A Healthy Curiosity

Maintaining a healthy alignment with our bodies so often comes back to keeping things balanced and our hormones are no different.

Dr. Felice Gersh is dedicated to helping women navigate life in an optimal way, particularly when it comes to the roles hormones play in aging. She joins this conversation to discuss her philosophy on how women can approach supporting their hormonal systems in a variety of ways.

When dealing with hormone imbalances, Dr. Gersh doesn't aim for "natural," but rather an alignment with the body's systems that optimizes physiology.

On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• Why we need to pay attention to the effects of hormones on women's health
• The other roles sex hormones play in the body aside from reproduction
• How estrogen metabolites interact with and support the heart
• Why she reframes bio-identical hormones as human identical
• What the role of testosterone is in women's bodies

Felice Gersh, M.D. is an award-winning physician with dual board certifications in OB-GYN and Integrative Medicine. She is the founder and director of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine, a comprehensive women's healthcare practice. She taught obstetrics and gynecology at Keck USC School of Medicine for 12 years as an Assistant Clinical Professor and now serves as an Affiliate Faculty Member at the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine through the University of Arizona School of Medicine. Felice is the bestselling author of PCOS SOS and has published several articles in peer-reviewed medical journals. She has also appeared in several films and documentary series, including The Real Skinny on Fat with Montel Williams and Fasting with Valter Longo, Ph.D.

Links:

PCOS SOS by Dr. Felice Gersh, M.D.

Connect With Dr. Felice Gersh, M.D.:

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Learn more about the kinder, gentler Ayurvedic cleanse

Chinese Medicine teaches us that winter is a time of quiet and stillness, a time for reflecting and conserving scarce resources.

As we reflect on how we navigate the world, it's also a good time to get radically honest with ourselves about what we're holding space for in our lives. With the podcast entering a new, slower period of creation, it can be helpful to examine and take a break from things that we're keeping in motion just for the sake of motion. We can look inward and honor what our body and mind are telling us - to say no to things that are unnecessary so we can leave space open for the things that are.

On Today's Solo Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• What the new era of the podcast will focus on
• An overview of how seasons and timing are reflected in Chinese Medicine
• Why breaks are so important and yin engenders yang
• One way to test if tiredness is truly fatigue or just stagnating energy

Links:

Episode 220: Q+A - 5 Elements for Personal Growth & Getting Out of the Way

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Explore the Basics of Chinese Medicine course

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine have been used for centuries to treat a variety of ailments in the population.

In this episode, we'll explore how that treatment made it's way into the American mainstream as well as answering some listener questions about the practice. We'll take a look at how the 5 elements interact with different individuals and we'll examine what it means to get out of the way.

On Today's Solo Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• How the Black Panthers and acupuncture intersected in the early 1970s
• Why generalizing about the elements can be complicated
• Commonalities in how Chinese Medicine practitioners can work with people
• Ideas for getting out of the way to allow healing to happen

Links:

Unusual Tale of Acupuncture, Racism, and African American History in the USA by Dr. Tenisha Dandridge

Mutulu Shakur: On The History Of Acupuncture & COINTELPRO

Lincoln Detox Center: The People's Drug Program

Radical Health: A Threat to a Nation - Mia Donovan on her new film 'Dope Is Death'

Dr. Tenisha Dandridge

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Explore the Basics of Chinese Medicine course

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Having recently explored the biomedical aspects of acupuncture on the show, this conversation takes an interesting counterpoint to examine how this modality also walks in the world of energy medicine. In addition to the more physical facets of healing, the power of your body's own intelligence and consciousness plays a very significant role in the process.

Dr. Jill Blakeway works with patients to ground in their physical bodies and connect to their energy field as a means to holistic healing. Her insights guide us into an exploration of ways that we can prompt our bodies to self-healing abilities.

On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• How acupuncture fits into the energy medicine picture
• Why a lot of chronic diseases she sees result from miscommunication
• What role the placebo effect can play in acupuncture
• Why removing the sense of separate self is crucial to helping patients heal
• An example of a practice to help cultivate a connection with your own energy field

Jill Blakeway is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM), a licensed and board-certified acupuncturist (LAc), and clinical herbalist practicing energy healing for over 20 years. Jill founded the Yinova Center in NYC in 1999 and acts as Clinic Director. Blakeway is the co-author of Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility, the author of Sex Again: Recharging your Libido and recently published her third book Energy Medicine: The Science and Mystery of Healing. Jill was the first acupuncturist to ever give a TEDTalk, at TEDGlobal in 2012.

Links:

Electric Frog Face video

Episode 189: The Evidence for Acupuncture with Dr. Mel Hopper Koppelman

Episode 203: How Acupuncture Works - The Science Behind the Healing with Mark Whalen

Episode 206: Chronic Pain, Migraines, Brain Injuries - Acupuncture & Functional Neurology with Dr. Ayla Wolf

Connect With Jill Blakeway:

Website

Books

Blog

Instagram

Facebook

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Suffering from chronic pain is not a sign of brokenness, it's part of the human experience. If you're interested in exploring the idea of chronic pain and what we can do about it, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

Dr. Joe Tatta provides a more contextual approach to chronic pain and explains how mindfulness can aid in the healing process. By learning to relate to our body and mind differently, we can reconnect with resiliency and begin to heal.

On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• How the brain contributes to chronic pain
• Different ways to begin retraining the brain to forget pain
• What acceptance and commitment therapy is and how it can help with pain
• Examples of experiential exercises from Dr. Tatta's book, Radical Relief
• Why trying to fight negative thoughts can make them more persistent

Dr. Joe Tatta is a global leader in integrative pain care and an advocate for the safe and effective treatment of chronic pain. He is the Founder of the Integrative Pain Science Institute, a cutting-edge health company reinventing pain care through evidence-based treatment, research, and professional development. For 25 years he has supported people living with pain and helped practitioners deliver more effective pain management. His research and career achievements include scalable practice models centered on lifestyle medicine, health behavior change, and digital therapeutics. He is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Board-Certified Nutrition Specialist, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy trainer. Dr. Tatta is the author of two bestselling books Radical Relief and Heal Your Pain Now and host of The Healing Pain Podcast.

Links:

Episode 58: How to Heal Your Pain Now with Dr. Joe Tatta

Radical Relief by Dr. Joe Tatta

Heal Your Pain Now by Dr. Joe Tatta

Episode 203: How Acupuncture Works - The Science Behind the Healing with Mark Whalen

Episode 206: Chronic Pain, Migraines, Brain Injuries - Acupuncture & Functional Neurology with Dr. Ayla Wolf

Connect With Dr. Joe Tatta:

Website

Podcast

YouTube

Facebook

Twitter

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In our journey of learning to embody self-respect, it's always important to include respecting our bodies. After centuries of propaganda from the beauty industry and other societal mechanisms, the internalized oppression against women's bodies has shifted over time, but is as virulent as ever today.

Lauren Geertsen views it as a generational responsibility to end female body hate. As a body connection coach and the author of The Invisible Corset, Lauren shares what she's learned to help us find the innate intelligence of our bodies that can lead us towards wellness and joy.

On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• Why she wrote The Invisible Corset
• The societal manipulations that Lauren identifies as the five strings of the corset
• What advice she has for starting to break down some of this programming
• An example of a practice to explore in order to be more in partnership with your body

Lauren Geertsen is a Body Connection Coach who helps women heal their relationship with food and body image. In her previous work as a nutrition consultant, Lauren realized the underlying problem for her clients was distrust of their bodies, which results from wearing the invisible corset. Her website, empoweredsustenance.com, has supported over 40 million readers with holistic recipes and resources.

Links:

The Invisible Corset by Lauren Geertsen

Episode 130: Trusting Your Body with Lauren Geertsen

Floral Song Flower Essences

Connect With Lauren Geertsen:

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Facebook

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A lot of us that are working toward personal growth and evolution are always looking for ways to avoid getting triggered and getting reactive. If you're curious about why it is that, despite your efforts to grow, you're not moving through the world like the most highly evolved version of yourself, this episode is definitely for you.

Michelle Chalfant has designed a manual for life that blends simple psychology and grounded spirituality: The Adult Chair. Despite growing physically, we often don't grow emotionally and spiritually in equal measure so Michelle is here to share advice on how to open our eyes and move to the Adult Chair.

On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• What the Adult Chair is and how it relates to the other chairs Michelle references
• Why we need to recognize when we're being triggered and own that as our reality
• How to take 90 seconds to start processing emotions
• Michelle's advice for busting up the negative stories that we attach to our emotions

Michelle Chalfant is a therapist, holistic life coach, author, podcaster, motivational speaker and developer of The Adult Chair Model, a transformational model of self-realization that helps people across the globe discover who they are, become unstuck, improve their relationships and develop self-love.

Michelle hosts The Adult Chair podcast, where simple psychology meets grounded spirituality and where she gives people the tools and techniques needed to find their power and transform their lives.

With over 25 years of experience in all areas of self-healing, you can learn more about Michelle and her offerings by visiting TheAdultChair.com.

Links:

Donna Eden

Michelle's free journaling prompts

The Adult Chair by Michelle Chalfant

Connect With Michelle Chalfant:

The Adult Chair

Podcast

YouTube

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Facebook

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As we're coming to the close of a particularly difficult year, we're all probably feeling pretty stressed. For kids who have been thrust into online school, an uncertain world, and an equally uncertain future, the stress can be even more pronounced.

If you're a parent, or really anyone, navigating stress, distress, and anxiety, you'll definitely want to listen in to this conversation with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge.

Roseann primarily works with helping kids connect to body sensations to find ways to reduce stress and build stress tolerance, but her advice could really help any of us. Approaching sensations through somatic therapies, Roseann provides lots of insight and examples of how we can ground ourselves to get comfortable in our bodies.

On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• What makes the breath is such an important tool
• Why she believes in a bottom-up approach to mental health, starting in the body
• What kinds of of body signals Roseann encourages people to focus on
• How she works with introducing breathwork to people who may be resistant at first

Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge is a mental health trailblazer, founder of The Global Institute of Children's Mental Health, and media expert who is, "Changing the way we view and treat children's mental health".

Her work has helped thousands reverse the most challenging conditions: ADHD, anxiety, mood, Lyme, and PANS/PANDAS using PROVEN holistic therapies. She is the author of the first ever book on teletherapy activities for child and adolescent therapists, "Teletherapy Toolkit™" and It's Gonna be OK!™ book and The Get Unstuck Program™, which are resources for parents to reverse their child's symptoms. She is often featured on dozens of media outlets: Fox, CBS, NBC, FORBES, PARENTS, and New York Times.

Links:

Teletherapy Toolkit by Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge

Dr. Peter Levine - Somatic Experiencing

Headspace

Calm

HeartMath

Get the free resource with over 100 coping statements to help children and teens deal with stress!

Connect With Roseann Capanna-Hodge:

Website

Global Institute of Children's Mental Health

YouTube

Instagram

Facebook

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What does it mean to be embodied?

To start cultivating embodiment, we can often begin by bringing more focus to what it's like to inhabit our body rather than just where we are. The body does a lot more than just act as a vehicle to move the brain around from place to place.

Brooke Thomas uses a variety of methods and media to help others onto the path of embodiment. As she joins this conversation, she brings lots of excellent insight into that process to help us start connecting to our genuine lived experience.

On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• What embodiment means to Brooke
• What the three dimensions of experience are
• How she starts to help people learn to check in with their bodies
• Why ease is hallmark of discernment
• Walking through a sensory practice that Brooke uses to help people start shifting their being

Brooke Thomas works in a variety of ways to teach about how to cultivate a relationship with our bodies, and therefore with our being, and how that can have a profound positive impact on an individual and collective level. At its core, her work is a lived inquiry about what it means to shift out of a mental/conceptual lens and into an embodied/experiential lens. This shift truly changes everything about how we meet ourselves and the world.

She is a Realization Process teacher who works with clients one-on-one as an embodied coach, and does group work within the online embodied practice community, Liberated Being. She was a Rolfer in private practice for 20 years prior to this work. She has run two podcasts, Liberated Being (formerly known as Liberated Body), and Bliss + Grit, which she co-created with her friend Vanessa Scotto.

Links:

Judith Blackstone

Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich

Connect With Brooke Thomas:

Website

Liberated Being

Liberated Being Podcast

Bliss and Grit Podcast

YouTube

Instagram

Facebook

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Find out how to enroll in the Level Up course (on sale through the end of 2020!)

Want to practice attuning to Fundamental Consciousness? Download a free meditation here. You'll also be subscribed to Brodie's delightfully infrequent newsletter; of course you can unsubscribe at any time.

As we continue to investigate ways we can use our bodies to affect our minds, we're taking a deeper look at qi gong and how we can use the practice to change how our energy is flowing. An energy exercise that blends intention, breath, and the shape of our bodies, qi gong is a powerful tool to help realign both the physical and energetic systems.

Febrice Piché is here to teach us more about qi gong in a really grounded, down to earth way that's easily accessible. With the wide ranging benefits these practices have, Fabrice believes they can ultimately help us develop the ability to be fully human.

On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:

• How Fabrice explains gasotransmitters and their functions
• What the difference is between medical qi gong and qi gong in general
• Why most qi gong practices can be helpful for almost everyone
• Some of Fabrice's tips to enhance a breathing practice
• What benefits we can get from focusing on our breath and how we breathe

Fabrice discovered Qigong and Chinese Medicine in 1997 at the National Institute of Chinese Medicine in Montreal (Canada).

In 2009, he began specializing in Medical Qigong with the International Institute of Medical Qigong, in Palm Desert, California.

In 2011, he had the privilege to study with Professor Lin Housheng, Director of the Shanghai Qigong Research Institute and creator of the Taiji Qigong Shibashi system.

A pioneer in teaching Qigong online, specializing in Medical Qigong and its use in Chinese Medicine therapy, Fabrice is passionate about linking cutting edge science and ancient healing arts.

Links:

Episode 129: Cultivating Energy with Qigong with Lee Holden

US Health Qigong Association

Connect With Fabrice Piché:

Website

YouTube

Instagram

Facebook

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Learn more about Brodie's Classes and Meditations