Why Your Business Is Only As Healthy As You Are With Robin Long, Author & CEO Of Lindywell

A lot of people think if they let go of the control that they might lose their motivation. And the reality is it feels counterintuitive when you actually give yourself a little bit of grace, when you actually start to be kind to yourself. You said care for yourself because you love yourself, not to fix yourself or change yourself. Things actually get easier and it actually becomes more motivating and more enjoyable, which helps you be more consistent and see better results.

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the show.

Chris and I just got back from Santa Barbara, and this is relevant to the podcast, you guys, because we were in Santa Barbara for Robin Long's book launch, who just happens to be my guest today. And I just have to share that Robin is a huge inspiration in my life. She is one of the most generous and loving, yet powerful beyond anything I can possibly tell you guys of her capabilities of just business, growing an incredible community, and really sharing, not only sharing, but teaching and integrating for women a message that is so incredibly important. And so whether you are on a health journey or not today, this podcast is so much about the foundation that you have to have laid, that you have to have for yourself in order to be the entrepreneur and the business person and the human that you want to be in your life. Because without paying attention to our health and our mindset and how we perceive ourselves, we truly cannot step into our highest calling. And that's really what Robin does. And she does that through so many different modalities. So we talk so much about about health and wellness on here, about mindset, about body image, about food, about overcoming different food issues and different things that we may have hiding that we don't even realize that we have that are taking up a ton of energy in our lives. And Robin is just one of those people who you're able to really digest this message because she's been on her own journey and really shares vulnerably all about it. So Robyn struggled initially with her own body image and really she was looking for something that would help her change her life and help her find that self love. And she started doing Pilates. And through Pilates, she truly found this, like, core habit that she could go back to and developed her entire method around Pilates. When she stepped inside of the Pilates studio, it changed her entire approach to wellness, and it helped her connect to her mind and body for the first time. First time. So she started teaching private clients more than 12 years ago, and she's now turned into a global wellness platform that reaches millions of women in more than.

100 countries around the world.

She is the founder and CEO of Lindywell and still loves to create classes and programs that transform her clients and members from the inside out. You guys, this woman literally has a community of thousands and thousands and thousands. And let's add a few more thousands of people on there so you know that what she has created is something that works. So her book is called well to the Core. If you want more than is just on this podcast, then go grab the book. But let's get started.

Robin, I'm so excited to have you on the podcast. Thank you so much for coming on.

Thank you. I'm so excited to be here, you guys.

We were just talking before this that our favorite podcast that we get to do are with our friends. It's not that it's not fun to go and interview new people, but there is nothing quite like being able to hit record and get into the good stuff and feel like you're dropped in right away. In fact, these podcasts feel more like a really close friend catch up so you guys get even more juicy stuff on these types of podcasts. So, Robin, you've been in it, you've been writing a book, growing a huge brand, and I've gotten to be there for a lot of the different milestones in your career, from changing the name to growing a massive community to kind of. It wasn't the beginning phases. You already had an incredible membership program. But I would love to kind of hear how you started your company, where that came from and why you're so passionate about it.

Yes. You've been there through a lot of the evolution. And I go all the way back to where I started in the health and wellness space, which is as a Pilates instructor. So I started out as a Pilates instructor in the traditional sense, training private clients, working in fitness centers and gyms. You know, this hustle, Lori, doing everything possible to just build up my clientele. During that time, I learned a lot about people. I learned a lot about like customer relations and building a loyal community, which I. I still use to this day, which I think is really interesting in that one on one setting, how that now spans across a large community and how some of those things carry over. But I started as a Pilates instructor and I quickly realized I didn't fit in very well in the fitness space. So as someone who really had struggled a lot with body image issues, someone who really had a pretty unhealthy relationship with exercise and food and. And I don't even want to say that it's like, unusually unhealthy. It was just pretty much a very common approach to health and fitness and exercise, where I was just constantly trying to burn more calories, lose more weight, shrink my body, look better aesthetically, feeling guilty for food I ate, so punishing myself in the gym the next day. Like a very common pattern that a lot of us will fall into from time to time. But it was Pilates for me that actually helped me break some of those unhealthy cycles. Really helped me to learn how to connect with my body again and start to work with my body, not against it. I saw, like, tremendous physical results from Pilates, which was very counterintuitive. As someone who was like, cardio, cardio, cardio. I was kind of blown away by that. But I also saw significant mental health benefits. So I struggled severely with anxiety, and it helped a ton. So, long story short, I decided I wanted to pursue this career in Pilates. But I quickly realized a I'm kind of in it for different reasons than what I'm seeing around me in the gyms and the fitness facilities. So I wanted a place to share my passion and my heart of really helping people improve their relationship with their body, overcome body image issues, and take a more balanced approach to health and wellness. So I started a blog which over the years evolved. I was on Twitter and Facebook and this was, you know, 14 years ago, so this was a while ago. Started teaching Pilates classes on my iPhone in my spare bedroom, figuring out how to get them out via email, Just making it up as I went.

