Odyssey & Alchemy: Men's Inner Transformation and Depth Psychology with Martin Prihoda

75% of suicides every year are men. In Canada, it's the second leading cause of death for men under 50. And yet we barely talk about it.

In this episode, Martin sits down with Dr. John Ogrodniczuk — Professor of Psychiatry at UBC, founder of Heads Up Guys, and author of over 300 scientific publications on men's mental health — for one of the most honest conversations we've had on this show.

Martin also shares something personal: at 21, he lost his father to suicide. What followed was 30 years of trying to understand why — and this conversation is part of that.

Together they go deep on: why men don't ask for help and what it's actually costing them, the shame buried inside suicide notes, what it's like to be left behind as a survivor, the difference between clinical depression and existential overwhelm, why teenage boys are at a turning point around age 14, and how to start breaking the silence — starting with the men in your own life.

This one matters. Share it with a man you care about.

🔗 Heads Up Guys: headsupguys.org 🔗 If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the Crisis Services Canada line: 1-988-456-4566

men's mental health, male suicide, men and depression, why men don't ask for help, suicide prevention, men's mental health podcast, UBC psychiatry, Heads Up Guys, toxic masculinity mental health, men's suicide statistics Canada, suicide loss survivor, negative self-talk men, men's emotional health, masculine identity crisis, men's therapy podcast.

What does real trauma therapy look like when coping tools stop working? Psychotherapist Kat Weed — creator of the Rewired Woman framework — joins Martin Prihoda to break down how high-functioning people escape survival mode, heal complex trauma, and build authentic lives.

Kat's own story runs from a "hot mess" past of anxiety, addiction, dissociation, and broken relationships to a practice helping successful, high-achieving people regulate their nervous systems. She breaks down attachment styles (anxious, avoidant, disorganized), nervous system states (mobilizer, immobilizer, hybrid), and why coping tools fall short of true rewiring.

They also get practical: spiritual bypassing in yoga and breathwork, midlife crises, what actually works for 3 AM anxiety (hint: physical movement to discharge fight-or-flight), and choosing self-compassion over self-judgment.

If you look successful on the outside and feel like survival mode on the inside — this one's yours.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro & Kat's "Hot Mess" Story
03:00 Trauma Roots & Disconnection
15:00 Attachment Theory Deep Dive
30:00 Rewired Woman: 4 Types Explained
45:00 Nervous System Regulation Tools
1:00:00 Spiritual Bypassing Traps
1:15:00 Healing Resistance & Self-Compassion

Guest: Kat Weed | katweed.co

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Odyssey & Alchemy is a weekly long-form interview podcast on inner transformation — men's work, spirituality, mindfulness, and depth psychology — hosted by Martin Prihoda, author of The Weary Traveller. Deep, unhurried conversations with therapists, teachers, yogis, and healers, for men ready to do the inner work.

📖 The Weary Traveller: [book link]
🌐 martinprihoda.com | alchemynow.ca

In this powerful episode of Odyssey and Alchemy, Martin Prihoda sits down with Kiem Schutter, founder and CEO of Qi Integrated Health in Vancouver, to explore the deep connection between body, mind, trauma, and healing. Kiem shares how an early childhood experience shaped his lifelong relationship with energy work, why traditional Chinese medicine became the foundation of his practice, and how acupuncture, somatic therapy, naturopathy, and psychedelic-assisted healing are helping people reconnect with a healthier state of being.

This conversation goes deep into the nature of pain, grief, emotional release, and the “pre-pain state” — the inner place we return to when we begin to heal. Kiem also explains how modern wellness can integrate Western medicine, functional medicine, and ancient healing systems to support trauma recovery, mental health, chronic pain, and transformation.

If you’re interested in psychedelic therapy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, somatic healing, trauma recovery, mental health, grief, breathwork, or alternative medicine in Canada, this episode is for you.

Topics include:

• Somatic healing and trauma release
• Traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture
• Psychedelic-assisted therapy and ketamine programs
• Grief, emotional processing, and nervous system regulation
• The connection between body pain and emotional pain
• Building Qi Integrated Health and modern integrative wellness

Listen now for a grounded, insightful, and deeply human conversation about healing, consciousness, and the future of integrative medicine.

odyssey and alchemy, kiem shutter, qi integrated health, Vancouver wellness, somatic healing, trauma recovery, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, psychedelic therapy, ketamine therapy, grief healing, breathwork, mental health podcast, integrative medicine, naturopathy, emotional release, nervous system regulation, pre-pain state, functional medicine, psychedelic integration, alternative health Canada

The Inner Sanctum is a place set apart — a guided meditation within the Odyssey & Alchemy library for those drawn to the deeper waters of inner work. This is one of its offerings, released freely into the world.

