Unstoppable Body and Mind

Today I talk about the Parasympathetic/calm state- the nervous system state where our body can rest and repair.   When we are in survival states (Fight/Flight, Freeze/Fawn), we use more energy and compromise the organ systems of the body.     But in the calm/ rest and repair state, we have increased circulation, digestion, and immunity.    We have more activation of the prefrontal cortex- so we ar...

In this episode, I interview Dan Buglio from “Pain Free You”.  He has been doing daily YouTube videos about becoming pain free for almost 3 years, and has over a million views! He explains chronic pain as “Perceived Danger" pain.  The danger isn't real, but the brain PERCEIVES it is, and amplifies or produces pain.  Chronic pain is not a sign or true danger, but an issue of misinformation/ bad dat...

I am so excited to bring you more information about something that has changed my understanding of somatic work completely- and that is understanding the nervous system. The nervous system is our body's threat detector, and will put us into survival states which physically effect all systems of the body.   These survival states are helpful if we are being chased by a tiger. But living in fight/fli...

In this Episode, I interview a pain coach and fellow Physical Therapist, Dr Andrea Moore.     We talk about her story with chronic pain and perfectionism, and why it doesn’t work to try and fight the pain.   We often can’t wait to get out of pain.  But the frustration and urgency to change are actually what can keep us stuck.   We retrain the brain through acceptance, and allowing what is.  As we...

Today I interview Katrina Ubell- a well known Life Coach, and host of the podcast “Weight Loss For Busy Physicians”.     We recap her healing journey and how understanding the connection with her body and mind helped her cure her chronic pain and get off her medications.     Katrina had a lifelong history of aches and pains, starting with patellafemoral pain in 6th grade.  She had sciatica and was...

Training wheels is a concept I came up with, to explain how you may need a little extra support during times of high stress or pain. And that's ok! When you are in extreme conditions, there are things you may do to calm your nervous system, that are different than what you might do when you are in a neutral state.  AND if you do some of these comforting things, it ends up way worse if you then bea...

This episode was inspired by a question on my Instagram live, and is a very common question with persistent symptoms or when new conditions arise.   When do you seek medical attention?    This podcast is not intended to replace medical advice, and I do believe that there is an important place for the medical system alongside this work. I get regular check ups and blood work just as I would get an...

Today I have a special episode that you will want to listen to if you struggle with sleep!     If you have chronic pain, you may also struggle with insomnia, anxiety, or insomnia anxiety- and this is what Raina helps with.  Sleep hygiene is only part of the solution, and may not really help if you are having anxious thoughts all day.  Her approach combines thought work with intuitive work- helping...

How are parenting and rewiring your brain for less pain similar?  You may be surprised. Crystal Haitsma teaches Radical Connection Parenting, in which connection and relationship are valued over behavior modification.  Instead of using rewards and punishment to get kids to do what you want, you work on the relationship instead, so they naturally do what you want them to. She talks a lot about emot...

When someone has chronic pain (more than 3-6 mo, resistant to medical treatment), then the brain processes pain differently.  Neural pathways of pain become like habits, and pain can remain even after normal healing time has passed. But the brain is neuroplastic, and we can train it to produce less pain. Graded exposure is one technique used in reprocessing pain and rewiring the brain. Graded expo...

Jane is a former client that has been dealing with a flare going on about 3 months. As well as heart palpitations.   Here I coach her about her thoughts and emotions.  Then we do some somatic techniques, which got rid of her 5/10 pain.   If you have chronic pain, be sure and listen and see how what I tell her can apply to you.   Sometimes watching someone else's coaching and drawing parallels, can...

Today's episode is an interview with my client, Kathleen.  She is a Physician, Mom, and back pain sufferer for 8 years.  Listen to her incredible 12 week journey coaching with me.  Kathleen signed up for coaching and within the first couple of weeks had INCREASED pain and a new symptom.  Instinctually she was led to the mind-body approach, but her Doctor brain kept worrying that she was missing so...

