A Healthy Curiosity

Given the frenetic pace of life we deal with today, it's useful to mine the wisdom traditions for ways to slow down and embody feelings like contentment and inner peace. Dr. Rick Hanson is dedicated to connecting western psychology, the contemplative traditions of the world, and the latest brain science to craft accessible ways for everyone to cultivate lasting qualities of mind and heart to carry...

At a time when racism's effects on the US are on display, as they've been with the most recent slayings of unarmed Black men and women, it can be difficult to distill our feelings into words, but speaking out imperfectly is important and better than staying silent. Thousands lives have ended too early due to issues of institutionalized racism. In an effort to catalyze both reflection and action, t...

There's a lot of fascinating research being done that continues to bridge the gap between Chinese Medicine and the conventional western medical approach. Dr. Mel Hopper Koppelman joins this conversation to discuss what she's been seeing in the research of Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. Using her expertise across multiple medical disciplines, Dr. Koppelman shares with us how drawing on a variety...

What happens when we stop trying to actively find the solutions for health problems and instead stop to listen to the information coming to us? Megan Caper uses a whole other way of getting information about the body outside of the typical method of relying solely on thinking. To begin addressing the underlying iceberg of symptoms and patterns in her patients' lives, Megan's approach is to get out...

We typically know the things we need to do to take better care of ourselves, so why is it so difficult to make healthy choices and prioritize those healthy habits? Erika Flint shares why the awareness usually isn't enough and that we need to take a look under the hood at what's driving our behavior from a subconscious level. Through her expertise as a hypnotist, she helps people to change their in...

In this time of social distancing and isolation, one of our natural tendencies is to eat as a way of coping with stress and anxiety. Tricia Nelson is an expert in this connection between eating and emotions and she cautions against trying to use food to feed our soul hunger. Tricia offers some great insight and practical advice into ways to slow down and reevaluate what underlying feelings might b...

A lack of confidence can be a huge roadblock in many aspects of our lives, but fortunately we can cultivate this in ourselves. Dr. Joan Rosenberg joins us to share how looking inward at how we approach life can be a pathway to deepening our sense of confidence. Dr. Rosenberg provides a framework for moving through that which is unpleasant in order to achieve congruence with our bodies and feelings...

Despite the significant percentage of women affected by polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, it often goes undiagnosed or diagnosed incorrectly. If you're a women concerned about irregular periods, problems with ovulation, or other symptoms, this episode could be particularly relevant. Melissa Lee joins this conversation to examine different pieces of the PCOS puzzle. Rather than finding medication...

When we're trying to stay healthy, it's crucial to remember there are multiple ways of looking at our health and multiple paths to creating balance in our own ecosystems. During this COVID-19 pandemic, how can we approach restoring our balance through a combination of Chinese Medicine and western medicine? Dr. Sandra Subotich dives deep into some ways that we can work to stay happy and healthy in...

Incorporating a therapeutic diet and lifestyle is a central tenet of a lot of different approaches to health. It's always fascinating to see where these paradigms collide and reinforce one another, so hearing about the amazing results Dr. Terry Wahls has seen is truly inspirational. If you've been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis or really any autoimmune disease, Dr. Wahls' research is a great wi...

As we're grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, conditions are changing super fast so it's crucial we find ways to stay strong, resilient, and connected with one another. With the safety of our communities at stake, the responsibility to flatten the curve and be there for each other without physically being there for each other is on all of us. If you're feeling stressed or scared, you are certainl...

Fertility problems are often a lonely and stressful experience, but Denise Wiesner joins this conversation to share why that doesn't have to be the case. Denise is a fellow acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine expert that focuses on helping people find balance in their bodies. From menstrual disorders to menopause, Denise helps women to relieve the anxiety around their bodies and regain the sensuali...

