Dr Jennifer Floreani is a delightful aussie with a rich family history and so much wisdom through thick and thin. She is a wife, mother, chiropractor, friend and one of the loveliest women I know. Enjoy this episode and for you chiros, check out where you can catch her in the coming year for seminars at welladjusted.co
@drjoyshow
thedrjoyshow@gmail.com
Dr Jennifer Floreani is a delightful aussie with a rich family history and so much wisdom through thick and thin. She is a wife, mother, chiropractor, friend and one of the loveliest women I know. Enjoy this episode and for you chiros, check out where you can catch her in the coming year for seminars at welladjusted.co
@drjoyshow
thedrjoyshow@gmail.com
Hello and welcome to the Dr. Joy Show. I am your host, Dr. Laura LaJoie and I'm so excited today that I have the privilege to have this joyful conversation with my beautiful friend, Dr. Jennifer Floriani. Jennifer, I know you as a mother, a chiropractor, a woman of the year in chiropractic, and so much more. I mean, there's so much that you lend to this world that I feel so grateful to be having this conversation with you. So why don't you tell our people about who you are? How do you show up in the world?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Sure. Thank you. It's lovely to be having some time with you. It's very exciting project that you're doing. Laura, I mean, I think since the youngest time, because I was a chiro baby, I wanted to be a chiropractor and I wanted to be an author and that just, unfolded. And I ended up writing Well Adjusted Babies originally as a folder of information for associates who would take over whenever I was on maternity leave. And these are the things that you talk to parents about, or, you know, a pregnant couple, and this is what you go through. And, it ended up being that what was a folder for practitioners then evolved to content and great information for pregnancy and for the public. And so, Well, Adjusted Babies has had, as you know, this amazing life and it's had huge success and it's had its conflict with regulators and all of those things. And then I also wrote Ticklish so I feel really blessed that, you know, my upbringing was with chiropractic and this holistic outlook on health and then to be able to share that with parents who, you know, want to do the best job they can to raise a healthy family. And so that's been an exciting journey while we've had our five sons and, as they've grown and evolved and running different practices and having the pleasure of meeting people like you as I did public speaking and all of those things also with my husband, Simon, who's a chiropractor. So. been a busy time and you know, it's just been this amazing ride. It really has.
Track 1:Well, I am so grateful that you wrote this book, Well Adjusted Babies, because I give it to all my pregnant mamas as a gift when they let me know that they're pregnant. And we use the What To Eat When brochure all the time because It just has such incredible information and I think that so many people don't know what to do if they are looking at a vitalistic approach to raising their children versus only looking for when are my children in distress with their health. So, what you bring to the world for our children and our families is such a big deal. So thank you for all the work that you do.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Thank you.
Track 1:So in this conversation about joy, tell me, what does joy mean to you? What does that look like?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah. And I think, the distinction between joy and happiness has been something that has really become clear for me in the last few years. And so I think, happiness is something that you can kind of manufacture. You know, you could okay, I really want to have some quality time with Simon. I want, you know, to create a night like this and you create this environment and it can bring a lot of happiness. And yet I have to wonder whether the distinction with joy is just this emotion that overcomes you that can't be manufactured. It just, it's like from a connection with somebody spontaneously or a connection with nature or a connection with God. And it feels so, overwhelming, and it's like, if I give you an example, the other day, was walking along the street and this mom was carrying her baby who must've been about eight or nine months old in front of her. And as I approached them, I was looking at this little baby and she just lit up and had this most wonderful smile. And we just had this moment of pure joy. You know, she was, before an age where she would be shy or anything like that. And so I just think that there's a subtle distinction between happiness and joy where it comes from connection. It could be listening to someone just play a musical instrument and do it so incredibly well and you are overwhelmed
Track 1:with this teary joy of being able to listen to them use their talents, or it could
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:be the most magnificent sunrise and that humbling joy. For me, I think joy is just, it's an overwhelming, beautiful emotion of connection.
Track 1:Well, and obviously you connect on a regular basis with Simon and your sons in a joyful way.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah.
