Ep 531: Healing vs Living: Breaking Free From Wellness Overload With Sylvia Hall

In this episode of The Health Fix Podcast, Dr. Jannine Krause interviews Sylvia Hall, a creative entrepreneur, founder of Lifted Naturals and Honeypot Publishing, and a co-founder of several joint ventures with her husband, Tim. Her health journey began with a personal battle with migraines and postpartum depression, which inspired her to create Lifted Naturals, a mood probiotic company designed for sensitive individuals like herself. Sylvia’s mission extends beyond wellness—she aims to help others discover what truly lights them up and empowers them to embrace a life of peace and authenticity.

Resources from the Show:

• Join Sylvia’s email club and learn more about Lifted Naturals: www.liftednaturals.com
• Discover her personal journey and other ventures: www.sylviahall.com
• Explore Honeypot Publishing: www.honeypotpublishing.com

A Final Word from Sylvia:
“You don’t have to be somebody you’re not. Find what lifts you up and begin living your life NOW.”

Tune in to this episode for practical advice, empowering insights, and an honest look at how to rise above the noise and live your most lifted life!

Our Partners

Podcast Transcript

1:24 – Intro

5:17 – Sylvia’s back story

10:33 – Receiving conflicting advice

16:06 – Prioritize your own peace

22:02 – Being still before you eat

23:29 – How Sylvia treated her migraine headaches

26:52 – Mushrooms for focus and mood

36:51 – Living life as your true self

38:22 – Finding joy in your life

41:06 – Working with your significant other

45:26 – Living in abundance

50:37 – Where to find Lifted Naturals

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[Preview] So the fear and pain are in this loop. And I think when it comes to foods and eating,

there’s so much of that at play too. When you start to get nervous, like last time I had this,

I got bloated and last time I had this, I had to run to the bathroom and the fear says, “Look out,

here it comes.” And then your body goes on high alert. So that nervous system is not a piece,

not a D’s, not ready to rest and digest, but it’s on high alert. And so I think that there’s a lot.

And when it comes to the wellness world, we are inundated.

Everything is terrifying.

Everything is out to get us.

Everything is toxic and I’m being traumatic here, right?

But it’s like, my nervous system says, I can’t do this anymore, right?

And then you have people that really fall into deep despair from the fear of the world,

the natural world.

And so kind of in this revolutionary movement, I’ve decided I’m leaving the wellness world.

And I’m leaving it, the wellness world does not mean that I do not prioritize my health,

that I don’t prioritize my peace because I actually feel like the peace is our cornerstone

of health.

In fact, I’m prioritizing my peace so much so that wellness sometimes has to take a

backseat or even get in the back of the trunk.

[Intro] Welcome to The Health Fix Podcast, where health junkies get their weekly fix of tips, tools,

and techniques to have limitless energy, sharp minds, and fit physiques for life.

JANNINE: Hey health junkies, on this episode of The Health Fix Podcast,

I’m interviewing Sylvia Hall.

She’s a creative entrepreneur,

founder of Lifted Naturals and Honey Pot Publishing,

and a co-founder of several other joint ventures

with her husband, Tim.

Sylvia’s life journey began with a personal battle

with postpartum depression and migraines,

and that inspired her to create Lifted Naturals,

a mood-probiotic company designed

for sensitive individuals like herself.

Now, Sylvia’s mission extends way beyond wellness.

In fact, she really wants to help others discover

what lights them up and empowers them

to embrace a life of peace and authenticity.

And in this podcast, we’re talking about some of the things

that bug us in the wellness space

and really thinking about healing versus living.

And the fact that those are two different things

when it comes to finding wellness

And how the wellness industry really does put this fear out there.

And fear is such a low frequency.

We want to be thinking about how can we raise that vibe.

We also talk about the downfalls of conflicting information in the wellness

space and really learning how to trust your intuition when it comes to your

health.

And so we’re going to be diving to all of these things on this podcast and we’ll

have some good laughs and no doubt you will come away with this podcast really

understanding Sylvia’s mission, but how important it is to really take a step back from all of the things that you hear on social media, all the things you hear on podcasting go, are these things creating warfare and disease within me, or are they helping me and really leaning in?

And hey, if you got to shut off my podcast

because of certain things are triggering you, that’s okay.

I too want you to be able to trust your own intuition

when it comes to health and making informed health choices.

So let’s introduce you to Sylvia Hall.

Sylvia Hall, welcome to the Health Fix podcast.

SYLVIA: Hey, thanks for having me.

I’m so excited to chat.

JANNINE: Well, just from knowing a little bit

about your company from my clients saying,

“Hey, you gotta check out these lifted naturals,

you know, these probiotics are pretty legit.

Check them out, see what you think.

I was like, okay.

And then when I was pitched to have you come on the podcast,

I was like, yes.

I love talking to people and also putting a face

with a product because for me,

I like the ability to be able to chat with folks one-on-one

who own these products versus, you know,

the companies versus who knows big pharma,

I don’t know, these days.

So I’m so glad you’re on.

SYLVIA: Thank you, thank you.

Yeah, I’ve definitely learned from,

I love entrepreneurship.

I have to be honest, like some people,

I like to say I waltzed out of the womb and entrepreneurs.

So for me, it was like, how can I make things

to help people that lights me up?

And of course, my own struggle postpartum

was really what led me to creating “Lit of Natural”

so which we can get into soon.

But whenever I can bring all those magical pieces together

of like, you know, ideation, a vision,

that’s really how I get really excited and lit up.

JANNINE: Oh man, me too, me too.

I just, yeah, I think I could have been a serial entrepreneur

if I was like maybe not told certain things in my life.

You know, ah, what a bummer.

I’m like, well, here we are.

I finally got this far.

We’re good.

