NoBS Wellness

Do you want the expertise of the western medical system coupled with a holistic approach? Then Integrative Medicine is for you! Listen in today as we talk with Dr. Stracks, MD, about his approach to traditional care with a twist. We discuss how Dr. Stracks approaches care for his patients outside of the standard model. Shanna and Nicole learn what that means, in terms of spending much more time getting to know the patients on an individual level instead of relying on averages for diagnoses, as well as treating the whole person including mind and body. In the "You Want Me To Do What??" section, we hear about Nicole's experience with Integrative Medicine, and how that started her down her path of taking a holistic approach overall to her health.

Episode Recap: Interview with Dr. Stracks - 2:02, "You Want Me To Do What??" section - 44:57

Highlights:

• Integrative Medicine is the intersection between conventional Western Medicine and other complementary and alternative modalities 
• It also incorporates more than just what goes on in the body, considering both the emotional and spiritual health of an individual as well
• TMS, also known as Tension Myositis Syndrome, is a specialty of Dr. Stracks, and is based on the principle that life shows up in our bodies and that not all physical symptoms start from physical sources
• In the "You Want Me To Do What??" section, Nicole breaks down what it is like to go to a Integrative Medicine doctor

Resources:

• Where You Can Find Dr. Stracks:
• • www.drstracks.com
  • Phone: (312)-489-8890
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Physical Locations: 828 W Webster in Chicago, IL, 666 Dundee in Northbrook, IL
• Curable Health app: www.curablehealth.com

Today we sit down with Lauren O'Connell, The Modern Astrologer, talking about Human Design. We discuss the fact that Human Design is a type of personality test that uses Astrology as the underpinnings. While it can be a little 'nutty' as Lauren likes to say, there are many practical applications that can be applied to how you show up in life. We walk through the five different types in Human Design - Generators, Manifesting Generators, Projectors, Manifestors, and Reflectors. Lauren gives us some examples from Shanna's chart as a Projector, focusing on the main aspects of type, strategy, and authority. The strategy is how you should interact with the world. The authority is the decision making system, and gives us insight into how we should make decisions. Lauren talks through four of the authorities - emotional, sacral, splenic, and ego. She then tells us about the nine centers, and how the white centers are open and susceptible to others' energy. The colored centers are where you have your own energy. We also hear about manifesting, and how from a Human Design perspective there are two types of people, defined and non-defined. Lauren tells us about her business, The Modern Astrologer, where she provides astrology and human design readings. In the "You Want Me To Do What??" section, Nicole breaks down Human Design from her perspective. She says if you want the basic version, just focus on your type, strategy, and authority and forget the rest. Shanna gives us a bit more detail from her pages and pages of notes after a session with Lauren, and says if you really want to go deep it's best to have a reading with someone. 

Episode Recap: Interview with Lauren - 2:21   "You Want Me To Do What??" section - 53:14

Highlights:

• Human Design is like a personality test, and Goop best described it as Myers-Briggs meets Astrology
• There are five types of people in Human Design - Generators, Manifesting Generators, Projectors, Manifestors, and Reflectors
• If you want the high level overview of your Human Design, look at your type, strategy and authority. You can find the one-pager at www.jovianarchive.com/get_your_chart
• If you want to go more in-depth, Shanna recommends sitting down with an expert like Lauren for a reading

Resources:

• Lauren's Instagram: @themodernastrologer
• Lauren's website: www.themodernastrologer.com
• Where to download your free design chart (101 level): https://www.jovianarchive.com/get_your_chart
• Where to download your free design chart (advanced chart): https://www.mybodygraph.com/free-bodygraph

In today's episode, Nicole and Shanna sit down and talk with Meredith Wu - Certified Nurse-Midwife at Northwestern Medicine. We learn about the different types of midwives - Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM), Certified Midwife, and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). We also learn that midwives aren't just attending to pregnant women - they can essentially be a replacement to your OB-gyn at any age or life stage. We do dive into the experience of working with a midwife vs. an OB for a pregnancy, and the fact that only 9% of births in the US are attended by them - a stark difference to the model of care in say the UK. In the "You Want Me To Do What??" section, Nicole goes into detail about her experience having two kids under the care of the midwife practice. She details the experience from the standpoint of an unmedicated birth, and talks about things you should think about if you do want to go that route. 

Episode Recap: Interview with Meredith - 1:35  "You Want Me To Do What??" section - 35:18

Highlights:

• Midwives are an option for your gynecological care, and tend to take a more women centered approach when working with their patients
• There are three most common types of midwives - Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM), Certified Midwife, and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), with Certified Nurse-Midwives being the large majority in the USA
• 9% of births in the US are attended by midwives - a stark difference to the model of care in some European countries
• Nicole had her two children under the care of a midwife practice, and talks about her experience going through pregnancy with them as well as having unmedicated labors

Resources:

• Where to find Meredith: https://680obgyn.nm.org/
• Midwife Stats, American College of Nurse Midwives: https://www.midwife.org/acnm/files/cclibraryfiles/filename/000000007531/EssentialFactsAboutMidwives-UPDATED.pdf

We spend a large percentage of our time at work, shouldn't we make the most of it? In today's episode, Nicole and Shanna sit down with Transformational Coach Nikki Swan. We hear about her journey from working at some of the most renowned finance corporations for over 15 years, to feeling burnt out and lost on her career track. She discusses how she turned to hobbies such as yoga to find solace, and eventually left her job to start her own business in Transformational Coaching. We hear how she sees coaching as understanding the whole self, not just who you are at work. In the "You Want Me To Do What?" section, we hear about Shanna's experience working with Nikki, and how through that she learned to be less self-critical and to be a bit more realistic with her running to do lists. Nicole then provides another option if you're thinking Transformational Coaching could be beneficial but not in your budget. 

