Podcasts about third space wellness

Today’s guest is acupuncturist Rachel Brumberger, here to talk about acupuncture and Chinese medicine and how you can use those principles to do some self-care at home right now. Rachel began studying acupuncture in 2009. She has earned a master in acupuncture, a master of Oriental medicine and a postgraduate certificate in women’s holistic health—all from the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She co-founded Third Space Wellness in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, about five years ago. Then, in 2019 she started Rachel Brumberger LLC, which is the home of her clinic, writing projects and wellness for workplaces. She now has her own practice for clients in downtown Bethesda, Maryland. Rachel explains the concepts behind acupuncture. It’s whole body medicine, recognizing that the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual are all connected. Therefore, acupuncture can help with a wide variety of ailments, including migraines, menstrual disharmony, back pain, sleep issues, anxiety, depression and infertility. Even though I dislike winter, the past two years as we have come out of winter, I notice I feel more blah than usual. I don’t feel like myself. So, two years ago I decided to go to Rachel—who I had received acupuncture from before—just to see if she could soothe me. She knew exactly the feelings I was talking about as we changed seasons. As Rachel explains, human beings have seasons just like Mother Nature. It’s common for people to come out of winter—which should be a slow, hibernating season—and feel strange or blah. “We reflect the season, and sometimes our bodies need a minute and need a little help catching up to that movement so that we can move into it with more ease. As we regulate the energy within the body we’re basically synching up to the nature around us.” As we’re all dealing with new and enhanced feelings that can change daily during this coronavirus pandemic, Rachel asks us first to pause and acknowledge our feelings. Sit with your emotions before you try to “do” something about them. Rachel compares emotions and feelings to waves forming in the ocean. Picture yourself at the beach and how the waves come in, crest, go out and come back. Our emotions are like that. And it’s important to allow your feelings to come in like waves before you try to fix them, label them, judge them, stop them, heal them. This could mean watching a sad movie and crying through it. It might mean laughing, yelling or crying with a partner or a close friend on Zoom—or it might be a very private thing you do by yourself. Take a quiet moment with no work, no kids, no phone, no immediate responsibilities. Clear the space and sit with your thoughts and feelings. Some people find it easier to do this at night when the rest of the world is quiet. After you do this for a bit, then you can begin to think about self-care tools you can try. Right now, there is a lot of noise in our world, especially for those people who are being asked to be on video chats all day long. Even extroverts are recognizing they need some peace and quiet right now. “We can’t really go anywhere too much and yet it still feels loud, too loud, to do our feelings.” There is no shame in having a wide range of emotions. Acknowledge that you are a human and that these are the emotions that humans experience. If you weren’t supposed to have a full range of emotions, you wouldn’t. Humans are built this way. That helps to not judge yourself. Recognize that if a friend was experiencing these feelings you would not judge them about their emotions. So, why judge yourself? “There’s all kinds of fascinating dynamic emotions people are experiencing right now that they maybe never had before, or never this big, or not for a long time, so it can be very confusing.” Can you listen to yourself and your emotions—with love and respect—and not judge yourself right now? Now, what are some of the tools we can use? First, come back to your breath. Start by lying on the floor or at least put both of your feet flat on the floor. Take a few breaths—that is the cheapest, most accessible tool we all have. It can slow down our brain and our nerves and calm us. You can do this yourself or search out meditation apps like Calm or Breathe. As you’re waiting for each Zoom chat to start up, sit with both feet on the floor and take a few deep breaths. Take deep breaths while you’re cooking or while you’re taking