The Willow Tree Online Podcast: Recent Episodes
Christina & Stephen Hutson
After 10+ years of living with chronic illness and disorders, hosts Christina and Stephen Hutson explore how to a life rich in meaning and pursue presence every day.
We love a good de-clutter, you too? This week we're talking all about the clutter that builds up in our belongings, mind, and lifestyle, why it can become toxic, and how to address it in a way that leads towards more calm and greater alignment with what we value most in life.
We talk about how to recognize when you may need to pause and assess what areas of your life may be a bit out of sorts, and simple practical first steps to begin the process of decluttering your belongings, mental load, and lifestyle. And as always, we share about what this process looks like in our own lives as we grow right alongside you and move towards greater thriving together.
Apply the content in your own life:What isone small thing you can declutter this week? Write it down or set a time on your calendar, and tackle it! Maybe it's a closet, your scheduling calendar, a kitchen cupboard, a list of worries that are cycling constantly through your mind....whatever it is, it's the first step towards making more space to what truly makes you thrive!
Links:
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson @sephen.hutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website and downloadables: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
This is the first of some "mom talk" episodes that we'll be recording once in a while on the podcast! Today Christina is answering YOUR questions submitted to her about all things mom life. We hope you enjoy this candid conversation and find some solidarity, ease, humor, and freedom to live out whatever season of life you're in, in a way that feels authentic to you.
Apply the content in your own life:Is there an area of your life that you could tune OUT the noise of advice and tune IN to your own intuition and stand confidently in that?
Links:Everyone 3 in 1 soap
Grovia cloth diapers
Cloth diaper liners
BB Hug Me pillow
Monet hair care
Cordless vacuum
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website and downloadables: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
Christina is interviewing Stephen about one of his favorite topics...gardening! He shares how gardening has deeply impact him, some simple steps to get started, mistakes he's made, and his top tips. This one's for you if you're curious about gardening but feel overwhelmed by it.
Apply the content in your own life:What's one thing you'd love to grow?
Make a plan: Where will you buy the seeds or starts? What container will you grow it in? Put it in your calendar for what month you need to plant it!
Links:Purchasing seeds:
-Seed Savers Exchange
-MIGardener
-Baker Creek Seeds
Gardening Youtube/Social Channels:
-Epic Gardening
-Jame's Prigioni
-Gardenary Co
App for planning garden beds:
-Planter
-Seedtime.us (get $5 free seeds using this link)
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website and downloadables: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
Disclosure: Some of the links in our show notes are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through them.
As we're half way through the year, we want to pause and check in with the spaces in life that might not be what we'd hoped for. We've noticed a common theme when talking with friends, clients, each other...that there is a collective grief in facing hard things whether it be in vocation, health, relationships, desires, etc and feeling stuck in circumstances. We're exploring what it looks like to move within these spaces and not grow stagnant or let them overcome us, while also moving through them by taking steps forward to keep writing the story we desire for our life. We hope you feel solidarity, honored, and encouraged as we navigate how to live a really full life despite the pieces that feel broken.
Apply the content in your own life:
Where do you feel grief or disappointment in your circumstances?
- Is there a new story you want to start writing?
- What is a small courageous step you can take today to abide within this space well?
- What does it look like to take the next step in moving further into the story you want to create?
Links:
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website and downloadables: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
Christina is sharing things that she has specifically found to be critical in managing her condition of POTS syndrome, in order to move out of survival mode from when she was first diagnosed, to her current day to day experience of living a thriving (though still challenged) life with POTS. She shares in depth about her experience in the past, present, and critical turning points throughout decades of testing, study, specialists, dietary shift, supplementation, and total medical burnout.
We hope this episode is helpful whether you live with POTS or another chronic illness, or perhaps just want to understand how to better support your own complex body in moving towards greater thriving.
*This is not medical advice. This conversation is based on our education and personal experience.
Apply the content in your own life:
Is there anything in your physical body that you’ve given up on? What would it look like to get curious and proactive about the possibility of moving into greater flourishing in places where you once felt all hope was lost?
Want to connect with us or continue the conversation? We love hearing from you. Email us at christina@christinagracehutson.com
Links mentioned:
- Our POTS music video with JJ Heller: I believe in you
- Christina’s favorite clothing shop: neuflora.com
- Stephen’s meditation pillow: All in Motion meditation pillow
Other Links:
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson @stephen.hutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
Podcast website: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
We all experience a need for rest daily. Not just sleep, but deep lasting rejuvenation that leaves you feeling like your best self rather than a burned out, run down version. In this episode, we’re talking all about REST. Not just sleep. Not just avoiding work. Not just a week of Netflix. But true, restorative, life-giving rest that empowers you to embrace life to the fullest as your best self.
We’re talking about the 7 different types of rest.
How can you identify which you’re needing?
What’s the difference between “true rest” and “fake rest?”
What’s at stake if we avoid it?
Practical ways for creating rhythms of rest.
And as usual, we end the episode with our whimsy and delight segment! So stick around to hear our favorite products, foods, Beckett’s first encounter with spicy food, and Stephen’s knowledge drop about dopamine and sriracha sauce. See you under the Willow Tree!
Apply the content in your own life:
Which of the 7 types of rest do you need most this week? How can you move towards that?
Links:
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
We believe nourishment can be a space of ease, enjoyment, healing, vitality, balance, and gratitude. It can be a sustainable rhythm of caring for our bodies through a lifetime, rather than quick fixes, crash diets, and trendy cleanses.
