ďťżResonance â Episode 6
Verbatim Transcript
Speaker: Viktoria Levenberg
Guest Speaker: Carolin Ehrensberger
Carolin Ehrensberger: Thereâs a lot of people out there that are not qualified, that are
claiming to be qualified. What on earth is happening right now? You cannot stop the waves in life from coming.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, exactly.
Carolin Ehrensberger: They will be there. The question is: how stable are you?
Carolin Ehrensberger: One very important thing that keeps me going without, you know,
burning outâŚ
Viktoria Levenberg: In todayâs episode, youâre going to hear Caro, the founder of Coach-Wave, share her journey of navigating an eating disorder in her teens, to struggling to find support in her 20s, which then ignited the fire in her to help others on a similar path.
IâIâm so excited to share this episode with you. Thereâs so much juiciness inside, so enjoy.
Viktoria Levenberg: Welcome to Resonance, a podcast for ambitious, heart-led humans craving more balance, depth, and aliveness in their lives. Iâm your host, Vikâhealth coach, yoga teacher, facilitator, and fellow high achiever learning to live in tune with my nervous system, not against it.
This space is here to remind you that you can have it all: the career, the success, the fulfilmentâall aligned with your truth. Through honest conversations, expert insights, and practical tools, weâll explore how to work with your body, mind, emotions, and spirit, not against them.
And the best partâyou donât have to stay stuck in survival mode to get there. Because true
well-being is not about being perfect. Itâs about being in resonance. Letâs dive in.
Viktoria Levenberg: Alright, so welcome to todayâs episode. Brief intro to Caroâwe actually know each other since we were teenagers. We went to the same school, uh, International School of DĂźsseldorf, um, and we were both fellow high achievers. So youâll definitely hear us both reflect on, you know, some of the pressures that we put on ourselves as like 14, 15, 16 year olds.
And the reason that I felt that todayâs conversation really matters and is important for you to hear is to name the challenge of finding help. And sometimes, you know, you may often hear me talking about awareness and how that is the first stepâgreat. But then what do you do about it, right? And you may know you need help, you may want to find help, and yet it may be really challenging.
And so what Carol and Coach-Wave do is so incredible, you knowâmaking sure that they
connect people with the right coaches, checking for credentials, making sure everyoneâs
within scope of practice. Itâs, uh, something that weâre in need of, especially in a still pretty
young and evolving industry.
And the other thing that really I wanted to highlight before we dive in is the fact that we all deserve to thrive. So you will hear Carol talk a little bit about high performance athletes, who she mostly specialises in, and Iâm kind of drawing the line back to, you know, our corporate
high overachievers. And there are actually so many parallels. Youâre going to really enjoy this
one. Dive inâmaybe go for a mindful walk or get cosy, or if youâre driving, be safe and enjoy.
Viktoria Levenberg: Alright, well, welcome, Carol. Thank you so much for being here. Itâs absolutely such a pleasure and honour toâyou know, our connection goes all the way back to school, which is bizarre and so awesome at the same time. And I guess before we dive in, I would love to just hear you share a little bit about you, you know, just kind of the headlines of who you are, where youâve come from, what you do, and then weâll dig in deeper.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, thank you so much. Iâm really happy to be here, so thank you for the invitation. And so yeah, couldnât agree more. Um, itâs funny how life lines up and brings you back to really old connections sometimes, so thatâs really cool.
And um, yeahâso Iâm Carol. I, um, live in DĂźsseldorf in Germany. Iâyeah, we went to school together obviously, and then um, after that I went to study business, very classical, um, journey I would say. And um, then I started in theâwell, kind of in the start-up world, um, in real estate, something, yeah, different than, uh, what I started later then, uh, with my start- up, which is in the area of mental coaching, which I do now. And I guess weâll probably talk a little bit more about that.
So yeah, I mean very roughly, thatâs like my career path kind of. And other than that, I really like doing sports, and so yeah, that takes up the other time of my life basically, apart from
social life and all that. So yeah, roughly, um, I mean just very roughly about me, and Iâm sure
you willâwe will dig in deeper.
Viktoria Levenberg: Ha ha ha, oh we sure will. Definitely. And um, you know I am known for
going deep straight away. So my first question would be: whatâs something that doesnât show
up on your bio that you would be comfortable sharing about yourself?
Carolin Ehrensberger: Oh, I need to think about that, um yeah, maybeâuh, I mean maybe if you look closely you can kind of see, but uh, I did switch unis a couple of times actually in my bachelorâs degree, um, beâyeah, for several good reasons I guess. But um, I am not at all ashamed about it. I think it was the right decision, but at the time it was quite uncomfortable, to be honest.
So um, yeah, I uh, um, yeah, I had to find my wayâletâs feel like that. I think thatâs what Iâm trying to say. Also that, yeah, you donât see, you know, like I reallyâif you would have asked me back in the days in school, like, where Iâm gonna be, I would never have guessed in a
million years that this is where I am right now, you know. So um, that doesnât show up, I guess.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, absolutely. Like you say, unless someone goes stalking on your LinkedIn profileâand even there, you know, it might be hidden somewhere. So thank you so much for naming that, because like you say, like, itâs just part of your journey. And man, like being a young student, you knowâwe kind of come out of school 18 mostly, and all of a sudden everyone expects you to have your life all figured out.
I mean, I donât know about youâI feel like Iâm still figuring out my life, and itâs been, you know, over a decade since that moment. So I could totally resonate with, you know, your path and kind of switching around. And um, yeah, thank you for naming that.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, of course. Yeah, I think itâs like something that we should talk
about openly, because as you say, itâs really stressful. Like when you come out of school, or even at the end of schoolâI mean, in our school, they started asking about our careers when weâre like, what, 16? Not even, I guess.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, I think even beforehand.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, and like itâs just really overwhelming, and youâre not ready for
that at that point. Or a lot of kids arenât, you know, because yeah, thereâs a lot of options and
maybe you donât know where you wanna go.
Viktoria Levenberg: I just had such a light bulb moment as you said that, because like holy shitâlike the overwhelm, the stress, and the burnout, like it started probably even around that time. Like I remember stressing about, you know, like the PYPâI canât remember what the acronym stands for, it was like this little project we had to do I think in 9th grade or something, um. Like itâand it was like, they made it a really big deal, and like youâre already thinking about what does that mean for like the science that Iâm gonna take, and then the
subject Iâm gonna take in 10th grade is gonna determine what Iâm like available for in the baccalaureate, which determines what Iâm available for at uni. Itâs like, whoa, youâre like 14, chill out kiddo, yeah?
