Walking Kokoda Track with ONLY HALF a Pelvis & Cultivating Resilience | Adam Kellerman (2020)

In this episode from Season 1 (2020) we have Adam Kellerman joining us.

Adam is quite frankly a remarkable human being. The reasons I invited him on as a guest become evident as I detail his bio, which essentially becomes some of the story he walks us through.

This includes surviving cancer as a young teenager, having half of his pelvis removed, going on to play professional wheelchair tennis which included two Paralympic games in London and Rio, he was ranked #8 in the world and #1 in Australia, but after a pivotal point in his career, he winded up doing charity work in Africa and in Australia, and somehow went on to stop using his wheelchair, and ended up on a grand journey to hike the very well known, and very challenging, Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.

On top of that, his life is intertwined with practices that cultivate a well-rounded approach to holistic health and wellness, which we explore throughout his story, including his connection to ceremony, ritual, facing death, honouring the sacred, connecting with nature and more.

He’s now a motivational speaker for schools and businesses and he speaks to the importance of building resilience, overcoming adversity and thriving through change, he mentors cancer survivors, people with chronic pain, and young adults, alongside teaching standing meditation and Calligraphy Qigong, amongst all the other roles he slips and slides into, like we all do.

It was a real pleasure to sit down and weave in and out of Adam’s own Birdsong and I trust you’ll find value in our dialogue to carry with you on your own path forward.

 

EPISODE NOTES:

Healing your life emotionally and physically after bone cancer

Tapping into and taking control of your own healing power

Some of the pillars of Adam’s healing journey

Healing trauma on a cellular level Learning lessons from pain

Choosing life in the face of pain and darkness

Understanding why life, the blessings and the challenges, are a gift

Embracing the challenge and opportunity of COV-19

The sharing of wisdom

The simple magic of rituals

The healing power of connecting with your spirit

 

TIMESTAMPS:

[4:00] Opening the Container: Adam opens the circle with a reminder to bring our focus back to the breath

[8:27] Adam's current mission: Walking for the Age of Ability...AFTER removal of his right hip

[10:00] Recovering after a bone cancer diagnosis

[14:18] Taking charge of your healing

[18:32] Adam’s support network during his journey

[27:00] Dealing with trauma on a cellular level (Lessons from Adam’s masseuse)

[35:00] Dealing with (instead of running from pain)

[58:25] Musings on choosing life

[1:00:00] All of life is a gift

[1:06:28] The challenge (and opportunity) in the COV-19 crisis

[1:12:00] Confronting the Uncomfortable & Learning

[1:19:00] Dealing with the Lessons of Pain

[1:21:00] Rituals

[1:26:00] Healing spiritually

[1:32:37] Closing the conversation