Ep 23: Longevity and Aging Optimally with Cyndi Weis

Longevity — by definition it’s about something built to last, but energetically to me it feels purposeful, and soft and full.  

So how do we accomplish longevity?  How do we age well.  How do we evolve optimally? I want all the secrets.  

Cyndi Weiss is in, what she calls, the 4th quarter of her life.  She’s built a thriving wellness business and community and now at 65, she’s a pillar of health, her skin is glowing, her mind is peaceful, and her practices are consistent.  

Today she’s sharing her non-negotiables to aging optimally, how she overcame an illness when western medicine didn’t have the answers, and what she would have done differently.  

About Cyndi Weis 

Cyndi is a passionate voice in the world of wellness, and a powerful advocate for living vibrantly at every age.  Cyndi is a longtime entrepreneur, yoga and meditation teacher, and nutrition expert who has spent over two decades helping people reconnect with their bodies, minds, and purpose. As the founder of breathe, a thriving wellness community, she’s inspired thousands to take ownership of their health and well-being. Now in what she calls the “fourth quarter of life,” Cyndi is more energized than ever. She’s on a mission to challenge outdated ideas about aging and remind women that our best years aren’t behind us—they are right now!

Transcript

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I love the word longevity. By definition, it's about something built to last. But energetically, to me it feels purposeful and soft and full. So how do we accomplish longevity? How do we age well? How do we evolve optimally? I want all the secrets. Cindi Weiss is in what she calls the fourth quarter of her life. She's built a thriving wellness business and community. And now, at 65, she's a pillar of health. Her skin is glowing, her mind is peaceful, and her practices are consistent. Today, she's sharing her non-negotiables to aging optimally. How she overcame an illness when Western medicine didn't have the answers. And she's boldly sharing that if she were to do it all over again, what she would have done differently. I hope you're ready to soak it all in, because there's so much to learn and absorb about longevity. In this episode. Hi, I'm Laura Scarr, Patty. Filmmaker and woowoo enthusiast here today. To cut through the noise, pull back the veil, and cozy up in the space between reality and spirituality. Thanks for listening to the Woo report! So anyways, thank you so much for being on the moon for today. So happy to have you. I'm really excited to be here. This is just like a treat. Yeah. Thank you Laura. It's so fun. So cozy. We're hanging. You are a pillar of the Rochester community. You have built this incredible wellness community called breathe here. And you are a female entrepreneur. You look amazing. You feel good. And you. I've heard you describe yourself as being in the fourth quarter of your life. So I'd love to talk about what that means to you. I when I think about it as how much time is behind me versus how much time is in front of me. I think it's really natural for someone in this age group that I'm in to actually, like, have a recognition that time is finite, not that we're getting to the end or anything like that. It's actually, in my opinion, not about winding down. It's kind of about leveling up. Fourth quarter is about taking everything that I've learned, like all my mistakes, all my wisdom, all my experiences, and really like fine tuning it to do exactly what I want to do and live the life I want to live as the best version of myself. And I don't know that up until this point, that's ever been my motivation. My motivation in life has always been do the next thing that makes sense, or the next thing that I think I can accomplish, or maybe what's expected of me. And none of that is on my mind anymore. What's on my mind is how can I take everything and look back and, like, pluck the gold nuggets out of it, shine them up and, like, bring them into what I look at is, quite honestly, one of the most exciting times in my life. I love that so much. You are now a motivational speaker. You're now bringing this message to the masses. And why do you feel like that's so important to do right now? It's interesting that you put it that way, because I've never thought of it like that. I'm just gonna, like, backtrack for a second and, you know, even breathe my my journey with my business in wellness, yoga, meditation, all of that. That was never like, oh, let's. This is something that the market is missing. This is a niche that I can fill. This is a great idea. It was never that. It was always like, what am I really passionate about? It was yoga. It was nutrition. It was retail. Actually. I had, you know, been partners in retail business for a dozen years. I loved it, and when I thought, like, could I put these things together? It made no business sense. So it never came from. Isn't this a great idea that everyone will love? It came from? This is what I care about. This is what I know how to do. And I kind of think other people might care about it too. So I'm just going to share what I know. So I've never felt like I was selling anything. I always felt like I was sharing kind of like the best found secrets that I ever found. And that's where I feel like I am right now too, is like I'm doing it in the form of speaking because a, I don't want to write a book. That's one reason. secondly, it's like it's taken all these years. I'm 65 years old. It's taken all these years to sort of know what the cumulative result of living a life that's, you know, got its on and off highs and lows. But I've been pretty focused on wellness for pretty much my adult life. And now that I can see, like what's the long term effect of that