Cate Stillman interviews Max Simon, from Big Vision Business. Max is also the son of the late Dr. David Simon, Deepak Chopra’s partner at the Chopra Center. Max and Cate talk about guru projection, friction in relationship, living a liberated growth path, and the business path yoga teachers could use to uplevel their work in the world.

Max Simon is the CEO & Founder of Big Vision Business, a cool little company on a mission to train one million entrepreneurs to create thriving businesses that are on-purpose, in-service, and wildly profitable. He believes business is your greatest spiritual practice.

In this podcast you’ll hear about growing up with Dr. David Simon. For those who don’t know Dr. Simon’s work –  he was a best-selling author, Chopra Center co-founder, and pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine. For more of Dr. David Simon’s bio, scroll down.

The Dangers of Guru Projection

Max talks a lot about guru projection in this podcast. Most of you that are here have spent some serious time on the cushion and on the mat. Listen to what Max says about the genius of the spiritual teacher … and the reality of living life in relationship.

“Thanks so much!!  That podcast with Max Simon was mind blowing!!!  Totally what I’ve been figuring out on my own–the mess I’m in just being embodied, and now for the first time realizing that everyone’s in the same boat, and no spiritual system will solve this problem.  He explained the whole guru projection thing so well.  It’s been a painful process in the last few months to take my projections back from my spiritual teacher.

I love how Max named those “bright eyes” people look at you with—seeing the projection instead of you.

Hearing this podcast today was incredibly powerful and affirming, particularly because I struggled so much in the past few months and had come to these conclusions already.

Thanks for recording this. I want to share with others who are dealing with the fall of the guru/spiritual teacher issues. The last time I felt this passionate about sharing something was after reading the first Harry Potter book.  It was Dec. 1997, and no one else I knew had read the book, it had just come out–I was grabbing people and saying, “You really MUST read this book”.  This feeling reminds me of that–you  hit a nerve here.”

Yoga Teachers and Business Shadow

Max and I also talk about the untapped market of yoga and wellness. Many of you who are teachers may hold the belief that the market is saturated with teachers. You might be operating under contracted beliefs of demand and scarcity. Max and I both see a very different future potential for those who have deeply moved into their bodies, and know how to communicate the journey for others.

Listen to Max talk about what this looks like from his perspective, having worked with young entrepreneurs grow much bigger businesses in an authentic, grounded and progressive way.

If you’re a yoga teacher or wellness provider, and want to get some real training to grow your income. Enjoy the audio.

–Cate

Dr. David Simon’s Bio

In 1996, David co-founded the Chopra Center for Wellbeing with his colleague and mind-body healing expert, Deepak Chopra, M.D. Together, they have expanded people’s understanding of the true meaning of health, helping thousands of people throughout the world experience the healing benefits of Ayurveda, meditation, and yoga. Recognized as a leading authority in the effective and appropriate use of mind-body medicine practices, David helped bring integrated mind-body medical programs to medical institutions, health centers, educational institutions, and health resorts throughout the world.

David Simon was a best-selling author of many wellness books, including Free to Love, Free to Heal: Heal Your Body by Healing Your Emotions; The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga Guidebook; Return to Wholeness: Embracing Body, Mind, and Spirit in the Face of Cancer;The Wisdom of Healing; Vital Energy; and The Ten Commitments: Translating Good Intentions into Great Choices. He has also co-authored many books with visionary Deepak Chopra, including The Chopra Center Herbal Handbook; Grow Younger, Live Longer; The Chopra Center Cookbook; Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives: a Holistic Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth; and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga.

Is most Sunscreen really that bad?

After I interviewed Erik Kreider with my Living Ayurveda Course the answer was clearly yes. Slowly. Behind scenes. The sunscreen I slather on my child is toxing her liver, her kidneys, her blood. Erik taught me it’s toxing every cell in her body. Perhaps that is why she hates it. (She loves the raw extra virgin coconut oil we slather on at the end of the day).

What does your skin do with all the chemicals?

Your skin is permeable. When you put sunscreen on, you might feel like your skin can’t breath. That is what I notice. In Ayurveda, we feed our skin food. Only food-grade nutrients are in good Ayurvedic skin care products. I make almost all of mine at home. In Mexico I grind hibiscus with oats for my cleanser. I dilute coconut oil for a moisturizer. And yet… I use “organic” sunscreen. At least I used to. Until Living Ayurveda talked to Erik.

Oxybenzone, BHT, diethylhexyl2, methylparaben, trideceth-6 …

The list goes on. Just look at your bottle. Erik reports that 60-80% of this chem lab mix gets picked up in your blood stream. What does that mean for your liver? Your kidneys? Your brain? It’s not good. It’s not easy to excrete. Erik says 1 dose of sunscreen (as recommended on the bottle) is enough to undue a year of clean eating.

“Whenever you introduce a foreign chemistry, compared to your natural physiology and your natural biochemistry you’re going to disrupt your biochemistry . Everything else has side effects.When you absorb things through your skin – it’s more dangerous than eating it. When you eat, it goes into the portal vein, gets delivered it to the LIVER – the toxic waste processing plant of our bodies. It has a chance to get filtered out by the liver. Or metabolized into something less toxic.

The problem with transdermal (applying petrochemicals to the skin) it goes through whole body -not to liver – to get filtered out. The petrochemicals might circulate 20 times throughout your body – and have a chance to accumulate in all of your tissue- everywhere. There are no other chemistries that you take this much of.”

Check out this study : Oxybenzone in Blood to learn more!

What does that spell? Endocrine disruption… asthma… cancer… + more.

Listen to Erik talk about the chemical soup facing our inner organs every time we slather on the stuff. He talks about how in one study they found oxybenzone in signifcant levels remaining in 98% of the thousands of people in the study.

