From Fight-or-Flight to Peace: Meditation with Kara Goodwin

Imagine flipping a switch in your body that tells your brain, “You’re safe.” That’s what a few minutes of intentional breath can do, and it’s the doorway we walk through with meditation guide and author Kara Goodwin. We talk about real stress, real loss, and the very human habit of living braced for the next blow — then we map the simple moves that shift you from fight-or-flight to a steadier baseline you can feel.

Kara opens up about a cascade of family crises that pushed her to seek help, first in a secular way and then in a way that quietly reintroduced the sacred. She didn’t start as a mystic; she started as someone with a loud mind. The breakthrough came with method: posture you can repeat, breath you can trust, and a short sequence that teaches your nervous system safety on demand. We unpack the science, too: how the limbic system’s alarm gives way to the prefrontal cortex’s clarity; why even eight weeks of short sessions can rewire habits of reactivity; and how clinicians leverage meditation for anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and chronic pain. Along the way, we touch immunity, sleep, memory, and the subtle gifts of noticing more meaning in ordinary days.

If you’ve tried to “quiet your mind” and felt like you were doing it wrong, this conversation offers a kinder map. Start with one minute. Sit upright, breathe low and slow, lengthen your exhale, and return when you drift. We close with concrete

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Chapters

• 0:00 Why Meditation Matters Now
• 1:08 Meet Kara Goodwin
• 2:26 Kara’s Trauma-To-Meditation Journey
• 6:45 Worthiness, God, and the Moon Metaphor
• 12:08 How Breath Hacks the Nervous System
• 18:40 Sponsor Message: Ready Hour
• 19:24 Micro Adventure: Fishing Ethics
• 21:27 Key Benefits: Calm, Memory, Immunity
• 26:15 PTSD, Depression, and Brain Rewiring
• 31:45 Beginner How-To: Time, Posture, Place
• 36:10 Closing Wisdom and Resources
• 37:10 Newsletter and Magnesium Segment

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

New Nama Big Lie.

SPEAKER_01: 0:05

Imagine a tool so simple it requires only your breath, yet powerful enough to reshape your brain's response to life's chaos. In today's fast-paced world, therapists increasingly recommend meditation as a powerful tool to combat stress and mental health challenges. One researcher calls meditation elite cognitive draining. Therapists champion meditation as a transformative tool to ease stress and mental health challenges. Backed by research, it reduces anxiety, lifts mood, and alleviates pain. For those facing depression, post-traumatic stress, or chronic pain, meditation rewires the brain for resilience. It fits everyone. Busy professionals, finding calm veterans and law enforcement agents healing trauma or seniors seeking peace. Today, I'm joined by expert Kara Goodwin to share how to start or elevate your meditation practice while maintaining your religious beliefs. Learn how minutes daily can transform lives with real stories and data, and how you can begin your meditation practice today. Hi, friends, welcome to the New Normal Big Life Podcast. We bring you natural news and stories about nature that we hope will inspire you to get outside and adventure, along with the step-by-step plan to help you practice what you've learned and create your own new normal and live the biggest life you can dream. I'm your host, Antoinette Lee, the Wellness Warrior. Let's dive in to today's transformational topic with Kara Goodwin. Kara Goodwin is the host of the Soul Elevation podcast, where she explores ascension, spiritual awakening, energy healing, extraterrestrial connections, and consciousness. As a skilled energy healer and meditation guide, Kara empowers others to deepen their spiritual connection through transformative practices. Her debut book, Your Authentic Awakening, a Guide to Everyday Spiritual Living, provides a roadmap to embracing a spiritually awakened and authentic life. Through her work, Kara inspires others to elevate their souls and align with their highest potential.

SPEAKER_00: 2:13

Hi, Kara. Welcome to New Normal Big Life. Hi, Antoinette. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here with you.

SPEAKER_01: 2:20

I'm excited for this discussion. Can you start off by telling us what is your journey, your personal journey into meditation? And why did you focus your expertise in this area?

