What can we learn about ourselves when we go through a separation from another? It’s easy to feel strong when things are working, but what about when things aren't?

There is valuable opportunity given to us that only present themselves when relationships fall apart–The opportunity to navigate through the deep layers of ourselves. But how do we actually navigate through these layers? 

In this conversation, Aubrey Marcus and his wife Vylana - two of my very favourite people - answer the questions I have on separation from someone you love (or feel deeply about), as it's something I currently am going through in my own life. Plus, they discuss why “wounds allows the light to enter”, and how truly loving ourselves is the best tool for facing a broken heart.

Aubrey is the founder of ONMIT, a NYT bestselling author, the AMP podcast host, and founding member of Fit For Service Fellowship.

Vylana is a sound alchemist, singer, Tahitian dancer, and medicine woman.

What we discuss:

[00:07:09] Aaron's current context
[00:12:17] Love autonomy
[00:18:56] Using the pain of a separation to growth
[00:22:35] Facing and accepting fear
[00:27:37] Self-love practices
[00:40:38] Trust in acceptance
[00:45:25] Expediting the process of accepting events within ourselves
[00:51:22] Why current life events show you where there is still work to be done

Find more from Aubrey and Vylana:

Podcast: https://www.aubreymarcus.com/blogs/aubrey-marcus-podcast
Program: https://www.aubreymarcus.com/pages/fit-for-service-fellowship
Instagram: @aubreymarcus
Instagram: @vylanamarcus

Our ability to connect and relate to each other is dependent upon how we feel. Which means, the food we eat has a strong influence on how we connect to each other. But one of the issues lies in the fact that the environment we have created around us is conducive and supportive to sickness, and is ultimately preventing us from experiencing deeper connections. 

In this episode of the Align Podcast, I have a conversation with Shawn Stevenson on what contributes to deeper human connection, how the media affects our relationships, and why Shawn’s marriage has been successful.

Plus, he also discusses how nutrition plays a surprising role in sleep, his thoughts on the conventional medicine approach.

Shawn is a bestselling author of Sleep Smarter and has another book coming out, Eat Smarter, is a nutritionist, science educator, & creator of The Model Health Show, featured
as the #1 Health Podcast in the U.S.

What we discuss:

[00:06:15] Shawn discusses the relationship between social media and sleep deprivation
[00:09:07] How nutrition affects sleep
[00:11:32] What Shawn thinks of the conventional medicine approach
[00:16:47] How the environment plays a role in our behavior
[00:24:32] Who we are at our core vs. how we behave
[00:29:08] Romanticized media vs. our true needs in a relationship
[00:37:55] Being human: intuition and connection 
[00:50:55] Our capacity of connecting to others is dependent upon how we feel individually
[00:56:12] How does our nutrition affects the way we relate to our significant other

Website: https://themodelhealthshow.com/
Instagram: @shawnmodel
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheShawnModel/
Book: https://eatsmarterbook.com/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-model-health-show/id640246578

How often do we extend the effort to connect with our parents as the humans they truly are? Do we really know who they were before their parent roles and who they are beyond?

This episode is truly special: My mother, Tina Louise Thomas, and I have a deeply intimate and vulnerable conversation that we initially were hesitant to release. Although, we decided if it helps even just one person connect more deeply with their parents or child, it's worth it.

We talk about holding in emotions (and why my mother felt the need to hide her emotions during my upbringing), accepting aging and death, dealing with regrets, navigating forgiveness, moving forward after divorce and so much more.

This has been a beautiful moment in which we felt deeply connected to each other, and probably one of the most important moments of my life.

What we discuss:

My mother is a brilliant and very musician and artist, former Miss Pennsylvania and Miss America scholarship pageant national talent winner and runner-up.

This to her music here: https://soundcloud.com/tina_louise_thomas

What impact did the dietary changes in humanity have on our bodies? Going back as far as our pre-historical ancestors hypothesize very interesting correlations. What does the wide research say about eating animal products and how that influences our brain size and capacity? Research shows we have shrunk our brains in the last 10-12 thousand years, very possibly due to relevant shifts in our diet and habits. These big shifts were forced by major planetary changes such as the Younger Dryas, which took place 12,900 years ago.

Dr. Paul Saladino, who is back on the Align Podcast, not only discusses why our brain is shrinking but also shares with us very interesting suggestions on nutrition and lifestyle through an anthropological lens. He discusses findings and hypotheses by significant figures throughout history that observed indigenous peoples and compared their aligned diet to the general western diet. 

We also dig into our surroundings as a factor for stimulation, focus, and relaxation, and we pose the question of if we need to get away from common human behavior.

The outdoors provides us a natural way of life and we might be taking a step in the wrong direction, placing a burden upon us that is opposite to the way we have been designed to live. Being in nature barefoot and experience a shift in the microbiome, interacting with other humans, eating foods that are in line with our genetics: all is perpetually being relegated in place of living mostly in squared-line architecture.

Dr. Paul Saladino is the leading authority on the science and application of the carnivore diet, author of the “The Carnivore Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Optimal Health by Returning to our Ancestral Diet”.

What we discuss:

[0:02:48] Paul Saladino's upbringing

[0:05:35] Why we should always challenge our beliefs

[0:09:04] Earth's temperature correlation with periods of intellectual and cultural flourish and stagnation

[0:11:21] What happened on Earth 12,900 years ago that might have changed how we eat

[0:15:36] Three pre-historical species that relate to us and their diet

[0:17:26] Human's change from primates to Australopithecus: eating animals vs. eating plants

[0:20:31] Expensive Tissue Hypothesis: gut vs. brain

[0:22:58] Correlation between B12 levels and brain size

[0:28:15] Effects of chewing properly

[0:30:56] Could Vitamin A deficiency by under-diagnosed in most people?

[0:46:00] How architectural shapes and forms influences our state

Find more from Dr. Paul Saladino:

Website: https://carnivoremd.com/

Instagram: @carnivoremd

podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fundamental-health-with-paul-saladino-md/id1461771083

Products: https://heartandsoil.co/?ref=CarnivoreMD

Book: https://carnivoremd.com/book/

Grab your Align Pants: www.alignpodcast.com/alignpant