Did the same thing on the flip cam. Robin, do you remember the flip?

Oh, yes, yes.

Plug into your computer. I love that we were doing the same thing at the same time.

Just telling people these like, oh, yeah, I had no idea how to host it, or I found this thing called E Junkie to take payments. And who knows? It worked. But I remember in my little home studio, I mean, we had like a 700 square foot apartment. I would pad behind my camera with, like, blankets and pillows and comforters to try to like, deaden some of the echo of the video.

Yes, totally.

And it totally worked. You know, it got me going. And I love that because it's honestly just been an evolution upon that ever since, step by step. And I'm still just as passionate as ever about really changing that relationship between how we view exercise, how we view our bodies, why we take care of ourselves, to try to help people break free of some of the guilt and shame that is connected with is so layered for many of us, our body image and food and exercise. And so that's what I'm really passionate about. And spend my time on now through Lindy, well our app and then through my new book.

This is so huge because, you know, I come from the have a fitness background obviously as well. We have a lot of that in common and I feel like so many of us find it because we are pretty out of whack with how we're doing it all. And it feels like some sort of sense of control. And I know for me, like it's almost like the control, yes, it taught me how to get what I wanted, but it also was really unsustainable and it felt really unhealthy. And it never came from a place of like loving myself. It came from a place of I want to be something different and now I want to learn how to control it. And if anybody listening, I would love to just get your thoughts on like the pendulum can swing so far and it can almost be like now that you have all these tools, it can almost be really unhealthy and you almost have to like let go and do the opposite of what's counterintuitive. Tell me a little bit about that journey for you because I know you talked a little bit about Pilates being counterintuitive to having it really work for you. Why do you think that was? Like, what's some of the formula of still being able to embrace, you know, body positivity and feeling good and getting in a really great place mentally but also being able to like where we're at and feel like we're in shape?

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Yeah, I hear this conversation a lot and so I'm really happy to speak into it because I do think there's two ends of the spectrum that a lot of people see and this is on whether it's on social media or whether it's just how we have seen things modeled for ourselves. But on one end of the spectrum there's the get fit at all costs and really pursue the aesthetic goals. Right? Like it's all about Those body goals and the weight loss and getting ready for bikini season and all of this kind of pressure around food and diet and looking a certain way. Like there's all aesthetic goals, right? That's one end of the spectrum. And you may pursue that. Some people will pursue that at the cost of other areas of their health and well being. Right? So lacking true nourishment, lacking rest, maybe too much restriction, your body's not getting the nutrients it needs. Maybe you're just in a really unhealthy place with your mental health because you're pushing yourself so hard over there. But behind that quote, unquote ideal esthetic, you're stressed out and you're constantly like stressing about going out to eat with your friends or whether you're going to eat that food or. Right, we can go all on that end of the spectrum. And then there's the other end of the spectrum that I think is body positivity. And not that body positivity is on the end of that spectrum, but some people take it to that end of the spectrum. Body positivity is I'm fine the way I am, I need to just love myself the way I am. Therefore I'm not working towards any goals, I'm not setting fitness goals. I can't want to change anything about my health or my body or my fitness. Right? So there's kind of two ends here. But I believe there is a happy medium to be found. And it's not really sexy to talk about, it's not really flashy. So you don't see the happy medium very much because it's not catchy in a headline. But it is possible to work towards your goals to make progress. It's great to set health and wellness goals, right? There's so much value in this, taking care of our health and at the same time extend kindness to yourself, have self compassion for yourself, not be constantly consumed by thinking about how you're going to work out, what you're going to do, not being caught up in those numbers, those metrics, constantly tracking those macros, whatever it might be. So I think the goal is to find that balance for all of us and it's going to look different for each person based on your personality, your history, you know, your habits. But finding that happy medium is, it actually is possible. And a lot of people think if they let go of the control that they might lose their motivation. And the reality is it feels counterintuitive when you actually give yourself a little bit of grace, when you actually start to Be kind to yourself. You said, care for yourself because you love yourself, not to fix yourself or change yourself. Things actually get easier, and it actually becomes more motivating and more enjoyable, which helps you be more consistent and see better results.

