“Most people really struggle with just slowing their thoughts down. So, I always say ‘What’s your favourite song?”. If you close your eyes, and you can hear the creeks in the piano of the song and hear feet moving on the ground, all of the sudden, you are in that space. That’s meditation and that mindfulness.”This week’s episode is with the incredible Niall Breslin A.K.A Bressie.  What can we say about this man? We admire him so much. You would be incredibly hard pressed to find something Niall hasn't done in his lifetime. He is a bestselling author, podcaster, musician, philanthropist, and a former professional athlete. However, right now he is on a mission with regards to mental health. Over the past decade, Niall has become one of Ireland’s most formidable and inspiring mental health advocates. He has undoubtedly been one of the spearheads of the mental health conversation in Ireland and bravely stepped up to speak on the issue years before it became a mainstream discussion.  Niall is also the founder and creative director of the mental health advocacy charity ‘A Lust for Life’, a multi-award winning movement that uses content, campaigns and events to facilitate young people to be effective guardians of their own mind. For more information on this, visit:  www.alustforlife.com In this episode gf The Happy Pear Podcast, Bressie talks us through his incredible journey through life thus far and how it has shaped his perspective on mental health and mindfulness today.  In his early years, Bressie was a massive sport enthusiast and ultimately worked tirelessly to get the opportunity to play rugby at an Elite level.  After sport, he ‘naturally’ moved into music and again, while he loved the industry, he knew he wasn’t coping with the stress and the pressure it put on him. Following a panic attack after a live TV appearance, he knew he needed to finally seek professional help for his issues.  Niall spoke so openly about his realisation of needing help. Unfortunately, given what is often the nature of seeking support with mental health issues, Niall struggled with reaching out, mostly out of fear of disappointing those closest to him. One of the most interesting insights from Niall was that he felt he couldn’t tell those closest to him about his struggles ‘out of fear they would have felt lied to for years’. Obviously, once he did open up, this wasn't the case. In fact, the opposite was true. Niall discussed how we all need to work through our emotions, no matter how hard they might be to deal with. Niall spoke about his 10-year journey with therapy, which is still ongoing today and spoke to us about the importance of attitude, choosing our perspective and understanding when suffering is inevitable and allowed.  We also shared a really frank conversation with Niall around emotional connection in our personal relationships and how we have failed and succeeded in this aspect of our lives. We talk about the importance of these close relationships and the further importance of true connection within them. We also spoke openly about the dangers of social media obsession and the challenges we have faced from our time in the spotlight. Niall also brought us through the exciting emerging area of music therapy and how it is being used in mental health services in Ireland today. There are some amazing practical tips with this conversation around anchoring your attention that you can implement right away, so we highly recommend listening through. Niall shared his 6 fundamental principles which he encourages people to follow when they begin their mindfulness and meditation journey: -       Making it work for you.-       Non-judge Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Don’t create another committee. Talk to people where they already gather. Share ideas and that ripple effect will build and build and build.” Our guests on this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is the amazing duo of Dr Tara Shine & Madeleine Murray, of Change by Degrees. Tara and Madeleine are wonderful humans. Tara has spent 20 years as an international climate change negotiator and advisor to governments and world leaders on environmental policy, most notably as a Special Advisor to the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice.  Madeleine brings a multifaceted background and is expert in employee sustainability engagement and helping businesses create and tell their sustainability stories. Together, they run Change by Degrees, an organisation dedicated to delivering strategic sustainable advice, employee engagement and specialised sustainability comms.  Tara and Madeleine are powerful women, helping create the future we aspire towards.  Climate change as we all know is the major topic of our time which isn’t going away and learning practical digestible steps from experts can really help us continue to take the necessary action needed to bring our world more into balance. We loved the simplicity of these 3 steps we need to take collectively:Reduce our emissions (no power and fuel to come from fossil fuels and all to come from renewables)Store more carbon in our natural environment (through looking after nature; planting more trees; restoring our biodiversity and moving towards better agricultural practices that build our soils)Adapt to living with more storminess - climate change is real and will change things; we need to prepare for these events (the reality of more flooding, higher sea level rise and to create a more equitable and inclusive society for all as we move forward). In this episode, we hear about the importance of societal action on the “Climate Emergency’; the importance of effective communication in climate action; the incredible value beneath our feet in our soils.The girls bring to life the opportunity for incredible innovation within climate action.  