SYLVIA: You’re doing it.

JANNINE: We’re doing it.

We’re doing it.

Now postpartum, you know, postpartum depression,

postpartum, I call it kind of funk

because there’s so many different things that can happen.

And sometimes, you know, I’ll have moms come see me

and they’ll be kind of like,

“I know maybe I need more vitamin D.”

Or, “Oh, I know maybe it’s this.”

But a lot of times we’re not thinking how probiotics

and even how what’s going on the gut affects the brain

because so many people are still hearing that,

“You know, we’ve got the neurochemicals in the brain

but no one’s really talking about all of the gut.”

So tell us a little bit about your story.

So folks can get a little backstory on you.

SYLVIA: Yeah, so it was a struggle after my second child

and I’ve later learned that it takes about like 12 years

for your body to re-mineralize after birth.

So if you do a wamo, slam-o, two in a row,

my kids are two years and four months apart,

They’re both teenagers now.

So I guess I’m like getting close to being remineralized.

Yeah, like that’s something I didn’t know at the time, right?

That if you keep having these babies,

like your body, you’re really putting your body

through something.

And I felt it.

And I was just looking for more natural solutions.

And I was actually, I stumbled upon the gut brain connection

and this idea that probiotics could be

specifically targeted for mood.

And I’m pretty sensitive.

So if I take something, I’m going to have like,

It’s like possibly you could get a headache or you could get a stomach ache.

Like I’m probably going to get it.

So I was already kind of opening the capsules and sprinkling a little bit

into some different things.

And I started just playing around with different strains and noticing a very

true impact on my mood.

And this is something I don’t think a lot of people will say, but in some ways,

certain strains, I felt down, like even more down.

And in some strains, I felt like a noticeable lift or bump in my mood.

And so I continued to play with that, continued to study the different

And from there, I was like, I’m not impressed with what I’m seeing on the market.

And I think I can do it better.

And so immediately knowing that with this line of consumables, it’s not something I literally

was going to make myself.

That’s when I started picking up the phone, calling different manufacturers all in the

USA.

And can you do a custom product?

And a lot of them went to white label.

They were like, we have a probiotic.

It’s great.

You can put your name on it.

I was like, no, you don’t understand.

Like, this is serious.

We got to get very particular about things we can and can’t include.

And so from that, it was really just a matter of that having a problem, looking for a solution

and then feeling like I could do it better.

And a lot of people say like, so you’re a chemist or a biologist or a, no, I’m done

with those things.

I am like a mother that was scorned and was not pleased with the solutions that were given

to me.

And from that journey, it was a continual effort of better, not bitter, ways to feel

better.

And so that the search through probiotics was really like a noticeable benefit versus other

mood support things that made me feel like a veil had been over my head or like I might

not ever be able to stop taking them.

And so for me, this really was like a turning point where I like to say probiotics changed

my life.

JANNINE: You know, I mean, a lot of people say that, right?

And the beauty of what you were doing,

and this is something that I’d love to recommend

to my clients, is like, hey, you’re in your body.

You’re experimenting.

You’re figuring out what goes well with you,

because yeah, the veil, the weird feelings in the head,

the weird gut stuff, not every probiotic jives

with everybody.

And so figuring out which works best for,

for all intents, purposes, experimenting is the way to go.

SYLVIA: Right.

And I feel like that idea that like paying attention

to how you feel when you start any new supplement

or any new regime, let’s say you’re going

to start dancing daily because you found

it is the ultimate mood lifter, okay?

And it is free and it is accessible

and you turn on music and you dance daily like,

track it, you know, open a journal and write down like,

okay, I’ve been dancing three days in a row

and I’m not talking about professional dance moves.

I’m talking about swaying your hips and getting back into your body because we live in such

a heavy world.

So anything that you decide to do a little different, if you can pay attention to how

you feel, I think that’s a big boost towards seeing what works for you.

And I think that so often we get really busy and really distractible and we, yeah, I started

taking these few things at the same time.

And even though we offer multiple products, I always say, if you bought a few things from

us, just start with one thing.

Start with one.

be how you feel and pay attention to how you feel in your body.

JANNINE: It’s such sage advice because so many people, yeah, they turn them all at the same

time. And I’m like, I’m guilty of like giving protocols with everything and then

not mentioning like it is best to take it one step at a time. 

SYLVIA: I mean,

and maybe not like maybe someone who’s not as sensitive, but like I think as

sensitive folks know who we are like– 

JANNINE: Oh, yeah. 

SYLVIA: And, and that’s, you know,

know thyself. And if you’re someone who’s like, no, I could just throw them down

the gullet and it’s fine. It’s the same thing with going slow when you first start. So one

great thing about our probiotics is that you can open the capsules, sprinkle a little bit

into like a smoothie or some other beverage and you can work your way up or even I like

to buy empty capsules and just sprinkle a little bit into the capsule because I don’t

have a problem with swelling capsules. But someone who’s like, you know, I need to go

slow and I don’t love swallowing a bunch of pills. If you go slow when you first start,

you can ease into that new bacteria.

And I feel like that’s one of my other.

So like pay attention to how you feel

when you start anything new.

And go slow when you start specifically

when you have a mood issue and kind of a gut sensitivity.

Like when you just, here’s a, you know,

30 billion CFU of probiotic,

it can be a bit overwhelming to the system.

And one of the things that I continue to see

kind of a dispute of is, is the Herxheimer reaction real?

Is die off real or is that really only something

that was like, planted into our mind

that dangerous things should, you know, can feel bad.

And that actually is the perfect segue into why

I think I might have to leave this health world

to begin with is because of the conflicting advice.

And as someone who is very passionate about

saying what I mean and meaning what I say,

there are times where, you know, the gurus

that I absolutely look up to are saying two different things.

