Podcast appearances and mentions of sarah mastriani levi

Sarah Mastriani-Levi finished high school at 15 and began dual study in pre-med and international business. Three years in, she saw the flaws in conventional medicine. Moving to Israel, then to China, then back to the U.S., she radically shifted her focus, learning Chinese medicine, nutritional healing and lifestyle coaching. Most recently she has learned to read raw DNA to create highly individualized wellness protocols for her clients. She serves as an International Holistic Health and Lifestyle Coach.

"My deep emotional struggle has been a secret, hidden behind the façade of dependability. I’ve been busy making sadness wrong and I was not sure how to talk about it." Exposing the Cracks that the Light May Come In Hey guys this Sarah Mastriani-Levi and I wanted to take a few minutes to speak to you from my heart about what's been happening with me, about what's been going on with my podcast and what’s been occurring in my business over the past few months. I usually don't share a lot of personal stuff on this platform. Although, most of you know that I will share personal anecdotes from time to time to support your processes. But this time, I wanted to let you know a little bit about the authentic and human side of what's been going on lately. I hope it will encourage you and give you support that you're not alone in what you're going through. These past few months have been tough for me emotionally, psychologically, physically and spiritually. I have felt like I’ve gone through some challenges that have happened, if for no other reason, then to slow down my pace. For all of you, who personally know me, being an extremely driven, overachiever has been a trademark of my personality for the majority of my life. But something has happened… maybe lots of some things…that have begun to shift my perspective. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew did some massive damage to my community, and much of the Southern East Coast. We caught the brunt of the storm. We were evacuated from our homes and forced into a “Hurri-cation mode”. Much of my business is online, so fortunately I could operate it from “the cloud” and the hotel where we were staying. However, while we were away there was a massive energy shift that happened in this area. For me, trees are like souls, and coming back to the storm damaged area was shocking, to say the least. Now nearly five months later, we are still seeing FEMA collecting fallout debris from the storm. As you may imagine, hundreds of thousands of trees were erased from the natural landscape. It felt like a spiritual emptying out, almost as if there were volunteer souls that bowed out, in order to allow space and light, for new energy, to come into the area. All in all, that would be a really positive thing, but simultaneously there seems to be a grieving process, both of the people and of the land for the changes that have happened and continue to evolve here. There's a heavy energy, and what feels like opposition to a lot of the new energy that is flowing in. Being an empath, I'm very sensitive to this. Honestly, it has caused me to lose my rhythm a little. It has toyed with my productive abilities for my business, and otherwise. All of this has challenged me spiritually and emotionally throughout these past several months. It has caused me to question my relationships and whether I am in the right location or not. The election season has been overwhelming, surprising and divisive. So much of what I never believed could happen, has…everyday seems like a new surprise, a new twist, a new turn. I feel constant fear and unease in the current political environment. I feel like I’m walking on egg-shells not to accidentally mention my opinion in the “wrong company.” Much of what’s around me believes differently, and I can’t for the life of me wrap my mind around it or support it. I keep asking myself, “is there a chance I could be wrong?” but cannot seem to understand how I could ever think or feel the opposite of what I do. I can’t understand what others are supporting. Strangely, nearly every project that I had started before October has not come to fruition. That is totally unlike me because I love efficiently finishing projects, more than just about anything else. In addition to all of that, every single project that I tried to launch over the past few months has sent me mixed messages with constant snafus and delays. Nearly every lecture that I was invited to speak at, has had a great reaction online, only to be followed by people who don't show up. That was after the fact that they told me personally that the message and topic I was sharing were excellent and important. My podcast, which has brought me so much joy, suddenly went through a shift too. The recording software stopped working for all PCs. I shifted to another recording software to record four important and powerful conversations with Jay Wong, Selena Delesie, Kelly Harrell and Toku McCree, only to discover on each one that my voice was barely audible (in spite of successful test runs). This really shook me up, not just on the technical level of why did this only work great in the test run, but also it was a huge embarrassment considering I had been waiting for months to talk with each of these people. It sent me spiraling…trying to find technical solutions. I also sunk deep into an energetic rabbit hole of questions regarding the