Mindful Expat Episode 38: Building Resiliency & Connection Through Health Challenges Abroad (With Guest: Carolyn Parse Rizzo, M.ED., ACC)

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Today’s Mindful Expat Guest is Carolyn Parse Rizzo!

Carolyn is a certified Child Life Specialist and Life Transition Coach focusing on healthcare and vitality abroad. From her home in Italy, she works as a health coach and consultant, supporting people who are dealing with various types of health conditions while living abroad. Through her company, Interval Coaching, she helps her clients navigate some of the challenges of managing health conditions in a foreign medical system, while also assisting them in shifting their perspectives toward their health, developing positive coping strategies, increasing their resiliency, and nurturing creativity and connectedness in their lives.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Some of the common challenges that expats and other internationals face when managing a health condition in a foreign medical system.

• How our mindset can impact our experience of health issues and our experiences navigating a foreign medical system — and how we can shift our interpretations in a way that can ultimately feel more empowering.

• Some concrete, practical tips for expats and others navigating health challenges in a foreign medical system Read More

Mindful Expat Episode 31: Learning to Trust Yourself Through Pregnancy & Birth Abroad

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Today’s Mindful Expat Guest is Karen Wilmot!

Karen was born and grew up in South Africa. Growing up with a mother who was a midwife, Karen was exposed from an early age to inspiring stories of women giving birth. She followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a midwife herself. Karen’s love of travel led her to live in many different countries – including Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, and Mexico. For the past 13 years, she has been living in Oman, where she established the first private community services there supporting expat women during pregnancy and birth. More recently, Karen was inspired to take her work online to reach women around the world in search of support and guidance as they navigate the birth process while living abroad. She started the Virtual Midwife, an interactive online platform where she provides personalized care, information, and support for expat women around the world, many of whom who have limited or no access to quality prenatal advice and care. An advocate for a holistic approach to birth, Karen incorporates mindfulness, yoga, and other methods for working with the mind and the body to promote health and wellbeing for the women she works with.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Some of the cultural differences that women and families may encounter when navigating pregnancy and birth in a foreign medical system.
• The importance of being informed about the medical system in your host country and knowing the right questions to ask to make sure you get your needs met.
• The importance of mindset and expectations in our experiences of pregnancy and birth (whether in a foreign country or not).
• How to recognize the factors that are within your control and accept those things that may be outside of your control as you navigate pregnancy and birth in a foreign country.
• The importance of self-awareness and mindfulness (the ability to remain truly present) in pregnancy and birth.

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