They give us some very practical daily sustainable and environmentally friendly actions that each of us can take and the powerful ripple effect this can play.  They weave not only personal action we can take but also how critical it is for businesses to bake sustainability into the very core of what they are about so all business units know and own goals in relation to it.Being mothers themselves, they explain how they navigate parenthood.  We loved how they asked us all to have conversations with our kids on this topic - ask them to describe what a sustainable world looks like to them and by so doing we encourage them to use their voice and spread their vision. Be sure to check out changebydegrees.com and Tara’s book - “How to Save Your Planet One Object at a time” which is available at all good bookstores. This episode is a fantastic listen - we learnt so much.  This podcast was an honour to bring remembrance and more light to this topic and we really hope you enjoy it and take practical nuggets from it. Big love,  Dave & Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We aren't weak. We don’t lack will power. We’re just humans trying to get by each day. The world is tough. It is difficult at the moment. We don’t need to beat ourselves up. Let’s be kind and compassionate to ourselves.”Our guest on this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is the amazing Dr Rangan Chatterjee. Rangan is a breathtaking human. He is a physician, author, television presenter, podcaster and much more. He has also been a medical doctor for more than 20 years and is a pioneer in the emerging field of progressive medicine. Rangan is best known for his TV show ‘Doctor in the House’ and for being the resident doctor on legendary BBC One's Breakfast Show. He also writes for the Huffington Post and pens a monthly column on lifestyle medicine in Top Santé. His TV shows have been shown in more than 70 countries around the world and in 2017, he came 8th in the Pulse Power 50 list for influential GPs.Simply put, Rangan is on a mission to simplify health. He believes that health has become far too confusing and that we need to get back to basics with a 360 degree approach to health through food and lifestyle. Rangan is always so honest and passionate, and we learn something new every time we speak to him, so we’re delighted to bring this conversation to you and we really hope you enjoy it.  In this episode, Rangan takes us through: -        His childhood and how he now reflects on it -        The importance of getting out into nature -        His 4 pillars of health -        His approach to stress management -        Why journaling can be really supportive  -        His approach to and learnings from parenthood -        Dealing with cravings and changing habits -        Truly understanding your goals for long term change -        Why we need good relationships and meaningful connections -        His definition of success and his journey to understanding it -        The need to be kind to ourselves  This is a wonderful conversation - we really loved it and we hope you take as many practical and useful nuggets from it as we did as an effective gratitude tool. Big love, Dave & Steve   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Health is so simple. We can make it so complicated, but at the base of it is simplicity. That's what I have been focusing on and I can’t tell you the difference it has made” Our guest on this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is the amazing Ella Mills, founder and driving force behind the brand Deliciously Ella. Ella is all about using her platform to share simple and delicious ways to take the complication out of healthy living and to feel better.   Starting from a personal blog, Deliciously Ella has evolved into so many things, from an app, to a deli, to a series of podcasts and even a hugely successful range of plant-based food products available all over the UK and now Ireland. Her story has a lot of similarities to ours, so it was so lovely to get the chance to sit down for a longer period of time with her. Ella started everything back in 2012. She had previously been diagnosed with a number of serious health issues and following months in and out of hospital and numerous unsuccessful treatments, she started looking into other ways of managing her condition. Encouraged by stories and research, she decided to turn to a whole food, plant-based diet and, well, the rest is history. Ella is the picture of health today and hopes that sharing her journey can help others to follow in her footsteps.   She is now married to her wonderful husband, Matt, who is the CEO of Deliciously Ella and she is mother of two small daughters.Ella is always so honest and lovely, and her passion really does shine through when she speaks, so we are so excited to share this lovely conversation with you! In this episode, Ella takes us through: -        The origins of Deliciously Ella and her unexpected journey to creating a business. -        How she balances relationships and life in a family business. -        Balancing ambition and contentment. -        Her health journey, using food as medicine and discovering her online community. -        What her definition of health is today.