Dr. Don MacDonald
The Informed Chiropractor Podcast
Dive into the world of chiropractic care through a Polyvagal Lens with ”The Informed Chiropractor.” Hosted by Dr. Don MacDonald, this illuminating series explores chiropractic’s vitalistic and salutogenic models through the insightful lens of the Polyvagal Theory. Each episode offers a blend of engaging interviews with industry experts and personal reflections on chiropractic’s foundational principles. Here, we unravel the keys to human health, wellness, and innate potential, bridging the time-tested truths of chiropractic practice with cutting-edge neuroscientific understanding of the Polyvag...
Author
Dr. Don MacDonald
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Jun 30, 2026
Where to listen?
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Episodes
How Dr. Clarence Haitsma Built a New Chiropractic Practice After 6 Years of Retirement 21.11.2022 32:36
In today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Clare Haitsma, a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic who has been in practice for 46 years. After chiropractic school, Dr. Haitsma returned to Alberta and practiced for 30 years before retiring to go on church missions. That retirement didn’t last long, and six years ago, he returned to start a new practice from scratch in Lethbridge, Alberta. It ha...
How Dr. Julie Darchuk Overcame Her Grief and Trauma With the Vitality Shift for Chiropractors 07.11.2022 28:43
Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Julie Darchuk from Saskatoon in this episode. Dr. Julie has been in practice for 6 years and is a graduate of CMCC. Dr. Don and Brandi have been working closely with Dr. Julie over the last year, and he is excited to share her journey today. Julie takes us through her chiropractic journey, how her dad was her biggest inspiration, and the stress she experience when she su...
We’re Back! An Update from Dr. Don 24.10.2022 18:33
Today, Dr. Don is firing the podcast again after a year-long break. In this episode, he shares what he and Brandi have been up to over the last year and the latest updates on their business. After this updated episode, there will be more interview-style episodes on the way. Dr. Don dives into practice changes, including their new practice and location. He also talks about their interview with Dr....
Chiropractic Marketing That Can’t Be Ignored with Mike Michalowicz 06.10.2021 25:55
Mike Michalowicz, a threepeat guest and incredible author, is here today. Mike joins us to discuss his new book “Get Different,” marketing that can’t be ignored, and boosting your clinic’s profile post-COVID. He takes us through the necessity of marketing in unique ways and why it is your responsibility as a service provider to market yourself. With the pandemic continuing to rage, many people are...
Polyvagal Theory and Chiropractic, How It Can Influence Bodily Function With Dr. Stephen Porges 01.09.2021 57:08
Today, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Stephen Porges, Ph. D. He is a distinguished university scientist at the Kinsey Institute, Founding Director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at Indiana University, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and proponent of the polyvagal theory. Dr. Porges is with us to discuss the polyvagal theory in detail and how it relates to chirop...
How to Naturally Reverse Myopia with Jake Steiner 14.07.2021 30:26
On today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Jake Steiner, a retired stockbroker who has dedicated himself to improving his own and others eyesight through natural methods. Some topics Jake will discuss are how he became interested in natural eyesight improvement and what pseudo-myopia is. Jake takes us through how he arrived at improving his eyesight through natural methods. Being told he needed to chan...
The 3 Frameworks of Care with Brandi MacDonald 07.07.2021 34:52
Dr. Don is joined once again by his wife Brandi MacDonald, with whom he co-owns South Side Chiropractic in Edmonton. Brandi is here to discuss 3 frameworks of care, what they are, and how they can be used by Chiropractors in the vitality model. Brandi takes us through the 3 different frameworks of care, their differences, and their similarities. Trauma-informed care was born out of the Vietnam war...
Conducting Practice-based Research with Dr. Kelly Holt 30.06.2021 44:25
On today’s show Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Kelly Holt, a returning guest joining us from New Zealand. If you would like to know more about Dr. Kelly, you can listen back to the last time he joined the show in May 2018 . Today, Dr. Kelly joins us to discuss how the pandemic has affected him out in New Zealand, what research he has been conducting over the last few years, and where his research is tak...
