Resonance – Episode 38
Verbatim Transcript
Speaker: Viktoria Levenberg
Guest Speaker: Kira Whitham
Kira Whitham: I would love to say, being a nutritionist, the No. 1 thing we focus on food is food,
but it's not. What foods feel good in your body? We don't all just go take a multivitamin because
we all need the same exact thing, cause again it goes back to the noise, and there's so many
influencers and so much nutrition noise out there that people you get confused. If all you were
focused on is how crappy you feel in the moment, you're gonna continue to feel crappy.
Everyone's on their own journey, and they have to get there at their time. What's gonna serve
your soul better?
Viktoria Levenberg: In today's episode, you are going to hear from Kira Whitham about
nourishing your whole-person health so that you can debunk the myths that have been keeping
you stuck and miserable for so long and instead step into the version of you that feels great in
your body, mind, and spirit. Let's dive in.
Viktoria Levenberg: Welcome to Resonance, the podcast for high performers and entrepreneurs
who want to do life, work, and success differently. I am your host, Viktoria Levenberg, and I'm
obsessed with efficiency, productivity, and planning in a way that harnesses your energy and your
natural rhythms while keeping you in alignment and integrity, because I have figured out that
lasting success is not about the hustle. It is about being in resonance. Let's begin.
Viktoria Levenberg: Alright, quick intro to Kira um we met through our business by design
community, so she's also a online expert, entrepreneur and in that similar space, and we
connected through shared passions, shared mission and vision and goals and um you know I as
soon as I got closer to her world I was like we gotta bring you on to the podcast. And Kira is a
naturopathic doctor and nutritionist from moving from you know early childhood education
basically she went through her own challenges of dealing with severe gut health issues and uh
using her knowledge and her experience to heal herself so um I'm not gonna give too much away
you know you'll just have to listen to the episode for the details but it's a really inspiring story.
And what I really love is that she's got this perspective of whole person health so she looks at you
as an entire being, not just the physical sheath, but also the mind body, spirit connection and
everything, really everything that's going on in your life which in my humble opinion, is the only
way to truly achieve sustainable lifelong transformational change. And what's even more
inspiring is hearing the story of her husband, who also was diagnosed with an autoimmune
condition, where his blood and results were really, really scary and through you know the
knowledge that and experience that Kira had, she was able to support him in his healing journey
as well. So look without further ado, just know that by the end of this episode, you will know
exactly where to start to begin your own journey so that you can feel better in your body, mind,
and spirit in a way that just feels easy, simple, and achievable. Enjoy.
Viktoria Levenberg: Welcome to Resonance. Thank you so much for saying yes and coming on to
the podcast. Um, I would love to, yeah, for you to introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about you
and what you do.
Kira Whitham: Yeah, well, thank you for having me. My name is Kira Whitham. I am a functional
medicine-trained nutritionist and traditional naturopath living in Austin, Texas. Um, and I mean I
do what it sounds like I do, however, I take a very mind, body, spirit approach to healing. I don't
believe that supplements and protocols, and restrictive diets are what heals the body.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm I love that perspective and it is very much aligned to a lot of you know
my work hence why we're here and and on that same wavelength and um tell me a little bit more
of your story like um you know maybe what's one thing that doesn't show up on your official bio
that we would know only if we listened to this episode.
Kira Whitham: Haha, oh, um I'm actually a board-certified hypnotist.
Viktoria Levenberg: Haha, cool.
Kira Whitham: Yeah, I probably don't utilise it to my capacity like when I first did it, I was so
excited, and then I don't know, it's like I had too many tools in my tool belt, but yeah, that's one
fun fact.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, and I love that because it that is so cool. I reacted this way because I
actually I'm not board certified in this but I've also uh you know done a training on subconscious
healing and facilitated a lot of this work um and it is also one of those tools in my tool belt that I
no longer really use um only for special occasions so like VIP days and and that sort of stuff so I
can really resonate with you and I'm sure that even if it's not something you actively practice you
weave it into your work in different ways.
Kira Whitham: 100% yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm and just tell me a bit about your story, and like how did you come to do
what you do today and there's always something that guides us isn't there.
Kira Whitham: There is. So I was a middle school English teacher um dealing with my own
digestive issues, and honestly, these issues started as a as an infant, truly like I just was the the
kid with stomach aches all the time. And so in my 20s, teaching I was a little fed up um very high-
stress job, a lot to deal with, and the issues just kept getting worse. And so I'm seeing doctor after
doctor. They're doing you know scopes and barium drinks and all these and really don't have
anything to tell me. And so I think I hit a breaking point and said you know what if what if I just
start to understand food, which sounds so funny but for me it was like I didn't understand, like
they didn't they don't really teach nutrition here in schools. I don't know how it is there but you
know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Nope.
Kira Whitham: You're like no yeah. If it's on a grocery store shelf you eat it right like yeah get
some fruits and vegetables in but that was about it um so I thought well let me go back to school
and get a degree in nutrition to help myself.
Viktoria Levenberg: Wow.
Kira Whitham: I know. And so by the time I finished, I had just given birth to my son um and
shortly after that my husband was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, which was a very scary
diagnosis to get. And I knew enough to be dangerous just graduating with this nutrition degree
that like hmm the body doesn't just start attacking itself for no reason like there's gotta be
something going on. And then that led me down the functional medicine road, found him a
functional medicine doctor, started studying on my own, and then it just kept going.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mmm hmm wow and um, tell me your husband how is how is he today.