Track 1:Is there anything you have done to help to teach the boys how to cultivate joy in themselves or for their own lives?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah. One of the things that we try to remind the boys of fairly consistently is to just be okay with being still and not having to be busy all the time. And joy comes from just the simple things too the time in nature and lying in the sun and just reading a good book. I think when we're young, we get that confusion between joy and happiness of, Oh, I want to go out with all my friends and go to all these bars and, that makes me happy. And yet as we get older, we realize that what that actually is, is the connection with people and those moments with people. And it doesn't have to be, you know, busy doing things on a night. It could be a telephone conversation or it could be just, going for a walk. And so, we try to just remind them about, the simplicity and the slowness is often where we notice joy. And I think that's really important for all of us. It was just so fast pace. We can miss what it is that brings us joy. So
Track 1:that you say that I personally have been exploring stillness or hitting the pause button more. In fact, I just opted out of something that I was really looking forward to just this one this last week because I knew that I was putting too much on my plate and I had to lean into. Jomo, the joy of missing out instead of FOMO, that fear of missing out, which
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yep.
Track 1:tend to run a million miles an hour and I love the busyness of it, but I'm finding that there are less things that are
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:making me fulfilled and so many projects and people that I want to be spending time and energy on. And, so, you're
Track 1:right. I mean, the stillness is such an important piece. And I think One of the things I've always tried to teach my kids, too, is that boredom doesn't mean that you're bored. It means that you're still, and you have a chance to reflect, and that that's when ideas come, is when you can be still.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And I think, you know, if, uh, whether it's us or whether it's our kids, but I think kids today. It's more likely for them to be constantly busy because they're stimulated so much with social media and there just seems to be a lot more stimulus than what you and I would have grown up with. So we've known and we have a yearning for that stillness. Whereas I think for some kids, they don't necessarily know what stillness is. And so then they're constantly looking for experiences and things to keep them stimulated. there's a risk with that of not knowing what rest is and the joy that that can bring. And so, yeah, it's a personality thing but with our four boys, just making sure that They know how to, when they need to plug in to, recharge and what does that look like for them? You know, is it, I mean, we're a real, so whether that's a bath or whether that's time in the ocean or, know, like we get excited about rain and just crazy things like that, you know, what is it that you can do to replug and, And often that's sharing a meal and just coming around and hanging out and doing that and not having to have an agenda.
Track 1:It's so interesting that you say that, because while you were speaking, I was thinking, what did I do in the middle of the night? When I was restless and I know that my children will roll over and pick up the phone and scroll social media for an hour. And I grew up near the beach in LA and I would, you know, take my bike and ride down to the beach and sit on the sand and watch the waves roll in until I felt Calm and rested. And if I was full of joy, I would go to the beach. And if I was full of stress and I was crying, I would go to the beach. I mean, I left so many emotions on the sand. It's not even funny.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Absolutely. Yeah.
Track 1:What about you when you were growing up? What were things that you may have done differently?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah, I think it's similar to you where, you know, we spent a lot of time at the beach, which was just magnificent. And, I think my parents were really good in that weekends were that real switch off time, which is a challenge, I think, again, for parents today, particularly if they work from home, have some kind of, boundaries around when are they working? When are they just with family? And so I got to observe with my parents. We also had a beach house. And so every second weekend we would be down there and it was playing cards or it was reading books or it was long walks on the beach and lying in the sand. you know, then the weekends that we were at home, my parents were gardeners, so even though I grew up in a home practice. If an emergency patient turned up, they would find us in the garden and my dad would be like, Alright, well I can adjust you, but let me wash my hands, you know. And so, I think a lot of treasures that we had as kids and trying to remind our kids today of how to recreate that for themselves. And, Because, you know, Laura, I think about it a lot. I think when someone's so busy and they kind of buy into the label of, I'm stressed, I'm busy, I've got to get all these things done and I'm an achiever and all of that. There's an opportunity to miss out not only on joy, but to miss out on actually being really grateful. For what's happening in their life. so I think it's twofold, you know, they're so caught up in being stressed and productive and all of those things that they miss a lot of, wow, look at my life. Look at all these gifts. I have, look at all this love and support. I have, all these amazing blessings. I think if people lean into, and it doesn't have to be our kids today, any of us can have that happen. But if we consciously make it a priority to go, okay, I feel like I'm losing grip on what's important in my life. just going to lean into what am I really grateful for? That's the best pause button there is. Because if we're grateful, then we open ourselves up to feeling the joy and all of those things, you know, and so it comes back to some of that research of you can't experience fear at the same time because it's the same part of the brain as gratitude. And so when people are stressed and anxious, if they focus on what they're grateful for, then a lot of that anxiety just dissipates because it kind of equals each other out.