and what would I wish that I had known then that I now know? I just want to share it. I'm not. I don't care about being like a speaker. It's more just like I talk to you or I'll talk to 100 people. I don't care which it is. I just really am passionate about it. Well, let's talk about what you have learned. What have you learned? Yeah. What have I learned? I mean, honestly, if I could go back and, you know, give myself some advice. and which is so great because I have daughters that are probably about your age. Yes. And it's not like they're always asking me like, oh mom, what's your advice. What would you tell your mom. Of course not. but every now and then I'll wait. And then, you know, once they come to their own conclusion, I might slide in. Yeah. You know, you don't really need to rush any of this because things are going to play out, and they do. that's probably one piece is like, you don't have to push because actually life if you try easy life has a way of actually rolling out better than you could have ever done it yourself. and then secondly, I wish as much as I've been like a physical person most of my life, very much into fitness. I wish I hadn't been so hard on my body. you know, I have exercised like. Like it's a job, you know, because it was my job. I was a personal trainer. I was a fitness instructor. So it was my job. So. But when I look back, I think, you know, I'm, I'm a relatively small person, and I just, like, sort of lived my physical life as if I was a linebacker or something. I probably pushed a little too hard. And now at my age, what I have to show for it are some just joint issues and things like that that had I known, I probably would have taken a little bit easier on that. So that's a piece. And What specifically like not because you just came from a workout right now you just get used to doing strength training, you said. Yeah. So do you mean just, like, too much in a day or do you mean too heavy weights or. Well, yeah, that's a great question because I still do all the things. Yeah. You know, but I do it, in a different way. So, yoga and meditation are my, my baseline. So that's what happens first thing in the morning that happens every day. And then depending on, you know, I'll do strength training, but I'll no longer strength train the way that I did with heavy weights on my shoulders, things like that that were compressing, you know, small bones in my neck and things like that, that I just really didn't need to do. So now I do strength train to the point of making the muscles like one say, I can't do one more. Yeah, but I do it in a way that's very mindful of my skeleton and just, you know, I'm smarter about it. And then rather than run, I'm a walker like, and I do, oh my gosh, 15,000 steps a day or something like that. I just like to be on the move. So that's what I mean. It's like maybe it's the intensity in which I do it. It's not necessarily changing and not doing something that I was doing. It's maybe just like almost like how I was saying about life, I just don't it's not necessary to push so hard. It's like a little gentler. Yeah. Yeah I love that. Yeah I love, I love a gentle morning. Yeah. I had a friend that just told me. Feel like you. You're a gentle morning person. She gets up and goes to Orange Theory and it just. Yes I am, but I also don't know other. I just can't motivate to do like hard workouts. You know, consider that it's not that you can't because you can. Yes. If you wanted to, you would. Right. It's just you just not feeling like that's what you want to do. And I think that that's really listening. Yes. And that's one of my biggest takeaways from being older is like I listen to my body. So much more. I don't do what I think I should do or what someone else is doing. I do exactly what I feel and if I need rest, I take rest. If I need to move, I move. And it's just a bigger trust in myself than maybe I had in my younger years. So you wake up and you do yoga and then you also do meditation. And is it this, this in the same place? Where are you? I'm always interested by somebody's meditation practice because I think that's it's hard to it probably not for you anymore because this has been part of your life's work, is to be in touch with yourself. But I find it can be hard to turn things off. And I have I, you know, have my own meditation practice, but I love hearing what other people are doing. Well, first I will say that, you know, what drew me to yoga was the physicality. And for the longest time, maybe a decade and a half or more, I would think, you know, I should probably meditate. I'll get to that later, you know, when there's nothing else to do. Oh. How many of us have. Right, right. But instead, I'm just going to go do some chaturanga and, you know, some planks and all that. But what happened with me is I got very sick about nine years ago, and it was the most bizarre illness, and it was pretty intense. And doctors, I went to so many doctors and specialists and no one could quite figure it out. And the first question that I would get asked is like, how's your stress? And like, I have no stress, I am completely happy. And they said, yeah, but look, you raise a family, you run multiple businesses, you've got to have stress. I'm like, nope, I don't. I love my life. I'm doing exactly what I want. But there is this little voice inside me. As we kept ruling out at diagnosis, is that they kept ruling them out based on the testing. And this little voice inside me said, you know, like you probably should just like meditate. And that's when I started, and it was really that whole like, you know, Oprah sort of saying of like, life taps you on the shoulder, then it covers you over the head. I was my illness was debilitating. I had to really change my life. I, I couldn't really go too far