What Weightlifting & Yoga Have in Common—with Wendy Spies - EP007
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Release Date: 12/03/2020
The Intersection of Awareness and the Body - with BetsyAnn Baron - EP013
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Few people are as aware of their bodies as professional dancers are. Their bodies are not only their source of vitality and expression, but their livelihoods, and therefore need to be respected, maintained, and healed. BetsyAnn Baron has a unique view of body awareness, as a former professional dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Her own experiences with injury and healing led her to the next phase of her life, that of a massage therapist and Structural Integrator.
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The Twists and Turns of the Pursuit of Sports- with Jennifer Wheeler - EP012
Holistic High Performance Podcast
For some athletes, their path is clear and straightforward, often laid-out for them from a young age. For the rest of us, athletics, as in life, is full of twists and turns, and forks in the road. Our next guest perfectly illustrates this non-linear road. Jennifer Wheeler was a collegiate runner, who transitioned into Roller Derby, and then into professional road cycling. Even then, she left to take a job, have a child, and returned to cycling while trying to balance it all.
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Whole Foods and Whole Body Wellness - with Mia Cara - EP011
Holistic High Performance Podcast
During the past year we’ve all been spending considerably more time at home, and have had more time to rediscover some more simple pleasures and joys.
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Using the SMART Goal Strategy to Accomplish More- with Mary Marshall - EP010
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Author, coach and instructor, Mary Marshall, is a strong proponent of upgrading the concept of mere goals to that of Smart Goals – the idea that goals should be realistically achievable, incremental, and in the case of 2020, adaptable. As in life, and as they are part of life, goals need to adjust to our changing realities and life circumstances.
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Coaching Athletes to Win On & Off the Field—with James Laurence - EP009
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Coach James Laurence is the Founder and CEO of Legerity Sports Performance, a coaching program for high-performing athletes of all ages based in Covington, Washington. James played football and ran track and field for the Antelope Valley College Marauders before earning a football scholarship to Western Washington University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in exercise science. James has 17 years of experience training a wide variety of elite youth, high school, collegiate and professional athlete
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For Next-Level Success, Question Your Beliefs—with Daniel Christofferson - EP008
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Our host, Daniel Christofferson, is the Founder and CEO of Holistic High Performance, a state-of-the-art performance and recovery center based in Seattle, Washington. He has been working in structural integration since 1996, helping thousands of clients transform their lives through the alignment of body, mind and soul. Best known for working with athletes, Daniel and his team support clients in realizing relief from pain, recovering from injury, and fulfilling their optimal athletic potential.
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What Weightlifting & Yoga Have in Common—with Wendy Spies - EP007
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Wendy joins Daniel to explain how she discovered yoga as a girl growing up in the backwoods of Louisiana. She discusses how she was introduced weightlifting later in life, describing how she came to compete and win on the world stage and what self-care practices she uses to increase her training capacity. Listen in for Wendy’s insight around the parallels between yoga and weightlifting and find out how she is navigating the pandemic—on rollerblades!
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From High School Records to the Pro Ranks—with Chloe Cunliffe - EP006
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Chloe joins Daniel to explain how she discovered her love for pole vaulting and why she chose a professional career over college. She shares what it’s like to be a pro athlete in training for the Olympic Trials, describing the drills she is doing to improve her technique and walking us through the training progression for her sport. Listen in for Chloe’s insight on recovering quickly from injury and find out why she is considering massage school as a complement to her career as an athlete.
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Making Self-Care a Priority for Athletes—with Whitney Rowe - EP005
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Whitney joins Daniel to discuss what inspired her transition from dance to track at the age of 16 and share the highlights of her career as a college sprinter at Colorado Mesa. She describes the challenge of balancing a full-time job with training for the Olympics, explaining who she goes to for support and how she is staying motivated through the pandemic. Listen in for Whitney’s insight on viewing body work and other self-care strategies as a necessary investment in yourself and your career as an athlet
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The Long Road to Healing from Physical Trauma—with Neil McCarthy - EP004
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Neil joins Daniel to discuss what happened the day of his traumatic climbing accident and describe the serious injuries he sustained as a result. He explains the elaborate healing routine he adopted post-surgery (while he was immobile) and explains why the early days of physical therapy were such an emotional experience.
info_outlineOn the surface, it may seem like weightlifting and yoga have very little in common. But if you ask Wendy Spies, the practices parallel each other. In fact, she refers to weightlifting as ‘honest yoga.’
Wendy is a Certified RYT Yoga Instructor and USA Weightlifting Coach. She has been practicing yoga since 1987 and is a nationally-ranked weightlifter, setting the world record in the women’s 53kg at the 2018 Pan American Games and winning gold at the Arnold Weightlifting Championships. Wendy is also an accomplished software engineer and product designer with bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a master’s in convergent media from the University of Texas.
On this episode of Holistic High Performance, Wendy joins Daniel to explain how she discovered yoga as a girl growing up in the backwoods of Louisiana. She discusses how she was introduced weightlifting later in life, describing how she came to compete and win on the world stage and what self-care practices she uses to increase her training capacity. Listen in for Wendy’s insight around the parallels between yoga and weightlifting and find out how she is navigating the pandemic—on rollerblades!
What You Will Learn
How the experience of growing up in the backwoods of Louisiana drove Wendy to find her own power in the world
What inspired Wendy’s shift from medicine to enterprise software
How Wendy was introduced to yoga through a book at the age of 12
The false narrative that pulled Wendy away from track and field + how she overcame it in her 30’s to pursue weightlifting
Why Wendy refers to weightlifting as ‘honest yoga’
Wendy’s insight on the chess game of competing in weightlifting and how local meets differ from the world stage
Wendy’s take on how discipline and self-care impact your chances of making the podium
How Wendy leverages red light therapy and other self-care practices to recover more quickly and increase her training capacity
How Wendy got better at competing with intentional practice and the world records she has achieved
How Prince inspired Wendy to take up rollerblading as a hobby during COVID
Why Wendy took a break from weight training during the pandemic and how she is cutting herself some slack as she picks up the bar again
Connect with Wendy Spies
Wendy’s Yoga & Coaching Website