Track 1:That is so incredibly true. And I've found that every single person I've spoken to about joy, one of the primary characteristics is gratitude. What are the characteristics do you think are consistent with joyful people?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:I think, I have a lot of examples of joyful people in my life and I admire tremendously and I think some of the common threads are that they just to have this profound set of self acceptance, like they love who they are. They love chasing and enjoying the moment exquisite tastes with food or traveling and seeing things like they just have this adventurous spirit and they want to experience life and taste life and it doesn't have to be, the five wonders of the world or those major things, even though they're adventurous enough to do that and take risks and put that on their to do list. But it's also like my mom is a great example. should always make times to play cards. And I think that's why with our boys we play a lot of board games and cards and it was just this way of pausing and having fun and just doing something simple like that. And so I think to your question of what are the common threads with joyful people is they let themselves be immersed in the moment, of whatever it is. there. And I think it's very tempting for all of us to not be present to be thinking about the next thing. they have my greatest respect because they seem to do it so well. And that's, what I'm always trying to move towards is being more of that, of just, this is where I am right here and now. And, and let me, Absorb it, you know, I was little, I used to
Track 1:be like, pause, look around, notice everything, notice
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:that that person there because this is all for you, which is what we're like when we're kids, you know, I think that's a beautiful kind of reminder of yes, just being really present because we just get so out of our bodies and so into the next. that we miss things.
Track 1:Now, I've seen you in a couple of different periods of your life when you were in the rat race. Life was insane. You were promoting your book, you were traveling, you were teaching, you were raising your boys. They were all high school and under. And what were some things that you did in those moments to pause? Or, did you just have to realize that? That pause was down the road and you had to be, you know, on the racetrack for a minute and you couldn't stop for a pit stop. Like what did that look like?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah. Um, you know, Laura, I mean, I have to give a lot of credit to Simon because it was very much a team effort. And so, if we were in Australia with our boys Because then I was kind of like this glue of the home, the family. And yes, there was the busy practice, but Simon was predominantly there and I was predominantly the family and the books and that other business. And then when we were traveling for the books and seminars and promotion, that was kind of like the flip roll, you know? And so it's not lost on me that that's, that was a real advantage that we could both. appreciate different roles and what it took. And there were times I can remember, I think I was traveling from Australia to Europe at that time was, over 24 hours and I was on the ground for a day and a half because I wanted to be back in Australia, you know, cause our youngest was only five or six. And so it was a big commitment to do these trips and. up and be there and then get back. And I was able to then kind of defrag when I got home. And, so, I think a guiding principle for both Simon and I from a very early part of our relationship, before we had kids, we both, it was like, we were just sitting there, with this experience, two experiences. I was sitting beside a woman at dinner and there were a lot of chiropractors around cause I'd grown up in the profession and she must've been in her mid fifties and she had just separated from her chiropractic husband. And I said to her, by her name, what advice do you have to me
Track 1:and as a young woman who has just gotten married and this in this profession and she said to me don't do
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:what I did.
Track 1:where you focus soley of your children and then when they grow up you realize that your partner is not there.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:You know, you
Track 1:have to be able to focus and invest in your relationship as well and then you know we had this
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:other experience where, this patient who'd had twins. she was this older woman and she just reminded us that, you know, before we had kids again, you can't raise your children twice. so I think as a young couple, maybe we were naive or whatever, but we
Track 1:had this guiding principle that our boys aren't going to be little for that long and me personally being somoeone who likes to get things
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:you know,
Track 1:right, I just had had
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:this flash of,
Track 1:I don't want to be later in my life when my kids are older and have any regrets
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:I can go back to,
Track 1:Full time practice and I can go back to these things, but I need to know that I am doing the best job that I can
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:right now. And so I know from the outset, it looks like, you know, we wrote books and we've had these practices. I think there's a synchronicity in life when you live by your values. And so wasn't trying to force writing books or anytime I was asked to do public speaking, Laura, I'd get like physically nauseous because at the time it was never something that I wanted to do, but I knew that I had to, to get this message out to the world, to help parents. Things just unfolded and I think that that's a big part of when you congruent with your highest values, life just unfolds and you have success rather than trying to chase significance. Do you know what I mean?
Track 1:Absolutely. You know, it's so interesting because I feel like for as long as I've known you, we've been raising our children side by side. How old is your oldest son?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:He's 24
Track 1:And my oldest is
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:15.
Track 1:25.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Okay. Yeah.
Track 1:Yeah. So I have 21, 24 and 25 and I feel like we've been raising our children in tandem,
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah.