-        How she balances public and private life. -        Navigating social media today and staying mindful with content. -        Keeping tabs on her relationship with technology. -        Building a brand with herself at the centre. -        How she defines success and what her ‘why’ is. -        Her perspective on gratitude.  Ella is continually an inspiration for us - we always take an incredible amount from her and we really hope you find it great for you! Big love,  Dave & Steve  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russell Brand is one of our heroes. An award-winning comedian, actor, author, public thought leader, a passionate activist for mental health and drug rehabilitation, Russell is also a great friend.His career thus far has been incredible, from starting out in his early days as a stand-up comedian, to then working in television, radio, film, while also subsequently becoming one strong voice in global political commentary and drug and mental health reform. He is someone who now focuses on creating positive change in the world and he is truly one of our heroes.  Russell has his own wonderful podcast, Under the Skin, available on Luminary.Luminary is a subscription podcast service with original shows you won't find anywhere else and listeners of this podcast can get a one-month free trial of Luminary by going to luminary.link/russell In this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast, Russell discusses: -       His journey and many transformations in life to find who he is. -       His first experience meeting The Happy Pear & sea swimming. -       Recognising emotions and how crisis moments can be important. -       The importance of listening to the quiet voice inside you.-       Life principles gratitude, acceptance, serenity, doing good for others-       Managing and understanding nervousness.-       His creative process.-       Balancing public and private life. -       The value of support structures, building community and living harmoniously.-       Spontaneity, planning and surrendering to the moment. -       The power of meditation & prayer Also, check out Russell’s upcoming book or more appropriately an Audible Original (so only listening, no written book) is called Revelation and is being released on 25th March!We have known Russell for years and he has interviewed us on his podcast, but we never got the chance to interview him, so we are super excited about this episode! We hope you enjoy it - we certainly found it a cracker!  Big love,  Dave & Steve Ps. Some other notable mentions in this week’s podcast were these two books if you are interested in checking them out: -       The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer.-       The Joy Journal by Laura Brand Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Your body isn’t just for show, it does a million things for you every single day that you take for granted and by punishing it or wanting another body is never going to make that relationship better. I tried every single diet fad, every quick fix out there and I never went, 'now I’m happy'” - Roz Purcell Our guest in this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is the amazing Roz Purcell. Roz is an author, chef, blogger, entrepreneur, podcast host, charity worker, former miss universe, a dear friend, and so much more. Roz always has several amazing projects on the go, from her food blog ‘Natural Born Feeder’, to writing her best-selling cookbooks, to creating ‘The Hike Life’ brand and community, to her amazingly successful podcast ‘Bite Back’. The real question is, what hasn’t Roz done? Most notably, Roz is currently one of the leading body positivity voices in the UK and Ireland today. Over the past number of years, she has used her platform to speak out about her food and body image struggles and educate people on both the physical and mental health impacts of toxic weight loss culture and eating disorder habits. Roz is consistently an inspiration for us. She is open, honest and raw about all her struggles and has helped 1000’s of people improve their relationships with food and exercise through her voice and platforms.  In this episode, Roz discusses: -       Her incredible journey thus far, from growing up in Tipperary, to starting a modelling career and becoming miss universe, to her struggles with food and body image and her continued search for self-acceptance. -       The reality of being in the public eye, behind scenes of having a social platform and trying to balance providing inspiration and realistic expectations online.-       The struggles of being a female in today's society.-       The dangers within the fitness industry today. -       What piece of advice she would give her younger self. -       The importance of nature and hiking in her life and how it acts as her reset button. -       Her and her family's journey from beef farming to being predominantly plant based. -       Her journey to understanding and healing her relationship with food. -       How her definition of success has changed for better and she is now just taking it day by day.  We have known Roz for years and never got the chance to speak frankly with her like this, so we can’t wait to share this conversation with you.  We are super excited about this episode, it's full of practical tips and takeaways and it's an absolute cracker!  Big love,  Dave & Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Yes, you might want to lose weight, yes, you might want to build muscle, but right now, you are enough. The moment you start to look in the mirror and feel inspired by the person you see is the moment you take your own power back.” - Gerry HusseyThis  episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is with the great Gerry Hussey. Gerry is a performance psychologist and has been in the human health and performance field for almost 20 years. In more recent times, he has been coined ‘The Soul Coach’.Gerry has been at the forefront of building high performance teams and individuals in all areas of sport and professionalism. His vast experience has seen him prepare and lead teams for success at Olympic Games, Heineken cups, World cups, and World and European championships. He has worked and currently works with some of the world’s leading sport and business teams as well as coaching for high performing individuals.He brings an unrivalled wealth of honesty, experience and infectious passion to everything he does and this podcast is no different. He really does have an incredible ability to awaken, unlock and connect people in a truly powerful manner. In this episode, Gerry discusses: -        Where his career started as a performance coach with the Irish Boxing Team. -        How psychology and the soul are intrinsically linked.  -        The psychological side of food, nutrition and nourishment.-        The physical and mental need for balance. -        The danger of obsession and the importance of joy, laughter & fun. -        Why exercise is fundamental to our health at all levels-        His amazingly inspiring journey to self acceptance and striving to be the greatest ‘me’ that ever lived.-        Why we need to leave the past behind and live without fear. -        The simple beauty in 5 deep breaths.-        Removing the word ‘but’ from your vocabulary.  In recent years, Gerry has been a big help and inspiration to us - we always learn an incredible amount from him and we really hope you find it good for you! Big love,  Dave & Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you don't have good gut health, then it doesn’t matter how good your diet is. If your gut lining isn’t strong, then no matter how healthy you are, your body is not going to be able to digest and extract what you need from your food.This is the key message from our guest on this episode of The Happy Pear podcast. Dr Megan Rossi, also known as The Gut Health Doctor, founded The Gut Health Clinic in London to make an evidence-based approach more accessible and get people’s guts back on track. Her book ‘Eat Yourself Healthy’ has been an international hit, released in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, as well as the US and Canada. She also received the Young Australian of The Year award from the Australian High Commission for her contribution to science and public education. If that wasn't enough, she has also worked with Olympic athletes and a number of CEOs to optimise their gut health.  In this episode, Megan talks about:-       The amazing origin of how and why she chose to study all things gut health. -       The importance of the gut from both a physical, mental and immune system health standpoint and some of her tactics to try and increase healthy bacteria exposure. -       The Gut Brain Connection. -       Why you should be striving for 30 different types of plants in your weekly diet.-       Her top tips for improving your gut health today. -       Balancing modern food while prioritising the gut.  She also delves into importance of  -       gut health and bacteria exposure in children-       your environment and its impact on the gut. -       a varied healthy diet on the gut. -       limiting stress and embracing mindfulness, particularly with food.  We learned a huge amount from Megan, a particular highlight of the podcast was her example of thinking of your gut as almost like having a pet in your stomach that needs the right feeding! We really hope you take away practical tips from this conversation.Cheers, Dave & Steve  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Wicks is one of the world’s best-known health and fitness professionals. Author of 9 books, including Lean in 15 and a kids focused one called Wean in 15, Joe has played a central role throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, keeping millions of kids and grown ups fit and healthy through his ‘PE with Joe’ workouts on YouTube. In this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast, Joe describes his early years, his personal struggles, how he found his real passion in life, and how he balances personal family life and a hectic work schedule, including maintaining his hugely popular social media channels.In this open and honest interview, we get a behind the scenes look at Joe, as he reveals what he finds tough and how he overcomes challenges such as negative criticism. We hear how he keeps himself in a positive state of mind, what affects his mood, his definition of success and happiness, and what is next for him professionally. This is a really positive and fun conversation – we got loads from it and we really hope you do too!Big LoveDave & Steve xx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.