away from home base. and so I started meditating and I'm not kidding. My symptoms went away and they never came back. And my illness never got diagnosed and it never got treated. But it was very real and very tangible, and it was stress based. And my stress wasn't bad. Stress. It's not like life was falling apart. I was just on such high alert. I was just at the starting line every moment of every day, like ready, ready, ready, ready. And and meditation came because for a lot of people, it does too. It's like comes from a crisis. It's like you've tried everything else and there are no other answers. Okay. So I'll just do this. So for me, when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is just grab my blanket and go sit on my little, little perch that I made in Covid right when I thought it was going to be a temporary little perch in my bedroom. But it's been there now for, what, six years? And that's where I meditate. And then from there I roll out my mat. I do my yoga by myself at home. sometimes I'll go to class, but I need to know that it's like a baseline to start my day. So that's how my day starts. And then typically after that, then I go into work and my breakfast is really important to me. That's when I get my, you know, my 40g of protein. And I start off really, you know, strong with my nutrition. And then the day plays out and I sit in those other modalities of exercise after that. But nothing gets in the way of meditation and yoga. Oh my gosh, I love that so much. And then okay, so when you meditate and you sit and you close your eyes, are you is there something that you say, do you call in gratitude? How do you drop in? Yes. I like silent meditation. Even though I teach guided meditation. Yes, I prefer silent. And I always start with gratitude. And because it's morning, I mean, I, I don't take it for granted that I'm waking up. so that's where it starts. You know, I'm just grateful for the day, and I'm grateful for my family. And I sort of run through my things. And then from there, I connect to my breath and my body, and I just feel what I feel. And, you know, some days it's easier than others. I mean, certain tips have helped me to definitely not look at my phone before I meditate, you know? And that's a tricky thing, right? Yes. But what time is it? Yeah. Like, no, I mean, I might know what time it is. That's okay. But I'm not going to look at anything else. Yes. Meditation has to happen first. and some days it feels really calm and peaceful and other days it feels like antsy, you know, and I think that that's something that I wish more people would be really honest about, because I believe that that's what keeps a lot of people away from meditating, is thinking that everyone else is sitting there in some zone that they can't find, and that the reality is everyone's mind wanders. Everybody is constantly coming back, you know, and you get like glimpses of stillness and you get glimpses of like, wait a minute, I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't really following anything. What was what was that? How long was that? Who knows, maybe 60s. Yeah, but it's a real myth. I believe that, you know, people think that people are meditating and they're not they're not challenged by thoughts and distractions because they are. my friend recently did a ten day silent meditation retreat and he sat right there where you are and said that it really helped him untangle the knots that he ties in his head. And so I'm just, just I love that analogy, but I'm curious, in relation to your illness, do you feel like was there something that came up in meditation that was like, ooh, that was it? Or it was just being more in touch with yourself? Like, what do you think it was that made it go away? Yeah. what I really think it was it's not what I did or what I do. It's how I do me. that was the big thing. That was the big realization is that it didn't really matter what it was, whether it was work, whether it was play, whether it was an idea, whether I always approached things with the same like, okay, let's go right now, this is sort of always my, like. Excited and excited baseline. I can identify with that. And it's it serves me well in many ways. Sure. The only thing that it doesn't serve is it's like your body's kind of always in that let's go mode. Right. And your mind is in that let's go mode. I also did I did an eight day silent meditation retreat. And what was so fascinating to me. So I'm sure your friend told you like there's no reading, obviously no devices like, you know, there's no nothing. Yes. and so on the fifth day, I still clearly remember this. On the fifth day, I started packing my suitcase. Oh my gosh, you did the same thing. It was day six. But yeah, okay. Because I'm thinking this was great. Yeah. I got so much out of it. Yeah, I feel good. Yeah. All right, I think I'm ready. Right. And it wasn't until literally, like, zipping up my suitcase and I think, who am I talking to? Who have I been talking to for the last five days myself? And so I unzipped my suitcase and I finally thought, okay, I surrender, I'm here. And it was those last couple of days that it was unbelievable. And when you think about it, Laura, to like there's from the moment you're pushed out of the womb, like the doctor's talking, the nurses are talking, there's beeping, there's there's never ever a completely silent space of time where there's no stimulus, whether it's watching something, reading something, hearing something, seeing something. And so this like contained environment, your nervous system, it goes to a whole different place than it's ever been. I remember, I was conscious of the fact that I chose a silent retreat in a place where I could drive and didn't have to go to an airport, because I thought that would be smart. Right? Yeah. So