SPEAKER_00: 2:31

You know, it really all started with trauma. And a lot of people's journeys through transformation happen because their reality crumbles in front of them. And that's what happened for me. So several years ago, oh coming up to 10 years ago now, I all in one, in basically half a year, in about seven months, I had a series of tragedies happen, starting with the death of my sister-in-law. She took her life, which was shocking. She had two young kids and was about to get married. And it was, and she was one of my best friends. Three weeks later, our dog died. A few weeks after that, my stepdad was declining and he ended up having spinal stenosis and needed to have surgery on his brain stem, which is always, there's always a big question mark with that. Like, how are you going to come out the other side of that? Luckily, he is doing well. But he was deteriorating really rapidly. Then my mother-in-law was hit by a motorbike as she crossed the street. So she was in the hospital for a long time, recovering from that. Then my stepmom was in, ended up in the ICU with heart failure and had a heart transplant. So it was a humongous amount of stress. And all of this time, my husband, my kids, and I were living abroad. So we weren't with either of our families. My husband's family is in in England, my family's in the US, and we were living in Italy. So it wasn't even easy to kind of connect with our families because we had lives that were going, and you know, it was hard to drop everything every time the new thing showed up. You know, every one of those things we would have loved to devote months of support to everybody to help and, you know, for ourselves as well. And it was just one thing after another. And through that, I really, you know, I was to be honest, I was kind of coasting through this Mediterranean life that I was living. And, you know, it wasn't always easy, but I was really enjoying life there. And when this started to happen, I just lost my footing. And I needed something because I was just not, I felt so much. It really I noticed I was feeling fear anytime my phone rang. Because these days people text or they send a WhatsApp message and or they send an email. And when my phone rang, it was 100% of the time devastating news. And so, and it got to the point where I was like, oh my God, my dad's calling me. What is this? I don't even want to answer it. And then I'd tell myself, no, it's it can't be, can't be more bad news, you know. And so I answer it bravely. And then I'm given more terrible news, you know. And so it was really like, what is happening here? And so I remember taking my kids to school. We would walk to school because we lived in the city, and I walked back. And at this point, I really was kind of agnostic. I didn't necessarily I think it was that I it wasn't that I didn't believe in God, but I didn't feel seen by God. I didn't feel that I was living a life that warranted any sort of attention from God or that I was worthy of asking for anything from God. But I still believed enough to have a conversation in my head as I was walking back from school saying, God, I don't even know if you know who I am, but I, you know, there is just a lot going on. And I know there's a lot of suffering in this world, and this is nothing compared to what some people are going through, but it's a lot for me. And I just need some guidance. And I had always felt drawn, I'd felt intrigued by meditation. So it was one of those things where I'd see a news article, for example, and it would mention meditation, and I'd be like, that meditation, there is something to it. But I would get inspired to try it and I would, I wouldn't really feel anything magical about it. And I didn't really feel it, just made me notice that my thoughts were racing. And I'm like, well, I can have racing thoughts and get the dishes done and have racing thoughts and watch TV or you know, whatever it is. But I'm like, I am not feeling this stillness that people talk about. I'm not getting this inspiration that people are talking about. But I really, because I'd been so like intrigued by it, I, in this conversation that I was having with God inside my head, I was like, if there's something to this meditation that will help me through this time, help me find a resource for it and make it in English. Because I actually had tried meditation locally there in Italy, but it was in Italian and it was too much for me to try to keep up with it. And so I was like, I need it, I need guidance in my mother tongue and like lead me and show me. And then I let that go. And again, I wasn't in this place where God was a big part of my life. So it was really in looking back that I can see how quickly things started showing up for me, how quickly conversations would mysteriously lead me to like, oh, I want to watch that documentary that would lead me to the book, that would lead me to the teacher, that would lead me to what started as a very secular practice for myself, where I was not wanting to get into a spiritual connection. And then over time, I was experiencing like light behind my closed eyes. I was feeling this warmth descend from above. And I was weeping because I was like something, I don't know how to explain that. And I really felt that there was some divine connection happening. And then you go back to also the worthiness aspect to it, where it was like I still was carrying this, like, yeah, I think some people do have a connection with God, but I've not been living that way. And I I haven't, I don't deserve it. You know, if that is a thing, I don't deserve it. And then here I am experiencing something I can't explain. And that was just that in and of itself was so touching. So that's my story.

