In this episode I speak with Chartered Psychologist, nutrition expert, author and advocate for a Whole Body approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing, Kimberley Wilson.

Kimberley is a Psychologist with a master’s degree in nutrition and the author of How to Build a Healthy Brain published in 2020, and Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat is Fuelling our Mental Health Crisis (published in 2023). 

She has a private practice in central London, has served in the British national health service as a governor of a Mental Health Trust. She also previously led the therapy service at Europe’s largest women’s prison.

In this episode Kimberley and I discuss why the way we think about mental health, as separate from physical health, is seriously flawed. We talk about the importance of whole body mental health, that factors in nutrition and lifestyle and how they impact the brain.

Kimberley's training, knowledge and experience in these areas is incredible, and her passion for whole body mental health is infectious.

Connect with Kimberley:

Website: https://www.kimberleywilson.co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodandpsych/

Books: https://www.kimberleywilson.co/books

Today I’m speaking with someone who’s as passionate as I am about using his lived experience to help others struggling with chronic pain and stress. Peter Studenik’s life was turned upside down after he was diagnosed with tinnitus following a concert. Overwhelmed and frightened, unable to concentrate or even get a good night’s sleep, Peter sank into hopelessness and despair.

After struggling for three years Peter decided to take a more holistic approach, inspired by the latest research into prolonged tinnitus, which affects over 7 million adults in the United Kingdom alone.

Armed with this newfound knowledge, a renewed sense of motivation, and the support of skilled practitioners, Peter was able to completely cure his tinnitus and has been free of that incessant ringing in the ears since 2013.

Together we reflect on Peter’s experience, the framework he found so effective on his path to healing, and his realisation that resolving the underlying causes of his tinnitus was essential to his recovery. 

This episode is essential listening for anyone struggling with tinnitus, or interested in the mind-body connection and the connection between our psychological, emotional and physical health.

Connect with Peter:

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Connect with Karim:

Website: ⁠https://www.karim-rushdy.com⁠

Insight Timer: ⁠www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod

Today I’m speaking with Luke Doherty, founder of Mindful Peak Performance (MPP), a non-profit created to bring mindfulness into elite athletics and the business world. 

Luke trained as an elite rugby player and was capped for England under-18's. He went on to study law and then spent 7 years living and working at the London Buddhist Center before founding MPP, which has a strong social vision to make mindfulness more accessible, not only to professional athletes and business leaders, but to disadvantaged young people as well. 

MPP’s BAM! Boxing programmes received the UK Mindfulness Initiative's inaugural Innovations in Mindfulness Award, and MPP is now part of a consortium which advises the UK government’s department of Health and Social Care. 

Luke shares the challenges he faced as a young person aspiring to be an elite athlete, how he discovered mindfulness and even came close to walking a monastic path. We also speak about performance and wellbeing being two sides of the same coin, and how sportspeople, leaders and young people can benefit from cultivating and training their awareness. 

There were some minor issues with the audio at the start of our recording. A good opportunity to put your attentional capacities to the test and focus on the dialogue rather than the tech glitches which are now part and parcel of our modern lives.

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Connect with Karim:

Website: ⁠https://www.karim-rushdy.com⁠

Insight Timer: ⁠www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod

In this episode I’m speaking with London-based mindfulness guide, writer, researcher and photographer Menka Sanghvi. 

Menka is the founder of Just Looking, a creative project to spread curiosity and wonder. She is also the producer and host of the Mind Over Tech podcast, and the author of the highly acclaimed Fieldbook for Mindfulness Innovators. 

I got to know Menka because she serves alongside me as a Trustee for the Breathworks charity and she is also an advisor for several other wellbeing projects. 

Her background is multidisciplinary and incredibly impressive – with a degree in Physics from Cambridge University, extensive training in design thinking with IDEO and others, and a lifelong study of contemplative practices. Previously Menka led global innovation projects for the United Nations. 

Menka and I talk about her mindfulness journey, how we can start untangling ourselves from what she terms “intellectual tech” and how these technologies can either enable or undermine our wellbeing.

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Connect with Karim:

Website: ⁠https://www.karim-rushdy.com⁠

Insight Timer: ⁠www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod

Today I’m speaking with leadership coach, facilitator, journalist, sustainability expert and Zen mindfulness practitioner Jo Confino. Jo works at the intersection of personal transformation and systems change; His coaching practice focuses on supporting leaders within the climate movement.

Jo has worked closely for the past 16 years with the late great Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and his Buddhist monastic community in Plum Village. He is co-founder and co-presenter of the acclaimed podcast series ‘The Way Out Is In’ and is chair of the board of Parallax Press, which publishes books on mindfulness in daily life.

Jo’s career as a journalist spanned almost three decades, during which he served as executive editor and member of the senior leadership teams at the Huffpost and Guardian

In this episode Jo and I discuss the link between inner work and outer change. He shares his personal journey of discovery and healing, his relationship with Zen, and how mindfulness can help facilitate transformations in ourselves and the wider world.

I got so much out of having this conversation with Jo, and I hope you do too!