Carolin Ehrensberger: And for likeâfor me honestly, that was the time of my life where I reallyâalright, like it got really hard for me. Like I actually got sick back then, um, because it was like too much and too overwhelming. And I mean this has been a great lesson for my life, so itâs all good, but um, really it was too much, yeah.
Um, at that pointâlike in this, I think in this school specifically, itâs just, itâsâyes, the
curriculum. So thatâs what they ask for. But I think itâs just a lot to ask from a child.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, yeah. And if you feel comfortable, you know, this is a perfect segue into diving into kind of your story. And I feel like from what you shared with me so far, thatâs almost kind of the catalyst of when your journey really started. Like, would you be able to take us all the way back to the start and share a little bit more, if thatâs okay?
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, sure. Um, yeah, uh, definitelyâbecause also this is about, you know, awareness around topics that we, we all deal with. So Iâm open to share mine, yeah. Back in the days, uh, like, uh, for me, I was likeâlike I said, quite overwhelmed with, uh, everything. All the big decisions we were asked to take, you know. And you know, as youâre still like in pubertyâpuberty basically, you know, like how old were you? Like, yeah, maybe
like 16, 17. Um, yeah, but youâre still likeâyou have no idea who you are yet, probably, right? Like youâre really trying to figure yourself out and understand who you are, and all of a sudden you, you need to make these big decisions. And you have a lot of exams and a lot of things that you need to take care of, and um, then, you know, decide where to go for uni, and everybodyâs going away from home, and uh, you know, like you kind of feel like you gotta do that too.
And um, yeah, like for me that was, um, I think a bit too much at that point, um. And so yeah,
I got sick like I said, umâŚ
So uh, I yeah, ended up in an eating disorder. Um, so that was a rough patchâdefinitely the roughest Iâve been through. Like Iâm, I recovered quite well, I would say. Um, took some time, but uh, yeah, this is definitely where the journey started from, what Iâm doing now.
I mean, then I kind of went into the classical path with studying business and, you know, starting like aâyeah, in software, um, in the real estate area. Um, but my start-up now has to do with, uh, these kind of topics more, and um, it really, yeah, resonates with me a lot because I know how hard it can get for whatever reason. And um, you know, the support that you need is not always there and available like maybe it should be. Um, and it could beâitâs
just that, you know, itâs just not there yet, I guess.
And um, itâs also like, you know, these topics are so stigmatized and so on, um. Still, like itâs getting better, but still we have work to do. So um, yeah, we decided to do something in this area and, uh, help people, you know, not getâyeah, I mean, life is sometimes hard. Yeah, it is like that. But the way you deal with that and trying to deal with that healthyâin a healthy
way, um, thatâs what weâre, weâre trying to help people with. Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly. This is why weâre here. Alright. So often the path that we once walked is what brings us to the path where we are today. And yeah, you know, thank you for really naming and, and sharing openly and vulnerably your experience with an eating disorder
and the long recovery that came from, you know, undue stress placed on practically a child at a very young age.
And yeah, that healing journey is, is a lifelong journey, you know. Itâs, of course, we can do all the things and seek all the support, but the reality is like we hold on to that as a lived experience. And um, I would love if you could also take us back to kind of that second piece or part of your life, which I think really then brought you to where you are today with Coach- Wave, around when you were struggling to find someone to help you. And kind of yet, walk us through that experience a little bit.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, so I mean, back in the days when I was sick, of course I got like, um, for therapy and all that. And yeah, I was still a child, like, so I kind of got set up with whatever I got then. But then later, like after, yeah, recovery and so onâso now, like maybe, let me think, two, three years back, um, there was just like a couple of things that I was trying to figure out for myself, you know.
Or like trying to deal with the normal stressors of life, you know, and kind of feeling like okay, I want to talk to somebody about this. I donât feel like Iâm in a place where I necessarily need like therapy over a long period of time, you know. Itâs just more like having a conversation with somebody who can give me some tools to deal with. Um, yeah, yeahâto figure out
whatâs stressing me actually.
And you know, just I feel like just normal stuff that we all have, you know. Struggling with whatever, like for one it might be relationship, the next might be job, but just life, you know. And so nothing, nothing special in that sense, just yeahâI had this kind of feeling, okay,
maybe now itâs time, you know, not to just talk to friends, thatâs always great, and family. But uh, sometimes itâs just good to have a neutral person, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, also a professional whoâs trained.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly, hmm. Exactly. Because you just need some tools, you know, to, to help you calm down a little bit or, um, decide what youâre gonna do next. Um, these kind of topics. And um, so I was looking, um, for just a coachâlike a mental coach. And I discovered itâs really hard. Um, like there is a lot of, well, not so educated people that claim to be educated in this area out there. So Iâm here to talk about that also.
But um, yeah, that was a little bit difficult. Like I didnât know, like, okay, trying to Google,
hmm, I have no idea who I can trust. If I ask people there, you know, thereâs notâyeah. Itâs kind of just a lot of time, you know, a lot of effort. And then you find like one person, and if you donât really match with them, then well, um, you know, um, you gotta keep searching.
And thatâs kind of what happened. You know, I had a coach, I found a coach that supposedly
on paper was really good. Um, I had a meeting with her, and um, it went honestly terribly. Like I donât know what happened, but I feel like I just caught her off guard with my topics or something. Like she, sheâit got really like personal in a really weird way, like really not how coaching should be.
Viktoria Levenberg: And Iâd love for you to share a little bit moreâlike what, what was that experience like?
Carolin Ehrensberger: Um, well, she just made like really, like comments that were really off and that did not fit, like, my values. And, you know, like giving me advice what to doâthat is already something that should not happen.
Viktoria Levenberg: Red flag.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly. Itâs a red flag. Itâs a red flag. So this was already something, you know, like this was actually the biggest thing. And the kind of advice she gave me was really offâwas really totally off my values. You know, it was not even slightly good advice. It was terrible, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: So do you mind sharing an example? Iâm so curious.
Carolin Ehrensberger: It was like, like if I share it, itâs gonna sound likeâitâs seriously, it was ridiculous. She was like, um, yeah, I mean, if you donâtâif thereâs a day, you know, you donât feel so good about yourself, why donât you pick a couple of friends, you know, that are less pretty, and you go out with them so it makes you feel better about yourself? And I was like, she cannot be serious.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh my God.