Stress and anxiety are emotions that cause physiological changes in our bodies. The stress response is very helpful short term, in survival moments.  But many of us live in a stressed out state, and constantly feel like we are in survival mode. Today I talk all about the physiological effects of chronic stress and anxiety on our bodies, including: Rapid heart rate Palpitations Chest pain Increased...

In this episode I interview Drew Coverdale, a Physiotherapist in Northeast England, and author of the book “The Pain Habit: Your Journey To Recovery”   Drew has intuitively explored various strategies with his PT patients with persistent pain who were not seeing improvements any other way.     He integrates concepts from talk therapy, behavior science, neuroscience and psychology, and has come to...

One common question I get, is how to distinguish if you are feeling intuition vs another strong feeling like fear. Intuition is something we all have, and that we can develop.  When we check in with our body, we are developing a connection with ourselves that will increase our intuition.   In society, you might have gotten messages from society (religion, medicine, education) that you should NOT t...

Most episodes I teach a concept or explain a principle.  But today you get to hear an actual coaching call, so you can see how to apply these concepts in real life.   Listen in as I coach a client through her beliefs about scarcity around money, and how that creates anxiety and pain in her life.   For fresh content on healing chronic pain or disease, follow Betsy on Instagram https://www.instagram...

In this Episode I am joined today by 3 former clients, so you can hear first hand how Body and Mind Lifecoaching with me has transformed their lives.     They started with chronic hamstring pain, SI pain, 10+ years of chronic back pain, foot neuropathy, and chronic fatigue.     Now they are all chronic pain free.     They learned: What kinds of thoughts or feelings were contributing to their physi...

This was a fun episode for me.  As much as I love science and research about the power of the mind in healing, I also really like energy, vibrations, and the woo.     Here I make a case for energy, the law of attraction, serendipities, manifesting and magic!!!  Be sure and listen, as I explain it scientifically.  And make a case for believing in fun and magic to add a little excitement to your lif...

In this episode, I talk about how important acceptance of your pain is.  And not in a resigned way, like accepting you will alway have pain and working on your thoughts.    I am talking about the importance of acceptance as the fastest, easiest way to achieve healing. Just like you can learn to become more mindful, by accepting your thoughts and feelings.  You can also practice acceptance of the s...

As I have been talking about on the last few episodes, mindfulness and chronic pain are related. Practicing mindfulness has been shown to decrease stress, improve mental health, increase immunity and decrease insomnia. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. You stop...

In this episode, I talk about how more mindful people are less likely to pain catastrophize.  Which means, they will create less pain from their brain. (Last Episode #69 I talked all about how fear causes the brain to PRODUCE more pain that you feel in the body- The Pain-Fear-Pain Cycle).   This week we dive into understanding mindfulness more by how they measure mindfulness in research.   Here ar...

This episode is all about how fear of pain causes the brain to CREATE more pain- the Pain-Fear-Pain Cycle. The way you recover from pain depends on how you respond to pain signals in your body. Many people with chronic pain tend to "catastrophize", or attach greater meaning or significance to pain.  There are also physiologic changes in the brain, making chronic pain sufferers more hypersensitive...

Do you know how therapy and coaching are different?     In this episode I tell you what therapy and coaching have in common, what their focuses are, and how to determine if therapy or coaching is for you!   For fresh content on healing chronic pain or disease, follow Betsy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bodyandmindlifecoach/   Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvXZSYYGL2cfJl-oEOzqsp...

In this episode  I talk all about the importance of the words you use!   Inspired today by this quote by Bruce Lee, “Don’t speak negatively about yourself, even as a joke.  Your body is energy and casts spells, that is why it is called spelling.  Change the way you speak about yourself, and you can change your life.  What you’re not changing, you are also choosing.” We can see how words matter wit...

This week I give you a short meditation that you can use to increase the feeling of safety in your body.   When you are feeling stressed, anxiety or chronic pain, you are essentially in fight or flight.  In this meditation, I help you find the PARASYMPATHETIC state of rest and repair (where your body can heal).    Feeling safe in your body is the number one way to rewire the brain and nervous syst...