Join Carolyn Taylor for the latest episode of The House of Wellness with Chemist Warehouse on The Breeze where she sits down with Dame Lisa Carrington, psychotherapist Kyle MacDonald, life and business coach Brooke Nolly, ‘Be My Eyes’ app volunteer Ongkopotse Adam and resident pharmacist Piyara Perera.
Featured Guest: Dame Lisa Carrington
Joining the show for a second time, New Zealand’s most decorated Olympian Lisa Carrington popped in to chat about her upbringing, morning rituals and new ownership opportunity.
Lisa spoke about growing up in a sporty household with two older brothers who inspired her competitiveness and led her toward surf lifesaving, which eventually introduced her to kayaking.
She shared her morning rituals of meditation, journaling and gratitude practices that help her to face even the hardest training days with perspective.
“It’s really important to get up and start the day with a process,” Lisa said.
“Setting really good intentions like gratitude… really help bring me back to this moment and not worry about what’s coming up.”
Beyond the water, Lisa is now part of the ownership group of the Northern Kāhu women’s basketball team, a role she says allows her to champion women’s sport in new ways.
“Basketball is an amazing sport to be a part of, it’s huge, it’s growing, it’s exciting,” she said.
“If we want [to celebrate] women’s sport and celebrate women physically, this is a really cool way to do it.”
Featured Guest: Kyle MacDonald
Psychotherapist and author Kyle MacDonald joined Carolyn to chat about his new book ‘Sh*t Happens: Lessons for Dealing with Life’s Ups and Downs’, which translates complex therapy concepts into practical advice for everyday challenges.
Drawing on years of clinical experience, he explains how many of our struggles stem from childhood patterns that resurface in adult relationships and trigger strong emotional reactions.
Rather than suppressing these feelings, Kyle encourages using them as opportunities for learning and self-awareness.
He also stresses the importance of slowing down, seeking support and recognising we can’t always ‘self help’ our way through difficulties.
Featured Guest: Brooke Nolly
Life and business coach Brooke Nolly works with creative, neurodivergent and highly sensitive women to help them uncover their desires, break free from limiting patterns and live more authentically.
Through tools like vision boarding, she guides people toward identifying what truly feels aligned for them, rather than following societal or peer expectations.
Her coaching focuses on “messy action” - taking imperfect but courageous steps to move through fear and re-pattern beliefs often rooted in childhood experience.
Brooke offers one-on-one coaching as well as her year long ‘Messy Action School Community’ complete with workshops courses and regular calls, all designed to provide women with the support, momentum and confidence they need.
Featured Guest: Ongkopotse Adam
Fellow Mediaworks employee Ongkopotse Adam sat down to talk ‘Be My Eyes’, a global app she volunteers with that connects sighted people with those who are visually impaired to help with everyday tasks.
From checking sock colours to reading labels or turning on a washing machine, through simple video calls volunteers quite literally become someone’s eyes, making a huge difference in moments that many take for granted.
Ongkopotse says the beauty of ‘Be My Eyes’ is its accessibility - anyone can download the app, receive basic training and start assisting from anytime, anywhere.
Resident Pharmacist: Piyara Perera
From screen time to ageing, our eyes are under constant strain and Piyara says that pharmacists are seeing more people seeking advice on issues like dryness, allergies and infections.
Dry eyes in particular can stem from different causes. Whether it’s a lack of tear production or the tears evaporating too quickly, it’s important to note that not all eye drops are created equally, meaning the wrong choice can sometimes make things worse.
Piyara said that regular eye checks are key for early detection of conditions such as glaucoma or macular degeneration, especially if you’re genetically prone.
Check out our extended chat with Dame Lisa Carrington here and tune in next Sunday for The House of Wellness on The Breeze.
