Hey Beautiful

An Easy Dose of Mindfulness - With Dr. Mark Denis

🎙️ New Episode: An Easy Dose of Mindfulness. With Dr. Mark Denis
 
As we continue our commitment to bringing you meaningful resources that support you in becoming your best self, we’re excited to welcome our first guest of the year — Dr. Mark Denis.
 
Mark is a certified mPEAK teacher and coach, meditation guide, and a self-described recovering perfectionist. After more than 25 years in national and homeland security, including service as an active-duty Army officer and later as Chief Learning Officer at the Department of Homeland Security, Mark made the courageous decision to leave his established government career to follow a deeper calling.
 
Today, he is the founder and president of Mindful Learning and Development, where he helps individuals and organizations build resilience, focus, and sustainable performance through mindfulness.
 
In this conversation, Mark shares his personal journey into mindfulness, born out of necessity after years of ignoring the toll of stress, pressure, and unprocessed experiences. He helps us redefine what mindfulness really is (and what it’s not), breaks down how it shows up in everyday life, and offers practical ways to begin practicing — no perfection required.
 
Access Mark's website for more information at https://www.mindfulld.com/ or email him at connect@mindfulLD.com
 
🎧 Tune in to hear how mindfulness can become a powerful tool, not just for slowing down, but for showing up fully in your life.

Final Episode of 2025: A Year in Reflection

✨ Final Episode of 2025: A Year in Reflection ✨
As 2025 comes to a close, Kristy and Roberta sit down for a heartfelt look back at the year that was the good, the hard, and everything in between.
In this final episode of the year, we reflect on moments we’re proud of, challenges we navigated, lessons we learned, and the growth that came from both the light and the heavy seasons. We talk honestly about what we’re carrying forward into the new year, what we’re leaving behind, and how reflection can be a powerful act of self-compassion and intention.
Before we turn the page, we also offer a glimpse of what’s ahead for Season 2, including the themes we’re excited to explore and an incredible lineup of guests we can’t wait to introduce to you! 
🎧 Tune in, take a breath, and close out 2025 with reflection, gratitude, and excitement for what’s next.

Finding Peace Through Gratitude!

🍂 New Episode: Finding Peace Through Gratitude 🍂
In this Thanksgiving-season conversation, Kristy and Roberta explore the quiet power of gratitude.
They talk about how practicing gratitude creates space for peace, positivity, and presence in a world that moves fast and pulls us in every direction. From pausing to acknowledge simple joys to redefining meditation in ways that fit who you are, they reflect on how meaning is something we can create moment by moment.
This episode is an invitation to slow down, soften, and notice the beauty in your own life, even the parts that feel small or ordinary.
🎧 Tune in for warmth, grounding, and a gentle reminder that gratitude isn’t something you practice once a year, it’s something that can transform every day.

Learning, Leading, and Living with Purpose! Featuring our first guest: Dr. Meg Waldron

This episode is a special one. Kristy and Roberta are joined by their very first guest, Dr. Meghan Waldron, a powerhouse human being whose journey embodies curiosity, courage, and heart-centered leadership.
Together, they dove into what it really means to keep learning as adults. Not just new skills, but new perspectives, new mindsets, and new ways of honoring who we are becoming. We talk about balancing growth with grounding: how to stretch into new versions of ourselves while staying aligned with our values and purpose.
Meg shares wisdom from her own path, including the importance of choosing growth even when it’s uncomfortable, staying connected to meaning, and celebrating who you’ve already become along the way.
It’s honest, inspiring, and full of those “oh wow, I needed to hear that” moments.
🎧 Tune in — and get ready to love Meg just like we did.

Unlearning

We grow up learning lessons from parents, teachers, peers, and the world around us. But what happens when those lessons no longer serve who we’re becoming?
In this episode, Kristy and Roberta explore the powerful process of unlearning, shedding the beliefs, patterns, and habits that keep us small or disconnected from our true selves. They share stories, reflections, and insights about what it means to release old conditioning and make space for authenticity, self-trust, and growth.
🎧 Tune in to this week’s episode and join the conversation about freeing yourself from what no longer fits, and stepping closer to who you really are.

Getting Through the Funk

So many of us are feeling it right now. The uncertainty, the heaviness, the collective funk that comes when the world feels out of our control.
In this episode, Kristy and Roberta talk about what it means to sit with the funk instead of burying it. We explore the importance of having someone who can hold space for your emotions, giving yourself permission to grieve, and learning how to process your feelings with compassion instead of judgment.
🎧 Tune in, take a breath, and join us as we navigate the collective funk together.

Wear Your Confidence!

In this empowering episode, Kristy and Roberta dive into the heart of self-confidence and self-awareness. Fresh from their trip to Chicago, where Roberta was on a panel discussing this important topic at the International Association of Administrative Professionals Summit. They share stories and insights on how embracing your own confidence can transform the way you make decisions and show up as your best self, whether you’re leading a team or navigating daily challenges. Join them for a conversation about being authentically you, building your inner strength, and WEARING YOUR CONFIDENCE proudly every day.
Tune in and let’s step into our power together!

Surrendering to Summer Your Way

In this episode, Kristy and Roberta talk about the often-overlooked challenges of transitioning into the summer season—navigating the heat, shifting into new routines with kids at home, and the pressure to make the most of every sunny day. They explore the importance of being kind to ourselves during this transition, honoring our own limits, and resisting the urge to compare our summer to anyone else’s highlight reel. Kristy shares simple energy medicine practices to help stay grounded, centered, and present—so you can move through summer with more ease, joy, and intention.

From Rotten Apples to New Seeds

In this heartfelt follow-up, Kristy and Roberta revisit the metaphor of dropping their rotten apples—letting go of what no longer serves—to enrich the soil for something new to grow. Roberta shares some of the fresh buds already blooming in her life, and together they explore the tools that support real, lasting growth.
They dive into embracing rest as a vital part of the process—not a sign of laziness—and reflect on the power of learning from differences rather than fearing them. Amid the world’s chaos and sorrow, they ask: how can we sit still, stay grounded, and set intentional energy that heals instead of adding to the collective pain?

Time to Drop Those Rotten Apples

Hey Beautiful!
In this raw and heartfelt episode, Roberta opens up about her upbringing in Brazil, navigating life with a mother struggling with bipolar disorder and manic depression. She shares her journey of moving to the U.S. alone as a young adult in search of distance and healing, only to find herself entangled in a toxic five-year relationship that mirrored old wounds.
 
With compassion and insight, co-host Kristy, an energy medicine practitioner, offers a powerful metaphor: it’s time to drop the rotten apples — the painful memories, relationships, and beliefs, and let them decompose into fertile ground for something new.
Together, they explore how even the most difficult chapters can nourish transformation, growth, and unexpected beauty.
 
This conversation is a reminder of the power of friendship—the importance of holding space for one another to process pain, release old wounds, and find healing in the presence of someone who truly listens.
 
I hope you enjoy it and share your thoughts at kristyandroberta@gmail.com, and follow us at Instagram @heybeautifulpods!