The Coolest Journey

Host Hélène Caron
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  • Health & Fitness
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Welcome to the podcast The Coolest Journey, where guests share literally and figuratively their coolest journey intersecting health and the environment - with hope and joy, spreading both science-based knowledge and everyday tips. All this to help us all better our lives while helping the planet, because... the coolest journey we’ll ever be on is the one with ourselves and our environments. This bilingual (EN/FR) radio show/podcast airs live online every Friday from 12:30–1:00 pm ET on CFMU 93.3 FM, which is why some podcast episodes have two numbers, 1 per show. www.thecoolestjourney.com

  1. Ep 32 - Gabriela Herrero - Open Water Swimming Check-in Lake Ontario

    Jun 5

    Ep 32 - Gabriela Herrero - Open Water Swimming Check-in Lake Ontario

    This week is extra special — it's the first week of June, which means it's Ocean Week in Canada! Ocean Week is an annual national celebration of events, learning, and engagement held around World Ocean Day on June 8th. It's a time to recognize the incredible role the ocean plays in our everyday lives, and how our local waterways connect us all — from watersheds and coastal areas right out to the open ocean. So if you haven't already, head over to oceanweekcan.ca to find out how you can get involved and celebrate that connection.  In the spirit of Ocean Week, I'm launching something I'm really excited about — a monthly open water check-in series, where I chat with swimmers from around the world about their swimming conditions, experiences, and all things open water. We're putting OWS at the forefront of our conversations throughout the year. And for this very first episode of the series, I have a guest who needs no introduction — well, almost. This is actually her fourth time on the podcast, which officially makes her my swimmer in residence! Gabriela Herrero is a cold open water swimmer with serious distance credentials — 10km swims are basically a warm-up for her. Based in Burlington, she's a regular in Lake Ontario, and she always brings the best stories and insights. If you want to catch more of Gabriela's episodes, check out The Coolest Journey on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts — links are in the show notes. If you loved this episode, here's how you can keep this show alive and growing: -subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, leave a review if you're feeling generous -most importantly — share it. Share it with a friend, a family member, a colleague, your neighbour who keeps talking about wanting to feel better. Word of mouth is the single most powerful thing you can do for an independent podcast, and it costs you nothing but thirty seconds of your time. Every share could help this community grow by one person, and that matters. I’m on a mission to make the world a little cooler — one conversation, one cold plunge, one allergen-free vegan plate - and many communities at a time. And I can't do it without you. So thank you Gabriela for adding your voice to mine in terms of OWS check-in. Until next time, wishing you all health, energy, and the coolest journey of your life.

    56 min
  2. Ep 31 - Caelin Estrabillo - A Cappella Performance, Vocals and Breathwork

    May 22

    Ep 31 - Caelin Estrabillo - A Cappella Performance, Vocals and Breathwork

    My guest today is extremely special and close to my heart — she's one of our nieces on my husband's side of the family. We've watched her grow into a smart, kind, and uber-talented young woman through the years, and she's now at UBC in Vancouver with one year left in her environmental engineering program.  She'll come back to The Coolest Journey later this year to talk about her studies and the environment, but today, she's here to share a very special part of her journey: her involvement with performance, music, and breathing — and how it all culminated a few weeks ago when her UBC-based Eh Cappella group competed in a world-renowned competition in New York City. Not only will she share some stories from along the way, she'll also guide us through a few vocal and breathwork exercises that will help keep our voices toned and centered — and add a little fun to our day.  Whether you sing for fun, in karaoke, in an a cappella group, or in your shower — or even if you just want to breathe a little better — this conversation is for you. Caelin shares how she transitioned from general A Cappella groups to joining the competitive ICCA team, describing the rigorous rehearsal schedule of 10 hours per week and the technical demands of maintaining precise timing and blend while performing choreographed routines. The group won the quarterfinals in Tacoma and placed first in the semifinals in San Francisco before competing in the finals in New York, where they became the first Canadian West Coast team to reach the finals. New York Finals: https://youtu.be/Alj4jXUXEAs?si=5GzOmwpaDc-zUrnc Caelin explains the breathing techniques and vocal exercises the group used to prepare, including box breathing, siren exercises, and shakedown routines to stay present and centered during performances. She discusses how managing time between heavy engineering coursework and A Cappella commitments helped her develop better time management skills and reduce procrastination.

    1h 12m
  3. Ep 30 - Nicolás Guzman - Feats of Cold and Performance

    May 8

    Ep 30 - Nicolás Guzman - Feats of Cold and Performance

    Nicolas Guzman is back! Something happened between our podcast recorded in April and this one. Nicki found another gear, and I felt it critical to get him back on The Coolest Journey to talk about this experience. If you're interested in swimming, VO2 max and performance, this one is for you :D

    51 min
  4. Ep 29 - Nicolás Guzman - An Extraordinary 10yr Journey from Pool to Cold Open Water Swimming OWS

    Apr 17

    Ep 29 - Nicolás Guzman - An Extraordinary 10yr Journey from Pool to Cold Open Water Swimming OWS

    Nicki really learnt to swim while in university in Chile, less than 10 years ago. The remarkable part is that he swiftly moved from swimming classes to Masters practice, then to 5km open water swimming lake/ocean/river... and now to cold open water swimming in Vancouver BC. His dream? Immigrate to Canada and swim an ice mile. Nicki has been gracing our pod since Dec 2025 with his easy-going manners, determination and kindness. And this pharmacist by training has been progressing strongly in terms of cold adaptation and swimming performance in 5-8C salty waters, while adapting to a new city, learning English, and figuring out what his best path to immigration could be here in Canada. This is not only a love story regarding swimming and its communities, it is also one of integration, resilience, and gratefulness. It was such an honour for me to share this time with my guest and mostly, get to know my daily swim buddy on a whole other level. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

