Integrative Women's Health Podcast

Nervous system regulation has become one of those phrases we hear everywhere, but there’s still a lot of confusion around what it actually means. We tend to associate it with things that make us feel calmer, like breathwork or meditation, but feeling calm in the moment and having a regulated nervous system aren’t necessarily the same thing. It’s normal to feel anxious sometimes. We’re supposed to get angry, excited, sad, and overwhelmed. Nervous system regulation is about having the capacity to experience all of that without getting stuck and to come back to a place where we feel present and connected again.

Understanding this is especially important when we’re working with women who have spent years dealing with chronic illness, pain, or medical gaslighting. By the time she gets to us, her nervous system may have had years of experiences where she didn’t feel heard, believed, or safe. On top of that, we bring our own nervous systems into the treatment room too. If we’re overwhelmed, activated, or uncomfortable with what a patient is sharing, she may feel that. So this work isn’t only about giving our patients more nervous system tools. It’s also about building our capacity to stay present, get curious about what safety looks like for each person, and become better co-regulators for the people we serve.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Michael Roesslein, founder of Anima, to dig into what nervous system regulation means and why it’s so much more individualized than we sometimes make it sound. We talk about fight, flight, fawn, freeze, and shutdown states, why constantly trying to calm an activated nervous system can actually be counterproductive, medical gaslighting, trauma, the ways women learn to experience safety from a very young age, why doing all the “right” things for your health sometimes still isn’t enough, increasing our capacity for difficult emotions as well as joy, working with our own nervous systems as practitioners, learning to recognize what each individual patient may need to feel safer and more supported, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/what-really-is-nervous-system-regulation-with-michael-roesslein/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

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When someone has been living with chronic illness for years, talking to them about the nervous system can be really tricky. So many of our patients have already been told that their symptoms are due to anxiety, their tests look “normal,” or they just need to push through. The last thing we want to do is make someone feel like we're saying their illness isn't real. Because it is. There may be infection, inflammation, immune dysfunction, environmental exposures, pain, or other very real physiological issues happening, and the nervous system is also responding to everything the body has been through.

This is why we need so much more nuance around nervous system regulation and chronic illness. Helping someone build more resilience doesn't mean pretending that every environment is safe or that we can think our way out of a physiological illness. We can reduce environmental risks where we can, support the physiology, and use tools like breathwork, somatics, co-regulation, and trauma work to help the nervous system feel safer too. And somewhere in all of that, we also have to help our patients get back to living. Healing shouldn't become a full-time job where they need to constantly monitor whether they're doing everything perfectly.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by physical therapist and neuroscience-based mind-body practitioner Dr. Cathleen King, founder of Primal Trust™ Academy & Community. Cathleen shares her own experience with complex chronic illness and how nervous system work became such an important part of her recovery, the physiology behind nervous system regulation, medical trauma, why sequencing matters in chronic illness care, building a sense of safety when life doesn't always feel safe, and the identity shifts that can happen as someone begins to get better, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/is-it-all-in-your-head-healing-chronic-illness-with-nervous-system-regulation-with-dr-cathleen-king/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

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So many of the women we work with have spent decades being really good at pushing through. We can function on too little sleep, fit in the hard workout, restrict our food when our weight starts creeping up, take care of everyone, build a career, and keep going. Then we hit perimenopause and suddenly those same strategies don’t work the way they used to. Recovery is slower, sleep changes, body composition shifts, and our tolerance for stress is different. Trying harder won’t necessarily get us where we want to go.

There’s also a gut piece to this that we don’t talk about enough. As estrogen shifts through perimenopause and menopause, the gut microbiome changes too, with downstream effects on the immune system, brain, heart, bones, metabolism, and hormonal health. Then layer chronic stress, under-fueling, poor sleep, or too much intense exercise on top of that, and we can start to understand why simply prescribing more protein, more exercise, or intermittent fasting isn’t always the right answer. Sometimes the most therapeutic thing we can help a woman do is eat enough, recover better, slow down, and gradually rebuild resilience.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Cynthia Thurlow, nurse practitioner, Everyday Wellness podcast host, and author, to talk about the gut microbiome in perimenopause and menopause. We discuss how declining estrogen changes the microbiome, the connection between gut and immune health, autoimmune and post-viral conditions, and why stress management has to be part of the clinical conversation, how her approach to intermittent fasting has changed, when fasting may do more harm than good, the importance of eating enough protein and fiber, protecting muscle and bone as we age, diet culture and GLP-1s, why midlife often requires women to rethink the habits that got them here, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/menopause-and-the-gut-microbiome-with-cynthia-thurlow/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

AI is becoming part of healthcare, whether we’re ready for it or not. On one hand, there are real concerns around privacy, accuracy, and relying too heavily on technology when clinical judgment is still essential. But on the other hand, these tools can help us do what humans simply aren't very good at: holding enormous amounts of information at once and recognizing connections across genetics, medications, labs, the microbiome, medical history, and different areas of clinical research.