SPEAKER_01: 9:19

You know, that touches on so many things. One of the things that came to me is that the old uh philosophy of when the student is ready, the teacher and teachers appear in many different forms. But also just hearing you say or questioning whether or not you were even worthy to ask God for help or and guidance. I I wonder how many people don't move forward like you did, but they stay stuck in perhaps I'm not worthy.

SPEAKER_00: 9:53

I love that. You know, I heard a philosopher at one point talking about the moon, like kind of relating God to the moon. And he was telling this story, it was probably allegorical, but you know, of looking up at the night sky and and and equating it to God, thinking that that moon is there for anybody to look at at any time, but so many people don't. So many people don't, it's there, it's always there, and only some people notice it, and only some people look at it. But does it still exist? Is it still there, available for people to look at and connect to at any given point in time? Anyone can look up at the night sky and look at one in in wonder at the moon, and that is God, you know, it's it's he, he, she, it is always there. It's always there and it's in everything, and it's in everyone, and that connection is available at any point, no matter where we are in our life journey, no matter the choices that we've made up to that point. It wants us to see it, it wants us to connect, and it's waiting patiently. And we are worthy just by being here, just by reaching out, we are worthy. You know, one of my teachers at one point had a philosophy that your, you know, let's call it like your guardian angel or Jesus or whoever, like your your guidance, that that divine guidance that is living within you. If you just give 25%, they're gonna meet you the rest of the way. You know, it's not like you have to do overextend yourself in order to make that connection. They're wanting that connection, but they need to be invited in. And you can do that at any at any time. The moon's right there for you to look at at any time.

SPEAKER_01: 12:08

In addition to the spiritual nature of meditation, clinicians like therapists champion meditation for its therapeutic benefits.

SPEAKER_00: 12:19

Why is that? Yeah, there is some fascinating research on meditation. And it's this the way that it affects our nervous system. And there are many elements, at least to the way that I practice meditation. You know, it took me a while. Like I mentioned, I wasn't feeling that I was getting anything out of my practice until I actually consulted with a teacher. And I was like, tell me how to meditate. And they told me how to position myself, how to start my meditation, how to breathe, what the rhythm is, you know, gave me kind of a formula to follow so that I wasn't just sitting there trying not to not to think. And one of the important elements of that practice is the breath, because the breath is connecting us, giving us the ability to kind of hack into our nervous system. And our nervous system is very closely aligned with the types of thoughts that we're thinking and the tension that we're holding in our body, those looping, cycling thoughts, the feelings of unworthiness, all of those more oppressive, denser, kind of heavier aspects of us and the tension, all of that is connected to an overactive nervous system. And Antoinette, I'm sure you're familiar with fight or flight and how that affects the nervous system and how fight or flight works within our modern life. But in case there are people who haven't learned about that yet, our our fight or flight is oh well, we have two ways that our our nervous system works. One is the parasympathetic nervous system, and one is the sympathetic nervous system. And the sympathetic nervous system is that fight or flight. And it's meant, we it's built into us as a protective mega mechanism. It is when we're in the sympathetic nervous system, we're ready for action. We literally, our body is ready to either fight or to run away or to freeze. And that has physiological effects because it's like our all the energy is going out to our limbs. It's going out of our organs. So if you think about how much support your organs need to function and to regenerate their cells and to replenish themselves, it's taking the energy away from that. It's taking resources away from the digestion, from your, your, all of the organs, like I said, and delivering it to your senses, to your arms and your legs so that you can. So it's like, okay, all hands on deck, we've got to get away from this. We're in danger. That's really helpful when you really are in danger. So, you know, the way that we've evolved, we were being chased by predators. You know, we had to, our ancestors had to get away. And that was part of the survival. The fact that we are here in the physical is because our ancestors did get away from danger when they needed to. Now, in today's living, we are living in that stress-induced state, that sympathetic nervous system, because our minds are telling us we're in danger, because of the constantly looping thoughts. And it's work danger, it's social danger, but it's not actual physical danger. So, for one thing, we're not running it off. We're not like, you know, how a duck, if you ever watch ducks fight, they, you know, squawk at each other and they have their altercation, and then they shake and they literally shake it off, and then they're fine. And my dog does this too. I have an overprotective dog, and she will just get worked up, and I have to like manage her until she shakes herself off, and then she's fine. And I know that I can relax too. But we don't really do that. So this tension just builds up, and then we have all the stimulation from our modern world, from our jobs, from our families, from our just we're in survival mode. And it just builds up and builds up, and we're never shaking it off. And so we're constantly in the sympathetic nervous system. And remember, that means that all of our resources are going towards survival and our organs and those, you know, they're we're not having that replenishment happening within the body. So the opposite of the sympathetic nervous system is the parasympathetic nervous system. And that is where everything's okay. And physiologically, our body can replenish itself. So those resources draw from the limbs and the senses. And this happens, you know, when we get a good night's sleep and when we are rested. It's kind of happening behind the scenes when we allow ourselves to be in that parasympathetic state. That's closely tied to the breath, but it's also closely tied to the mind and our thoughts. And so meditation works at many different levels and layers to give yourself that break and to allow that replenishment to happen.

