Brain Shaman

In this solo episode, we explore the myriad of everyday ways we exhale beyond traditional breathing practices. While techniques like the physiological sigh or the 4-7-8 breath are great, there are plenty of other, often overlooked ways to exhale that can be just as effective yet easy and fun.

From screaming and laughing to crying and humming, discover how everyday actions like singing, whistling, blowing on your food or furniture, and even blowing raspberries, bubbles, or kisses, or farting and spitting, can serve as excellent ways to exhale and thereby calm down, reduce your energy and anxiety, and balance out your nervous system and mood.

Embrace these natural exhalations, get creative, and explore ever more ways to get playful with your breath and life.

Alex Korb is a neuroscientist, author, and personal development coach. In this episode, we explore how to better understand and redirect your unique brain and life. While we all share certain neural circuits, each person's system is wired differently. By applying the iterative process of science and self-inquiry, you can discover your own unique path forward — helping to free your brain and create a happier life.

We discuss the importance of identifying what truly matters to you and focusing on what’s within your control — and paying less energy and attention to the rest. Learn to listen to your emotions and use them as a guide. Question your motivations, accept that you can't have it all, and embrace the fact that your brain and life are constantly evolving. By continually updating your mental map and set of actions, you can better navigate this ever-changing neural and existential landscape.

In this episode, you'll also discover:

• Key brain circuits, including the striatum and prefrontal cortex
• Simple yet powerful mindset shifts
• Strategies for habit change
• Common excuses for staying stuck
• Why even smart people struggle with self-defeating habits and inaction
• The pitfalls of black-and-white thinking
• The hidden strengths of your “bad” brain
• Why your brain resembles the stock market
• How to approach your unique brain like a scientist
• Do-it-yourself tools for changing your brain's biology and elevating your life

RESOURCES

BOOKS
- The Upward Spiral by Alex Korb

PLACES
- UCLA Brain Mapping Center

VOCABULARY
- amygdala
- butterfly effect
- dorsal striatum
- electroencephalography (EEG)
- functional MRI (fMRI)
- nonlinear systems
- sea slug
- striatum


**Connect and Learn More**
website: alexkorbphd.com
book: The Upward Spiral
Facebook: @alexkorbphd
Instagram: @alexkorbphd
X: @alexkorbphd

In this episode, our guest is Jonathan Dornell, the co-host of the Let's Get Oral podcast. We explore the oral microbiome and how to understand and nurture this vital ecosystem to optimize your brain and body health.

You'll learn about key topics like: nitric oxide, neurogastronomy, and how simple habits - like chewing mindfully, eating a balanced diet, and avoiding mouthwash and teeth whitening - can protect your oral microbiome, possibly reducing risks for conditions like caries (cavities), dementia, and heart disease.

We also discuss the relationship between bacteria and humans, smell and taste perception, the benefits of slowing down, and the role of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics, as well as how sugar and sweet flavors influence our oral and overall health.

RESOURCES

BACTERIA
- Candida albicans
- Lactobacillus
- Prevotella
- Prevotella intermedia
- Porphyromonas gingivalis
- Rothia
- Streptococcus mutans
- Treponema denticola
- Veillonella
- Veillonella dispar
- Veillonella parvula

BOOKS
- If Your Mouth Could Talk by Kami Hoss

ORGANIZATIONS
- American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH)
- The Integrative Dental Medicine Scholar Society

OTHER VOCAB
- Amylase
- Arginine
- Biofilm
- Commensal
- Culturomics
- Electron micrograph
- Lozenge
- Neurogastronomy
- Nitrates
- Periopathogen
- Periodontitis
- Retronasal smell
- Supertaster
- Xylitol

PAPERS
- Did the Brain and Oral Microbiota Talk to Each Other? A Review of the Literature
- The Oral-Microbiome-Brain Axis and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: An Anthropological Perspective


**CONNECT & LEARN MORE**
website: letsgetoral.com
podcast: Let's Get Oral
IG: @letsgetoral
LinkedIn: /jddornell

In this episode, our guest is Dr. Lara Salyer, a functional medicine practitioner, author, podcaster, and coach. We discuss burnout and how to overcome it by tapping into flow and using functional medicine.

Key Topics Covered: 

• Burnout: Causes, diagnosis, physiology, prevention strategies, and Dr. Salyer's personal story. 
• Flow: Neurochemistry, phenomenology, the four phases of the flow cycle (struggle, release, flow, and recovery), triggers, and blockers.
• Functional Medicine: Core principles, inflammation, the effects of alcohol, plant medicine (including psilocybin and cannabis), and more.
• Holistic well-being: Creativity, play, emotional expression, community, creating boundaries, and tips for workplace satisfaction. 