Going that deep and wide has huge potential in women's health, where our clients rarely fit neatly into one specialty. Hormones could be interacting with the gut, nervous system, immune system, medications, nutrition, genetics, and an existing chronic illness all at the same time. As practitioners, we still have to ask good questions, understand the person sitting in front of us, and use our clinical judgment. But the right AI tools could help us bring together more of her story, see connections we might otherwise miss, and make better-informed decisions without losing the human relationship that makes good healthcare possible.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Neena Haider, geneticist and founder and CEO of Shifa Precision, to talk about how AI can be used more thoughtfully in clinical care. We discuss using genetics, microbiome data, biomarkers, medical records, and other health information to build a more complete picture of an individual patient, how AI can help clinicians work across specialties and reduce errors, why general AI chatbots are very different from tools designed specifically for clinical decision support, how to think about AI and privacy, AI hallucinations, environmental costs, gaps in women’s health research, why learning to use these technologies responsibly is becoming an important part of being a healthcare practitioner, and more.

EEnjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/your-shifa-precision-ai-powered-molecular-twin-with-dr-neena-haider/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

We’ve spent decades shifting our thinking about the quality of our food and water, but most of us are only beginning to have the same conversation about the air we breathe. Unlike food or water, we’re breathing all day and all night without really thinking about what might be in that air. Mold spores, smoke, viruses, allergens, chemicals from furniture and building materials, and other tiny particles can all become part of the indoor environment where our clients and we are trying to work, sleep, exercise, learn, and recover.

For women’s health practitioners especially, this gives us another piece of the environment to consider when a client is struggling with brain fog, fatigue, poor sleep, chronic illness, or frequent infections. While can’t control every exposure, creating healthier air doesn’t have to mean completely rebuilding a home or clinic. Sometimes opening windows when appropriate and adding effective air filtration to the rooms where people spend the most time is a practical place to start. The same is true in our clinics, our children’s classrooms, and other spaces where we want people to breathe, think, heal, and function well.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Justin Liberman of Jaspr to talk about indoor air quality and how we can begin creating healthier spaces for ourselves, our families, and our clients. We discuss why indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air, what to look for when choosing an air filter, HEPA and carbon filtration, filtering mold, viruses, smoke, and chemicals, how room size and ceiling height affect filtration, how often filters need to be changed, cleaner air in schools and clinical spaces, what we’re learning about air quality and illness, why clean air deserves a place alongside clean food and water as one of the foundations of health, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/how-to-have-clean-water-food-and-air-in-homes-schools-and-offices-with-justin-liberman-of-jaspr/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

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Seed cycling is one of the tools that comes up all the time in women’s health conversations. There’s a long history of using seeds and other plant-based approaches to support hormonal health, and plenty of women who feel better when they use them. At the same time, the conventional research on seed cycling is still relatively limited. As practitioners working across traditional, integrative, and conventional medicine, we need to be able to hold both of those things at once. We can stay open to tools that may be helpful while continuing to ask good questions about how they work, who they’re appropriate for, and what the research actually tells us.

This doesn’t have to be an either-or conversation between seed cycling and something like hormone therapy. For some women, seed cycling can be another layer of support alongside nutrition, movement, stress regulation, and other foundational strategies. For others, it can offer a more natural option as they decide what they want to do next. There are also contraindications and times when it may not be appropriate, which is why understanding the physiology and the individual woman in front of us matters.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Terry Chang and Dr. Ulrike Kaunzner, co-founders of Two Moons Health, to take a deeper look at seed cycling and the emerging research behind it. We talk about how flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds may support different phases of the menstrual cycle, the role of nutrients, fiber, lignans, and chasteberry, early results from their clinical study on PMS symptoms, seed cycling through perimenopause, contraindications to be aware of, how practitioners can think about the current evidence, making traditional wellness practices more realistic for busy women, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/seed-cycling-and-womens-health-with-two-moons-health/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

For a long time, the functional medicine approach to gut health focused on getting rid of what shouldn’t be there. It was all about finding the overgrowth, using antimicrobials, adding probiotics, and rebuilding. Those tools are still useful, but our understanding of the microbiome has become much more sophisticated. Now, we can think about restoring the gut’s ecosystem, including the keystone species that help create an environment where beneficial bacteria can thrive, and opportunistic bacteria have a much harder time taking over.

