Covey Wellness Centre Podcast

What happens when the one doing the caring begins to wear down? In this tender and honest episode, Sarah Joy Covey sits down with Tanya to talk about the unseen weight caregivers often carry—especially when the journey is long, emotional, and uncertain.As Tanya reflects on her ten-year journey of caring for her mother with dementia, she opens up about the fatigue, guilt, grief, and grace that come with caregiving. Together, she and Sarah explore the emotional toll caregiving can take, why self-compassion is essential, and how we can better support those doing this important, sacred work.Whether you're walking through caregiving yourself or loving someone who is, this conversation offers empathy, wisdom, and hope.Sarah asks Tanya:What’s been the hardest part of the caregiving journey?How can caregivers balance self-care with the demands of supporting someone else?What emotions—like guilt, resentment, or numbness—often show up, and how can we process them?How can friends and family truly support caregivers in meaningful ways?Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources.This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

First responders dedicate their lives to helping others, but who is there to support them when the weight of their work becomes overwhelming? In this episode, Sarah Joy Covey sits down with Craig Head, a practicum student at Covey Wellness Centre with a deep passion for serving those who serve our communities.Craig shares his journey from decades of ministry and chaplaincy into psychotherapy, discussing the unique mental health challenges first responders face. From high-pressure situations to the cumulative impact of trauma, we explore why therapy and support systems are essential for their well-being.If you or someone you love is a first responder navigating stress, burnout, or the emotional toll of the job, this conversation offers insight and encouragement for seeking the help you deserve.Sarah asks Craig:    •    What inspired you to transition from ministry into psychotherapy?    •    What are some of the biggest mental health challenges first responders face?    •    How can therapy help first responders process trauma and stress?    •    What steps can first responders take to prioritize their well-being?Sarah's Episode with Connexus:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq8Og0UoeP4 Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources.This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

Taking care of your health goes beyond just what’s on your plate—it’s about nourishing your whole self. In this episode, Sarah Joy Covey sits down with Toddia Ververs, a professional personal trainer and holistic nutrition coach, to explore how nutrition fits into a broader approach to well-being.Toddia shares her personal journey into holistic nutrition and the experiences that shaped her passion for individualized, sustainable wellness. Together, she and Sarah explore how food, movement, stress, and lifestyle all work together to impact our overall well-being.If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by diet culture, struggled with energy levels, or wondered how to nourish your body in a way that actually works for you, this conversation is for you.Sarah asks Toddia:    1.    What is holistic nutrition, and how does it differ from other approaches?    2.    How does what we eat affect our mental and emotional well-being?    3.    What are some common challenges people face when trying to improve their nutrition, and how can they overcome them?    4.    Why is personalized support so important when it comes to making sustainable health changes?www.FitInformedByToddia.ca Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources.This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

Welcome back to the Covey Wellness Centre Podcast! We're thrilled to kick off Season 4 with a fresh approach—monthly episodes featuring inspiring wellness conversations designed to support your journey toward holistic well-being. In this episode, Sarah Joy Covey sits down with Ashley and Nancy, two incredible members of our CWC Co-Working Community and yoga instructors offering personalized one-on-one yoga sessions.  Tune in to learn more about 1:1 yoga and how it can be beneficial to your wellness plan! In this episode, they explore:  Why we focus on personalized yoga at CWC and what that looks like from the client's perspective. The benefits of yoga and flexibility coaching for overall health and well-being. Common reasons people choose private yoga sessions. How to determine if personalized yoga is the right fit for you. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or just beginning your journey, this conversation offers insight, encouragement, and practical wisdom for integrating mindful movement into your wellness routine. 🌿 Stay Connected & Learn More:🔗 Visit Covey Wellness Centre to explore our wellness offerings📩 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more expert insights and resources📅 Book a one-on-one yoga session with Ashley or Nancy and experience the benefits of personalized care Tune in, take a deep breath, and step into a season of intentional wellness with us! *This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

