Advertise on podcast: Courageous Wellness

Today Aly sits down with Dara Kennedy. Dara is a beauty product developer, trusted product curator, and founder of Ayla, a pioneering clean beauty retailer known for its discerning approach to skincare, wellness and emerging beauty innovation. With more than 25 years of experience across product development, branding, advertising, and retail, Dara brings an insider’s perspective to decoding the products, ingredients, and innovations shaping the beauty industry. Founded in 2011, Ayla was built on Dara’s belief that discovering effective, thoughtfully formulated beauty products should be an empowering and enjoyable experience. Through her highly curated assortment and educational approach, she has helped consumers shop more intentionally, simplify their routines and distinguish meaningful innovation from marketing hype. Today, Ayla is a San Francisco institution earning global recognition for its distinctive point of view and commitment to exceptional products. Dara’s expertise and discerning eye have earned her recognition from leading media outlets, including Vogue, The New York Times and Town & Country, which profiled her as one of its “miracle gurus.” Beauty Independent has described her as “the Alice Waters of skincare,” reflecting her thoughtful, quality-first approach to product discovery and curation. Most recently, she received Beauty Independent’s “Assortment Innovator” Beacon Award in recognition of her contributions to the beauty industry. Throughout her career, Dara has championed innovative brands and founders, often recognizing their potential before they achieved broader industry recognition. Returning to her roots in product development, Dara recently introduced her own Dara Kennedy brand to Ayla’s assortment. Her Sea Soak earned a “Best Detox” distinction from *Oprah Daily’s Bath Awards, marking another milestone in her evolution from product developer and curator to founder of her own beauty brand. Today, we discuss her journey to this work, her commitment to quality sourcing and the power of kelp, her approach to feeling wonderful as we age, and how to approach the overwhelm when finding the right products and routine for your unique skin. I loved chatting with her and I hope you enjoy the episode! SUBSTACK: https://brighterbeauty.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the show this week, we welcome Hanna Bier. Hanna teaches the art of making money with elegance, excellence, and ease. Her work turns what once felt confusing or intimidating into something thrilling, repeatable, and profoundly freeing. Sales becomes noble. Money becomes kind. Success becomes inevitable.On her way to becoming a corporate fashion girlie, Hanna switched careers and found her true calling: helping women discover the power of financial mastery. Hanna believes that a woman isn’t truly free until she’s deeply secure with money.Through her work, she invites you to become unrecognizable. To create your own luck. To dress to the nines and walk into every room like you belong there. Because you do. The side effect of being fully in your power is outrageous financial success. You can check out her offerings at https://www.hannabier.com Today we spoke about Hanna’s journey, her transformation in her personal beliefs about money, how she built sustainable skills around money, how she shares this with other women, and how she is currently living a life of freedom as she is traveling the world with her 6 year old daughter. Enjoy the episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a big announcement on today’s episode of Courageous Wellness!  After 8.5 wonderful years and more than 450 episodes, we are ready for our next chapter. Our final podcast episode will air on November 25th!  We are deeply grateful for the guests, listeners, and community who have made this journey so meaningful. Our full episode archive will continue to be hosted by the Cloud10 Network, and we invite you to revisit your favorite conversations or discover something new. We have two new interviews to release, and will conclude with a big solo episode, and our annual “How to Support Yourself Through the Holiday Season,” episode right before Thanksgiving.  We are still available for coaching and if you would like to book Aly for nutrition coaching or Erica for wellness readings, please contact us at [email protected] and [email protected] Thank you for being part of Courageous Wellness and for supporting us as we begin this next chapter — and tune in this week while we spill the tea!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Joy Kong is a UCLA-trained, triple board-certified physician. She specializes in stem cell therapy, and is widely known and respected in the regenerative medicine field as a leader, innovator, and educator. Dr. Kong founded American Academy of Integrative Cell Therapy, where she provides training to physicians throughout the U.S. and globally on stem cell therapy. Dr. Kong also conducts clinical research on stem cell therapy, and is a published author in scientific journals. Today we have a fascinating conversation on her work with stem cell therapy. You can also experience her work with stem cell therapy for beauty via her skincare line: CharaOmni. Enjoy the episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the podcast, Erica talks spooky season updates, gabs about the Sarah J. Maas Universe, and reminds us all to make life a bit more whimsical.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we welcome back Dr. Shivani Gupta. She is an Ayurvedic practitioner, turmeric PhD, founder of Fusionary Formulas, and Hay House author. She has used her deep knowledge of Ayurveda to create the framework of  Elemental Design™—a blueprint that delivers steady energy, clear focus, and real relief.  Today we talk about Vata syndrome, perimenopause, and the ways in which we can support ourselves mid-life when hormone changes, professional responsibilities  and family caretaking overlap and peak for many women. Dr. Shivani is a wealth of knowledge in the world of Ayurveda and has also shared code: CW for a 15% off discount on https://fusionaryformulas.com. Here is the link to her new book The Inflammation Code. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show we welcome Brian Keller. Brian is the co-founder and CEO of RORRA. Rorra designs and builds highly effective and rigorously tested water filtration systems to help people live healthier lives. After his own daughter developed skin issues, Brian became acutely aware of what’s in our water and how it impacts our health and the ones we love. RORRA has an unwavering commitment to reducing exposure to harmful contaminants like lead, PFAS, and microplastics — to give customers peace of mind from countertop water systems, filtered pitchers, and showerheads. Today we learn a lot about water filtration, tap water contamination, Brian’s own journey, and how it led to an entrepreneurial passion to make filtered water more accessible in the home.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aly and Erica talk the “honeymoon phase," rest, “soft life,” the importance of our language, body image and beauty standards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diana Romanov is the founder of Romanov Law, PC, is an award-winning family law attorney based out of San Francisco, certified Family Law Specialist, and the creator of the Divorce Like a Boss YouTube channel, where she distills complex human and legal dynamics for nearly 200K engaged viewers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the podcast, we welcome Heather Andersen, co-founder of New York Pilates. A former ballerina with deep classical training, Heather's expertise is anatomy-first and grounded in rigorous education from some of the most respected voices in technically precise, anatomy-based Pilates.  Heather co-founded New York Pilates in 2013 as the original reformer studio that helped shape New York's modern Pilates culture. Since then, NYP has become one of the most influential forces shaping modern Pilates. Today, she and Aly discuss alignment, the types of training, and what the “Pilates Girlie” actually is.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the show, we speak with Kathryn Blaze Baum. She is an award-winning investigative reporter with The Globe and Mail and the author of the instant national bestseller In Fertility: The Story of a Miracle and the Big Business Behind It. Since joining The Globe in 2013, she has probed systemic failures related to criminal justice, healthcare, immigration, labour law, food safety and child welfare. Prior to joining The Globe, Kathryn was a reporter for The National Post and a Manhattan-based stringer for The New York Times. Today we discuss her book In Fertility, and how she went from investigative journalist to the subject of her own research. She shares her journey with the infertility process and infertility business and offers great insight if you are dealing with the same. Kathryn lives in Toronto with her husband and three children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aly and Erica are back from summer break and discuss transformation, summer realizations, and friendship seasons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the show Erica and Aly sit down with VP of Training for Pvolve, Dani Coleman. Dani oversees the development of PVOLVE’s strength training method, helping redefine what effective workouts look like for women. For decades, much of the fitness industry has been built around training models designed for men. Dani is helping shift that narrative by developing low-impact, high-precision strength training that works with women’s bodies—building lean muscle, improving posture, and supporting full-body strength without unnecessary strain. A trainer to high-profile clients including Jennifer Aniston, Dani brings a clear voice to today’s evolving fitness conversation. She frequently speaks to the shift away from diet culture and punishing workout trends, helping debunk common fitness myths and champion a smarter, more sustainable approach to strength, longevity, and confidence. If you’d like to try an in person class complementary class in West Hollywood you can use code: WEHODANIVIP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Aly sits down with Arielle Cole, founder of Arid Blayne.  Arielle’s story begins with a deeply personal women’s health issue that is rarely talked about openly: severe night sweats after starting an SSRI. What started as a frustrating personal experience quickly revealed a much larger gap in the market. Women dealing with hormonal shifts, medication side effects, pregnancy, postpartum changes, perimenopause, and menopause are often left without products truly designed for what their bodies are going through. Coming from a major fashion house and with insider access to advanced cooling fabric technologies typically reserved for performance apparel, Arielle saw an opportunity to create a solution that treated this as more than just a comfort issue. After two years of intensive R&D, she launched Arid Blayne, a sleepwear brand built around proprietary cooling textiles engineered to wick moisture, accelerate evaporation, and help regulate skin temperature, while still feeling elevated and fashion-forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Aly sits down with Amie McNee, author of the new book: WE NEED YOUR ART: Stop Messing Around and Make Something, a powerful manifesto for artists of all kinds. Amie is the creator behind the popular Instagram account Inspired To Write, which has amassed over 440k loyal community members. Whether you’re a seasoned creator or just starting out, Amie’s guidance will help you overcome self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and perfectionism to build a sustainable creative practice.  Download “Long Live Moms” for FREE today at https://www.functionhealth.com/md/cwpod and learn more about how Function Health can help you take better care of you. Get Function Health’s “Long Live Moms” book for free at https://www.functionhealth.com/md/cwpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices