Our Human Condition

Leaf an Impression is owned and operated by Tammy Huynh (it’s pronounced Hwin), a horticulturist and avid plant collector, who is passionate about sharing the joy of gardening and the benefits of green spaces. Her love of gardening (like most), started with her ‘por por’, whose fingers were permanently marked with soil, but eyes so full of life when she was pottering about the garden. Tammy has a degree in horticultural science, a diploma in landscape design and has over 10 years experience...

Brenda brings real life experience as both a therapist and global corporate executive, leading people and organisations through change. Brenda’s life long passion for supporting people through difficult and challenging periods and her love of horses has been the catalyst for creating Equine Encounters Australia. Her qualifications include: Equine Encounters Australia is an organisation that has a proven track record in developing and delivering innovative programs that work. Whether...

4 years ago, I (Luke) was in the worst shape of my life - physically and mentally. Tipping the scales at over 96kg, food had become my crutch. A chance encounter with Brendan "Sarge" Barry at his Wanda Beach Bootcamp forever changed my life. Within 6 months of meeting him, I was now in the best physical and emotional health I'd ever experienced. "Personal trainers" are a dime-a-dozen but there is something much deeper to Sarge's knowledge, which I would put down to genuine care for his...

This bonus episode is a 10-minute preview from the brand new "Life With Your Dog Podcast", co-hosted by Luke and Panos Anognostou, who was a recent guest on Our Human Condition. - Panos approached me wanting to rent the studio and get some technical assistance for starting his own podcast. In the end we decided to host the show together. If you enjoyed our original episode with Panos I hope you also enjoy Panos' new podcast. He is a wealth of knowledge and passion on all things to do with...

Did you know that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage? Sam & Gabbi of The Pink Elephants Support Network have built a rapidly growing charity from this simple proposition. It started with a coffee. Well, actually it started with a response to a Facebook post about miscarriage, a private message and a request to meet for coffee. And by the end of that coffee date, the concept for Pink Elephants was created. During that first coffee, they agreed that there was an unmet need in the...

"No-one talks about it - so you just don't know how common it is at the time. And your whole world is just crashing down, and you just don't know where to go." 1 in 4 women will experience a miscarriage in their lifetime, and yet it still remains a hugely misunderstood and mismanaged area of health. For something so devastatingly painful to be so common and yet such a taboo topic is one of the greatest paradoxes in our modern society. Laura was brave and generous enough to share her story...

We recently had the great fortune of sitting down with Pete Shmigel, former CEO of Lifeline Australia. Pete was a seasoned, well regarded corporate consultant and political chief of staff for several NSW premiers and opposition leaders, prior to moving into the mental health space. ⁠ Sadly, Pete’s tenure at Lifeline was inspired by a mental health crisis within his own family - his son Tim had made multiple attempts on his own life. Pete now speaks of this tragic time as a positive which...

I originally wanted to ask Panos on our show after hearing him speak on The Canine Paradigm podcast. . “Dog trainers” are a dime a dozen these days so there’s nothing necessarily special about that by itself. But the real story of Panos is the story of how and why dogs actually saved his life when he was younger, and the ripple effect this had on his entire future. . He turned a near-death experience into a symbolic rebirth, and went on to have a spiritual awakening which now extends...

Elizabeth Cullen is a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner and Acupuncturist. She studied a Bachelor of Health Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University of Technology Sydney and is currently studying her Masters of Women’s Health Medicine and Reproductive Medicine at the University of New South Wales. After living in Cheng Du, China for hospital placement Elizabeth experienced integrative medicine of Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine and saw first hand...

"One guy said 'Look it was actually perfect timing for this DILF Club to flash up (on my Facebook) ... I was in my mid 40s, had my children very late'. I think they did IVF on repeat for quite some time. So he felt quite isolated So he came down (to DILF Club) and goes 'To be honest I probably have depression but I've never seen anyone about it. And DILF Club is just the best part of the week for me'." This week we sat down with the amazing Luke McMahon, co-creator and leader of the...