value of my voice and why the universe was stopping it from being shared, on what seemed like every front. Was my antenna aimed at the wrong audience? Was I sharing a message that wasn't welcome? Was what I have to share not of value? During the following 2 months, I worked to create a program to launch during the last two weeks of December, along with a mastermind course. I designed it so people could read more and sign up on line, on my website. During the third week of December my website “white screened,” so not only  no launch…no one had access to my website for 10 days, as I gathered all of the parts. Essentially, I was invisible. I scheduled lectures to do an in-person of these programs. Again, tons of interest…and no one showed up. I have lost my mojo and my desire to explain myself to people, locally. Especially those who are not willing to pay $30 for a workshop that could create a healthy lifestyle change and heal what they are suffering from…but alas… that doesn’t come in a bottle or pill. I feel like I’m always swimming upstream and I’m tired. Tons of questioning and self-doubt ensued, as I pushed forward in my creative process. Perhaps I just needed to wait for the stars to fall into alignment for my message to be clear? What did I need to change? How could I possibly feel so connected on some levels and so utterly unheard? It even brought into question the worthiness of the work that I am doing. Although I know that this is a common phenomenon creators go through in the creative process (a.k.a. “the thrash”). I still was full of questions. I felt stuck in the rubble and not sure how to begin to rebuild. I have gone through a very difficult and depressed couple of months. My deep emotional struggle has been a secret, hidden behind the façade of dependability. I’ve been busy making sadness wrong and I was not sure how to talk about it. I am so thankful for the joy my kids and my work bring me in the moments between my relentless questioning. I have felt alone on my journey. I have been in the sad state grieving, within my soul, that may not be so different than the trees that were broken and uprooted. I have felt extremely challenged as a single-mother. My kids see their father 1-2 times a year for 10 days. He lives abroad. I do my best to be the support system of two parents, but it’s just me. I attempt to hold it all together and be what my kids need: physically, mentally and spiritually. They are my number one priority. I feel so happy when they are happy…but lately they have been sad too. Lonely and feeling unconnected to their peers on different levels. I try to hold space for their processes. I feel guilty for feeling jealous of happy families that have two active and loving parents. There is a strangeness in the foreign realization that there are actually couples that enjoy spending time with their partners and families. I feel ashamed to admit that every picture I see of others participating Father/daughter dances tears my heart in two, and brings tears to my eyes. There is no one to play with them on the weekends like their peers’ fathers do. There is no one else around to sign permission slips or to stay home with them should they need to. There is no one else to spilt the driving with when all four kids have activities in four different locations, all at the same time. Who do stay to cheer on…how do you divide yourself? This parenting thing is a one woman show…My commitment and intensity haven’t really left space for anyone else to join me on this journey. Not that I wouldn’t want it. However, no one seems to be able to dependably show up or keep up, as I would need for them to, to be a part of our lives. This too has been a generator of sadness and solitude. I can’t just will myself out of the situation. This past weekend I had a strange wake-up call. I was tired. It was 22:00 and the kids were doing their thing, as I was starting to wind down for the night. I went upstairs to say goodnight only to find a big mess, primarily from one of my kids. It was not just in the bedroom, also in the shared family room. There was a box under the craft table that had a couple hundred crayons dumped on the floor. A clear message that it didn’t matter to whomever dropped it. I was annoyed they had fallen and not been collected…I decided I would bend down and pick them up and not escalate with my volume and discourse on the subject. What followed was the most asinine, unintentionally self-inflicted injury that I have encountered to date. Generally, I have awesome spatial perception and orientation, but this night was definitely different. I bent down quickly, focusing my gaze on the dumped crayons and swiftly caught my forehead on the blunt of a straight back wooden chair. I heard my skull crack from the intensity. I found myself on the floor with the kids all around me, scared and wanting to be helpful. At first I saw stars, and then realized that I couldn’t see out of my right eye. I was worried and in pain. I questioned how this happened and what it symbolized… What am I not seeing that’s right in front of me? Where am I banging my energy because I am trying too hard or too fast?  