The Dx2 Podcast
Two sisters discuss what they are learning about having a balanced wheel of life that rolls along as smoothly as possible.
The Dx2 Podcast
A New Mom Shares The Simple Routines That Keep Her Family Healthy And Her Mind Steady
What does balance look like when you’re 10 days postpartum, your husband is nearing the end of medical school, and sleep is a work in progress? We invited Ella—a young mom of two—to share the small, repeatable routines that keep her family steady: a weekly “family council,” simple meal planning with protein-forward dinners, a 9:30 p.m. bedtime, and the kind of grace that makes hard seasons livable.
Ella walks us through how clear communication and shared priorities prevent resentment and reduce decision fatigue. We explore her practical health habits: sheet-pan dinners with sausage, sweet potatoes, and greens; daily protein smoothies; and a sleep routine anchored by an evening wind-down alarm. She also revisits a tough chapter—an appendectomy early in pregnancy—and talks about recovering with patience, accepting help, and supporting gut health with Flora Blitz to steady digestion and immunity during postpartum.
Mental health takes center stage as we trade tools that work in real life. Expect simple, proven practices: offering service to get out of your own head, naming five good things each day, scripture or uplifting audio on morning walks, breathwork to calm a stressed nervous system, and movement—whether lifting or a kitchen dance—to shift your state fast. We also highlight a sneaky game-changer: reducing sugar to stabilize mood and energy. Ella closes with two anchors worth remembering: give yourself grace in every season, and trust God’s timing when life feels uncertain.
If this conversation gave you a helpful nudge, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a steady plan, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Your support helps this community grow.
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How you doing? I'm good. How are you doing? Um, pretty good. Pretty good. Good. Yes. Really good. It's been a little while since I've seen you. So I was gonna tell you, because I haven't seen you for a little while, since you've been gone. I reached out to mom to go play pickleball with me the other day. Oh, she's never played before, right? Right. I said, I need some mental health help, mom. Can you help me? And she was all concerned. Yes, I bet. And I said, Will you come play pickleball with me tomorrow? It should be a beautiful day. And she was like, That's what you need help with. I said, Yes, it's very good for my mental health. She agreed. She was like, I don't have a paddle. And I said, No problem. So we were going to one set of public courts and they were packed. So we went to our default backup court. It was great. She did really good. But the whole time we were playing, I kept thinking, how many wheels of the, how many spokes of the wheel of life am I hitting right now? I'm hitting mental, emotional, I'm hitting physical, I'm hitting family. And she's hitting education because she got an education, let me tell you. You got the other side of education, you got teaching. Yeah. So it was, yeah, I thought it was good. But she said, be sure to tell the niece how good I was. My question is who won? I won. Job. But she did score four points. That's great. So we we we we practiced, like I taught her some basics first, and then we practiced, you know, just across the net and we practiced serves. And then I said, Are you ready to play a game? So we did only play one game, but we played for a little over an hour total. And we worked up a sweat. Like it was really nice. It was a beautiful day. And she asked when we could go again. So I took that as a good sign. That is really good. I'm glad she enjoyed it. I'm glad you asked her. That's probably good for both of you. So we're going, we're gonna go again a little bit later this week. And she asked if we could. Great. So that was that was a good sign. And I said, sure, I can work that into my schedule. So anyway, I was I was proud all at once. We were hitting multiple spokes on our our wheels. That's good. That's generally how it goes, right? Not just one spoke individually by itself and not isolated. Yeah. So we have a guest with us today. Yes, we do. Your daughter Ella, who you are with in out of state. Yes. And Ella, you just had a baby about a week ago. How long ago was it? I think about 10 days. I I was like, I you're still on the day counting, so 10 days. Awesome. Congratulations. Thank you. And it's baby number two. Denise, would you like to give a little background intro of Ella? Tell us who she is and what she's doing, why we're interviewing her. Sure thing. So this is Ella. She is my third child and my second daughter. She is, like Debra said and Ella said, a mother of two. She's living far away from home and doing great things. Growing up, she was very active. She was a cheerleader in high school and loved cheerleading. Loved being at the games and supporting her school. She's an active member in her church and loves her husband and supporting him as he's going through medical school right now, which is a big job with now two babies. And he's nearing the end, right? End in quotation marks.