And I have that moment of like,

the more I know, the less I know.

So we can come back to that.

I hope you’re taking notes

’cause I’m jumping around and getting excited.

But yeah, when it comes to probiotics,

I’ve experienced with my own products,

if I jump to a new one after I haven’t taken it for a while,

’cause we have four different mood probiotics,

I will experience some bloating, a headache,

if I go straight to a full capsule

of one of my different formulas

that I haven’t been taking awhile.

So to me, that is a sign of die-off

It doesn’t mean that this formula is bad for me.

It simply means it’s too much, too fast,

and to slow it down, ease into it,

and then give my body time to get used

to that new, good bacteria.

So that’s my take on die off.

I’m saying to buy it for now is that I believe

it does a real thing that can be avoided.

I don’t believe in powering through it.

Instead, just be gentle with yourself and with your dosage

until your body is kind of acclimated and gotten used to it.

JANNINE: Yeah, yeah.

I mean, why is it advice?

It’s kind of how I stand on it too.

You know, a lot of people will take these things

and they’ll be like, oh, I felt awful.

I’m like, well, there’s a little bit of adjustment period.

And it’s like, hey, you know, we’ve all been on a playground

and like all of a sudden these new kids come in

and we haven’t, we don’t know them.

I mean, it’s, it’s, probiotics are new friends

coming in your gut.

Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t.

SYLVIA: I like that.

That’s great.

JANNINE: It’s how I see it.

It’s how I see it.

And when you’re adding like 30 billion

of your new best friends, you know.

SYLVIA: Yeah.

bit crowded, bit chaotic. So yeah, we ease into it by going slow. And then that kind of

eliminates that idea. And I feel like if almost any of our four, someone could say, I did

not do well with this, almost any of the four, I feel like if you go slow enough, like your

body can adjust and get used to it. So that is the tricky thing that not everybody kind

of knows about probiotics. And some capsules can’t be open, but for all of ours, they can.

so you can go slow when you first start.

JANNINE: Which is a great feature to have.

It’s a huge feature because so many people are sensitive.

And I have to say that I think that we’re getting more

sensitive just because of the overload.

And let’s go back to the wellness industry.

I think a lot of us have experimented on too many things.

And now we’ve got our guts confused,

our nervous systems confused, trying to figure out.

What is all this? 

SYLVIA: Yeah.

So the idea of like, okay, do you have for any friends,

maybe that was to watch the news.

And you’re like, you’re a nervous wreck,

you need to stop watching the news.

And then their argument is, but I need to be informed.

And then we lovingly say to our friend, informed,

but not inundated.

Okay.

And when it comes to the wellness world,

we are inundated.

Everything is terrifying.

Everything is out to get us.

Everything is toxic.

and I’m being traumatic here, right?

But it’s like my nervous system says,

I can’t do this anymore, right?

And then you have people that really fall

into deep despair from the fear of the world,

the natural world.

And so kind of in this revolutionary movement,

I’ve decided I’m leaving the wellness world.

And I’m leaving it, the wellness world does not mean

that I do not prioritize my health,

that I don’t prioritize my peace

because I actually feel like the peace

is our cornerstone of health.

In fact, I’m prioritizing my piece so much so that wellness sometimes has to take a back seat

or even get in the back of the truck.

The way, way back.

Like the wellness has to get in the way, way back for me to feel that piece so that I can

feel at ease in my body and in my mind without looking for everything to be a toxin that’s

trying to kill us all.

Somewhere in between there, there are balanced choices where we say, “I feel better when

I eat eggs for breakfast rather than, you know, this giant bagel. Somewhere there’s a balance

that we have to find, but I don’t think it’s always food. And I think that, but of course,

I grab the food analogy, but I do feel like, you know, it’s like I’m not just willy-nilly,

because I do feel the repercussions of, for instance, if I have a glass of orange juice without some

cheese, I don’t feel as well. But if I have cheese with my orange juice, like I love it. I feel so

good. It’s like I get the synergy. And so for me, it’s about finding that balance. And sugar’s

a whole other one. I went down the rabbit hole of sugar and that’s been tricky too. Like I said,

to just really dissect like what I believe, who I respect. I continually say like,

oh, I don’t know, there’s just so many really intelligent people, but these two really intelligent

people are opposing when it comes to the sage of vice. So it’s a tricky world out there. And so

sometimes I can be a bit dramatic and say, I’m leaving the wellness world. And what I’m going to

do instead is very simple and it’s prioritizing my own peace. And from that place, then I can make

decisions that are right for me in the moment, honoring my nervous system, honoring my sensitivities,

honoring that I do not need to be inundated with advice.

I can instead trust the flow of my body and of life.

And I’m a work in progress, so let that be known.

JANNINE: Aren’t we all though?

Aren’t we all?

And like, you know, I always listen to Abraham Hicks

and she’s always like, “And we’ll never get it done.

“We’re never gonna get it done.”

So we just, you know, we just go with the flow.

So in my mind, when patients come to me,

or clients come to me and they say,

talk. I don’t even know to eat anymore. I don’t know what to do anymore with my health. I’ve

listened to this podcast. I’ve done this particular protocol. I spent money on this. You know,

it pains me because I think we are kind of scare tactic prone in the field, but we’re also

biased prone. And a lot of people are looking through the lens. I just talked to another gal

not too long ago who’s talking about the lens of whatever’s de jure, right? Like parasites

are hot right now, so is pots, right? So them, everybody has those. Like, I’m sure you’ve seen that too.

