March 13, 2025 • 63 mins
📺 Watch & Subscribe on YouTube
"We can build our perfect life. We can literally build a life around how we want to live," says Oksana Hanson, who joins the Quantum Biology Collective podcast to share her transformative journey from corporate executive to quantum health advocate. After a melanoma diagnosis at 35, Oksana questioned conventional wisdom and embraced circadian biology principles, leading to profound improvements in her physical and emotional well-being.
Oksana discusses how aligning with natural rhythms, spending time outdoors, and prioritizing family values reshaped her life. She explains the power of saying "no" and the importance of living authentically. Oksana also reveals how homeschooling her children has allowed for a more circadian-aligned lifestyle and deeper family connections.
Tune in to today's episode to learn about Oksana's upcoming retreat, which promises to bring together leading minds in quantum health for a unique, immersive experience. Discover how embracing quantum principles can lead to what Oksana describes as "living heaven on earth" – a state she believes is within reach for everyone.
Key Takeaways
1. Start your day with sunrise exposure and end it by blocking blue light at night to improve sleep and energy levels.
2. Spend more time outdoors, even for everyday activities like meetings or coffee breaks, to boost mood and overall wellbeing.
3. Question conventional health advice and do your own research, trusting your intuition and personal experiences.
4. Create a set of core family values to guide decision-making and align your lifestyle with what truly matters to you.
5. Consider alternatives to traditional education, like homeschooling, to create a more flexible schedule that supports your family's health and circadian rhythms.
Memorable Quotes
"I deserve to be loved for who I am, not who I'm pretending to be. As a people pleaser, that wasn't the true and honest and authentic me. If I deserve love, true love, I have to show who I am."
"We can build our perfect life. We can literally build a life around how we want to live. Making that big change, moving to Nashville, all of a sudden we're like, we could do anything."
"We truly think that we are living heaven on earth, and that is within reach for everybody."
Resources Mentioned
Carrie Bennett Wellness - https://carriebwellness.com/
PubMed (medical research database) - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Connect with Oksana
Website: quantumlenswellness.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuantumLensWellness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quantumlenswellness/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@soulanchorco
Retreat: carriebwellness.com/retreat
QBC Resources
To receive our Podcast Guide, where we break episodes down by category & to receive updates from us, subscribe to our email list here: https://qbcpod.com
You can join the FREE QBC online community...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Meredith Oke (05:04):
All right. Oksana Hansen. Super excited to have
you on. You were just saying that you were, like,
I was saying, an OG Applied Quantum Biology
certified practitioner. You're like, I was an
early adopter. Came in back when we. Right around
when we first launched in 2022.
Oksana Hanson (05:27):
Yeah. It's been quite the journey. Thanks so much
for having me on today.
Meredith Oke (05:31):
Oh, it's my total pleasure. I'm really looking
forward to hearing your story and hearing how you
landed in a certification for Applied Quantum
Biology when you started out in sales and tech as
an executive in San Francisco. That's quite the
trajectory. I love it. Yeah. So tell us your
(05:55):
story, because, you know, it's. You've made a lot
of leaps, and I think it's really helpful for
people to hear how. How those leaps happened and
what could be possible for them and be able to
relate. So you were an executive in the San
(06:16):
Francisco Bay area. You were married. Did you
have children at the time?
Oksana Hanson (06:21):
So is it okay if we start a little bit earlier
than that?
Meredith Oke (06:25):
Because.
Oksana Hanson (06:26):
Yeah. Is that okay, Please?
Meredith Oke (06:28):
Absolutely. Take us where we need to go to get
the full, full trajectory.
Oksana Hanson (06:36):
So I was born and raised in Russia, and my family
immigrated to the United states in late 1991. And
it was because my mother had a very rare form of
cancer called osteosarcoma, and it was in her
jaw. It had moved up to her brain. And so from,
like, the age of seven on, my life was filled
(06:58):
with doctors, visits, hospitals, surgeries. Like,
it was like this life kind of began without me
even knowing it. And, of course, because my
mother was only 30 years old at the time, like, I
just assumed, and I thought that's what happens.
Like, people in my family, they get cancer, they
(07:19):
die early. My mom's mom had died at 50. So, like,
I just set out on this course thinking, like, I'm
not going to have a long life. Like, I might as
well enjoy it because, you know, did there was.
Meredith Oke (07:31):
Did your mother survive or. No.
Oksana Hanson (07:34):
She did. Yeah. So it was one of the craziest
cancer, like, surgeries that they did. They still
have, like, all over her files. Do not delete any
of this. Like, it's insane. But they basically
ended up removing the entire right side of her
face. So, yeah, so they, like, peeled off the
skin and dug everything out. All the tissue, all
(07:55):
the bone, her eye, like, her palette. Like, I
mean, everything from the brain down, she ended
up having. Honestly, I've lost count at this
point. It's probably in the upwards of, like, 30
different surgeries. She's still alive today.
It's a miraculous, miraculous story. But really,
like, it's funny because my journey kind of
(08:17):
started with that initiation, like as a very,
very small child.
Meredith Oke (08:20):
Yeah.
Oksana Hanson (08:21):
Being thrown into the, this world of sickness,
doctor care, surgeries and all these other things
which I'm so grateful for. Right. Like we talk
about like in the alternative world, like those
are the situations where like you want that kind
of standard of care. But since then, and this was
like 30 plus odd years ago, you know, her health
(08:44):
has taken a big degradation. And so as being her
healthcare advocate and going through my own
journey, which I'll share in a second, like I've
learned, like we need people to advoc for like
our own healthcare journeys and also be there for
other people's like in their healthcare journey
to advocate for them as well. And when I say
healthcare, I just mean health, not the actual,
(09:05):
you know. You know what I mean? Yes, yes.
Meredith Oke (09:10):
You need someone on the inside with paying
attention.
Oksana Hanson (09:14):
Yes.
Meredith Oke (09:15):
Asking every step of the way, is this the best
thing to do? Is this in the best interest of my
mother or my. Whoever it is? Yeah, absolutely. So
that is something that I've seen happen. You
probably did too, you know, in your experience.
Yeah. You where you end up with multiple
specialists and multiple doctors and everyone's
(09:37):
got a different drug or a different intervention.
And it's like who's thinking about the person,
not just the patient.
Oksana Hanson (09:47):
And the way like I like to describe my experience
with my mom is there was a bunch of silos. So
there she had like oncology, she had the
radiation, she had, you know, the surgeons, she
had the ear, nose, throat doctor, she had the
brain tumor doctor, she had this doc. Right.
Like, so there's so many people, but it was like
there was no one person looking at the whole
picture. So like you'd get prescribed a
(10:08):
medication that was having this other side
effect. Well then this other specialist is trying
to deal with the side effect and then they're
issued another specialist to deal with that side
effect. And like it was just such a cluster of
information, pills, surgeries, half of which I
think were unnecessary really. But that's not
what we're talking about here. But anyhow, so I
(10:35):
kind of went on with my life when I moved out of
the house, married my husband, moved to the San
Francisco Bay area, was working for tech
startups, like Loving Life, like going out
entertaining clients, like living it up. And like
from the outside perspective, like everybody
thought that I had this like perfect life. And my
(10:57):
husband and I decided that we would Wanted to
raise a family and have children. Well, it took
me about two and a half years to conceive. And so
that was really, like, my first sign that I was
like, huh, okay, maybe this lifestyle is, like,
the late nights. You know, I was working 24 by 7.
It was one of these, like, in. In this industry
(11:17):
where you needed to respond within, like, two
minutes of somebody sending you an email. It's
high stress. I was in sales, so, of course you're
being held to quotas. And, you know, it was just
that crazy kind of lifestyle. But because we
didn't have children, we kind of got accustomed
to that, and, like, we thought it was our norm,
right? And so I was finally able to conceive, and
(11:42):
we had our kids back to back. Because I always
think, like, oh, once the body knows what it's
doing and you're healthy enough, like, you talk
about getting pregnant and you're pregnant again.
So, yeah, our kids. Our kids are very close
together, which is so amazing. And we decided
that somehow, like, it felt like the Bay Area was
(12:04):
no longer. It had lost its luster. After we had
kids, we thought, why are we raising our kids
here? And one of the biggest reasons we moved
across country to Nashville, Tennessee, was
because we thought, okay, we're raising our
children in an area where one, they're going to
have to be, you know, in sales and investment
banker or, you know, one of, like, only a handful
(12:27):
of things, like, you know, an entrepreneur with a
startup or something to get funding. Like, there
was only a handful of things that they could do
outside of, like, marrying into a relationship
that was financially, like, supportive for them
or, like, we would have to support them for the
rest of their lives. And we wanted to, like, it
was really important for us.
Meredith Oke (12:45):
Is it so expensive out there? Is that what you're
saying? Like, it's just so impossible.
Oksana Hanson (12:50):
Yeah, it's impossible to live unless you're. I
mean, my husband had guys working for him that
were, like, six to eight people to an apartment.
These guys were making, like, several hundred
thousand dollars a year, right? So, like, we
didn't want to put our kids in that type of
position where they had to stay in a situation
that wasn't, like, natural to them and kind of
(13:13):
give them the world of opportunity. So I think
the biggest decision that we made was moving
across country, but the decision I didn't make at
that point that I should have was to get out of
technology sales. And I did it because it was
great money. I was really good at it. Moving to
(13:34):
Nashville, especially, like, it was just easy for
me to make that transition. And so we knew we
wanted like a slower lifestyle. We wanted to
raise our kids in a place that felt more aligned
with us. But we didn't make a change when it came
to what we were doing for a living. And that's
when I got diagnosed with my child.
Meredith Oke (13:54):
I will say that's a tough call. You know, if
you're supporting your family, it does. It's not
top of mind to change jobs and. But you were, you
had noticed. So starting with your. You had
difficulty conceiving and then you were you
having other health symptoms? That's as well.
Oksana Hanson (14:15):
Well, and I think what's interesting is we know
the choice to move. Yeah, yeah. It was, you know,
like there was definitely like weight gain,
insomnia, there was like adrenal fatigue, there
was all these other factors. But everyone just
said, like, you're a first time mom or like you
have a newborn at home or you're breastfeeding,
like if you're up every two hours, of course
(14:36):
you're tired. Of course. And somehow all these
things, like in my mind became normal. Like it
was normal to gain weight. It was normal to just
be a walking zombie living off of coffee. It was
normal to have a glass of wine at night to relax
because that's what everybody does. Right. Like,
and it kind of gets you into these habits of
(14:57):
like, you think that's what everybody else is
doing and it gets very normalized.
Meredith Oke (15:04):
Yeah, I think that's a, that's a big one. Is. And
you know, I had a similar experience. We, we have
kind of forgotten as a culture what it's like to
feel really good and that it's okay to feel
really good. And we've like layered on all of
these different assaults on our biology. So of
course we don't feel good, but nobody really
(15:25):
does. So like, what's the big deal? It's. Yeah.
And then, and then in order to feel good, that
there are choices that need to be made. So. Okay,
so keep going. So you. Okay, so you had some
awareness that your health wasn't great, but it
was like, oh, well, no, it's fine. Like I'm busy,
I'm a mom. It's like I'm supposed to feel tired
(15:48):
and zombie like all the time, which is what they
tell us. And then 30 years later they tell us
we're supposed to feel like that because we're
not moms anymore, we're getting older. Like, it's
like, okay, we're still moms, but we're not. You
know, it's like every stage of life, it's. There
seems to be a reason why we're supposed to feel
gross and terrible and crappy. I reject it.