A 12-minute guided breathwork practice to begin your morning with intention. Using the fourfold breath — box breathing at a 4-4-4-4 count — this meditation gently wakes up your nervous system, grounds you in your body, and invites you to set one quiet intention before the world asks anything of you.

Suitable for complete beginners and experienced practitioners alike. All you need is a comfortable seat and a few undisturbed minutes before your day begins.

The full Inner Sanctum library spans six collections — The Breath, The Body, The Journey, The Present, The Dark, and The Rest — and lives on Patreon at Odyssey & Alchemy.

What happens to your body when grief goes unprocessed? In this powerful episode of the Odyssey and Alchemy Podcast, host Martin Prihoda sits down with holistic health practitioner, author, and regenerative wellness coach Julie Brar to explore the profound connection between emotional trauma, autoimmune disease, and the body's innate ability to heal.

After losing her husband suddenly to a heart attack in 2012, Julie's body began breaking down — she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's disease, gained 50 pounds, battled chronic pain, brain fog, and depression. The medical system told her this was her life now. She refused to accept that.

In this deeply honest and inspiring conversation, Julie shares how she reversed both autoimmune conditions through regenerative health, got off all medications, and rebuilt her life from the ground up — and how she now guides hundreds of others to do the same.

In this episode:

• The sudden loss that became the tipping point for chronic illness
• How unprocessed grief and adrenal burnout trigger autoimmune disease
• The role of Vipassana meditation in navigating trauma
• Why the Western medical system fails chronic illness patients
• Regenerative nutrition, raw food, and extended fasting protocols
• The truth about Ozempic, glyphosate, processed foods, and the broken food system
• Gut health, serotonin, and the root cause approach to healing depression and anxiety
• Julie's new book Finding Light — connecting to your own inner consciousness

Whether you're navigating grief, battling a chronic illness, or simply searching for a more aligned way to live, this episode is a roadmap back to yourself.

🌿 Find Julie at balancelifewithjulie.com

Keywords: regenerative health podcast, Hashimoto's disease recovery, hypothyroidism reversal, autoimmune healing naturally, grief and chronic illness, sudden loss and trauma, adrenal burnout recovery, holistic health practitioner, root cause healing, gut health and mental health, processed food and disease, Ozempic side effects, raw food diet benefits, extended fasting protocol, dry fasting, holistic nutrition, nervous system regulation, somatic healing, thyroid healing naturally, get off thyroid medication, Finding Light book Julie Brar, balancelifewithjulie.com, regenerative wellness, trauma and autoimmune disease, emotional trauma and physical illness, holistic health Canada, chronic illness recovery podcast, natural healing podcast, mind body connection, widow healing journey, functional health coach, adrenal fatigue recovery, liver detox thyroid health, gut brain connection, serotonin gut health, dopamine gut health, glyphosate and autism, food system and chronic disease, alkaline diet, anti-inflammatory diet, intermittent fasting, water fasting, superfoods, holistic lifestyle, spiritual wellness podcast, inner transformation

What if your body already knows how to heal — and the only thing standing between you and wholeness is the courage to slow down and listen? Julia Gabrielle is a Registered Clinical Counsellor based on Salt Spring Island, BC, whose practice weaves together somatic therapy, Hakomi, mindfulness-based counselling, attachment theory, and transpersonal psychology. She specialises in life transitions, grief, anxiety, and the quiet but radical work of helping people reconnect with what she calls their blueprint for health within.

In this conversation, Martin and Julia explore the body as the primary site of healing — and what becomes possible when we stop running from discomfort and start listening to what it's telling us. They go deep on: somatic therapy and why healing lives in the body, not just the mind; grief as an intelligent, natural process — and how to stop trying to fix it; anxiety and overwhelm in an age of exponential change; the Buddhist concept of Buddha nature and its connection to modern trauma therapy; attachment theory, the island and the wave, and why our relationship patterns trace back to our earliest bonds; how dance, clowning, and embodied practice unlock what talk therapy can't reach; and what it means to develop an inner moral compass that comes from within rather than from external conditioning.

This is a conversation about presence, about the courage it takes to actually feel your life — and about the profound intelligence that's been inside you all along.

🌿 Find Julia at: juliagabrielle.ca

Odyssey & Alchemy is a podcast about the journey inward and the transformation that follows — hosted by Martin Prihoda from Salt Spring Island, BC.