SPEAKER_01: 17:48

So many people don't know how to do that. So that's something that we definitely need to talk about today. Yes, absolutely. World events are constantly teaching everyone some very painful lessons. Without warning, everything we take for granted can suddenly fail. And if you're not prepared in advance, you really don't have a chance. The fact is, the modern world runs on a just-in-time supply schedule. Even the biggest grocery stores can carry only enough food for a few days' worth of normal shopping. So when disaster strikes and chaos ensues at your local stores, the odds are simply against you. If you don't have emergency food and gear stockpiled in advance, you will probably suffer. My partner Ready Hour is here to help you ahead of time. Ready Hour has a long history of providing calorie-rich, reliable, and delicious nourishment for life's unexpected situations. And critical emergency gear, too. They're part of a family of companies that have served millions of people like you for decades. My family and I use Ready Hour products for camping, mountaineering, and disaster preparedness for five years now. They're not just reliable, they're also your affordable option too. Long-term survival food shouldn't break the bank. That's why they have great sales and payment options for you. It's your bridge to safety and survival when things just aren't normal anymore. So make your next decision, your smartest decision. Be ready for tomorrow. Today. Trust Ready Hour. Ready to shop? Use my affiliate link in the show description. Before we cover the next topic in this episode, I want to introduce you to the Adventure Sports Lifestyle with what I call a micro story about an adventure that I've had. The Adventure Sports Lifestyle and my deep connection to nature is essential to my good health. So here's the story. There are eating fish, trophy fish, bait fish, and releasing fish. I talk about fishing to many people all the time, and it's interesting to get their perspectives on catching and releasing fish versus keeping them. What I'm learning is many people who grew up without a lot of money and often didn't have much food tend to become the kind of anglers who keep everything they catch. I can understand this mentality because for them, catching fish means survival. Unfortunately, even when those people have plenty of food in the future, they find it hard to break the mentality of keeping everything they catch. I rarely keep the fish I catch because the challenge is if everyone in your area keeps everything they catch, fish populations will quickly dwindle and soon no one will catch anything. I saw this happen in three northern Colorado lakes where I used to fish. Catching a trophy fish to some means mounting it and putting on their wall to show friends and family. However, I have a different perspective on trophy fish. I like to photograph and release them back into the water. Nowadays, there are a lot of options for creating a replica of your trophy fish, which supports local artists and craftsmen while allowing those good genes in the fish to live on. Then there are some fish that make good bait fish, and you may want to keep one occasionally to cut up and use as bait. However, 99% of the time I catch on the list the fish. And there is no right way to handle your fish. I simply wanted to share the different perspectives so that you can make informed decisions about what to do as a new or experienced angler. I hope this inspires you to get outside and adventure alone with friends or the people you love most. Now, back to the show where we're talking with Kara Goodwin to talk about meditation's key benefits. Kara, what are the key benefits of meditation?