Oksana Hanson (16:11):
I say, not in my world.
Meredith Oke (16:15):
Not in our world. Okay, so you get to Nashville,
which is an improvement in many ways, but you're
still not feeling great, and you're still in high
stress drop.
Oksana Hanson (16:28):
Yeah. And I think, okay, this is the year that
I'm 35 years old. I'm going to take control of my
health. I have no excuses. My kids are like,
three and four at this age. Like, okay, no more
mom bod. Like, I'm gonna start walking every day.
Like, I don't know why I chose walking. Don't
know why I didn't go to the gym. Don't know why I
(16:48):
didn't do a million, like, take Pilates class. I
don't know. Like, I was just like, I'm gonna
start walking every day. So I put my headphones
in, slathered on that sunblock, and went outside
for my.
Meredith Oke (17:00):
Because you're in Tennessee. You got to be spfed
to the max every time you leave the house.
Oksana Hanson (17:06):
To the max. Yep.
Meredith Oke (17:08):
Okay.
Oksana Hanson (17:09):
And I start noticing a growth on my leg. And, you
know, I was one of these people where I saw a
dermatologist twice a year, was very religious
about it, did everything that the dermatologists
told me to do. I had a big spot removed, like,
this size, big, black, brown spot on my back when
I was 12 years old. And so I'd been under a care
(17:31):
of a dermatologist because of my mom's history
with cancer. We were kind of amplified in our
approach when it came to our, you know, health.
And so I was like, man, I don't know what that
growth is, but I need to go find a dermatologist
that's local. And I go get a checkup. She's like,
(17:53):
you're fine. We'll take a biopsy. And then you
get that dreaded call that's like, you need to
come in tomorrow at 7am to see the doctor. And I
was like, well, we know that that's not good news
when they're having you come in, like, first
thing in the morning. And so my husband and I
went in, and that's when I got told that I was
(18:16):
diagnosed with melanoma. And from the second that
they said that, Meredith, like, I was like, this
doesn't make sense. I've been under the care of a
dermatologist seen twice a year, every year since
I was 12. I'm 35 years old. How did I get
diagnosed with melanoma? And to me, like, and
doing everything.
Meredith Oke (18:36):
That they said, everything. All their
instructions.
Oksana Hanson (18:43):
And I'd made such improvements, like, in my
health and my weight. And I was walking every
day. I was spending time outside, and I was like,
this doesn't make sense. I thought this was a
disease, you know, And I'm sorry if this is
offensive, but, like, old white men got, like. I
thought that they got it on their face. And,
like, I didn't know anything else about skin
(19:04):
cancer at that point. And so without being, like,
rushed to fear, I was like, I'm going on vacation
with my family in a couple weeks. Like, let's
talk about the treatment options. But I'm
definitely not going to start anything until I'm
back from this vacation 30 days from now. And I
think they were shocked, like, that I wasn't
(19:26):
gonna, like, rush into making any, like,
treatment decisions right away. And this is when
I felt, like, most empowered out of, like, any
time I ever have in my life, because this will to
live for my children was greater than any
diagnosis that I could get. And I started doing
my own research, and I go to pubmed for the first
(19:49):
time in my life, and I found a study that said,
in melanoma, in particular, because of its
irregular borders, you should be cutting around
10 millimeters around the cancer. And I went to
my surgeon, and I said to her, can we have a
conversation about this? How much are you
(20:10):
planning to cut off? And she said, between 4 to 5
millimeters. And I said, here, can you please
read this study? And, like, I'm a married woman.
I don't care what it looks like. I have young
babies. Like, I need you to cut more than you
think is even necessary. Like, I want you. Like,
if we're going to do this, like, let's make sure
we get all of the cancer. And so I ended up just
(20:33):
having the surgery, no other treatment done,
because I was like, okay, this is how we're going
to handle this situation. I went into the
solution mode, like, at that point to survive.
And again, this was, like, very much I'm still in
that conventional mindset. Like, hadn't really
had, like, my awakening to everything that is
(20:54):
going on and somehow still was very clear and in
my approach to how I wanted to do this treatment,
because I'd seen my mom go through chemo. I'd
seen my mom go through radiation. I wasn't going
to put myself or my family through that. It was
awful. Like, I Didn't want to repeat that
(21:15):
generational cycle of putting my children through
that kind of trauma. And thankfully, I came
across Quantum Biology Collective. So. So I was
having my follow up visits, and at that point, I
think it's either monthly, every other month,
like it was very often for the first two years.
(21:37):
And she kept saying to me, like, you need wear
sunblock. You need to cover up, you need to not
go outside. And I was like, this doesn't make
sense. And if you remember, probably like a year
after that diagnosis that I had, they recalled
Oxybenzone sunblock off the market for causing
cancer. And so I went under my cabinet and I
(22:02):
pulled out this, what I thought was organic
Australian sunblock. And the first ingredient was
Oxybenzone. And I thought to myself, I was making
this healthy change of moving to Nashville,
walking for three miles a day outside, but I was
slathering on this toxic stuff, which I think,
you know, along with lifestyle things and, you
(22:26):
know, seed oils and other things that we now know
can, you know, are correlated with the skin
cancer. But I was slathering on sunblock every
single day. And I truly think that was one of the
major contributing factors. Wow.
Meredith Oke (22:45):
That is so interesting because you started the
walking practice. Walking is outside. You are a
diligent patient of lifelong dermatology and
doing everything you can to prevent cancer. So
you started using this sunscreen every day, and
(23:08):
then you ended up with that diagnosis. Wow, okay.
Oksana Hanson (23:15):
And thankfully, it was in a location where I
personally saw it. Right. Like, one of the
biggest things with, like, melanoma is, you know,
men get it on their back, you know, like, or in
their private areas. Which, again, like, I. I
look at those things and I'm like, that doesn't
make sense. Like, why would someone get skin
(23:36):
cancer in a place that doesn't see the sun?
Right? Like, breast cancer is one of the most
prevalent, like, CANC answers we have today.
Like, I just wonder. I'm like, that's
interesting, right? So as I came across the
Quantum Biology Collective and your message, it
was the first time in my entire life that I was
(23:59):
like, wow, the sun gives life to everything on
Earth. Of course we don't need to be scared of
the sun. Like, it was the first time that I heard
something that actually made sense to me. I'm
like, okay, I don't know anything about quantum
biology health. Like, I didn't have a science
(24:20):
background. Like, my degree was in philosophy. So
all I knew was really like, how to question any
argument and use logic. And to me, like, this
Came, it came so easily because of, I think my
background with my mom's cancer, being around
surgeries, being around doctors, asking all the
questions, being around that industry for so
(24:42):
long, it felt like everything that like I had
experienced led up to this. Like, now I know what
my purpose is in life, and that is to teach
people the actual healing ways of this planet.
Because had I had not, hadn't had those
experiences and maybe get diagnosed with cancer
(25:02):
at 35 and just have the surgery and have it
removed and move on with my life, I wouldn't be
where I am today.
Meredith Oke (25:11):
Wow, that's amazing. And I like, I love that you
heard, you heard the message and I love that
philosophy is very practical. You were trained to
seek truth, to under recognize it, and to ask
questions about, of things that don't make sense.
(25:33):
And you are in the perfect position. That's
amazing. So did you quit your job?
Oksana Hanson (25:45):
Yes. So at the end of, because that.
Meredith Oke (25:49):
Is a big deal. And I, you know, I, I, I don't
like, you know, just saying, like, ah, you got to
move to the equator. Ah, you got to quit your
job. Like, these are big important life changes.
So if you did quit your job, that is a huge
decision I'd love to dig into a little because.
Oksana Hanson (26:05):
Yeah, so within, within six months, I was no
longer employed at that firm. And, and then I had
some time to, really had about a year to figure
out what I wanted to do with my life. And that
was when Covid hit. And so, you know, the whole
(26:25):
universe kind of changed. And I think now that I
was like, empowered of like, questioning
everything. I was like, oh, I don't have to
think, take things at face value. I can do my own
research. I may not have a ton of experience in
this stuff, but I can read, you know, studies and
(26:47):
information and decipher and really like, trust
that intuition. Like, I guess that's the one
thing that we haven't really touched on is
there's a lot of like, trusting yourself and the
guidance that you're getting from God, the
universe, whatever you want to call it, that I
had drowned that voice for a long time and now it
(27:11):
was amplified. It was like, you're empowered.
Just take the time to like, slow down and listen.
And all of a sudden I was getting like, very,
very, very clear messages unlike anything that
I've ever done before. And also had the strength
to back up my stance on those, on those messages
and the preferences. I was like, I'm no longer
(27:33):
saying yes just to be a people pleaser or for it
to be convenient. Like, I need to protect my
energy, my family's energy, and. And things just
kind of started falling into place. Some most
powerful word in the English language is no.
Meredith Oke (27:52):
I love it. It's so true. And it's. It's hard. You
don't realize how many little tentacles and
threads of energy, connective tissue that we feel
responsible for. And we feel like that no might.
(28:12):
I'm trying to articulate my experience when I say
no. Yeah. And it's feels like I'm going to sever
them all, and then I'll be, you know, everyone's
going to be harmed or something. And. Yeah. I
just had a situation where I had to make a choice
about something, and I ended up saying no. And it
was like. Like, oh. I mean, when it came time to
(28:36):
do it, it was easy, but, like, getting to.
Getting to the decision was it's a process. And I
appreciate you bringing that up because sometimes
we tell our stories and we're like, oh, then I
did this and then I did that, and it's like,
yeah, but cultivating the internal fortitude and
intuition to come to those decisions is no small
(28:56):
thing.
Oksana Hanson (28:59):
Well, and I. I think, because I am very logical
and practical, too. So it's like, I love to
philosophize, but I love to like, okay, how could
we make this into a. Something you can actually
implement? So what we did in our family is we put
up a whiteboard and we said, what are our family
ethics and values? And for two weeks, we left
(29:20):
this whiteboard up. And anytime you thought of a
value that was important to you, you would go and
write it up on this board. And after the two
weeks was done, the four of us had written a lot
of different things, but what I noticed was a lot
of similar themes. And how old were children?
Meredith Oke (29:39):
But just curious, when you did this exercise.
Oksana Hanson (29:43):
Maybe seven and eight. Okay. So I love it. Yeah.
Meredith Oke (29:47):
So you're all in there. People, they would just
have an idea, they walk by, they'd write up, you
jot it up.
Oksana Hanson (29:53):
Like adventure, fun. Right. Friends, love. Right.
All the different things. We had so many things,
but I noticed certain themes. And so what I did
was I narrowed down all the things that were
written on this whiteboard to five key
principles. And I had an artist make a custom
(30:14):
artwork for me, and we hang it up right outside
of our garage door. So we look at it every time
we exit and enter our house, and this is our way
that we make decisions. If it does not meet three
out of the five core values for the Hansen,
Family values. The answer is an automatic no.
Meredith Oke (30:36):
Oh, my gosh, that's so good. And I love that
because I do feel a little bit of your corporate
background coming into play. Right. Like, this
is, like, totally, like, a strategic planning
exercise. I've been there. Yes, but why not apply
it to the family? That's brilliant.