Kira Whitham: Great, great yeah. So just for maybe not exciting for your listeners but sometimes
for reference here in the US liver enzymes should be in the teens to 20s and his were in the 2, so
he was to the point where they were talking liver transplant within months. And I'm talking I
think it was three months we were down into the hundreds. Within six months he was back into
the the low 20s and we've monitored every six months and there's never been an elevation again
and that was almost 10 years ago.
Viktoria Levenberg: Wow, congratulations both to you and to him and you know I I'm always so
inspired by hearing other people's journeys of how it it does always really start with ourselves.
We find the magic for us and then we use that to ripple out into the world. And so can you tell
me a little bit more about how you uh navigated your stomach issues and also how you
supported your husband's recovery uh from his liver. I mean, wow enzymes being in the
thousands that's a lot.
Kira Whitham: Yeah yeah yeah I mean for me it was that food piece really was huge and I didn't
realise how much of a role it was playing. I just wasn't eating right for me um I didn't understand
the the the simple foundational pieces of oh those cooking oils aren't great and oh maybe you
should be eating like this. And so once I started changing my diet and really aiming for a nutrient-
dense one most of my symptoms went away. Now granted there were still lingering things and I
discovered them to be cyclical you know like they would come and go in periods of stress mostly
hahaha. But that realisation didn't totally come on until much later like it took me a while before I
connected the dots on that one um but between mostly diet and some lifestyle shifts things got
better. Now granted in the beginning studying functional medicine I do what probably most
newer practitioners do. You get hung up on protocols and supplements and so I ran myself
through everything which probably didn't need.
Viktoria Levenberg: But it's so much fun you've got access to right.
Kira Whitham: You know I felt like I must need this and I need that and oh my gosh this must be
an issue so that that resolved over time but again most of it was was food um and then for my
husband with autoimmune I always teach my clients that it's like a a a stool you know you can
kick away one leg um maybe you'll hang on there but you you gotta have at least two. So when
we look at autoimmune, you know, autoimmune hepatitis, there was the stress piece, there was
the poor sleep piece with a newborn baby haha, um there was the food piece as well like he
wasn't eating great. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't quite right for him. And then there was the gut
toxicity piece which he didn't pay any attention to. So for his journey a little different than mine it
was definitely leaving a job that he hated that was creating a lot of stress. And right after the
autoimmune hepatitis diagnosis, it was discovered that he had celiac and he had been because
he had lost so much weight with this he was literally just like gorging on bread and pasta so
making it worse. So once we learned that gluten was not his friend.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hahaha that was a big yeah.
Kira Whitham: Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Wow wow. And like I'm frivolously making notes as you speak here because
there are so many golden nuggets in everything you've just said. Some of the things that you
mentioned first and foremost is just stress is like that common ingredient. I know I've been
harping on about this for so long and people tend to brush it aside, but what most people don't
understand is that we're one integrated being, and whatever is going on up here in the monkey
mind is also through different pathways, as you are well aware, connected to other areas like the
gut, etcetera, and the basics like sleep, like food. But you also touched on something so freakishly
important, which is purpose. Leaving a job that he hated. So how many people walk through
their days sleepwalking, just thinking well this is the cards I was dealt.
Kira Whitham: This pays the bills, whatever.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly yeah. This is all I know how to do. It's too late for me. All that
nonsense.
Yes. And the toxicity piece that you mentioned as well, a lot of people aren't aware of this and so
it just keeps building up. And many of the listeners might not be aware, but the liver is like the
body's most well biggest most primal detox organ right? So when you've got autoimmune
disease and the liver enzymes in the thousands, that is a big big red flag. So how have you now
taken these teachings, these learnings, this experience, and how do you work with your clients
today?
Kira Whitham: I mean I would love to say being a nutritionist the No. 1 thing we focus on food is
food, but it's not. Most of my clients come into me and are really savvy. By the time they come to
me, they've tried every diet therapeutic restrictive all the things, and for the most part they're
pretty healthy eaters. Now granted once in a while I'll get some people that are kind of like I was,
and they're like I don't know, there's so much nutrition noise out there. Am I supposed to eat
plants? Are plants killing me because of the oxalates? Do I eat carnivore? So there's definitely
people that are a bit confused out there, and if that's the case that's where we start. But really I
tell people I treat them like a puzzle. Maybe that's a bad analogy, but that's how my brain works. I
sit down, I map everything out, and we start to have a conversation. It's a lot of rapid-fire
questions on my end initially, but I'm trying to know them and their story. When did symptoms
start? What was going on in your life? What was your childhood like? And then that stress piece
comes in. Now maybe not in the beginning. I'm very subtle. I'll ask how's your stress? Do you feel
stressed? And I always have to kind of laugh at this. Not a trick question, but it almost is, and I'm
sure you see that too, because so many people are like no, I manage it fine, or I'm not more
stressed than the other person. And then we get into the piece that you mentioned, like lack of
purpose. That creates stress in the body if you hate what you're doing. Then we talk also about
toxicity, but in the sense of our relationships. Are you involved in toxic relationships? And how do
you talk to yourself? Is that toxic? So we look at all of the ways stress shows up, not just are you
working a fifty-hour work week. It's the thoughts running through your mind. What are the
beliefs? What's the identity of you? Because we can't heal if we subconsciously believe that we're
sick and we're destined to be sick.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly, and thank you for saying that because that immediately ties the dot
back to your hypnotherapy experience as well right? Most people don't understand that ninety
percent of our mind is beyond our conscious awareness. So whatever old limiting beliefs, stories,
unprocessed stress loops, emotional traumatic events, you name it, we've still got running the
show that is then bringing forth our reality right? And so I love how you ask that trick question in
there. I had to laugh so much because I've literally got a client right now who's dealing with a lot
of stress. They're in my founding members lounge, which is literally called The Stress Reset.