Carolin Ehrensberger: I mean, I swear it wasâthis is just one point right now. There was, like,
I was in shock. The thing is, in that moment, youâre prepared to open yourself up, right? Yeah, youâre prepared to be vulnerable.
So you go into the conversation with that mindset. Yes. So when that happened, like, I got so overwhelmed. Like I was soâI didnât even know what to do, you know. I was like, I donât even know how to react to this right now. Of course, like, like I just laugh about it. Iâm just like, oh my God, this was crazy, you know. But in that moment I was like, what on Earth is happening right now? That was a terrible experience.
Viktoria Levenberg: Wow. Thank you for giving me an example, because, you know, like opinions are subjective until we get some concrete examples. And thatâs, yeah, um, definitely next level.
Carolin Ehrensberger: That was absolutely next, next level. Yeah. I mean, and yeah, thisâI donât even want to go on with the rest, but it was, yeah, like all in that kind of area, you know. And like several things like that. And I can still remember vividly. And um, yeah, but I
was like so confused in that moment, you know, because I was ready toâand I was opening up because I know I have to, otherwise the conversation is going nowhere.
And then this came, and then I was like, uh, nope. And um, yeah, but still, you know, and then I was like okay, no, like what is this, you know. It cannot be this hard. I know thereâs good people out there. How do I find them? And if I can find them, then other people can find them. So thatâs, you know, whyâlike, it should be easier than that.
So thatâs when my start-up, Coach-Wave, um, yes, was born basically, because I was like,
okay, why donât I just build a platform myself where people find good quality mental
coaching, yeah, with qualified coaches, psychologists, and so on that, uh, do this kind of thing.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, thatâs incredible.
Carolin Ehrensberger: So yeah, that was the, that was the journey to, to get there. Viktoria Levenberg: That was the journey of inception.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Some crazy experiences and some searching and wondering. And well,
then I was just like, okay, Iâm just gonna do it myself.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes. And thatâs often sometimes what we have to do, right? If itâs not out
there yet, then you definitely had that grit in you to kind of take the matter into your own
hands and, and help others solve that problem that you werenât able to find an easy solution
for yourself, right?
And there was so much gold in what you shared there, um, that I do wanna circle back to in a little bit. But while weâre on the subject of Coach-Waveâyeah, just tell me a little bit more about what you do. Um, you know, for people who may not be familiar, perhaps you can also define mental coaching, because personally, like, Iâm a health coach, so that does differ as well. And just kind of, yeah, give us an essence of what to expect when working with you.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, so Coach-Wave, well, we started as a platform to kind of match mental coaches. So mental coaches means, uh, for us, um, yeah, coaches, psychologists. Um, so either certified mental coaches that have certain certifications that are also credited here in Germany, um, or psychologists who hereâI mean, also that is, uh, depending on the country, I think, a little bit of a different definition of what their education is.
But here, um, somebody who does, um, psychology as a therapist, kind of like, they go
through a really long period of education. So theyâre really educated super, super well. They study this for years. And um, this is kind of what we look for. And um, so theyâre all like really qualified people. And um, they can help people deal with all kinds of problems around mental topics.
So that could be, um, anything. Like, uh, so we donât cover like the medical side. Yeah. So if you really have a, um, and some, you know, issue that needs to be treated with therapy and so onâso like depression or eating disorder, so, so, so onâwe donât do these kind of topics. But what we try to do is kind of prevent that from happening in the first place by giving people somebody to talk to when things already get a little bit stressful and out of hand, you know, before they completely fall apart.
So, um, this could be anything, you know. Like be feeling stressed, um, not, uh, you know, not being able to take a decision where you are under pressure to take a decision. Maybe dealing with, uh, yeah, some sort of like anxiety or so on, you know. Like, or lack of motivationâyou know, I feel like I want to do stuff but I canât get myself to, um, hmm. Or, um, yeah, these, uhâyou know, dealing with relationship troubles also could be something.
So um, and now actuallyâso this was kind of where we took off with Coach-Wave, to build this platform where then we had qualified coaches to match with people that were looking for somebody like that, to help them with certain topics.
So you can kind of filter and then get matched automatically with a person that hopefully fits.
And you can have a very important short intro call for free before you decide, so you can
make sure the person fits. So it doesnât happen. Viktoria Levenberg: So important
Carolin Ehrensberger: Definitely. So for everybody listening, like donât start a coaching without getting to know the coach first. Like every coach should offer a free intro call, otherwise itâs not very legit. So um, yeah, donât pay any bills before you have a first intro call and you get to know each other a little bit and make sure you match. And every good coach allows that to be, yeah. So yeah,
Viktoria Levenberg: Especially for one-on-one coaching. Very important. Carolin Ehrensberger: Definitely, exactly. Yeah, exactly, yeah.
So yeah, this is where kind of Coach-Wave started, with this platform to match people. So we built a little software platform where we could do that and people could sign up. And then we kind of discovered, okay, I think like itâs kind of hard to tackle just everybody, you know? We need to find a niche.
Iâm doing this with my brother Alex, who was an almost pro American football player. So he played at college in the United States for a couple of years, at one of the big colleges. So he played in front of like 80,000 people, you know, like a big, big deal. VeryâŚ
Viktoria Levenberg: Speak of mental pressure. Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly, exactly.
And also studied psychology with that along the way. So um, yeah, he really knows like everything from both sidesâyou know, the pressure athletes are under and also the psychology, or yeah, the behind it kind of.
And so we teamed up after a while, after I started Coach-Wave, because he was like, okay, this is really interesting. And since he comes from sports area, we kind of then like some months back started, you know, thinking okay, why donât we, you know, thereâs a lot of
pressure in that area, why donât we look at that a little closer?
And thatâs where weâre going now much stronger, to support athletesâespecially very ambitious, you know, hobby athletes. Because we discovered through doing some workshops and some things like that with some bigger gyms and sports coaches and so on, that people really are dealing with a lot of topics, you know.
So yeah, and now weâre not only offering this one-on-one coaching, but also masterclasses and courses. So people can book four to six week courses where, you know, they canâitâs
more in a group format. Which is also really great because people discover, oh, other people have the same issues, okay, Iâm not the only one, you know. Thatâs a really nice thing in a group dynamic.
And um, yeah, we kind of guide them through this course where they learn a lot about dealing with a lot of different thingsâyou know, building their mental performance so they can also be better at their sports, but in a healthy way. You know, dealing with their self-talk. We give them a lot of tools to stay calm. We give them and we support them with, you know, dealing with injuries or setbacks like that. Because thatâs really hard for athletesâwhen they do not as well as they thought they would, or they have to deal with an injury or so on. Like sometimes they really start to struggle mentally.