Oksana Hanson (30:55):
Right? Everybody's needs and values get heard
like they're overlapping themes. We all agree on
that. It doesn't mean can't get revisited. Maybe
we revisit it now, but, like, you know, ours is
like, health, community, love, safety. Right. And
adventure. And if, like, those are the things
(31:16):
that are valuable to us right now. And there.
It's really easy when you apply this principle to
say yes or no to things, because at the end of
the day, it's not personal. But if I don't feel,
like, safe or if I don't feel, like loved or in
community, like, it's going to be a no. And
that's because it's not aligning with my core
value. And so you can kind of take, like, that
(31:36):
spiritual aspect and apply it, like, practically
to your everyday life.
Meredith Oke (31:41):
Absolutely. I love this. This is. I'm. This,
like, yeah, I'm the same way. I'm like, okay, but
what is, like, what does this mean in. In the
real terms? And these. Yeah. Sort of ethereal,
like, oh, my intuition and this and that. No, it
can be extremely practical, and I. I like to
coach people about that with their too. And it's
(32:02):
like, this is your business. So if it doesn't
align, like, if you. If. If you get nauseous
going on social media, then let's build a
strategy where you don't need to do that. Right.
Like, it's. You're allowed to craft the
experience that you want to have in this world,
and that is living in alignment with who you are
and your. What you want. And that's. And which is
(32:24):
an extremely practical way forward. Love it. What
a beautiful thing to do for your family and. And
to show your children how to do that. I love that.
Oksana Hanson (32:36):
Thank you. Well, I think it's just showing up and
telling them it's okay to say no. It's okay to
question things. Like, I want to raise
independent thinkers. I want them to learn how to
think, not to memorize things, which is why I
homeschool my children. And, you know, you come
across my kids, they can look you in the eye,
(32:57):
they can have a conversation with you. Like,
they're, you know, they're wild and free. They,
like, we have a couple Acres at our lake house.
And they're like, climbing the trees in the
forest, building forts and doing all these
things. Like, they're the happiest kids. Like, I,
I look at that. And I was like, my whole journey
was worth it just so my children can be children
(33:19):
and have this amazing childhood that maybe I
didn't get to experience, but I get to, like,
live vicariously through them. Like seeing how
carefree and happy and wild they are. Yeah.
Meredith Oke (33:32):
Oh, that's amazing. I know. There's nothing,
nothing brings joy like watching children be
children, especially outside. Right. Like, it's,
there's just. I don't know. It is truly one of
the most joyful experiences, experiences a person
can have. I think watching children, like, run
(33:55):
around and climb trees and jump in the water and
just enjoy, Enjoy their childhood. And I love
too, because you know what I'm also hearing? It's
like, I think sometimes we feel afraid to change
tracks in life or we are changing tracks and we
feel like, I don't know anything about this new.
(34:17):
You know, I'm doing this instead of that. And so
I'm starting from zero. And what I hear that you
did that I really like to remind people is that
there are always transferable skills and
experiences. Right. And I'm hearing you, like,
take some really great stuff from your years in
corporate life. And like, I, for me, it's like
(34:38):
God or our higher power will, like, take whatever
you have to offer and make it relevant and useful
in this, in this, in the new path. And I notice
you doing that. I love it.
Oksana Hanson (34:53):
Well, I think, I think if I were to hear what you
said is like, you can always reinvent yourself.
It's never too late. Right? Like, so our path
isn't predetermined. Like, you have free will.
And so I think the biggest thing that most people
have a fear about, and I had this fear too, until
(35:15):
a few years ago, is the fear of being really
seen. And.
Meredith Oke (35:20):
Yeah.
Oksana Hanson (35:22):
And I. And I think, well, why is that? Well, am I
living authentically? Am I living my life
honestly? Right? Am I living my life with
integrity? Meaning, like, how I feel on the
inside. I'm living outwardly. Right? Like, so
being a people pleaser like that to me is the
definition of maybe not living with integrity.
(35:44):
Right? You're making yourself small. I played
small for a really long time because I didn't
want to make other people feel uncomfortable.
Like, that wasn't me living with integrity. And
once I kind of flipped that switch of that fear
of being seen, I was like, I deserve to be loved.
(36:06):
Every single person in this universe deserves to
be loved. But I deserve to be loved for who I am,
not who I'm pretending to be. So as a people
pleaser, like, that wasn't the true and honest
and authentic me. And so if I deserve love, true
love, I have to show who I am. And with that
(36:29):
really came a lot of strength to make some of
these decisions in life. Of like, okay, if this
is in alignment with me, I have to live with
integrity. I have to say no.
Meredith Oke (36:41):
Yes. And then when we, I think that opens up us
up to being able to receive that love and to be
seen, because we know, oh, they're loving the
real deal. They're not loving a version that I'm
pretending to be to not make anyone mad or
something. And so this, this inner growth, this
(37:09):
spiritual growth came from and really an
exploration into your physical health because
it's all, it's all connected, right? Like, you
didn't start out to have a spiritual awakening.
You started out to make sure that you didn't get
sick and that you didn't, you know, that you
(37:31):
dealt with your cancer.
Oksana Hanson (37:33):
Well, I started following like, alternative
health communities. And this was like all during
COVID right? Like, and so this is several months
after, like, Covid, I would say the summer right
after Covid. And I was like, oh, cold, plunging.
Oh, that's interesting. Oh, there's these people
that are doing fasting. Okay, that's interesting.
So I came across this like, spiritual community
(37:55):
and they were like, come to this retreat. And I
was like, okay, like, I'll go. And I show up and
they're like, we're going to do a three hour
breath work. Like a holotropic, like, breath
work. And I was like, okay, I don't know what
that is. And sure, like, I've had lots of trauma,
right? I was like, yeah, I'll try it. I'll try
anything. This isn't like popping a pill or
(38:17):
taking a drug. Like, this was like a natural
thing that you could do with your breath. And I
had the most amazing journey. At first you're
like doing it and you're like, I'm this,
nothing's happening. I'm not doing it right. And
then all of a sudden, like, there was this
amazing vis that I had and literally life
changing. Like, I picked up the phone and called
(38:39):
my husband and I was like, okay, like, I got a
very clear vision about what my mission is on
this earth. And like, I need your support. Like,
can we sit down and talk about it? And I remember
flying home, and we sat down, we opened a bottle
of wine, and we had the best conversation, I
would say, like, we've been together 22 years
now, like, of our entire relationship. It was
(39:02):
like, that night, I was like, these are my hopes
and my dreams. These are my goals. Like, this is
the example I want to set for the kids. Like,
this is an example, but I want to set to them,
like, around love and family and community and
all these things. And my husband was like, yes,
like. And he shared his goals and dreams with me,
(39:23):
and it was. It honestly felt like a recommitment,
like, not only to ourselves, but to each other,
because we are so supportive of each other's
journeys. And that's when his journey started,
too. And even though he wasn't going through the
same, like, kind of personal growth and work that
I was working on at that point, like, somehow it
(39:45):
sparked something in him to start down his path
and his journey. And together, like, it just felt
like we were unstoppable.
Meredith Oke (39:54):
Oh, that's so beautiful and. And important. Like,
it's. To have a partner who. Who gets it and who
is on the ride with you makes a really big
difference.
Oksana Hanson (40:09):
Yeah. And I'm like, okay, we're gonna homeschool
the children. He's like, that's really scary, but
okay. He's like, good for him.
Meredith Oke (40:22):
I'm going all the way. So how's that going?
Oksana Hanson (40:31):
So good. So good. And by the way, you question
yourself the whole way. You're like, am I doing
the right things? Like, and as the children get
older and smarter and, you know, I just focus on
knowing that you can learn lots and lots from
(40:55):
reading books and information. But I also love to
couple it with, like, experiential things. Like,
for instance, this weekend was President's Day
weekend, and so we went to New York City to see
the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island, and we
saw the play Hamilton. Right. Like, so it's.
(41:15):
People think, like, homeschooling is like, you're
sitting at a desk working all day long. Well,
yes, that's part of it. You know, everybody needs
to do math and be able to read and write at the
end of the day. But, like, it doesn't have to be
as difficult as you think it is in your head.
Like, it. It's actually pretty simple.
Meredith Oke (41:37):
Yes, it's true. I interviewed a woman during
COVID I did a little series when the lockdowns
were happening, and all of a sudden, our kids
were home all day. So I just, like, did Facebook
lives with People who knew how to do that. And I
interviewed this mom who homeschooled. I think
she had like five children. And she was like,
yeah, we, we do school from 9 till 12. And then
(41:58):
they go outside.
Oksana Hanson (42:00):
Yeah.
Meredith Oke (42:00):
Like the older one goes fishing and the younger
ones do this and they, you know, they had a big
property and in a rural situation and it was just
like, yeah. And they're like ahead of all of the
milestones according to the, you know, where
they're supposed to be from the state law of
whatever. And I was like, oh, okay. That's
(42:21):
actually. So I hear what you're saying. Like,
yeah, you just do it. It's not school, but at
home it's a different experience.
Oksana Hanson (42:31):
Well, and like we take light breaks, right. So we
sit outside for sunrise every single morning, no
matter like what the weather is outside. And we
do our morning prayers together and reread
together like as family. And then we go inside
and we eat and we do a couple things and then we
(42:52):
go for our barefoot walk like around the block.
Then we do a couple, you know, a little bit more
of work and then we go for our three mile family
walk. Like it's, we're so circadian, like aligned
now and we get the flexibility to do that as a
family. And then like gymnastics and sports and
other things that my kids are doing, they're
(43:12):
doing that in the afternoon hours instead of the
night hours. Right. Like, so they're home by 4 or
5. We're having dinner together, we're getting
our blue blockers is on. We're spending that time
together as family before bed. Like, I remember
having them doing activities till like 8 o'clock
at night. We'd all be cranky, exhausted, hungry.
Like it was just, we were all going crazy. And
(43:35):
for what? Like, when you're homeschool, you can
have all the time that you want. You can put
sports activities in the morning. You have so
much flexibility to do what you want to do, to
like align your schedule with like our circadian
rhythm and how we're meant to like ancestrally
live. Right?
Meredith Oke (43:55):
Oh, that's so good. Yeah, it's true. The, the
scheduling is, you know, it's crazy. My. Yeah,
I'm on a, A board in this school district and we
meet once a month and I wear my glasses and no
one says anything. My kids are like, oh God. But
(44:17):
yeah, we leave some. Sometimes that meeting goes
till 9pm and I'm leaving and like there's kids
playing basketball and the moms are waiting
outside in the hall and like, they're not done
till 9:30 and.
Oksana Hanson (44:29):
Oh, my God, what?
Meredith Oke (44:33):
But yeah, it's, you know, when you're in school
till 3:30 and then you have. Yeah. The way that
our culture is set up, it's not. It's not
optimized. So let's. Okay, so let's circle back
to that because you. So you found the. The
circadian biology world, the quantum biology
world. And it's. You've, like, really integrated
(44:59):
those principles into your life. So you've just
told us a little bit about your day. Like, how
did that start out for you? And how has your
health been since. Since integrating a circadian
optimized lifestyle?
Oksana Hanson (45:13):
I think the biggest change was my emotional
health. And I know that's going to sound weird
because we were just talking about the C word,
cancer. But honestly, like, what I found was the
biggest change was spending more time outside.