They've gone through all this preliminary, they have so much more awareness and understanding
around stress than they ever have, but because right now their nervous system is like in full
sympathetic, you kind of tend to regress when you're in that stage of yep unfortunately in that
nervous system stage. And I can just hear them saying things like oh whatever stress, stress it is
just normal. It's not stress. This is just life admin. And I'm like I don't okay, okay you might think
that now. We'll talk later. Let's come into a resonant state and then take it from there.
Kira Whitham: Yeah yeah yeah. It's so interesting. I mean I feel like our society has set us up for
failure. The hustle and grind culture, keep doing more. What you're doing is never enough. So we
don't view it as stress. And that's why I said for me, I saw it in the beginning, but I didn't see it at
the same time. And it took me years later and now I'm like it all goes back to stress. If I get a
stomach ache, which is very rare for digestive issues to come back, I go into doing some deep
breathing, some vagus nerve resets. I know that there's something in there when I'm holding on
to stress.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah yeah. And that's the thing. As you say the work never ends. You could
be the most professional and experienced and an enlightened being on the planet, and the thing
is life still gonna happen. The stressors are always gonna be there. The question is how well
prepared are you to respond to them rather than to react to life. And there's a big difference in
those two things. Tell me a little bit more about, so you mentioned you healed a big part of your
symptoms using food and a lot of those things, which is incredible. And then there was another
part that you discovered that was cyclical, and I get so excited when I hear people say this
because this is so much of what I teach now. In my world, cyclical alignment is the missing
ingredient for us to actually achieve our goals, because as you say we're all so conditioned to be
in this linear productivity hustle paradigm, and yet we are cyclical beings. So tell me about your
experience and what was that like for you.
Kira Whitham: So when I say cyclical for me, it was two fold. From the purely clinical aspects,
hormones yeah. A lot of people don't recognize estrogen and the estradiol that plays a large
component of gut health. So it really was hormonal. And I wouldn't say every month it came on,
but I started to notice symptoms always happen around my cycle. So that was a cyclical piece.
And then also stress. Stress would come back around. I'd start ignoring things, stuff would build
up, I'd get frustrated, boom symptoms would come right back.
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh yes. Wow so there's kind of this the cyclical piece is in your physical
hormonal body, but also this sort of vicious cycle of stress as you call it. And around this time,
because you obviously were so exposed to this field right through your studies, through your
knowledge, what was your understanding of your female physiology and your cycle?
Kira Whitham: In the beginning nothing. There was nothing. And even right, even in nutrition
school and honestly studying functional medicine, there wasn't much. It wasn't until years ago
that I started hearing cycle syncing for women, and I'm like what? What is this? What do you
mean I'm supposed to pay attention to what I'm eating and how I'm training and doing that?
Could I dig into it more? Yeah. But it's fascinating to me and I believe it because we look at
females and we follow the moon cycles. Why, haha? You know what I mean. It makes sense.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes. And I also argue that it's not limited to just cycling females. A lot of
people are like oh well then this doesn't apply to me because I've had a hysterectomy or I've
gone through peri or menopause or I'm not female, I don't identify as whatever right? And the
thing is that I always keep coming back to, and I love that you said that as well, is there's so many
more cycles than just the female physiology. We've got the moon, we've got the seasons. There's
so so much more. I'm sure in your world and your spiritual teachings as well that it applies to
everyone. And it all comes back to this capital T truth that everything in nature oscillates and
moves through this rhythm. It is not just a static line. And it baffles me that even in functional
medicine school we're not taught this, let alone in preschool when it's just like here, make sure
you use protection. And here's how to use a tampon.
Oh my God, I don't know about you, but my life skills class did not teach me a lot about life skills.
Kira Whitham: I just say I don't remember any of it. I don't even remember a life skills class. I
don't know if that existed here.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh, interesting.
Yeah, you know, we did, we had like, I remember watching movies about AIDS. That was fun. You
know, they were basically just like fear-mongering us into getting pregnant and all those sort of
things. But similarly to yourself, you know, in my personal journey I also had a lot of, I had a skin
condition that came up. It was all stress-related. No doctor could put a finger on it. There was a
liver growth as well, so I had a lot of stuff with detoxing and all those things, autoimmune. And I
was on the pill for 12 years because I was sold that as the…
Kira Whitham: I was on it, hey, this is gonna help your crazy cycles and your gut, which no one
told me that it might actually make things worse.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly, exactly.
Viktoria Levenberg: And so like it just really baffles me how misinformed, unfortunately, young
women and women of our age are these days about our bodies, about our cycles. And so I’m
really grateful that you brought that up because it sounds like it was a big part of your journey as
well.
Kira Whitham: Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm. Wow. And so as you know, in your experience of talking food and
holistic health and spirituality, et cetera, I’ve heard you mention this a few times now where
particularly on the food aspect you mentioned finding what’s right for me, him finding what’s
right for him. And I picked up on that immediately because I’m like, yep, yeah, this resonates. Can
you tell the listeners a little bit more about what you mean about that?
Kira Whitham: Yeah. So part of it is in the simplest form, what foods feel good in your body, right?
Like sometimes people don’t listen to that. You know, there’s so many influencers and so much
nutrition noise out there that people get confused. They’re like, okay, well I’m told I’m supposed
to eat this way, so I’m gonna keep eating that way. But do those foods serve you? So part of it is
learning to tap into, okay, I ate this thing and every time I eat it, how do I feel in my body? How
do I mentally feel? Like am I clear? So that’s one.