My longtime friend Nat is one of the kindest, bubbliest people I've had the pleasure of knowing. Her journey to motherhood is not your everyday tale so I really wanted to have her on the podcast, and she was kind enough to oblige. - She joins us this week to talk about how she went from a PCOS diagnosis and being told she'd likely never have kids, to then falling pregnant, and then nearly losing her daughter's life within a week of bringing her home. This is a story of a loving family and...

"It's not always easy to get in the modern world. We don't know our neighbours like we once did. We don't have family close by like we might have once had. And I think you have to find your way through that. You have to look for it. And take up opportunities. We've all had periods where you get invited to something and you think 'Oh I feel really awkward about going, I won't know anyone' ... but I think you just have to push through that. And then you meet a whole other group of people. Some...

"That was really the start of big changes in my life - big positive changes. And a lot of clearing away of everything that I'd carried with me up until that point. And now my life is really just flourishing ... there was just something talking to me - it was like I was talking to myself on some kind of higher level, like 'Just do this - you've gotta take this first step and the rest of the steps will appear." - This week we sit down with the beautiful Woods family - Daniel and Steph (and...

"Don't stop trying to find the answer to why your body's not happy, because you will find it. You've just gotta keep going. Don't just settle for a doctor telling you 'Oh, you have IBS - you'll be fine', because that's not good for you emotionally, physically ... Listen to your mind and get help if you need it. If you feel too overwhelmed or you're in a really bad place, talk to someone. Because there's gonna be someone out there who can help you, and it might be in a place you never would...

“When you get told something like that, the first question that pops into your head is ‘Am I going to die?’ It’s just a natural first question. And the doctor’s response was ‘We have to have more tests yet’.” - Until a year ago, Rosemary’s (Roe) life could have been that of almost any other suburban mother. A loving wife, busy mum, and avid Netball player with the Miranda Magpies Netball Club - all was normal until a fateful Christmas barbecue where she noticed severe pain while...

Enjoy this bonus guided meditation that I recorded for you. Learn how to become aware of your breath, and how this awareness can change your reaction to any given situation. - Every Friday, we send out an exclusive email with the coolest things we've found (or explored) that week. It could include guided meditations, books, gadgets, albums, articles, new hacks/tricks, and — of course — all sorts of weird stuff we dig up around the web. These emails are only available if you subscribe to...

"I see a range of kids, but the ones I've gravitated towards are those in mainstream schools. They don't have an intellectual disability, they just have these behaviours. So they definitely have the awareness that they're not doing things like the other kids ... a lot of the other kids are scared of them. They've seen them throw a chair through a window, they've seen them come at the teacher with scissors. They're told so many times that they're the naughty kid, they believe it. They start...

“I get quite stressed and I didn’t really know how to deal with that … when I turned 30, I was like ‘I need to change the way I’m doing my life … I need to give myself something back’.” With the passing of her 30th birthday, Helen knew she needed a change in her life, and drastically so. She constantly felt overwhelmed by the modern lifestyle. A busy job in marketing coupled with commuting over 3 hours daily were compounding the problem further. Helen had noticed negative changes in...

Today we delve into my history as a yoga teacher. This is the how and why I came to the mat, after a long history of childhood illness (Crohn's Disease) and anxiety. Luke also speaks about how and why he was inspired to start the podcast with me. We recorded this episode live in front of some of our recent podcast guests, whose incredible stories will be released over the coming weeks.

"I had ill health, very bad health - when I was 15 I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease so I spent many months in and out of hospital. As a result I learnt to quell my anxiety ... I can remember after the surgery going to my first ... exposure to meditation. It was a self defence class, but at the end we got to lie down on the floor, close our eyes and he'd take us through this 'thing' (meditation). It was just the best thing for making me feel calm." *** Are you our next guest? Do you...