a shower. It doesn’t have to be 40 minutes of meditation. Where can you put it in your day where it’s easy? Unclench your jaw, drop your shoulders, unfurl your brow. Breathing deeply helps. Write “Breath” on Post-it Notes and stick them around your house to remind you. Drink water. Think of a wilted or dried-up plant. Our bodies are 70% water, so remember to hydrate, which can affect your emotions too. If you don’t love water, add a pinch of salt or a lemon or a berry. Even drop a tea bag in your water—something that makes the water seem more like food for the body. Sip the water—don’t gulp—throughout the day. If you can, eat as healthy as possible. Consider canned and frozen fruits and vegetables if you can’t easily get fresh ones right now. Write down the three times of day that are best for you to eat. It differs for everyone. What times work for you? Write it down and stick to that schedule. If you skip breakfast or you push your lunch back a few hours or eat dinner later than you are used to, you start getting crankier and that can increase anxiety. You can use principles of acupuncture at home on yourself or others to take care of yourself. A “scraping” technique is called Gua Sha, which helps the body move stagnation. Watch Rachel’s helpful how-to Instagram video to learn this easy method: www.instagram.com/p/B-Ablj1B1Jl. You can do Gua Sha on sore muscles, or on the chest to relieve anxiety and anger, and on the chest or back to help general moodiness. You can also massage acupuncture points on your own body. See links below under Resources for information about a couple of points. Do the ones that feel good to you. When you find an acupressure point oftentimes the area will feel tender. However, the rest of the body will start to respond to that massage and start to regulate itself. You can also use the five senses. For example, take the sense of smell. What smells good to you? A particular spice, a flower, a candle, your shampoo? Use your nose to smell those scents regularly to calm yourself. How do you get through these tough emotions when you have an immediate deadline or kids to take care of? Take a minute away from work, away from your family and jump up and down for a few seconds. It might sound silly, but it helps. You can also take one hand and wipe it down the other arm, like you’re wiping something off. Then do the other arm. If you are feeling angry and annoyed—like Melanie admits she gets some days during pandemic—and if you have the flexibility in your schedule, just stop the work day. Take a break. Give yourself a “permission slip” to just stop. You can also tell the other person exactly how you’re feeling. Ask for a minute. Ask to call them back or postpone the meeting. That rarely crosses our mind because we’ve been taught to suck it up or leave it at the door. But if you name that feeling and admit to it, it’s easier to blow away those feelings. People are more understanding and sympathetic than they probably ever have been. Unlike other hard moments, we’re experiencing this with so many other people. It’s not just our tough moment or problem. Sometimes it just helps to sleep on your feelings—if you aren’t having trouble sleeping. And if you have to make a decision, tell the other person, “I need a minute. Let me sleep on it and I’ll let you know tomorrow.” Melanie—who is a fan of naps anyway—decided to take a nap recently on a day when she could not stop her anxiety from spiraling. So she just took a nap and woke up two hours later feeling better. Not perfect, but the anxiety had calmed way down. Think of yourself like a toddler—when you get overwhelmed, troubled, cranky, you may need to go to the bathroom, eat, get some exercise or sunshine, or take a nap. Even before a meeting, open a window or step outside even for one minute to breathe in some fresh air and feel the sun. Or you can even just lie down on your floor and look out the window and listen to the birds. Thank yourself, give gratitude for your body, mind and spirt, for freaking out. Your body is taking care of you and trying to save you in the “flight or fight” moment. Tell your body that is OK to calm yourself down. Practicing gratitude acknowledges your feelings and prepares you to begin breathing practices.   Resources: RachelBrumberger.com Rachel on Instagram Rachel on Facebook Rachel demonstrates how to do Gua Sha at home in this Instagram video. Yintang acupressure point to try at home Liver 3 acupressure point to try at home

