Hong Kong Confidential

Dr Katherine Dale is a naturopath who wants to lift the stigma and the taboos surrounding talking about menstruation and women’s health. She is committed to empowering women and encouraging self-awareness and body knowledge. We discuss many topics including periods, ovarian cancer, period pants, masturbation and fertility.  Dr Katherine shares her wisdom on all aspects of women’s sexual health. She explains periods in detail and the way that women’s cycles vary. We learn about the history of menstruation and how society viewed this part of our cycle in the past and how these views have evolved and changed. Dr Katherine organised a Menstrual Awareness Day recently in Hong Kong and she shares what was involved in this celebration of womanhood and menstruation, and how the conversation about all issues related to menstruation was initiated and embraced by women from all ages and all walks of life. She gives us an insight into how our cycle effects the way that we relate to others and the w

Dr Louis-Adrien Ollu is an osteopath and is also studying in a new method in France with a focus on epigenetics, neuroscience, psycho-genealogy and behavioural science. We have a fascinating conversation about masculinity and the social constructs associated with notions of gender. We discuss the Yin and Yang of masculinity and how traits are often both innate and learned in childhood. Louis shares some of the misconceptions associated with masculinity and we look at toxic masculinity and the effect that this has on society. Louis shares some insight into parenting and the impact that parents can have not only on the development of the child’s personality and behaviours, but also on a child’s health as well.  We explore the importance of education in helping children to develop healthy masculine ideals and the impact that modelling behavior can have on child development. Belief systems are built through education, whether it be from schools, the community or parents and it is important to ins

Dr Hannah Sugarman is a psychologist from the U.K. working in Hong Kong. Mental health issues are on the rise and Hong Kong is no exception. Hannah shares her wisdom on a range of topics including mental health triggers and mindfulness practices. Hannah discusses the stigma surrounding mental health and how we can begin to overcome many myths and misconceptions. We discuss mental health first aid with a focus on suicide and how we can help others and ourselves. There are many resources available for people who need support and Hannah and I touch on a few- both locally and internationally. There are many great ways to improve our mental health and Hannah makes several excellent suggestions that anyone can implement very easily. Dr Hannah Sugarman: www.reflect-well.com Warning: This podcast focuses on mental health issues and the topic of suicide. If you feel triggered in anyway, then please contact your local GP. Alternatively, you could reach out to any of the following resources. The Samaritans HK: https://s

Michelle Harris is an empath and healer who combines all her skills to help people reach their potential in all areas of their life. In her company ‘Michelle Harris International' she combines healing, empowerment and spirituality to help others connect to their inner self and enable them to express their uniqueness in the world. Through mindfulness, meditation and different healing methods; including her own healing system called Draco Dragon healing symbols system, past life, inner child and crystal work. Michelle helps people to step into their magnificence - personally, spiritually, and professionally. Michelle shares her own personal story about how she faced various challenges in her early life and was in the depths of depression, trauma and suffering. Seeking solace in self-hate and self-punishment patterns, an eating disorder and alcohol, she turned her life around through alternative healing. Michelle is connected to spirits and shares how her psychic ability manifests. She takes me on my

Candace Castro has been a seeker all her life, looking for a way to live a life of joy, purpose and love.  Her childhood conditioning deeply affected the way she viewed herself. She struggled with crippling negative self-talk and had a yearning to belong. This negativity impacted the kind of life choices she made which, often caused her great distress and suffering.  She has been self-employed for most of her life and knows what it means to be both independent as well as dependent, having become a “tai tai” after her marriage to a man of wealth and importance and having to face all the attendant challenges and responsibilities of being a “corporate wife”. Even though she “had it all”, Candace still found her life empty, purposeless and pointless.  Her life experiences combined with the practice of Kundalini Yoga helped her to become the Tai Tai Yogini and to gain insight into how to help herself and other women discover a path to happiness and fulfillment. Sh

