The Alternative Flight Plan

One of the challenges in healthcare is that we celebrate intervention while overlooking prevention.

Dr. Kristin Barnes and Dr. Jason FauntLeRoy discuss what happens before a diagnosis becomes a crisis. Elevated A1C levels, chronic stress, inflammation, family patterns, and the reality that "well controlled" doesn't always mean symptom free.

What stood out most was the reminder that diabetes management isn't just about numbers. It's about context. Two people can have the same lab result and require very different conversations.

As clinicians, we often underestimate the impact of education, collaboration, and helping patients understand the why behind their care.

What changes if we begin viewing prevention as active healthcare rather than an afterthought?

Join the conversation. How are you helping people move upstream in healthcare?

Cannabis isn’t just interacting with symptoms.

It’s interacting with a system most people have never been taught exists.

The endocannabinoid system regulates balance across nearly every major function in the body.

Stress response. Sleep. Pain. Mood.

When that system is out of balance, the body works harder to compensate.

When it’s supported, regulation becomes more accessible.

Chris Adkins brings a structured lens to a space often dominated by extremes.

Not hype. Not dismissal.

Clarity.

Cannabis is chemically complex, with hundreds of compounds that can influence how it works in the body.

But understanding it doesn’t require memorizing everything.

It requires knowing how to think about it:

Compounds over categories

Dose over assumptions

Education over trial and error

There’s also a broader tension.

A widely used therapeutic tool.

A healthcare system still catching up.

For patients navigating chronic conditions, that gap becomes personal.

This conversation offers a more grounded way forward.

Listen on Spotify for every new episode exploring integrative and alternative healing. → https://open.spotify.com/show/00GFdWpvo9Jv6m0wON85OZ?si=4j4kbTzxS2289bQvpvVThQ

Autoimmune conditions often exist in a space where symptoms are real, but validation is not always immediate.

In this episode of The Alternative Flight Plan Podcast, Dr. Kristin Barnes is joined by Dr. Jenny Bennett to explore how autoimmune disease presents beyond textbook definitions. The conversation moves from foundational understanding—how the immune system can begin reacting against the body—to the more nuanced reality that many cases do not show up clearly in standard lab work.

A key focus is the role of environmental triggers. Infections, gut imbalance, hormonal shifts, and stress responses all contribute to how autoimmune conditions develop and fluctuate. Rather than a single cause, these conditions often reflect a combination of factors that evolve over time.

The episode also addresses the experience many patients face when navigating care. When conventional testing does not provide answers, individuals can feel dismissed or uncertain about their next steps. Dr. Bennett emphasizes the importance of clinical observation, patient history, and listening as essential components of diagnosis and care.

The conversation explores how integrative approaches can support patients more effectively—combining appropriate use of medication with longer-term strategies that address underlying contributors to inflammation.

The discussion closes with a grounded perspective: autoimmune conditions are often manageable, with periods of change and stability. Building awareness of triggers and working with supportive providers can help individuals navigate these patterns with greater clarity and agency.

Follow the show to save conversations that support your wellness journey. → https://open.spotify.com/show/00GFdWpvo9Jv6m0wON85OZ?si=4j4kbTzxS2289bQvpvVThQ

Healing is often framed as fixing what’s wrong.

But some experiences shift how we understand everything.

This conversation with Andrew Weisse explores a broader dimension of psychedelics—one that moves beyond symptom relief into perception, meaning, and the structure of experience itself.

Several themes emerge:

* Cultural conditioning shapes what we accept—and what we question

* Intention distinguishes meaningful experiences from habitual use

* Certain modalities are approached with reverence, not impulse

* Perspective shifts can alter how individuals relate to connection, identity, and reality

A deeper thread runs through it:

Not all transformation comes from intervention.

Some of it comes from seeing clearly.

And that clarity can change the trajectory of how someone engages with their health, their relationships, and their life.

Listen on Spotify for every new episode exploring integrative and alternative healing: https://open.spotify.com/show/00GFdWpvo9Jv6m0wON85OZ?si=4j4kbTzxS2289bQvpvVThQ

Healing becomes possible when the nervous system stops bracing for impact.

Keith W. Fiveson shares a grounded approach that blends mindfulness, breathwork, narrative repair, and parts-based understanding of protectors and coping strategies—without overselling outcomes.