On today’s show, I’m going to take you through my nutrition journey and how I’ve learned to eat healthier over the past few years, which is invaluable to me as a freelance business owner. As freelancers, in particular, we need to focus on our health. Often, we sit at home all day behind a computer. Many of us are not getting enough exercise—we’re not even getting up enough throughout the day to stand, walk or stretch. And food temptations are just a room or two away. As freelancers, if we don’t work, we don’t make money. If you’re eating foods that make you feel sluggish, or you’re dehydrated and tired, or you’re hopped up on too much caffeine, you’re not going to do your best work. Your brain might not be as sharp that day, or you’re just tired and want a nap. As an employee, you can feel this way and either push through or just suffer through the day—but you get paid either way. Not so as a freelancer. You need to be on your game and doing your best work. This episode is not about weight, even though I do want to lose a few pounds. I’m trying really hard to focus on the health aspects in my own life, which does include not gaining any more weight. First up: water. I have finally embraced how magnificent water is. Of course, I knew this intellectually. But I never drank it. Instead, throughout my 20s, I would drink 3–6 cans of Mountain Dew every day. In my 30s, I switched to Diet Mountain Dew to get away from the calories, but now I was consuming the aspartame sweetener also. I tried to give up caffeine several times and finally succeeded in giving it up cold turkey in 2009. To do that, I started on a Thursday so I could suffer my caffeine withdrawals mostly over the weekend. However, for several years, I just replaced my Diet Mountain Dew with Sprite or Sierra Mist or root beer. I did start drinking caffeinated tea a few years ago, but I make sure not to get addicted. In fact, this year I switched to drinking mostly rooibos tea, which is delicious and doesn’t have caffeine. Then, just a couple of years ago I finally gave up Sprite and all soda in favor of water. But I needed help to do so. I’m a former newspaper reporter and a very curious person. I’m also a “questioner,” according to Gretchen Rubin’s book “The Four Tendencies.” Gretchen divides people into four categories based on how we respond to expectations and make decisions in our life. A questioner tends to meet inner expectations when we set our mind to something—like when I finally decided to quit caffeine cold turkey—but we tend to resist outer expectations if there’s no reason we can believe in. The catch is that I will meet outer societal expectations if I respect the rule, the person or the process. With that in mind, I decided to hire a nutritionist at Third Space Wellness here in Silver Spring, Maryland, a few years ago, to help me out on my journey. I worked with my nutritionist, Susie, for a couple of months. She presented me with facts about food, and she worked to help me develop new healthy habits into my life. Our first step: getting rid of Sprite. And drinking water. Susie helped me realize that to drink more water I needed to have it with me all the time. So I bought an insulated water bottle and began by drinking 8–16 oz. of water every day and worked my way up to more. Another tip from Susie: Fill up your water bottle at night and put it on your nightstand. We all start out our mornings already dehydrated, so drinking 8–16 oz. of water each morning starts us off on the right path. Susie also helped me find healthier snacks. She encouraged me to take a fun field trip to local markets new to me and scour the shelves for healthier alternatives. I headed to Mom’s Organic Market, where Susie recommended I try Hope’s spicy avocado hummus. I now eat it with Jovial organic einkorn sourdough crackers. I also eat more fruit and am trying out Medjool dates, which are a sweet, soft and chewy fruit. My dad is an avid cyclist. He has been tall and thin and in great shape all of his adult life. However, his cholesterol was sky-high, no matter how much he exercised. So, last year, my dad adopted a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle, which is essentially vegan—except he’s doing it solely for health reasons. Dad heard about the whole-food, plant-based lifestyle from his cycling friend