With the complex clients we see as women’s health practitioners, this shift becomes especially important. Someone with endometriosis, histamine intolerance, MCAS, long COVID, metabolic dysfunction, or significant digestive symptoms may not be able to jump straight into eating 45 grams of fiber a day. Sometimes we have to work in a very specific order, supporting digestion, reducing overgrowth, rebuilding beneficial species, and then gradually giving those microbes the fibers and polyphenols they need. The goal is not simply a better stool test. It’s a more resilient gut ecosystem that can better support the immune system, nervous system, hormone health, and the rest of the body.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Oscar Coetzee and Danielle Arnold, CNS, from Designs for Health for a wonderfully nerdy conversation about what we now know about rebuilding the gut microbiome. We talk about new research on keystone species like Akkermansia, Faecalibacterium, and Roseburia, how these microbes work together, when antimicrobials may still be useful, why the order of treatment matters for sensitive clients, histamine and hormone health, H. pylori, digestive function, fiber and polyphenols, stool testing, how better gut microbiome support can become part of our clinical thinking, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/how-to-rebuild-a-healthy-gut-microbiome-with-dr-oscar-coetzee-and-danielle-arnold/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

It’s so easy for painful periods to become part of a family story. Your mother had them, your aunts had them, your great-grandmother had them. Throughout, everyone learned to keep going, show up for work, take care of the family, and not make too much of it. While we should be proud of that strength, normalizing pushing through the pain makes it much harder to recognize when pain is not normal and when a different level of care is what’s needed.

The same family dynamics tend to come back into play with fertility treatment. The questions, opinions, encouragement, and advice probably come from a loving place, but they add pressure to an already exhausting process. As women’s health practitioners, we have to consider what our clients are navigating outside our treatment rooms. Are their symptoms being minimized at home? Do they feel like they can ask for help? Are they avoiding family because they don’t want to explain another unsuccessful IVF cycle? Having these conversations with our patients and clients can help us better understand the support she actually needs.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by author, actor, and comedian Candice Guardino to talk about the family and cultural dynamics that shaped her experiences with endometriosis and infertility. Candice shares how years of painful periods were normalized, what it was like to continue performing through chronic pain and IVF treatment, why receiving an endometriosis diagnosis changed the way she understood her body, managing miscarriage, the emotional and financial strain of fertility treatment, finding a more individualized approach to IVF, how practitioners can help women feel less alone, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/the-family-dynamics-of-endometriosis-and-ivf-with-candice-guardino/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

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Sometimes a patient is doing everything they're supposed to do, but they're still in pain. They've tried physical therapy, massage, supplements, maybe even surgery, and they're still looking for answers. Those are the cases that invite us to widen our lens. Because pain isn't only about what's happening in a joint or a muscle. Hormones, inflammation, gut health, nervous system signaling, sleep, stress, and biomechanics can all be part of the picture, and understanding those connections gives us more ways to help.

Practicing this way also requires a different kind of healthcare model. It's almost impossible to have the necessary conversations when you're seeing several patients an hour or working within a system that doesn't give you the time to ask deeper questions. More practitioners are beginning to create practices where they can offer that kind of whole-person care, and that brings up its own questions. What can you do within your scope? When should you collaborate or hire? And can you really build a successful cash-based integrative practice if you don't live in a large or affluent market?

In this episode, I'm joined by Stacey Roberts, PT, RN, MSN, a musculoskeletal specialist, pelvic and sexual health physiotherapist, and functional medicine specialist with more than 30 years of experience. Stacey shares how questions she couldn't answer through traditional physical therapy led her to explore the gut-joint connection, hormones, inflammation, and other drivers of chronic pain, what it looks like to expand your skills without stepping outside your scope, building the right clinical team, how Stacey grew a thriving cash-based practice after being told that model wouldn't work in her community, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/an-integrative-physical-therapy-approach-to-chronic-pain-with-stacey-roberts/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

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One of the hardest parts of caring for people with chronic illness is that we don't always have the answer. Symptoms can take years to fully understand. Treatments don't always work the way we'd hoped. And sometimes the biggest challenge isn't deciding what to do next, it's helping someone keep moving forward while you're figuring it out together.

Our role isn't only to diagnose and prescribe. It's also to create space for people to feel heard, supported, and safe while they're navigating an incredibly difficult season of life. That doesn't require having all the answers. It requires listening well, asking thoughtful questions, and remembering that every person sitting across from us has already invested an enormous amount of energy just to make it into the room.

In this episode, I'm joined by author and speaker Rachel Weaver to talk about her memoir, Dizzy, and what living through nearly two decades of chronic illness taught her about healthcare from the patient's perspective. Rachel shares the experience of searching for answers while navigating debilitating vestibular migraine, and together we explore what makes patients feel dismissed, what helps them feel genuinely supported, why communication can be just as important as clinical expertise, coaching versus problem-solving, the realities of navigating a fragmented healthcare system, the importance of multidisciplinary care, and how practitioners can make an extraordinary difference, even when they don't yet know exactly what's causing a person's symptoms.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/being-a-better-chronic-illness-care-professional-through-the-eyes-of-a-patient/.

Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).

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