I get in the car and I'm driving home on the final day and I turn the radio, I'm like, oh, no, no radio for sure. And so I'm driving along and I've got my maps on, right. And all of a sudden, just like at the next exit, I literally jumped out of my skin, like I was so chill that even hearing the voice of, you know, the the GPS was like, just too much. I remember my first stop was walking into breathe Abbey. My daughter took one look at me and she's like, oh, you better go home. You better go home. You look, you don't look like you should be here. And then like, why? And she's like, you look like you've just been let out into the world or something like like mom, go home. So I did, and I realized it took me a couple of days to reintegrate. But it was something that is different than anything I've ever experienced in my life. It was so fascinating. That's so cool. Yeah, I know, I was so surprised just because just in my friend who did the retreat, he showed up at my doorstep. He lives in Los Angeles. He showed up at my doorstep two days after he did this retreat as a surprise to me. I didn't know he was coming. I thought we were going to be doing this remotely. And I was like, is two days like, okay for the amount of time? But he's kind of he's a thrill seeker. He's an adventure seeker. Like he was doing this because it's outside of his comfort zone. And he wanted to do it, but he showed up here. But I hear you. I mean, I've done I did ayahuasca tree a couple years ago and I it was in Maine and I drove, you know, is like eight hours away. And I remember the first four hours alone in my car afterwards, I just sat right processing. Yeah. Yes. And then I turned on music from the shaman that was just there, like the same music. I couldn't have anything else. It was so that that took a while to integrate. But that's like such a great like, you know, pause. Right. It's it's a. Yes. And I'll always say as much as it sounds, maybe not popular, but, you know, Covid was a pause. Like a lot of negative things obviously happened and came out of it and a lot changed for so many people. But, you know, if you think back before that, like it was so common to hear people say, if I just had another hour in the day, if there was just another day in the week, if I could just take a break. But there was none. And then collectively, we all took one. People came back different, and then some people went right back to where they were and others changed for good for the future. So yeah, I remember pre-COVID there was this meme that said we all have the same amount of hours in the day as Beyonce. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so doing this, Beyoncé was just dropping albums left and right. You're like, how is she doing all of this? But I love that I love that. And you know, in 2020 I got run over by a car I guess, and like it. But it is something that happened for me. I really believe and it cracked me open. And here we are. We wouldn't be here without it. No. And really, your life would be so different. Not just the life that you're living, but even how you see life. Yes. How you see other people. Yes. Yeah, I. I do not want for the mind that I had before that accident any day. I'm so grateful for being cracked open. It's the best thing. And, you know, that's the thing about gratitude. I was speaking at a conference this past weekend, and, you know, I always it was an entrepreneur conference. So it's not like we weren't at the wall. We we import. So anyway, I thought, okay, I'm going to really talk about gratitude, but I, I know that even that word can sort of bring up this new agey feel good, but it's so science based, like when we allow ourselves to to actually accept life as it is with the good things that happen, those crushing moments that have happened, the things that have happened to us that we could have never in a million years ever wanted. But they shape us into who we are, and then we can accept all of that. it's and have gratitude and appreciation. That's when we really thrive in our life. And and it's just so critical, but it's so underrated. Unfortunately, I. Know the me before this accident, you know, I just felt like I could hear the word gratitude and be like, yeah, of course I'm thankful and grateful, but it's embodying the gratitude. Like you said, daily in a morning, in a morning meditation where you are it it just that's how it changes the feeling of your whole day. Yes. And makes it makes living your day so much easier. Yeah. Because it's it's less chaotic. Your brain is not firing on all cylinders like it used to. And like that's my experience anyway. Well, it's it's absolutely true. And it's, it it's affects how we feel. But it also affects like, you know, think about with if you lay awake at night or in the middle of the day and your mind goes to like ruminating over a tough conversation or a problem that needs to be solved, or we, our minds tend to spin on something negative. They very seldom spin on the positive, right? So when we bring to the surface positive experiences and we recall them over and over and we bring them to the top of the heap, we are more likely to have a very different perspective on life. That's so good. And so I mean, that's why I just think like we all have the ability to do it. It doesn't take any special training, it doesn't cost any money. It's just yeah, it's a little bit underrated. nuggets of wisdom, Cindy. We are getting that. We're getting there right now. I love it so much. Okay, so, another thing about aging that you have three non-negotiables about aging that I've heard you say. Will you tell us what they are? Yes. The first one is quality sleep. I know, how do you sleep? Are you a good sleeper? You know, I'm a good sleeper now, but I. There was a time where I was not when