Like, so I always tell people, I'm like, what can
you do today outside? What can you do that you've
(45:36):
planned today outside? So whether it's, you know,
like doing a walking meeting with your boss
outside instead of sitting, like, in the office,
taking your coffee break outside. Like, where can
you open a window? Right? Like, I felt this rush
of energy when I started waking up with the sun.
Like, I was one of these people that always used
(45:58):
an alarm clock, was staying up super, super late,
had insomnia. I would always wake up between 2
and 3 in the morning. And all of a sudden we
started watching the sunrise and blocking blue
light at night. And all of a sudden I was like a
different person. It was like, okay, well,
obviously being out in the sunlight makes me feel
good, so I want more of that. Like, right, you
(46:21):
get that dopamine rush and you're like, more of
what feels good. Okay, Being out in the sun feels
good. So all of a sudden, I'm tanning my skin
again, and we're buying a lake house so we could
spend more time outside barefoot, in the woods
and in the water. And I mean, it was this cascade
of, okay, we can build our. We can build our
(46:44):
perfect life. Like, we can literally build a life
around how we want to live. And somehow I think
living in California would have never given us
that freedom. But making that big change, moving
to Nashville, all of a sudden, we're like, oh, we
could do anything. Like, it felt like this
permission to make whatever life decisions we
(47:07):
wanted. Like, I don't know. I know that sounds
kind of weird, huh? It kind of sounds weird.
Meredith Oke (47:11):
No, that makes total sense. And I think it's
another really important point to bring up is
that, yeah, we feel like if this is the way
things are, this is the way things have to be.
And it's like whether it's in our, the way our
lives are structured, our businesses are
structured. Yeah. We are the architects. We can
(47:34):
redesign anything at any moment. And if it feels
impossible where we are, like, okay, well maybe,
maybe it's somewhere else, but it's possible.
Like all the things are possible. And I love that
you leaned into that and made it real.
Oksana Hanson (47:54):
Yeah. And what's funny is. So my husband was very
skeptical. He's like, like skin type one, right.
He's like red beard, very blonde hair, very
white, see through skin. And he was like, how are
we not going to wear sunblock? And I'm like,
we're just going to test this. Like, we're going
to, you know, watch the sunrise. We're gonna go
(48:17):
for our UVA walk every morning. Right. Our body
has all these internal processes. Right. To
protect you from the sun. We're gonna, we're
gonna listen to this information and we're gonna
test it. So I remember it was like 101 degrees.
We were at this water park. It was black asphalt,
it was so hot outside. Our two kids are very,
(48:38):
very fair skinned as well. And he goes, we're not
putting on some block today. And I'm like, like,
nope. I go, but any sign of us, like getting pink
or red? Like, we'll get, you know, we'll take a
little break or whatnot. We spent all day at this
water park, Meredith. We were going to bed that
night. My husband goes, I cannot believe we're
not burnt to the crisp. And I'm like, huh, isn't
(49:00):
that funny? Isn't that funny?
Meredith Oke (49:03):
Like that interesting.
Oksana Hanson (49:07):
And that. Yeah.
Meredith Oke (49:09):
Building up your ability to be in the sun over,
over time. Your skin was preconditioned. You knew
how to do sensible sun exposure. And it's like
four super fair skinned people, even a redhead.
Oksana Hanson (49:22):
Yeah.
Meredith Oke (49:22):
Outside all day and it's like, you're fine.
Oksana Hanson (49:27):
Yeah. It was just, it was this proof of like,
okay, this stuff is not like, woo, woo. This
stuff is real. Like we're testing it on
ourselves. We feel the best we've ever felt.
We're in the greatest shape of our life. Like,
and I feel so fulfilled too. Like emotionally,
(49:47):
spiritually fulfilled of like teaching this
information to other people. There's nothing that
brings me more joy than talking about this and
meeting all the interesting people in our
community. Like you and I were talking about
before. We started this podcast is like, it is
some of the best people in this community. Like,
everyone's so loving and supportive and so
(50:09):
passionate about what they do. It's just the best.
Meredith Oke (50:14):
Yeah, it's really, it's really amazing. It's like
when you, you know, because, yeah, I've made some
choices to veer off the, off the main path. And
it's like once you do and you're off, you know,
on your tangent, then you're surrounded by other
people who also made that choice. And so there's
(50:35):
a sense of freedom, I think, amongst people who,
you know, because they're like, yeah, I did the
weird thing, I did the hard thing. And like, here
I am. It's all fine. And yeah, we have like a
bigger purpose guiding us, you know, and we're
(50:55):
all, we're all like on the same page with that.
And so I love. Because so now what's coming to
fruition on your journey with this is an in
person retreat which is coming up June 2025 in
Tennessee. So you and Carrie Bennett have put
this together. Like, tell us about that, how it
(51:17):
came to be, what it's going to be like.
Oksana Hanson (51:21):
Yeah, so I think after Covid, we were all kind of
craving that human connection. And this QVC was
just such a small community and we had known all
these people and built these friendships and
relationships, but yet never met anybody in
person. And so I was up in the Detroit area
(51:42):
seeing an explant specialist to get my implants
taken out and I was like, carrie, I'm close to
you. I'm going to come by and let's have a
coffee. And her and I got talking. It was so
great because we'd known each other for a couple
years now, and we're like, we've never seen each
other in person. And I go, man, just feels like
we need to put some kind of event together to
(52:04):
have everybody in the same place. And as we all
know, like, we are energetically connected. I'm
like, we. How magical would it be if we all came
together like in person? And that's where this
idea of this in person retreat came to be. And we
spent like a really good six months, like,
(52:27):
looking for the perfect location that was like
circadian friendly and, you know, finally found
this like old reclaimed rock quarry that's on 160
acres right outside of Nashville. So it's like
close to a major airport, but yet just far
enough. It's got this beautiful waterfall and
this huge barn. And we're like, yes, we can get
(52:50):
some of the smartest people, like smartest minds
in this industry together, ask them to talk about
something they've never talked about publicly
before. So this is going to be like a very unique
kind of approach to what people are going to talk
about and get everybody in one room with like,
(53:12):
you know, slide away doors. So the barn is open
to the outside with water running there and we
have some really beautiful, like really quantum
aligned vendors that are coming to kind of
showcase and sell some of their products and
bring different tools that people might not
necessarily get to experience in their day to day
(53:33):
life. And so it's just we've been curating and
working on this for like over a year now just to
make it like super, super special, but very again
like aligned with our principles and like
everything that we stand for.
Meredith Oke (53:51):
I love it. I'm so excited for this. I think it's
amazing what you're doing and yeah, there's,
there's nothing like in person connection and you
know, when you're out, when you're involved in
something that's like really, really not
mainstream. The technology is a beautiful thing.
(54:12):
Right. Because we can be connected across all the
geographies and find each other, but at the same
time. Yeah. Then to have to have a real life
opportunity to be in each other's physical
presence is just so profound. So that I think
(54:32):
it's going to be just a gorgeous event. I'm so
thrilled that what you, you and Carrie have, have
put together and I highly encourage everybody to
go. So the, the website is. What's the website? I
will put it in the show notes for sure. And
(54:53):
Carrie and Oksana have very kindly offered a, a
10% discount if for the code QBC. You put that
when you check out. And it is.
Oksana Hanson (55:05):
I should have put it up. Carrie B. Wellness.com
forward/retreat.
Meredith Oke (55:11):
Okay. Oh, so it's, you can just find it through
Carrie's website.
Oksana Hanson (55:14):
Yeah.
Meredith Oke (55:15):
Okay. Yeah. So Caribbean Wellness Forward slash
retreat. Put the, put QVC in. It's at the end of
June 2025 for a couple of days. And yeah, it's
going to be magical and fun and I, I feel like
it'll be one of those things that will just for
everyone who, who's able to attend will like just
(55:37):
be a big battery recharge in, in whatever way you
need.
Oksana Hanson (55:44):
Um, I was talking to Carrie this morning and she
said that she just had this vision of like we
were at the retreat and there was just smiles
everywhere and the energy was insane. I was like,
yes, like this is gonna Be one of those. Like, it
feels surreal because all of these people, like,
that we've been aligned with, like, you know,
(56:05):
we're. We've kind of. I'm gonna say this for
myself, not other people. Like, I kind of felt
weird, right? Like, I'm the odd man out amongst
all my friends and all these people talking about
the sun and the healing power of the earth and
all these things. And now I'm like, I get to be
in a room full of all these people, like, with
the same mindset, and pick their brains behind
(56:29):
the scenes. Pick their brains of these really,
really smart people with all these interesting
views on the world and our body and how
everything works and coincides together. It's
gonna be amazing.
Meredith Oke (56:42):
Yeah, it's gonna be really fun. Tell me some of
the speakers.
Oksana Hanson (56:47):
So we have Stephen Hussey, Danielle Hamilton, we
have Sarah Pugh, Sarah Kleiner, and I'm sure
there's a lot more information. That's amazing.
Meredith Oke (56:59):
Well, they're right there.
Oksana Hanson (57:01):
Yes, they're on the website.
Meredith Oke (57:04):
Yeah, no, just. Just a little. Just a handful.
Sneak peek. Yes. So I. Yeah, I really, really
want to encourage anybody who's listening if you
felt like that little, like, jolt or impulse of,
like, oh, my God, that sounds so fun. Like, do
whatever you need to do to get there, because it
will really be worth it. And these opportunities,
(57:25):
you know, they don't happen all the time. So
putting on a live event is no small. It's no
small thing. It's a really big endeavor. So I
think it's really important that we support them
and show up if. If at all possible, because they
really matter. And it's, I think, important to
(57:49):
the. To the growth of this message, to the growth
of this community and all of it.
Oksana Hanson (57:55):
Thank you, Meredith. And I guess, like, I just
want to say, like, I think everyone has a. Their
own definition for, like, quantum health, but for
me, like, I really look at it from, like, a
spiritual, emotional, and physical standpoint.
And so the experiences that we've kind of curated
at this retreat are going to touch each of those.
(58:20):
Each of those areas. And so we'll have some great
speakers, and then we'll go outside and maybe do
a breath work. We'll have another speaker. We'll
go outside and jump into an ice bath. We'll have
another speaker, and maybe we'll go do yoga,
Right? There's. There's going to be, like, a
sound bath. Like, there's going to be all these
experiences that are going to kind of help you to
(58:42):
integrate the learnings and the information, and
then also do things together as a group of people
with, like, bonding things. Like, if you've never
done an ice bath, like, this is the best way to
experience it when you have other people around
you, like, cheering you on. The weather's going
to be great. It's going to be hot outside, so
you're going to want to jump in the ice bath.
(59:02):
But, yeah, it's definitely not going to be this,
like, stuffy. You're sitting in a conference room
learning material. Like, it's going to be some
amazing speakers, but it's going to be some
amazing kind of transformative experiences, I'll
say.
Meredith Oke (59:17):
As well, fun, fully immersive. Sounds so good.
And. And, yeah, and I think these types of events
and are leading the way into a paradigm where we
stop with all of the compartmentalizing of
physical health versus mental health versus
emotional health versus psychological versus
(59:38):
virtual. It's like, yeah, from a quantum biologic
perspective, it's all the same. It's. It's. You
know, and I hear so many stories of, yeah, like,
something starts, you have a physical symptom
that leads to a spiritual awakening, or you have
a spiritual awakening that leads to a wanting to
(59:58):
take better care of your physical body. You know,
like, it's, you know, so I think this idea of
acne, you know, honoring that with the way that
you've structured the event is, you know, the way
forward, the way of the future. Any other last
thoughts, Oksana?