“From the CDC study of bio accumulation in humans – looking at urine samples for oxybenzone. I don’t know why it didn’t get more press. They found oxybenzone in 98% in 2800 humans. And not just in trace levels. These were levels that I as a biochemist, I was freaked out about. This stuff is staying in our bodies. It was shocking to me.

And another study on “Endocrine disrupters and asthma-inducing chemistrys” - sunscreens were at the top of the list with the other nasty petrochemicals that are prevalent in plastics. That was a pretty instructive study that got almost no press. The concentrations you are using are so high. If you apply 1 oz. of sunscreen, 9 grams of active ingredients, 60-80% can get absorbed. There is no other drug on the planet you take 5 grams of. And FDA regulates these chemistry’s as drug when taken internally (not externally) because they have side effects.

Using common sense biochemistry the petrochemicals degrade our systems: aging, oxidation, cancer-associated with both of oxidation damage over time- natural systems that prevent cells that grow out of control. If you live long enough – get cancer.  Carcinogenic properties of petrochemicals are cancerous. Each of our cells can get “hit” 5 to 7 times before going into uncontrolled growth.

Let’s minimize the causal chemistrys. Let’s minimize what we have control over.  The less damage you accumulate the healthier you’ll be. Pay attention to your body. The cleaner you live -the more you are able to tell.”

Check out this study: Endocrine Disruptors and Asthma Associated Chemicals in Consumer Products to learn more!

What is non-toxic Sunscreen?

Basically, you need non-nano Zinc oxide and an oil to smooth in on your skin. Zinc oxide is a powder. It spreads and stays on better with an oil. Here is what is in Erik’s sunscreen. Click the image if you want to buy it. Or … make your own. All of the ingredients are easily found online.

Make your own sunscreen

Erik began making sunscreen in his kitchen. You’ll need a non-nano zinc powder. He adds iron oxide so you don’t have to look like a ghost. He also uses shea butter and a few more ingredients you see above. The basics – blend the zinc powder into some oil. Listen to the audio has Erik explains, and read up yourself.

But sunscreen can be very hard to make. It’s difficult to get the SPF you want. Read about it.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t try… just be informed before you do. And Erik’s products are very affordable. If you are using a sunscreen that nourished your skin, it SHOULD go bad every 2-3 months. Yes – a 2-3 month shelf life is what a good sunscreen will last.

We need to adjust our thinking around this. Most of were raised in the petro-chem world of bad things lasting forever. We need to get that good thing are alive. And alive things expire!

Why don’t we know this?

The petrochemical sunscreen industry is an $8 billion industry. That is a lot of vested interest in keeping things the way they are. A lot of people don’t want to hear it and the companies don’t want the side-effect studies to become mainstream.  

The Dangers of Petrochemicals in Sunscreen
According to research from the Environmental Working Group: Our review…shows that some sunscreen ingredients absorb into the blood, and some have toxic effects. Some release skin-damaging free radicals in sunlight, some act like estrogen and disrupt hormones, and several can cause allergic reactions and skin irritation. The FDA has not established rigorous safety standards for sunscreen ingredients. Sunscreens haven’t been regulated since 1978 in the USA.

About Erik Kreider

Erik chose to study Biochemistry at Stanford University.

He earned both a Bachelors and Masters in the discipline in four years.He continued his education in the industry by joining a pharmaceutical startup spun out of a laboratory. He worked in during his graduate work at the Stanford Medical Center. There he helped develop dermatological applications for the technology, invented and patented new chemistries, and managed a clinical trial for an anti-psoriasis drug  formula. This is where the podcast begins. Download and listen. You’ll be so glad you did.

Normal is relative. Normal is cultural. Normal is habitual. Normal is your worldview. Your beliefs. Your reality. Normal is relative… and you can redefine normal.

When you shift- normal shifts with you. A new normal is established. The new normal has it’s own biochemistry. It’s own cravings. It’s own aversions. The new normal becomes your new reality. Your worldwiew is expanded. Your beliefs shifted. Your relations have new terms.

My friend, colleague and student of my courses, Natalie Rousseau, founder of the Pacific Elements Yoga School interviewed me yesterday about Ayurveda and detoxing. Her students were on the line (mute as they were, they spoke up after.) In the call, I talk about how my family and I detox seasonally to co-create our new normal.  

Listen to the interview.

Commit yourself to creating the new normal:

• What do you want to become the new normal in your life?
• In your family’s life?
• In your inner circle?

This will be the grounds for your detox.

 ”I liked how Cate talked about avoiding victimization  Instead of  just noticing we don’t feel good – take ACTIVE CHANGE. I also liked how Cate asked, “What is going to happen if I keep going forward without making changes?” This made me take a hard look at my own patterns and obviously with time things get worse if they are not challenged. I thought of my own back pain, tired feelings, over compensating with caffeine.  Great call!” ~ from Carey Rudisill

“This conversation left me very inspired to pair down and detox. Wwhat particularly inspired me was both your enthusiasm and Cate’s – your expressions clearly conveyed that both of you have had transformative experiences with detox and now you are passionate about it. There was a bit about incorporating self care practices when you detox to ensure that the nervous system is not shocked by less food intake that I found interesting and I also like how Cate’s philosophy encourages eating from your ecosystem. pretty cool!”-~ Claire Marie

“I was considering trying a detox for the first time and now I’m really inspired to do it.  I’m going to give it a go and I’ve co-opted my mom to try it with me!”  ~Nicole Isaak

Listen to this podcast to learn:

• Why do yogis cleanse in the spring?
• What is ama (toxins)? and how do we know if we’ve got it?
• How do we find time for cleansing?
• Is there a one size fits all cleanse?
• What are the benefits of cleansing?
• What are the larger implications of cleansing for our own health and the health of our families and communities?