SYLVIA: Yes. And there’s also like, because I continually have my mind and heart open that like, my mind

has continually been changed about things like that. But I think that there’s a really amazing

sense of truth when I say I need to prioritize my peace. And from that place, I can make a sound

decision that my intuition will guide me to. But the noisier it is and the more information we get,

the harder it is to hear that voice. And I like to use the analogy too that we used to get like

a newspaper once a week or a month delivered by a pigeon. I don’t know. I’m not saying me personally,

human beings. And now like one board moment we’re on our phone. One moment and in the grocery line.

and suddenly like, oh, toilet papers, that’s actually killing me. Shoot. Like, right? It’s like,

but like, I’m not even kidding. Like, that’s when I open my phone today. Like, it’s the newest thing

that I’m like, oh, right, I never even thought about the, the Lowe’s toxin version of blank,

you know, insert here. And, you know, there’s been some unique things I’ve seen for people that are

sharing that like, I never went down the wellness trends. Like, I just try to generally eat healthy

And like sometimes I think that that distance of it is able to just keep the peace.

And so for me, that is the idea of leaving the wellness world is that the obsession is

unhealthy.

And the inundation of information and strategies and things is unhealthy.

And I’m able to see it through the lens of like, well, of course, you just don’t watch

the news because it makes you, but we are literally picking up the news with our news

feed and with all these targeted ads that are able to see when we get scared and when we

freeze up, probably has a little pulse meter on there like, “Oh look, her heart rate’s up.

She’s terrified. Show her more.” Right? And so kind of leaning into the awareness of like,

“This is not what I want.” And the idea of being healthy, this is, I would say, just so important,

is so that we can live our life. And so we can use our gifts in this world and we can feel pleasure

and enjoyment and love and make an impact with our creativity and our gifts. And so I think that

for me when I am able to say I need to separate myself a bit from this wellness movement and move

into just living my life using my gifts, being who I am, carrying less what other people think

about me and instead going for it, like that’s living life. That’s why I want health. Maybe we

just shortcut. Maybe I should go straight to what I want and living that life.

JANNINE: Well, I mean, there’s so much I can unpack there. We’ll start with this one. I mean,

what do you want? What, you know, what gives you pleasure? And intuitively, what feels good.

This is kind of where I’ve turned my practice to is like, all right, well, you’re telling me

the story. You like this. You’re a foodie, but you’re not sure how to make food at this point.

“Well, let’s go with your intuition here. Let’s go into that.”

You find that a lot of people have lost their intuition because of all of the inundation of messages 24/7.

SYLVIA: Yeah, I would say it’s the noise and the fear. So I would say fear, even though stated second,

is the number one, right? Because fear puts us out of that alignment with truth, with our true self,

with source, love, God, whatever you want to call it. Fear is kind of like this, the veil.

that blocks that knowing that we’re all one and that we’re all connected and it’s all okay in the end

It’s gonna be okay like this deep deep knowing that it’s okay

It gets kind of turned off when the fear, you know radars going

going nuts in the background and so I would say that the idea of

limiting the information is one way to quiet the noise and quieting the noise then in turn quiet the fear and

And those in conjunction is a great way to begin

to re-foster that connection to our intuition

and to that intuitive knowing of what is best for us.

JANNINE: Which goes right back to how you created your products too,

just little steps at a time seeing what feels good.

And I think for a lot of people find it their own blend.

I kind of have folks finding their own mix

of what supplements work for them

or what foods work for them

where, you know, I don’t know what hobbies.

SYLVIA: I just feel like when it comes to even food,

like the fear, okay, so I’m someone who’s pretty familiar

with headaches and migraines, unfortunately,

personally a journey.

And there’s the fear pain cycle

that has become really like loud in the online space

in a beautiful way.

And it’s this idea that the pain that you stay stuck

in a loop of pain because the fear is setting off an alarm

and it triggers the pain.

So the fear and pain are in this loop.

And I think when it comes to foods and eating,

there’s so much of that at play too.

When you start to get nervous, like last time I had this,

I got bloated and last time I had this,

I had to run to the bathroom and the fear says,

“Look out, here it comes.”

And then your body goes on high alert.

So that nervous system is not a piece, not a D’s,

not ready to rest and digest, but it’s on high alert.

And so I think that there’s a lot to say about finding

that piece through some breath work

or a prayer or some moment of stillness

before you eat, like connecting to the energy of the food

and the workers that brought it to you

and the beauty of it all, right?

And we kind of like taking a step back from the idea

that this is out to get me or this is gonna cause me harm

and like instead extracting all of the love

that it’s ready and available for us

if we are seeing it through the lens of love

and not that fear.

JANNINE: Oh man, yeah, it’s true.

It’s true, especially with, yes, migraines,

got stuff, got stuff in particular.

Now tell us a little bit about your migraine journey

and kind of what kind of things have you done,

what kind of, you know, I know a lot of folks

have migraine headaches, this kind of stuff,

what kind of things have you found to be the most helpful?

SYLVIA: The most helpful, it has been like a meditation

and the fear awareness of, for me, it’s more cyclical.

So my stress bucket gets kind of small

during certain parts of my cycle.

And so I’ll tell my kids, like,

My goal is not to go above a three today.

And by that I mean on stress.

So like them slapping each other, that’s like four, five, six.

Okay. So we’re going to bring it back down.

My goal is to stay below a three.

But there will be things where, you know, you go to your kids soccer game

and it’s a championship game and it’s intense and you’re like, this is putting me way above a three.

But for me, a lot of the head pain I associate to being very much,

it brings me back into my body because I’m so in my head. So personally, I try to do as much

embodiment as I can to prevent a headache because if you think about just the tension in our head of

like, it’s like the overthinking, analytical, and then I try to solve the problem of the headache

in my head. And it’s just more and more examples of what not to do and yet the pattern of doing it.

And so for me, plenty of movement is useful, plenty of embodiment, and then meditation.