RESOURCES

BOOKS
- Right Brain Rescue by Dr. Lara Salyer
- Start With Why by Simon Sinek

ORGANIZATIONS
- Drink Wisconsibly
- Flow Research Collective
- The Institute for Functional Medicine

PEOPLE
- Archimedes
- Jeffrey Bland
- Mark Hyman
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Simon Sinek
- Steven Kotler
- William Shakespeare

VOCABULARY
- anandamide
- Apo-E
- Archimedes' principle
- Cannabidiol (CBD)
- cannabis
- dysbiosis
- functional medicine
- growth mindset
- MDMA
- norepinephrine
- osteopathy
- oxytocin
- psilocybin

**Connect and Learn More**
   website: drlarasalyer.com
   Instagram: @drlarasalyer
   book: Right Brain Rescue
   podcast: The Catalyst 

In this episode, our guest is Nicolas Luna, a language and communication coach. We dive into the secrets of learning and mastering any language, regardless of whether you're a beginner or at an upper-intermediate level.

Key Topics Covered: 

• Overcoming barriers: Uncover and overcome your fears, increase your confidence, abandon your ego, and let go of limiting identities and habits.
• Stealthy Techniques: Play, stories, music, games, improv, journaling, mindfulness, social media, mentors, and more.
• Personal Growth: Embrace discomfort, work hard, identify and pursue your goals, tap into your needs, do what you love, follow your gut instincts, enter flow, and keep the process fun.
• Teaching Tips: Learn strategies to make language learning more enjoyable and effective for both teachers and students, regardless of class size or age.

RESOURCES

BOOKS
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

CHARACTERS
- Chewbacca
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Yoda

MOVIES
- Transformers

PEOPLE
- Benjamin Lee Whorf
- Daniele Scuteri
- Edward Sapir
- Michael Bungay Stanier
- Noam Chomsky

PLACES
- Chiang Mai
- Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders
- UC Berkeley

VOCABULARY
- Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
- Education Abroad Program (EAP)
- flow
- mentalese
- oxytocin
- Pareto principle (80/20 rule)
- Prussian education system
- Quechua
- Sapir-Wharf hypothesis
- Seven Factors of Awakening


**Connect or Learn More**
website: nicolaslunafleck.com
Instagram: @nicolaslunafleck
italki: italki.com/en/teacher/4815496
LinkedIn: /nicolas-luna-a0bb5820
podcast: The Language Journey

In this episode, our guest is ADHD coach Penny Kennedy. We talk all about ADHD - what it is, what it is not, the neuroscience, dopamine, challenges, frustrations, strengths, and more.

We discuss various tools to help people with ADHD (or anyone experiencing challenges with executive functioning), including: nutrition, supplements, cold exposure, discomfort, exercise, technology, social connection, coaching, retreats, nature, pausing, and slowing things down.

Connect with Penny, learn more, or get a free consultation at: www.advanceadhd.com

BOOKS
 - ADHD 2.0 by Ned Hallowell
- Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke
- Living With Adult ADHD by Bernadette Ashton
- Out of My Skull by James Danckert & John Eastwood
- Taking Charge of Adult ADHD by Russell Barkley

EVENTS
- Darshan (eye gazing event)
- Fairwood Escape (ADHD retreat)
- Vipassana Meditation (course / retreat)

PEOPLE
- Andrew Huberman
- Anna Lembke
- Bernadette Ashton
- James Danckert
- John Eastwood
- Ned Hallowell
- Russell Barkley
- Thomas Brown
- Tom Cruise
- Wim Hof

SUPPLEMENTS
- L-tyrosine
- Elite Focus
- get dopa
- lion's mane

VOCABULARY
- body doubling
- cob house
- Gower Peninsula (place)
- Swansea (place)
- yurt

**Connect & Learn More**
website: www.advanceadhd.com
Facebook: @penny872
LinkedIn: /penny-kennedy-calc-acc
X: @AdvanceADHD

In this episode, our guest is Janet Gourand, the founder of Tribe Sober, an alcohol sobriety community and podcast. We discuss alcohol blackouts and other alcohol-related dangers.

Learn all about blackouts (and brownouts) - risks, causes, science, signs, interactions, preventative measures, horror stories, and more. And become reminded of alcohol's scary links to crime, violence, disease, and even death. One of these times, you could wake up from your blackout inside a hospital, jail cell, or not at all.

Entering into and navigating sobriety can be hard at first. So Janet shares various tools that help, such as: social connection, joining a community, and having a project or goal.

Alcohol might shut down the brain, but sobriety can help power it back up, increasing things like energy, motivation, mood, creativity, imagination, and connection.