The other pieces, we’re all individual. Or I should say we all have individual needs in the sense
that like I, for my body, may need more magnesium. I may need more zinc, you know? So looking
at the nutrient component of what are you missing, what are you deficient in, because you’re
obviously gonna need more of that. This is why I don’t say we don’t all just go take a multivitamin
because we all need the same exact thing.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Kira Whitham: It doesn’t work that way. So looking at nutritional needs, and then sometimes
when we get into the more biochemical, clinical aspect, if we’re looking at stool testing, we’re
looking at organic acids testing, things like that.
Hmm, okay. Based on your microbiome, can we get more resistant starches in? Can we do this?
Or in my husband’s case, hey, gluten’s not working for you. Let’s not eat that. So there, I mean, in
my opinion, there’s three aspects I’m kind of looking at. And then of course, likes and dislikes,
right? If you hate beans, don’t eat beans.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, exactly. Don’t try and force yourself into something that you’re not.
And I’m so grateful that you embody that in your work because there’s so much misinformation
out there. There is so much information now also. It’s just, I mean, especially with AI, it’s just like
information overload, right? And people can get really overwhelmed really quickly and just
completely give up because it all feels too hard.
And so I find that so important, is just to find, truly let go of what anyone else thinks and
whatever the latest fashion thing is, and just experiment with your own body. Understand that
there will be trial and error, and you will go through some things that didn’t work, and that’s
okay. I use always the analogy of like going to the store and trying clothes on. And you might
think something looks cute, and then you try it on and you’re like, nah, not for me, and you put it
away. That’s fine. You don’t have to take it to the checkout, right? But we gotta try it on first. And
so it sounds like you really weave that into your work with your clients.
Kira Whitham: Yeah, because again, it goes back to the noise. And I don’t know what you see out
there, but I mean, I see people arguing over, no, if you’ve got gut issues you should go carnivore.
And then others are saying, no, no, vegan is the way to be. And the hard part is so many people
that are confused listen to one of those and run with it. There is no one right diet. Like stop
arguing over it. There is not a diet out there that is best. There’s a diet that is best for you. Period.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, that’s it. That’s it, like boom, end the episode. One hundred percent. And
I think that applies to everything in life. Like it’s not just food. It is, you know, I teach it in a lot of
my practices. You know, I’m a yoga teacher as well and do a lot of mindfulness and all these
things. And like I found a meditation practice that works for me, but just because that works for
me doesn’t mean it’s gonna work for everyone. Like people get so turned off by the word
mindfulness because they think that it is just like this, you’ve got to sit still and do it just this one
way and it is one way or the highway. And it’s like no, it could be so many million different things.
Like you just gotta keep trying until you find the thing, I think is what I’m trying to say.
Kira Whitham: Yeah, hundred percent.
Viktoria Levenberg: If the word of mindfulness has ever felt vague, overwhelming, or just like a
little woo-woo, you know, a little out of reach, I have created something just for you. It is Live in
Presence: 8 Days of Mindfulness. It is my free online course that gently walks you through
everything I wish I had known when I first heard the word mindfulness, without the funky jargon
or getting super complicated as the yogis tend to do, okay? Over eight days you will receive short,
grounded lessons and simple practices that you can literally weave into your life starting today,
even if you’re busy, tired, or feeling totally out of sync. It is the perfect solution to regulating your
nervous system when you don’t know where to start. The link is in the show notes below. You can
sign up for free at viktorialevenberg.com/liveinpresence or through the link in my bio at Viktoria
Levenberg, because presence isn’t something that you need to earn, it is something that you get
to return to.
So speaking of returning, let’s get back to the episode.
Viktoria Levenberg: Speaking of mindfulness and resonance and tying it back to stress that you
mentioned earlier, I really would love to hear if there is a myth or a, because you said earlier
there’s like so much noise out there, if there is a myth or a misconception or something that you
keep hearing in your industry that you would just wish you could dispel once and for all.
Kira Whitham: I mean, there’s a lot of those. One of them is the diet, right? I think that’s a really
big one. I think another one would be about probiotics. I mean, we didn’t get too clinical here,
but because my focus is gut health, there are so many practitioners out there who will just, you
know, oh, just take a probiotic. Well again, it goes back to the unique individual. How do we know
that you need that strain? But what if that person has histamine issues? But what if they’re not,
you know, like there’s a lot of what if. So I’m actually not a fan. I would rather someone try to
consume prebiotic and probiotic-rich foods and call it a day. And if we have more data or we have
specific symptoms, great. But again, it’s just kind of that one size fits all, go to the store and grab
something off the shelf because everybody just needs more bacteria. No, we don’t. We don’t.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly. Just because that package looks great and like we could go on a
whole side tangent around shelf life and then the actual active—
Kira Whitham: Yes,
Viktoria Levenberg: Don’t get me started. But I think, yeah, what you just said there is so
important because I’m a big advocate for people going to a naturopath and getting their freaking
tests done and sitting down with someone for a good 90 minutes. Let them go through the
process as you do with your clients. Get your unique plan written up for you and then adjust
accordingly. Because also like the naturopath isn’t God.
Kira Whitham: Yeah, I don’t have a magic wand. Like I tell people, I can give you some guidance,
but ultimately you know your body better than anyone else.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, and thank you for saying that because that’s been like a real recurring
theme in my circle lately. I interviewed a guest just last week as well. We had a similar kind of
conversation around the fact that so many people have been conditioned to give their power
over to those in quote unquote superior positions, whether it’s a doctor. I mean, in the
healthcare field you’ll see that a lot. Or a policeman or a boss or the parents. And it’s about time
that we start listening to ourselves again and trusting in our innate inner knowing.