Lexi is a teenager with OCD, anxiety, mood disorder and depression. She shares her story of how she coped with her mental health issues during her school years and the challenges that she faced along the way. Lexi talks about her OCD obsessions and compulsions and the impact that these fears and rituals had on her life. Lexi could not go to school for many months as her washing compulsions became so hard to manage and the stress of trying to hide her OCD from others wore her down. She talks about the CBT and exposure therapy that helped turn her life around. Lexi reminds us that OCD is a selective and irrational disorder and she knows that it will be something that she will have to manage for the rest of her life. Often her mental health issues made her feel worthless and she would sleep for days on end and could not get out of bed. Lexi is a youth ambassador for the ODC and Anxiety Support Group in Hong Kong and is a mental health advocate. Lexi is an incredibly courageous teenager who is an inspiration to o

Sylvia Tsui is an Energetic Transformation Life Coach who encourages us to love ourselves more in our quest for happiness. She used to work long hours and felt really stressed from time to time.  Finally, she fell ill and was in the hospital.  After that she decided to leave the corporate world and help real life people meet their goals.  Sylvia learned about how energy and our mind works, and she studied with spiritual masters. She is now an energy healing practitioner and encourages people to meditate to release blockages and to lead a more fulfilling life. Sylvia talks to us about energy, or Chi (Qi) as it is known in Chinese culture and how we can draw down the cosmic energy to heal ourselves and others. Sylvia uses body scanning with her hands to feel the energy and the chakras of the body and people’s auras. Sylvia is a Diamond Life coach and does a lot of work as a mindset coach as well. Sylvia talks to us about karma and how releasing karma can heal our past and transform our live

Teressa Siu​ is a health advocate on and off camera. She helps people be healthy and happy through holistic and sustainable resources. One of her most passionate subjects is how food matters to health. She appears in media interviews advocating for food as medicine based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda and Western nutrition principles. Along with being an acclaimed journalist, Teressa has a vast array of qualifications as a Wellness Coach, Soul Link Practitioner and an Integrative Health Coach, just to name a few. She discovered that both her passion and her ambition could become her life purpose. She loves being a wellness consultant and a lifestyle educator as she is serving the wider community. Teressa has made a lifelong commitment to loving herself and this has given her peace and harmony in her daily life. She encourages us to put ourselves first and to remember that if we can also give to others, that is a beautiful place to be. Teressa is authentic and generous in all that she does. She has

Maitreyi Karanth grew up in India and had a wonderful childhood until the age of nine when her father passed away from a heart attack at home. Her mother was blind and had never worked so her family struggled to make ends meet. After Maitreyi's father passed away, her mother, who was a very determined and independent woman, found a job in a local bank. Losing her father at a young age made Maitreyi become a very responsible and trustworthy child but she always felt cheated by life by not having her father with her as she grew up. Maitreyi shares her very positive experience of choosing to have an arranged marriage and the happiness that this has brought her in her life. Maitreyi was a maths tutor in Hong Kong but she realised that she wanted to fulfill her dream of becoming an actor so she went back to school to train in film and media. She wanted to use these creative talents that she had inherited from her loving father. She produced her own TV series and is in the process of making a short film. Her greate

Ziggy Makant is a young mum and fitness trainer who has combined her love of babies and fitness to create a new niche in Hong Kong working with pre and post-natal mothers as a coach helping them with their fitness, nutrition and well-being. Ziggy opens up about her struggles with post-natal depression and how she was able to overcome this significant obstacle. Ziggy also shares her experience with breastfeeding and weaning her child. None of this was easy for the young 23-year-old mother. One of the key coping mechanisms that she discovered was exercising with her baby and connecting with other young mothers. We discuss the pressure to regain the pre-baby body and how this is not realistic as the body will never be what is was before because it has become so much more. Ziggy feels that the early postpartum period is rarely talked about, and she believes that this time can often be much more demanding than childbirth. Ziggy creates spaces for young mothers with her ‘Mum Fit’ classes where they can

