What if the healthcare system isn't failing us, but doing exactly what it was built to do?

Actuary and health advocate Emma Tekstra spent more than 25 years advising Fortune 500 companies on employee benefits and healthcare strategy before a personal wake-up call changed everything. After her young son was diagnosed with Asperger's and ADHD, she began questioning the medication-first model she once trusted and uncovered a deeper conversation about chronic illness, stress, lifestyle, and the business of healthcare.

In this episode, Emma shares why she believes true healing starts with ownership, not prescriptions, and how functional medicine could completely reshape the future of health.

Inside this conversation: • Why chronic disease has become a business model • The hidden connection between stress, inflammation, and long term health • How small daily lifestyle choices shape the body's ability to heal • What "health sovereignty" really means and why it matters

This episode is an empowering reminder that your body is not broken and healing often begins with slowing down, listening closely, and taking your health back into your own hands.

Website: www.emmatekstra.com

What if the life you worked so hard to build no longer feels like your own?

After going from homelessness in Toronto to building and selling multiple companies, Sabine Schoepke thought success would finally bring fulfillment. Instead, she found herself emotionally lost, disconnected from her identity, and questioning everything. In this deeply honest conversation, Sabine shares how walking away from the life she built led her to a powerful realization: you do not need to burn your life down to change it. You need to start listening to yourself again.

Together, Dr. Emily Roederscheimer and Sabine explore the hidden grief and awakening that so many women experience in midlife, especially after years of people pleasing, caregiving, and putting themselves last.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why success on paper can still leave you feeling empty
• The difference between a midlife crisis and a midlife awakening
• How chronic stress and misalignment show up in the body
• The power of small daily choices and learning to pause
• Why joy is not something you earn, but something you choose now

This conversation is a reminder that you are not broken, behind, or selfish for wanting more from your life. Sometimes the smallest pause can become the beginning of everything changing.

Connect with Sabine: Instagram: @sabineschoepkeWebsite: sabineschoepke.com Podcast: Pick Joy Podcast

What if your skincare routine is missing the one thing that matters most?

In this episode, Emily sits down with double board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon Dr. Angela Casey for a conversation that goes far beyond beauty products and Botox. From skin cancer prevention to the gut-skin connection, Dr. Casey shares the science behind healthy skin and the daily habits that truly make a difference.

After treating thousands of patients and seeing firsthand how inflammation, sleep, nutrition, hormones, and stress show up on the skin, Dr. Casey reveals why true skin health starts from within and why prevention is far more powerful than perfection.

In this episode, we explore: • Why skin cancer is more common than all other cancers combined • The surprising connection between gut health and glowing skin • Mineral vs. chemical sunscreen and what dermatologists actually recommend • How social media skincare trends may be harming teen skin • The simple skincare habits that matter most at every age

This conversation is a reminder that caring for your skin is not about chasing perfection. It is about protecting your health, honoring your body, and building small habits that compound over time. Dr. Casey's recommended products: Sol Defense GummiesHeliocare Supplement

What if the exhaustion you feel is not a personal failure, but the result of carrying more than any nervous system was ever meant to hold?

In this deeply validating conversation, Emily sits down with her colleague at Balanced Living, nurse practitioner Kelli Cuda, to unpack the invisible emotional load modern women and mothers carry every single day. From constant mental tabs and mom guilt to nervous system burnout and the loss of community, this episode shines a light on why so many women feel overwhelmed, depleted, and disconnected from themselves.

Together, Emily and Kelli explore how chronic stress impacts the body, why slowing down can feel uncomfortable, and how healing begins when women finally allow themselves to receive support.

In this episode, they discuss: • The invisible mental load women carry behind the scenes • How nervous system dysregulation leads to fatigue, resentment, and burnout • Why modern motherhood feels heavier than ever before • The importance of community, co regulation, and asking for help • How caring for yourself creates a ripple effect for your entire family

If you have ever felt guilty for needing space, exhausted by doing it all, or disconnected from who you are underneath the roles you carry, this conversation will make you feel seen.

You are not failing. You are carrying too much alone. And healing starts when you stop white knuckling your way through life.

Get Kelli's book recommendation here: https://www.amazon.com/Try-Softer-Approach-Mode-Connection-ebook/dp/B07T76JM1V

What if your exhaustion isn't normal and your body is actually trying to tell you something?

After years of living with Hashimoto's, constant fatigue, anxiety, and brain fog, today's guest Heidi, hit rock bottom as a mom of four. Told by doctors that she was just stressed or getting older, she finally chose a different path and discovered how small, intentional shifts in sleep, nutrition, and mindset could completely transform her health and her life.

In this episode, Heidi shares with Emily how functional medicine and personalized coaching helped her reduce her symptoms by nearly 90 percent, rebuild her energy, and create a ripple effect of healing throughout her entire family.