Oksana Hanson (01:00:18):
No. Thank you so much for having me on today. I
really appreciate it.
Meredith Oke (01:00:22):
Well, thank you for sharing your story. It was
truly, truly an honor to go, you know, to hear
you share that journey and to be able to
articulate the different choice points that you
faced and how you navigated them. And I really
love the message that you're leaving with people
(01:00:43):
of that. Like, we can. We can make our lives
different. You know, we don't. It's possible and
whatever that looks like for each person, but,
you know, you're a living example of that, and
that's really, really powerful. So much gratitude
(01:01:03):
to you and your lovely husband. Good for him for
getting on the ride.
Oksana Hanson (01:01:10):
Thank you. We truly say, like, we truly think
that we are living heaven on earth, and that is
within reach for everybody, so.
Meredith Oke (01:01:18):
Oh, that's beautiful. Thank you for being here,
Oksana.
Oksana Hanson (01:01:22):
Thank you.
All right. Oksana Hansen. Super excited to have
you on. You were just saying that you were, like,
I was saying, an OG Applied Quantum Biology
certified practitioner. You're like, I was an
early adopter. Came in back when we. Right around
when we first launched in 2022.
Oksana Hanson (05:27):
Yeah. It's been quite the journey. Thanks so much
for having me on today.
Meredith Oke (05:31):
Oh, it's my total pleasure. I'm really looking
forward to hearing your story and hearing how you
landed in a certification for Applied Quantum
Biology when you started out in sales and tech as
an executive in San Francisco. That's quite the
trajectory. I love it. Yeah. So tell us your
(05:55):
story, because, you know, it's. You've made a lot
of leaps, and I think it's really helpful for
people to hear how. How those leaps happened and
what could be possible for them and be able to
relate. So you were an executive in the San
(06:16):
Francisco Bay area. You were married. Did you
have children at the time?
Oksana Hanson (06:21):
So is it okay if we start a little bit earlier
than that?
Meredith Oke (06:25):
Because.
Oksana Hanson (06:26):
Yeah. Is that okay, Please?
Meredith Oke (06:28):
Absolutely. Take us where we need to go to get
the full, full trajectory.
Oksana Hanson (06:36):
So I was born and raised in Russia, and my family
immigrated to the United states in late 1991. And
it was because my mother had a very rare form of
cancer called osteosarcoma, and it was in her
jaw. It had moved up to her brain. And so from,
like, the age of seven on, my life was filled
(06:58):
with doctors, visits, hospitals, surgeries. Like,
it was like this life kind of began without me
even knowing it. And, of course, because my
mother was only 30 years old at the time, like, I
just assumed, and I thought that's what happens.
Like, people in my family, they get cancer, they
(07:19):
die early. My mom's mom had died at 50. So, like,
I just set out on this course thinking, like, I'm
not going to have a long life. Like, I might as
well enjoy it because, you know, did there was.
Meredith Oke (07:31):
Did your mother survive or. No.
Oksana Hanson (07:34):
She did. Yeah. So it was one of the craziest
cancer, like, surgeries that they did. They still
have, like, all over her files. Do not delete any
of this. Like, it's insane. But they basically
ended up removing the entire right side of her
face. So, yeah, so they, like, peeled off the
skin and dug everything out. All the tissue, all
(07:55):
the bone, her eye, like, her palette. Like, I
mean, everything from the brain down, she ended
up having. Honestly, I've lost count at this
point. It's probably in the upwards of, like, 30
different surgeries. She's still alive today.
It's a miraculous, miraculous story. But really,
like, it's funny because my journey kind of
(08:17):
started with that initiation, like as a very,
very small child.
Meredith Oke (08:20):
Yeah.
Oksana Hanson (08:21):
Being thrown into the, this world of sickness,
doctor care, surgeries and all these other things
which I'm so grateful for. Right. Like we talk
about like in the alternative world, like those
are the situations where like you want that kind
of standard of care. But since then, and this was
like 30 plus odd years ago, you know, her health
(08:44):
has taken a big degradation. And so as being her
healthcare advocate and going through my own
journey, which I'll share in a second, like I've
learned, like we need people to advoc for like
our own healthcare journeys and also be there for
other people's like in their healthcare journey
to advocate for them as well. And when I say
healthcare, I just mean health, not the actual,
(09:05):
you know. You know what I mean? Yes, yes.
Meredith Oke (09:10):
You need someone on the inside with paying
attention.
Oksana Hanson (09:14):
Yes.
Meredith Oke (09:15):
Asking every step of the way, is this the best
thing to do? Is this in the best interest of my
mother or my. Whoever it is? Yeah, absolutely. So
that is something that I've seen happen. You
probably did too, you know, in your experience.
Yeah. You where you end up with multiple
specialists and multiple doctors and everyone's
(09:37):
got a different drug or a different intervention.
And it's like who's thinking about the person,
not just the patient.
Oksana Hanson (09:47):
And the way like I like to describe my experience
with my mom is there was a bunch of silos. So
there she had like oncology, she had the
radiation, she had, you know, the surgeons, she
had the ear, nose, throat doctor, she had the
brain tumor doctor, she had this doc. Right.
Like, so there's so many people, but it was like
there was no one person looking at the whole
picture. So like you'd get prescribed a
(10:08):
medication that was having this other side
effect. Well then this other specialist is trying
to deal with the side effect and then they're
issued another specialist to deal with that side
effect. And like it was just such a cluster of
information, pills, surgeries, half of which I
think were unnecessary really. But that's not
what we're talking about here. But anyhow, so I
(10:35):
kind of went on with my life when I moved out of
the house, married my husband, moved to the San
Francisco Bay area, was working for tech
startups, like Loving Life, like going out
entertaining clients, like living it up. And like
from the outside perspective, like everybody
thought that I had this like perfect life. And my
(10:57):
husband and I decided that we would Wanted to
raise a family and have children. Well, it took
me about two and a half years to conceive. And so
that was really, like, my first sign that I was
like, huh, okay, maybe this lifestyle is, like,
the late nights. You know, I was working 24 by 7.
It was one of these, like, in. In this industry
(11:17):
where you needed to respond within, like, two
minutes of somebody sending you an email. It's
high stress. I was in sales, so, of course you're
being held to quotas. And, you know, it was just
that crazy kind of lifestyle. But because we
didn't have children, we kind of got accustomed
to that, and, like, we thought it was our norm,
right? And so I was finally able to conceive, and
(11:42):
we had our kids back to back. Because I always
think, like, oh, once the body knows what it's
doing and you're healthy enough, like, you talk
about getting pregnant and you're pregnant again.
So, yeah, our kids. Our kids are very close
together, which is so amazing. And we decided
that somehow, like, it felt like the Bay Area was
(12:04):
no longer. It had lost its luster. After we had
kids, we thought, why are we raising our kids
here? And one of the biggest reasons we moved
across country to Nashville, Tennessee, was
because we thought, okay, we're raising our
children in an area where one, they're going to
have to be, you know, in sales and investment
banker or, you know, one of, like, only a handful
(12:27):
of things, like, you know, an entrepreneur with a
startup or something to get funding. Like, there
was only a handful of things that they could do
outside of, like, marrying into a relationship
that was financially, like, supportive for them
or, like, we would have to support them for the
rest of their lives. And we wanted to, like, it
was really important for us.
Meredith Oke (12:45):
Is it so expensive out there? Is that what you're
saying? Like, it's just so impossible.
Oksana Hanson (12:50):
Yeah, it's impossible to live unless you're. I
mean, my husband had guys working for him that
were, like, six to eight people to an apartment.
These guys were making, like, several hundred
thousand dollars a year, right? So, like, we
didn't want to put our kids in that type of
position where they had to stay in a situation
that wasn't, like, natural to them and kind of
(13:13):
give them the world of opportunity. So I think
the biggest decision that we made was moving
across country, but the decision I didn't make at
that point that I should have was to get out of
technology sales. And I did it because it was
great money. I was really good at it. Moving to
(13:34):
Nashville, especially, like, it was just easy for
me to make that transition. And so we knew we
wanted like a slower lifestyle. We wanted to
raise our kids in a place that felt more aligned
with us. But we didn't make a change when it came
to what we were doing for a living. And that's
when I got diagnosed with my child.
Meredith Oke (13:54):
I will say that's a tough call. You know, if
you're supporting your family, it does. It's not
top of mind to change jobs and. But you were, you
had noticed. So starting with your. You had
difficulty conceiving and then you were you
having other health symptoms? That's as well.
Oksana Hanson (14:15):
Well, and I think what's interesting is we know
the choice to move. Yeah, yeah. It was, you know,
like there was definitely like weight gain,
insomnia, there was like adrenal fatigue, there
was all these other factors. But everyone just
said, like, you're a first time mom or like you
have a newborn at home or you're breastfeeding,
like if you're up every two hours, of course
(14:36):
you're tired. Of course. And somehow all these
things, like in my mind became normal. Like it
was normal to gain weight. It was normal to just
be a walking zombie living off of coffee. It was
normal to have a glass of wine at night to relax
because that's what everybody does. Right. Like,
and it kind of gets you into these habits of
(14:57):
like, you think that's what everybody else is
doing and it gets very normalized.
Meredith Oke (15:04):
Yeah, I think that's a, that's a big one. Is. And
you know, I had a similar experience. We, we have
kind of forgotten as a culture what it's like to
feel really good and that it's okay to feel
really good. And we've like layered on all of
these different assaults on our biology. So of
course we don't feel good, but nobody really
(15:25):
does. So like, what's the big deal? It's. Yeah.
And then, and then in order to feel good, that
there are choices that need to be made. So. Okay,
so keep going. So you. Okay, so you had some
awareness that your health wasn't great, but it
was like, oh, well, no, it's fine. Like I'm busy,
I'm a mom. It's like I'm supposed to feel tired
(15:48):
and zombie like all the time, which is what they
tell us. And then 30 years later they tell us
we're supposed to feel like that because we're
not moms anymore, we're getting older. Like, it's
like, okay, we're still moms, but we're not. You
know, it's like every stage of life, it's. There
seems to be a reason why we're supposed to feel
gross and terrible and crappy. I reject it.
Oksana Hanson (16:11):
I say, not in my world.
Meredith Oke (16:15):
Not in our world. Okay, so you get to Nashville,
which is an improvement in many ways, but you're
still not feeling great, and you're still in high
stress drop.
Oksana Hanson (16:28):
Yeah. And I think, okay, this is the year that
I'm 35 years old. I'm going to take control of my
health. I have no excuses. My kids are like,
three and four at this age. Like, okay, no more
mom bod. Like, I'm gonna start walking every day.
Like, I don't know why I chose walking. Don't
know why I didn't go to the gym. Don't know why I
(16:48):
didn't do a million, like, take Pilates class. I
don't know. Like, I was just like, I'm gonna
start walking every day. So I put my headphones
in, slathered on that sunblock, and went outside
for my.
Meredith Oke (17:00):
Because you're in Tennessee. You got to be spfed
to the max every time you leave the house.
Oksana Hanson (17:06):
To the max. Yep.
Meredith Oke (17:08):
Okay.