I love Dr. Joe Despensa. I also love Abraham. So I was thrilled to hear you bring them up.

Just kind of that like tapping into something deeper. Dr. Joe has this thing where he says,

“No place, no time, no thing, no one nowhere.” Something like that when you’re meditating to

release it all. So I’ll lay there, “No place, no time, no thing, no one nowhere.”

right? Just a total disconnect from whatever heavy stories I’m telling or whatever energetic

components are kind of making things heavy. And so another thing is just the looseness. Like

there’s a tightness when I have that. So I start using it’s like I’m feeling a little loose. I’m

getting looser and like using the words that I want versus the words that I don’t want.

And then every once in a while you just have to pop IBprofin.

JANNINE: I love it. I love it that you say that because I think a lot of people feel like they’re failing.

if they have to take the medicine.

And I’m like, no, like we…

SYLVIA: Sometimes it’s just the greatest gift

and sometimes I’ll use that, like, okay,

I’m gonna take this and then I’m gonna go meditate.

I’m gonna allow it to work.

Oh, a hot shower is also really useful.

Sometimes I do a lot of envisioning

of the water running down and taking the pain down the drain.

Like, bye, bye.

Sometimes I’ll even do this really woo,

like where I imagine all my ancestors

of the female variety that had cycles

and had their various struggles.

and I call them in and say,

“Will you just alleviate this struggle for me

and take this pain down the drain?”

Usually like the shower.

But just all sorts of creative techniques

to feel supported, to remind yourself it’s temporary,

to try to turn off that fear, you know,

switch, which comes on,

and to switch back to like, this is temporary.

So those are a few things.

Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.

JANNINE: Well, I mean, I think that’s the biggest thing to like,

if we can impart a little wisdom on folks,

sometimes you gotta do the bigger level stuff

and that just happens

and then you don’t beat yourself up, you just move on.

SYLVIA: Right, very much very true.

JANNINE: Now, of course I saw a fun Instagram post

that you had about your mushrooms, your mood mushrooms

and it says something like not those kinds or something

like that and I thought it was the cutest, cutest ad there

but a lot of people are hot on mushrooms right now

and not the tripping kind.

Guys, the actual mushrooms that help

with concentration focus mood, all those things.

So tell us a little bit about how you found this.

Did you do some of your little microdosing along the way?

SYLVIA: A bit.

It was more like customers were saying they wanted it.

And that was a common like consistently.

I was like, what else would you guys like to help

with mood support from a different angle?

And magnesium complex is one that gets

a lot of good feedback.

It has three different types of magnesium,

but when it came to the next thing,

customers were saying, like, we want these mushrooms.

And if I can share a really quick story about mushrooms

that is just kind of silly and random, very innocent,

I grew up in a small town.

And my very first job, I was a server

at a barbecue restaurant,

and they were talking about mushrooms.

And I was like, well, if they’re on my pizza,

I’ll eat them.

and otherwise, and they start looking at me like,

I am literally, I’ve got like a, maybe an angel halo

or maybe a horn out of my head,

like because that is not what they were talking about.

And like to this day, like that is what comes to mind

whenever I’m like talking about mushrooms

and there are many varieties, right?

There’s the kind that will help you to meet God

and then there’s the kind that you put on your pizza

and I say ours are right in the middle.

Okay.

So right in the middle there,

and I do feel like focus seems to have the most research,

but there are a lot of mood benefits.

I intentionally did choose to do the fruiting bodies.

I intentionally did choose to do organic only,

but because we don’t have a stamp on the front,

we can’t call them organic mood mushrooms.

So it’s like when you look at the back of our label,

it shows organ, elbow, you know,

all of the rules that we want to follow.

So we stay in line, stay compliant.

That is top priority, lifted naturals.

The feds are listening.

Even as you said a few words in the beginning, I’m like, I can’t say those words.

Like we got, you know, a big slap on the wrist.

Like, no, no, can’t say that, can’t share your customers that they’ve experienced that.

So like, that was in a warning letter that we got in 2021 from the audience.

So I had to learn a few things.

Failure to know the rules does not make you exempt from the rules.

Literally, it was just like someone like sharing reviews and saying things that it helped

with, but I had to rework my story even a bit to make sure I was able to express myself,

but still stay compliant. So anyways, all that to say, there’s there’s fun as we got to follow.

And I do lean highly and heavily into my manufacturer who when we do labeling and stuff, they’re

like, Oh, can’t say that can say that like, great, great, great, great, great. So for

the labels, we’ve always been very compliant, which is wonderful. It’s just for some of

our website copy. That’s what we got us up on the wrist. And so we’ve been doing better

about me, sure we stay compliant. I actually have a unique kind of standpoint. We as a

supplement company cannot say anything can treat, cure, heal, prevent or fix. So when

I saw your, your practice was like, this is, this is walking the line, the health fix. I can’t

say it. So I know these are my no no words. And so then I’m just continually like reworking

and making sure that these are the things I can’t say.

And so my unique perspective is actually what if supplements shouldn’t be able to say that

and they’re right, but nobody should.

JANNINE: Yeah.

Yeah.

SYLVIA: What about that idea?

Because it feels like you’re stretching it on the other side too.

And so that’s my unique stance.

Like continually open to like, maybe I’m wrong with this, but maybe you are too, but go.

SYLVIA: Yeah.

Yeah.

you wonder, it makes you wonder. Yeah, and mine, mine, The Health Fix. I didn’t, you know, when I got it, when I put it together,

seeing like being a health junkie, right? And you’re getting your daily fix. But I didn’t think of it as being like, I get it

now, like, you know, however many years out, I was like, very should change the name of the podcast, because it’s misleading

as to what I mean. Because I fundamentally don’t believe that there are fixes that are external. Right? 