And something that I’m really curious about, and I mean this kind of goes against everything
we’ve been saying, but I feel like with the knowledge that we are unique and we’ve got to try
things on and test and learn, there are still, I would say, like universal things and concepts and
theories that do tend to apply. And so what I would love to hear from you, and your perspective,
is taking it to the nutrition and cyclical nature of particularly females. Based on your lived
experience and perhaps your work with your clients, what, if anything, should women be paying
attention to in the different stages of their cycle so that they can best support their overall
health? Now I know this is a loaded question, so we can keep it high level and of course knowing
it’s very bio-individual, but there are some universal pieces I feel like you’ve got so much wisdom
and light to share on.
Kira Whitham: Outside of the cyclical piece, I can say there is still an umbrella, right? We all need
to be prioritising whole foods. Yeah, pretty straightforward. So typically what I tell people is 95%
of the time eat real foods, foods found in nature, and diversify your diet because the microbiome
loves diversity. So don’t eat the same five vegetables over and over. It’s great that you love
broccoli and carrots and zucchini, but you’re getting the same nutrients over and over and
feeding the same bacteria. So diversify your diet and just aim for whole foods, and that is the
umbrella statement.
Now, honing in on the cyclical piece, I told you this is not my speciality. However, I will say during
your cycle and right before, I’m a huge fan of really focusing on nutrient-dense foods and honing
in on magnesium specifically. I know I mentioned that one earlier and just threw it out randomly,
but with hormones, magnesium levels seem to get depleted. And I noticed in my own body and
in many clients over the years, upping magnesium-rich foods around our cycle or taking
additional magnesium in supplement form can be really key.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm.
Kira Whitham: But yes. Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: And for listeners who might not know what foods might be magnesium-rich,
can you give them a few examples?
Kira Whitham: Nuts and seeds like almonds, dark chocolate. Yeah, and this is why so many
women crave chocolate around their cycle. They assume it’s the sugar. I’m like sometimes it can
be the sugar, but if it’s the dark chocolate, sometimes you need the magnesium.
Viktoria Levenberg: Very often. I mean, as someone who is on day three of her cycle, I can now
strongly advocate for the magnesium cravings. And also, you know, it goes back to listening to
your body. So it’s really interesting. I generally tend to avoid red meat. That’s what works well in
my body. I love lean meats and proteins, but my body just does not do well with digesting red
meat. Bio-individual, not a universal truth. It’s just…
Kira Whitham: And I’m gonna chime in here because this is hysterical. When I’m on my cycle,
when I say I want a steak, it’s like give me a 20-ounce ribeye. But I think I need the iron then, and
that’s me.
Viktoria Levenberg: Perfect, exactly. And that is exactly where I was going with this as well. It’s so
funny that we’re on that same wavelength, right? Because literally, so day three of my cycle
today, last week was obviously a luteal phase, and I was just craving a steak sandwich. I went out
of my way to the supermarket and just picked up a big thick piece of steak for my partner to cook
up into a steak sandwich. And he was making fun of me saying, oh, what are you doing? It’s like
all of a sudden you want red meat. And I was like, yeah, I think my period’s coming because I’m
craving the iron. And here we go. And yes, that is exactly what happened.
So to your point, all of those cravings, whether it’s the sauerkraut or the gherkins or whatever it
is, because our body is so intelligent, the cravings are informed and will seek whatever it is that it
needs to replenish.
Kira Whitham: Absolutely. That’s so funny that you said the same thing too, because I thought
you were gonna say, oh no, I don’t like any red meat on my cycle. And yeah, that is when I crave
it.
Viktoria Levenberg: No, exactly. It’s like, well, it makes so much sense. You are literally losing
blood, so you need to replenish said blood. And don’t get me started on females and iron
deficiencies. That’s a whole different side tangent.
Kira Whitham: We could go down a whole episode there that I could rant on too.
Viktoria Levenberg: So I can imagine.
Well, I’m sure there’s somewhere on your podcast we can direct our listeners to as well if they
want to nerd out on that.
And so tell me a little bit about your experience with stress, energy, and how you navigate that in
your work and life, because you’re busy. You run your own business. You have a child. You’ve got
a lot of things going on. You have a membership. You’ve got clients.
Kira Whitham: I homeschool.
Viktoria Levenberg: You homeschool as well. I didn’t know that. So how do you do it all? How do
you navigate life’s demands?
Kira Whitham: A really good schedule.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, tell me more.
Kira Whitham: Really though, everything’s written down. I mean, I don’t know, I’m a Capricorn.
My brain just seems to spit out organisation when it comes to that. But for me, it’s also
consciously not overscheduling things. And it’s looking at my weeks and, oh nope, I’ve got
something happening. So it’s evening here, and I had someone else that wanted to do an event
with me in the evening. I said nope, we only do one evening a week. That’s my family time.
And you know, I’ve got my morning routine. My evening routine is much better than my morning
because I’m not woken up by a child. But evening routine, the meditation comes in. There’s deep
breathing that happens throughout the day. There’s listening to stuff as I’m driving. That’s my me
time. I do a lot of driving every day, so that’s listening to podcasts or something soothing.
So it’s just about being really creative with how I schedule things, but really mindful, I’ll use that
word again, of how I do it. Because I could very easily cram stuff in. Actually, I’ll give an example.
Monday was a holiday. I had my son go to a camp so I could work. And there was a period of time
where I didn’t have anything scheduled. The weather was really nice, and it’s not so nice now.