Speaker:Yes, he uh will graduate in May, so he just has a few months left.
Speaker 1:Awesome. So she's one of my favorite daughters. She calls me weekly, and we get to chat and I get to see the babies, and she's a good girl. I definitely call her more than weekly. I know you do. Because I'm with her often when she says, Oh, hang on, it's Ella. So I think that's great though. Like you guys have a good relationship. And I agree. She's a great girl, Ella. You're a great girl. I've known you for your whole life, and I remember way back when you were just a tiny thing. You've been pretty darn solid from the outset. Thanks, Up. So did she leave anything out that you would like to tell us about yourself before we start, before we dig into our questions for you? I don't think so. I think she covered all the good stuff. So she has her main points for sure, I think. So you're a busy mom of two, wife and mom. I'm interested in how you are navigating family life and finding any sort of balance in your life, especially while your hubby's pretty busy with medical school. Can you tell us how you're kind of balancing, balancing life?
Speaker:I think the the first thing that comes to mind for me is communication with my husband. I think that the two of us being a team and setting boundaries and scheduling out our weeks and looking at things that we have coming up so that we are on the same page with everything makes a really, really big difference for us. I feel like throughout medical school, a lot of people have told us that you would never, I would never see my husband and that it would be like I was alone or a single mom and I have not had that experience whatsoever. And I think that a lot of it is because of my great husband and that we've been able to work together through all of it. So I think that working with people in your life to balance things out is a really important part of that.
Speaker 1:Awesome. And he is a good one. You you got a good guy, a good man there. I should think so. They're a great team and they help each each other find balance and they they work really well together. It's really fun to watch them as a young couple. And they got married and right away left for medical school, and so that's been their experience this whole time. So that's all they've known is working together. Yeah. That's true. I forgot you you guys did move away right after you got married. But then of course it was a little bit before the little guys came along. So it was just you two relying on each other. But I would think of any time at any time in life, right now, would be like one of the most opportune times for both of you to be very out of balance. So the fact that you're working on your commit communication and being a true partnership really speaks to, I think, where your guys' values lie. Would you agree?
Speaker:Yeah, definitely. I think that when we got married, that was something that was really important to both of us was that we were on the same page and had the same priorities in life.
Speaker 1:And I think it's made a big difference for us. So you said that you guys like you communicate, you schedule things out. Do you like have a regular meeting? Like, do you have a Sunday night meeting, or do you just catch up here and there as you can? Or how do you how do you make that work?
Speaker:We do have a weekly meeting. We call our family council. We talk about our week every Sunday evening. We're guessed. We look at things that we have on the calendar, things that we need to do. We have goals that we have together as a couple and individual goals that we'll check in with each other on and see how we can support each other with those things and what we can do during the week to work towards accomplishing those goals. And we do it every week. And it's amazing. If you don't do it, I would suggest you do it. You guys have monthly budget meetings too, right? Yes, we do one of our family councils includes a budget meeting once a month.
Speaker 1:So I'm over here taking notes because some of those things are things that are on my aspiration list. Like I would we would love to have a regularly scheduled sit-down plan things out meeting. And Sunday would be our day to do it. And usually we're just happy to have time together, so we don't do it then. And we do like little small check-ins here and there. So in your young life, your newly married, getting started, getting going life. Like I'm so proud of you and the fact that you're you guys are doing that because I'm not, but I should be. They are on the ball.
Speaker:I appreciate that, but I also think it looks different in every stage of life. With where you and your husband are, you don't have a lot of time together. And so maybe a little check-in here and there is what works best for you at this point in your life. And I'm sure when my husband moves on to the next stage of medical school, we'll probably have more little check-ins instead of an hour-long discussion every week because we just won't have the same kind of time.