Track 1:side by side. And I watch how you guys communicate with your children when the boys would come with you to like Cal Jam and it's always been such an inspiration to me to realize that our job as their parents are to create guardrails. We're creating guidance, we're teaching them how to treat other people, and we're raising our future friends that we want to travel the world with.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah.
Track 1:we want to have them to choose partners that can have the kind of relationships that we have with our spouses to be able to enjoy the adventures and the struggles together, knowing that at the end of the day, you get to be with these people that you love and enjoy.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah. And it is, I think, our journey has meant the last three years we've been in Spain, and we moved here cause our eldest two were here studying chiropractic and so we brought the youngest two. And you know, Laura, to circle back to what brings me joy, I've had to really redefine that the last few years because in Australia we lived in the mountains and within 5 minutes I could be in forest. And every day I would be walking in the forest, you know, with our dogs and all of those things. And there's just something that I really miss about that living in a busy city like Barcelona now. And it's a great city, but there's hardly any nature. And so I haven't had that, which brings me instant joy, that nature en masse. And I don't have my long term girlfriends. And so these last few years, it's been like, okay, what brings you joy here? And of course, you know, all top value of my family of Simon and the boys, and I'm so grateful, even though I miss those things that in the past have been an anchor for joy, that I still have the beauty of having them close. And every day, the eldest three now who live separately to us, we'll call in and come and eat and hang out and do all those things. And so again, it's not lost on me that that brings me the most joy. And if I didn't have that, if I was back in Australia and they were here, the cost of that. So weighing it up, I guess, in different stages of your life of what can joy look like. How do you redefine that as well?
Track 1:So taking a step back, tell me about an early childhood memory where joy was fully present in your spirit, in your life.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:I was the youngest of six kids and from a young age, we were embraced by the bigger chiropractic family. And, as my older siblings then studied chiropractic, it just sort of grew and it wasn't uncommon on a weekend that there would be visitors staying with us and we'd be having this time on the beach playing what's called French cricket. I don't know if you know what that is, you know, like with a tennis racket and a tennis ball and there'd be like, 20, 25 of us and it was just the most, it was just so much fun of all of us as kids with our parents and then chiropractors and that real sense of just people being together. playing silly at the beach, you know, and that freedom and, so I have a lot of, yeah, I had a very blessed childhood, and so trying to create that kind of safety net for our kids was a priority as well. It sounds like you've grown up with a really
Track 1:strong sense of community, and that's something that you've continued to include in your life as you've gone along.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:And I think, know, Laura, I've talked about this at times. Um, One of the benefits of growing up in chiropractic is I was taken to a lot of personal development seminars I was kind of like this poster child of personal development. What I mean is I had so many goal books and pin boards of things that I wanted to do. And there's a lot of benefit in that you set a vision for your life and then you also, as you mature kind of make distinctions on what it is that you see as strengths in someone and what would you choose differently, in a partner. And that was a very amusing part of my childhood, which then did a complete 360 when we hit a really hard chapter in our life. And, I had to. re-look at all of that. Do you have
Track 1:any
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:of
Track 1:those
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:early
Track 1:mentors, people that were in the personal development realm that you listened to, that you had those aha moments that, like, when did you realize that these people were saying things about your future that you wanted to embrace? Who were they and what were some of those ideas?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Guy Reichman's been a friend of our family for the longest time. And, Charles Ward. And, I think Charles Ward in particular was very family focused. And, I just loved that about him, even his seminars, which is what we're trying to recreate with this retreat that we're doing in September, it's like, bring your family because, he encouraged everyone to come and bring their family and it was a half day and then there'd be activities for everyone to do in the afternoon. so it was really only seminar content for three or four hours a day, but it was around having time with each other to be accountable and to discuss the content and all of those things which are really valuable. I think we need that in our profession too, Laura, because, we're blessed as chiropractors, there's an opportunity to earn tremendous money and to have all sorts of success and at the risk of losing balance having, a good relationship with your life partner and relationships with your kids. And so growing up in this profession, I also saw a lot of that. And I had the benefit of I think making the distinctions on, okay, yes, I'd love a practice like this. And this is what's even more important. and the foundation of it all is to have a relationship that we grow and develop together there's that equality and richness there and that deep connection and the same with our kids. I think there's so many blessings on offer with this profession. There's a lot of young chiropractors who I think sometimes don't see that. Do you know what I mean? Absolutely. It's
Track 1:a different time, I think, in how people are being coached too. So many people are wanting to develop the big practice that makes a ton of money. And they're forgetting that behind the practice is the person that's in front of you and the importance of teaching them the quality of their health for the rest of their life, not just for today. And ironically, my very first coach in chiropractic was Charlie Ward.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Oh,
Track 1:I, I started, yeah, I was 25 years old. I was a month in practice. I had a mastermind group with four other chiropractors that were older than me. And I was just a baby. And I was like, why do you want me to be in your group? And they had so much experience and what I had was enthusiasm and I just remember really learning about the love of chiropractic and how we can lean into people and really listen from Charlie. Dr. Ward was one of the most amazing loving men and his relationship with Linda was always something that inspired me the way that he would talk about his wife. I'm like, I want a man to talk about me that way someday.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yep.