I was stressed out and thinking about all the things, right? Yeah. I mean, I used to think that insomnia was a superpower. I could lay awake and just wait for it to be time to get up and go and think like, wow, I'm ahead of everybody. Because I just thought all these things solved all these problems in my mind in the rest of the world. Sleeping. How lucky am I, you know? And I still got energy, but meanwhile I was burning out and I just didn't know it. So quality sleep is number one. If people had to choose just one thing to do, I would choose that. And sometimes really looking at patterns can tell you a lot about why you're sleeping well or you're not sleeping well. Simple little things like to me, like, you know, three hours I got to cut off any sort of eating before three hours before bed. If I eat any closer than that to bed, you know, digestion takes a lot of energy. And so it really keeps us awake. So ending meals early, sticking to a routine, you know, like, don't just go to bed early on the weekdays and stay out all night on the weekends. Like that really messes with your body's natural circadian rhythm. And then simple things like, making sure that you're moving your body. So that night when you go to bed, it's not like you're just mentally exhausted. You're physically tired, too, so that you can drop in and get some deep sleep, which is when the body and brain repair themselves. So non-negotiable. Number one is quality sleep. And the second one is make muscle. So, you know, I I've been in I have some level of fitness weight training throughout most of my adult life. And like I said, I probably pushed in a harder way back in the day. But even though now I think I work for the same intention of making sure that the muscles actually go to the point of full fatigue, it's not like you're just sort of there with a 2 pound weight, just going through the motions, having a conversation. You've got to stimulate the muscles to want to repair, and then make sure you have enough protein in your diet so they can repair. And most people don't have enough protein in the diet. So that's such a big thing that in my workshops now, I'm really talking about like how do you get it? Like really how do you how do you get a minimum of 100g of protein in your day every day? And then you got to let the muscles rest. That's when they repair. So quality sleep, make muscle and then master your mindset Masters kind of a really big word because you can't really master your mindset, but you can have an awareness of your mindset. You know, I you you're a very I can tell you have a very positive mindset because you've been through some things. You have a lot of gratitude that you are here and that you're living the life. You're living with the appreciation that you have. And so that's actually a choice. Yes. Right. Yes. My dad was just on the podcast. he's a hypnotherapist and he's just he's a health nut, loves moving. His body loves doing. He just reads all the books. Doctor Gundry, my whole life I've been rolling my eyes at him because this is a classic, right? He's a boomer parent, you know, he's a hypnosis therapist. That's my. You know, ten years ago, he was giving my best friend a past life regression. I was like, you guys are out of your mind. What are you doing? Like, I just, like, couldn't I couldn't handle it, but he always would say to me, you know, you what is your greatest power? And your greatest power is the power to choose your thoughts. And if you can choose a positive mindset, a positive thought, then you're in. Yeah. Which is like, you know, having that just in like the back of my mind, I feel like it was probably very positive and helpful for me. and, you know, now I'm recognizing that he's been doing this for 30 years and how cool. Your dad is and how lucky you are. Yes. You're recognizing that. Yeah. Yeah. So that takes me a minute. Took me a minute. It's like, come back around, you know, I mean, I always like, of course I love my dad, but. Well, you're, I mean, very much the power to choose your thoughts aligns with to me, like, the most important thing is where you put your attention. Yes. Because, you know, I don't want to. Actually, I don't want anyone to get it wrong. It's not like you're you're unaware that there are problems in the world. There are problems in your own life, there are challenges. And you have a global awareness of all of it. And then you decide what you're going to put your attention on. and you do that and it's your most powerful resource. And that's just like choosing your thoughts. It's the same thing. but I, you know, can easily be misunderstood as you're selectively putting on rose colored glasses and just picking all the good. Well, that's not it. It's like you got to see all of it. Yes. And then have an awareness that like there's good in there too. But it's so easy to focus on what's wrong. Yes. And I feel like as a society with the clickbait stories and the fear mongering and what we hear, or we're clicking on or we are getting notifications on our phone that are dark, negative stories, but it's just one person's take and there's money behind it. So you know, you can mute those. Yeah, and not look at them if you don't want to. okay. Back to aging. So I have so many questions around like beauty and aging and Botox. And just like the things that, we do to age well as women to age, quote unquote, gracefully. Like what? What do you make of all of that? I think it's such a good question. Yeah, it's a really good question. And what I make of it is I think that each person should make their own decision on what makes them feel amazing and out of self-care, as opposed to self-criticism. so if you're doing something to fix something that you think is broken, something about yourself that is imperfect, not worthy, like