And yes, I realize that I’m addicted to understanding why? but the message was there: Slow down. Rest. Zoom out. Go into the quiet. Soften up the process. Stop pushing so damn hard. Drop the harshness of the drive. It’s not helping you to move forward. Listen to the Universe’s rhythm, rather than trying overpower it. Take care of yourself. There is no one else who will take care of them. Parenting has been and always will be my top priority. Second to that is serving others and creating impact through my work. I have been struggling to know how and when to share about what I’ve been processing for a couple of reasons. The first is that, as a coach, it is not a great feeling to be totally vulnerable and to talk about personal difficulties. The second is the realization that life is series of cyclical hero’s journeys that you may or may not choose to embark upon…and it’s grueling and emotionally difficult to describe the most difficult part of the process while you are in the midst of it. You can see a diagram of the stages of the hero’s journey in the show notes, if you are not familiar with Joseph Campbell’s work. Diagram of the hero’s journey  It is so much easier to share when you are on the other side of an endeavor and you can be encouraging and remind others the arduous tasks of personal development are indeed, worthwhile. When you are at the bottom, lonely, and deep in inaccessible solitude, it is often difficult to see the end. If you’ve been through it or something like it before, then you probably know that there will be an end, but the inability to be more than a player and a witness to your process becomes overwhelming. There is no set timeline. I often think of the TED talk by Jill Bolte Taylor, wherein she describes going through a stroke, as a neurological and stroke researcher. She talks about recognizing all of the steps of what was going on…she understood it all, yet she still had a stroke and had to deal with the ramifications of it.  Click here to listen to the TED talk with Jill Bolte Taylor I also know… that when you choose to play the game…this game of personal growth and development… you are the one in the arena, subject to anything and everything that may come up…everything you could or couldn’t predict. I am reminded of this excerpt of Theodore Roosevelt’s speech "Citizenship In A Republic" delivered in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910. It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.  I am voluntarily in the arena…I choose to remain there. It’s not easy. I signed up for the advanced course. I’m here to make a difference…I’m here to create impact. I push forward…not knowing where it will take me. I recall the words of Zig Zigler, “Go as far as you can see; When you get there, you’ll see further.” From a spiritual perspective, I know that everything is as it should be. I know that timing is just a human illusion. Yet, from a very human perspective…I often struggle. I know that I do not have to give up on my dream to create impact, to generously give back, to have a voice that matters. I just have to relinquish the timeline that I have connected to the process. I know that I cannot truly accept the “call to adventure” if I have placed my own timeline on the journey. Albert Einstein’s words remind us that “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” I have realized that everything I want to create and share couldn’t possibly come to fruition on the timeline that I created months, years…or even decades ago. Everything has shifted with divine timing that was and is beyond my control or comprehension at times. The strangeness of the past few months has also brought a different level of podcasts and expression due to my partially inaudible recordings. Over the next four episodes you will hear a different vibe than you may have become accustomed to. As my voice, either wasn’t recorded, or was recorded in limited capacity, I will be featuring excerpts from the greatness of conversations with Jay Wong, Selena Delesie, Kelly Harrell and Toku McCree. I have been waiting to bring them to refinement and release, until I was clear on how to explain what had happened. The goal of my podcast is multi-faceted and remains the same. As a coach, I want others to hear these amazing conversations that I get to experience. I believe that they are valuable, impactful and important. I honor every one of the guests that I have had on, and will have on in the future, for sharing their amazing stories and messages. I think the second and primary reason for the podcast’s creation was to give a platform for the voices that are often heard only in private conversations… to show that emotional intimacy is not only an achievable goal… it can happen in one conversation…in one moment…in one synchronized breath. I feel like I would be robbing others of the opportunity of learning something great, along with me, if I did not share these messages. I wanted to offer them my gratitude for the work they are putting out in the world, inspired by Thich Nhat Hahn’s quote of “How can I love you more?”