Overcoming Your Internal Obstacles with Dr. John Osbourne 02.06.2021 42:10
On today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. John Osborne, co-owner of Osborne Chiropractic with his wife Marie in Tipperary, Ireland. He joins us to discuss the breakthroughs he has been making in his vitality shift and the 3 main internal obstacles he has been able to overcome. When he began his vitality shift 4 years ago, John was very much a pain-focused Chiropractor. Since he began the program,...
How Insulin Affects our Bodies with Dr. Don Clum 28.04.2021 53:45
On today’s show, we are welcoming Dr. Don Clum. He is a chiropractor, nutritionist, and speaker. He is here to discuss nutrition, how the body processes hormones, and insulin friendly diet and lifestyle. For Dr. Clum, being healthy has become proactive by necessity. After spending several years abroad, he and his family returned to America to find an obesity epidemic. That was the starting point o...
Bouncing Back After COVID with Brandi MacDonald 07.04.2021 45:39
On today’s show, Dr. Don is once again joined by his wife Brandi MacDonald, who is also co-owner of South Side Chiropractic in Edmonton. Today, Dr. Don and Brandi discuss adapting to your environment, what’s changed in their office since lockdown, and the 3 keys to bouncing back after COVID. It’s been a year since lockdown began, and now with restrictions lifting, Dr. Don and Brandi agree that it’...
Helping Chiropractors with Trauma with Brandi MacDonald 27.01.2021 40:32
In this episode, Dr. Don is joined by Brandi MacDonald, and today they are discussing how they help chiropractors get unstuck by overcoming trauma.- both for themselves and the people they care for. Trauma is widely misunderstood, but by becoming more trauma-informed, you can better understand the influence you have (and don’t have) in helping people deal with it. Brandi and Dr. Don talk about sta...
Experience, Authority, and Trust with Chiropractor Dr. Matthew Bortolussi 23.12.2020 59:39
In this episode Dr. Matthew Bortolussi joins Dr. Don to discuss the evolution of his career, including how and why he joined The Vitality Shift. Dr. Bortolussi graduated from the New York Chiropractic College in 2004 and now practices in Vaughn, Ontario. Interestingly enough, Dr. Bortolussi had never himself experienced chiropractic care before pursuing it as a career. Now, he runs his own practic...
Facing Your Own Limiting Beliefs With Chiropractor Dr. Pip Penrose 09.12.2020 39:55
In this episode, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Pip Penrose, a passionate chiropractor from Stratford, Ontario. As a teen, Dr. Penrose was sick with mono more than once when a friend suggested she visit a chiropractor to see how they might be able to help. Her experience was life-changing. It was soon after this that she decided she wanted to become a chiropractor herself. More recently, she wanted to b...
Advocating for Chiropractic Legislature Change with Nancy Dent 18.11.2020 39:34
In this episode, Dr. Don is joined by Nancy Dent, an advocate for change in legislation for chiropractic care. Nancy’s daughter came into the world with compromised abilities and neurological issues, which led to challenges with her care. Nancy decided to look beyond what the conventional medical field had to offer. At age 4, her daughter began seeing a chiropractor. Exploring Chiropractic care le...
Shifting to the Salutogenic Model with Brandi MacDonald 28.10.2020 33:21
On today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Brandi MacDonald, who, in addition to being Dr. Dons’ wife, is co-owner of South Side Chiropractic in Edmonton. Brandi joins us to discuss the main obstacles chiropractors find they come up against when trying to shift to the salutogenic model and how to overcome them. The most common obstacle that chiropractors find themselves up against is the pain conversat...
