Calm Minds, Strong Futures

Come and listen to our Host, Candace Gish, as she chats with today's guest, Lane Kennedy, for our “Determined, Not Distracted” Podcast Series.

This mini-series serves as your blueprint for a high-impact year, distilling success into three non-negotiables: Goal Clarity, Resilience, and Commitment. By sharpening your focus, hardening your mental toughness, and anchoring your habits in discipline, you’ll shift from chasing temporary inspiration to achieving unstoppable, year-long momentum. 

Lane Kennedy is a Calm Living Docent, stress management specialist, and DNA wellness expert who has spent over 15 years helping burned out professionals and stressed parents learn how to stop stressing and prevent burnout.

As the creator of The CalmLab and Calm Resilience System, both of which are trauma-informed mindfulness programs based on polyvagal theory and nervous system science, Lane brings both scientific expertise and practical, real-world solutions to her speaking engagements.

With certifications in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), DNA Wellness, Functional Genomics, and extensive training in nervous system regulation, Lane offers unique insights that bridge science and practical application.

https://lanekennedy.com/

We explore how nervous system regulation and DNA insights can turn relentless stress into a steady, sustainable groove. Lane Kennedy shares evidence-based tools, simple breath and movement practices, and an eight-week system that helps us create clarity, resilience, and commitment.

• origins of Lane’s work and a pivotal wake-up moment
• rise of workplace stress post-COVID and with AI
• how DNA and SNP pathways inform brain health choices
• mindset’s role in gene expression and long-term risk
• practical regulation tools beyond one-size-fits-all
• tiny daily habits that improve sleep and focus
• course structure, live labs, and accountability options
• simple breathwork and device-free walks as resets

For more Divas That Care Network Episodes visit www.divasthatcare.com

Transcript

Welcome And Series Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It's Divas that Care Radio. Stories, strategies, and ideas to inspire positive change. Welcome to Divas That Care, a network of women committed to making our world a better place for everyone. This is a global movement for women by women engaged in a collaborative effort to create a better world for future generations. To find out more about the movement, visit divas that care.com after the show. Right now, though, stay tuned for another jolt of inspiration.

Meet Lane Kennedy

SPEAKER_02 0:31

Well, hello everyone, and welcome back to the Divas That Care. My name is Candice Gish. If this is your very first time tuning in, a huge welcome. We are now in our 16th season. We are listening to in over 35 countries around the world. And honestly, it is because of all of our amazing guests, our hosts, our tribe out there. So thank you so much for being a part of that with us today. Today I'm going to be introducing a brand new Diva to our family and to this podcasting series we're doing. Her name is Lane Kennedy. This miniseries serves as your blueprint for a high impact year, distilling success into three non-negotiables: goal clarity, resilience, and commitment. By sharpening your focus, hardening your mental toughness, and anchoring your habits in discipline, you'll shift from chasing temporary inspiration to achieving unstoppable year-long momentum. So welcome to the show, Lane.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Amazing. Thanks, Candace. Thanks for having me here.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Oh my gosh, I'm excited to have you. I'm really, really interested to get to know you. So, Lane, would you mind introducing yourself to our listeners today?

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Sure. I am Lane Kennedy. I live in San Francisco, California. I am a mom of a 16-year-old, which is a whole other story. And I am a mindfulness and stress management teacher, consultant. I work with first responders, mothers, uh high-performing executives, athletes, uh, all trying to regulate their stress response through. I look at the lens of DNA, but I also look at the through the lens of your nervous system. And it's been a wild ride for sure, because what I've seen over the past five years has just been wild. Uh, the amount of stress and the amount of uh I don't know, people who are kind of having burnout and breakdown syndromes escalated quite a lot. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

Oh my goodness. I know what you mean here. How did you get involved with that?