. As well as the question of how can I help others to love what you are doing as much as I do? I questioned whether I needed to redefine my business and brand identity, knowing that on some level I wanted to redefine my hustle. I have had numerous conversations trying to gain clarity. Tons of things are in the works and I have had to call on my coaches and guides to help keep me moving forward. I’m clear that 2017 is the year I desire to become completely location independent. I do deep work with inspired and creative leaders who are invested in their own spiritual hero’s journey. I provide coaching, as well as create courses and services to support their spiritual and physical health and wellness. I have five courses in the works that are launching soon including: Food and the Heroes Journey-How to Fuel Greatness (thank you Jan Black for helping me refine the concept) The Hero’s Journey Backpack Crash Course-helping others to understand what they need to have in their spiritual backpack to embark on a true spiritual journey (Riley Temple, Brian Musial and Paul Nattoli, you guys talked me through this one) I have a mastermind in the works for people who are suffering from the loneliness and isolation that often comes from being spiritual and creative entrepreneurs (Liz Scully, your guidance is unmatched on this subject) I have a year-long program called Your year of Transformation that I've been slowly building. (Peter Rossetti, thank you for your patience and helping me to realize that everything in life is just a design problem that needs a spiritual solution) I have updated my Creating a Better You program to be in alignment with the kinds of people who are a good fit for me to work with. As many of you may or may not know, all good coaches have other coaches and advisors, because they know their value and are willing to pay for good coaching. So, I turned to MY support team of coaches and friends to really try and dig deep to figure out what I needed to shift within me to create my greatest message in the world. Amongst the others, on my support team I would like to show appreciation for: Soness Stevens, my TED speaker coach, for guiding me to connect with ease and grace as I prepare my speech. Karen Wright, you have been encouraging and helped me to remember that you can't take on as much as I have as a single parent without it being hard… That it is supposed to be hard. Marika Tomkins you have reminded me that I need to continue sharing the human side of my spiritual struggles and to allow it to come out authentically. Without you, I wouldn’t have considered sharing publicly what has been going on in my life. Deborah Williams, you have kept me returning to look at the spiritual brilliance of shifting and changing money mindsets. Anthony Mattis, you continue to remind me how to lose judgment where I didn't even realize it existed, to always consider that “it's an interesting point of view that I have that point of view” and not wrap any conclusions around that. Chris Suddeth, your Energy work has been pivotal in helping me, reminding me that it's OK to express my humor and wit, as well as my sweet side. Jacqueline Friel Smith, thanks for helping me to see myself as others see me and capturing that, even when it is difficult for me to see it. Laura Petersen, your reminder that “only good will come from this” has been reassuring. Also, bringing up the question of “what am I not willing to see, that if I was willing to see would change all realities?” has be extremely helpful. Diana Babauta, thank you for your support and believing in what I do. Thank you for helping me to keep my body in a strong and functional condition. Ifetayo White, your loving grandmother energy and powerful spiritual work continues to be an inspiration. Nick Snapp, your encouragement and understanding has helped me to connect to the very pragmatic and functional side of getting things done. Your program Real Accountable is a phenomenal resource and I want to see you succeed in serving others through this amazing gift you have created. Anna Cragin your positivity and accountability have shown up and allowed me to acknowledge the achievements that I have made. In spite of the fact that my desire to accomplish things is in constant overdrive; You have helped me to celebrate the small wins. Moshe Dekel, thank you for helping to keep me healthy, seeing value in my approach to holistic medicine and guiding me when and where necessary. There have been so many others who have shown up and offered an ear, a word of encouragement, a word of advice. For all of you, I am thankful. My focus has shifted to the questions of: What if everything I’m doing and going through is exactly right? How would I approach my work differently? I lean on the words of one of my heroes Maya Angelou who said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I’ve been trying to be even more attuned to messages from the universe, through opportunities that present themselves. I’ve been examining where, within my spirit I have blocked the appearance of ease and grace from an outdated, limiting belief pattern that everything good needs to come through very hard work (a.k.a. the workaholics constant “fix” of validation). I am a creator and I won’t stop creating powerful tools and transformations for the amazing clients I have the privilege to work with. I am working and writing all the time, often single-handedly. I actively silence the negative self-talk, daily, to push forward while listening to the cosmic timing. Some days I flow with ease, others I feel like I must power through. But I show up. Every. Damn. Day. In fact, I’ve been sleeping in the “arena” for years. I recognize the need for surrender and I am allowing the light into the cracks. I continue from a place of deep knowing and intuitive inspiration. Rumi tells us, “the wound is where the light enters you.”   And Leonard Cohen reminds us: Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in… This is Sarah Mastriani-Levi of Mannafest Living signing off from a riff on Simple Change- Creating Impact One Conversation at a Time. Thanks for taking the time to listen.   Connect and Follow Sarah Email Website Facebook Personal Facebook Business Twitter Instagram LinkedIn     Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here. Simple Change Theme Music by Hani’el Mastriani-Levi Simple Change Logo by Eden Mastriani-Levi This podcast was edited by Mannafest Living