You know, something that you just said, you mentioned, you know, you're not truly nourishing yourself. And what came up for me at that point was, outside of food, I. What popped up for me was I wasn't nourishing myself with the things I even loved to do. I wasn't nourishing myself with the communities and the people that were making me feel good. And while I thought that I was, it's almost like even if I had good things, I wasn't letting myself be present in them because I was always somewhere else, mentally or anxious. And so much changed for me when I started finding what actually nourished my soul and mentally. And it's like we fill ourselves with food as distractions. So can you talk a little bit about just, like, what does, like, life nourishment mean to you?

Mm, I love that you shared that. And within the book, it has 10 core components of wellness. And so, really, those components are designed to do just that, Lori. Like, they're designed to get us out of just. A lot of times when we think about improving our health, what do people think? Okay, I need to exercise more, I need to eat less, or I need to exercise more and clean up my diet, Right? Like, that's it. But the reality is, is our wellness is so much broader than that. Yes, it's about how we move. Yes, it's about the food we eat, but it's also about what you're talking about. It's also about, you know, there's a whole chapter on how we play. How much are we actually seeking out play in our life, in recreation and enjoyment? You know, we've done some of that together intentionally, like, created more of that in our lives. It's about connecting those relationships. These things actually impact our health. So it's not just like, oh, it sounds nice. And it fills you up like, there's evidence behind what happens to our immune system, what happens to our heart health. People who are in connection with other people and have strong relationships, live longer, have fewer diseases, and have a better quality of life. So these things actually matter. And when we focus just on whatever the narrow thing might be, it's different for everyone. But maybe it's just food and exercise at the expense of connection, spending time with people we love, going out and enjoying a good meal. Last Night, I was out way later than I wanted to be. I like to be in bed by, like, 9 o'.

Clock.

I was out to 11, but I was with friends and we were having sushi and we were doing, like, this sake pairing. And was that, like the most healthy thing? Like, sleep is great, all these things, but. But I knew in that moment, I'm like, this is good for my soul. Like, being here with these people, being present, living life is actually a way to live life well and take care of myself. So expanding that view of how we nourish ourselves can be really empowering and motivating.

I want to share to any listeners because if you come from a background like I did, where, Robin, you probably felt this too. Like, hearing this might feel scary. Like, oh, I can't let go. That's like too much. I'm going to gain weight or whatever that looks like I'm going to get out of control.

Control.

I know.

I used to have that thought because I come from a really heavyset family, and I was always told, literally word for word was, you're gonna get fat. Like, you can't avoid it. So I always think if I'm not in that, or thought if I'm not in that, super controlling that that's what was coming for me. It's crazy how you can't. It's hard to get rid of that narrative. And I can tell you that, like, play and travel were the things that made me have to let go. I was actually forced to let go. At one point. We went to Europe for 30 days.

You weren't on this trip.

You were on other European trip. Also taught me a lot. But it was the first time. This was probably about maybe now, like six or seven years ago. And we were gone for a month. And that is a lot of time in Europe, like, without, like, all the vegetables that you're used to. You cannot control your food there. You guys, they don't have the food that we have. When you go to order something different or ask them to hold something, they say, no, no, can't make changes on the menu. And I'm not kidding you. Literally, we were out with friends who we were eating from anywhere from like 9 to 11 at night. And, you know, I was so off my schedule. There weren't gyms, we could only walk. And 30 days. At about day 10, I was ready to snap and I had to completely let go. I'm like, I have to sit on the schedule. I have to enjoy this food, enjoy the conversation. And I ended up Coming back. Not that you want to go do this and try this, but maybe I ended up coming back thinner. And it was the first time in my life that the narrative of you're going to gain a ton of weight, I said, I have to let go. I can't live this way. I came back and I in better shape, actually, because we were walking, I was enjoying, I was in the conversations, and that was the first time in my life that it proved to me, I think, that truly when you are in joy, you're not filling this empty, gaping hole in your life.

It's so true. And I can say the same for myself. Like, I am in better shape than I was when I was constantly stressing about food, about getting to the gym to do the elliptical. And again, don't hear us wrong. We're not saying, like, working out is bad or stop working out or any of those things. But it's more the approach and the mindset and the kind of if you struggle with any of that guilt and shame and control around it, I live in so much more freedom and feel better and more happy in my body than I ever was when I was putting all that pressure on myself. So it's really fascinating to see, and it does feel a little bit scary to shift your approach. But we also know, Lori, about the nervous system, right? So to your point of being in joy. Well, we also know when our nervous system is constantly in a place of fight or flight. So when we're in that place of even that feeling of lack, right, or that feeling of threat, we're in threat all the time. So whether that's around food or whether that's stress in your life, your body cannot adequately digest your food and utilize the nutrients that you're eating, right? Your metabolism is going to be affected, your sleep is going to be affected. You're not getting that true restorative sleep. So there's even. We can attach it to even the science behind keeping a regulated nervous system. And what are some of those things that regulate our nervous system? Being with friends, you know, play, getting off of our devices, going out, being in nature. Some of these things that may not typically make it onto our fitness plan, but have a significant impact on how our body is functioning and helping us to find that healthier baseline that we can live from with more freedom.