RESOURCES

BOOKS
- Blackout by Sarah Hepola
- We Are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen
- Why You're Unhappy by Loretta Breuning

COMPANIES
- Miller Brewing Company
- Philip Morris

COMMUNITIES
- Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
- Tribe Sober

PEOPLE
- Ernest Hemingway
- Jeffrey Dahmer
- Laura McKowen
- Loretta Breuning
- Lucy Denith
- Sarah Hepola

PLACES
- Cape Town
- Johannesburg
- London
- Sapporo

PODCAST EPISODES
- Why You're Unhappy with Dr Loretta Breuning (Tribe Sober, 1/20/2024)
- Playing Russian Roulette... with Alcohol - Michael Waite (Tribe Sober, 4/13/2024)

TV SERIES
- Dahmer – Monster

VOCABULARY
- Ativan
- benzodiazepines
- brownouts
- CBD
- CB1 receptor
- hippocampus
- ketamine
- THC

**Connect, learn more, or join the community**
website: tribesober.com
Instagram: @tribesober

In this episode, we talk with Julia Yanker, an adventurer, coach, and Somatic Experiencing Practictioner. We discuss her experiences with adventure sports, trauma, nature, and healing through Somatic Experiencing (SE).

Learn about the neuropsychology behind the world of adventure sports, as well as the dangers, drugs, psychosocial dynamics, addictions, anxieties, traumas, disembodiment, and other issues often involved.

Discover new ways to safely and gently re-connect with your body, emotions, self, world, and others, such as through: somatic experiencing, nature, touch, physical exercises, memory, imagination, reparenting, therapy, coaching, support groups, loving self talk, and good environments & people.

We live in a society that pressures us to be disembodied, stressed, consuming, distracted, busy, productive, obedient little robots. But you don't have to live that way. You can remove the distractions, re-enter your body, heal your nervous system and childhood & relationship wounds, and live a more happy authentic connected life. Somatic experiencing and the other tools & ideas discussed today can help take you there.

RESOURCES

BOOKS
- Healing Developmental Trauma by Laurence Heller & Aline LaPierre
- Power of Attachment by Diane Poole Heller
- Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker
- The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate

CONCEPTS
- attachment theory
- avoidant attachment style
- Bwiti
- co-regulation
- disorganized attachment style
- Global High Intensity Activation (GHIA)
- Integral Somatic Psychology

PEOPLE
- Aline LaPierre
- Diane Poole Heller
- Gabor Mate
- Holly Whitaker
- Laurence Heller
- Loretta Breuning
- Mother Teresa
- Peter Levine
- Raja Selvam

PLACES
- Beartooth Mountains
- Bozeman, Montana
- Hokkaido
- Sistine Chapel

**Learn more and connect**
website: juliayanker.com
Facebook: /julia.yanker
Instagram: @juliayankercoaching

In this episode, our guest is Robert Cefoli, the Director of Health and Fitness at FDNY and Co-Founder of Fyr Tribe, a non-profit dedicated to helping firefighters recover from trauma. We discuss the work environment, the stress and trauma that firefighters are exposed to, the bio-psycho-social health challenges they face, the state of their mind and body, and how body-based therapies like TRE (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises), foam rolling, and breathwork can help.

Enter the mind and body of a New York City firefighter, husband, and father, as Captain Cefoli shares uncensored stories from his 20+ year journey, bleeds out his pains and struggles, and teaches us how to build resilience and strength, handle stress, and release our trauma and tension.

These are lessons applicable to not just firefighters, but anyone living in the chaos and madness of modern society. If you are a parent, first responder, retiree, divorcee, addict, or have a high-stress job, this set of tools and information will likely resonate with you. Yet this is for anyone who has experienced trauma or stress and wants to come back to life. If you are ready, listen in, let go, and shake your past troubles away.

Warning: this episode contains profanity and graphic content.


RESOURCES

PEOPLE
 - Adrian Caban
- David Berceli

 TOOLS
- ashwagandha
- cold exposure
- foot grounding
- magnesium
- myofascial release
- TRE (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises)
- sound frequencies

**Connect & Learn More**
Instagram: @fyr_tribe
website: fyrtribe.org

In this episode, we dig into a study that compares breathwork protocols with mindfulness meditation - 'Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal' (published in Cell Reports Medicine in January 2023).

Learn about 3 breathing exercises (box breathing, cyclic sighing, and cyclic hyperventilation) and a mindfulness meditation exercise. See how their pyschophysiological effects differ from one another and why the cyclic sigh was shown to be most powerful in reducing anxiety, reducing sympathetic arousal, and improving mood.

RESOURCES

COMPANIES
- Oura
- Tianren Culture
- Toudou
- Whoop
- YouKu

PEOPLE
- Andrew Huberman
- Andrew Weil
- Bita Nouriani
- Booil Jo
- Daniele Scuteri
- David Spiegel
- Eric Neri
- Gary Holl
- Jamie Zeitzer
- Lara Weed
- Manuela Kogon
- Melis Yilmaz Balban
- Victor Koo
- Will Ahmed
- Wim Hof

VOCABULARY
- CO2 tolerance test
- respiratory sinus arrhythmia