And for a moment I said, oh no, I could do another email promoting my webinar. And then there
was another side that said, but you really want to go outside and take a walk. What’s gonna serve
your soul better? So I took a walk.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes! Oh my gosh, I love that question. What’s gonna serve your soul better?
That is beautiful.
Kira Whitham: I have to remind myself of that.
Viktoria Levenberg: And it takes a lot of self-awareness and I would say courage and real trust
and the ability to stand in your centre to follow through on that as well. Because everything that
you’ve just shared with me, it resonates so strongly. It is so aligned with the work that I’m doing
now with my clients. And everything I hear from you is mindful, choiceful as well. It feels really
potent, like you understand that everything is a choice.
So if something comes up, and I think this is where especially women, especially women with a
bad stress response who are dysregulated, who tend to fawn and people please, tend to just say,
yeah, yeah, of course I’ll do it. I’ll help you. Let’s do it. And it sounds like you’ve found a way to
take a moment, step back, okay, this is what’s being proposed. Let me first look at everything else
I’ve got going on so I’m not overcommitting myself, and then make a choice as a result of that.
And it sounds like you do a really great job of then managing your energy, really tuning into
what’s the right thing to do in that moment, like you said, taking advantage of the great weather
and going for a walk, which for you in the Northern Hemisphere right now, you would need that
vitamin D, by the way, another supplement we are all very much in need of. Just sprinkle that in
there. Which is really great. Thank you for sharing that.
Kira Whitham: And I will just say I was not always there. I was the chronic people pleaser,
perfectionist, sure I’ll do it, a little bit of a doormat at times. And so this has been years and years
of working to get to this point.
Viktoria Levenberg: Tell me.
Kira Whitham: Reminding the listeners it takes time.
Viktoria Levenberg: It does, it does. And you’re an example of what’s possible. So tell me, what
shifted for you?
Kira Whitham: You know, there is not one thing that shifted. I will say the funny thing is, it all
stemmed from my dear podcast co-host, who we don’t even do the same thing anymore. It’s just
crazy alignment with us.
But she mentioned something about seven years ago and said you have money blocks. Like, what
is a money block? And so I started reading books, I started listening to podcasts, and it's like that
was an entry point because it didn't turn into, it wasn't about money I mean sure money was in
there, but then it was like almost a little bit of an obsession with like, I hate to call it self-help, but
it is was helping myself, but digging into those subconscious patterns and that's when the
hypnosis came in and understanding identity and the stories that run through your head and all
these patterns from life and it just it kept going and going and going.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah and so what I'm hearing you say is introspection, yeah going inwards,
asking yourself the tough questions and then following just whatever the right next step is in
front of you to get there right, like and, and I love that you said that because so many people
expect an overnight solution, a miracle pill when like unfortunately they don't exist, but going at
it in the degree that you did which is like from the inside out, in my humble opinion is the only
sustainable way to do it um because otherwise yeah as as our business coach and mentor says
it's just like putting whipped cream on garbage.
Kira Whitham: Yeah and it's I mean I say this to clients too healing is a lifelong journey like there's
not a destination um and I'm not necessarily talking physical healing right like no please don't feel
that way forever you don't you don't need to feel that way but the inner work you know and the
asking yourself questions and coaching yourself like you are your best coach. I have conversations
with myself in my head of okay I don't like this situation, what are what am I learning from this,
like what do I need to take from this situation, why am I going through it. When you don't ask
those things there's no growth and there's no healing exactly.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly the quality of our life is determined by the quality of the questions we
ask ourselves and they are scary as to ask but if you're not willing to look as you say at those
unconscious shadow aspects of self, unfortunately at least that's been my experience I don't
know about you but it's like life will just get louder until eventually you listen. Right?
Kira Whitham: Yeah, and just like sometimes I tell my clients the same thing I'm like they start as
a nice little whisper and then eventually they're gonna yell at you. So…
Viktoria Levenberg: mm hmm and so it's your choice like you can respond to the whisper or you
can wait till you get really miserable and and and till they yell.
And I love that um you mentioned the whole money blocks piece cause that's so interesting I find
yeah we have some really basic relationships with a few really important fundamental things in
life and they tend to be really interconnected right like I mean when we think of money and the
energy of money and abundance and then we think of things like time and time scarcity which is
so closely connected to like you know life force and our purpose on this planet and you're feeling
like we're not wasting our time and then you think of like energy and our ability to create and and
it's all sort of so intertwined and I saw like you giggle a little bit there around time as well
because while you've done a lot of healing as have I as you say it's a lifelong journey and as we've
we said before the stressors are gonna keep on coming. Things are gonna come, especially as a
business owner you know entrepreneurship is an inside job, how do you navigate and manage
your energy and your calendar when things get overwhelming?
Kira Whitham: That's a good question I don't know. I mean besides having my little planner I
mean I just have to remind myself just like I would tell my clients it's a season there are going to
be seasons where you're going to be overwhelmed, stressed beyond belief maybe you over
committed to things and you weren't thinking I still do that I don't think I'm committing and then
I look at my calendar I'm like what was I thinking like that was stupid and it just it's gonna be okay
it's gonna be alright we're just gonna power through it, we're gonna take those little teeny tiny
breaks for some breathing and and know that it's got an end and then again understanding that
there's lessons in there so for me it's oh okay I really screwed up on booking I need to pay better
attention or I need to cross check or whatever it might be.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes exactly and I love that you said that cause again I'm I'm always amazed at
the um synchronicities as you were speaking I wrote down Learned from self and then you said it
it's like yeah what what ha ha ha ha ha oh my gosh. What can I learn from myself and this
experience and what is this trying to teach me because everything that happens to us we've got
the choice to either let it be a problem or an opportunity to do better next time and use that
information of okay this didn't work what am I gonna do differently next time to make sure it
doesn't happen again and also like being gentle with ourselves if it does.
