The Mindful FIRE Podcast 22 : Mental Fitness, Flow, Entrepreneurship and The Gut-Brain Connection with Cara Bradley
Welcome to the mindful fire podcast, where we explore living mindfully on the path to financial independence and beyond. I'm your host, Adam Coelho and I'm so glad you're here.
On today's episode, I'm joined by my new friend, Cara Bradley. Cara is a leading authority of mental fitness having led thousands to her signature strategies to work and play in flow.
She shares her 30 years of body brain training with fortune 500 companies, startups and premier college sports teams. Cara's expertise includes science back tools for optimal performance, including nervous system flow, state, and mindfulness training. In addition to strategies to optimize the gut brain connection.
She's the author of the book On The Verge, Wake Up, Show Up and Shine, founder of the award winning verge yoga center and host of the On The Verge Mental Fitness Podcast.
On this episode, Cara and I explore the idea of mental fitness, an area she's dedicated most of her career to. We learn what it is and how we can practice it.
We also explore the connection between our gut and our brain.
And we spend a good bit of time talking about the flow state and Cara shares, how mindfulness and meditation help us to identify our own flow triggers and the activities that put us in a state of flow. And she shares a number of practices, including breathwork practices.
Cara also generously offered to share her mental fitness protocol with our audience. And you can get that at mindfulfire.org/cara.
Finally Cara shares her thoughts and experience building a business around the ideas of teaching and sharing mental fitness. And she shares how she used her award-winning yoga studio, which she started just around the time that yoga was becoming mainstream in the United States, as a laboratory for developing a deeper understanding and practice around mental fitness, health, and wellbeing.
You can find all of the resources, books and practices shared in this episode mindfulfire.org/22.
I really enjoyed this episode with my new friend, Cara Bradley. I hope that you enjoy it as well.
Join the Mindful FIRE Legends community at MindfulFIRE.org/join.
PS: Introducing the… 🔥 FIRE Starter Group Coaching Program
You did the “money” part. You saved, invested, and built real options. But if you’re being honest… FU money alone isn’t enough—and you might still feel stuck in “one more year syndrome,” unclear on what you actually want next.
In 10 weeks or less, we’ll help you get clear on what you want—and start living it now—using envisioning, mindfulness, and practical mini-experiments (not endless overthinking).
Interested? Let’s chat: https://mindfulfire.org/chat
🔥 WHO I’m creating this for
This is for you if you’re at or near FI (Coast FI or full FIRE) and:
- You feel stuck after “doing everything right,” but you’re not sure what you’re optimizing for anymore.
- You’re caught between freedom and overwhelm (“I could do anything… so I do nothing”).
- You want clarity and momentum—but you don’t want someone to tell you what to do.
🔥 WHAT we’ll do together (over 10 weeks)
In a small group (mastermind-style), you’ll:
- Get clear on what you actually want (beyond expectations, comparison, and “shoulds”).
- Create a big, meaningful vision for your next chapter—one that fits who you are now.
- Learn the brain science behind envisioning (why it works, and how to use it).
- Turn yo...