Well & Good with Art Green

Georgia Vavasour

Today we’re speaking to one of our meditation teachers, Georgia Vavasour. Georgia is an expert in vedic meditation – don’t worry she explains in the episode what exactly that means.

 

Georgia is not what you’d expect from a meditation teacher, and she’s the first to acknowledge that. She talks about how she found meditation after growing up with anxiety and depression, then dealing with cancer and divorce. 

 

We spend a fair bit of time talking about stress, which is something that meditation helps a lot with. The stresses of day to day life might seem like a lot, but she’s really interesting talking about what she calls adaptation energy, and how we can give ourselves the tools to control our own stress. 

 

Georgia talks about meditation for ‘normal’ people - accessible, effortless and extremely worthwhile and also meditation for children (gosh it is sweet).

Georgia is relatable and cool and we were left in awe of her knowledge.

 

Website: https://www.gvmeditation.com/

 

 

 

Brought to you by: Roar Collective

Hosts: Art & Matilda Green

Produced by:  Roar Collective

Nicole Masters

We all know industrial farming can be bad for the environment, but there is a better way of doing things that is quickly gathering momentum. Regenerative farming has been linked to skyrocketing profits, better ecological outcomes and improved human health...and it’s not that hard.

Nicole Masters is the founder of Integrity Soils, a company that specialises in what’s called regenerative agriculture. She’s a published author, and travels across NZ, Australia  and North America helping farmers to not only improve the environmental impact they have, but also increase their profit margins too.

It is safe to say that Nicole truly is leading the charge for regenerative farming, and some of what she says is truly shocking. The chemicals we’re putting into the land are having long lasting health effects, not to mention causing lasting damage to the land. Her revelations are concerning, but her positive, solutions-focused outlook will help to give you the tools to live better.

 

Brought to you by: Roar Collective

Hosts: Art & Matilda Green

Produced by:  Roar Collective

Ross Macdougald

Disclaimer:  please excuse the audio quality for the first 6 mins of this interview – we promise it gets better after the 6 min mark.

Imagine working for skincare companies and coming up with an amazing solution that did great things for the skin. Then imagine those companies only using small amounts of that solution in their products, so they had nowhere near the effect they could have. This is what happened to Ross Macdougald.

Ross got sick of that, so he went and started the Biologi skincare range. Armed with powerful, plant-based products, and a whole lot of insider knowledge of the industry, he’s on a mission to prove natural skincare products are a whole lot better than synthetics.

He talks about the benefits of natural products, what synthetics actually have in them (um, car coolant??), and gives a few easy tips for product-free skincare.

 

Brought to you by: Roar Collective

Hosts: Art & Matilda Green

Produced by:  Roar Collective

Kirsty Godso (round 2)

This isn’t our first rendezvous with Kirsty, and hopefully not the last. Since our last chat with Kirsty, she has been working through overcoming her own personal burn out.  She talks openly about being efficient in burn out mode.   In the last year Kirsty has done everything in her power to feel on top of the world again. She covers the testing that she has done and what lifestyle factors she has now been implemented - sorry caffeine, but you were definitely a culprit. 

We cover internal dialogue, self loathing, what she does for stress relief, best ways to train, habit stacking, use of different modalities for a well-rounded approach to life and training, her very successful protein powder ‘Made Of’, the dating scene in New York  and so much more. 

Oh and if she was any animal she would be a cheetah -  fast, sleek, athletic, fiery and bloody decisive. Enjoy x

 

Brought to you by: Roar Collective

Hosts: Art & Matilda Green

Produced by:  Laura Leadbetter & Hannah Hunt (Roar Collective)

Camden Howitt

Matilda and Arts chat with Camden who is a passionate advocate for our oceans and a driving force behind positive solutions in the Pacific Region. Howitt is Co-Founder and Coastlines Lead of multi-award winning charity Sustainable Coastlines, and an Edmund Hillary Fellow.  Since 2008, the charity group has delivered large-scale coastal clean-up, waterway restoration, education, capacity development and data collection activities around New Zealand and in its branches in Papua New Guinea and Hawaii.

A regular contributor to national, regional and global dialogue on marine litter, Howitt relentlessly pushes for innovative solutions; twice addressing the United Nations at its headquarters in New York and most recently consulting and presenting at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya in March 2019. 

Working alongside the Ministry for the Environment, Statistics New Zealand and the Department of Conservation, Howitt is helping to spearhead a ground-breaking new programme ‘Litter Intelligence’, combining grass roots community engagement with innovative technologies; training Citizen Scientists to collect long-term marine litter data, report on Sustainable Development Goals, and scale-up action.

The trio begin right back where it all started for Camden, growing up with parents that were passionate about the environment and sustainability. It is very clear that is rubbed off on Camden. While most return from Mexico with a tan and a few tales that should never be repeated Camden was (believe it or not) inspired by the amount of rubbish he saw while he was there.