Speaker 1:Thank you for making me feel better about it. That's wisdom from a 24-year-old mom and wife. That was pretty good, Ella. Good job. Yeah, that was pretty good. And I really love that you pointed out the stages because there are different stages, or I think of them almost as seasons of life. And things are never the same from stage to stage or season to season. And I think if we get, if we expect things to just stay the same, and like this is always gonna be the schedule, you're setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. Very true. Let's talk about colostrum. It is a hot topic in the world these days. We're gonna talk about equipped foods core colostrum. Each food contains three grams of grass-fed, faster raised, and about three colostrum, where most on the market only contains one gram. Colostrum is a nutriental powerhouse that has been strong and proven to enhance immune function of health and recovery with vital nutrients. So what exactly is it? Colostrum, also known as first milk, is produced immediately following a newborn birth. It is vital nutrition, providing all the nutrients and fluid a newborn needs in the early days. It also applies to all people who all need that nutrition. Equipped foods, core colostrum, is a type A1 and A2 milk, which is the highest pure milk you can get. Also, while core colostrum is a dairy product, it does not contain milk or lactose. So most people with lactose intolerance usually find colostrone very digestible and beneficial to health. Now I know you're wondering how you use it. It's so easy. You just need one scoop per day, and you can add it into tea or coffee, you can add it to a protein cake or to yogurt, or you can even add it into your favorite bakery. It's also cost effective. So it's pork alostron is about 51 cents per serving compared to 91 cents per serving or more on for competitors. So if you go to equipfoods.com and use the promo code D times2 or DX2, you'll get a great discount. So let's switch gears a little bit and talk about how you keep yourself and your family healthy, especially in regards to diet, sleep, and then like not getting sick, immune support. Have you found anything that works really well for you guys for where you are in your life? And also with your little your little ones. It's been little one for a long time. So you've kind of had to juggle for all three of you, and now four of you.
Speaker:I think, well, first of all, I have to give some credit to my mom because most of what I know about healthy eating and taking care of yourself comes from her and the way that she raised me and the knowledge that she has bestowed upon me throughout my life. Bestowed. She such an amazing example for sure. She really does. In regards to diet, I would say, again, as part of our family council, we plan out our meals for the week or the next two weeks, and we always take things to have that are good and balanced nourishing foods. And so I think that makes a really big difference. So even if the day is crazy and I eat breakfast at 10 o'clock instead of at seven, and my toddler doesn't eat lunch, we always have a good nourishing dinner, and I think that's really good for all of us.
Speaker 1:And if Can you give a couple examples of some of your favorites for your nourishing dinners? Yes. Do you have some default go-to's?
Speaker:One that we actually just made with mom here is kind of a sausage sheet pan bake. We'll cut up sausage and put it on a pan with some onions and sweet potatoes, and then this time we did Brussels sprouts, but we frequently do broccoli or green beans, and then we just put some avocado oil and salt and pepper and some other seasonings on it and bake it in the oven, and then we eat it with quinoa, and it's super, super good.
Speaker 1:It was delicious. Sounds good. I think sheep can dinners are so easy and you can mix and match so well. Yeah. Yeah. So that's one example of something that you make. What's another staple meal? Smoothies?
Speaker:Yes, but what kind of smoothies? Ice cream smoothies? No, protein smoothies. I have a protein shake probably every single day. And my palder really likes them too. He's probably getting more protein than he needs, if I'm being honest. But he'll drink about half of my protein shake as part of his breakfast or his snack, and he really likes it. What do you put in inside protein shake? Some kind of frozen fruit and some milk and usually some peanut butter. We really like the kind from Costco because it's just peanuts and salt. Um, and then a protein powder. We like to use the brand just ingredients. I don't know if that's allowed for me to say. That's allowed for you to say.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can say just ingredients has awesome protein. I was actually gonna ask what kind because different things work for different people, but that's a really, really good one for most people.
unknown:Yeah.
Speaker 1:The just ingredients press.