Ian Cramer, an allied health care professional with degrees in kinesiology and athletic training. Ian has a podcast called the Ian Cramer Podcast, where he interviews doctors and scholars of lifestyle medicine and plant-based nutrition. My dad had long conversations with Ian about this new lifestyle and decided to try it. He’s lucky that my mom loves to cook and was willing to switch over all of her cooking for both of them to vegan meals. They had fun looking for and trying out new recipes together. Dad ate Brussels sprouts for the first time, discovering he loved them. He bought a Ninja blender to make smoothies with almond milk and fruit. After six months or so, he dropped 20 pounds—he’s leaner and even healthier looking now. And his bad cholesterol level dropped 62 points! He has kept track of his bike rides for years, and after changing his diet, his cycling app showed him riding faster up hills and riding more miles overall. I was inspired. So, August 11, 2018, was the last time I ate meat. I don’t miss it, and it was easy for me to give it up, which was a huge surprise. However, I still eat fish and seafood, which I love, though I’ve definitely cut back and usually only eat it in restaurants, not at home. The other thing I gave up was dairy—mostly. I love cheese, but, again, I cut way back. I don’t have it in the house and usually only eat it when I go out to eat, as a treat. If it’s just a topping, I often ask for the cheese to be left off. But I gave up milk, yogurt, butter, ice cream, plus eggs. I consider myself about 80% whole-food, plant-based. On most days, I’m fully living a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. Other days, I’m vegetarian, and some days I’m pescatarian—eating fish that day. But it’s a journey. So, what do I eat? I usually start off my day with oatmeal: Nature’s Path’s Blueberry Cinnamon Flax instant oatmeal. I add chia seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon and fresh blueberries and strawberries. On days when I’m in a hurry, I eat KIND blueberry almond breakfast bars. I’ve been trying to eat more beans for fiber and protein. I eat a lot of vegetables—I love mushrooms. I love to cook, but I also aim for convenience, so rice bowls with jasmine rice are an easy meal. I also like tacos and fajitas and trying new Indian and Asian recipes. If you like sandwiches, you can make meatless sandwiches that are filling and tasty. I use a vegan mayo or hummus for the spread and then fill the sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and avocado. I especially love buying unique types of tomatoes at the farmers market when they’re in season and trying all those different flavors. My next step in my nutrition journey is to cut back on sugar. This will probably be the hardest food-related action I’ve ever taken. I think I’m more addicted to sugar than I ever was to caffeine. I’m not quite ready to say I’m cutting out sugar completely though. I’ll be testing myself this holiday season to cut back on sugar, to sometimes refuse the cookies or cakes, pies or candy. Biz Bite: Use an app to remind you to drink more water. Some apps to choose from: My Water Balance; Drink Water Reminder; Daily Water; Waterlogged   The Bookshelf: “Ask Again, Yes” by Mary Beth Keane   Resources: “The Four Tendencies” by Gretchen Rubin Third Space Wellness in Silver Spring, Maryland Ian Cramer Podcast Melanie’s dad’s blog post: “1000s of miles of cycling couldn’t save me from a poor diet” Learn more about whole-food, plant-based living at Forks Over Knives.   Churchill’s Fine Teas in Cincinnati Mom’s Organic Market Hope spicy avocado hummus Jovial einkorn sourdough crackers Nature’s Path Blueberry Cinnamon Flax instant oatmeal KIND blueberry almond breakfast bars   Forks Over Knives vegan Thanksgiving recipes Creamy avocado basil pesto spaghetti Maple-glazed cooked carrots Vegan Chickpea Cauliflower Tots Tot sauce: mix equal parts vegan mayo and honey together; add Dijon mustard to taste.   Linguine with sautéed asparagus (1 bunch, cut in small pieces) and cremini mushrooms (8–12 ounces): Sauté the vegetables together and add one-fourth cup of white cooking wine and two tablespoons of lemon juice and stir. Add one-fourth teaspoon of red pepper flakes, more if you like heat. Mix sauce with cooked linguine in a large serving bowl.