SYLVIA: So my son, he started

to get a cold and he’s like,

“Anything you do to speed this up?”

I said, “When their baby is growing in the womb,

and these nine months.”

Okay, there’s nothing we speeded up with.

We just give it nine months.

I’m sorry, but here’s some hot tea.

Just give it time.

He didn’t like that.

He said, “I mean, mostly just to trick my mind

into thinking, I’m like, oh, oh.”

(laughs)

You know, ’cause I’ll be like,

“You need some electrolytes or here,

drink a sparkling mineral water.

This is going to replenish you

and you’re gonna be better in no time, right?

Mine never matter.”

So I did kind of take that away from him a bit by saying, just give it time.

Nobody wants to be told that, right?

We want to feel empowered.

So once again, I walked that line of, you know, what do I believe about how the body

heals?

JANNINE: Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, it’s crazy.

It’s crazy thinking those things through.

How old are your teenagers?

SYLVIA: I’ve got a 15 year old and a 13 year old.

JANNINE: Wow.

That’s a lot of hormones.

A lot of more.

SYLVIA: A lot of

Up and downs, like when one’s up, the other one’s down and then they’re like, “tag team.”

It’s a very good exercise in allowing others to have their emotional experience and not

allowing it to be my experience.

They get to feel that way.

I feel like that would have been a really great thing to fully learn when they were like two

and four.

But I feel like I’m coming around and learning some lessons.

JANNINE: Man I can imagine.

not of children. I have golden retrievers, but I could not,

could not imagine trying to, trying to navigate all that. My

goodness. Now you are, you, you and I are talking a little bit

about not caring what others think. And I think for a lot of

people, when when we’re in the health and, and, and wellness,

when we’re into it, right? Sometimes things get a little

wild in terms of things we’re trying. Maybe there are

mushrooms involved. Maybe there’s, you know, probiotics, things

that nature, what kind of advice do you give to folks who are just trying to figure themselves

out and trying to get away from the noise and not trying not to worry like what mom thinks

you should take, what grandma thinks you should take, what your doctor thinks you should take.

SYLVIA: Well, I can’t speak on that. You should always talk to your doctor.

That being said, personally, whenever I am experiencing this idea of not caring

what other people think. It’s always a kind of flipping the script of like, how much do I care

what I think? I have to value myself. I have to see myself as a reputable source. I have to give

myself the credit that I deserve for the lived experiences I’ve endured or triumphed. And I feel

like when people care a lot about what other people think they are not giving themselves

enough credit about what they’ve experienced and like validating themselves. So seeking

external is an indicator that the internal has been ignored. So it’s always a flip around.

And I do this a lot with a mirror like when someone makes me mad. I just imagine them as

as a mirror, like what are they showing me

that I am doing this to in some way?

And so it’s kind of like a mirror back

or like flipping the mirror back on myself.

So I do think some people came into this world

just like knowing who they are

and not caring what other people think as much.

And that actually has been me.

I do feel like that’s like I may have a, you know,

a somewhat sensitive nervous system

and I may have an overactive imagination

that I have to reel it in

as far as some different fears and my own journey.

But when it comes to just being me,

I’m like, oh, this is it, right?

Like, this is it, this is it, this is kind of cool.

Like, this is who I am.

And then to experience life now with two teenagers

and the entire premise of teenage life

is to stay in line, fit in, don’t stand out,

don’t make waves, don’t be foolish,

don’t say anything embarrassing,

don’t say anything about health,

don’t talk about politics,

(mimics

(laughs)

And so I’m watching them and I’m like,

okay, my greatest hope is that I can model for them

how to just like lean into this idea

that the more I value like who I really am,

the less weight that I give to these others

about how they judge me or how they see me, right?

And it’s this idea of like,

I don’t need to care what other people think about me.

That’s just really none of my business.

And the more I am my true self, the more I magnetize to me,

the people that like that.

And the real disservice when I’m not in my truth

and when I’m not living as I really am,

is that those people, they can’t find me

and I can’t connect with them

and I’m not able to inspire them

and I’m not able to perhaps give them

that little boost that they’re looking for that they need.

And so for me, that idea of getting someone else more weight,

It’s just that idea of discrediting yourself.

And I feel like if you’re doing it in one area,

health per se, you’re probably doing it in other areas.

Like back to living.

Remember, we talked about how health is kind of one thing,

but really, why do we want the health?

Why do you wanna feel well?

Why do you wanna get rid of the headaches?

Why do you wanna have no more gut issues or whatever?

It’s because I wanna live.

And so if you are experiencing the end validation

in the health realm, take a look at the big picture

of your life and who you really are.

I just did a post recently about the number one regret

of the dying, or at least one of them,

is that they didn’t live life as their true self,

or they didn’t allow their life to be led

by what they really wanted.

They allowed the expectations of others to take over.

And so for me, that idea of validating yourself

for your entire life picture of what you came here to do,

what you came here to learn,

who you came here to be,

making it even bigger than just about this one subject

where you’re invalidating yourself

because it’s all mirroring back in these other ways.

JANNINE: Makes sense, makes sense.

Yeah, I mean, I think there’s a lot of self-exploration

that I, of course, have done a lot lately,

but I think it’s one of my messages

when it comes to exploring health more.

It’s really exploring you more

and more exploring yourself.

I think it has to be part of your health journey or else.

SYLVIA: Yeah, yeah.

And just that idea of when we’re constantly conflicted

as far as feeling like there’s always a problem

and we’re always in solving mode,

that that isn’t that rest and digest phase either, right?

That is not the phase of vitality.

And so just more and more ideas of what do I love

and what lights me up?

And I would say most people say that’s even harder

knowing which supplement to take, right? Like, I don’t know what I like. I haven’t done,

I haven’t spent much time on it. And so for someone who says, I don’t know what I love,

I don’t know what I like, I don’t know what to do to bring me joy, that is then the new first job.