I love hearing about that, just because even how I approach things now, it's like, I want to move every day. That's just my mantra. Just move every day. That's what I want to do. Whatever that looks like and for me it is now such a mental thing. I'm like, you will like yourself better after you move because feel better. You're going to give yourself the dopamine that you deserve for the day. Now this is how I talk to myself. I'm like, you deserve to give this to yourself. Go.

I love that.

Do this for you. Like, you deserve to have a good day. And you know, this is where it starts. That is like the conversation in my head. And you know, you've built this incredible community that spans all age ranges. How in the hell did you did that do that? Like, you have one of the most diverse communities and you've really been able to get this message out to people and have it work. How do you do that?

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That's I love it. I love, I feel so honored that we have this. You said multi generational, right? Community. So we have people in their 20s, we have people in their 70s and 80s in our community. And that doesn't really make sense in the health and fitness space because you should have a niche. You should be like, you know, for these people or for those people. But what I've found is we're creating a community around people who have a shared pain point that they want to move past. So if you resonate, for example, with this message of I've been doing all of these things, I've been trying to fix my body. I've been living with this guilt and shame around my body or exercise or whatever. And I believe like there's got to be a better way or I want a better way and I still want to take care of my health, then that's what we do. And I think that that is when you tap in on that on someone like that was my journey. It was born out of my own struggle and I wanted to get out of it and I wanted to find a better way. And so I think it's amazing that we there are people in their 20s who struggle with this. There are women in their 70s who I love to hear from in our community who are like, finally, I have been yo yo dieting for years. I have been hating my body for years. I am 75 and I am finally ready to let this go and try a different way. And I'm like, yes, I'm so glad you're here. But there's a shared challenge among a lot of women. And when you can find something that taps into that, it just, it Creates powerful community and connection.

Tell me, because I think people are listening. They're like, oh, are you forever healed or fixed? Tell me a little bit about that journey and what that looks like for you.

Yep. Nope. I'm still dealing with my thoughts every single day.

Right.

You're on the journey your whole life. I feel like this journey for me started, you know, 20 years ago. And I still to this day have conversations with myself every day about what is the path I want to take. Where are these thoughts coming up for me? So a couple of, like, the first chapter of the book is called Reframe, because it's all about looking at how are we approaching our health and wellness, how are we approaching exercise? How are we approaching movement? We have to first start. And I know you're a huge proponent of this, Lori, but of what is the conversation we're having in our head or what are the beliefs we have about this? Because if we don't first look at those beliefs that we've had for years, you shared some of yours earlier, then we will just keep repeating the same patterns over and over. And if those are serving you and you're thriving, then great. But for most of us, when it comes to our health and our body and our fitness, we feel more stuck or frustrated than feeling great about that. So we have to first look at our mindset. So to this day, I will still recognize these thoughts that come up that are not the thoughts that I want to live. So I just now have an awareness of it. Years ago, I had no awareness. I just operated under these thoughts and they had control over me. For example, to this day, when I have a photo shoot for the website or I'm doing a video shoot or something and I'm getting all my outfits ready, I am tempted to say, oh, gosh, I need to watch what I'm eating. I need to, like, how much, you know, do I need to kind of lose some weight before this shoot? Like, I still have that conversation come up and I. What would have happened before is I would have then let that made me go restrict my food or made me go work out more or like, change something about what I was doing to hit an end goal quickly and feel and I'd feel super stressed about it. Now I recognize that and I say, okay, I recognize those old thoughts. They still come up. So I still have that insecurity. Why? Because I'm in the fitness space. So, Lori, you can relate to this too, right? When you're in the fitness space, there's an extra layer of, like, what should I look like? Someone is evaluating my body.

Yeah.

Is my body a product that they're going to want to purchase? Right. There's a whole nother layer of that. What I have to do in those moments. So the thoughts still come up. You're not healed forever. However, I can go, okay, I recognize those thoughts. I am. What am I doing? I am. Actually. My job is not to show up with a body that somebody can look at and, I don't know, want or, like, aspire to. My job is actually to show up, be the best Pilates instructor I can be, help people connect back with their body, show up as myself. However I look, even when I was fresh postpartum with the twins and show others that they also can show up just as they are. And so I have to bring it back to my purpose and, like, my true values and move through it that way. So I will say it gets easier. You know, the more you practice and retrain your mind, the more you realize, gosh, this works for me. I feel so much better. But it doesn't mean the thought where the challenges just disappear.

Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. Okay, so you have four kids. This is something that, when we hang out with you guys, I'm just like, how do you run this insane, amazing company with four kids? But that's not my question, because we all know the answer is probably a lot of help.

A lot of help. A lot of chaos. Yeah.

But I want to know, what were you thinking of as you were writing this book? Thinking of your girls?

Yes. Well, I think back to my childhood. We all have a story, every single one of us. I just taught this workshop, and I told the story of when I was about 8 years old. I remember I dressed up in this little outfit with my friend. Big baggy T shirt, spandex shorts, scrunchie tied at the waist. You know the look. You know the one.

I wore it, too.

And we thought we looked so cute, and we were matching. And so we're like, let's go show your parents. And we run out to the front porch, and we're like, look at us. And her dad goes, wow, look how much bigger Robin's legs are than hers.

Oh, God.

And interestingly, he just made that comment. He didn't say it was a bad thing.

Yeah.

He just observed it. But already at 8 years old, I took that as, yeah, bad thing. My body is different than hers. My body is bad. My thighs are too big. Ran down to her basement, started crying under the pinball machine. And here I am 30 years later and I still remember that moment. Right? Every single one of us listening right now can look back and say, where did we hear a comment about our appearance that has stuck with us for years? I didn't wear shorts for years. Like this day, my thighs, when I go to assess my body, as we all will do, my eyes go right to my thighs, right? So all that to say words are powerful and we apply meaning to words. So we're all going to have these experiences. Sometimes they're unintended comments that actually didn't have meaning. We attach meaning to them, but the point is they affect us. So when I think of my kids, I just think about how in my home, at the very least, because I know that they're going to get messages from all places, is how can I be leading the way in the conversation for loving their bodies, caring for their bodies, understanding that their body is going to be different than someone else's body. And that's okay, like starting to address some of those comparison things, but it's also about the mental health for this next generation. So there's the whole physical side of things. But already my 10, now 10 year old, but this was a couple years ago, has experienced really challenging anxiety.

Wow.

And this is in a home where we are very aware of mental health. I've had anxiety struggles in my past. She's not even on devices yet. Right. So she's not even on like social media or tablets or phone. She doesn't have anything. And I know that our upcoming generation, the stats of depression and anxiety are shocking.

Oh, man.

Terrifying. So to bring it back to your question, when I think of that next generation for myself, but also in this book is I think what we need to be able to do is for ourselves, understand how to first take care of ourselves physically, mentally. There's a whole chapter on breath in there, like how to use our breath for anxiety, how to calm our nervous systems. So the more I can empower myself and empower others to have those tools for themselves, the more than when my daughter comes to me and having a near anxiety attack, I know I have the tools to know how to calm her body. We go for our walks, we do our breath work, we do our mindfulness exercises. And I'm so grateful to have those tools. And so my goal is to help other people have those tools as well, because we're all going to experience it in our relationships somewhere.

I was just thinking through all of the different things, like if we can think of our past selves and the women that we are today. I was realizing while you were talking, it's not that those things have gone away, it's that I have tools that I use super fast. So I think part of being an imperfect human is like the way that we think and you know, we're. It's easier for us to cling on to a fear based thought and to put ourselves down and to see what's bad in the world. And those are all just easier things. And you know how we're wired. And I'm thinking about all of the tools I've already used today. Like, right, breathe. I was like, oh my God, I'm not breathing. Because you said anxiety. And I was thinking about things I was anxious about and I stopped breathing and I was like, oh, that's right, use the tool.

Like breathe through it.

Stop, like, think about something better. Get focused again. And they don't go away. You just have the tools. So I love that your book is giving us all of these different tools. That when people are reading your book, it's not that you have to learn all the tools at once. It's if you can incorporate one tool a day and you just remember one tool a day, you're on your way to living a more free, peaceful life. And I think that when we start to feel more free is when we understand this whole body thing, is when we understand this whole like nutrition feeling better, how to nourish ourselves is when we can start to hear ourselves. So for you, because we like block it out, right, Robin? Like how many things do we block out our intuition with and like actually understanding what we should be eating? Tell me a little bit about like how you started hearing that intuitive kind of voice around how should I move today? When is it, when is it important for me to have my really disciplined habits and when is it important for me to just like be.

Yep, so many good things you just said. I want to respond to all of it. But yes. So when it comes to listening to our body and that intuitive LED approach, that's really like what we're kind of talking about here, right? Is like, how can we become more intuitively led with our bodies? It's fascinating to me that we have been really trained and told to not listen to our bodies in so many ways growing up. And that could look different for everyone. But even down to the little things of like when you're in school and you have to go to the bathroom, but you have to wait, you have to ignore that and you have to wait until Bathroom break time. Or when you think of even things that you hear in the fitness industry all the time, like no pain, no gain, or like don't quit until I don't even know some of them are. But all of these things we see override.