Kira Whitham: Yeah like oh well it's not the end of the world like…
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly exactly it's like we're we're okay like we actually can take some of that
pressure off ourselves especially as you know high performers and achievers, I think we tend to
man set the bar so damn high yeah.
No one's holding us to that except ourselves.
Yep and so it actually feels quite nice as you say when sometimes you can just be like actually I'm
just gonna take a walk like yeah it's fine.
Kira Whitham: The e mobile really is it gonna make that much of a difference no probably not.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm exactly and is it maybe just like a bit of busy work because you've
already done everything else and you're just trying to make your ego feel good that you're doing
something right mmm hmm yeah something sometimes doing nothing is the most productive
thing you can do.
Kira Whitham: Yeah that's where the ideas come in too, so…
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes my gosh tell me about it I mean you know we're right brain left brain that
that little creative is it left right brain's gotta have space I'm like it's left and right. It's gotta have
space to to have its own process right and let those ideas come come through and I love that you
also said that um this is a season and it will end and so I think there's also there that's a really
important piece that I wanted to highlight is that where the problems begin to come in is where
when people get stuck in the cycle you said it earlier the stress cycles right um and what
unfortunately I see a lot also with my clients is it then just becomes this vicious cycle that feeds
off of itself and so you've got to break the chain and so what I'm hearing in you is because of that
self-awareness and this questions that you're asking yourself you are consciously saying OK like
this is this is a season and this will end not oh and then I gotta do more and then da da da da da
da cause it could be very easy to stay yeah in that paradigm hmm.
Um something that resonates with me as well that I'll share um that I have been playing with
recently also because I get overwhelmed too like you know again we we live life and we learn um
a question I've been letting come to my awareness lately is what would the version of me like
what would future me do in this situation, what does she do how does she respond what's the
action she takes and sometimes it's the most weird unrelated surprising thing you imagine and
it's like oh well actually it again goes back to identity and purpose and if we already act like we're
there and we get there faster yeah.
Kira Whitham: I I'm I'm with you and that the same goes for the physical aspect of healing too
and that's what I talk to my clients about if all you were focused on is how crappy you feel in the
moment you're gonna continue to feel crappy so start focusing on the future you that identity
level of who would I show up as in the world if I felt so amazing what are the things I would do
now I'm not saying you're gonna go run a Marathon if you're chronically ill but take some of
those little steps it's uh huh yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes and it is that enjoyment of life right like I find you know especially for
people as you say with chronic illness I don't know if you see that in your clients but I see that so
much is like you just perpetuating the cycle and that's what's familiar and if we take it back to the
nervous system unfortunately what's familiar is safe so we keep repeating that same wiring
because that's all we know and our nervous system will always choose a familiar hell over an
unfamiliar heaven so it really takes courage to break that cycle and it can feel really
discombobulating on that identity level of like whoa who am I mm hmm without the pain, what
would life be like if I felt great, what else becomes possible mm hmm and that can be some really
scary stuff to look at yeah.
Kira Whitham: Yeah it can
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm hmm how do you support your clients when they navigate those really
challenging moments
Kira Whitham: Um conversation truly and just holding space for them thankfully I mean have I
had clients cry on calls absolutely like many many many times but a lot of times it's not the deep
work it's just I probe I start by asking those little questions and then kind of send them on their
way because I do feel like everyone's on their own journey and they have to get there at their
time um so it's just me there holding space you know asking questions supporting them and
that's about it.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm, well, you say that's about it, but it's a freaking massive, you know,
miracle worker that you do in your work. And it ripples out in ways probably far greater than you
will ever imagine as well, because it all starts with ourselves and our body. And if we can learn
how to feel great again in our own skin, I mean, that is the first step towards all the positivity and
the joy that we then ripple out into the world around us.
Um, so with that in mind, as we kind of bring this full circle, I would really love to hear from your
side, if there was one thing that resonated with the listeners long after the episode ends, what
do you wish that would be?
Kira Whitham: Stop listening to all of the noise out there. And I'm not just talking nutrition —
everything, because there's a lot of noise out there. And start tuning into you. What does your
internal GPS say? Is it asking for more rest? When you heard me say walk, did you flinch, or was
that a flinch because it was like, oh shoot, maybe I need to do that too? Is your body asking for
more water? Is it asking for a different job? Is it asking for more of a community, some
relationships? So turn inward and start asking those questions and just tune out everyone else.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, I love that. And it is like if you start there, that everything else will fall
into place. And I guess, cheeky follow up question for someone who's like never gone inwards
before, um, how — where would you start?
Kira Whitham: I mean, I would start with the simple question of what is my body asking for in this
moment? Like, what would feel good right now? Sometimes it's a deep breath. Sometimes it is
like, oh, I haven't had water in a while. Sometimes, it's I don't know. But if you can just ask
yourself that one question of what does my body need right now, what would feel good, just run
with it.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, yes. And the body is so wise. And I love that you said, I don't know,
because I don't know is a really fair answer. It's okay not to know. Like, I think people get freaked
out when they're like, I don't know how to answer this question. Like, cool, you've asked it. Let
the unconscious mind do its thing. The answer will come, trust me. You know that thing's always
working. Believe it or not, we've all had that 3:00 am idea pop into our head, haven't we?
