading to an increase in colds/flu – and sometimes overactive leading to allergies, food intolerances, and other auto-immune problems).

Luckily, many patients respond well to natural interventions that restore microbiome balance, reestablish gut integrity, and “prime” immune system function back up/down to normal. I’ve written about many of these interventions in Mental Fitness and teach them in detail in my online Mental Wellness Coach Certification, including specific strains of probiotic bacteria, targeted structures of prebiotic fibers, and phytobiotic plant extracts that can all improve signaling across the Gut-Brain-Axis to help people feel better.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR RESEARCH STUDY!

DO YOU HAVE SEASONAL POLLEN ALLERGIES?

HELP US EVALUATE A NATURAL YEAST EXTRACT 

(CM-glucan) for its effectiveness on measures of mood, quality of life, inflammation, stress and the microbiome in self-described allergy sufferers.

• 6 Week Supply of Supplement (CM-Glucan) or Placebo
• 3 (at-home) Measurement Sessions 
  • surveys 
  • inflammation & stress markers (at home saliva sample kit)
  • microbiome (at home stool sample kit)
• $50 gift card as a thank you after completion of required measurements

Please contact:          

 Julie Talbott

3 Waves Wellness, LLC

julietalbott@mac.com

801-712-0408

Here is the deep dive that I presented this past Wednesday evening – where I covered the Heart-Brain-Axis and how we can use natural ingredients like astaxanthin, palm fruit, saffron, and others to improve heart function (physical performance), brain function (cognition/focus), and overall mood (less stress, better mood, lower irritability).

I also announced the patents that were recently issued for MentaHeart and Kids Mood+ from Amare Global.

The recorded presentation is HERE and the slides can be downloaded below.

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Enjoy!

I’m looking forward to delivering the Keynote at the “Hearts & Minds” Conference next week in Honolulu.

The event is a 3-way partnership between NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Wellness); MHA (Mental Health America); and the CMWC (Certified Mental Wellness Coach program at Marietta College).

NAMI + MHA + CMWC = that’s a lot of alphabet soup – but you put it all together and we’re educating people around the world about how “Mental Health IS Physical Health” and it is important for all of us to understand how we can improve both.

Last week, we held an excellent 2-day in-person CMWC in Salt Lake City – and Early Access registration opened yesterday for the online version of the CMWC – and we are holding a special one-day Certification in Honolulu on March 27 – so we are trying to bring education about #MentalWellness to as many people as we can.

Here is the outline of my presentation for the conference – we will try to record it and post the video here…

Hearts & Minds & Microbiomes – Oh My!

-optimizing mood, motivation, and mental wellness by optimizing the brain-body-biome.

Presentation Description…

1. How the Microbiome-Gut-Brain-Heart-Axis is related to mental well-being

2. How to engineer their microbiome for ultimate mental performance (stress, mood, energy, focus, sleep, resilience, etc).

3. How to choose probiotics, prebiotics, and other nutrients for maximum benefits.

Learning Objectives…

1. Understand how bacteria in our gut determine what happens in our brain and relate to our overall mental well-being?

2. Understand how those signals get out of balance – and how to rebalance them?

3. What are some of the mistakes that people make when they think about “gut health”?

4. Can people do this with food and exercise alone – Where do supplements fit in?

Top resources…

Mental Fitness by Shawn Talbott

The Mind Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer

The Psychobiotic Revolution by Scott Anderson

Brain Changer by Felice Jacka

This is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo

Bio…

Dr. Shawn Talbott is a PsychoNutritionist who integrates nutrition, biochemistry, and psychology to help people feel, look, and perform better. 

As a scientist (PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry, Rutgers) and entrepreneur (EMP in Entrepreneurship, MIT), his recent projects include two academic textbooks, an award-winning documentary film, several best-selling books translated into multiple languages, and numerous top-selling nutraceuticals and functional foods.

Dr. Talbott runs the Amare Wellness Center and trains people as Certified Mental Wellness Coaches in Plymouth, MA and online at Marietta College.

I am very excited to announce “early access” to the ONLINE version of the Certified Mental Wellness Coach (CMWC).

For the NEXT TWO WEEKS ONLY (March 19-31) we are offering a very special discount for students to take the course and earn their certification before the official launch in April.

Tuition for the online CMWC is $500 – but for the next 2 weeks, “early access” will only be $300 – so we can work with a limited number of students to ensure everything works as expected.

Register here = After registering, you will receive an email with a link and code to access the class

The online CMWC is the same 16-hours of content provided in the in-person class – delivered in a SELF-PACED format and covering the Microbiome, Gut-Brain-Axis, Heart-Brain-Axis, Immune System, Mindset, Movement, Nutrition, Sleep, Metabolism, Hormone Balance, and Aging.

Watch a short video here about what the course covers.

At the conclusion of the course, students will receive their Digital Badge from Marietta College as a Certified Mental Wellness Coach – and will maintain ongoing access to the website for Continuing Education as the science of the Microbiome and Mental Wellness progresses.

We have held in-person CMWC courses around the country in Wisconsin, Charlotte, Honolulu, Orange County, Salt Lake City, and several at 3 Waves Wellness in Plymouth MA – so I am very pleased to be able to bring the online version and our training on mental wellness to more people.

Register here = After registering, you will receive an email with a link and code to access the class

Please let me know any questions – and I look forward to “seeing” you in class.