Wellness through food is not just a week’s dietary endeavor. It impacts us mentally, physically, emotionally, and relationally. In our culture full of trends, ideals, and information overload, nourishment can feel confusing, overwhelming, and sometimes stressful. So this week we’re diving into some mindset shifts and tips that may be helpful in finding ease while truly caring for your physical body as well.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or in a space of uneasiness with nourishment due to thought patterns, physical complications, or information fatigue, this episode is for you. This is such a tender and complex topic so we hope this conversation brings some helpful mindset shifts as we all participate in the gift of nourishing our bodies through a lifetime.
Apply the content in your own life:
- What words would you use to describe your current relationship with food? What do you WANT your relationship with food to be like?
- What is one shift practically or in your mindset that can help you move more towards a space of ease and vitality with nourishment?
Links:
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
In this episode we’re talking all about sustainability. What is sustainability? Why does it matter? What are some practical ways we can live more sustainably, not only for the health of our planet, but also in our personal lives to create more sustainable wellbeing in our health, heart, and home. We hope you’ll dive in with us as we explore this very important and complex topic.
Quotes:
”When you find a lifestyle that’s sustainable, that’s wellness. When looking after your mind and body feels balanced, celebratory, delicious, and full of abundance, that’s wellness. It’s remembering that it’s what you do for decades, not on any given day, that matters.” -Ella Mills
“Sustainability to us means making choices today that will positively impact tomorrow, in our environment, in our personal life, in our health, and in our relationships.”
“We are either stealing the future or healing the future” - Paul Hawken
“We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” - Anne Marie Bonneau
Apply the content in your own life:
For the planet: What is one practical thing you can begin doing to live more sustainably for the planet? Something that, however small, is a part of a more thriving planet.
For your lifestyle: Is there anything in your current lifestyle that doesn’t feel sustainable? What needs to shift in order to feel more balanced in a way that will be long lasting?
Links mentioned:
-Documentary about nature thriving: The Year Earth Changed
-App to identify toxic ratings on products: EWG Healthy Living App (or search in the app store)
-Stephen’s current favorite song: If I were a Fish
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
In this episode, we’re sharing a peek inside what a day in our life looks like as a family, and how we’re working to live out our core values daily in this season. Maybe you can relate to feeling like the days are just rolling by on autopilot? Join us in a conversation about pausing to define our values, and then weaving them into each day with intention, creating a vibrant life that is in alignment with what truly matters to you.
We hope you enjoy a peek into our day to day life, and feel inspired to join us in adding more intention to even the “mundane” hours.
Apply the content in your own life:
-What are 1-3 of your core values?
-Are these things present in your life?
-Are there any small shifts you can make to incorporate your values more intentionally each day?
Mentioned:
*Homemade hot (or iced) chocolate
-1 cup milk of choice (We use oat, soy, or almond milk. Warm if making hot chocolate, leave cold for iced chocolate)
-1 Tablespoon cacao powder
-1 Tablespoon peanut butter
-1 large soft date (or 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar)
-Tiny pinch of salt
Blend in a high speed blender and re-heat for hot, or serve over ice for cold
Links:
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Instagram: @christinagracehutson
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
Catch up on the last episode to hear the back story in part 1! In this episode, Stephen shares about his hike through the Grand Canyon. Logistics (eating, sleeping, etc), emotional and mental impact, and what he shed and gained through the experience. Christina shares something she’s working to overcome in her own life as well.
Maybe you can relate to obstacles that feel bigger than you? Join us in the conversation as we explore what it looks like to move into greater wholeness despite what’s holding you back.
Apply the content in your own life:
“I can do so much more than I thought I could do.”
“Small steps can lead to massive transformation.”
“The impossible is possible. Even if not right now.”
“We can live a really whole life, even with broken pieces.”
Ask Yourself:
- What can I pause and celebrate today that I’ve accomplished? Big or small.
- Is there something holding me back from a transformation that I desire?
- Is there a mindset that is holding me back?
- What’s one step I can take to overcome my obstacle?
Links:
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/ep4
Stephen shares a deeply honest conversation about his mental health struggles that peeked after our son was born. Where did it all start? How did he find his way back to himself? What did it look like to keep showing up through numbness and pain?
We hope this episode makes you feel less alone if you’ve ever experienced mental health trials or journeyed with someone who has, and that you feel encouraged to take the next brave step to move further towards the life you desire.
Apply the content in your own life:
- Is there a challenge you need to or want to face that feels impossible right now?
- What is one small thing you can do today to climb towards it?
- What will you gain if you conquer that thing? - this is your driving force
Links:
- Want to partner with us by supporting the show for $5 a month? We are SO grateful!
- Christina’s website, book, and mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
- Podcast website: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
This episode takes you through some of our life story. We share more about our dating relationship, education, career paths, and values, as well as Christina’s health journey, diagnosis, and journey to where she is now. You’ll learn some random things that you surely didn’t know about us!
We hope you find some very relatable stories, some snippets of applicable wisdom, and a lot of laughter as we pull back the curtain on “Who are the Hutsons?”
Podcast website: https://www.willowtreeonline.com/
Click here if you want to help support the show for $5 a month
Christina’s website, book, mentoring services: https://christinagracehutson.com/
In Episode 1 we’re recapping some big events that wrapped up the past year, as well as reflecting on significant lessons we learned in 2022. Stephen shares about his journey moving through a mental health crash and what he learned from it.
Christina shares how compassion took on a whole new meaning last year in a way that was really transformative to her perspective.
We’ve also included some fun “segments” that will be in every podcast:
-3 highlights of our day
-Whimsy and Delight: Things we’ve been enjoying lately
We’re so grateful to continue to journey with you towards greater wholeness in health, heart, and home.