Um, so if people wanna learn more about your work, you know, connect with you, how can they
work with you? Where can they find you? Tell me a little bit more about that.
Kira Whitham: Yeah, I mean, my website's a good starting point, a Nourish Life nutrition.com. I'm
on Instagram, kirawhitham.nd for naturopathic doctor. Um, those are kind of the two places. I
mean, I do have a podcast. I have a co-host, but it's not purely clinical. So if someone's looking for
the healing into all of the layers, Heal Yourself Podcast is ours.
Viktoria Levenberg: I love that. And we'll make sure to link everything in the show notes as well.
Um, I am so, so grateful for you coming on and sharing your story and your wisdom and your
experience. You know, I think that people often tend to — I think that there's only one specific
layer, especially when you say things like naturopath doctor, nutritionist, it's like they tend to put
you in a box. But what I love, and you said this right at the front of our episode, is like, but I look
at it holistically. And that is, in my humble opinion, the only way to look at a person, because you
cannot disconnect — or sorry — disconnect the gut from anything else. Yeah. Just as much as
you cannot disconnect a finger from the hand, unless you amputate it, but then it's no longer
part of you anyway. So, you know, silly analogy, but this is where we landed. So, ha ha ha.
Thank you so much, Kira. I'm so grateful for your time and your wisdom. And, um, yeah, I'm really
excited to see the work that you're gonna ripple out into the world. It's really important, and
you're making your mark. So thank you.
Kira Whitham: Thank you.
Viktoria Levenberg: Alright, what a great conversation. You know, it is just so potent and so
aligned to everything that Resonance is about, a lot of my work. And what really stuck with me
was hearing Kira's reflections of how she manages times of really intense workload and stress
and pressure and overwhelm. Because here's the thing, like none of us are actually immune to
this, right? We all deal with it. It's just the question is, how well equipped are you to deal with it?
And also, what systems, tools, and strategies do you have up your sleeve in order to set yourself
up for success?
And I really loved her perspective of, you know, when things do go awry and you're like, ooh, I
could have done things differently here. It's like, well, what can you learn from this experience?
And also, what can we make sure we take with us into the future so you don't have this happen
again, or at least you prevent it from happening again? Because it's one thing to be in this state
of constant overwhelm and panic and perpetuating that dynamic, but it's a whole other game
when you are able to consciously reflect, look back, and adjust and tweak.
And often, at least in my personal experience, it is easier with the right support, which is exactly
what I am here for. And you know, we are literally opening doors to Efficiency Made Easy this
week at the time of this episode airing. So, ah, if you are not on the priority waitlist yet, then
make sure you get on there ASAP. More on that at the end. But, um, yeah, just for now, I really,
really find that this one simple doable thing that all of us could really use a little bit more of is
taking a moment to ask ourselves, what does my body need right now? What does my body need
today? Is it a nap? Is it water? Is it a run? Just ask yourself that question. And then if it's possible
for you, just give that to yourself. You know, don't wait until it's too late. You don't need to be
miserable. There truly is another way. And people like Kira and myself are here to help co-
facilitate that for you.
And I really, really hope that you're starting to see now that you truly are a connected, integrated
being. Like, there is no way that you can disconnect your gut from the rest of you. You are — your
finger is just as much a part of you as your heart, as your brain, as your toe. So start with
whatever feels achievable for you. Set yourself up for success from the start. Start with the
smallest doable thing, right? I know one of the biggest reasons that we fail at our big goals is
because, first of all, we're not aligned on so many levels as to what and why and how we're
gonna achieve them. Again, more on that in my program. Um, but also they're so far-fetched and
so out there that they feel out of reach, we quickly give up. So just what's the smallest doable
thing that you can do that makes your body, mind, and spirit feel great today? Start there.
Until next week, I hope you have a fantastic week ahead. This is a big week for me, team. I'm
opening doors for the very first time to my brand new program, Efficiency Made Easy. Tune in and
listen to what I've got to share in just a moment. I would love to see you inside. Bye for now.
Viktoria Levenberg: I get asked by high-performing women and entrepreneurs how to get more
done in less time all the time. And that is because I have been able to master productivity,
efficiency, and planning myself. I am known in my professional and personal life as the
Productivity Queen. And for the very first time ever — I'm so excited about this — I will be
teaching a small, select group of students how to use cyclical alignment, energy management,
and high-performance structures so that you can finally have a personal operating system that
makes progress towards your big goals feel inevitable and easy.
Imagine getting more done in less time. Imagine structure and consistency in your life. And
imagine knowing how to work with your body to optimise your productivity. It's all so much
closer than you think. In fact, enrolment to this first-of-its-kind program opens this week. And if
you join as a founding member, you get once-in-a-lifetime perks like an intimate container, the
opportunity to co-create this with me, and lifetime access, by the way, for like a ridiculously low
price. I kid you not, you will never see this price tag on this ever again. I genuinely feel like I'm
getting ripped off, but I wanna help you. So if you are done constantly pushing through
exhaustion, feeling tired but wired, and you would like to be part of this special training, make
sure that you join the priority waitlist today. The link is in the show notes below at
viktorialevenberg.com forward slash success. And make sure you don't wait too long, because
doors open at 6:00 am on Wednesday, New Zealand time. We have limited seats. I've already got
a few people kind of pre-enrolled in the program because, you know, they know it's great and
they decided to commit already. It is first-come, first-served. So, 6:00 am Wednesday, get your
booty on that priority list. I'll 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 personalised medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. Always seek guidance from
qualified professionals for any physical, emotional, or mental health concerns.