What started as Camden being more self-aware and conscious of his consumption grew into a charity that Matty perfectly describes as ‘an organisation full of hope’. Sustainable Coastlines, acknowledge that even countries like New Zealand need to do more to reduce the refuse that ends up in our waterways so their mission is ‘to enable people to look after the coastlines and waterways they love.’  Camden talks us through the various ways that they do this and the things that you can do at home to make a difference - Because YOU really can make a difference. 

 This is not to be missed! Settle in for a wonderful chat. 

Ben Warren (round 2)

It is an absolute honour to have Ben back on the Well & Good poddy.  Listen in for an in depth conversation around family health; covering pre-pregnancy and fertility through conscious conception right through to optimal nutrition post birth to combat postnatal depletion.  Because of Ben's background, naturally the conversation covers optimal nutrition, dealing with stress and anxiety and  how we can nourish ourselves each day through the use of psychological aspects of gratitude. Ben provides education around diet, lifestyle and nutrition tips to support a happy, healthy family. Lastly,  the conversation covers something close to Art & Matilda’s own heart which is regenerative farming and supporting local farmers who are selling organic produce.  Enjoy x

 

Brought to you by: Roar Collective

Hosts: Art & Matilda Green

Produced by:  Laura Leadbetter & Hannah Hunt (Roar Collective)

Noel Josephson

Noel Josephson is one of the original founders and current CEO of kiwi organic food brand, Ceres Organics. The company has been at the forefront of the organics industry for close to 40 years, and they now offer organic products to cover virtually all your pantry needs. Noel’s original vision to heal the world continues to guide the company in making the best decisions possible for the planet and its people, with their mission ‘to create a healthier world by bringing together a community of people united in their will to bring organics into everyday life’.

Noel chats to Art and Matilda about organics and what it means to go organic.  He offers’ some valuable insight into why soil health is crucial to the wellbeing of the planet and human survival and why we, as a society, should be moving towards organic/biodynamic farming. Noel is so knowledgeable about regenerative farming, we know that you will take so much away from this chat!

If you are looking for more of a deep dive we encourage you to check out some of the information Ceres Organics has published – Links to our favs are below!

https://ceres.co.nz/blog/organic-farming/

https://ceres.co.nz/blog/is-organics-sustainable-yes-its-sustainable-heres-why/

https://ceres.co.nz/blog/so-whats-the-difference-between-organic-and-non-organic/

Steph Claire Smith

A trailblazer in the digital world, Steph Claire Smith is incredibly passionate about healthy living and body confidence in young women.

As one of the most influential names in the Australian health and wellness space, Steph began her career as a model where it soon dawned on her there was an opportunity to embrace all body shapes and sizes and promote body positivity, as opposed to weight loss or fads.

With that, alongside business partner Laura Henshaw, Keep it Cleaner was born with a philosophy to empower women to be confident in their own skin, promoting self-love and sustainable healthy choices. Having founded and grown a number of successful businesses, Steph’s passion and belief in Keep it Cleaner and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle is admired by millions around the world.

Art and Matilda chat to Steph about all this and more - The advice that she dishes out is really not to be missed and can be applied to all aspects of life. Also, PSA - Check out the Keep It Cleaner App for workouts you can do from home without any equipment. 

 

Brought to you by: Roar Collective

Hosts: Art & Matilda Green

Produced by:  Laura Leadbetter & Hannah Hunt (Roar Collective)

Ardie Savea

He is an All Black, Hurricane and won rugby player of the year in 2019.  He is a father, podcaster, business owner, fashion icon and husband.  But he is more than that - he is an inspiration.

This is complete tonic for the ears!   We cover it all with Ardie - his road into professional rugby,  his values, his personal journey around mental health and keeping grounded, how he uses social media to do good and spread love and kindness, his morning community walks and so much more. Ardie is massive on communication and being open with his feelings - something that he feels passionate about and encourages others around him to do. 

Naturally we also cover his training, nutrition, his life as an All Black and the likes; but the conversation has so much more depth than that - he is a legend and someone we can all be proud of. 

Enjoy.

 

Brought to you by: Roar Collective

Hosts: Art & Matilda Green

Produced by:  Laura Leadbetter & Hannah Hunt (Roar Collective)

Bonus ** Christmas Special

A mighty fine Christmas special.

 

It’s been a big year for the Greens – they got married, had a baby, Art hosted a television show and of course interviewed many wonderful guests on the W&G podcast.

 

This episode is for the people! You asked, and they answer!

 

Art & Matilda answer questions that were sent in from listeners. The conversations covers it all – from oodles of Green banter (inc Art questioning whether he has boobs), their personal insight into becoming parents for the first time, fears and insecurities, meal planning, tried and testing workouts, how to have difficult conversations and maine coon cats!

 

Tis the season to be jolly – tune in for some good insight, education and of course a well deserve giggle!

 

Fa-la-la-la-la

Oh, and keep an eye out for season 4 of Well & Good out early next year!