Oksana Hanson (17:09):
And I start noticing a growth on my leg. And, you
know, I was one of these people where I saw a
dermatologist twice a year, was very religious
about it, did everything that the dermatologists
told me to do. I had a big spot removed, like,
this size, big, black, brown spot on my back when
I was 12 years old. And so I'd been under a care
(17:31):
of a dermatologist because of my mom's history
with cancer. We were kind of amplified in our
approach when it came to our, you know, health.
And so I was like, man, I don't know what that
growth is, but I need to go find a dermatologist
that's local. And I go get a checkup. She's like,
(17:53):
you're fine. We'll take a biopsy. And then you
get that dreaded call that's like, you need to
come in tomorrow at 7am to see the doctor. And I
was like, well, we know that that's not good news
when they're having you come in, like, first
thing in the morning. And so my husband and I
went in, and that's when I got told that I was
(18:16):
diagnosed with melanoma. And from the second that
they said that, Meredith, like, I was like, this
doesn't make sense. I've been under the care of a
dermatologist seen twice a year, every year since
I was 12. I'm 35 years old. How did I get
diagnosed with melanoma? And to me, like, and
doing everything.
Meredith Oke (18:36):
That they said, everything. All their
instructions.
Oksana Hanson (18:43):
And I'd made such improvements, like, in my
health and my weight. And I was walking every
day. I was spending time outside, and I was like,
this doesn't make sense. I thought this was a
disease, you know, And I'm sorry if this is
offensive, but, like, old white men got, like. I
thought that they got it on their face. And,
like, I didn't know anything else about skin
(19:04):
cancer at that point. And so without being, like,
rushed to fear, I was like, I'm going on vacation
with my family in a couple weeks. Like, let's
talk about the treatment options. But I'm
definitely not going to start anything until I'm
back from this vacation 30 days from now. And I
think they were shocked, like, that I wasn't
(19:26):
gonna, like, rush into making any, like,
treatment decisions right away. And this is when
I felt, like, most empowered out of, like, any
time I ever have in my life, because this will to
live for my children was greater than any
diagnosis that I could get. And I started doing
my own research, and I go to pubmed for the first
(19:49):
time in my life, and I found a study that said,
in melanoma, in particular, because of its
irregular borders, you should be cutting around
10 millimeters around the cancer. And I went to
my surgeon, and I said to her, can we have a
conversation about this? How much are you
(20:10):
planning to cut off? And she said, between 4 to 5
millimeters. And I said, here, can you please
read this study? And, like, I'm a married woman.
I don't care what it looks like. I have young
babies. Like, I need you to cut more than you
think is even necessary. Like, I want you. Like,
if we're going to do this, like, let's make sure
we get all of the cancer. And so I ended up just
(20:33):
having the surgery, no other treatment done,
because I was like, okay, this is how we're going
to handle this situation. I went into the
solution mode, like, at that point to survive.
And again, this was, like, very much I'm still in
that conventional mindset. Like, hadn't really
had, like, my awakening to everything that is
(20:54):
going on and somehow still was very clear and in
my approach to how I wanted to do this treatment,
because I'd seen my mom go through chemo. I'd
seen my mom go through radiation. I wasn't going
to put myself or my family through that. It was
awful. Like, I Didn't want to repeat that
(21:15):
generational cycle of putting my children through
that kind of trauma. And thankfully, I came
across Quantum Biology Collective. So. So I was
having my follow up visits, and at that point, I
think it's either monthly, every other month,
like it was very often for the first two years.
(21:37):
And she kept saying to me, like, you need wear
sunblock. You need to cover up, you need to not
go outside. And I was like, this doesn't make
sense. And if you remember, probably like a year
after that diagnosis that I had, they recalled
Oxybenzone sunblock off the market for causing
cancer. And so I went under my cabinet and I
(22:02):
pulled out this, what I thought was organic
Australian sunblock. And the first ingredient was
Oxybenzone. And I thought to myself, I was making
this healthy change of moving to Nashville,
walking for three miles a day outside, but I was
slathering on this toxic stuff, which I think,
you know, along with lifestyle things and, you
(22:26):
know, seed oils and other things that we now know
can, you know, are correlated with the skin
cancer. But I was slathering on sunblock every
single day. And I truly think that was one of the
major contributing factors. Wow.
Meredith Oke (22:45):
That is so interesting because you started the
walking practice. Walking is outside. You are a
diligent patient of lifelong dermatology and
doing everything you can to prevent cancer. So
you started using this sunscreen every day, and
(23:08):
then you ended up with that diagnosis. Wow, okay.
Oksana Hanson (23:15):
And thankfully, it was in a location where I
personally saw it. Right. Like, one of the
biggest things with, like, melanoma is, you know,
men get it on their back, you know, like, or in
their private areas. Which, again, like, I. I
look at those things and I'm like, that doesn't
make sense. Like, why would someone get skin
(23:36):
cancer in a place that doesn't see the sun?
Right? Like, breast cancer is one of the most
prevalent, like, CANC answers we have today.
Like, I just wonder. I'm like, that's
interesting, right? So as I came across the
Quantum Biology Collective and your message, it
was the first time in my entire life that I was
(23:59):
like, wow, the sun gives life to everything on
Earth. Of course we don't need to be scared of
the sun. Like, it was the first time that I heard
something that actually made sense to me. I'm
like, okay, I don't know anything about quantum
biology health. Like, I didn't have a science
(24:20):
background. Like, my degree was in philosophy. So
all I knew was really like, how to question any
argument and use logic. And to me, like, this
Came, it came so easily because of, I think my
background with my mom's cancer, being around
surgeries, being around doctors, asking all the
questions, being around that industry for so
(24:42):
long, it felt like everything that like I had
experienced led up to this. Like, now I know what
my purpose is in life, and that is to teach
people the actual healing ways of this planet.
Because had I had not, hadn't had those
experiences and maybe get diagnosed with cancer
(25:02):
at 35 and just have the surgery and have it
removed and move on with my life, I wouldn't be
where I am today.
Meredith Oke (25:11):
Wow, that's amazing. And I like, I love that you
heard, you heard the message and I love that
philosophy is very practical. You were trained to
seek truth, to under recognize it, and to ask
questions about, of things that don't make sense.
(25:33):
And you are in the perfect position. That's
amazing. So did you quit your job?
Oksana Hanson (25:45):
Yes. So at the end of, because that.
Meredith Oke (25:49):
Is a big deal. And I, you know, I, I, I don't
like, you know, just saying, like, ah, you got to
move to the equator. Ah, you got to quit your
job. Like, these are big important life changes.
So if you did quit your job, that is a huge
decision I'd love to dig into a little because.
Oksana Hanson (26:05):
Yeah, so within, within six months, I was no
longer employed at that firm. And, and then I had
some time to, really had about a year to figure
out what I wanted to do with my life. And that
was when Covid hit. And so, you know, the whole
(26:25):
universe kind of changed. And I think now that I
was like, empowered of like, questioning
everything. I was like, oh, I don't have to
think, take things at face value. I can do my own
research. I may not have a ton of experience in
this stuff, but I can read, you know, studies and
(26:47):
information and decipher and really like, trust
that intuition. Like, I guess that's the one
thing that we haven't really touched on is
there's a lot of like, trusting yourself and the
guidance that you're getting from God, the
universe, whatever you want to call it, that I
had drowned that voice for a long time and now it
(27:11):
was amplified. It was like, you're empowered.
Just take the time to like, slow down and listen.
And all of a sudden I was getting like, very,
very, very clear messages unlike anything that
I've ever done before. And also had the strength
to back up my stance on those, on those messages
and the preferences. I was like, I'm no longer
(27:33):
saying yes just to be a people pleaser or for it
to be convenient. Like, I need to protect my
energy, my family's energy, and. And things just
kind of started falling into place. Some most
powerful word in the English language is no.
Meredith Oke (27:52):
I love it. It's so true. And it's. It's hard. You
don't realize how many little tentacles and
threads of energy, connective tissue that we feel
responsible for. And we feel like that no might.
(28:12):
I'm trying to articulate my experience when I say
no. Yeah. And it's feels like I'm going to sever
them all, and then I'll be, you know, everyone's
going to be harmed or something. And. Yeah. I
just had a situation where I had to make a choice
about something, and I ended up saying no. And it
was like. Like, oh. I mean, when it came time to
(28:36):
do it, it was easy, but, like, getting to.
Getting to the decision was it's a process. And I
appreciate you bringing that up because sometimes
we tell our stories and we're like, oh, then I
did this and then I did that, and it's like,
yeah, but cultivating the internal fortitude and
intuition to come to those decisions is no small
(28:56):
thing.
Oksana Hanson (28:59):
Well, and I. I think, because I am very logical
and practical, too. So it's like, I love to
philosophize, but I love to like, okay, how could
we make this into a. Something you can actually
implement? So what we did in our family is we put
up a whiteboard and we said, what are our family
ethics and values? And for two weeks, we left
(29:20):
this whiteboard up. And anytime you thought of a
value that was important to you, you would go and
write it up on this board. And after the two
weeks was done, the four of us had written a lot
of different things, but what I noticed was a lot
of similar themes. And how old were children?
Meredith Oke (29:39):
But just curious, when you did this exercise.
Oksana Hanson (29:43):
Maybe seven and eight. Okay. So I love it. Yeah.
Meredith Oke (29:47):
So you're all in there. People, they would just
have an idea, they walk by, they'd write up, you
jot it up.
Oksana Hanson (29:53):
Like adventure, fun. Right. Friends, love. Right.
All the different things. We had so many things,
but I noticed certain themes. And so what I did
was I narrowed down all the things that were
written on this whiteboard to five key
principles. And I had an artist make a custom
(30:14):
artwork for me, and we hang it up right outside
of our garage door. So we look at it every time
we exit and enter our house, and this is our way
that we make decisions. If it does not meet three
out of the five core values for the Hansen,
Family values. The answer is an automatic no.
Meredith Oke (30:36):
Oh, my gosh, that's so good. And I love that
because I do feel a little bit of your corporate
background coming into play. Right. Like, this
is, like, totally, like, a strategic planning
exercise. I've been there. Yes, but why not apply
it to the family? That's brilliant.
Oksana Hanson (30:55):
Right? Everybody's needs and values get heard
like they're overlapping themes. We all agree on
that. It doesn't mean can't get revisited. Maybe
we revisit it now, but, like, you know, ours is
like, health, community, love, safety. Right. And
adventure. And if, like, those are the things
(31:16):
that are valuable to us right now. And there.
It's really easy when you apply this principle to
say yes or no to things, because at the end of
the day, it's not personal. But if I don't feel,
like, safe or if I don't feel, like loved or in
community, like, it's going to be a no. And
that's because it's not aligning with my core
value. And so you can kind of take, like, that
(31:36):
spiritual aspect and apply it, like, practically
to your everyday life.
Meredith Oke (31:41):
Absolutely. I love this. This is. I'm. This,
like, yeah, I'm the same way. I'm like, okay, but
what is, like, what does this mean in. In the
real terms? And these. Yeah. Sort of ethereal,
like, oh, my intuition and this and that. No, it
can be extremely practical, and I. I like to
coach people about that with their too. And it's
(32:02):
like, this is your business. So if it doesn't
align, like, if you. If. If you get nauseous
going on social media, then let's build a
strategy where you don't need to do that. Right.