that's a whole different intention than doing, you know, different types of therapies and things for your skin and your body that just help you to feel like the best version of who you truly are. So not about fixing, but about like, really just doing. I'm I'm all for people doing whatever it is that makes them feel the best in their own skin. Well, I'm just like looking at you. You look so glowy. Like, I'm curious what you're putting on your skin. Or is that from a facial tell you like, your secrets. We've talked about and the episode as tactician. Oh my goodness, did you not know that? I mean, I did know that, but I like don't really know exactly what she does there. Well I'll give you a quick When I opened breathe in 2002. Yes, I remember listen, this was such a crazy story. So before I opened, I was reading people magazine. Okay? So I don't even know if. Of course. No. Okay, people still a thing. It's still a thing, but it's not as thick as it used to be because they don't. Yeah. Okay. So anyways, we're reading people magazine and I'm reading that Madonna and Sharon Osborne and all these women were using this product line called Arcana. Oh yeah. I'm like, what is that? So I searched it out LA based, right. I contacted them and I said, you know, I'm opening this little yoga studio with a retail space in Rochester, New York, and I would love to learn about Arcana and carry it. So they said, oh, you're in New York, we're coming to New York. We'll meet with you. I said, okay, well, they expected me. I was in New York, right? Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyway, they said, we'll meet you at the Hudson Hotel tomorrow. I said, okay, I'll be there. So I show up and they bring me, you know, and we had this most amazing connection. So I have been using and breathe has been selling Arcana since 2002, the day that we opened. What I love about it is it's completely organic, it's enzyme based. And because I'm a dietician, like I understand enzymes, enzymes break things down. So I can always tell, like someone could have really nice skin, but it could just look kind of boring, kind of dull, almost like taking fingernails and buffing them. so when I see someone who's using arcana, what I see is like a glow. It's like that boring, dull layer. It's sort of been buffed and it just shines through. Literally going to come in tomorrow and buy some more. Well, listen. I had a facial with Abby last night. Oh my God, yeah, I did. So they're enzyme facials. They're amazing. And most women flip and flop through skincare lines. Makeup lines? Yeah, frequently. I have customers that have used our kind of like myself all 22 years. The breathe has been open. I mean, it's once you do it and it changes your skin, you really don't go flipping around. Abby has great. Skin. She does? Yes. Well, okay. Great. So this is really helpful. Okay, I don't do I. Don't sell, I share I know. Right I know it's so good. It's so good, so good. okay. So, you know, there's a lot of listeners that are my age for millennials. I just turned 40 and we're getting close to, if not already on the Perimenopausal train. So as you're talking about aging, what do we need to know? Well, I feel like perimenopause and Panama is not something that people talk about all the time. It's like there's not a lot of information out there. And, I, you know, I have a friend who, you know, unfortunately had to do all these cancer treatments and the chemo and she it would put her into perimenopause early and she what she told me I'll never forget. She said it's like all the juice in her face, all the juice in her body, and her skin has been sucked out. Like, you don't realize how juicy your skin is. And you know, when I look back at pictures of, you know, college, I'm like, ooh, is that face just large from drinking a lot? Or is it because how she see my college in it? And maybe it was just like a just a juicy collagen face. But, you know, I like what I mean. You look amazing. So first of all, we got our card and we're going to do that. What else are we doing to master this, this part of our. Lives in reality, just like you. When I look back at myself when I was in my 20s, 30s, 40s, yeah, my face look juicier then too. Yeah. Part of, you know, aging is how your body changes, right? You know, you go from being a 12, ten, 12 year old girl. You get your period. Now all of a sudden you have a waist and you have hips and you have a bust. And then then the estrogen changes again. And now you sort of lose some of those things. So your skin and your body and your face change as you go through these different hormonal changes. But I some of the best advice that I got was how you go in is how you go through. So I would break it down. Okay. What that means is do what you're doing. You come across to me as someone who takes care of yourself. So you go in healthy with good eating habits. Good exercise habits, managing stress because stress can make you look so old, right? So you how you go in is how you go through. Now, my other daughter, Carly, she's an acupuncturist. And I remember as I was, as I was getting, you know, as I was moving into menopause and here I'm in the middle of like, running a business. We at that time we were franchising like things were pretty intense. And I had this recollection of my own mom going through menopause. And I can remember sometimes coming home from school, and my mom would be real weepy and crying and, and she'd say, like, it's just my hormones. And I'm thinking, oh my gosh, how am I going to run a business like that? Right? And Carly said to me, you know, mom, in Chinese medicine, menopause is not a diagnosis. It doesn't mean that you don't go through it, but they don't treat it like an illness. So she said just, you know, really just keep just double down on your