Neelam Harjarni was working in the corporate world and she was facing stress and work pressure that was taking a toll on her body and mind. She decided to move into the well-being space and created her own company Inspire Yoga. Neelam mission is to teach an authentic and holistic framework to ease the stress of Hong Kong lifestyles, to bring balance to both body and mind. She has created her own niche in Hong Kong developing bespoke personal yoga programs for individuals, families and corporate clients. She works in her client’s home or office and creates an intimate well-being program designed for the unique needs of her clients. Inspire yoga is all about finding the need and creating a solution. Neelam explains the many advantages to doing yoga in the face paced world of today and the links between the mind and body when it comes to healing and well-being. Yoga is a journey inwards and she inspires her clients to go from doing to being. It is interesting to note that 70% of her clients are men who nee

Temmy Maclean and her 63-year-old mother were caught in the 2004 Tsunami in Thailand. This is the first time that Temmy has shared her story publicly. Temmy talks about the fear she felt and how she came to terms with the fact that she was going to die. She and 64 other people were stranded on Bamboo Island after being caught in the Tsunami during a day trip to Phi Phi Island. She and her mother went into self-preservation mode whilst being in a heightened state of sheer terror. Temmy explains the impact that this near-death experience had on both her and her mother and how she dealt with the trauma at the time and when she returned to her life in Hong Kong. This is a powerful example of human strength in the face of a devastating natural disaster. Temmy’s story will have you on the edge of your seat. A Listener Note: This podcast explores some distressing themes- listener discretion is advised. Hong Kong Confidential Details Email: juleshannaford1@gmail.com Network: https://www.auscastnetwork.com/home/

Susanne Schutz is a Chinese Metaphysics consultant who specialises in Feng Shui, auspicious date selection and Chinese astrology. Susanne has trained with a Grand Master and practices in Asia, Dubai and Moscow. She explains the difference between contemporary Feng Shui and classical Feng Shui and gives us an insight into the rich history of the practice. Susanne explains how Feng Shui, auspicious date selection and astrology are all intrinsically linked, and she delves deeper into each of the practices with us. Susanne shares how Feng Shui looks at your environment and the interaction between the mountains and the water with a focus on the energy that this creates. Feng Shui can be used to improve your career, sleep, health issues, academic success, children’s behaviour and increase your opportunities for love and money; just to name a few. Susanne mentions several remedies that she may recommend in a Feng Shui consultation but reminds us that it is not about object placement but about specific remedies

Carmen Yau is a storyteller at the Jockey Club Storytelling Hub where she shares her story of being sex call worker. Carmen was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and is now an advocate for people with disabilities, particularly when it comes to sexuality and embracing diversity. Carmen has a Psychology degree, yet she found it very hard to get a job because of her disability. Luckily, she found a job at the sex call centre where people would share their intimate stories and personal secrets with her. Carmen went on to write her own sex stories and published them as 'Sugar XXX' for the Chinese disabled community. Carmen reminds us that we need to embrace our bodies and our sexuality as our bodies are a canvas where we can truly express who we are. We discuss masturbation and how this can help with both self-love and knowing your own body. Carmen also shares how social media helped with her transformation after her 14-year relationship ended. She has found a wonderful community of other disabled people who are

Dating and Relationships Coach Valentina Tudose talks to us about open relationships and polyamory. We explore the boundaries and rules that can make open relationships work and some of the challenges that people in open relationships may face. Valentina explains all the wonderful benefits of being in an open relationship and how our attitudes towards sex are linked to our values.  She shares her personal experience being in a 10-year open relationship with her long-term partner who sadly passed away this year. Topics such as swinging, consent, safe sex, and comperson are discussed. When Valentina coaches people wanting to embark on an open relationship, she starts with discussing their values, the vision for their relationship and their deal breakers. The Five Languages of Love are explained to us and the different types of relationships that we can have. Valentina believes that sex is the glue of a relationship and being open and vulnerable can increase intimacy levels. An open relationship can be an o

Kate Bridle is a polysomnographer, more commonly known as a sleep specialist. She talks to us about all aspects of sleeping well. Kate shares her knowledge on sleep hygiene, chronic insomnia and habits that can help us to sleep better. We discuss many things that impact our sleep such as diet, exercise, light, alcohol and many more factors. It is important that we have an anchor time that we wake up at each day if we want to develop good sleeping habits. Teenagers should not stay up cramming at night and Kate explains how vital sleep is for retaining information in the brain and doing well in exams. Kate gives us tips to stop snoring and how this can also be linked to sleep apnea. She discusses diet and the gut/brain connection as this can have a huge impact on our sleep. We also explore sleep walking along with REM behavior disorders. Kate shares some of her experiences when researching sleep disorders while she was at university. We learn ways that we can turn our minds off so that we can get to sleep and t

Our guest has been single for seven years and she has been dating on Tinder for quite a while now. She started a very amusing and entertaining blog called ‘Bumbling Tinder’ where she talks about the highs and lows of her online dating experiences. We discuss the swiping culture in today’s fast paced world and how many people are looking for instant gratification, yet some are looking for something more meaningful. She reminds us how superficial the Tinder app can be however; some people do find love on Tinder. Our guest discusses what makes a good profile pic, her experience with the notorious dick pics and how many people on Tinder are just illusions. We explore online dating safety tips and the importance of loving yourself first. She shares some of her top dating tips and she reads two awesome stories from her blog that will make you laugh and cry simultaneously. Her Blog: http://bumblingtinder.com/ A listener Note: Many of the topics discussed in this podcast cover adult themes. Listener

Debbie Mannas grew up in Bangalore, India and moved to Hong Kong in 1991. Her love of music began early in life and she has been singing from a very young age. Her deep interest in human behaviour helps her to write meaningful songs in many different styles and genres. She performs often and her singing touches the hearts of many. Debbie and I talk about her work in Human Resources in the corporate world and how she balances work, motherhood and music.  Debbie is a mentor to women through the Women’s Foundation with a focus on diversity and inclusion. Debbie believes that her greatest qualities are her resilience, calm and patience. She is great at maintaining a balance and welcomes a challenge. She shares some of her parenting tips and inspires us with her wise words of wisdom. Debbie Mannas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-mannas-7572625/?originalSubdomain=hk Hong Kong Confidential Details Email: juleshannaford1@gmail.com Network: https://www.auscastnetwork.com/home/hong-kong-confiden

Allie Rooke discovered the benefits of clean cosmetics and living a clean lifestyle when she was going through her fertility journey. She found a natural fertility clinic in Australia and that was the turning point in her journey to become a mother and she re-evaluated how she was living her life and the products that she was using. Allie explains how mainstream cosmetics can disrupt the endocrine system on our bodies and the effects that this can have on our health and wellbeing. She began with a clean cosmetics blog and eventually launched her own clean cosmetics consultancy business ‘My Clean Cosmetics’ to help expand the Asian market. We have such an interesting discussion about the K and J Beauty trends, zero waste, the effect on the planet and animal testing. We also explore the free gift trend and how many brands are beginning to move into the natural space. Allie gives us some top tips on clean cosmetics and recommends some great products and companies in the clean cosmetic world. https://

Paula Miquelis is the organiser of the Green is the New Black Conscious Festival in Hong Kong. We discuss many sustainable living topics. We explore issues such as climate change, plastic use, zero waste, veganism and mindful eating. Paula shares some of the highlights of the Green is the New Black Festival including the conscious brands featured in the Market Place and the Talks where industry experts encourage us to live more consciously. Paula talks about best practices that corporations can adopt to improve their sustainability and the changes that we can all make as individuals. Hong Kong people can join the Green is the New Black Conscious Festival at the Kerry Hotel on April 13th and 14th. More information is in the link below. https://greenisthenewblack.com/festival/ Hong Kong Confidential Details Email: juleshannaford1@gmail.com Network: https://www.auscastnetwork.com/home/hong-kong-confidential Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hongkongconfidential/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/juleshannaford/ Instagra