Speaker:So is that breakfast or is that with breakfast or is it a snack? I usually have it for breakfast, and then I'll let toddler have some with his breakfast.
Speaker 1:That makes it quick and easy too, right? Yeah. You mentioned a few times to me about when you have dinner with friends and how their dinners look a little bit different.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker 1:How are their dinners different than yours?
Speaker:A lot of our friends around here, when we do meals with them, they frequently don't have any sort of protein in their dinner or any kind of vegetables in their dinners, which is just flabbergasting to me. Because I always grew up, like I said, with my mom who cooked really well for us, and we always had some sort of protein at our meals. We always were eating vegetables, it was always very well balanced, and so that's how I cook for my family. And so I'm always very shocked when we go to someone else's house and there's not a vegetable on the table. Why are you having dinner without a vegetable?
Speaker 1:And I love that you notice that, and that helps keep your family healthy because you're having a well-balanced diet, right? Yeah. So that was kind of the next part of that question is how do you balance sleep? How do you balance staying like healthy or immune system support of any sort?
Speaker:For sleep, it is tricky in my stage of life because my children wake up during the night. But my husband and I are kind of old Michael and we like to go to bed at 9 30. And so we That's later than me. We we have an alarm that goes off at 8 45 every day that tells us it's time to get ready for bed, and then we're usually in bed at 9 30. And then spectacular. Well, I think it's awesome. We get made fun of a lot for it by our young friends. No, no, no, it is spectacular. But so we go to bed early. We typically wake up pretty early so that we can get things accomplished before our kids are up for the day. But I think going to bed early is really good. And then also I think taking a nap when you need it is really important too.
Speaker 1:Yes, you take a nap when your toddler takes a nap. Yeah. And he still naps pretty much every day, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Good. How about for hubby? Is he able to get the sleep he needs with his school schedule and everything that's going on? Like it sounds like you he gets to bed at a decent hour, but does that translate all the way across?
Speaker:He frequently has to wake up very early to go to his rotations in the hospital around five or five fifteen. Sometimes it's later, but frequently over the last couple of years, he's been up around five to go to class. And he is in class or in the hospital working and doesn't have time to take a nap. And so then I think that's where the nourishing food comes into play again is that he's fueling his body with good things throughout the day to help keep him energized and going until he's able to come home and rest.
Speaker 1:Awesome. That's why the nine third big time. I'm gonna say it one more time. Like, don't ever let anyone making fun of you for that derail you. That is literally one of the very best things you can do. And like I say it every single day when I'm working with clients, like you need water and you need sleep. If you would just do those two things, so many other things would result. So most and then people say, I go to sleep around 11 or 12, sometimes one, and I'm like, why? They're just messing around. So the fact that already you have the dialed in and you're kind of on a schedule, it sounds like, with the babies, your toddler and your baby, as much as you can be with the baby, right? Right. Oh, right now it's pretty much all day. So she can easily take a nap when he takes a nap over with us.
Speaker:He's sleeping at night too. He does pretty well. He's he's a little hit and miss. Some nights are not so great, but most nights he's been pretty good.
Speaker 1:I will say that one benefit I have of being here right now is I get nighttime grandma snuggles so that she can. Oh nice. Yes, I'm so that is one of the reasons you're there. Yep. So she gets pretty good sleep at night. So if it's not too personal for me to ask, I want to talk a little bit more about immune system stuff. Because just because of me knowing you and like your family, I spent time with your mom and stuff. You had some trouble earlier this year, I think it was, and you have been bouncing back from that. Do you want to, and that was while you were pregnant. Do you want to talk at all about that or would you rather not?
Speaker:No, I'm happy to. So earlier this year, when I was about 10 weeks pregnant, my appendix burst, and I was in the hospital for a week recovering from the surgery, and then really from the time it burst until I felt fully recovered was probably about six weeks.
Speaker 1:Wait, did you say months or weeks? Six weeks. It probably felt like six months, but it was six weeks. Six weeks. Okay, okay.