Yeah, yeah.

Override your body's cues is essentially, and I get the sentiment, like push hard, push yourself past the discomfort. That can be okay. But there are so many ways that we have been trained to override our body signals. And then when you add people who have experienced trauma or different things where they literally their safety mechanism is to disengage and disembody, then we have to figure out how can we tune back into our bodies. And so there are healthy ways and practices you can do that. That's one of the reasons I love Pilates. It is a very somatic exercise. So in the sense of it's mind, body, when you are moving through the exercises, there's a time and a place for other type of workouts to go check out and just move and sweat and not think about anything. But Pilates is not like that. Pilates is get on your mat. I'm going to start leading you through a workout. We're going to start with breath. You're going to tune into how you're feeling. You're going to find where your body is in space. You're going to start to notice the position of your pelvis and how engaged your abs are and feel the ground pushing away. All of these things are connecting your mind back to your body to start to build that connection again, to even build the neural pathways to start to understand what is your body telling you? What are you feeling? When people will start Pilates, I'll hear a lot of like, I don't even know what you're saying. Like, I don't feel it. I hear that a lot. And I'm like, trust the process. Keep coming. Keep doing your workouts. And all of a sudden you're like, oh, I feel what she's saying. You start to awaken that connection again. And so that's one way we can, you know, start to rebuild that. I think we also can do some really practical things throughout the day where you even just pause. Everyone could even do it right now. You could close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and even just ask yourself, what is my body trying to tell me right now? Or what is one thing I need right now? This can be a practice you do throughout the day. It might be, I have to go to the bathroom and I'VE been holding it while I write all these emails. Right. Like literally overriding that cue. It could be I'm really thirsty but I'm not getting up to go like hydrate myself. I'm going to take a minute to go do that. It could be that my back hurts but I'm ignoring it because it's just the way it is. Instead of getting up, maybe your body is telling you, let's move, I need to get moving. You're hurting me right now. So finding little ways to rebuild what it means to listen to your body. I like to make things really practical because otherwise it feels kind of to out there. And then you'll find that it becomes easier to start to trust what your body needs. On those days, for example, when it's like am I just not wanting to work out because I don't feel like it or am I not wanting to work out because truly my body needs rest today? And so we can start to have those conversations with ourselves. Sometimes what I'll do is so I work out in the morning. I don't like getting out of bed. Does anybody like getting out of bed at 5:30 in the morning? No. Yeah. So I never really want to get up but I will like make those choices. I'll be like, do I need the extra sleep? You know, I try to decide the night before, okay, this is a night I need to catch up on sleep. Therefore I'm not going to do tomorrow's workout in the morning. I'm going to move it to another day. As opposed to trying to make that decision at 5:30 in the morning when sleep is always going to sound more appealing than getting up and getting out. So I make that decision before, not in the morning, if that makes sense.

I love that. I think even if we ask ourselves that question, then we're on the right path of like, okay, is this just me trying to quit on myself right now or do I need this to actually mentally feel better and body? So I think even bringing that awareness in around having that question the night before or whatever that looks like is super. I think that just brings a lot of awareness and it's super, super helpful.

So we usually know, you know, we usually know the truth. Like if we're really honest with ourselves, we if really take that minute. We know if we're like, yeah, no, I'm just doing this because I don't feel like it versus no, I'm not feeling well or I really need to rest or my body needs a day off.

Yeah, you know, we Know, I do always know to, like, ignore certain things someday, but we still do it. All right, let's talk about when we, you know, somebody's listening to this and they know where they need to start taking care of themselves. But I think that it can be, if anyone was like me and maybe like you, where you almost want to pile everything on at once. It can take up so much brain space, it can cause a ton of anxiety. Let's talk about how you can start these new habits or getting consistent over certain things without having something that really actually is ultimately going to drain you or make you quit.

Yes. One of the my favorite things that we hear in the Lindy well community is like, this is what we hear more than anything else. I've never been this consistent as I have with anything else in my life.

Like, wow, awesome.