Episode Recap: Interview with Nikki - 1:28 "You Want Me To Do What??" section - 51:34

Highlights:

• A Transformational Coach is someone who works with you not only on work but also how work and life integrate together
• Nikki worked for some of the biggest corporations in the world, including PwC and Deloitte, before going out on her own as a Transformational Coach
• Nikki's three biggest pieces of advice:

1. 1. Know that you can re-invent your career - even if you take a path that doesn't utilize all of the skills you've built up it doesn't mean you're throwing that all away
   2. Practice self-compassion - celebrate yourself for the success you have achieved
   3. Breathe!

Resources:

• Nikki's Instagram: @mindfulswan
• Nikki's Website: https://www.mindfulswan.com/
• Book Nicole Recommends: Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

In today's episode, Nicole and Shanna speak with Vernon Nicolas, Research Director at Equilibrium Energy + Education. Vernon walks through how he came to find Reiki as a way to relieve stress from the corporate world. He also explains Reiki's Japanese origins and the basis of it being the idea that there is a natural life force energy that all people can tap into. We hear the benefits of Reiki, how it can be applied through a Reiki master and also to yourself, and the main research findings around it. Additionally, Vernon talks about a couple of other energy healing methods, including the Bengston method, and how different energy healing modalities are like different radio stations. In the "You Want Me To Do What??" section of the episode, Shanna walks through her first experience in a Reiki session. She explains how the Reiki Master's hands grew warm in different places, aka chakras, of her body, much like when you rub your hands together and heat is present afterwards. Nicole then talks about her experience as well, and the thing that made her more of a believer walking out of the session than before she went in. 

Episode Recap:  Interview with Vernon - 1:25,  "You Want Me To Do What??" section - 35:00

Highlights:

• Vernon first discovered Reiki after an extremely stressful situation involving a peanut butter filled cheeto
• Reiki has Japanese origins and the basis of it is that there is a natural life force energy that all people can tap into
• Reiki's main benefit is relaxation, but has also been used to help with chronic pain, anxiety, and to extend and improve the quality of life for people in hospice
• Shanna is a Reiki convert now, and may go on to become a Reiki Master!
• Nicole learned a lot about chakras, and became more of a believer after she had similar diagnoses of her own with two different Reiki Masters

Resources: 

• Equilibrium Energy + Education: 850 S Wabash Chicago, IL, www.equilibrium-e3.com

In today's episode, Nicole and Shanna talk with Lara Heimann - yoga teacher, physical therapist, and creator of the LYT method of yoga. Lara discusses the history of yoga, how she defines it, and has adapted the practice based on her physical therapy background. She walks through how she first discovered yoga, and how she originally turned to yoga for stretching but found so many benefits beyond that. We hear from Lara about a few different types of yoga and what the differences are, such as Vinyasa, Bikram, and Hatha. Lara also explains to us why the typical excuses for not trying yoga can be overcome - from not being flexible enough, to not seeing it as enough of a work out. We then hear more about the LYT method of yoga, which is based on vinyasa yoga but blended with Lara's background in neurodevelopment training and physical therapy.  In "You Want Me To Do What??" Shanna and Nicole talk about their own experiences first starting yoga and what benefits they have found over the years of practicing.

Highlights

• Yoga helps pull out the emotions that are not at the surface - "It's so simple we almost don't believe it"
• LYT, which stands for Lara's Yoga Technique, is a style of yoga that is based on vinyasa but blended with Lara's background in neurodevelopment training
• Nicole likes yoga for the mental benefits in particular, while Shanna has found many physical benefits

Resources:

• Lara's Instagram and Facebook: @lara.heimann
• LYT Yoga website: https://lytyoga.com/
• Lara's yoga studio in Princeton, NJ: http://yogastream.net/

In today's episode we hear from Grainne McKeown, licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, all about acupuncture. Learn about what it takes to become licensed in the field of acupuncture (hint - it's basically as hard as becoming a western medical doctor!), and more about how it works and what you can expect if you're wanting to go in for a session. We also hear from Shanna and Nicole on their experiences with acupuncture, including how Shanna found out that acupuncture is actually more like going to the doctor than she realized.

Episode Recap: Interview with Grainne - 1:24 "You Want Me To Do What" section - 40:48

Resources: Grainne McKeown: www.grainnemckeown.com Mindful Medicine Worldwide: www.mindfulmedicineworldwide.org Jessica L. Piazza, L.Ac.: www.east-westnaturalmedicine.com Jason D. Robertson, L.Ac.: kentuckyginseng.com Frank Scott: www.frankscottacupuncture.com

Claire Mark, meditation teacher and co-founder of the modern meditation studio Chill Chicago, guides us through a five minute meditation for those wanting to see what this meditation thing is all about.

CBD became federally legal in December of 2018, and all of a sudden it became the new "it" wellness trend. Hear from Equilibria's founder Coco Meers and Head of Member Success Maia Reed, all about what CBD is and how it can help with things like anxiety, chronic pain, and inflammation.

Meditation is all the rage right now, but what is it exactly?

Nicole and Shanna talk with Claire Mark, long-time yoga and meditation teacher and co-founder of Chill Chicago. Claire is refreshingly open and honest about how hard it was for her to start a daily meditation practice, and gives some tips for trying to create one for yourself. In the 'You Want Me to Do What?' section of the episode, Nicole and Shanna dive into their experience with meditation as well and talk about what they see as the benefits.