SPEAKER_00: 21:36

There are so many benefits. Again, that goes back to that levels and layers that we talked about just a moment ago, where we've got those benefits of being able to calm ourselves. So many people are living in a state where they don't feel calmness at all during their day. So just having that feeling that everything is okay. In this moment, everything is okay. And it may mean that there are a lot of things that still have to be organized, and there are a lot of things that still have to work themselves out, but it's this ability to come back to this moment and let ourselves be in this moment to be okay, not constantly searching for what's undone, what still has to happen, and so forth. So we have that nervous system aspect that we already talked about. There are also some interesting things about memory retention, being able to remember things more easily. I personally, I've been meditating, as I mentioned, for coming up to a decade now. My immunity has skyrocketed. I am so much more protected from colds, sinus infections, respiratory illnesses. I used to have multiple times a year I was dealing with sinus infections, respiratory infections, and they took forever to leave. I would have to sleep in another room because I didn't want to wake my husband up with my coughing in the middle of the night. It's always one of those that it's worse when you're lying down. And I'd wake myself up, I'd wake my husband up. And I very rarely become sick, have colds. And that's huge to just feel that. I know that wellness is such, I mean, you're you're looking at wellness from body, mind, and soul, but there is something very mysterious about having a lifetime of respiratory, you know, being very vulnerable in the lungs and then being very robust and being like, oh my gosh, I made it all the way through. And I never had a cold this year. So, you know, even things like dream recall, my dream recall started to increase. And really the, you know, another thing that I notice about your your podcast and your listeners is again, it's that wholeness. It's looking at so many different parts of the, you know, you've got like, what's the importance of magnesium? And what is the importance of like your your um social media intake and the toxicity and even what you're posting on social media and things like that? All of that, it's it's like these veils start to lift because we're getting more aligned, body, mind, and soul. Like exactly all those pieces that you're bringing with every episode from an individual perspective. It's like this, it's like, you know, synchronicities start to happen where information that you need to know is delivered right when it just drops in, like right when you need it, without you having to go and search for it. And it's like, I didn't even know this was a thing. And now I'm hearing about it in all these different places. All of these things really started to increase a lot as well with meditation practice. So that's that's just some, but there is really fascinating in research and insights about the physiological effects and the the more esoteric effects and the deepening connection of, you know, that's been one of the big, big ones for me is the deepening connection within myself, within my connection with God, my worthiness, my confidence, my and seeing myself beyond the physical and understanding that there's really more going on behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_01: 25:40

In my first few years out after the military, a therapist, in addition to recommending journaling, she recommended meditation. And I really struggled with meditation. I couldn't quiet my brain long enough to get into the zone of meditation and feel its benefits. The other challenge was that I had a brain injury, so remembering anything short-term was very difficult. But so many people in the therapeutic community talk about the benefits of meditation on and treating anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and chronic pain. Can you talk a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_00: 26:26