Here’s a recap of my first season of Financial Karma Podcast.  Here are highlights of what I learned from launching my podcast this summer. Money is involved in everything we do. We should be prepared to make informed decisions and we can change ourselves with awareness, intention, and accountability.  Highlights Episode  0:  I talk about how I started and why I’m a financial karma coach. I was interviewed by Lisa Vogt.   Episode 1:  Splash into Summer, with Nick Snapp. Nick discussed how he got into podcasting, what got him out of the corporate world, how he got into productivity, set routines, and bring up productivity to people.    Episode 2:  A Delicious Summer with Alexandra Jamieson. She discusses how to do the body scan, listening to your body’s messages. What it means to observe and listen to every part of your body. She discusses the activities best for summer.    Episode 3:  Women with Wanderlust with Melissa Jones. Melissa helps people to add polish to their personal and business branding with her design. She lives for travel, new challenges, and adventures and recommends traveling to everyone who can afford it.    Episode 4:  Summer Tips for Mannafest Living with Sarah Mastriani-Levi.  She discusses naturopathic medicine and holistic bodywork. She has had extensive clinical practice and is a certified practitioner in the following fields: advanced reflexology, shiatsu, Swedish massage, manual lymph drainage, iridology, aromatherapy and herbology. She  also discusses stuff such as:  How we create a plastic life, It’s not what happens to you, but how you handle what happens to you,  How to find your “allowable rebellions”,  The biggest factor that contributes to Sarah’s success as a coach,  Why fear has never stopped or defined Sarah,  Why you need to be curious, Different challenges with the lifestyle choices we make,  How she intentionally makes time to connect with her children,  Why being outside should be a priority in your life,  How to make positive changes in your life to get what you need, Why dieting is something you should avoid,  and Why Sarah loves her work and how she helps people.    Episode 5. Back to School (and more) with Bruce Langford. Mindfulness needs to go with every student’s return to school.  Does mindfulness apply to your finances? YES! Most of our money decisions—good or bad—are affected by our subconscious mind. Through his work as a mindfulness coach, Bruce helps his clients with the many problems of life with gentleness, candor, and respect. His passion is to help people become more calm, focused, and happy.    Episode 6. The Girls of Summer with Amy Lopez.  Lying is wrong  and  can lead to all sorts of problems. There are so many negative character traits that we unknowingly cultivate when we choose to be untruthful. So, be the best YOU that you can be, and tell the truth.  Amy Lopez, works with 3rd-8th grade girls, helping build confidence in the next generation of women.     Episode 7:  Change of Seasons and Meditation with Joe Somodi. Joe is a professional yoga teacher and certified life coach who helps people incorporate a daily practice of meditation into their lives.  He talks about attaching to the good and detaching from the bad.    Episode 8:  End of Summer Wrap-Up with Deb Williams.   In this podcast, I recommend Camp Good Life Project to connect with people to enhance your business and your life. Having these types of connections allows you to have support and input from others in your business. Knowing you have connections that have your back, it is such a relief.   Having connected relationships is a wealth all its own. Focusing on this aspect of wealth first will allow you to manifest other types of wealth. There is more to wealth than the almighty dollar. Running your business from a spirited place will allow you to grow in innumerable ways.    Episode 9:  Moving on to the Fall and Deb Williams Coaching Practice.  The  complexity of the brain, our neurons, and the coping strategies that we turn to is discussed in this episode. In addition, why I changed my point of view and the benefits it has brought me,  Better overall health,   How I approach decision-making (it starts with a deep breath!),   You can’t control what other people do; you can only control what YOU do.,  Gratitude---why it’s amazing Connection with people, How I blended the work I love Group and one-on-one work Giving people a safe place,  How I help you gain insights, and The 8 Money Personalities: Which ones describe you best?     Episode 10:  Winging It, Owning It and Coming Out Ahead.  How to merge your finances with your psyche is discussed here.  I’ve got my CPA and my Tax clients too, so there’s a lot going on. I’m a bit overwhelmed at the moment and you can see why!   Karma Tip: The word is conviction. It’s being sure what you say and believe is true, and that can even be true to you. My conviction is to work on my self-care and reducing my stress level. Having an open mind causes people to hear each other out, and it can actually cause you to change your convictions. Thinking this way can bring about a more peaceful world. 