Rather than doing things you love, the focus is figuring out what do I love. And you can try

out some different things, buy a ukulele, try painting, these are all things I’ve done.

keep exploring, like keep being open to new ways of being in this world, being open to changing

your mind about things. You might have a belief I’m not good at playing an instrument. And so you

never allow yourself to try. And so if you can be open to changing your mind about something as

small as that, it creates a ripple effect in every other area of our life. 

JANNINE: Makes sense, makes sense.

It also makes sense, you know, just listening to how you came to your title or your business name,

the lifted naturals, because it just sounds like you’re just out to help lift people up.

SYLVIA: You know, we actually had a different name and I haven’t shared this story very much,

but it was a terrible name and no offense to anyone that has this in their name,

but it just wasn’t right. And I knew it and I had this pit of my feeling intuition of knowing

what have I done? And we did already set up like our LLC and we were getting ready to place our

first order of 1000 bottles. No, they allowed us to do less 750 bottles of mood boosting probiotic.

That’s our first product that we launched that continues to be a top seller. I had already decided

if I couldn’t get them sold online or whatever, I was going to sell them out the back of my

Subaru Forester. Pop the trunk and say, come here, come get your program addicts. You know,

Luckily it did not come to that. They took off very well. But I digress back to the name.

I had this feeling like this is not it. And it was Zendblend Health. That was the name. Zendblend

Health. I was like, “Zend, it’s nice. It’s chill.” But Zend was kind of becoming a very overused

word. And it felt kind of like rude to the word, right? To just like tear it apart and just throw

it on something like that for someone that doesn’t really have like Zend as an aspiration,

not a way of life at this point for me and maybe still but I’m working, working progress.

So I spent an entire day with like a notebook and there was pacing, there was so much pacing and

it was just like this, this no yes no like writing and when the name lifted naturals came to me it

really did feel like a body suit that fit just right and I’m like that’s it. And so it has been

like a big part of you know we had the lifted life podcast that we did molta. I can’t remember

how many episodes. That was my husband and I. We want to have time to share a bit about what

it’s like working with your husband.  

JANNINE: Go for it. 

SYLVIA: So in some ways he literally is everything that

I am not able to do. Like I am the visionary, I am the entrepreneur and I don’t know if you’ve

heard what is the emith that talks about that to be a business owner you actually have three roles.

So you’re an entrepreneur, you are the manager, and then there’s a technician.

So I am the entrepreneur.

And he says in the book, not very many people are, but some people are.

And I’m like, that’s me, baby, because I got a vision.

And if you all want to come with me, like, here’s where we’re going.

And that’s the whole idea behind an entrepreneur is like that vision.

That’s different than what we are now.

And then the manager is like, you know, we got to get this done.

We got to get this lined up.

We got to get this ordered.

we got to get this. And the technician is the implementer, the person who actually does it.

And so he is this beautiful combination of the manager getting things done,

along with the technician, making sure things are lined up. And I’m over here just dreaming,

you know, and like putting the vision out there. And he’s able to kind of bring it all together.

So in that way, it’s a very beautiful thing. And I do feel like a lot of the success of

lifted nationals is because we brought our powers together, kind of like Captain Planet.

But I will say, he’s a man and I’m a woman.

And we have been working together for seven years.

Five of them, he’s been home from his job.

He was able to quit his job as an engineer

because of the success of Lifted Naturals.

So that was a phenomenal, probably one of my proudest

moments because I was a state of home

on prior to starting Lifted Naturals.

Dabbling in the world of coaching,

I went through the Life Coach School

and kind of learned about mindset

and how our thoughts create our realities.

going to coaching practice, but feeling very much like,

I’ve got something bigger to do.

And so the idea of Litch’s Nationals was very much my own.

A combination of struggling strife with like,

I’ve got an idea to do it better.

And he was like, this sounds kind of crazy.

Like one of your crazy ideas,

’cause I’ve been having crazy ideas from the get go, right?

But this is one that he was like,

started to come around to and then very much came onto

and he’s like, oh my gosh, this is like nuts.

Like he’s taking the product.

He’s in the bathroom way less long than he used to be.

like immediate benefits.

Things that you don’t, you normalize that.

People don’t realize like that’s not ideal

to be on the toilet 20 minutes for multiple reasons.

So anyways, for the last five years

that we have worked from home together.

And what I mean by pointing out he’s a man and I’m a woman

is that I believe one of my greatest assets

as an entrepreneur and visionary is my feminine energy,

my intuitive hits, my creatrix mode.

And a lot of times I’ve found myself without knowing it,

kind of linking into the masculine like,

“Do this, do that, do that.”

I don’t wanna do this and do that.

And so like, it’s staying honed in on my feminine energy,

allowing him to stay in his more masculine

and managerial and technician type energy

has been something we’ve been going through

just as of recently.

Like, what can we do differently?

What can we do better

so that you’re using your gifts and I’m using mine.

And that’s a lifelong journey too.

JANNINE: Oh man, I tell ya, I brought my husband on to work

with me a little bit and definitely he helps

with the podcast but not the actual business.

I give people credit for that.

Like we…

SYLVIA: It takes a level of like patience

and there’s times that I’m more sensitive and I’m like,

okay, you just made that face.

