Awake Academy by Layne Beachley

How 4 Minutes can change your life. Have you ever had a moment that changed the entire trajectory of your life? In this episode of A Wake Up Call, Tess Brouwer shares the story of the night she and her Husband Chris first sat together and tried the “36 questions to fall in love.” The last step? Four minutes of uninterrupted eye contact. The next day she sat in the grass thinking, What just happened? It didn’t feel like meeting a “new boyfriend.” It felt like meeting a turning point. Here’s the part worth sitting with: Sometimes connection isn’t built through ease - it’s built through presence, discomfort, and choosing to stay open even when life circumstances don’t add up. (Three kids. A vasectomy. COVID. Eight weeks of dating only on FaceTime.) And still… the bond held. Where in your life is connection asking you to stay present instead of pulling away? Want to hear how 4 minutes could change your life? Tess has put the link in the comments 💙

Feeling like burnout is steering the ship lately? Last night, we sat down with Melissa Doyle AM and The House of Wellness team (Seven Network) to unpack what burnout really looks like. We spoke about the practical shifts that support recovery… and the deeper layers beneath it. Layne Beachley AO shared how she rebuilt after her own burnout experience, the truth, the cost, the turning point - while Tess Brouwer brought in the science of why our brains get overwhelmed in the first place. If the pace of life has been catching up with you, this conversation is for you. Missed it? Catch up on 7plus here: https://lnkd.in/gEBanCmE

Tonight, Awake Academy by Layne Beachley steps into a new chapter. On Episode 10 of The House of Wellness, Layne Beachley AO and Tess Brouwer sit down with Melissa Doyle AM for a powerful conversation on identity, resilience, burnout, and the small daily shifts that reconnect you to yourself. Tune in tonight, Wednesday 26 November at 9:30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus (check local guides for details). Seven Network

We had the privilege of being part of the Forbes Australia Women’s Soirée at Crown Hotel Sydney last week. Events like this give people permission to pause… to tell the truth about what it costs to keep going, what it takes to rebuild, and what it means to lead from a place that isn’t burnout, performance, or pressure - but clarity, compassion and self-respect. What moved us most wasn’t the microphone or the spotlight. It was the stories shared quietly afterwards - stories navigating reinvention, overwhelm, identity shifts, and the brave work of taking care of themselves while the world keeps asking for more. Thank you for meeting us there with honesty and heart. It was a privilege to stand in that room with you. Congratulations to Sarah O'Carroll and Forbes Australia for creating such a thoughtful, intentional evening at Crown Hotel Sydney. If you want to go deeper into the conversation that connected so many of us, Forbes captured it beautifully in their latest feature: “The Real Cost of Burnout” https://lnkd.in/gMBcRc8B Until next time 💙 Layne Beachley AO Tess Brouwer

Most people don’t realise how much their relationship with their body shapes their confidence, their choices, and their mental health. And almost everyone struggles with it at some point. In our latest episode of A Wake Up Call, we open up about the pressures, stories, and expectations so many of us carry: A Simple Question That Can Change Your Relationship With Your Body 💙 For Layne Beachley AO, her body was her career - measured, judged, compared, expected to perform no matter what she was going through. For Tess Brouwer, her body became something she disconnected from completely after years of medical trauma, pressure, and self-criticism. Between us, we’ve lived both extremes, and both lead to the same place: exhaustion, shame, and feeling “not enough.” In this episode we explore: ➔ why body image quietly impacts almost everyone ➔ the pressure to look or perform a certain way ➔ the cost of disconnecting from yourself and the simple question that can shift everything: “If I loved my body, what would I do today?” 🎧 A Simple Question That Can Change Your Relationship With Your Body Now live on A Wake Up Call - wherever you get your podcasts. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/g_Ht3SUY

If you avoid emotional discomfort, your capacity shrinks. If you move toward it, your capacity expands. In our latest episode of A Wake Up Call, MITCH WALLIS gives one of the clearest analogies for emotional resilience: “You don’t build muscle by lifting light weights. You build it by creating tension. The emotional body is no different.” Just like physical training, emotional growth requires the right kind of tension. Not overwhelm, not avoidance, not bandaid coping, but intentional processing. For leaders, this matters. A team’s emotional fitness directly shapes performance, culture, and psychological safety. Ask yourself (and your people): Are we running toward the real issue to resolve it? Or running away from it and calling that coping? Are we building capacity? Or creating invisible burnout? Healthy pressure builds stronger foundations. Avoidance builds fragility. This episode is essential listening for anyone leading people through change, uncertainty or grief. Full episode: Turning Pain Into Purpose with Mitch Wallis. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gQXFmGxm