Awakening Moment And Recovery

SPEAKER_01 2:37

So, as I mentioned, I do have a 16-year-old. And when he was three, uh, I found myself outside of my car screaming at somebody because they weren't going fast enough for me here in the city of San Francisco. And if you've ever been here, you know that the streets are small and you can't really go around people. And so I just had this complete out-of-body experience. And I saw myself yelling at this man in his truck, and he was horrified. His face was scared. I remember turning back and realizing I had left my child in the car in his little seat, you know, his little seat, and just thought, what am I doing? What am I doing? And this was a moment of absolute clarity and a moment of I have to learn to do something differently. And I recognized that I had a lot of anger and a lot of repressed stress. And the other thing that I'll mention here is that I am in long-term recovery from drugs and alcohol. So I'm also sober a long time. And I thought that because I was sober, because I was doing all the right things, that I didn't have to worry about stress or anger or rage. But it came out.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Wow. You know, and it's it's something that we we don't even realize, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Yeah. It just all of a sudden, poof, it was there.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

And you're not the only one, you know, it's something that a lot of people go through, you know, and you don't know what triggers it. So how did you put together a stress management class to well, obviously you learned on how to work with yourself, and then you use that, and now you're helping others.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Correct. Yeah. So I have been working, uh I went through quite an extensive training, and then I started working with the city of San Francisco and the first responders and all the government employees here. And through that process um and through all the conversations, you know, I've collected data on what are the what are the stress, what is what are the symptoms, what are you, what is this body or this group of people dealing with compared to this group, right? So I have a lot of um information around what people are stressing about, how they're stressing, what their symptoms are, and then putting together a really cohesive uh body of work to support people's nervous system. Because at the end of the day, if the nervous system is not taken care of, it doesn't matter what meditation you're doing, you're still going to have uh symptoms and not be sleeping right and feeling that low level stress just humming, ready to explode at any moment.

Job Pressure, Post‑COVID Stress, And AI

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Lane, can I ask you, does it have to do with your job? Does that make things worse? Or do you find there's there doesn't really matter?

SPEAKER_01 5:26

So what I've noticed over the last couple of years, and especially in the last 18 months, is that there has been an increase in stress at the job. Um, I noticed a big uptake uh when COVID hit and things shifted. And then as we came out of COVID, there was a new bump. And that's what I'm talking about the last 18 months of two years. And I think it has something to do with AI and this constant demand of creation or uh being with an AI agent or this kind of pull. And when I look at it from a genetic or from the DNA space, I can see, well, if somebody has these specific SNPs, that's going to drive them a certain way. So does it relate to their job? I think so, but I think there's more uh more things here at play.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

So when you're talking about AI, is this because we're having to deal with AI more or people like maybe explain a little bit of that a little bit more?

DNA, SNPs, And Brain Health Risks

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Yeah, I think people are inclined to look at AI and play with AI and think, oh, this is great, AI. And if you are uh working, you get your work done more efficiently, but that means there's more to do, right? There's always something to do, even if you're turning your work in on time, there's more right behind it. So then that speeds up your timeline. And our brains are not equipped to be at that rate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:00

I can see that. And it's overwhelming because no, everywhere you look, you turn your head and it's there, it's there.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

I'd love to learn a little bit more about your DNA wellness. You know, honestly, when that kind of caught my attention when I was going through your website. Can you tell us a little more about that?

Lifestyle, Mindset, And Gene Expression

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Sure. So I got involved with DNA uh right before my son was born. Uh, I invested in a company, I loved it, I wanted to know everything about it, and I started training in it. And it took me about four years to understand SNPs. I mean, it's definitely a language of its own and the learning curve is like hitting a wall. So once you go through that, you can start to understand, you can start to see recognize patterns that people have. And the report that I use is 3x4, and we look at the pathways of the body, and then we look at the genes or SNP, single nucleotide polymorphisms inside those pathways. So if somebody comes to me and they and they say, Well, you know, my um my grandfather, he passed from uh dementia, and I want to look and see if there's something going on. I can definitely look at somebody's blueprint and see the family history, and then I can look at the pathways. So, in that regard, I would look at the brain health and I would say, Well, you've got these genes, and here's what we can do about it. Now, once you look at your DNA, your DNA is it, that's your blueprint. But your lifestyle, the way that you move about in the world, and more importantly, the way that you think triggers those genes. So if you think, oh, I'm gonna get Alzheimer's or dementia, well, you you you just might. So again, that thinking component is such a critical part of looking at your DNA.

SPEAKER_02 8:44

So if you have an understanding of what you could possibly have in your your body, you can work towards obviously not getting rid of it, but changing it.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Correct. Correct.

SPEAKER_02 8:55

Oh gosh. And that's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

It is real that yes, Candace, it is exciting.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Yeah, like I'm thinking about it. I'm like, because I know so many individuals out there that they're like, well, they're dealing with family stuff. Like, well, my family's got this, my family's got that. I'm like, well, how do you fix that? You know, in my head, it's like, well, what can you do so that you don't get that?