own practices and you'll get through it. And I did and I really I mean, I really didn't have it just really wasn't that big of a deal. But I do think that if you go in, to another stage of life, whether it be going into perimenopause and menopause or if it's going into the fourth quarter, you can't just like in the moment, decide like, oh, now I'm going to all of a sudden start caring. The sooner you start, the better. And that's why even when I'm talking about aging optimally, even though my audience could easily be women 50 and older, I really think that women in their 30s and 40s. I mean, how great would it be to really just lay the groundwork so that you don't have any major changes to make? yeah. I think how you go in is how you go through. The other thing that I think could be really super helpful is that along with the changes that happen in menopause, are the hormonal changes that affect your emotions. Yes. And so having a meditation and a yoga practice can be really grounding. I really do think that those are the kind of things that got me through so easily. Yeah. So we're talking about the fourth quarter moving into the fourth quarter of our life. And I'm going to ask you a question that I ask everyone on this podcast, which is at the end of the fourth quarter, presumably we're dying. What do you think happens after we die? Ise my belief is that we shift from a physical form. We shift, we don't go away. We just shift into a different form of consciousness. And, and I really don't think we go far, because, you know, the people that have been closest to me, that have passed, I, you know, especially the I've just learned how to be really aware of their presence. so I'm, I kind of I'm not afraid of death. I almost think it's just one more transition. Right? It's come what's happens after the fourth quarter? Because my experience of still being here physically is that I still have a relationship with my mom as my primary, my dad, I have a relationship with my dad who's passed as well, and I just don't feel that they're far away. And my mom's, like, really close. Always. How does she come through for you? she's got some sage right now. She is. She's got, she's got like, little things, and then she's got, like, the or over a head type of thing. But some of her little things are, like, I'll say words that will come out of my mouth. I'm like, that's my mom. I didn't even just say that was like, where did I how do I remember that? Where did that come from? But a lot of times it's, just a feeling that she's right here. And it also helps me to understand how I handled when she died. So not only was my mom, my mom, but she was the most spiritually grounded individual in my life. And so I always say, back in the 70s, 80s when I grew up, moms, what they would do with teenage daughters is take them and drop them off at the mall. Right. Well, my mom didn't take me to the marsh, took me to psychics. I mean, we did a lot of that. Oh my gosh, I love. Yeah, my. Mom was awesome and I'm from a small town, and my mom was like a small town mom, but she was just so ahead of her time in so many ways. But, after she passed, you know, I had like, of course, like grief, but it was almost immediate that I just felt her. And that made me feel not sad. Just like it's a new relationship. I'm very, very aware of it. Sometimes she'll do things like on a completely dry day. Usually happens if I'm driving too fast, or if I'm not paying attention to something. When I'm in my car, she'll make the windshield wipers go once. Wow. Yeah, there's no rain in sight. It happens. Yeah. Do you believe in past lives or that we come back and do it again? Yes, yes, because I feel like my family of four, my husband and my two daughters and I, we've definitely we've definitely sort of it's sort of like we honed in on the four of us being together. It was not a random. Pick up for sure. Yeah, we're meant to be. Collectively, we sort of make a. Whole, I love that. Yeah. And I don't think that that happens on the first try. Yes. have you ever gotten a past life regression or done anything like that? Yes. it was a long time ago. I mean, I've done a lot of things. Yeah. No, that's right. You're a wealth of knowledge. Yeah, I don't know. I've done a lot of things like that. And I think it was really, it was, it was part of my journey. It was helpful at the time. But I don't I don't think again, looking back, I'm sure that each experience that I had in the moment, was like a just sort of like a revelation of one new piece of the puzzle now. And I look back, it was all part of the picture. What would you say your spiritual belief system is, and has it evolved since you started this work? So evar moved not as getting bigger evolved, as in peeling away everything that was sort of probably covering it. So I didn't grow up with a strong religion. We kind of went to multiple different churches, sort of just depending on what was convenient at the time, I think. So I did not have a strong religious upbringing. but my mom, as I said, was very spiritual person, and she really taught me just to trust my intuition for sure. And in doing that, trust that I have a purpose, there's a higher power. I'm being guided and that is how I move through life. And so I even with things like accomplishments like breathe is a good example of something that I am often given credit for. And what I really the minute that I like feel that or someone verbalize that. To me the first feeling I get is like I mean, yeah, I've shown up right. I've taken the steps, but I also don't feel fully like I can take credit. It's almost been like an entrusted thing to me. I followed, I followed guidance for that, I really did. I had no idea how to do any of the things I did. You know, I am a dietitian with a mental health degree. I don't