Track 1:You know, and now Mike, whenever we go anywhere, he always says, well, if she ever leaves me, I'm going with her. So,
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:love that.
Track 1:Let's switch gears a little bit. I always say that I believe some of the greatest joys that we can have the privilege of understanding come from the struggle and people try to run away from struggle sometimes, but when you're able to understand that it has a place for learning and for growing as a person that struggle can really be a part of that joyful journey. So are there any particular things in your life where you have had to go through and in the moment you maybe didn't understand why me Lord, why am I having to deal with this or where struggle has now been a part of the acceptance that you've had in your joyful life?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah. Well, in reference to what I said earlier, you know, I grew up with all that personal development and honestly, Laura, down to all the different things that I wanted my partner and four boys and all these things. And, like I've said in different talks that I've given. It was like this tick, tick, tick. Then we hit a chapter in our life where Well Adjusted Babies, was selling a lot of copies. It was getting a lot of wonderful exposure. And just had year after year, all these different legal battles with our regulator in Australia. And, year after year, you'd sort of think, okay, this is just a part of it. It's, the balance of success and there'll always be praise and reprimand. And that went on and on. And then at the same time, we did a business development for this whole amazing practice we were going to build and the short story of that is Simon and I were very green in the whole process. developing properties thing and we got completely taken to the cleaners by this gentleman who we were involved with and we had ended up having easily four years in the supreme court battling it out over this beautiful building that we'd renovated and this practice that we'd set up and having the legal battles with Arthur having the legal battles with this building there was so much stress in our life at that time. I mean, we had so many lawyers for different things I lost count and barristers and our life just went from being this amazingly wonderful experience to, it felt like all these bombs going off. We had so many things happen where we lost all of our security with our finances. We lost our home. We
Track 1:lost a whole lot of different things and in that process, towards the end, Laura, I had done the week long Joe Dispenza seminar, meditating. It was really stressful and so, it wasn't uncommon for me to get up early and meditate for and
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:An hour to two hours. But it got to the point where I was just really experiencing anxiety attacks. You care for patients who have them, but you have no idea what that's like. And so there was this. period where the stress was so high that even opening emails about the Supreme Court stuff was just so stressful I was getting anxiety and Simon had a patient and I want to give you, you know, some of this detail because it relates to my definition of joy where joy just completely overtakes you. And this patient of Simon's had to come in and said, It's, keep getting it on my heart to pray for Jen and both Simon and I had grown up Catholic. We certainly believed in God and the universe and all of those things, but I wouldn't say that we had a, a deep connection with God. And so he's like, Oh, you know, Rachel, keeps coming in saying that she wants to pray for you. Is it all right if I give her your number? And I was like, Sure. Okay. And so she rang me this one day and she was incredibly empathetic on the phone. And she was like, I understand that, you know, you've got so much stress going on and, I just keep wanting to think of you and pray for you and would it be a ride if I pray for you? And I was like, yeah, sure. thinking, okay. We'll get off the phone and you do your thing. Thank you so much. And she's like, no, no, no. Can I pray with you now on the phone? And Laura, I had never heard anyone pray like she prayed. And it was the most beautiful experience. I was just weeping and weeping. And then she said, okay, can I ring tomorrow and, um, do the same? And I was like, okay, sure. And she rings the next day with another woman. And the two of them pray for me. And then she says to me, Jen, I want you to the next time that you have the anxiety overtake you. I want you to imagine placing your forehead against the forehead of Jesus and ask him to take all the weight from you and lift the weight off your chest. And I was like, okay, okay. And it must've been, you know, three or four days later and something had happened. Simon got home and I was just super distressed. Like I was trying to get to bed early, but I was literally in bed in this fetal position. And he was like, sweetheart, have you meditated? And I'm like, of course I fucking meditated. And then he's like, well, what did Rachel say to do? I was like, Oh, okay. And you know, and so my anxiety thinking, okay, what did she say? And Laura, I went from This tight little ball of anxiety to visualizing my forehead against Jesus and just asking for help, asking to feel his peace and his guidance and his love. And within a few minutes I literally was transformed into this giggling, joy filled little girl and Simon was sitting on the bed just watching it. He's like, what just happened? It was such a pivotal moment for me of where I shifted from being someone who was so self driven with personal development just keep going and tick off the next goal and do the next thing and we had lost much and everything felt so uncontrollable and I was completely out of my depth with the stress and not knowing where the attacks were coming from next. I'd already agreed to stop selling my book because that's what the regulators wanted. And to then have this experience where it just felt like God took everything and just filled me with joy and just said to me, here you are trying to please regulators and trying to, you know, do all these things. And yet. You've shut down your voice and you've shut down doing the things that you love and just breathe that whole confidence back
Track 1:into me of being who I am and not living in fear and experiencing joy.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:What joy is for me. It's that overwhelming, spontaneous connection either with God in a moment. with nature or when he speaks to me or with a baby like I talked about. That is joy. It's not manufactured. It comes from within.