A conversation about healing and wholeness. I speak with Rachel Brumberger, co-founder of Third Space Wellness, a gathering place and wellness space in Silver Spring, Maryland. We explore wisdom from the practice of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine and how moving what is stagnant, being with our whole selves through the pains is a path to healing.

This episode is a follow-up to our last podcast called, which was called: Roundtable Wellness Experience: Nate - Ep. 015 - Intro to Nate's wellness journey with Third Space Wellness This episode is the endcap of a story which is also woven together with blogs and YouTube videos documenting Nate's progress over time (see  for these). His goal was to feel more control of his experience of depression and anxiety, so here we discuss a 2-year journey of treatments and 'prescriptions' that Nate went through, and what wellness tools he came out with on the other side.  Connect with Third Space Wellness: thirdspacewellness.com   Facebook: Third Space Wellness   Twitter: @ThirdSpaceWell   Instagram: @ThirdSpaceWell Connect with Nate directly on Twitter @heeey_nate as well.

This episode introduces a personal journey of wellness that one of our extraordinary community members, Nate Fisher, took with us over the course of several months. We call this a Roundtable Wellness Experience because we worked with Nate using our Roundtable Wellness model, meaning we worked as a wellness team together and with Nate to help him find his own path to relief from anxiety, depression, and his physical symptoms. Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. Find out more at .  Follow Nate's full wellness story  and watch his vlogs on our .  Join the conversation and engage with us directly:    FB: Third Space Wellness    Twitter: @ThirdSpaceWell    Instagram: @ThirdSpaceWell Connect with Nate directly on Twitter @heeey_nate.  

Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. This is an episode all about acupuncture! Listen if you're curious about trying acupuncture for the first time, or if you’ve already experienced it and you want to get the behind-the-scenes explanation about what your acupuncturist is really thinking when he or she is taking your pulse or looking at your tongue. Types of questions we answer include: how acupuncture works, whether there are different styles of acupuncture, whether you have to believe in it for it to work, what it’s good for, whether it’s painful, and what a treatment session is really like. More info available at 

Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. This is an episode all about the feminine life force called bleeding. Tune in to find out where your period falls in the spectrum of normal; we cover what makes a flow heavy, what are different types of cramps, what clotting means, number of days in your cycle, what PMS and PMDD mean, whether mood swings are real, what to do if you can’t sleep during your period, scheduling your life around your natural energy highs and lows, and more! So many details you might want to brace yourself. And take notes. We discuss the importance of making sure you’re high up on your own priority list, so that you’re happy, or at least seeking satisfaction in life, because that has a direct affect on your period. More info available at 

Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. This is an episode all about fertility - how we define it, the good - the bad - and the ugly. So no matter whether you have babies, want babies, are having difficulty making babies, never want babies or whether you even have the physiological equipment for baby making this is an episode for you. We’re redefining what we think it means to think about your fertility journey and along the way we will discuss things like choosing to pass on being a parent, birth control options, and a healthy mentality for all things related to reproduction. More info available at 

Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. We’re also delighted that our producer, Nate Fisher, with participates in this episode.   This is an episode all about sleep - what healthy sleep is, how to begin achieving it and some commonly overlooked sleep breakdowns. We’re going to cover alarm clocks and your snooze button, electromagnetic disturbances and the importance of clean sheets (the truth really comes out here!). And what about dealing with sleep when you have a partner in your bed? We have some interesting things to say about that. Then there’s happiness, dreams, creativity, food, the amount of sleep and oh so much more!   More info available at 

Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. This is an episode all about digestion and what happens when yours is working and when it’s not. If you’ve ever wondered if your toilet matters are “normal” this is the time to investigate. We’re talking about what it should look like, smell like, how often you should go and what a healthy system looks like and acts like. Of course because it’s poop there’s plenty of joking and potty-mouth to go around. We’ll give you tips on how to get this moving right with a bit on food and water, one of our favorite remedies - Bentonite Clay (or Organic French Green Clay) - and yoga poses for optimum pooping! More info available at 

We’re serious when we talk about the importance of community. So, we decided to bring some of our peeps in to chat with you about their wellness experiences with acupuncture, yoga, food and more… we want you to hear from the folks we consider the real experts (that’s you - yep! You are the best wisdom for your own body and wellness).  We’re Third Space Wellness and we’re unlocking the keys to your wellbeing. Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. We’ve also got our fabulous guests: Rebecca, Nate, Pete and Tia to help us bring you some new and awesome content. More info available at 

We’re Third Space Wellness and we’re unlocking the keys to your wellbeing – this time we’re talking about . It’s seasonal wellness tips to keep you on your A-Game year round...because each season affects the next! Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. More info available at 