You'll hear: • Why "doing everything right" can still leave you burned out • The small changes that created massive health breakthroughs • How slowing down actually accelerated her healing

If you've ever felt dismissed, overwhelmed, or stuck in survival mode, this conversation will show you what's possible when you finally support your body the way it's been asking for.

Your body is not broken. It's waiting for the right conditions to heal.

What if the reason your pain won't go away has nothing to do with needing surgery?

In this episode, Dr. Emily is joined by sports medicine physician Dr. Joe Ruane to unpack why most orthopedic injuries don't require surgery and what your body actually needs to heal. From overlooked rehab mistakes to cutting-edge regenerative therapies like PRP and stem cells, this conversation reveals a powerful truth: your body is built to recover, if you give it the right support.

You'll learn why lingering injuries often get worse over time, how small daily habits can transform your long-term mobility, and what really changes in your body as you age.

Key takeaways: • Why 90 percent of injuries don't need surgery • How improper rehab creates bigger problems later • The role of hormones, muscle, and movement in healing

Your body isn't breaking down. It's asking for a new approach. This episode will show you how to listen and respond.

Learn more about Dr. Joe here: https://www.ohiohealth.com/find-a-doctor/profile/1144210006/joseph-j-ruane-do

What if the answers you're searching for have been inside you all along?

Dr. Lenka Schulze shares her journey from academia to intuition, revealing how she learned to trust the quiet inner voice she was once taught to ignore. In this conversation, she breaks down how intuition actually works, why we've become disconnected from it, and how reconnecting can unlock deeper healing and clarity.

In this episode, you'll learn: • How to tell what's yours versus what you've absorbed from others • Why intuition and intellect work best together, not apart • Simple ways to reconnect with your body's signals and inner knowing

This is an invitation to slow down, listen inward, and reclaim the wisdom that's always been yours. Buy Dr. Lenka's books here: https://www.lenka.org/lenkas-books

What if your symptoms aren't random… and your body isn't broken?

In this episode, Dr. Emily Roedersheimer shares her personal journey from being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 10 to completely redefining how she understands healing. After years of doing everything "right" as both a patient and a physician, she discovered a missing piece no one had ever explained: the root cause behind chronic illness.

Inside this conversation, Emily breaks down the hidden patterns driving autoimmunity and why so many high-achieving women stay stuck despite their best efforts.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why autoimmunity isn't random and the 3 factors that drive it
• The surprising role of stress (even if you don't feel "stressed")
• Why pushing harder may be making your symptoms worse

This is your invitation to see your body differently… and to realize that healing doesn't come from doing more, but from understanding what's been there all along.

You're not broken. Your body is asking for something different.

Host: Dr. Emily Roedersheimer

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

If you're doing everything right… why do you still feel exhausted, inflamed, or stuck?

In this episode of Push Pause to Heal, Dr. Emily Roedersheimer sits down with her health coaches Yoko, Karen, and Laura to unpack the real reason so many high-achieving women struggle to feel better, even after trying all the "right" things.

Through personal stories of burnout, misdiagnosis, and navigating conventional medicine, they reveal what's actually missing from most health approaches and why lasting change has nothing to do with more information… and everything to do with how you live, listen, and respond to your body.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why knowing what to do isn't the same as actually healing
• The hidden "linchpin habits" quietly driving your symptoms
• How small, sustainable shifts can create massive change

This conversation will help you see your health differently and remind you that your symptoms aren't random… they're signals.

If nothing has worked yet, it's not because you're broken. It's because you haven't been shown how to pause.

Host: Dr. Emily Roedersheimer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancedlivingfxmed/

Guests: Yoko Kawashima – Health Coach, Balanced Living

Karen Bush – Health Coach, Balanced Living

Laura Greafnitz – Health Coach, Balanced Living

What if the reason you're not healing… is because you're trying too hard?

After beating breast cancer, Bridget was told she was "fine" — but inside, she felt anxious, overwhelmed, and completely lost on how to move forward. Like so many high-achieving women, she tried to do more, fix more, and push harder… until she discovered that her body didn't need more effort — it needed safety.

In this episode of Push Pause to Heal, Dr. Emily Roedersheimer and Bridget unpack the powerful shift from fight-or-flight to calm, grounded healing, and how slowing down became the turning point in her recovery.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why doing more can actually block your healing
• How small, simple shifts create lasting change
• The hidden role of stress in chronic symptoms and recovery

This conversation is your reminder that you're not broken — your body is asking for something different. And sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do… is pause.

Find your Symptom Score: https://www.balancedlivingfm.com/medical-symptom-questionnaire

Host: Dr. Emily Roedersheimer https://www.instagram.com/balancedlivingfxmed/

Guest: Bridget (Breast Cancer Survivor & Functional Medicine Client)