Speaker:So that was a really long time for me to feel not good. I felt I didn't feel good physically, I didn't really feel good mentally. I didn't feel like I had the energy that I wanted to have to be able to run around and play with my son and be able to help around the house and do chores like I wanted to. And so that was a really hard recovery for me. Thankfully, I had really And meanwhile you're growing a baby. Yes. Yeah. I I think that definitely contributed to my slow recovery time just because there's only so much that my body can do at once. So but thankfully I had some really good support around me while I was recovering, and like I said, it was really hard for me. I really try to stay active. I enjoy lifting weights, I enjoy being outside and walking and running, and I wasn't able to do a lot of those things for a long time because I just didn't feel well. And that was really hard for me, but I learned I'm always learning this, to give myself grace and to just be okay with the season of life that I was in. I didn't have to be in the gym all the time. I didn't have to be doing all of these things. I could just take time to rest and take care of myself and my family and grow a baby and recover. And that was a really good thing for me to carry through the rest of my pregnancy. And it was really good to be able to rest and kind of take it a little bit easier. Although now I am excited to be able to jump back into doing more things now that I'm past all.
Speaker 1:So I want to say, Ella, you are, I think, wise beyond your years because so many people will not acknowledge that they need to give themselves grace and not acknowledge that they need time for themselves to recover, and they'll just kind of keep pushing and pushing and pushing and really end up making things worse. So, props to you for handling that how you did. Part of the reason I wanted to talk about that was because I and I didn't know your whole side of things, I just knew like not everything is picture perfect, right? You're doing all the things you should be doing, you're trying really hard to check all the boxes and live, I'm gonna say perfectly, but things still happen. Like you still got sick, you still were in the hospital, you still had to recover. So even though you do everything, there are still bumps in the road. So I know your mom has had mentioned a little while ago that there was a supplement that you have been using since then that helped you with some of that recovery. And I might have just been her hearsay from her, but she said that you were taking flora blitz to help with that. Yes. Is that true? Flora Blitz, so flora the flora blitz packs from Optimal Health Systems.
unknown:Yeah.
Speaker 1:How are you taking that and how did that help you?
Speaker:I take it in the morning normally with my breakfast, and I feel like it has just really helped to regulate a lot of things in my body, which has been really nice, especially after my appendix and then after having a baby. I want my digestion to be regular and I want to feel healthy. And so that has been super helpful for me, especially during those two periods of my life.
Speaker 1:I love that you've been using that. It is so helpful for helping, yes, the gut, but also from the gut, the brain, and the whole immune system. So it was in good feedback for me to hear from your mom that you had been doing that and that you that it was helping you. Anything else on that, or are you ready to move on? I'm good to move on. Okay. Anything else from you, Denise, or should I move on? No, I think she covered that we she covered that pretty well. It was it was a really hard time for her. She was really weak. And she yeah, and she did take it in pretty good stride. It was frustrating for her at times, but she did take it take it in stride and worked with herself and accepted help from other people, which is sometimes hard to do, but she did a really good job with that. Good job. So I'm gonna kind of turn the tables on you a little bit because you're sitting here with, shall we say, two grandmas? Are there any areas that you particularly feel like you're struggling with in regards to the areas of life, the spokes on the wheel in the wheel of life? And if so, is there anywhere that you would like our insight or feedback or guidance with? Or are you all good? It's okay if you're all good.
Speaker:I don't know that I'm ever all good. Maybe that's not a too negative, but there's always room for improvement. There's always something that I can learn about and take advice on. I think something that I would love to hear your insights on are how you balance like taking care of your own mental health while also taking care of other people. Because you both are caretakers, whether that's through your profession or with your family or in your religion or anything. How do you feel like you balance taking care of yourself, specifically your mental health, while also serving others and taking care of them?