Tiny Habits And Daily Regulation

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Well, that that's it right there. And it always the way that I see things now really it comes back to managing your lifestyle, managing your stress. What are you putting into your body? Who are you hanging out with? All of that matters in how your genes will express. And it all matters in how you like well, stress, right? Like, are you sleeping at night? Yes. Are you angry? Do you are do people want to be around you?

SPEAKER_02 9:48

You are helping people through you would help so many people with just their lifestyle changes. Like this is a real lifestyle change.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Indeed, it is. And people think, oh my God, I can't do it. Like that's the first, there's always this, oh, that's too much. You're asking me too much. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

Oh, see, and that surprises me because but I would be like, okay, if there was somebody out there that could really change in a lot of ways my future.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

And they understood because of how my body is, why wouldn't I do it?

SPEAKER_01 10:18

I think people get stuck in these patterns. They get stuck in the groove, what's comfortable?

SPEAKER_02 10:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

You know, so if I ask somebody to take a walk every day and they're not used to taking a walk every day, that's a big that's they're like, wait, wait, no. I maybe I'll walk twice a week. I'm like, no, really, it's every day.

unknown 10:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

That can be hard for somebody. So I start with really baby, really tiny, tiny steps. Yeah. We work our work our way up.

Stress Test And Practical Reminders

SPEAKER_02 10:49

Oh, wow. Well, on your website too, you've got a a stress test. So if our listeners right now, um, can they go and take that stress test? What kind of things are going to show them?

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Oh, yeah. So we'll see uh, you know, how their nervous system is doing, uh, if they're regulating. And then I also share different practices or different ideas that they can start using on a day-to-day basis. Well, we forget what to do. We forget that we have to practice. We forget that it's important to take a walk every day because we get so caught up with our little lives, right? We're so caught up with our jobs, with our families, with what is important to us. And we forget that really at the end of the day, I always think about how you're sleeping at night. And if you're not sleeping well at night and getting up in the morning and and having this like, yes, I'm excited about today, then something's off.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

And I'm such a visual person. So for myself, I would be writing, I have these, and it's all over my house to be honest. I have to write things down. So I'm like to remind myself that I need to do that. Because if I don't have the reason those reminders, I honestly will forget.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Correct. Yeah. Because we get caught up.

unknown 12:00

Yeah.

The Calm Resilience System Overview

SPEAKER_01 12:00

We got caught up with the dogs or the neighbors or the construction or whatever it is, we're distractable. So having so having those notes someone uh guide you, I just like, yes, support is a good thing. I'm pro get support that you need.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

I love this. So you've got some courses that you do. I'd love to hear about them because this is what we do. Like a lot of our listeners love to take courses. And I always say, but make sure when you do a course, absorb it. You know, don't just take a course because you're taking a course. Take a course because you're gonna get something from it and it's gonna change your life. So I want to hear about your course and how can that change our lives?

Evidence-Based Tools And Breathing

SPEAKER_01 12:45

Yeah. I have uh the Calm Resilience System, and it all goes back to this idea around if you're not regulated, your body will start breaking down. And that may look like diabetes, that may look like an extra 10 pounds, that may look like a rash on your body. So the Calm Resilience System takes you through eight weeks, so to speak, uh, of different information around stress. And I teach you the fundamentals of what stress is, how it operates in your unique body. And then I go through and create, I've created different practices to regulate the nervous system. I'm not the meditation and mindfulness teacher that says, you must do it this way, right? That like there's a lot of dogma around meditation. And I am of the variety of you are a unique person. So you're gonna have to find your unique practice that regulates your nervous system. And that's what we do inside the calm resilient system is that I give you different practices to expand, which is I think the best way to do it because you you just don't know until you try them.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

Well, that's exactly it, you know. And with this mind, we're figuring out ways to not be distracted, right? Yeah. So doing this would help us not be distracted.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Correct. And the other thing that's in there is that I have, you know, everything's evidence-based. So there's research from Harvard and uh Judd Brute, like many, many people. So I'm not just saying do this, I'm also showing the science behind it and the evidence behind it because there's a certain amount of people who really like to learn. They want to be educated, they want to understand the science behind it. So I've included deep dives on all of that as well. So it's really helpful.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

Oh, I love it. And you also have an area on your website that talks about resources, and there's one about breathing, and I really like that because it shows right there how to breathe.