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh.
Carolin Ehrensberger: So um, yeah, all these kind of topics we do with Coach-Wave now
around sports and athletes. And thatâs been really fun. I also love doing sports, so I kind of can relate to both of the topics involved here, like all the mental parts, the psychology part, and then also the sports part. So um, yeah, thatâs really exciting.
So long story short, this is what Coach-Wave does now.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, and itâs such a beautiful blend, as you say, of all the different kind of passion areas of your life. And you talked around kind of high-performance sports and, you know, the pressure that these athletes are often under.
And this is why I was so excited kind of for us to speak today, because as you know, kind of my audience is overachieversâhigh achievers in corporate who are struggling with stress, burnout, overwhelm. And a lot of those symptoms are very prevalent for athletes as well.
And based on kind of what youâre seeing with your clients, and also with, you know, first- hand experience from your brother, what are some of the struggles and pain points that youâre seeing in this group?
Carolin Ehrensberger: In general, yeah, since the ambition level is so high, there is people likeâthey put themselves under a lot of pressure that they often create themselves, you know. Not, yeahâof course itâs created externally as well, but also internally a lot, you know.
And what happens then is, you know, they start training more physically. They start overtraining and then they get injured. And then this is when things get really tough, you know, because then like your wholeâlike life, or like a lot of it, evolves around the sports. All of a sudden you canât do it. Then, you know, theyâlike this is really something like a big pain, definitely, like this kind of situation.
You know, the kind of stress that comes before, and then, you know, if it gets too much and then the injury comes. And also the kind of pressure that they experienceâor yeah, kind of, you know, youâre almost a pro, youâre trying to go pro, it doesnât work out, and then you kind of fall into this hole where you donât know who you are anymore, you know. Because you kind of lose what you built over years.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm hmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: You know, all these kind of struggles. And then just the honestly alsoâ it doesnât have to be just these major, these are kind of like the major struggles I would say that athletes go through, mmm hmm. But also just the day-to-day, you know, the grind, the how toâyou know, the staying motivated, keeping on top of this, you know. Like being there, you know, giving it all, but not too much, you know, so I donât go down that road.
And yeah, what are my tools to stay focused? What are my tools to stay motivated? Who do I wanna be as an athlete? These kind of topics we cover in the courses, and they help them to really find their mode.
And also, you know, especially in competitionsâthatâs also a good point, you knowâ
competitions, nervousness, dealing with nervousness. Yes.
And that goesâI mean, the stuff we do there, it kind of works in all kinds of life situations, you know. I apply the tools when I have to do a presentation or so on, you know. Like because I also get nervous, it doesnât matter if I have to perform by talking or I have to perform physically.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
Carolin Ehrensberger: We know these kind of moments, right? So um, hmm, yeah.
What you say is very true. I guess this kind of pressure, yeah, it might have different backgrounds, but at the end of the day thereâs very similar symptoms that come out that people need to deal with. And um, yeah, we try to help with that.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
And I think the keyword there, as you say, is people. And weâre all dealing, at the end of the day, if you peel back all the layers and all the glamour or the dress-up around it, itâs at the root kind of those really core similar struggles.
And as you were talking, I was kind of noting the pressure that the athletes create for themselves. I mean, how many times have we been in a work environment where weâve put undue pressure on ourselves? Whether itâs to please a boss or to, you know, score the contract or get the project. And then, as you say, kind of that overtraining, rightâthe
overworking which leads to injury, which leads to burnout. Thereâs so many parallels there.
And then I love that point you mentioned around the mental challenge of draft picks, right, and whether youâre going to go pro or not. Because thatâs again also very real in our work environment. Where particularly if you are in that corporate space, you know, like someone
leaves and thereâs an opportunity to apply for a promotionâyou would be so, so upset if you
donât get chosen, if you donât make it through the interviews, right?
Itâs sort of those setbacks. And I found, particularly as I was kind of studying nutritionâI donât think we spoke about this, but I did a paper on sports nutrition as well, which kind of was really cool. And what they spoke about there was, yeah, just like the support that the athletes need, right? Like how you take care of your body, resting, training, fuelling your body, as you say, your mental health.
And generally we tend to focus on these groups, but at the end of the day, like weâre all humans. We actually all need help with this. And yeah, like whether we are at the kind of peak performance level, or just an everyday Susan whoâs trying to balance life and kids and work and laundryâlike we all need help. Can we all just kind of accept that? You know?
Carolin Ehrensberger:, Seriously. Yeah, hahaha.
Yeah, couldnât agree more, yeah. And I think often we kind of focusâlike our society focuses a lot on, you know, the more obvious side of it. You know, so in the work environment, mm hmm, okay, you need to perform better at work. So I donât know, educate yourself or whatever, you know, do another degree or whatever.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mm hmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, or you know, figure out aâyou know, listen to podcast, I donât know. And in sports, you know, you probably concentrate on the physical part, because you feel like, okay, you know, my body needs to perform. So my body needs to be strong. You know, my mind needs to be strong, my body needs to be strong. And um, but yeah, kind of likeâthen people focus a lot on that, and they kind of really underestimate the psychological part that goes so hand in hand with this.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, absolutely.
And um, tying it back to kind of that psychological and the mental coaching side of things, I would love toâbecause also, you know, thereâs different titles and names and qualifications people throw around out there. So I would just love to kind of get an understanding of what qualities and credentials you look for in your coaches for your high-performing athletes?
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, so for the athletes and the group courses and so on we do right now, itâs quite simple actually. We work with sport psychologists. So these people have a full degree in psychology and then specify in sports psychology. So like bachelor and masterâs degree at least. And then of course, like they always have education on top of that, you know, qualifications on top of that. But this is the basis.
So for now in this area with the classes, for mental coaches sometimes also we work with people who have just coaching certifications, but they need to be certain certifications. So itâs not enough to have like a three-month program, you know, and then you apply to be a coach at Coach-Waveânope, you need a little more than that.
So um, yeah, we look a lot into that, we check all their certifications and so on. And our sports psychologists, they also have not just the education but also experience. So theyâwe
have one of them, sheâs great, she for example, she works with uh, sheâs uh, I only know the German word now, Olympia stĂźtzpunktâŚ
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: So she works for the Olympics alsoâthatâs what Iâm trying to say. So sheâs a psychologist for the Olympics also. So sheâs quite qualified, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, So we look for people who know what theyâre doing. They have their education, they have certification, but they also have the experience with dealing with athletes. Thatâs very important, no, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: And I love that you're placing such a strong emphasis on, you know, bringing quality support to your network, right? Because if we're kind of real with each other, I would say that the space of coaching and, and as you say like even the psychology space, while we talk about it and we accept it, it'sâthere's still so much stigma. And there's not a lot of regulation or support in that space.