Lisa-Jo was born White in the heart of Zululand during the racial apartheid, and talks about her longing for new future for her children which sent her on a journey to understand where she fit into a story of violence and faith, history and race.  In this episode, we explore what happened when Lisa-Jo naïvely walked right into America’s own turbulent racial landscape when she came to the United States to study to become a human rights advocate, and experienced the kind of painful awakening that is both individual and universal, personal and social. Yet, years went by before she traced this American trauma back to her own South African past. After marriage and motherhood, old wounds reopened and she found herself spiraling into a terrifying version of her father, screaming herself hoarse at her son.  Tune in to hear how Lisa-Jo realized that to go forward—to refuse to repeat the sins of our fathers—we must first go back.   Her story proves it’s never too late to be free. Sarah asks Lisa-Jo: Tell me about the origin story for It Wasn't Roaring, It Was Weeping. What happened in your life that led you to write about this topic in this way? Where do you see past pain and sin intersecting with our present health and wellness? Talk to the person experiencing pain or rage that could be connected to their past but they have yet to face it. And how do you hope It Wasn't Roaring, It Was Weeping can help them? What is currently in your "bedside book stack" that you're loving or being inspired by these days? Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources. *This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

Is God near in the ordinary moments of life? If so, how can we rest in God in the middle of life’s storms, big or small?  Summer is an Anglican Preist and invites listeners to explore what a secure attachment with their Heavenly Father looks like. Attachment Style develops in formative years as a child that we carry into adulthood, understanding what these look like and how they may impact your relationship with God opens the door to deeper and more meaningful connection with God in a way that brings healing and wellness into our daily lives. In this episode, we explore spiritual formation through the lens of attachment theory, we consider how to awaken to God’s loving presence in daily life – even in life’s hurricanes – and form healthy attachements from where we are.  Tune in for simple sensory and contemplative tools (like emmanuel journaling, Ignation Imaginative Prayer and more) to connect with God in meaningful ways.  Sarah asks Summer: Tell me about the origin story for The Emmanuel Promise, what happened in your life that led you to write about this topic in this way? Where do you see a presense of our Higher Power - whom we both call God - intersecting with the wellness journeys of readers and listeners? Talk to the person experiencing a hurricaine in life that is desperate to sense God's presence. How do you hope The Emmanuel Promise can help them? What is currently in your "bedside book stack" that you're loving or being inspired by these days? Summer references The Critical Journey, by Janet Hagberg  and Robert Guelich. Resources on Attachment Styles  Find Summer at @revsummerjoy on Instagram and The Presence Project  On Summer’s bedside bookstack: Anatomy of the Soul by Dr Curt Thompson, The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion book series by Beth Brower. Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources. *This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

Are you struggling with the emotional rollercoaster of infertility? Through her own struggles with infertility, Karen uncovers the misconceptions and challenges that many face on this difficult journey, extending emotional strength and support to those that share this path. In this episode, we explore the truth behind the lies and find hope in the journey of infertility.  Whether you're seeking answers or solace, Karen offers a raw and relatable perspective on the path to understanding infertility.  Tune in for deepr understanding of the emotional impact of infertility, discover the difference between infertility truths and myths, and how the journey of infertility can lead to personal growth and change.  Sarah asks Karen: Tell me about the origin story for Infertility Lies, what happened in your life that led you to write about this topic in this way? Where do you see infertility intersecting with the wellness journeys of readers and listeners? Talk to the person or couple experiencing infertility right now. How do you hope Infertility Lies can help them? What is currently in your "bedside book stack" that you're loving or being inspired by these days? Connect with Karen at www.KarenSnow.com or on Instagram @karensnownd or @infertilitylies  Karen is currently reading The Origins of You by Vienna Pharaon and When The Body Says No by Dr Gabor Mate. We reference Oasis Fertility Support Network and Aundi Kolber’s Try Softer in our conversation. Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources. *This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