Welcome! Today we are talking to Sarah Mastriani Levy over a cup of tea-cino! Sarah has a podcast called Simple Change, and is also a Holistic Healthy and Lifestyle Coach!  Sarah has an interesting background and grew up living for awhile in Grand Canyon National Park!    Sarah Mastriani-Levi was born in the United States and spent the first 18 years of her life traveling with her family and studying in various regions of the U.S.  In 1995, she moved to Israel and began her training in naturopathic medicine and holistic bodywork.  She has had extensive clinical practice and is a certified practitioner in the following fields: advanced reflexology, shiatsu, Swedish massage, manual lymph drainage, iridology, aromatherapy and herbology.       In this episode, Sarah also discusses:   How we create a plastic life It’s not what happens to you, but how you handle what happens to you How to find your “allowable rebellions” The biggest factor that contributes to Sarah’s success as a coach Why fear has never stopped or defined Sarah Why you need to be curious Everything is “Google-able” How to get the best returns on your investments in life Different challenges with the lifestyle choices we make How she intentionally makes time to connect with her children Why being outside should be a priority in your life How to make positive changes in your life to get what you need Why dieting is something you should avoid Why Sarah loves her work and how she helps people     Connect with Sarah:   Website: http://mannafestliving.com/   Simple Change Podcast: http://mannafestliving.com/simple-change/  

In this third journal episode, my four most recent guests discussed major goals that they achieved that in hindsight were stepping stones to something greater.   In Journal Episode 1, I shared ten practices from my first ten guests and you can read the transcript from that episode on my blog at EverBetterU.com/blog.   In Journal Episode 2, I discussed how every single guest has shaped their life by following their interests, and then taking that a step further by teaching what they’ve learned along the way. This continues to be true with my most recent guests Jason Wrobel, Anita Kulkarni, Sarah Mastriani-Levi, and Joleene Moody.   This episode highlights how my four most recent guests followed their interests and pursued very specific opportunities to explore and develop their skills. And each one of them discussed how those opportunities helped them get to where they are today. What caused them to pursue these stepping stone experiences? They each talked about an inner drive to explore these pursuits.   Jason Wrobel had a very, very specific goal of doing a vegan chef prime time cooking series. He created a vision board that he looked at every day. Because he was thinking about and working towards his larger goal, whenever a steppingstone opportunity came his way, he took it. And you guessed it, one day he got the opportunity to develop the show he had already created in his mind. This show introduced him to a wider audience, many of whom became his followers on YouTube. Today, he shares messages of nutrition, fitness, and other elements of healthy lifestyle with over 35,000 subscribers to his YouTube video blog. Ultimately, his large goal of having a prime time cooking show became a stepping stone to creating his book Eaternity, a cooking and lifestyle book. In this clip, Jason describes how he uses a vision board to move closer to his goals every single day.   Anita Kulkarni was in medical school and sought out a program where she learned to do microsurgery. This led to her desire to be a plastic surgeon and while doing a fellowship, she had an experience with a very grateful patient that put her on the path to where she is today. Helping breast cancer patients, including me.   Joleene Moody was working for a television station covering high-octane news stories. She enjoyed her work at first but was left with little time or energy to write. And she was felt driven to share the positive messages that were almost bursting out of her. After being hit in the head while covering a story at the courthouse, she decided to quit her job to make her way as a speaker and a writer. Today, she’s a full-time entrepreneur, speaker, coach, and playwright. Here’s Joleene describing her leap!     Sarah Mastriani-Levi is not an M.D. but she wanted to understand Chinese medicine and acupuncture. So she applied to, and was accepted at a program where she immersed herself in these practices. And, then she took her training a step further. She ventured up to the Mongolian border to work closely and learn from people who were doing more traditional healing. This knowledge allowed her to step up her practice as a holistic healer in Israel where she practiced for 12 years before returning to the U.S. Today, she’s a holistic health coach, chef, co-author of four best-selling books, and host of the Simple Change Podcast. Listen to the full podcasts with these guests or learn more at EverBetterU.com.