Accessing Courses, Live Labs, And Support

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Yeah. Because sometimes people don't. So I just think that, you know, we have to, it's we're not taught right in grade school how to be calm. We're not taught how to breathe efficiently, we're not taught how to eat properly. And so we grow up and we're just trying to put, you know, yes. And then we listen to these high-profile air quoting gurus. But from my experience, those gurus are after a paycheck. And they're, you know, saying, take this supplement, it's gonna fix this. But really, at the end of the day, that supplement may not hurt you and your DNA. So why are you taking that? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:37

And then people get discouraged. So then when there's something out there that might really help them, they're very standoffish and they're not willing to try because they've been, you know, I would say hurt in a lot of ways through that.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Yeah. Yeah, which is really sad. And I I don't want people to, I want people to find their own way because it's possible. And it's possible to regulate your nervous system and it's possible to eat food that's right for you, but it just takes a little investment in your own well-being, in your own longevity.

SPEAKER_02 16:11

Oh, that's wonderful. So, how can our listeners get a hold of this program?

Final Tips: Go Outside And Breathe

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Sure. They can just jump on over to lanekenedy.com and they will see the services if you do the drop-down to services, and you'll see the calm resilient system. Um, I also have the calm lab as well, and those are live sessions with me. So there's choices. Everybody I like to have choices for people.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

You know what? I think that's really good to have because you don't know what a person's schedule is like. So if you can, if it works better for them live, and some people do that. Sometimes they need that accountability.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:52

And sometimes they just like to do it independently.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Correct. I found that a lot of times what somebody will do is that they'll jump into the course resilient system, and then they'll start taking live sessions with me because they want that weekly cadence. They want that commitment. Uh, a lot of my students say they come to class just so they have a space to practice. They know that that's going to be the place where they calm their nerves and reset their system, which is a beautiful thing. It's a self, it's a moment of self-care in their busy weeks.

SPEAKER_02 17:25

And that's what we're all about, especially in this new podcast series. And that's what I want people to figure out is what's going to work for them by sharpening their focus and, you know, developing those habits that sometimes are hard to do when life bombards them. So this has been great, Lane. I've had so much fun chatting with you today. You know, we have a whole bunch of other series that we're going to be doing this year, and I hope that you're going to be coming back on.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Yeah, I would love that. It'd be great to be with you again. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 17:53

Oh, you're welcome. And Lane, do you have any last-minute maybe tips or tools that we can share with our listeners today?

Closing And Ways To Connect

SPEAKER_01 18:00

So I'm a big advocate of just getting outside without a device. That is my number one pro tip. Just go outside without a device and be outside for about an hour. If you can't do an hour, do 30 minutes. If you can't do 30 minutes, do 15. Take three big deep breaths in through your nose and out of the mouth. Make the exhale long and slow. Just doing that will reset your nervous system. How about that, Candace?

SPEAKER_02 18:33

I love it. Absolutely love it. And I know that some of you that are listening are probably under a deep freeze right now. And we do apologize. But you know what? Even breathing in that cool air is good for you.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Wonderful. Well, Lane, thank you so much for being my amazing guest today and really helping us with this podcasting series. And I just love what you are doing to help people with stress management and their DNA. And I just think that more people need to learn about this because I think something like this will really help people's lives, to be honest. You know, if you have an understanding of what your DNA is going to be like, then you can work on these steps that are going to work to, you know, change your life.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

Yes, absolutely. I've seen it done over and over again.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

Oh, I bet. Oh my gosh. I'm so excited. And everybody go check out her website. It actually is really amazing. Uh, there's a lot of resources on there. And I think, you know, doing that and connecting with her, you're going to love it. And she's got a blog that she does. So yeah, there's a lot of tips on there. And I think it's it's great. So I want all of our listeners to make sure that you share this. Thank you so much for tuning in to this podcasting series. We do have quite a few amazing shows out there with our hosts and uh our other guests out there. And we're talking about determined, not distracted. So we want you to share all those out there. And I also want to remind you all to do something kind. Until next time, everyone.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

Thanks for listening. This show was brought to you by Divas That Care. Connect with us on Facebook, on Instagram, and of course on divas that care.com, where you can subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss a thing.