Forging a Sustainable Practice in a Pandemic with Dr. Tiffany Johnson 21.10.2020 37:34
On today’s show Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Tiffany Johnson, who runs Healing Touch Chiropractic in West Fargo and hosts The Aligned Life Podcast . A returning guest, Dr. Tiffany joins us today to update us on how things have changed since the beginning of the pandemic and finding and working in your genius. When the pandemic hit, Dr. Tiffany was out of state. Before returning to her practice, she ha...
Preventing Burnout While Your Chiropractic Practice Grows with Dr. Dara Tyrrell 30.09.2020 31:53
Dr. Dara Tyrrell is joining us in this episode. She practices in Scotland and has grown her chiropractic business very quickly, having graduated from chiropractic school in Wales in 2013. After getting through chiropractic school, Dr. Dara first thought she did not want to run her own business. We hear how she chose her first associateship and the success that she had. Eventually, Dr. Dara did mak...
How Dr. Marie Osborne Stopped Being a People Pleaser 23.09.2020 34:12
On today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Marie Osborne. Dr. Marie runs Osborne Chiropractic with her husband John in Tipperary, Ireland. A member of the Shift Re-Wire Mastermind program, Dr. Marie returns to the podcast to update us on her practice and personal wellbeing. Dr. Marie tells us about how her practice has been these days and how she has been continuing to strive for progression person...
Focusing on What You Really Want with Dr. Helen Cox 26.08.2020 30:38
On today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Helen Cox. Dr. Helen runs the Tri-Chiropractic practice in Lethbridge, Alberta. A graduate of Parker University in 1998, Dr. Helen has been in practice for 20 years. Beginning by taking us through her journey to chiropractic practice, Dr. Helen gives us an honest look into dealing with the struggles of single parenting while trying to establish a career. S...
The Chronic Pain of COVID-19 with Brandi MacDonald 19.08.2020 34:41
It's a time for Chiropractors to grow not retract! In today’s episode, Dr. Don is joined by his wife, Brandi MacDonald , who co-owns South Side Chiropractic in Edmonton, Alberta. She is also a professional speaker, author, and coach. Brandi explains how the current pandemic is similar to an injury to the body and how we essentially went into shock and feared the unknown. COVID-19 can be related to...
A Vitalistic Approach to Chiropractic with Dr. Jason Hollingsworth 05.08.2020 31:40
On today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Jason Hollingsworth. Dr. Jason runs the Back to Health practice in Strathmore, Alberta with his wife Dr. Heather Russell. A graduate of Western States Chiropractic College, Dr. Jason has been in practice for 20 years. Discussing his path to chiropractic practice, Dr. Jason also tells us how he met his wife at school after they had both deferred a year. H...
Selling Your Chiropractic Practice and Starting Over with Dr. Naomi Mills 22.07.2020 28:17
On today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Naomi Mills. Originally from Aberdeen in Scotland, Dr. Naomi studied at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in Bournemouth. Until recently, Dr. Naomi owned a practice in the UK. Joining us 2 years on from her first appearance on the show, she discusses the drastic shift she has made. Last time she spoke to us she had just finished building and ope...
Work/Life Balance as a Chiropractor with Dr. Ali Miller 08.07.2020 31:24
Dr. Don is joined today by Dr. Ali Miller from Bolton, Ontario. Ali’s mom had always suffered from headaches until she began to see a chiropractor, and that’s when Ali saw a shift in her mother’s well-being, sparking her interest in chiropractic. Ali also has a love for children and wanted to be able to gear her profession towards a branch of pediatrics. Ali is a graduate of the Canadian Memorial...
Reopening Your Clinic After COVID-19 with Dr. Sheila Bonnett 03.06.2020 49:13
On today’s show, Dr. Don is joined by Dr. Sheila Bonnett. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in the field of Kinesiology from the University of Saskatchewan. Then she attended Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas, TX and graduated with honors in 2008. Following a Chiropractic Pediatric internship in Australia, Dr. Sheila started practicing in Saskatoon and now runs her own practice, YXE Chir...
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