And I'm not sure kind of how Germanyâs structured, but for example here in New Zealand, we've got the Health Coaches Association for Australia and New Zealand, or the US has got the National Board, um, Certified Health and Wellness Coachesâboth of which I am a part of. But they're like these governing bodies that help filter out all the crapâhahaâif you know, like, which sounds like exactly what you're doing, so that you don't have that nightmare experience of some person trying to tell you to surround yourself with friends that make you feel better about yourself.
Carolin Ehrensberger: But yeah, that can still happen, I'm just trying to say. But I totally agree with you overall. There is this issue in the market where there's a lot of people out there that are not qualified, that are claiming to be qualified, and you can do nothing about it. There's no regulation and it's the same here.
So, this is also what we're kind of trying to work against, you know, and kind of tidy this up in some space at least, you know, and give transparency and make sure that there is a good quality, um, around everything that happens with Coach-Wave. And people will know, okay, if I go to Coach-Wave I can, uh, be sure that I don't get some crappy, weird person try to tell me what to do, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm hmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: So definitely it's, it's aâthat's a problem, um. I mean apart from the stigma around the topic itself, um this is definitely just a regulatory problem, I would say, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm yeah. And the good news is, you know, there's a lot of work being done in that space and, and these governing bodies and entities and associations are doing kind of the best they can to help navigate things like scope of practice, as you say.
So for example, earlier you mentioned um, the coach giving you adviceâlike generally that should be very limited, and most cases it's either when you directly ask for advice or they like, have asked you for permission to give you advice first. Like that's kind of, um, as you say, how any decent coach gets trained.
And so I think we're getting there. Um, it'll probably take some time. And the fact that you are leading the way is just so inspirational as well. Because it's only uphill and upwards from there and, uh, yeah, just really inspired by your story and kind of your passion and, and what you do and bring to this world.
And correct me if I'm wrongâare you currently mostly operating out of Germany?
Carolin Ehrensberger: Um, yes, well honestly, our classes and like these masterclass courses, we have had internationalâum, like mostly Europe honestly at this point, but um, the group was from all over Europe. And one of our coaches or sport psychologists actually, um, was from the United States. So actually not quite only in Germanyâhaha.
Yeah but um, still like, uh yeah, we, we still kind of focus on, on, on Germany right now. But um, now we worked also with the uhâI don't know if you're familiar with the Hyrox?
The sport Hyrox?
It's kind of a new upcoming hugeâveryâŚ
Viktoria Levenberg: I've heard of it in my sports nutrition course, yeah.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, so it's kind of like really hyped right now and um, because it's so hyped and growing so quickly, we have exactly these kind of issues that we were tackling, because there's no support mentally. And people go like crazy about the sport, you know, they get super crazy ambitious and then they really, you know, they crash when, uh, things don't go as planned, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Okayâquick pause. Let's just take a brief moment to take a deep breath in through the
nose⌠and now through the mouth⌠hmm, how yummy is that, hey?
If mindfulness has ever felt confusing or too hard to start, I created a free online course called Live in Presence: 8 Days of Mindfulness to help you come back to yourself gently. You can sign up for free using the link in the show notes below at livinghealth.co or through the link in my bio at Living Health.
Now take a deep breath in⌠and we'll gently transition back to the episode.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Hyrox has been really hyping up so much and um, what we see there is that exactly what we're doing is missing there. Because people get so ambitious andâ
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm hmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: So like, I mean there's huge competitions, and wherever there is competitions, there's a lot of pressure. So um, yeah. People get really into it and then, you know, they crash a lot of times because it doesn't go as planned, you know. They overtrain and all these things that we talked about before.
So um, this is something that we've really been tapping into. And um, you know, we kind of started like in this even smaller niche. So we're, um, yeah, theoretically doing all kinds of sports but um, we're now, um, really having a lot of Hyrox athletes in the courses, because they seem to need itâhaha.
Like everybody else of course, um, but um, still like, you know, you gotta start somewhere and then kind of go from there. So um, yeah, it's, uh, yeah. So, and these are quite international people, so um, we're kind of setting up Coach-Wave to, to yeah, have everything in English available and, and so on so people from everywhere can understand what we're doing. But still, yeah, we're based in Germany and of course, like we do have our focus around here. Let's feel like that.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm hmm. It's so exciting though, you know. As, as you say it's still early days and, and things are growing and um, in today's digital age like theâthe world is your oyster.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Definitely. Yep. Yeah. And so of course we, we wanna be everywhere at some point. We are working on it.
Viktoria Levenberg: Well hey, Who's, who's saying that's not in the foreseeable future? I reckon it very much could be, yeah, 'cause as you say, this service is needed.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah. Yeah and so yeah, I mean there is some support but not the kind that we're offering in this area.
Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm, yeah. And um, you mentioned earlier, you know, kind of even everyday peopleâlike the Hyrox competitorsâputting so much stress and, and pressure on themselves, and, and that's what it all comes down to at the end of the day, right?
Like that's where your story started. That is where then you looked to seek help, and that's where now you're seeking to help others. And as you have gained experience, knowledge and expertise in building Coach-Wave, what's one myth about stress, burnout or wellness that you just wish people would unlearn?
Carolin Ehrensberger: Hmm, good question. There isâyou can't eat it away. You can't, you know, like, because there are such different approaches, you know, some people just don't eat or others eat a lot. That for sure does not work either way.
I don't know, that kind of yeah, that's, that's veryâto my mind putsâuh huh, um yeah. I mean in general, you can't just, youâyou can't just put it in a box and put it away, you know. You can't ignore it.
Viktoria Levenberg: Thank you for saying that, yes. Exactly. It's like, well, you know someone
listening might be like, âWell I'm ignoring all my problems and I'm fine.â Sureâthe lid's gonna pop at some point.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly.
Viktoria Levenberg: You're just delaying the inevitable. Right. Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
And I think you and I both have had those moments in, in our experience and um, yeah. That's a really good oneâyou can't eat it away or pretend that it doesn't exist.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Put it in a box and close the boxânope. The box will explode.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, yeah. I'm thinking of like whack-a-mole, you know? It's just like you
try and like whack it, whack the little clown down, it's like, âNo, peekaboo, I'm gonna keep
popping up until you deal with me, my friend.â
Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah. The only way is through. Carolin Ehrensberger: Yep.