It is well, first of all, what you talk about with the struggles that you've had with meditation are so common. And a lot of people stop when they try it and they feel like they're not getting anywhere with it. And that's one of the hard things is that we've it feels like it's such a natural practice that we should just be able to do it. We're just sitting there and we're not thinking. So there's no, you know, that should be something that we can all do, right? And it is something that we can all do, but it does take training. So it's just like any able-bodied person could learn to play the piano. And the keys are right there and they're the same for everybody. But it does take training to be able to learn how to do it in a harmonic way. And meditation is the same way where you you need to be patient with it. We need to be patient with ourselves. And again, going back to that, having a method, that was really important for me. So doing more than just sitting there and not thinking, but saying, okay, I this is step one, this is step two. And the other piece to it is, you know, I was so eager when I first started that I wanted to go for, you know, the longer the better. But when we're starting out, it's actually the shorter, you know, the the short bursts are actually going to be a lot better. So if we can do it for one minute even, and just sit there and watch our breath, just let either breathe deeply down into the belly, feeling the belly, just really tuning in for one minute, feel that belly expand out with a deep inhale, a long, slow inhale, and exhale it back in with the exhale and just watch the breath for one minute and let that be the only point of focus. And if your mind wanders, which by the way, it's going to, because you have a lifetime of multitasking, being rewarded for multitasking, of the mind just pinging around and you just go with it. So it takes dedication, it takes that. Oh, I just hopped on the thought train and I didn't even realize I did it. Let me come back to watching my breath for a minute. And do that several times and then up it to a minute and a half or two minutes and let it slowly build. And then you can have those kinds of that's a lot easier than trying to, you know, follow your thoughts. What ends up happening is it it becomes very frustrating to say, like, ooh, this is great. So I'm gonna do it for a long time, and all you realize you're doing is sitting there and the thoughts are pinging around. But in terms of the depression and why it is in the trauma, again, there is some amazing research, and that is that's why the that gets so recommended by so many clinicians, because there really is a lot of benefit. There's research that shows that with only eight weeks of meditation practice for I think it was like 12 minutes a day, the neurons start making new connections. And so with the brain, we have the prefrontal cortex, we have the kind of the more forward part of the brain right behind the brow bone. And then we have the lower middle part of the brain, which is the limbic system. That lower middle part is that more animalistic, the older part of the brain from an evolutionary standpoint. And as our human brain began to evolve, the newer parts are kind of the outermost parts. You know, the brain, like new stuff that got added was the outer more parts of it. And so that front part is like the newest part from an evolutionary standpoint. That's where we come out of survival. That's where we have the more unified, everything is okay. We're all on the same team. The altruism, the creativity, the joy. When we're feeling those states, it's the front of the brain. It's the prefrontal cortex, the prefrontal lobes that are active if you're watching a brain on an MRI. When we're in the anger, the defensiveness, we're shut down, we're afraid. That's the limbic system. That's that older animal survival part. They can't, it's very simple, simplifying this a lot, but they can't really be active at the same time. At any given point, one or the other can be active. So with meditation, we're deliberately activating that prefrontal cortex, which quiets the limbic system. As we do that, more and more there's a cumulative effect. And you start to habitualize your brain that, oh, this is where I get my activity from. When, you know, I live my life from the prefrontal cortex. So we're less and less going into that survival mode, that limbic system, which changes our whole life experience.

SPEAKER_01: 31:51

If someone is new to meditation, they might have questions like, where should I meditate? What time of day? What should I wear? Should I sit, stand, lie down, and should I be in a comfy chair, a hard surface? Any advice for someone brand new to meditation to just get started doing it today?

SPEAKER_00: 32:10

Yes, I love this question. And, you know, there are guidelines that make it easier, you know, having comfy clothes on. You it really you can meditate in a chair. Some people do prefer to sit. I go, I actually have a 21-day course that goes into detail with all of this. But but just from a highlights perspective, I find that it is much wiser to be seated upright than to be than to lie down. And the reason for that is that you have a whole lifetime of habituating yourself to when I lie down, I go to sleep. So it's really difficult, especially in the beginning, if you want to meditate and you lie down, because it's really hard not to fall asleep, especially because you're deliberately relaxing yourself. But comfy clothes are helpful. If you want to sit in an upright chair, you can do so. But it's really helpful to have a nice straight spine, whether you're seated on the floor or on the chair. The time of day, it's really helpful to do that before you get your day going. So to go as much from direct sleep into your meditation before you've checked your email, before you've looked at the news if you're doing that, before you've really interacted with anybody, because you're much fresher state, you know, you're a clean slate. And so you don't have that buildup that happens really quickly the more we start to kind of engage with the outer world. And because the sleep has kind of you've entered that state that helps you to discharge a lot of that until you choose to bring that back into the next day. So early is better also if you do it before you eat your breakfast. That helps because everything is energy. And so your body is energy. And when you meditate on an empty stomach, you just have more resources that aren't going toward your digestion. Once you bring that food in, then your body, some of your energy reserves start going into digesting that food, which just it just logically gives you less energy to direct toward your meditation. So, and also by the time you're eating, you're engaging more with the world. So, first thing in the morning and right before you go to sleep, if you can, that's another great time. That's a transitory time where our consciousness is naturally shifting into a more relaxed state, and it can help you go into sleep easier.