We hear that. That is the number one review that we get on trustpilot all over. And it's so interesting to me. And I love that because ultimately, that's the goal, right, Is consistency over time. We get to take care of our health and our well being for as long as we live. So it's not one of those things where you get healthy and then you're done, right? You're like, three months, I did it, now I get to stop. I get to stop doing all the things. It's like brushing our teeth. We just have to keep doing it. So what I love about that, though, is that when we try to overhaul our entire life, we're not likely to stick with it for the long term. Right? So this actually frees us up to take a more realistic and balanced approach. Tons of evidence and research supports this, that the smaller we start, the smaller we break it down, the more likely we are to stick with it. Therefore, we build that consistency over time. And once you first build the habit into your life, which is the hardest part, then you can expand. Like, let's say you start with 10 minute walks a day and you're like, I'm just going to do 10 minutes a day. 10 minutes of Pilates, 10 minutes of a walk. Whatever you decided is for you. Build that habit first into your daily routine. Everyone can do 10 minutes. Even when we get to the end of our day and we have every excuse piling on because we all do, telling us, oh, I'd so much rather just sit on the couch, or I'd so much rather not do that 10 minutes. Mentally, we can do it 30 minutes, we might want to skip more. So when we can get over that mental hurdle, build that into place. Then you realize how good it makes you feel. You feel accomplished and you can build on that over time. And then maybe it's 20 minutes, then maybe it's 30, then maybe it's like you and Chris and it's like all the walks all the time. You guys are my favorite walking duo. I'm so inspired by your walk.

And they started for a totally different reason than being fit. It really was like, mentally, to just support ourselves mentally. And we noticed at the end of the day we would get all weird and funky and then we would fight and I would lose energy around like 4 o'. Clock. So I just would. It's like a reset for me. So even starting with just like you said, the 10 minutes or when we were like, what could we fit in just to go switch our energy? I mean, it's just the compounding effects in your life that just happen to maybe give you this great physical side effect later if you don't focus on that first. It's so counter intuitive to what I've been trying to do all through, like my teens, twenties. So. Yeah.

And isn't it now, like your relationship, like, I know this about you now. You genuinely crave it. You love movement, you want it in your life every day because you know how much better you feel. Whereas before. And that's me too now. But it used to be this should like, ugh, I have to go work out. Oh, I have to do this thing now. Doesn't mean we're always feeling like super motivated. We have to remind ourselves. But the shift, when you shift your why and you shift your reason, it just makes it so much more enjoyable.

Yeah. I can honestly say I love it now. Getting started still feels challenging almost every day because I'm like, oh, I'm tired today. But it's like, no, you love this. This makes you feel really good. This is like how you're going to enjoy the rest of your day and be nice to everyone. So.

And all the things that you're carrying. Right. And for those listening who are entrepreneurs, business owners, wanting to do big things in the world, you have to, you have to do it. Otherwise, you know, the energy is not going to be there. We are the number one asset in whatever we're doing. And so I remember sometimes someone said to me, protect the asset. You need to protect the asset. And I'm like, so good to think.

Of it that way.

Right. When we met, you know, I was having some health challenges and I was having to scale back and dial back some things. And I had not been protecting the asset, I had been burning. What is the thing burning? The candle at both ends. I'm the worst at the figures of speech. I usually blend two of them. So I'm really glad I got it. And as a result, you know, when I can't show up to be the CEO, to lead the company, to do the Pilates workouts, all of those things, what's going to suffer? The business, my relationships. So protecting the asset for those who see themselves as entrepreneurs and building something big is crucial.

My God, it's so good. Because if you think about it, even if you're a mom listening, who maybe has used the phrase, but I'm just a mom or it's selfish for me to work out and take my time for my kids. No, you are the asset. You are, right, the person shaping these children. And if you don't take care of yourself, they're not going to get that best version of you. Like, protect the asset, even if that means you are the caretaker of the family, then you better be taking care of yourself better than anybody else.

Totally. And that's where we can even bring it back to that. Don't get caught in the all or nothing mentality. So even if that's small, like if you are in that phase where you're like, I have no time for myself, even if it's 10 minutes, give yourself that 10 minutes. Just this afternoon. And it's a constant juggle. Just today I'm looking at the clock, my kids are going to get out of school soon. And I'm trying to decide, do I go pick them up early so they can come home early, or should I leave them in aftercare for another hour so I can get my walk in? And like, it's not always easy. Like, thankfully, they love aftercare. But I'm also like, I want them to come home. They've been at school all week and it's like this kind of juggle guilt thing, right? Like, should I go get them? But I'm like, no, if I go for my walk, I'm just shut down my computer, give myself that time before I go pick them up. We're going to have a much better night. I'm going to be a much happier person.

Freshy fresh, mom, you'll be so much.

They'll like me a lot better.

Totally. I love that. Okay, so let's go back to the book. Because you have poured all of this wisdom, your life's work, into this book. Tell me a couple of the messages that you are that you knew would come through for people that are really powerful, but maybe also one that you're surprised at, that you're starting to hear about, that you're like, I didn't realize that me telling that would hit that well.