Connect with Jo: https://www.instagram.com/joconfino/

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Connect with Karim:

Website: ⁠https://www.karim-rushdy.com⁠

Insight Timer: ⁠www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod

Today I speak with one of the world’s foremost experts on pain management Dr. Howard Schubiner.  Dr. Schubiner is the director of the Mind Body Medicine Center at Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan, and a Clinical Professor at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He has authored three books: Unlearn Your Pain, Unlearn Your Anxiety and Depression, and Hidden From View.

Dr. Schubiner is also the co-creator of Emotion Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), an evidence-based, highly effective psychological treatment for chronic pain. He was part of the team that conducted the Boulder back pain study which demonstrated that 75% of the people with chronic back pain treated with Pain Reprocessing Therapy recovered fully and documented the changes in the brain that occurred with this treatment using function MRI scans. 

This is a fascinating and really informative conversation on the nature of pain and how we can overcome the suffering it causes. I hope you enjoy listening.

LINKS:

About:
Dr. Howard Schubiner is an internist and pediatrician, who attained the rank of full Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1999. He is an internist and the director of the Mind Body Medicine Center at Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan. Dr. Schubiner is a Clinical Professor at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and is a fellow in the American College of Physicians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has authored more than 100 publications in scientific journals and books, and lectures regionally, nationally, and internationally and has consulted for the American Medical Association, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Mental Health. Dr. Schubiner is the author of three books: Unlearn Your Pain, Unlearn Your Anxiety and Depression, and Hidden From View, written with Allan Abbass, MD, a Professor of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

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Connect with Karim:

Website: https://www.karim-rushdy.com

Insight Timer: www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod

Today I’m chatting with Pharmacist, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and founder of Chinese Herbal Pantry, Shirley Chong. 

Shirley’s father was also a Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM) practitioner and she earned her stripes in his dispensary and clinic before going onto study western pharmacy, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture.

Shirley and I talk about some of the foundational principles of TCM, how it differs from western medicine in its approach to diagnosing and treating ill health, and why sleeping before 11pm is critical to keep your Qi, or life force flowing.

Connect with Shirley:

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Connect with Karim:

Website: ⁠https://www.karim-rushdy.com⁠

Insight Timer: ⁠www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod

In today’s episode I sit down with Mindfulness Teacher, Trainer and Supervisor, Dr. Avinash Bansode.

A medical doctor by training, in 2003 Avinash founded Mindfully Being to pursue his passion for supporting the well-being, happiness, health and effectiveness of all. 4 years later he left medicine to become a full time mindfulness teacher and has not looked back.

Over the past 20 years Avinash has taught mindfulness in both academic and corporate settings. He was the first mindfulness chaplain at the University of Edinburgh, sits on the board of trustees of the mindfulness network in the UK, and in 2017 his unique, Kind And Mindful Approach to Life program was given an Impact Award

Avinash and I discuss his first experiences with mediation, the nuances of mindfulness, and its potential for radically transforming self and the world.

LINKS: 

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Connect with Karim:

Website: ⁠https://www.karim-rushdy.com⁠

Insight Timer: ⁠www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod

In this very special episode I speak with musician and composer Jonathan Adams, a.k.a Sonic Yogi about sound therapy.

Jonathan and I talk about his musical journey, the origin story of Sonic Yogi, and how he discovered the healing benefits of sound therapy after experiencing extreme anxiety. Since then Jonathan has become one of the most popular teachers on Insight Timer, the global meditation app with the world's largest free library of guided meditations. 

We also feature two of his tracks which are carefully composed to help listeners relax, de-stress and enjoy deeper meditation. 

To listen to the full tracks - check it out here:

I hope you relish the conversation, and Sonic Yogi’s wonderful music, as much as I did!
CONNECT WITH SONIC YOGI:
Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/sonicyogi
Wesbite: http://sonicyogi.com
About:
Jonathan Adams (a.k.a. Sonic Yogi) discovered the healing benefits of Sound Therapy after experiencing extreme anxiety. Since then, he has led talks and workshops on sound therapy at TedX, the National Spiritual Living conference and for the upcoming 2022 BOLD Mind-Body Conference in Los Angeles. He has composed many tracks which can be streamed on YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud and the Insight Timer app. Using his sound therapy expertise, Jonathan helps you relax, de-stress and enjoy deeper meditation. 
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Connect with Karim:

Website: ⁠https://www.karim-rushdy.com⁠

Insight Timer: ⁠www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod

In this episode, I sit down with Meg Chang to talk about Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction MBSR, an 8 week evidence-based program that offers secular intensive mindfulness training to assist people with stress, anxiety, depression, and pain.
 
Meg is also a longtime MBSR instructor who studied and began teaching at the original stress reduction clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center under the supervision of the creator of MBSR, Jon Kabat-Zinn. 

About Meg:
Meg Chang, EdD, BC-DMT, LCAT, NCC, is a board-certified and New York State licensed dance/movement therapist. Core faculty in the Lesley University Expressive Therapy Division. Recently she was adjunct faculty and in 2018-2019 was a visiting scholar in the Dance/Movement Therapy program. A certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher, she teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Hospital Center For Mindfulness, in Worcester, MA for people with a range of medical and psychological concerns.

Connect with Meg:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chang-meg-096226169/

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Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe to receive news about future shows, and leave a review, we would love to hear from you!

Connect with Karim:

Website: ⁠https://www.karim-rushdy.com⁠

Insight Timer: ⁠www.insighttimer.com/backtobeingmethod