SPEAKER_01: 34:43

I feel like I, even though I meditate on a regular basis, I feel like I've learned a lot today. Thank you so much for that. What else do you want to leave listeners with?

SPEAKER_00: 34:54

I think what comes up for me is that just going back to that worthiness part where we all have complicated pasts. Every single person has baggage, and every single person is worthy of a connection that goes beyond the physical, a connection with themselves, with their spirit, with God, with their, you know, with whatever divinity ring brings true for them. And it's right there for us. It's everywhere. And we, again, just that 25%, just reaching out, 25%, and knowing that there's another part to you, there's a hidden aspect of you that is wanting that connection to be made and has the power to help meet you more than halfway. I love that so much. Thank you, Kara, for being here, a new normal big life today.

SPEAKER_01: 35:52

Thank you for hosting me. It's been such a beautiful blessing. Listeners, you can find Kara's book, Your Authentic Awakening, a Guide to Everyday Spiritual Living, in a in the link in the show description. And I'll also place a link for Kara's 21-day journey so that you can start your meditation practice or level up your game. Until next time, friends, I'm Antoinette Lee, your wellness warrior here at the New Normal Big Life Podcast. I hope one day to see you on the river in the backcountry or in the horse barn living your best life. Struggling with health problems or seeking natural health solutions, don't miss our latest podcast episodes, exclusive blog posts, and free ebooks packed with life-changing wellness tips. Join our newsletter at nnbl.blog to unlock this bonus content and start living your best life today. Magnesium, an unsung hero, fuels over 300 bodily reactions from heart health to stress relief. Magnesium expert Natalie Girado, founder of Rooted In, found freedom from anxiety, insomnia, and pain through topical magnesium. It transformed my life, she says, inspiring her mission to share this mineral's power. Cardiologist Dr. Jack Wolfson calls magnesium essential for heart health, helping regulate rhythms, blood sugar, and reduce inflammation. Up to 80% of people may be deficient facing issues like depression, migraines, insomnia, or muscle cramps. For women over 40, magnesium eases menopause symptoms, boosts energy, and supports bones. Choosing the correct type of magnesium matters. Real stories, Natalie's in mind, highlight its impact. After interviewing magnesium expert Natalie Durado, I became a customer. I was already a magnesium fan, having been told by two cardiologists to take magnesium for a minor heart arrhythmia. Natalie explains it best in the Magnesium the Mineral Transforming Lives episode of New Normal Big Life, number four in Alternative Health on Apple Podcast. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Fast forward after the interview, I bought the Rooted Inn bundle for sleep, tranquility, and pain relief. As a spine injury survivor with several other health challenges, I'm in constant pain. However, I don't take any pain medication. Rooted in is now one more source that nature provided to give our bodies what it needs when it needs it. You can find magnesium in natural bodies of water like lakes and rivers and in soil. But modern farming practices have stripped magnesium out of the soil and our food. That's why today, Rooted Inns rest, relief, and tranquility are part of our afternoon and nightly sleep routine. My guy who did two tours kicking indoors in a rock with the Marines now has no trouble falling asleep. I no longer have to take melatonin before bedtime to fall asleep. So after I became a customer and saw how well these products work, I applied to become an affiliate.