Yeah and yeah.
That's also what we teach the athletes. Like one big thing is to acknowledge your emotions and what you're feeling. That's the first step, then you can start dealing with it. But you do need to acknowledge it because it is there, you know.
And then you can decideâyeah, we kind of have this little exercise, you know, who you give the microphone in that sense, you know. But they're all there in the waiting room. Who doâ let's speak, you know. Who gets more attention?
That you can kind of discover and then also manage, you know. But they're definitely there. You can't go around that.
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh, yes. And I love that you speak to kind of that first step being, yeah, acknowledging your feelings, awareness. I always say awareness is the first step. Like once you have awareness or acknowledgement of what is, then you have choice. You have agency over how to move forward.
And unfortunately many of us don't like being in the awareness, and we try and suppress and we hide it away. And we might overeat or starve ourselves or drink or take drugs or party or binge Netflixâwhatever it is, like we all have our vices. But the reality is at some point, that's not enough.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, I totally agree. So yeah. And then that exactlyâlike when you acknowledge, then you can find tools, then you can deal, you know, then you can manage, yeah.
Yes, but goes like thatâyeah, you can't skip the steps. Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly.
It's like Google Maps. Like the way I see it is, you know, whenever you wanna get somewhere, you've gotta know where you're starting from first, right? Like youâyou cannot have Google Maps draw you a route if you're just like somewhere out in the ether. No. Like you gotta, you gotta turn Location Services on first.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly. Yup. Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Um, and tell me, Carol, so um, you know, you've obviously been on quite a big journey personally yourself, and now you're exposed to these incredible experts and Olympic psychologists and coaches and sports psychologists, and of course like your community and your network.
And life is still gonna be lifing, right? Like just because we've been on a journey doesn't mean the journey stops. And I'm sure you still have your own stressors and, and your own little moments. And so I'd love to hear how you recenter and reconnect with yourself when things get a little bit overwhelming.
Carolin Ehrensberger: I think in general I am much more stable in where I am, because I really do things that resonate with me, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm hmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: And I, um yeah, so that I think makes it in general, you know, um easier to, you knowâbecause I'm not in an extremely vulnerable place where everything is chaotic and everything is, you know, kind of out of place.
But I mean that's aâthat's a luxury that now I, I have in my life, because I saw opportunities and I took them and I, I, I found my path in a way, you know. I'm still finding it but, you know, I feel like this path is good, you know. This is a nice path, I like this path. But um, so, so that
um gives me like, uh, some, some stability kind of deep down in that sense, which is a great luxury.
But uh, yeah, I mean it's, it's still self-built, you know. I would say that does not just happen, you know. I, I built, I built this path also. But yeah, then thereâof course there is stressful days and I get nervous. Like I get nervous easily, so that might be one thing. Or yeah, of course, I have topics in my life that are not easy and that are really hard to deal with still, you know.
Yeah and so what do I do? Um, Iâone very important thing that keeps me going, um, without, you know, burning outâand I mean yeah, I have full days, I, I work a lot, I, you know, I don't have so much free time sometimes, and that's completely okay because I like what I do. But still, what is super important is keeping my routines. That is really one thing that I discovered. It is so important to keep my rhythm.
So I have to go to bed not too late, I have to get up at a similar time, you know, keep this kind of just natural rhythm, yeah, that, you know, where I get enough sleep and I get enough rest. And um, I do my sports, you know. If I stop doing that because I can'tâlike of course that can be okay for like one to three days, but after that I need this kind of rhythm where I do my sports, I sleep, I eat properly, you know. I eat healthy food and not just, you know, whatever, you know, in, in between.
So these are just like theâalso the, the small routines, you know. How I get up, how I make my bed in the morning. Like honestly, it's the small things that I just wanna like, point to for a very short moment here, that I think are crucial. If you start losing that, then I think, you know, the stress becomes more stressful, because you haveâyou also lose your structure.
So that for me is very important: to keep a certain structure. Not super strictly of courseâif there is a crazy birthday party, of course I'm gonna enjoy it, I'm gonna dance all night long. But then I just try to get back into my rhythm, yeah.
Um, so I try, you know, not, uh, uh, you know, round and Netflix until, um, 2:00am in the morning, um, you know. I just don't do these, these kind of things as much as possible, yeah. And then um, I have of course like my small, um, tools, techniques. Like we did a little breathing exerciseâlike I, I like to do those, you know. Or um, yeah, like when I do my sports, of course I also try to, to implement some of the tools that we, we teach.
And so it can be anything from like self-talk, you know, that I try to acknowledge and then also maybe twist a little bit. And um, yeah, breathing, I already start meditating. Um, these, these kind of tools that I use in my day to day to just, you know, calm me down, or change the way I talk to myself in a certain moment and so on.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
And as you say these are the simple things like, yeah. We as humans have this tendency to overcomplicate life when in reality it's simple.
Get enough sleep, move your body, nourish yourself well, take care of your mental health.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, exactly. And have your relationships in place. Like I think that for me also, you know, I always try to make sure, okay, I go through the world with my heart open. If I get hurt, that's okay. But at least I put my heart into it, you know, yeah.
That's also I think something that gives me a lot of strength in a way. Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Because it makes life all more enjoyable. So I think, yeah, not to forget the relationships in life, that's very, very important.
Viktoria Levenberg: Thank you for bringing that in, because we as people, we are tribal beings. We are these kind of animals who like to be in a pack, and community is such an integral aspect.
Like there's so many studies done and even like the Blue Zones, for example, around the importance of community and shared connection. That, that is a really integral part of it.
And as you mentioned those kind of little moments like how you make your bed in the morning, it'sâwhat first thing that came to mind is like, âHow you do anything is how you do everything.â And that was such a potent example of that, yeah.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, I guess so, yeah. It's really theâthe routines and your habits that build your life, right?
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly. And also, you know, to acknowledge, like you said, like you've already done so much work in the lead up. Like you've built your foundations really strongly so that when things do demand a little bit more of you, like you've already, um, emptied out your stress bucket. Like you've already filled up your cup sufficiently for you to be able to navigate a little bit of ebb and flow here and there.
Right? Rather than say, if we take you 10, 15 years ago, where the stress bucket was already overflowing, the tank was completely empty, and then add another stressor on top of thatâ of course things are gonna escalate.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
Viktoria Levenberg: And we live in a paradigm where we are so focused on injury management, on kind of dealing with the problems when they arise. But you mentioned this earlier on when you said we actually wanna get to this before it happens. We wanna get to the root, we wanna prevent.