If you or someone you love are living life after trauma, this is for you. Arthur describes himself and a pilgrim paddler and an author. He’s also a pastor and shares his sensitive and penetrating reflections on coming of age in a Dutch immigrant family scarred by violence.  His earliest memory was of shattered glass. His father threw a potted plant at his mother, and she ducked as the plant crashed through a window of the family home. His mother cleaned up the shards that day; later in life, he would find himself called upon to pick up the pieces as well.   In this episode, we explore family violence, the impacts of post traumatic stress, substance abuse, anger, depression and so much more.  Unrsolved trauma is not something that gets healed by ‘talking it out’ but it often lodges somewhere in the body. Tune in for personal conversation and psychoeducation on PTSD, practical insight for people experiencing PTSD, and hope for the future. Please be mindful that the content of this eposide may trigger difficult personal memories.  If that’s you, please listen with care and with someone who cares about you.   Sarah asks Aurthur: Tell me about the origin story for Shattered, what happened in your life that led you to write about this topic in this way? Where do you see family woundig intersecting with the wellness journeys of readers and listeners? Talk to the person who was wounded by someone meant to protect them. How do you hope Shattered can help them today? What is currently in your "bedside book stack" that you're loving or being inspired by these days? You can find Arthur at www.arthurboers.com and contact information is there.  He loves reading work from Margaret Rankl and Rick Bass. Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources. *This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

Are you feeling restless, stuck, or needing change but not sure what that change looks like? We ask different questions during different season in life, and Vantage Point is intended to give you just that: new vantage points for your best story. Dan is a husband of almost 35 years, a father, grandfather, owner of a family chocolate factory and a life coach for those looking for direction and change in life.   In this episode, we explore illuminating angles to look at your life, who you are and who you want to be. Meaning and purpose is intimately connected to our wellness, it’s an innate motivator in our behaviour, yet it’s a difficult thing to give thought and intention. Tune in for practical perspectives that can shape your answer to meaningful life questions about your story and purpose. Join us to reflect on where you are and where you want to be, rediscover your purpose and potential, and consider purpose-driven perspectives to infuse joy and meaning into every day.  This is your opportunity to evaluate you.  Sarah asks Dan: Tell me about the origin story for Vantage Point, what happened in your life that led you to write about this topic in this way? Where do you see purpose and meaning in life intersecting with the wellness journeys of readers and listeners? Talk to the person who feels aimless right now. How do you hope Vantage Point can help them today? What is currently in your "bedside book stack" that you're loving or being inspired by these days? Dan’s previous work includes Unplanned Parenting.  Dan’s currently reading the Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, Doing Life With Your Adult Children by Jim Burns, and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero Find Dan at www.DanBarber.com, or email [email protected] and Dan offers free no-obligation consultations on life coaching.  Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources. *This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.

Maybe you’re in a storm, you have been through a storm, or a few steps away from the next one, we explore how to find calm and steady through the struggles of life. Mathew Ruttan is a vocational Pastor, father and husband of 23 years, and the host of the Pulse Podcast about wholehearted living. Turbulence: Devotionals to steady you through the storms of life came from the struggle in the storms of life as a helpful tool to steady us in the midst of it. During the storms of the pandemic, Mathew created this tool to support people struggling.  In this episode, we explore how challenging circumstances in life impact our mental health, the inevitability of struggle, ways to equip ourselves for those storms, and how they shape who we become. Tune in for thoughtful conversation around practices to weather life’s storms well, ways to get help, and find hope. Sarah asks Mathew: Tell me about the origin story for Turbulence, what happened in your life that led you to write about this topic in this way? Where do you see the storms of life intersecting with the wellness journeys of readers and listeners? Talk to the person dealing with their own storm, right now. How do you hope Turbulence can help them today? What is currently in your "bedside book stack" that you're loving or being inspired by these days? Mathew’s currently reading The Deconstruction of Christianity by Alica Childers Tim Barnett, The Anxious Generation by Jonathon Haidt, Night by Elie Weisel, The Practice of Piety by Lewis Bayly, and Africanitis by J Ayukekbong. www.MatthewRuttan.com  www.TheUpDevo.com  Westminister Church Barrie: www.westminsterpc.ca Visit www.coveywellnesscentre.com for support and resources. *This episode is intended for mental health education purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek a mental health professional or other qualified health provider regarding your mental health for personal advice and care.