Keywords: somatic therapy podcast, Hakomi therapy, grief and the body, attachment theory, somatic healing, mindfulness-based counselling, life transitions, trauma therapy, body-based healing, Buddhist psychology, transpersonal psychology, anxiety and overwhelm, blueprint for health, embodied healing, Salt Spring Island therapist, registered clinical counsellor BC, inner work podcast, spiritual wellbeing, self-healing, attachment styles

What does it mean to heal in a way that reconnects you — not just to yourself, but to the living world around you? Meghan Taia Jacobson is a ceremonialist, psilocybin facilitator, spiritual counsellor, and PhD student in East-West Psychology.

Trained at Naropa, Esalen, and the California Institute of Integral Studies, and deeply rooted in Amazonian shamanic tradition and the Santo Daime lineage, Taia has spent decades holding space for transformation at the intersection of plant medicine, indigenous wisdom, and ecological spirituality.

In this episode, Martin and Taia explore how psilocybin and ayahuasca ceremony create conditions for genuine healing and collective awakening — and why she believes that self-realization and sacred activism are the same thing. They go deep on: the role of entheogenic plant medicine in mental health and consciousness expansion; why ceremony is one of the most powerful antidotes to political polarization and ecological grief; the history of the Santo Daime tradition and its vision of direct connection with the divine; what it means to build a life rooted in place, nature, and ritual; and why healing, transformation, and consciousness expansion are — in Taia's words — human rights.

If you've ever felt more at home in a forest than a city, or sensed that something deeper is available on the other side of ordinary awareness, this conversation is for you.

🌿 Learn more about Taia's work: sacrednature.org

Odyssey & Alchemy is a podcast about the journey inward and the transformation that follows — hosted by Martin Prihoda from Salt Spring Island, BC.

Keywords: plant medicine podcast, ayahuasca ceremony, psilocybin healing, shamanic traditions, sacred ceremony, entheogenic therapy, consciousness expansion, spiritual counselling, East-West psychology, Amazonian shamanism, Santo Daime, ecological spirituality, mental health and psychedelics, sacred activism, nature-based healing, psychedelic integration, spiritual transformation, Salt Spring Island

What if midlife isn't a crisis — but an invitation? Michael Talbot-Kelly is a narrative psychologist, counsellor and men's inner work guide who has spent decades helping men rewrite the stories that are quietly running their lives. In this conversation Martin and Michael explore the Johnny story — a man who went from psychiatric ward to PhD and what that reveals about human resilience — the difference between the story you inherited and the story you actually want to live, why so many men hit 40 and feel like strangers in their own lives, the concept of soul stitching mind and body back together, and why midlife is not the beginning of the end but the most creatively fertile chapter a man can enter. If you've ever felt like the protagonist of a life you didn't quite choose — this one is for you. Episode 11 of Odyssey & Alchemy.

In this episode, Martin sits down with Marcia Burton — Senior Hakomi Trainer, Registered Clinical Counsellor, and Certified Teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion — for one of the most quietly powerful conversations on emotional healing and mindful self-compassion the show has produced.

Marcia trained directly with Ron Kurtz, creator of Hakomi, and has spent 25 years building a practice rooted in somatic healing on Salt Spring Island — working with people in grief, crisis, trauma and terminal illness.

In this conversation we explore somatic healing and what Hakomi actually is, the concept of Loving Presence, why holding space is one of the rarest skills in emotional healing, the difference between self-compassion and self-indulgence, how the body reveals what the mind conceals, and why slowing down is the fastest path to inner transformation — where psychology and spirituality meet in practice.

Marcia also shares her own journey — including the moment she realised she had cordoned off her own heart, and what it took to find her way back.

A conversation about presence, stillness and the quiet courage it takes to truly be with another human being.

If this conversation moved something in you, a rating or review helps more people find this work. Martin's book, The Weary Traveller's Guide to a Life Worth Living, is available now.

What's on the other side of peak performance? Satyen Raja calls it peak existence.

Satyen Raja has spent 40 years living at the intersection of warrior and sage — a Kung Fu master, spiritual teacher, and founder of WarriorSage, a global movement that has transformed over 100,000 people across 50 countries. His name means Truth in Sanskrit. This conversation lives up to it.

In this conversation we explore what it means to build a purpose-driven life beyond peak performance, why testosterone and masculine energy are under attack in modern society, how men's work can help reclaim purpose when life feels overwhelming, and what happens when powerful people abdicate their spirit for success. The rapid-fire section at the end is unlike anything this show has produced — Satyen shares the biggest lie he told himself for years, whether enlightenment is real or the greatest con in the spiritual world, and what it means when seeking becomes another form of running away.

This is for any man who has ever felt the gap between who he is and who he knows he could be.

If this conversation moved something in you, a rating or review helps more men find this work. Martin's book, The Weary Traveller's Guide to a Life Worth Living, is available now.