Track 1:Your story literally brings me tears of joy. Like I hear hope in your words that there was that moment where you did feel like the world was crashing down and what this woman brought back to you was hope. And it sounds like your foundation of knowing, that you were firm in your beliefs, you were firm in your relationships and that life was going to be solid from the ground. But people talk about from the ground up and in the moment you couldn't see the upside
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah.
Track 1:you were so weighted down with all the things that were holding you down. So how did you get through that to get back to that place where you could see joy on the other side of all the struggle?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:I literally walked away from that experience, that moment where I just said to Simon, It doesn't matter. They can take my license. They can do whatever. And I didn't know COVID was going to happen, but I had all sorts of health markers that I was developing autoimmune issues. And in that moment with God, it was like, he showed me that my cells were shutting down because I was shutting down my gifts. And I walked away from that moment. And I said to Simon, I can't do it anymore. I have to use my voice at whatever cost that is, because this is what he's reminding me of. This is what we're built for is to use our gifts and to be brave. And so there was some kind of shift that then it was like, I'm just going to go back to speaking my truth and COVID started and. There was a drive in me to share on social media, all the misconceptions and deception and all of those things. And you know, I had three huge accounts, not from trying to be significant, just with this wanting to share information with our patients and community and other chiropractors and all of them taken down by Instagram over the next number of months. And then come that year, that October, I got a call from the regulator saying, we're going to suspend you. And I was like, well, I'm handing in my license, like it's done, it's I've handed it in, I'm emailing you now. And so, I think it was just this moment of not letting the fear overcome our life anymore. We just wrapped up, you know, tried to wrap up all the different areas and close it off and, move on. And so it was probably just towards the end of COVID, we decided that we were going to move to Europe and we put associates in the practice. We didn't know if we'd be gone for six months or 18 months or what it would look like. Again, we came back to what are our highest values and the fact that we hadn't seen our eldest two boys, for over a year. It was just not worth us to, for us to stay in Australia where it felt like we were being given all these signs that we weren't in the right place at that time. We needed to change everything up. Was the best decision we made.
Track 1:So were the regulators. Surprised at how resolute you were in being able to say, fine, have it your way. I'm good.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah, I think they were. and it's been like a bee in their bonnet because it's been three and a half years. And even today, my legal battle with them from when they wanted to suspend me and I handed in my license, they've just drawn it out now till October to give me time to submit documents to do whatever. And I have not been participating and they just keep drawing it out I just literally at the point where I'm just not responding to them because I'm not going to participate in the game any longer, but rather than closing the case, because I think, there's a whole inquiry into ARPA at the moment in Australia, there's a lot of heat on them. I don't know what's going to unfold. Don't have a lot of faith in the legal system, so I'm not participating.