We’re Third Space Wellness and we’re unlocking the keys to your wellbeing – this time we’re talking about how to find the right balance of having a wellness life, one that works for you and still lets you feel like a normal member of society. Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table.  In this episode we discuss how to discern what wellness practices work for you and in what balance. For example, we think eating well matters a ton, yet so do donuts and cookies! We have to have room for both. Joy and Rachel debate about the importance of flossing your teeth and why you might like to take vitamins and/or probiotics. Sam inspires us to make sure we rest enough within our fitness routine and we look at what amount of fitness actually works for each unique person.   More on your hosts and keeping in touch: Joy, aka Cookie Enforcer, knows how to find the right balance of good clean nutrition and just enough sugar. She loves to challenge the status quo and she loves working with patients who are exploring how to be fully self expressed in their lives. Connect directly via twitter . Rachel cannot turn down a good donut and she loves probiotics because they help her digest those donuts. She loves to sing and she loves helping patients remember how awesome they are when they seem to have forgotten.  If you want to connect directly hit us up on twitter  #TSWRachel and Joy or Sam will get the message to our behind-the-times social media girl. Sam also loves a good donut and she is adamant about taking her vitamins every night; even has a cute organization system for them. She loves helping people declutter their lives and she loves helping people tap into their inner strength and courage during a yoga class so they can try that new pose. Connect with her directly via twitter .   Questions and future topic requests encouraged! Send your thoughts or questions to info@thirdspacewellness.com or Tweet  #WellnessUnlocked.   For more wellness info . Wellness Unlocked is produced by . If you’d like to sponsor Wellness Unlocked or plan an event with Third Space Wellness, send email to both  and  with the subject line: Sponsor & Events with TSW.   #VS

We’re Third Space Wellness and we’re unlocking the keys to your wellbeing – this time we’re talking about how to make great choices for yourself at the New Year and any time of year. What are they keys to success anyhow?  Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. In this episode we discuss tapping into your willpower, the resolutions we’re keeping ourselves, what to do when you’re on an  (yep), the REAL timeline of making new habits (cool resources on that  and , and a shout out to ) and why we love songs like  by . There’s a huge focus on making good choices and a new take on how to do that. And let’s not forget, we all need a little help from our friends. If this still doesn’t get you amped up about how to make your life better in 2015,  for a bit of tough love.  If you are gonna keep your resolutions, habits - whatever you prefer to call them, we recommend a bit of creative help. Our friends at  have everything you need.  And finally we chat about a challenging question - what’s a girl to do about birth control when she doesn’t love to use hormones? It’s a Q & A that involves ,  and more. We talk a bit about how to understand our natural cycles as well; we love  and if you don’t know much about what had been called “Natural Family Planning,” it’s now called . Finally,  about periods.  Warning: Sometimes we use bad language. We’re guilty of potty mouth (actually it’s mostly Rachel). More on your hosts and keeping in touch: Joy has great teeth (seriously, dentist confirmed) and crazy good luck when bargain shopping. On Sundays she spends a few hours connected to Oprah watching  to get her ready for the week ahead. In the treatment room she’ll help you figure out what’s really underlying that ailment with her superpowers of asking amazing questions. Connect directly via twitter .  Rachel binge watches TV on Netflix and talks like a “valley girl”. Her favorite meal is dessert; anything in the cake or cookie family and she’d have dessert three times a day if there were no adverse effects. In the treatment room she’ll make you laugh and cry at the same time; it will be an amazing catharsis. If you want to connect directly hit us up on twitter  #TSWRachel and Joy or Sam will get the message to our behind-the-times social media girl. Sam cooks very little though her specialty, “Cheddarwurst,” is a Third Space Wellness family favorite. She knows which board game is on the up and up and throws amazing parties. Her Christmas lights never come down because we need holiday cheer and good light year-round. In her yoga classes she’ll help you appreciate your body’s strength and connect you a new BFF all the same time; she’s a crazy good connecter. Connect with her directly via twitter .   Questions and future topic requests encouraged! Send your thoughts or questions to info@thirdspacewellness.com or Tweet  #WellnessUnlocked.   Check us out on iTunes!  Subscribe, rate us and share your comments.   Find us on . For more wellness info . Wellness Unlocked is produced by . If you’d like to sponsor Wellness Unlocked or plan an event with Third Space Wellness, send email to both  and  with the subject line: Sponsor & Events with TSW.   #VS