Ensuring that our bones stay strong throughout our health span means not waiting until retirement to think about it. Bone health expert Margie Bissinger shares how we can take care of our bones pro-actively, beyond just exercise. In a really interesting congruency with Chinese Medicine, Margie's research and experience illustrates just how interwoven our bone health is with all kinds of other part...

Contrary to the prevailing way of thinking, aging does not have to be about deterioration. Debra Atkinson joins this conversation to help us embrace the importance of our mindset and shift it to help us feel as young as we think. Debra is all about helping women be happy, healthy, independent, and vital so this episode will definitely resonate if you're a woman over 40 that's focused on staying ac...

It's always interesting to dive deeper into the places where modern research starts to overlap with the teachings of Chinese Medicine and Dr. Andrew Miles joins this conversation to do just that. With potent information on the functions of the micobiome and molecular mimicry, Dr. Miles shares his insights into the body as a teeming, ever-changing sea of energy. Drawing from the perspective he gain...

Our bodies are smart. We can get bogged down in focusing on different cues for how we think our body should be moving or feeling, but Alicia Fajardo encourages us to ease back on those expectations and trust in the wisdom of our bodies.  If you're interested in learning more about how your body works as an interconnected whole, this conversation on how we think about the substance and space of who...

For both men and women, it's tough to slow down. The effects of not slowing down can end up seeping into our lives in aspects like stress and trouble sleeping which can put us in a fog. When we're in that fog and it seems like the windshield is covered with bugs, it's difficult to find balance and what Stacey Donelson calls our true north. Stacey acts as a helper and a historian through her Good L...

Privilege has a lot of layers. Each of us, particularly in dominant groups, often benefit from several different layers, which makes the work of unpacking our privilege incredibly important as a step towards helping to bring other voices to the table through allyship. Erica Courdae shares her wisdom on imperfect allyship as a way to get moving with this emotional work, because perfectionism tends...

In the spirit of a new year and taking a step back to replenish ourselves, this episode is a special rebroadcast of a conversation from Andrea Claassen's podcast with a focus on stress and better stress management. A big thanks to Andrea for allowing us to rebroadcast this one. If you're looking to adjust some of your habits or make an effort to slow down in the new year, there are some very usefu...

We often talk about things like anxiety and perfectionism and when these issues are carried out to an extreme, they can sometimes lead to panic attacks. Whatever else may be going on, the root of it, as Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum identifies, is that we're scaring ourselves. With her analogy of seeing snakes when we're really looking at a garden hose, Dr. Scheinbaum advocates patience and realistic thin...

Living in today's industrialized society, we're exposed to environmental toxins that can overload our systems. Combine that with the junk in processed foods and it becomes more important than ever to do the occasional dietary reset. Dr. Alejandro Junger was forced to learn this lesson himself and has been endeavoring to help others do the same ever since. While moving in the direction of living he...

In a busy world that seems to demand more and more of our attention everyday, falling asleep can often be a challenge. If you find yourself in this wired-tired state, Catherine Polan Orzech offers some great insight into how we can practice mindfulness throughout our day in order to get better sleep. By building a compassionate interest in ourselves, we can begin to treat ourselves with more frien...

Anxiety has surpassed depression as the number one mental illness in the US. Could our food and missing amino acids be part of the reason why?   Trudy Scott is an expert in the food-mood connection and she shares some different ways to look at how the things that we put in our mouths affect our physical and mental health. If we can look at our symptoms of anxiety as an opportunity to be in a respe...

Power is a complicated structure. With dimensions relating to both the yin and yang, those different aspects of power ultimately support and amplify each other. If we want to feel more powerful and reinforce that feeling for those around us, it starts with self-care. As Audre Lorde put it, self-care can be a political act that expresses our own power outwardly. It also enables us to nurture our re...

Creating and maintaining healthy habits is often the biggest lever that we can pull to affect our health and happiness, but it can be an incredibly difficult process to change our behavior and create those lasting habits. Through her medical training and research, Dr. Kyra Bobinet has begun helping people to close the gap between the brain and behavior through behavioral neuroscience design. She s...