Speaker 1:Sometimes we get bogged down in our minds, and we see things that are happening in life as sometimes as as bigger than they actually are in real life. Sometimes things feel heavy and block our view for the rest of life. The good things that are happening, the people around us that we love and love us and can care about. And I think that those two things that you said go together, your mental health and taking care of other people kind of go together. I know when I'm struggling, if I reach out to see who I can help, it helps me in my own mental health state. Being of service to others helps you. Being of service to others. It it does help me, it gets me out of my own head. It helps me see that other people are struggling, it helps me be of use to somebody else instead of running circles in my head. Another thing that helps me personally with my mental health is to recall at least five good things that happened in a day. I usually do it at night before I go to bed. Sometimes when I'm having a really rough day, I need to do it in the middle of the day. So is it an acknowledgement practice or a gratitude practice? Or kind of both. Like so and sometimes it's just I'm really grateful that the sky is blue today. Sometimes it has it's just something that in that view, I'm grateful that the sky is blue. And if it's raining, I'm grateful that it's raining. We need rain, flowers, grass, whatever. Sometimes it's it's just that simple. Sometimes it's I'm really grateful that I have good food to eat. Sometimes it's I'm really grateful that somebody reached out to me today. Or I'm really grateful that I listened to that little feeling I had that that I needed to reach out to somebody, and it turned into a great conversation and was good. That's those are some things that I do for my own mental health. So you were talking about that. I have a song going through my head. Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Like that, just counting your blessings wherever you are and whatever's going on, you are always still blessed. And if you can shift focus, I think it's powerful. It sounds like a simple, simplistic thing, but there's so much power in real gratitude and acknowledging blessings from God. There's so much power in that. There's actually it's like scientifically evidence-backed proof that that makes a difference in your brain and in your neurotransmitters. Anything else? Or should I share? Your turn. Okay, so my turn. I'm gonna say there are a couple of things I try to do every day that really helped me because I just I feel like it's good for me to do every day. But also I'm gonna say probably 10 years ago, I really started to struggle with some anxiousness, some anxiety and overwhelm thoughts, like all the time. So this that's when I really started to put it into daily practice. I think it happens to all of us at some point that we hit that, kind of hit that wall. But for me, starting the day with I'm gonna say scriptures, I usually listen to them while I'm doing other things, but my brain is on them. And just the the words of love and guidance that I get from listening to the scriptures, it's like I'm being talked to by one of my best friends and given guidance from one of my best friends. So that helps me. I also have an app that I use. It's called Activations, and it's basically active meditations. So I'm not like sitting on a cushion being still meditating because I just don't do that very often. But there's like music and then words that are uplifting and specifically guiding me in the areas that I choose to focus on. So within the app, there are options for like be that girl or just needing a pet talk or stepping into a season of unknowing. Kinds of things, but there are some that are designed to do while you're walking. So I like to take a walk. That's part of my what I do to help with my mental health is just take an easy walk. I'm not going for time or distance or speed, but it's usually at least 20 minutes. And while I walk, I will listen to one or two or three of those activations that get my like they're talking with my brain and working on my brain while my body is actively engaged and I'm outside in the fresh air. That really, really helps me. I can't always be outside in the fresh air. So I still try to listen and move at the same time. There are times I have just listened to gospel music or hymns or that kind of thing while I was doing that because there are hymns that tie in with the beauty of the earth and that kind of thing. And that helps me focus in on nature and the movement and my environment and gets me out of my head and that overwhelming anxiety feeling. So those help that helps me a lot. One other thing that I noticed that really affects me with my mental health is avoiding sugar. And I know it might sound weird, but it is what it is. Sugar really affects the brain, and I have a sweet tooth. So it's like my default. If I feel stressed or if I feel weak or if I feel lonely, I want something sweet. But if I have something sweet, it makes it worse. And there are times where I get kind of into a little bit of like my husband likes to treat me with things that he knows I like. So he'll bring me a dessert or whatever, and then the next day I'm in a bad mood to eat the whole thing. Because of what he fed me the night before, trying to be nice and supportive and loving and kind. So for me, just staying off of sugar, which is a brain drug, really helps me just not even get to that point.
Speaker:I was just telling mom earlier tonight that when I feel stressed or anxious or am having a bad day, then I instantly resort to eating sugar.