Sarah Mastriani-Levi is a holistic health coach, leader of leaders, a chef specializing in plant-based cuisine, and founder of Mannafest Living. When someone is seeking a change in their life, they may not know what steps to take first, and Sarah helps guide them through these periods. Her work is rooted in appreciation of cultures developed while living in various parts of the U.S. as well as Israel and China.   Sarah is the proud mother of four talented children! She has also found time to co-author three international best-selling books and is contributing to a fourth. And, she is the host and producer of the Simple Change Podcast.   Sarah joined me on Ever Better for a discussion that included:   Raising children who can hang with jazz greats, and the inherent challenges Moving to China to learn acupuncture and Chinese medicine  Practicing holistic medicine in Israel and the U.S. Guiding clients through life transitions and tips for making changes Practicing leadership Learning to cook Moroccan food and plant-based cuisine Weaning off addictions like cigarettes and switching from glucose to fructose Producing her podcast, Simple Change, in which I was an honored guest. Listen here.    Request a free, downloadable copy of the Ever Better eBook: EverBetterU.com/book.

Simple Change is a podcast designed for listeners who are ready to create lasting change, in the middle of a shift or just plain fed-up with doing what everyone else is doing. Simple Change listeners want a new and inspired outlook as a motivation.The goal and tone of this podcast is to inspire others to step into a transformation process. through the simple changes, be they physical, mental, emotional or spiritual and to discuss the lasting impact they can create in your life. Holistic Health and Lifestyle Coach Sarah Mastriani-Levi of Mannafest Living shares conversations with inspiring people who will offer tips and tools to create impact and lasting change through a series of small steps. Get the latest updates from the show at: www.MannafestLiving.com    Simple Change is a podcast designed for listeners who are ready to create lasting change, in the middle of a shift or just plain fed-up with doing what everyone else is doing. Simple Change listeners want a new and inspired outlook as a motivation. About a year ago I decided to do a little experiment and create a challenge for myself. Up to that point, I had helped clients create impactful, life-altering changes through my coaching programs. I knew that I was able to be the accountability partner they needed to create holistic lifestyle changes. Yet, in the same token, I felt that the majority of what was being said by me was somehow guided. I became curious how quickly that guidance could come through me for others. So, I created an experiment called “Free 15 minute Strategy Sessions” and put it on social media as an open invitation. I set several rules for myself: This would be a gift. No selling or self-promotion. I knew if people felt inspired they would remember what had moved them and come back for more. Sessions would be 15-minutes. (This one I fudged on a little, allowing some sessions to run over by about 10 minutes). I would allow the clients to choose from one of the following three questions: Where are you feeling most challenged in your life? If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be? What is the one thing that you are procrastinating on more than anything else? The results from this experiment were phenomenal, much larger than I could have imagined. The reach was broad: from Austrian opera singers to drug dealers in Miami, from college professors to brick layers, from Buddhist monks to strip club owners leading meditations in the locker room before shows. I talked with hundreds of people. They were all my teachers. All that I had to do was to show-up (via phone) and listen to their stories and then echo back possible creative solutions from within their answers. They had everything that they needed within themselves…they just needed someone to shine a light on an angle previously hidden from view. It was inspiring and gratifying. The follow-up responses I received were proof-positive that change can happen very quickly when someone is ready. A door opens and a transition occurs. The experiment shifted my belief about how long a process can take. Those Strategy Sessions proved to me that lasting impactful conversations can inspire others as well. I felt called to do this podcast following a multitude of non-recorded, honest conversations with amazingly interesting people, like yourself. I love my work and feel inspired daily by the people I have the opportunity to talk with and coach. I have been told that my specialty, as a coach and friend, is to ask creative and thought provoking questions that enable clients to reassess their previous understandings and to shed light on how they can create lasting, impactful change by shifting a thought pattern. The goal and tone of this podcast is to inspire others through the simple changes you have made, be they physical, mental, emotional or spiritual and to discuss the lasting impact it has created in your life. I am shooting for 20-60 minute interactions that feel flowing and unpressured. I’m not looking for memorized or “right” answers, just interesting ideas. I desire to bring in guests who are willing to engage in simple yet powerful, juicy and thought-provoking conversations. I am in the process of building the content for this podcast and am excited to allow the direction to evolve organically.