Like this is what I really just wanted to circle back on as well, is that health and well-being isn't just dealing with the issues when they come up. It's the prevention, it's the building the foundation that then sets you up for actual well-being. What is the word well-being? Being well, right?
Carolin Ehrensberger: 100% yeah.
And you cannot stop the waves in life from coming.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, exactly. Carolin Ehrensberger: They will be there.
The question is how stable are you to deal with them, you know? Viktoria Levenberg: That's right.
Carolin Ehrensberger: And that you work on every day, and your small habits and your small routines and the love you give and all of it, you know. Like the food you eat and the movement you do and yes, um, yeah.
When you feel like, you know, whenever I feel like, okay, now it's getting a bit too much, then I start thinking, okay, I know the feeling. I mean that's a good thing, right? I'm actually really glad that life taught me very early in life how it feels like when things really hit the fan, you know? Like when it really gets too much.
So I know the feeling, which is very valuable, because then I can do something about it, you know, and I don't end up being too late, I guess. Maybe, you know, a lot of people, they have to fall on their face once maybe too. But the question is do you learn and do you understand what it feels like, and then you can deal with that, you know.
Because then when the wave hits a bit harderâokay, here I am. I know this feeling. Now I gotta watch out, okay, what do I do? I need my little extra care package, you know. What tools do I pick now? Okay, maybe breathing and meditating is not enough right now. I mean this happens, yeah, of course.
I, I also looked for somebody then to talk to, you know, to, to let me figure out, okay, where am I, what's happening, what do I need to do, um, or what can I do? And yeah, then it helped and nothing bad happened, you know, yeah. Um, exactly, yeah. Prevention, definitely.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes. And you mentioned asking for help. And again this for me also falls under the category of, as you say, prevention and not necessarily waiting for things to get too overwhelming or too much to ask for help.
I know and I acknowledge that you mentioned at the start of our episode that, um, likeâIâm not gonna quote, because I'm probably not gonna get it rightâbut it was something along the lines of like, âOh, you know, I'm not at the stage where I need therapy, butâŚâ or, âI wasn't at the stage where I needed therapy, but I kind of needed help.â
I see a therapist every other week. I have for the last eight years straight. And the work that we do in our sessionsâof course there's kind of waves and ebbs and flows of life, but a lot of it is also like progressive, self-explorative, kind of developmental work.
And the same goes for a health coach or, or a, you know, kind of sports performance coach. Like you could be thriving, and it's like the better it gets, the better it gets. Like what else are you tolerating in your life right now that could be even better?
Like let's normalize living the best life that we possibly can, because there's only one of this attempts, as far as we know, that we get at it, right?
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I, uh, yeah, I mean this is an important point. Like it's not like I only do, for example, coaching, um, when I feel the absolute crazy need for it. But I do it like quite regularly, you know.
I, uh, like yeah. Um, sometimes it switches a little bit, um, like it's maybe not every third week or so, you know. Sometimes there's a few months in between where I'm like, uh, just rolling along, um, but I, I really try to keep up. And then, you know, I do other things in that time that, you know, help me build my base stronger and stronger.
So I, yeah. It's, I think this is really also something that we teach the athletes. This isâyou practice these kind of things, you know. This is like mental well-being. It doesn't just fall down, you know. Like you can practice dealing with stress and so on, dealing with pressure. This is something that you build over a long period of time with tools that you keep going back to.
You know, this is how you structure your brain actually, physically. This is, you know, proven things, you know, connect differently when you practice. And this is cool, yeah. It's literally goes like, there's like little YouTube videos where you can literally see it. And it's so fascinating.
Viktoria Levenberg: I know, I love itâgeeking out on that stuff.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, so, yeah. But you, you know, the thoughts you have, they structure your brain. So whatever you practice structures your brain, that's just how it goes. And this is how you build your base, and this is how you get stronger over time, because you structure your brain like that.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, exactly. And, and naming it as a practice is so potent, because it is a practice. As long as we're alive, we're going to be practicing it. We may not necessarily master things, but we get better each and every time. The stronger your foundation, the more earthquake-proof you become.
It's a very local New Zealand reference as well. Like in Christchurch, which is kind ofâhad dealt with some horrible earthquakes a few years ago, they had to rebuild most of the city. Now they're like one of the most earthquake-proof cities because of the solid foundations that they have built.
This is the same thing we are doing for ourselves. Sure, you may fall flat on your face once. Then you're gonna learn from it. Then you're gonna do better next time.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah, amazing. 100% agree.
Viktoria Levenberg: UmâI am very conscious of your time, so I have one last question for you and then we will wrap things up.
So, something that I love to ask every guest that comes on the podcast is: if there was just one thing that you hoped would resonate with the listeners after this episode ends, what do you feel it would be?
Carolin Ehrensberger: I think what'sâI mean, I mentioned this a little bit, um, but I really didn't expect my path to go the way it went. And I think what has been a really big lesson along this journey so far for me is to see opportunities. To learn to see opportunities.
So yeah, life first lesson said, you, you, you know, you pick yourself up, you learn. Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm hmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: And what opportunities come with that, you know, yeah.
Try to learn to, to, to understand that. And this also has to do with, yeah, understanding like your feelings and, um, also your instincts in a way.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm hmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: So, and you know, trusting this. And yeah, you know, I really thought, you know, uh, withânow Iâm in the beginning of my 30sâmaybe I would already have like, if you would have asked me like 10 years ago, I would have been like, âYeah, Iâm probably married, I have, uh, the first kid or so, and, um, Iâm doing some marketing job somewhere,
um, in a, in a big company.â Not at all what happened, you know. Hahaha.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hello 30s. Hahaha.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly. And I am completely fine with it. You know, I enjoy my life.
Um, like, uh, yeah. Of course, you, youâI, I do still wanna have a family, not gonna, not
gonna, uh, I didnât ditch that plan at all. But, um, life doesnât go according to a plan, right?
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Like relationships and, and, and, uh, yeah, careers and everything, they, they just haveâthey go differently sometimes. And, and thatâs fine. You find a different way. But I think, you know, learning to have this flexibility to adjust and then, you know, see opportunities in my life, also in my start-up with Coach-Wave.
