This New Podcast Will Completely Change The Way You Think About Your Health — EXCLUSIVE

Have you ever realized that "health" and "wellness" are completely subjective ideas? Yes, both terms have rigid dictionary definitions, but essential oil brand Saje’s Well Now podcast is here to expand these meanings by opening your ears and your mind to how other people define well-being through a variety of different perspectives on the subject. Think about it: How many ways are there to cure a case of the sniffles? I might go with hot fluids and a humidifier, but you might prefer taking over-the-counter meds to get the job done. For you, a mental health day might include lavish bubble baths and mani-pedis at the spa; for your best friend, it might entail losing herself in a Netflix marathon. We all have our own definitions of health and wellness, but there’s so much more to healing and self-love than our own interpretations.

To give you a quick backstory, Saje was founded in 1992 when husband and wife Jean-Pierre and Kate Ross Le Blanc were inspired to formulate 100 percent natural, plant-based wellness products. After Jean-Pierre faced a series of ailments and chronic pain in the aftermath of a car accident, the two decided to hone in on his passion for developing all-natural remedies to aid in his recovery and bring them to market. Fast-forward to 2018, and the couple has decided to take their mission a step further by launching an original podcast called Well Now.

Unlike other podcasts that tend to separate physical from mental health, Well Now focuses on wellness in all forms.

The podcast is hosted by none other than Saje’s managing editor and chief writer Meghann Shantz. The first two episodes are already live, and you can listen in for free via iTunes and Stitcher every other Wednesday. Season one includes six episodes, each lasting anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes each — aka just long enough to keep you preoccupied during your daily commute.

Well Now hopes to encourage listeners to approach wellness holistically, rather than divide the subject into the three common main categories: body, mind, and spirit. In an exclusive interview with Elite Daily, Shantz explains that Saje believes in a “holistic approach to wellness” in order to “positively change your world." By looking at health as an “interconnected system,” in which each part is equally essential, you can truly appreciate how everything about you works together. When your mind feels good, so does your body, and vice versa.

"There is no real separation between physical and emotional wellness," Shantz explains. "When we explore the hidden side of physical pain, what we’re discovering is how powerful emotions are and how they might manifest in the body — the synergy between how our mind and body health plays into our physical health."

Listeners can expect to hear real stories from real people, and how they found ways to cope with different health issues.

In order to help listeners make the connection between physical and mental health, Shantz will be talking with doctors, wellness experts, and healers, as well as handing the mic over to people who've "overcome health challenges," from chronic pain, to anxiety, and even more serious diseases like cancer. Through the telling of these stories, in tandem with having professionals on the podcast to help guide the conversation, Well Now can teach you what it truly means to practice holistic wellness, and how to achieve your own "fully empowered, personal wellness."

Think about it this way: Your favorite social media influencers are constantly posting their go-to products and explaining in super lengthy, emoji-spammed captions why you need them in your life, too. It’s easy to get caught up in all the Insta hype instead of doing your own research and figuring out what will work best (or, you know, at all) for your individual body. Well Now is all about listening to people's stories, and reconciling those experiences with factual reasons for why their strategies worked, and why they might even work for you, too.

In the end, personal wellness is, well, personal, and it can only be defined by your unique standards.

According to Shantz, one of Saje's mottos is this: "You can't pour from an empty mug." In other words, to support yourself, you have to first "choose to take care of yourself," says Shantz, and the best way to take care of yourself is to hone in on what works for you.

For example, for Shantz, personal wellness means being comfortable with herself, "without applying judgment or being overly critical." It also means listening to other people's stories without embodying them — in other words, listening with an open mind, and having the freedom to pick and choose what it is about these experiences that could work to her benefit.

"In the past," she tells Elite Daily, "I've taken [other people's] troubles on as my own, believing that was the best way to for me to help. What I’ve realized is that people just want to be seen and heard, and that can be a huge benefit to their lives."

Bottom line: Creating and following a healthy lifestyle is a personal journey. Adding protein powder to smoothies, or adaptogens to morning lattes might make your favorite influencer feel vibrant and balanced, but these kinds of supplements may not work as well for your individual body. Well Now is a podcast on a mission to inspire you to be open to different kinds of health and wellness strategies, and to provide expert insight for why these strategies work. The goal isn't really to persuade you one way or another, but to let you know that health isn't one-size-fits-all; there are options, and it's up to you to figure out what's best.