Track 1:Well, it sounds like the support, the community that you have between just you and Simon alone, and then you put that together with the layers, your boys, your family, your friends. There's so many people that love and support you guys around the world that, I hope that. Every day you guys feel how much love there is for you and how much people appreciate that you have been able to stand up for what you believe in, no matter what the cost and have it not cost you your relationships. Because it did cost you your health for a while, but to be able to come back from that, and be able to be restored to a person that can now be back in the game of inspiring other people. So let's talk about that. Now, what's next for you?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah. What I'm currently working on is the third edition of Well Adjusted Babies. And, I've had a lot of discussion with publishers on the best way to do that and updating everything. And so in that process I've also become really, really passionate about what's happening with kids today. And so. you know, this huge numbers of babies with something like tongue tie, example, you know, which has a huge impact on those first few months, whether that baby breastfeeds or not, whether they're in distress. And so I've done a lot of looking at what's known as methylation. And so I kept coming back, circling back to that topic, which ties into, central tube deformities and tongue tie and those things. Methylation governs anxiety. It governs, so it's all MTHFR stuff. And I had a lot of family, friends and different people over the last 10 years who I was on the sidelines helping with that. And, we don't have time now, but had some pretty horrific kind of experiences where people had huge life changes and then stopped. And, so it really cemented for me how powerful it can be when people, when their methylation is off and when they don't understand how to get their genes working well, which is all innate intelligence and all those different things. my point is I kept circling back. And then at the same time, I noticed lot of young chiropractors who Laura, you know, they don't drink. do CrossFit every day. They're super lean. They eat well, they're clean, all these things. And they've got no energy and they're exhausted at eight o'clock at night. They've got no libido. Their body temps are all over the place. And so I started then looking, and they're on a lot of the methylation stuff and it's like, what is going on? And so then I was diving into what's called energy deficiency and mitochondria. So my point is in my pursuit of writing the third edition of Well Adjusted Babies. When you are witness to innate intelligence, it's like the always makes sense. It's, and it's always looking out for you and it might shut down
Track 1:your libido and your hormones, Just to keep you going and so how do you get that back on track so that you thrive? And then once that's finished then I'll finish the 3rd edition. I'm just so grateful that God always gives me this amazing content that I feel Parents just,
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:they just want to do the best job they can and to be able to distill the information for them and say, this is what it means. And at a practical level, this is what it looks like on a day to day basis.
Track 1:So, do you have a timeline for when you expect the third edition to be released?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:So the third edition, I'm breaking into a Well Adjusted Bump, which will be all the pregnancy information. That'll be done in the next, I would say in the next year that'll be out. Then, there'll be Well Adjusted Births. Well Adjusted Baby and Child.
Track 1:Fantastic.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah. So
Track 1:so excited to hear what you're up to, because it inspires me to just keep leaning into those projects that give me passion, because I hear how you light up when you start talking about this stuff.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:yeah.
Track 1:And it just creates so much meaning, not just for you, but for the people that are going to be the beneficiaries of your work.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:No,
Track 1:So
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Thank
Track 1:So before we go into our final fast five, is there anything relative to our conversation that you want to circle back to that maybe you started to say, and then went in a different direction?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:I just think perhaps for the people who are listening to this, if they feel like they're in a chapter of their life where it's taken a different course than what they had hoped they feel overwhelmed to just pause and look around at who it is that they can strengthen their relationships with. Because I think so much of life comes back to the people who you have in your court. Friends can be transient. if you're blessed to have family members who cherish you really try and see that and develop that because they are the people who will be cheering for you for forever, you know? I think if you in the struggle, if you have people who just stand with you, remind you of, when you have in your life makes it easier, like all the different plugins for joy and for rest and all of those things. I think that's super important and that really gives context and meaning to life rather than that constant pursuit of being someone significant on social media or significant in the profession and of those things that can be short lived.
Track 1:Well, at the beginning, we were talking about people that bring you joy and how they show up in your life. And the one person you mentioned was your mother, but you said there were lots of people. So I was curious if you would share one or two more relationships and examples of how that is for you.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah, sure. So my mom, ironically, changed her name to Joy, for a period of time. People kept forgetting, so it didn't really stick, but she's certainly someone who has such a joy for life. Such appreciation for both of my parents. Other people, I think we all need some strong girlfriends in our life who just rally beside you, who remind you when you need to set boundaries and stand your ground and, help you make sense of what it is that you're feeling and the depth of what we can feel as women and there's a lot of differences between male and females and there's beauty in that. And yet I think as you mature as a woman, you do realize that you have the capacity to feel things so deeply and need other women in your life who can understand that and hold that for you. And you also need amazing men in your life who can be the balance as well.
