For this the twelfth and final episode of the first season of Emotions Matter. Really! Chantal and Matthew explore the C of their ABC of life teachings. Choose love, always. In line with their theme for the year - It starts with me - they delve deeper into what it means to love yourself.

During a visit to the Big Tree in Hoekwil, South Africa, Chantal and Matthew drew inspiration to develop the Act like a Tree principles and the ABC of life teachings that grew out of that. This week they explore the B of the ABC - Bring the light. What they mean by bringing the light, why it is important and how everyone can do it.

Last year we (Chantal and Matthew) went on a road trip to George, a town, in the Southern Coast of South Africa, to visit Tristan, Matthew’s son who he had not seen for over a year. The trip was full of learning and discovery and reconnection. On the last day they met the Big Tree. This meeting was important and impactful. It led to the Act like a Tree principles as well as the ABC’s of Life. A year later, Matthew is back in George with Tristan. Chantal and Matthew use this opportunity to reflect on that trip, the learning and growing that has happened over this time in relation to the Act like a Tree principles and the ABC of Life. Tristan joins them for this episode.

Burnout has seen an alarming increase and although it may appear that burnout is a 21st century ailment, it actually has ancient roots. Chantal and Matthew look at where the concept of burnout has originated from, what the symptoms of burnout are and what causes it. Some essential strategies to avoid as well as recover from burnout are discussed.

It is Freedom Day in South Africa, a public holiday that commemorates the first democratic elections held in 1994. Matthew and Chantal consider what freedom means to them and what not having freedom can do to one’s mental and emotional wellbeing. They look at different freedoms and the responsibilities they come with. Finally they address how one can be free from one’s own self imposed limitations and beliefs.

Here at 5th Place we do love poetry and being creative. In this podcast Chantal and Matthew look at what poets themselves have said about poetry, how poetry and poems can support emotional fitness, creativity and the concept of flow. They discuss how poetry has impacted them as people and they share a few of their favourite poems.

World Health Day was last week. The theme for 2022 is Our World, Our Health. We are all part of the environment, nature is key to our emotional wellbeing. In this episode Chantal and Matthew explore why looking after our planet is key to our emotional health. They look at how climate change and environmental concerns are fueling our mental health concerns and share what small things can be done to make ourselves feel better about this apparently huge and overwhelming problem that faces humanity.

April is International Stress Awareness Month. We are all so stressed out but do we actually register that fact or has this thing called stress become such a part of who we are we don’t even notice it any more? Chantal and Matthew explore just what stress actually is, how it affects us and some strategies to attend to our stress, especially if we have perfectionist, over-achieving, superwoman, rescuer or boundary challenges. The episode is once again closed out with the reciting of a poem by Chantal.

Although we all have a body, we tend to either take it for granted, see it as a vehicle for our superior brains or denigrate it as not being up to some societal or self imposed standard. In this episode Chantal and Matthew explore why bodyfulness and coming back and reconnecting to the intelligence of your body is so necessary to feel better, live better and make the world a better place.

In this episode we are going to look at what we mean by the acronym BAN, and what it has to do with emotions. We explore the multitude of ways we BAN as well as some of the more resourceful ways we deal with the way we feel. If you want to learn How to Master your Emotions and develop your emotional fitness, take our mini audio-course. It comprises 10 modules where you will learn about the science of how emotions are made, the importance of being able to regulate how you feel and a way to work with emotions that is both easy to learn and easy to use called Shape of Emotion. https://courses.5th.place/courses/how-to-master-your-emotions To stay connected with Matthew & Chantal from 5th Place https://5th.place/ Find out more about how to experience an Emotional Fitness Class, what it is and when the next one is being held https://5th.place/5th-place-offerings/emotional-fitness-class/emotional-fitness-class-on-insight-timer/