    1h 53m
  5. Ep 28 : FR L'engagement d'une vie - Marie-France Lefort

    Mar 27

    Ep 28 : FR L'engagement d'une vie - Marie-France Lefort

    Marie-France Lefort est bien connue dans la communauté franco de Hamilton.  La première fois que nous nous sommes rencontrées, c’était au printemps 2014 lors d’une retraite de conseil d’administration pour le centre francophone de Hamilton.  Dernièrement, nos chemins se sont recroisés dans un cercle d’écriture qu’elle a récemment commencé à animer pour le centre francophone de Hamilton.  Vous allez être choyé-e-s aujourd’hui, Marie-France nous parle non seulement de son engagement au sein de la communauté franco du Canada, mais aussi de son entreprise et d’autres passions qui l’animent, comme la randonnée pédestre et surtout - l’écriture.

    1h 35m
  6. Ep 27 - Orion Miller - Ice Surfing and Musings

    Mar 6

    Ep 27 - Orion Miller - Ice Surfing and Musings

    Montréal. -30C, -40C. Tumultuous Saint-Lawrence River waters. Combined together for ice surfing on an eternal wave??? You bet. Watch the 15min film about his ice surfing on Youtube: https://youtu.be/yqDKqXZTYYU?si=eyAZ2JH7GthabaTV Orion Miller makes ice surfing look easy, as if it's a totally normal, peaceful experience. There is so much depth in what he does, and he graciously accepted to delve into this in our conversation. How this extreme activity didn't just come by, how safety is always paramount. And how amongst all the wild elements, there is a meditative journey to be enjoyed, a space where this extraordinary human being is at one with nature and himself. Let me be clear - in my humble opinion, what makes Orion extraordinary is not that he partakes in this extreme activity. It's that he found this deep connection to our world through the activity, a resonance and frequency that few have access to. And how he channels it into his personal life and professional career as a musician. A must listen/watch episode also available on Youtube. Orion's Youtube channel: Youtube Channel:  Orion Surfs Insta: https://www.instagram.com/orionsurfs Orion's music band: The OM Sound https://theomsound.com/

    1h 30m
  7. Ep 26 - Dr Mark Christie and Blue Therapy

    Feb 20

    Ep 26 - Dr Mark Christie and Blue Therapy

    My chat with Dr. Mark Christie covered blue therapy, which involves immersion in natural blue spaces like oceans, lakes, and rivers; similarities with green therapy, and also unique benefits, including physical, mental, and social advantages. Some theories were highlighted such as attention restoration and stress reduction, as well as the biophilia hypothesis, to explain the benefits of being in nature. Dr Christie and I also talk about our personal experiences of swimming in open waters and the therapeutic value this brings to us, which is greatly reflected in his research. And YES - it's true, you will now find this podcast on Youtube as well, with video! https://youtu.be/ycZbpbidxWU

    48 min
  8. Ep 25 : Icy Cool Swimming - Tom Heyerdahl

    Jan 23

    Ep 25 : Icy Cool Swimming - Tom Heyerdahl

    Today dear listeners, get ready for a really cool interview - figuratively AND literally.  ICY cold.   As you probably know, cold water immersion has been gaining quite a bit of traction since COVID.  I’ve had 3 guests already on my podcast who talked about their love of swimming and cold water.  Why cold water swimming you might ask?  Why not could be the better question…  Calm, elation and centeredness keep coming back in my conversations with these cold water addicts. But get this - my super nice guest today has been named Mr. Ice Guy by Fifty-Five-Plus magazine.  That’s right.  Tom Heyerdahl actually brings this open cold water swimming to a whole new level:  ice swimming.  In 2022, he was the 3rd Canadian male to swim an IISA ratified ice mile and is one of few seniors part of the over 600 ice milers around the world. I had the incredible honour to witness this first ice mile and let me tell you - don’t let this debonnaire man fool you, he’s one of the toughest people you’ll ever meet, swimming just over 1.6km in 2.8C water, -11C air and with a time of 43min 45sec.  All this while wearing only his bathing suit, bathing cap and goggles (and a tow float for safety of course).  But that’s not all - he is quite humble about all this and actually has nurtured quite an ice swimming community in Ottawa where he lives, thanks to the 20-25m ice pool he carves in the Ottawa river in the winter.  At this point, you might be thinking:  no way, such a polar bear human cannot exist among us.  Well… here he is.  I hope you enjoy this podcast and remember to always prioritize safety while performing this activity!

    1h 40m
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About

Welcome to the podcast The Coolest Journey, where guests share literally and figuratively their coolest journey intersecting health and the environment - with hope and joy, spreading both science-based knowledge and everyday tips. All this to help us all better our lives while helping the planet, because... the coolest journey we’ll ever be on is the one with ourselves and our environments. This bilingual (EN/FR) radio show/podcast airs live online every Friday from 12:30–1:00 pm ET on CFMU 93.3 FM, which is why some podcast episodes have two numbers, 1 per show. www.thecoolestjourney.com

Information

  • Creator
    Host Hélène Caron
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Host Hélène Caron
  • Show Website
    The Coolest Journey