We’re Third Space Wellness and we’re unlocking the keys to your wellbeing – this time we’re talking about enjoying the holiday season so you don’t revert to embarrassing teenage behavior or worse, one of these types:   Hosts for this episode are Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin, the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. In this episode we discuss how to survive the holiday chaos with , hydration, watching out for sugar hangovers, baths with salts, essential oils, and most importantly a lesson in saying, “NO!” And, have you heard about?! We’ll discuss why we love it as part of our natural product feature and we’ll also address Q & A from the community about germs, germs, and more germs…  Warning: Sometimes we use bad language. We’re guilty of potty mouth (actually it’s mostly Rachel).   More on your hosts and keeping in touch: Joy really likes Candy Corn and potato chips (not necessarily together). She’s recently acquired a few new pairs of super cool glasses so she can do multiple costume changes daily, and while she is full of gratitude in life she is not the biggest fan of the traditional Thanksgiving meal. In her acupuncture practice she is awesome at helping people unleash their best and most confident selves. Connect directly via twitter . Rachel has a terrible habit of buying new lip balm every time she’s out at the store so she has a ridiculous collection at home. She’s envious of Joy’s collection of awesome new frames, and she pledges to learn how to play the guitar in 2015. In her acupuncture practice she rocks at asking questions that have her patients say, “Whoa! How did you know that?” If you want to connect directly hit us up on twitter  #TSWRachel and Joy or Sam will get the message to our behind-the-times social media girl. Sam is an avid collector of Russian nesting dolls and greeting cards. She is always on the lookout for her next pen pal and may be single handedly trying to save the Post Office. She loves English bulldogs, balloons, and bubble wrap. When she teaches yoga, watch out cause you will leave stronger and more flexible than you ever thought was even possible. Connect with her directly via twitter .   Questions and future topic requests encouraged! Send your thoughts or questions to info@thirdspacewellness.com or Tweet  #WellnessUnlocked.   Check us out on iTunes!  Subscribe, rate us and share your comments.   Find us on . For more wellness info . Wellness Unlocked is produced by .   #VS

In this very first episode,  unlocks some of the keys to having a great and easy winter. Hosts Joy Andrews, Rachel Brumberger, and Sam Dublin are the co-owners of Third Space Wellness in Downtown Silver Spring. Joy and Rachel are licensed acupuncturists and wellness consultants/educators. Sam is a yoga teacher and fitness instructor. We are bringing our experiences as entrepreneurs, teachers, wellness coaches, worker bees, spouses, friends, and pet lovers to the table. In this episode we discuss what can you do to stay ahead of the cold curve: It’s all about the kind of sleep, food, exercise, and social calendar that makes sense during hibernation season. We’re giving you some product tips too (yay !) and addressing questions from the community which cover more on sleep, staving off back pain at your computer, and healthy high protein snacks for work and home.   Warning: We wellness professionals happen to enjoy the occasional glass of wine during some recordings, so hilarity may ensue.   More on your hosts and keeping in touch: Joy is a ginger from Guatemala, is a podcast junkie herself, has an obsession with colors, and is awesome at calling things like she sees them. She has a gift for saying “no”. In her acupuncture practice she is amazing at asking questions that help people unlock their own wisdom. Connect directly via twitter . Rachel is a Maryland local who hates crabs and Old Bay Seasoning. She has a maiden name so common that she’s sometimes been mistaken for Lisa Simpson’s imaginary friend Rachel Cohen. In her acupuncture practice she rocks at helping validate people’s experiences so they can see themselves as normal and heal from there. If you want to connect directly hit us up on twitter  #TSWRachel and Joy or Sam will get the message to our behind-the-times social medial girl. Sam is America’s freshest new citizen with a taste for milkshakes and has cheekbones that make everyone swoon. In her yoga and fitness classes she uses humor to instill a sense of empowerment (and sometimes fear) in participants no matter whether they are beginners or professional athletic ass-kickers; everyone leaves more fit, more calm and having had a few laughs. Connect with her directly via twitter .   Questions and future topic requests encouraged! Send your thoughts or questions to  or Tweet  #WellnessUnlocked.   Find us on . For more wellness info . Wellness Unlocked is produced by .   #VSWellnessUnlocked