have any. I used to say I have no business being in business, but I built a business, franchised a business, d franchised it, and now it's still moving in a really great way after 22 years. So, you know, I didn't I never read a business book. I have no background. But what I do have is like a real listening, not to others, because others can have great ideas, but they may not be for me. And I kind of feel like anybody entrepreneurial, whatever you create will be like a mirror of who you are. And I notice that pretty early on in my business too, is like the heartbeat of it was very much dependent on where my mindset was like, if I was burned out, like I could feel the business wane if when I was fully present and aligned, you know, a mind body spirit, I the flow was there. So that's when I really realized the importance of my practices. And so many people, women in particular, I think, feel a little guilty about self-care. So sounds selfish, right? Right. And, but it's so key. Yeah. It's like it's just like cleaning, like cleaning off the debris on a daily basis, mental debris, so that you can stay clear so that you're like an antenna for what's coming through. Like, you can follow it. So I feel that's my spiritual base is I feel like if I can just stay clear and open, I'm just like following what's been laid out for me. I am not I am not all that fully responsible for it at all. You're like responding. Yes. Even though you built it. Yeah, yeah. You, you it was your hands that did it. But you are responding to, you know, what is coming in your field. Yeah. You can't just sit around and wish and hope you have to take action. Right. And you know, there's a difference between taking action when you feel like you're you just feel like you're on the right path. You're in the flow right of it. That's a different way to take action than like plowing into a slot just because there's a slot and you think you should fill it like that never works. and that's why I think some of the, the beauty of the success of breathe is, is that breathe. And I have grown up together. I started it when I was in my early 40s. And, you know, we've grown up together. And my entry point was what I cared most about at the time. I was really into the physicality of yoga. Like I loved how physical it was and hot and sweaty and challenging. I love that, and there are still many people who that is their calling card, and that's a really great thing. But I also have to be really honest and true with myself. Like that's not where my practice is anymore. My practice is gentler. It's more stillness space, it's more mindful. It's I still am in my body, but I have to be willing to let go of how I used to be and people used to perceive me. And now this is the version of a Yogi that I am. And what's happened with breathe is we've been able to, like, expand it as I've expanded and changed, we just sort of like open up the boundaries and we've still got that hot, squat, sweaty yoga. But now we have meditation and we have restorative and we have yin and sound baths and all this stuff, you know. In my home store. Yeah. That's so good. I mean, yeah, it's it's like. Yeah. So I think it's, you know, again, it's kind of going back to that guidance like I think everyone has it, it's just a matter of are you listening? And sometimes it's hard to hear for sure in this world. It's just it's tough when you think about your legacy. What do you hope people take away from your life's work? I think legacy is a really interesting word. I don't envision or want it to be associated with anything flashy or anything like tangible necessarily more like I hope I have impact and whether that comes through people, like creating a space like breeze is a hub. It's a space. Yeah. People have their own experiences in that space. And I hear about it all the time from people like just I was going through a hard time. This was my sanctuary. I was in a fork in road and an instructor said this. It's not so much about what the instructor said. It's like that moment. You're just willing to hear something that you needed to hear. So I hope the impact will be that there was space created that people could find themselves, you know, and, whether it's through that or a conversation or a class or just an interaction, you know, I think people it's just creating a space, that's all. I love it. It's a beautiful space. Thanks. And this is so such a beautiful space too. Thank you so much for being here. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thank you for having me in. I'm going to breathe. I'm going to get some Narcan on my face. Yes, definitely get away with. That tech savvy. And, Yeah, I get a facial there. Do it, do it. You will. I'm not. I'm not a facial person. I literally just talked to my friends the other day that I just, like, don't like people touching my face, but I think I think things are going to change. You know what, though? it's almost like I don't. A lot of the self-care things aren't. They're not luxuries. Yeah, they're maintenance. Yeah, totally. You know, and so I think that you'll find it very results oriented. I think you'll like the results. And I think you'll really understand kind of the science of what she's doing. And it'll be like, oh, this makes sense. This is a great way to take care of my skin. I love it. Cindy, thank you so much. Thank you Laura. So far. It was really fun. I appreciate it so much. I hope you enjoyed that episode for way more woo woo! Please follow and subscribe to The Report podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you love to listen. Never miss an episode of The Wu Report by joining the community at the Wu Report podcast. Dot com. Thank you for liking, sharing, rating, and loving on this little slice of magic. I am so, so grateful you are here by.