Every great product has an ugly first draft. Ours? A powder that made us say “HELL NO.” (See video) When we started creating Wake Up, the vision was simple: A daily ritual that felt grounded, quick, and actually doable. But here’s the part most brands never show you: The very first version was a powder… and it was genuinely horrendous. We even made Chris and Kirk try it for “research.” One sip. One look. A very confident: “HELL NO.” Fair enough. But that moment became the turning point. It forced us to get clear on what we were really building: Not a quick fix. Not a gimmicky wellness moment you forget in the cupboard. A ritual people can genuinely live with, even on the days they’re tired, stressed, or racing out the door. So here’s the good news: it’s no longer a powder. Just two capsules a day, and you’re good to go. Wake Up is our daily ritual for energy, immunity & focus. Shop: https://lnkd.in/gwGB-6zP *Wake Up (ARTG ID 467806) is a TGA-listed medicine. Always read the label. Follow the directions for use.

The truth about happiness. In this episode of A Wake Up Call, MITCH WALLIS shares something most of us never learn: ➔ Your brain isn’t built to sit in constant happiness. It’s built to keep you alive: scanning for risk, predicting what’s next, avoiding pain. So the real question isn’t: “Am I happy all the time?” It’s: Is my life meaningful, connected and purpose-driven… even when hard emotions show up? Because a fulfilled life isn’t free from sadness, fear or grief. It’s a life where those emotions have a place, and you have the tools to move through them. Want the tools? Full episode of Turning Pain Into Purpose with Mitch Wallis on A Wake Up Call now live. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Last night, our co-founder Layne Beachley AO received the Dawn Award, one of the highest honours in Australian sport. Dawn Fraser AC. MBE. OLY Recognising her courage, her advocacy, and her lifelong commitment to changing the game for women. To many, this is a sporting award. To us, it’s a leadership award. Because long before equality was a headline or a hashtag, Layne was doing the work - challenging systems, facing resistance head-on, and proving that courage isn’t loud… it’s consistent. From seven world titles to equal pay, safer conditions, better pathways, and a cultural shift that now allows the next generation, to rise even higher… Layne didn’t just win for herself. She changed the trajectory for everyone who came after her. What most people don’t see is the second act. The same grit that reshaped women’s surfing is now shaping the way individuals, teams and organisations rethink wellbeing, psychological safety and emotional fitness. Inside Awake Academy by Layne Beachley, Layne brings that legacy every single day, in workshops, community calls, corporate programs and now through A Wake Up Call Podcast. The Dawn Award recognises bravery. We see that bravery daily. Bravery in telling the truth. Bravery in walking the talk. Bravery in helping people come home to themselves. We’re proud to call her our co-founder, our mentor, and a core part of our Dream Team! And on behalf of our entire Awake Academy community: Congratulations, Layne. Your courage changed a sport, and now it’s changing lives. Love, The Awake Academy Dream Team 💙 💙

If grief still hits you out of nowhere, this is for you. This week we're joined by MITCH WALLIS, founder of Heart On My Sleeve, whose lived experience with grief and mental health brings language to the feelings most of us keep inside. We open the door to a conversation most people avoid, not because they don’t care, but because they don’t know where to start. Layne Beachley AO shares the reality of watching her dad decline with dementia… after already losing three mothers. And we talk honestly about the part no one prepares you for, the gradual physical decline, the “in-between,” and the quiet heartbreak of watching someone you love slowly disappear. This is a raw one. And a needed one. What you will learn: ➔ Simple body anchors from Mitch’s practice: “light, bright, tight, might” ➔ How to balance pre-grieving with presence ➔ Co-regulation basics for friends and leaders who want to help without rescuing If you’re navigating your own season of loss or love someone who is, this episode will meet you gently. TW: Grief, dementia, loss, emotional decline. Full episode Turning Pain Into Purpose with Mitch Wallis on A Wake Up Call - now live Listen ➔ https://lnkd.in/gjsyyeif