Mm, that's a good question. Yes. I mean, the fun stage where I'm just starting to hear what's resonating with people. And I think one thing that has stood out to me that has been a little bit surprising, but is the rhythms of rest that I'm hearing people saying, ah, this is hitting me right where I am at right now. So, again, trying to zoom out into what does it mean to really live a well life? Like, to truly be well. And it's called well to the core. Like, truly to your core, not just in one area. And sometimes, well, for all of us, that needs to include a rhythm of rest. So that can be physical rest, like sleep, you know, making sure we're prioritizing that. But it can also be mental rest and creating pockets of silence in your day to just think and reflect. You know, we are so connected. We. Especially if you're busy, you're running a business, you're on Slack, you're on Instagram, you're on email, you're on a zoom call, like, like all day. And again, what this does to our nervous system, it keeps us in go, go, go, go, go mode. So if we don't create those pockets of silence throughout our day or moments of not being stimulated, and this can be small. Maybe it's an hour walk with no podcast, but maybe it's even just 10 minutes of sitting and journaling or breathing and people really resonating with how they haven't really noticed that in their life because they're just going. But when they read it and recognize, oh, this is something I. I think I could really benefit from incorporating. And it's been missing from my wellness routine. That's been an interesting one to hear.

I feel that to the core, like, you're. Yeah, really? Because I learned that I have to turn my phone off around seven or eight every single night. I cannot look at that screen anymore. I need to shut it down sometimes, even if it's like four or five, if I've been on zooms all day, like, like, we're done. I'm actually not going to open up that computer and I'm going to let some fires burn and I don't in the morning. That's been a huge lesson for me of. It's really important that I Get back into a mental state, because I'm real not good right now. So that's when I just shut her down. And now, like, life goes on. Fires can burn. People aren't. We're always at the beck and call of everybody's schedule. And I've learned that you don't have to be. It's really shocking at first.

Yeah.

Just don't have to be. They'll wait until the next day. Even if they're like, oh, that's flaky, or she takes a while to get back. It's like. But everybody wants you. So right when you start to get busy or your business starts to do well, you realize that you're just not going to be the exact person that you want for everybody. And that's been a beautiful lesson. Still challenging, but we have our mental health, so.

Okay.

I'm so excited about your book. I know that you have some amazing things if people go grab it today.

Yes, yes. So I know it's finally time, which is awesome. So you can get it@lindywell.com you can go anywhere books are sold. And yeah, for a limited time, we have a bunch of free bonuses. So you get the audiobook for free, which is fun. I recorded it. So you gotta make sure you like my voice before you consider. If you want to pop that in your earbuds for a while. You also get, if you did, a PDF journal that goes alongside it. So a workbook to really help you take what you're reading and put it into practice and personalize it. Because it's one thing to learn it, it's another thing to apply it to your life. And we also are doing a virtual book club, which I'm really excited about. So that's starting soon. And we're going to do it on zoom. Go through the book together, getting your questions answered and really starting to consider, like, what does this look like for you individually? And how can we encourage one another in that? So there's a couple other bonus as well, another workshop, but all good things that are available for this launch week. So when you pre order.

This is so exciting. And you guys, if you're listening and you feel like you need this in your life to be able to go and do a book club, that's how you actually learn. Like, that is when you go learn and talk about it in groups and get in community, that's not just learning, that's integration. So that's why your community works so well, is because you're so. It's so integrated by doing it all together and the things that you guys do together. So I highly, highly, highly recommend, if you want to give this gift to yourself of less stress, less anxiety, really figuring out who you are in the world. It's just the big figuring this part out, I can honestly say this with you, Robin has been the biggest gift of my life because it's allowed me to figure out who I am, who I'm supposed to be. So I'm so grateful for the work that you're doing in the world and how you show up and for your community and you guys. All of the things she talked about is linked up below. And Robin, I'm just so beyond grateful for you. Thank you for coming on the show.

Thank you. I'm so grateful for you. And it was so fun to be here.

Oh, so much fun. And I get to see you next week. So you guys make sure that you tag Robin. Robin, what's the handle that you want everyone to tag?

Yeah, you can tag me at Robin Marie Long, and I will come see all your posts and it will make me so happy. So I can't wait to see the book in your hands. And you can also tag at we are Lindy well, which is our Lindy well community.

Amazing.

You guys.

You know the biggest gift you can do for Robin for coming on and sharing all this wisdom is obviously to go grab her book. And second, you can let her know what your biggest takeaway from this podcast was. So give her a tag. Give me a tag. We will share those stories and we will get to see who listen. All right, until next time, everyone, earn your happy. Bye, everyone.

Sam.