Like, it's. You're allowed to craft the
experience that you want to have in this world,
and that is living in alignment with who you are
and your. What you want. And that's. And which is
(32:24):
an extremely practical way forward. Love it. What
a beautiful thing to do for your family and. And
to show your children how to do that. I love that.
Oksana Hanson (32:36):
Thank you. Well, I think it's just showing up and
telling them it's okay to say no. It's okay to
question things. Like, I want to raise
independent thinkers. I want them to learn how to
think, not to memorize things, which is why I
homeschool my children. And, you know, you come
across my kids, they can look you in the eye,
(32:57):
they can have a conversation with you. Like,
they're, you know, they're wild and free. They,
like, we have a couple Acres at our lake house.
And they're like, climbing the trees in the
forest, building forts and doing all these
things. Like, they're the happiest kids. Like, I,
I look at that. And I was like, my whole journey
was worth it just so my children can be children
(33:19):
and have this amazing childhood that maybe I
didn't get to experience, but I get to, like,
live vicariously through them. Like seeing how
carefree and happy and wild they are. Yeah.
Meredith Oke (33:32):
Oh, that's amazing. I know. There's nothing,
nothing brings joy like watching children be
children, especially outside. Right. Like, it's,
there's just. I don't know. It is truly one of
the most joyful experiences, experiences a person
can have. I think watching children, like, run
(33:55):
around and climb trees and jump in the water and
just enjoy, Enjoy their childhood. And I love
too, because you know what I'm also hearing? It's
like, I think sometimes we feel afraid to change
tracks in life or we are changing tracks and we
feel like, I don't know anything about this new.
(34:17):
You know, I'm doing this instead of that. And so
I'm starting from zero. And what I hear that you
did that I really like to remind people is that
there are always transferable skills and
experiences. Right. And I'm hearing you, like,
take some really great stuff from your years in
corporate life. And like, I, for me, it's like
(34:38):
God or our higher power will, like, take whatever
you have to offer and make it relevant and useful
in this, in this, in the new path. And I notice
you doing that. I love it.
Oksana Hanson (34:53):
Well, I think, I think if I were to hear what you
said is like, you can always reinvent yourself.
It's never too late. Right? Like, so our path
isn't predetermined. Like, you have free will.
And so I think the biggest thing that most people
have a fear about, and I had this fear too, until
(35:15):
a few years ago, is the fear of being really
seen. And.
Meredith Oke (35:20):
Yeah.
Oksana Hanson (35:22):
And I. And I think, well, why is that? Well, am I
living authentically? Am I living my life
honestly? Right? Am I living my life with
integrity? Meaning, like, how I feel on the
inside. I'm living outwardly. Right? Like, so
being a people pleaser like that to me is the
definition of maybe not living with integrity.
(35:44):
Right? You're making yourself small. I played
small for a really long time because I didn't
want to make other people feel uncomfortable.
Like, that wasn't me living with integrity. And
once I kind of flipped that switch of that fear
of being seen, I was like, I deserve to be loved.
(36:06):
Every single person in this universe deserves to
be loved. But I deserve to be loved for who I am,
not who I'm pretending to be. So as a people
pleaser, like, that wasn't the true and honest
and authentic me. And so if I deserve love, true
love, I have to show who I am. And with that
(36:29):
really came a lot of strength to make some of
these decisions in life. Of like, okay, if this
is in alignment with me, I have to live with
integrity. I have to say no.
Meredith Oke (36:41):
Yes. And then when we, I think that opens up us
up to being able to receive that love and to be
seen, because we know, oh, they're loving the
real deal. They're not loving a version that I'm
pretending to be to not make anyone mad or
something. And so this, this inner growth, this
(37:09):
spiritual growth came from and really an
exploration into your physical health because
it's all, it's all connected, right? Like, you
didn't start out to have a spiritual awakening.
You started out to make sure that you didn't get
sick and that you didn't, you know, that you
(37:31):
dealt with your cancer.
Oksana Hanson (37:33):
Well, I started following like, alternative
health communities. And this was like all during
COVID right? Like, and so this is several months
after, like, Covid, I would say the summer right
after Covid. And I was like, oh, cold, plunging.
Oh, that's interesting. Oh, there's these people
that are doing fasting. Okay, that's interesting.
So I came across this like, spiritual community
(37:55):
and they were like, come to this retreat. And I
was like, okay, like, I'll go. And I show up and
they're like, we're going to do a three hour
breath work. Like a holotropic, like, breath
work. And I was like, okay, I don't know what
that is. And sure, like, I've had lots of trauma,
right? I was like, yeah, I'll try it. I'll try
anything. This isn't like popping a pill or
(38:17):
taking a drug. Like, this was like a natural
thing that you could do with your breath. And I
had the most amazing journey. At first you're
like doing it and you're like, I'm this,
nothing's happening. I'm not doing it right. And
then all of a sudden, like, there was this
amazing vis that I had and literally life
changing. Like, I picked up the phone and called
(38:39):
my husband and I was like, okay, like, I got a
very clear vision about what my mission is on
this earth. And like, I need your support. Like,
can we sit down and talk about it? And I remember
flying home, and we sat down, we opened a bottle
of wine, and we had the best conversation, I
would say, like, we've been together 22 years
now, like, of our entire relationship. It was
(39:02):
like, that night, I was like, these are my hopes
and my dreams. These are my goals. Like, this is
the example I want to set for the kids. Like,
this is an example, but I want to set to them,
like, around love and family and community and
all these things. And my husband was like, yes,
like. And he shared his goals and dreams with me,
(39:23):
and it was. It honestly felt like a recommitment,
like, not only to ourselves, but to each other,
because we are so supportive of each other's
journeys. And that's when his journey started,
too. And even though he wasn't going through the
same, like, kind of personal growth and work that
I was working on at that point, like, somehow it
(39:45):
sparked something in him to start down his path
and his journey. And together, like, it just felt
like we were unstoppable.
Meredith Oke (39:54):
Oh, that's so beautiful and. And important. Like,
it's. To have a partner who. Who gets it and who
is on the ride with you makes a really big
difference.
Oksana Hanson (40:09):
Yeah. And I'm like, okay, we're gonna homeschool
the children. He's like, that's really scary, but
okay. He's like, good for him.
Meredith Oke (40:22):
I'm going all the way. So how's that going?
Oksana Hanson (40:31):
So good. So good. And by the way, you question
yourself the whole way. You're like, am I doing
the right things? Like, and as the children get
older and smarter and, you know, I just focus on
knowing that you can learn lots and lots from
(40:55):
reading books and information. But I also love to
couple it with, like, experiential things. Like,
for instance, this weekend was President's Day
weekend, and so we went to New York City to see
the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island, and we
saw the play Hamilton. Right. Like, so it's.
(41:15):
People think, like, homeschooling is like, you're
sitting at a desk working all day long. Well,
yes, that's part of it. You know, everybody needs
to do math and be able to read and write at the
end of the day. But, like, it doesn't have to be
as difficult as you think it is in your head.
Like, it. It's actually pretty simple.
Meredith Oke (41:37):
Yes, it's true. I interviewed a woman during
COVID I did a little series when the lockdowns
were happening, and all of a sudden, our kids
were home all day. So I just, like, did Facebook
lives with People who knew how to do that. And I
interviewed this mom who homeschooled. I think
she had like five children. And she was like,
yeah, we, we do school from 9 till 12. And then
(41:58):
they go outside.
Oksana Hanson (42:00):
Yeah.
Meredith Oke (42:00):
Like the older one goes fishing and the younger
ones do this and they, you know, they had a big
property and in a rural situation and it was just
like, yeah. And they're like ahead of all of the
milestones according to the, you know, where
they're supposed to be from the state law of
whatever. And I was like, oh, okay. That's
(42:21):
actually. So I hear what you're saying. Like,
yeah, you just do it. It's not school, but at
home it's a different experience.
Oksana Hanson (42:31):
Well, and like we take light breaks, right. So we
sit outside for sunrise every single morning, no
matter like what the weather is outside. And we
do our morning prayers together and reread
together like as family. And then we go inside
and we eat and we do a couple things and then we
(42:52):
go for our barefoot walk like around the block.
Then we do a couple, you know, a little bit more
of work and then we go for our three mile family
walk. Like it's, we're so circadian, like aligned
now and we get the flexibility to do that as a
family. And then like gymnastics and sports and
other things that my kids are doing, they're
(43:12):
doing that in the afternoon hours instead of the
night hours. Right. Like, so they're home by 4 or
5. We're having dinner together, we're getting
our blue blockers is on. We're spending that time
together as family before bed. Like, I remember
having them doing activities till like 8 o'clock
at night. We'd all be cranky, exhausted, hungry.
Like it was just, we were all going crazy. And
(43:35):
for what? Like, when you're homeschool, you can
have all the time that you want. You can put
sports activities in the morning. You have so
much flexibility to do what you want to do, to
like align your schedule with like our circadian
rhythm and how we're meant to like ancestrally
live. Right?
Meredith Oke (43:55):
Oh, that's so good. Yeah, it's true. The, the
scheduling is, you know, it's crazy. My. Yeah,
I'm on a, A board in this school district and we
meet once a month and I wear my glasses and no
one says anything. My kids are like, oh God. But
(44:17):
yeah, we leave some. Sometimes that meeting goes
till 9pm and I'm leaving and like there's kids
playing basketball and the moms are waiting
outside in the hall and like, they're not done
till 9:30 and.
Oksana Hanson (44:29):
Oh, my God, what?
Meredith Oke (44:33):
But yeah, it's, you know, when you're in school
till 3:30 and then you have. Yeah. The way that
our culture is set up, it's not. It's not
optimized. So let's. Okay, so let's circle back
to that because you. So you found the. The
circadian biology world, the quantum biology
world. And it's. You've, like, really integrated
(44:59):
those principles into your life. So you've just
told us a little bit about your day. Like, how
did that start out for you? And how has your
health been since. Since integrating a circadian
optimized lifestyle?
Oksana Hanson (45:13):
I think the biggest change was my emotional
health. And I know that's going to sound weird
because we were just talking about the C word,
cancer. But honestly, like, what I found was the
biggest change was spending more time outside.
Like, so I always tell people, I'm like, what can
you do today outside? What can you do that you've
(45:36):
planned today outside? So whether it's, you know,
like doing a walking meeting with your boss
outside instead of sitting, like, in the office,
taking your coffee break outside. Like, where can
you open a window? Right? Like, I felt this rush
of energy when I started waking up with the sun.
Like, I was one of these people that always used
(45:58):
an alarm clock, was staying up super, super late,
had insomnia. I would always wake up between 2
and 3 in the morning. And all of a sudden we
started watching the sunrise and blocking blue
light at night. And all of a sudden I was like a
different person. It was like, okay, well,
obviously being out in the sunlight makes me feel
good, so I want more of that. Like, right, you
(46:21):
get that dopamine rush and you're like, more of
what feels good. Okay, Being out in the sun feels
good. So all of a sudden, I'm tanning my skin
again, and we're buying a lake house so we could
spend more time outside barefoot, in the woods
and in the water. And I mean, it was this cascade
of, okay, we can build our. We can build our
(46:44):
perfect life. Like, we can literally build a life
around how we want to live. And somehow I think
living in California would have never given us
that freedom. But making that big change, moving
to Nashville, all of a sudden, we're like, oh, we
could do anything. Like, it felt like this
permission to make whatever life decisions we
(47:07):
wanted. Like, I don't know. I know that sounds
kind of weird, huh? It kind of sounds weird.