Track 1:100 percent agree.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah, I mean, I can definitely think of four girlfriends in my life who have just been so pivotal in the last number of years, especially, but that lot, those longterm relationships where you don't even have to connect every week or every month. It can sometimes be six months and most people know who have those kind of relationships in their life. It's always the same and they'll be there for you.
Track 1:Yes. Amen, sister. They are so valuable. I agree. I mentioned at the beginning, I have five questions that we'll ask at the end, and you can always say next if nothing's coming to you in the moment, but we'll run through them anyway. So what is a movie that you've watched or rewatched that brings you joy?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:I do love movies and it's not that we don't watch them. I have to think of silly ones that one of my long term girlfriends who I was referring to, I think she and I watched Dirty Dancing probably 20 odd times when we were young teenage girls and when she stayed recently here in Barcelona we did have a moment of re watching that so that brought a lot of joy. A great
Track 1:movie!
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:What
Track 1:is
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:a book
Track 1:that you've read that, or re read that brings you joy?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:There's a book by Alain Dupont, he's a French, prolific author. He's very entertaining. He's quite the amusing writer, but the one of his that I love is called The Course of Love and it's written as a fiction book watching these couple as they go through their life. And, because he's also got a psychology background. It's very good. It's a good book. I'll have to pick that
Track 1:up.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah,
Track 1:What are some of your joy hacks, things that you do to hack into joy?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Definitely nature is a big one. And so I seek out every park there is in Spain, in Barcelona, and regularly try and schedule weekends, where we go hiking or the beach. So nature's a big hack. Barbs are a big one and just making the time to connect and call those girlfriends and different people just pausing to make that time. And, above all of those things is I guess hanging out as a family and having meals and board games and all of those things. because Laura, you know, like you're probably aware, kids, our kids are going to be all grown up and have their own families soon. And so trying to cherish that now while they don't have the life partners and all those things. And we're moving towards getting a dog here in Spain because dogs are just my thing and I've missed not having one these last few years.
Track 1:I'm a dog person too, so I can absolutely relate. And I was just going to say my youngest daughter was just home for spring break. And when she left last night, my husband had tears in his eyes because he said, I miss having all three of the children together at the same time and realizing that they're in this phase of their life when we really don't know when we get to have them together, we can hope for Christmas, but even that. It is hard to predict, so we just have to enjoy every moment that we can and try not to suffocate them when they're home because we just want to be around them. I mean, we're raising great people who we want in our lives and, like you, I feel fortunate that I like who they're becoming and I love the people they are. So family is vitally important if you do it right.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:yeah,
Track 1:And, and like you said, with your girlfriends, you know, creating family that you choose to have around you, not just the people that you were born to.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:yeah, exactly. yeah,
Track 1:a musician, a style of music that makes you feel joyful. So when you want to be in that moment,
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:I'm going to look her up. It's Lauren Daigle. Do you know her?
Track 1:Oh yeah.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah. I find amazing. Yeah.
Track 1:Is there a particular song or just her music in general?
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah, just in general, really, I think. Yeah. Which is again quite amusing to me that I'm someone now who listens to all these gospel songs because it wasn't something I grew up with and yet, I love it now, you know?
Track 1:Ironically, my favorite Christian rock band is Australian, for King and Country. Yeah, for King and Country. They have a song called Joy that I walk to, I move to, I start my day with, It's great. They actually have a movie coming out called Unsung Hero, and it's about the move with of their parents. I can't remember. There's five or six children, but the children are moved to Nashville in order to develop them in the music industry.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Oh wow.
Track 1:Yeah. For King and Country is the name of the band.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:I will find them.
Track 1:And then finally an Attaway. So I like to finish with an Attaway, which is someone who you are celebrating, who maybe has helped you along the way or that you're cheering for.
squadcaster-67i2_1_03-26-2024_172142:Yeah, I think Laura's definitely my mum. She's getting Alzheimer's kick in and it's hard to watch that. And she's just been such a cheerleader for so many people in her lifetime this essence of just joy and happiness for people and bringing people together. And now to sort of watch her lose part of that. I'm just like on the sidelines going, keep going. She's in complete denial, but, you can see it happening.
Track 1:That's beautiful. Well, my dear, I love you. I cannot wait until the next time I get to see you. And for all of our listeners, I hope you've enjoyed hearing my conversation with Dr. Jennifer Floriani, one of the beauties of the world. And keep listening. If you're looking to find us on Instagram we're@drjoyshow and we'd love to hear from you, please LIKE and review our show and we'll look forward to seeing you soon. Keep choosing joy.