You made that face that I really don’t like

and it’s like, it’s like all day every day.

signs were not as much that way and there’s times where it’s like okay well like you work here and

I work here and luckily for our business because I do quickly as I said I love entrepreneurship and

I think everybody should have their own business but I just want to clarify that a lot of people

think they are an entrepreneur or business owner when really they’re self-employed so I’m continually

encouraging people to stop trading time for dollars to make an impact in the world with their gifts

but not exchanging it for time. And so a lot of what we’ve done with LIFTED was through that,

that one focus question of is this scalable, is this leverageable because I want this to be a

business, not a self-employed endeavor. And given that it’s a product-based business,

it’s easier to do that versus a service-based business is a little bit like you usually start

off as the technician doing the work until you might grow beyond it. But like I said,

that’s one of my many passions as far as just, I think it’s a wonderful experience of life when

we have plenty of money to buy the things we want and need and to take care of the people that we

love and to live in an abundant universe. Like, if you believe money is abundant, maybe health is

abundant too and maybe time is abundant and maybe there’s plenty of all of it and when you start

living from that place, you can’t just be abundant with your health and then cut it off with the money.

“Oh no, I don’t need money. I’m here for the health.” Like, no, you need your money, honey,

because that health is going to help you to have plenty of money and to have plenty of peace

and to be able to meditate for three hours straight, money helps, right? So to me to really be able

to say abundance, you’re talking about all of the abundance, the abundance of love and energy,

time, money, and freedom. Freedom’s the real, that’s the real banger.

JANNINE: That’s where we’re all after, at least, I mean, at least I am.

So when are you opening your division for business coaching as my next question?

[laughter]

SYLVIA: You know, it’s like that natural progression of what lights me up and following it.

So for a while now, like, I have started to see, like, the passion.

Okay, so back to the mood probiotics, just briefly.

JANNINE: Yeah.

SYLVIA: Like, I want to say, if you’re struggling with mood issues and some gut issues, a mood probiotic is probably right for you.

We’ve got four of them, check them out.

And then it’s like, okay.

Okay, so take that and use it as a momentum generator.

But let’s go, baby.

Let’s not just talk about supplements all day.

Let’s get into what lights you up

and what are you here to do and what do you need to do

so that you don’t have that regret of,

I didn’t live my life, I lived someone else.

Right? So like the blip of lifted naturals

is this idea that, yeah, you might want to take a supplement.

You might need a little magnesium, you might want,

but really, let’s go, let’s roll with it.

And so finding a way to integrate that is kind of where I’m at right now.

It’s like, what can I, and being on your podcast is one of them,

starting to reach out to more podcasts is one of them.

For a while, I kind of felt a little silenced by, I don’t know what I could say.

I don’t know what I can’t say.

I don’t want to say the wrong thing.

And because “Lifted Naturals” is our likelihood to have that threatened of like,

you can’t say that, like that really shook things up for a bit.

Because I was like, oh, we got to do this right or else.

And so I do feel like I’m bouncing back into the passion for lifted.

And the message I keep getting loud and clear is that for me, and I want to share with others,

is you don’t have to be somebody or not.

So if I don’t want to talk about specific bacterial strains and every single, like, I don’t have to.

Like as a brand, we can say, yeah, of course, talk to your doctor or do your own research.

I’ll tell you what strains are in it.

but like really as a company, we’re here to help you get inspired.

As a company, we’re here to help you live your best life so that you don’t

have those regrets feeling good in your body, using your mind and your energy

and your physical body to, to move forward with momentum and ease and enjoyment.

JANNINE: Mm.

Good stuff here, Sylvia.

Good stuff.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, that’s what that’s what we want, right?

That’s what we ultimately want.

and I love the mission behind the name and the products

and just getting people to a lifted state

where they can accomplish things.

SYLVIA: Yeah, and enjoy themselves.

Like I love the Alan Watts quote,

like the meaning of life is to live.

And I might have butchered that,

but it’s the idea of like the idea of our life is to live it.

Like there’s no like, sometimes I feel like we get it

real heady about it, but the meaning of our life is to live

like and to live fully.

And so for each individual person that’ll look different,

I’m actually not in a phase of travel in my life.

So I have some friends that just are sold it up by planning a trip and then going on the trip.

And that’s a beautiful thing.

They should travel. They should do that. They should plan the trips.

They should.

And for me, I’m in this phase of like, I love creating products and I love creating things that,

like there’s nothing and then I connect and then there’s something.

And so for me, like knowing that about myself, like I am lit up by the creation process,

by creating things. And I think each and every one of us is being called to ask

ourselves, like, what lights me up? And by shifting that focus, I feel like that

is a really amazing path to natural health is to ignore health for a little

bit and just talk about life and what lights you got.

JANNINE: Good stuff. I think that is the mic trap for you there. We are going to we

definitely want folks to be thinking about that. That is that is a mission

there. Of course, we better tell folks where we can find lifted

naturals and of course Instagram and all the other things.

SYLVIA: Yes, so social media is like this tricky thing for me, right?

Because it can just pull me in and I’m like, whoa, whoa, whoa,

so we do have a lift naturals Instagram and Facebook where we share insights and such,

but then I kind of go off the radar a bit and then I pop back on.

And so the actual place that I am the most passionate about serving is in our email club.

And the email club is a free community that we pop into your inbox, share some insights,

inspiration, what’s lighting me up. And then yes, I will sell to you there as well,

talking about products, saying if you’re struggling with this, this might be a good fit for you.

Continually knowing that like selling is serving. And so the lift and natural email list is,

you can find it over on our website, liftednaturals.com. When you sign up there, that is the best way to

just stay connected, stay in the loop of what we’re doing.

JANNINE: Oh, good stuff, good stuff.

Thank you so much for sharing that,

your story and the positive message

’cause I definitely think that right now

that’s what we need more of.

SYLVIA: Perfect, thank you so much for having me.

(upbeat music)

[Outro] Hey fellow health junkie,

thanks for listening to the Health Fix podcast.

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please help support me to get the word out about the podcast.

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and just get that word out.

Thanks again for listening.

(upbeat music)