Meredith Oke (47:11):
No, that makes total sense. And I think it's
another really important point to bring up is
that, yeah, we feel like if this is the way
things are, this is the way things have to be.
And it's like whether it's in our, the way our
lives are structured, our businesses are
structured. Yeah. We are the architects. We can
(47:34):
redesign anything at any moment. And if it feels
impossible where we are, like, okay, well maybe,
maybe it's somewhere else, but it's possible.
Like all the things are possible. And I love that
you leaned into that and made it real.
Oksana Hanson (47:54):
Yeah. And what's funny is. So my husband was very
skeptical. He's like, like skin type one, right.
He's like red beard, very blonde hair, very
white, see through skin. And he was like, how are
we not going to wear sunblock? And I'm like,
we're just going to test this. Like, we're going
to, you know, watch the sunrise. We're gonna go
(48:17):
for our UVA walk every morning. Right. Our body
has all these internal processes. Right. To
protect you from the sun. We're gonna, we're
gonna listen to this information and we're gonna
test it. So I remember it was like 101 degrees.
We were at this water park. It was black asphalt,
it was so hot outside. Our two kids are very,
(48:38):
very fair skinned as well. And he goes, we're not
putting on some block today. And I'm like, like,
nope. I go, but any sign of us, like getting pink
or red? Like, we'll get, you know, we'll take a
little break or whatnot. We spent all day at this
water park, Meredith. We were going to bed that
night. My husband goes, I cannot believe we're
not burnt to the crisp. And I'm like, huh, isn't
(49:00):
that funny? Isn't that funny?
Meredith Oke (49:03):
Like that interesting.
Oksana Hanson (49:07):
And that. Yeah.
Meredith Oke (49:09):
Building up your ability to be in the sun over,
over time. Your skin was preconditioned. You knew
how to do sensible sun exposure. And it's like
four super fair skinned people, even a redhead.
Oksana Hanson (49:22):
Yeah.
Meredith Oke (49:22):
Outside all day and it's like, you're fine.
Oksana Hanson (49:27):
Yeah. It was just, it was this proof of like,
okay, this stuff is not like, woo, woo. This
stuff is real. Like we're testing it on
ourselves. We feel the best we've ever felt.
We're in the greatest shape of our life. Like,
and I feel so fulfilled too. Like emotionally,
(49:47):
spiritually fulfilled of like teaching this
information to other people. There's nothing that
brings me more joy than talking about this and
meeting all the interesting people in our
community. Like you and I were talking about
before. We started this podcast is like, it is
some of the best people in this community. Like,
everyone's so loving and supportive and so
(50:09):
passionate about what they do. It's just the best.
Meredith Oke (50:14):
Yeah, it's really, it's really amazing. It's like
when you, you know, because, yeah, I've made some
choices to veer off the, off the main path. And
it's like once you do and you're off, you know,
on your tangent, then you're surrounded by other
people who also made that choice. And so there's
(50:35):
a sense of freedom, I think, amongst people who,
you know, because they're like, yeah, I did the
weird thing, I did the hard thing. And like, here
I am. It's all fine. And yeah, we have like a
bigger purpose guiding us, you know, and we're
(50:55):
all, we're all like on the same page with that.
And so I love. Because so now what's coming to
fruition on your journey with this is an in
person retreat which is coming up June 2025 in
Tennessee. So you and Carrie Bennett have put
this together. Like, tell us about that, how it
(51:17):
came to be, what it's going to be like.
Oksana Hanson (51:21):
Yeah, so I think after Covid, we were all kind of
craving that human connection. And this QVC was
just such a small community and we had known all
these people and built these friendships and
relationships, but yet never met anybody in
person. And so I was up in the Detroit area
(51:42):
seeing an explant specialist to get my implants
taken out and I was like, carrie, I'm close to
you. I'm going to come by and let's have a
coffee. And her and I got talking. It was so
great because we'd known each other for a couple
years now, and we're like, we've never seen each
other in person. And I go, man, just feels like
we need to put some kind of event together to
(52:04):
have everybody in the same place. And as we all
know, like, we are energetically connected. I'm
like, we. How magical would it be if we all came
together like in person? And that's where this
idea of this in person retreat came to be. And we
spent like a really good six months, like,
(52:27):
looking for the perfect location that was like
circadian friendly and, you know, finally found
this like old reclaimed rock quarry that's on 160
acres right outside of Nashville. So it's like
close to a major airport, but yet just far
enough. It's got this beautiful waterfall and
this huge barn. And we're like, yes, we can get
(52:50):
some of the smartest people, like smartest minds
in this industry together, ask them to talk about
something they've never talked about publicly
before. So this is going to be like a very unique
kind of approach to what people are going to talk
about and get everybody in one room with like,
(53:12):
you know, slide away doors. So the barn is open
to the outside with water running there and we
have some really beautiful, like really quantum
aligned vendors that are coming to kind of
showcase and sell some of their products and
bring different tools that people might not
necessarily get to experience in their day to day
(53:33):
life. And so it's just we've been curating and
working on this for like over a year now just to
make it like super, super special, but very again
like aligned with our principles and like
everything that we stand for.
Meredith Oke (53:51):
I love it. I'm so excited for this. I think it's
amazing what you're doing and yeah, there's,
there's nothing like in person connection and you
know, when you're out, when you're involved in
something that's like really, really not
mainstream. The technology is a beautiful thing.
(54:12):
Right. Because we can be connected across all the
geographies and find each other, but at the same
time. Yeah. Then to have to have a real life
opportunity to be in each other's physical
presence is just so profound. So that I think
(54:32):
it's going to be just a gorgeous event. I'm so
thrilled that what you, you and Carrie have, have
put together and I highly encourage everybody to
go. So the, the website is. What's the website? I
will put it in the show notes for sure. And
(54:53):
Carrie and Oksana have very kindly offered a, a
10% discount if for the code QBC. You put that
when you check out. And it is.
Oksana Hanson (55:05):
I should have put it up. Carrie B. Wellness.com
forward/retreat.
Meredith Oke (55:11):
Okay. Oh, so it's, you can just find it through
Carrie's website.
Oksana Hanson (55:14):
Yeah.
Meredith Oke (55:15):
Okay. Yeah. So Caribbean Wellness Forward slash
retreat. Put the, put QVC in. It's at the end of
June 2025 for a couple of days. And yeah, it's
going to be magical and fun and I, I feel like
it'll be one of those things that will just for
everyone who, who's able to attend will like just
(55:37):
be a big battery recharge in, in whatever way you
need.
Oksana Hanson (55:44):
Um, I was talking to Carrie this morning and she
said that she just had this vision of like we
were at the retreat and there was just smiles
everywhere and the energy was insane. I was like,
yes, like this is gonna Be one of those. Like, it
feels surreal because all of these people, like,
that we've been aligned with, like, you know,
(56:05):
we're. We've kind of. I'm gonna say this for
myself, not other people. Like, I kind of felt
weird, right? Like, I'm the odd man out amongst
all my friends and all these people talking about
the sun and the healing power of the earth and
all these things. And now I'm like, I get to be
in a room full of all these people, like, with
the same mindset, and pick their brains behind
(56:29):
the scenes. Pick their brains of these really,
really smart people with all these interesting
views on the world and our body and how
everything works and coincides together. It's
gonna be amazing.
Meredith Oke (56:42):
Yeah, it's gonna be really fun. Tell me some of
the speakers.
Oksana Hanson (56:47):
So we have Stephen Hussey, Danielle Hamilton, we
have Sarah Pugh, Sarah Kleiner, and I'm sure
there's a lot more information. That's amazing.
Meredith Oke (56:59):
Well, they're right there.
Oksana Hanson (57:01):
Yes, they're on the website.
Meredith Oke (57:04):
Yeah, no, just. Just a little. Just a handful.
Sneak peek. Yes. So I. Yeah, I really, really
want to encourage anybody who's listening if you
felt like that little, like, jolt or impulse of,
like, oh, my God, that sounds so fun. Like, do
whatever you need to do to get there, because it
will really be worth it. And these opportunities,
(57:25):
you know, they don't happen all the time. So
putting on a live event is no small. It's no
small thing. It's a really big endeavor. So I
think it's really important that we support them
and show up if. If at all possible, because they
really matter. And it's, I think, important to
(57:49):
the. To the growth of this message, to the growth
of this community and all of it.
Oksana Hanson (57:55):
Thank you, Meredith. And I guess, like, I just
want to say, like, I think everyone has a. Their
own definition for, like, quantum health, but for
me, like, I really look at it from, like, a
spiritual, emotional, and physical standpoint.
And so the experiences that we've kind of curated
at this retreat are going to touch each of those.
(58:20):
Each of those areas. And so we'll have some great
speakers, and then we'll go outside and maybe do
a breath work. We'll have another speaker. We'll
go outside and jump into an ice bath. We'll have
another speaker, and maybe we'll go do yoga,
Right? There's. There's going to be, like, a
sound bath. Like, there's going to be all these
experiences that are going to kind of help you to
(58:42):
integrate the learnings and the information, and
then also do things together as a group of people
with, like, bonding things. Like, if you've never
done an ice bath, like, this is the best way to
experience it when you have other people around
you, like, cheering you on. The weather's going
to be great. It's going to be hot outside, so
you're going to want to jump in the ice bath.
(59:02):
But, yeah, it's definitely not going to be this,
like, stuffy. You're sitting in a conference room
learning material. Like, it's going to be some
amazing speakers, but it's going to be some
amazing kind of transformative experiences, I'll
say.
Meredith Oke (59:17):
As well, fun, fully immersive. Sounds so good.
And. And, yeah, and I think these types of events
and are leading the way into a paradigm where we
stop with all of the compartmentalizing of
physical health versus mental health versus
emotional health versus psychological versus
(59:38):
virtual. It's like, yeah, from a quantum biologic
perspective, it's all the same. It's. It's. You
know, and I hear so many stories of, yeah, like,
something starts, you have a physical symptom
that leads to a spiritual awakening, or you have
a spiritual awakening that leads to a wanting to
(59:58):
take better care of your physical body. You know,
like, it's, you know, so I think this idea of
acne, you know, honoring that with the way that
you've structured the event is, you know, the way
forward, the way of the future. Any other last
thoughts, Oksana?
Oksana Hanson (01:00:18):
No. Thank you so much for having me on today. I
really appreciate it.
Meredith Oke (01:00:22):
Well, thank you for sharing your story. It was
truly, truly an honor to go, you know, to hear
you share that journey and to be able to
articulate the different choice points that you
faced and how you navigated them. And I really
love the message that you're leaving with people
(01:00:43):
of that. Like, we can. We can make our lives
different. You know, we don't. It's possible and
whatever that looks like for each person, but,
you know, you're a living example of that, and
that's really, really powerful. So much gratitude
(01:01:03):
to you and your lovely husband. Good for him for
getting on the ride.
Oksana Hanson (01:01:10):
Thank you. We truly say, like, we truly think
that we are living heaven on earth, and that is
within reach for everybody, so.
Meredith Oke (01:01:18):
Oh, that's beautiful. Thank you for being here,
Oksana.
Oksana Hanson (01:01:22):
Thank you.
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