We really, you know, saw opportunities here now with the, with athletes, with this very
special, uh, niche that right now weâre tapping into. This only happened because we kept our eyes open, you know. And we felt like, âAh, thereâs something here. Letâs go into it and see what we can do.â
And then we figured out, âOh, we can do something about it.â And, um, yeah, I think this, like of thisâthis flexibility, you know. Having some idea, of course, where you wanna go, but, um, still being able to take little turns, um, whenever you, like, feel this, this instincts and understanding thisâthese instincts and feelings. Um, I think that goes a long way.
And I hope that some people will maybe resonate with that, or, um, yeah, kind of see what
Iâm, Iâm, yeah, trying to, to say here. That life just happens. But thatâs a good thing.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly. Itâs your choice whether you see it as a lesson and you learn from it, and itâs an opportunity for growth. Right.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Exactly. Life is choice, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Life is choice, yeah. And, and you, you put it really well. Um, and so, look, if people are interested to learn a little bit more about Coach-Wave, they want to work with you or one of your coaches, or sign up for one of your workshops, where can they find you?
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah. So, um, thank you for asking. So, Coach minus wave, like the wave, uh, like in the sea dot com. Uh, so coach-wave.com, thatâs our website. And then, um, on Instagram also, um, Coach, um, WaveâI think with a little, um, underscore line, yes.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, thank you. Weâll, um, post it in the show notes as well.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Yeah. If you type in Coach-Wave, you will probably find us on
Instagram, also on LinkedIn. Um, but yeah, we try to be quite active on Instagram. So thatâs
definitely something where people.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah. Your social media manager is doing a great job. I, I geeked out on there last night.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Thank you. Iâm gonna meet her later and Iâm gonna tell her. Thatâsâ thatâs really nice, thank you so much. Sheâll be pretty happy. Hahaha.
Viktoria Levenberg: Itâs an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for your time this morning, for getting up early at 7:30 in the morning, um, for this podcast. I really am so grateful for everything that youâve shared. And I, yeah, Iâm really sure that our conversation will resonate with our listeners. And yeah, just wish you all, all the best in this incredible adventure. Iâm
sure itâs only upwards from here.
And yeah, thank you again for your time, for your presence. And I really look forward to catching up again soon.
Carolin Ehrensberger: Hopefully, yeah. Thank you so much. It was a lot of fun. I loved, um, yeah, sharing and also hearing your thoughts and your great questions. So thank you so, so much. And yeah, really looking forward to keeping this conversation and a connection up. Itâs amazing.
Thank you.
Viktoria Levenberg: Thank you so much for listening to this episode. Just a few final reflections from my side. You know, whoever you end up working with, rightâwhether itâs a health coach or a, um,
mental health coach, or a psychologist, or any other professionalâit is quite important for
you to make sure that, you know, they are operating ethically and within their scope of practice, and that they respect that trust and vulnerability that you are placing into them.
And so, if todayâs conversation made you a little bit curious, and perhaps even a little bit concerned aroundâyes, there, there can be a lot of impersonators out thereâhonestly, like, my No. 1 recommendation, particularly from a health coaching standpoint, is just to check NBHWCâs website, or HCANZA if youâre local to Australia/New Zealand. Make sure your coach is listed there.
I will pop the links into the notes below as well.
And kind of the other thing I want to highlightâand I share this always with anyone whoâs like looking for a coach, a therapist, or another support personâjust get that first session. You know, like whether itâs complimentary or paid. Um, for therapy for example, generally you have to pay. Just try it out, right?
Itâs like going to the store and trying on a new outfit. You donât have to go and purchase that outfitâyou can put it back on the rack, right? Like if Iâm not your person, thatâs fine. Like go out there and find your person. Go and rinse and repeat until you feel like it really clicks, until you feel like that person resonates with you and your worldview and your values.
Because trust me, once you do, the support that youâre going to get and the results that are
going to come from this relationship are priceless.
So, I guess I went on that a little bit longer than I thought, but you can see Iâm quite
passionate about this.
And just the other kind of two big reflections that I had were: no matter how much you may try or fool yourself, you cannot push it away. And Iâm speaking from first-hand experience here as well. I actually was, quote unquote, a robot. Like I was absolutely numb. I didnât feel my feelings. I worked like a computer. I was just an absolute machine until, kind of, I went through my own journey and my own little breakdownâwhich, if youâre curious, go all the way back to the start of the podcast and have a little listen.
But that was my way of trying to suppress and avoid all of my feelings, and itâs not sustainable. So you may be thinking, âHey, Iâm just gonna, you know, ignore it and hope all my problems go away.â Theyâre not gonna go away.
Uh, if you are listening to this and you havenât fallen flat on your face yet:
A) congratulations, and
B) letâs go and preventatively start to empty out that stress bucket.
Because trust me, you are going to be so grateful that you did that. You can also just ignore
what Iâve just said and go in, full flat on your face, and then youâll circle back right to where
you started. Thatâs fine. Um, I guess my intention is just to help you alleviate some of the pain and the heartbreak. Um, although who am I to judge or try and influence that? At the end of the day, we all have to go through our own journeys.
So awareness is the first step. If youâre aware of whatâs going on, then youâve got the agency
to make a choice. The choice is still yours. But I guarantee you, as soon as you turn on the
light, thereâs no turning it back off.
So my question to you would be: what choice are you going to make?
Viktoria Levenberg: Alright, listen to this. I get asked by overworked, overwhelmed, burnt-out high achievers how they can release their stress without sacrificing their productivity all the time.
And that is because I have been one of them. Iâve been able to heal my relationship with stress while increasing my energy and achieve more than ever before at the same time.
So, for the very first time everâIâm so excited about thisâI am going to be pulling together and teaching a really small, intimate, select group of students how to detox from stress, so that you can say bye-bye to burnout and overwhelm.
And instead, you can skyrocket your energy levels all the while being more productive than ever beforeâwith ease. Doesnât that sound amazing?
So if thatâs something that youâre interested in, if you are done struggling with stress and overworking, and youâd like to be a part of this special training, send me a message and letâs have a chat. Iâd love to see you there.
Viktoria Levenberg: The views and opinions expressed by guests on Resonance are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of me, Viktoria Levenberg, LVNHealth, or anyone working within the LVNHealth brand.
This space welcomes a diversity of ideas, experiences, and stories. And part of Resonance is learning to take what aligns and gently leaving the rest.
Also, while I am a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach and deeply passionate about well-being, this podcast is intended for educational and inspirational purposes only.
Resonance does not substitute personalized medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. Always seek guidance from qualified professionals for any physical, emotional, or mental health concerns.