Speaker 1:Like it's it will make you instantly feel good, but it spikes you and then it crashes you and it sets you up on a bad cycle. So me too, sister, me too. But knowing is half the battle, right? Yeah. And when we know better, we can do better. We don't always win the battle, but we can do better. Can I add one more thing to my mental health? Exercising or moving my body. Ella and I are alike. We both like to lift heavy weights. Sometimes we can't do that. But I do like to put on a good song and jam, and it changes my state of mind to just put on a a good, yeah, happy song and and dance. It is it does help. So I'm gonna say for a good decade, I played as the same song every morning, and it's called It's a Beautiful Day by You Two. It's it's a good one. It is a good one. And it's telling you the whole time, it's a beautiful day, and it really just changes your state. Was that helpful, Ella?
Speaker:Yeah, thank you guys. I like that you both talked about kind of vaguely practices, things that you do every day. And I feel like the consistency in both of your answers, like being consistent in your life and doing these same kind of things as a routine, things to help you will really make a difference.
Speaker 1:Kind of like your weekly planning with your husband, your life doesn't get out of control because you guys talk to each other and plan. Mental health for some people requires daily effort. Not monthly. That's that's too long. It's way too long for me. I like I I just find that mine stays better if I pay attention to it every day. And it doesn't have to be a big thing. Like, even if I just listen to some scriptures, or if I just listen to an, you know, a good a good for me song, or if I just have, you know, while I'm driving to work, I can do that. There's so many we could talk about. I'm gonna add one more. So one of them I've actually been doing a lot of this week. Not that I feel like I'm in a bad place mentally, but my body has been kind of stuck in fight or flight. So I need to settle my body down, my nervous system down. So I've been doing a lot of breath work. So box breathing and just belly breathing, and every once in a while some limhof breathing. It it does magic on the nervous system. So that that helps me a lot with that. And sometimes I'm just doing it while I'm sitting at a stoplight. That's the time I have, and I can focus on it, and it helps. So, Ella, before we wrap up, what are two words of advice that you would like to share with our listeners? We already, I mean, you've already given some good things, but if you could only leave us with two.
Speaker:I think I would repeat one from earlier about giving yourself grace. I think it's so important to embrace where you are in different seasons of life. Know that you aren't perfect and you don't have to do everything giving yourself grace and room to grow and loving yourself. I think that that is extremely important. No matter who you are or what you're doing in your life, I think you need to give yourself grace. And a second one I would say is to trust God. And if you don't believe in God, to just trust in a higher power, that there is a plan for you. I think that entrusting things that are scary or anxiety-inducing or uncertain, really entrusting those kinds of things to God for me makes a huge difference in my life. It makes me feel like I am more grounded and more hopeful and like everything is going to be okay. Which might just seem like magic, fairies and rainbows, sparkly words, but really trusting God is, I think, one of the keys to happiness in life.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Beautifully said. Thank you for that, Ella. Thanks, Ella. Thank you guys. Thank you for taking time with us and sharing your your sweet spirit, sharing some of your sweet family with us, and I'm gonna say sharing your wisdom that is beyond your years. And keep up the good work. You're you're doing great things. I know there's more good to come. She's on a good track. We have good examples around me. Okay. So if you as a listener have found anything helpful, or if this resonated with you in a way that you think it would be helpful for other people, please share it with them. We are really on a mission to try to help as many people as we can find balance and I'm gonna say smooth, smooth sailing and comfort in their lives. And if you liked this episode, please like it. Rate us, leave a comment. We appreciate it. Yeah, leave a review that really helps us and helps us get found so that we can help more people. And until next time, keep rolling smoothly. Thanks for listening to the Deep Times 2 podcast with Denise and Debra. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Be sure to subscribe and share it with someone who's ready to roll toward a more balanced life. Your support means the world to us. And just a quick note we're sharing our own experiences and ideas, not professional advice. Always do your own research and talk to qualified professionals before making big decisions. Until next time, keep your wheel rolling strong.