Themes include:

• Breath as spiritus: a practical bridge between physiology and meaning
• Why “autopilot” keeps people stuck, and how small shifts create spaciousness
• Food, shame, and the “hungry ghost” pattern many carry quietly
• Kindness with boundaries: compassion that tells the truth and changes behavior

Follow the show to save conversations that support your wellness journey → https://open.spotify.com/show/00GFdWpvo9Jv6m0wON85OZ?si=4j4kbTzxS2289bQvpvVThQ

You don’t need a more disciplined mindset. You need a safer internal operating system.A freak accident put Jim Pehkonen in a moment where he was sure he was dying. What surprised him wasn’t fear. It was peace. And when he came back, the work he’d been doing for decades around trauma, family systems, and resilience started to shift direction.This episode follows that shift and lands on a theme that’s hard to ignore: young men are often expected to carry everything alone, then criticized for where they go to find belonging.A few grounded waypoints from this conversation:Trauma isn’t a contest. Different stories can leave the same nervous system imprint.Healing moves with understanding, not self-punishment or “powering through.”Masking who you are taxes the nervous system more than most people realize.Community isn’t a buzzword. It’s a condition for repair.If you’re navigating trauma recovery, chronic stress, or the feeling that the old way of coping isn’t working anymore, this one offers a steady framework and a human reminder: healing is possible.Watch full episodes on YouTube. → https://www.youtube.com/@alternativeflightplan

Since 2001, far more veterans have been lost at home than on the battlefield.It’s time we start talking about what healing really means.On this week's Alternative Flight Plan, Dr. Kristin Barnes sits down with former Marine Gary P. Hess, who found his way out of deep trauma through intentional plant medicine, breathwork, and community support.Today, Gary leads Warrior Tribe Assembly and VAHA, helping veterans and first responders reconnect to themselves and rediscover purpose through holistic and peer-led care.This episode is about breaking stigma, rebuilding trust, and finding real ways forward — beyond pills and protocols.Learn more or get involved:👉 https://warriortribeassembly.com/👉 https://meridianpassagewellness.com/Like. Share. Keep the conversation going — healing starts with awareness.#TheAlternativeFlightPlan #DrKristinBarnes #VeteranMentalHealth #PlantMedicine #HolisticHealing #Veterans #FirstResponders #TraumaRecovery #PeerSupport #CommunityHealing #NaturopathicMedicine #HealingJourney

Trauma doesn’t just disrupt the body—it can disrupt meaning. Signals arrive without context. Sensations don’t add up. What once felt intuitive becomes confusing, even alien.

In this episode, Christine Ruch offers a grounded framework for understanding why this happens and where healing often needs to begin: the nervous system. When the nervous system is locked into protection, the body can speak loudly without being understandable. Restoration isn’t about forcing regulation or chasing outcomes—it’s about rebuilding capacity, safety, and trust over time.

The conversation explores the difference between change and transformation. Change tends to be linear and goal-driven. Transformation unfolds in cycles, advancing and retreating, resisting timelines. Many people seeking healing have already tried fixing symptoms while keeping the rest of life the same. Christine challenges that model, pointing to how daily patterns, identity stories, and unresolved stress can quietly keep the nervous system in a state of dysregulation.

A central reframe runs through the episode: what if the body isn’t betraying you—what if it’s communicating? When safety increases, interpretation becomes possible. And when interpretation becomes possible, agency can return.

Visit Meridian Passage Wellness to begin your Healing Journey: https://www.meridianpassagewellness.com

In this powerful episode of The Alternative Flight Plan Podcast, host Dr. Kristin Barnes welcomes Dr. Holly Christy—naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist, and founder of The Bridge Back Project—for a fascinating look into the world of fascial counterstrain, an emerging hands-on therapy changing how we understand chronic pain, trauma, and healing.

Dr. Christy shares insights from her recently published study in the Military Medicine journal, which examined the impact of counterstrain therapy on veterans and first responders living with chronic pain and PTSD. Together, she and Dr. Barnes explore how this precise, physiology-based approach can help reset the body’s nervous system—offering relief where traditional medicine often falls short.

From life-altering patient stories to groundbreaking clinical results, this conversation sheds light on the future of integrative care. Dr. Christy also discusses her vision for expanding access through The Bridge Back Project, which funds treatments and research for trauma recovery and supports practitioners dedicated to this work.

If you’ve ever wondered how the body holds—and can release—pain and trauma, this episode is a must-listen.

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/dgVEeVONee0

#AlternativeFlightPlan #KristinBarnes #DrHollyChristy #BridgeBackProject #CounterstrainTherapy #PTSDRecovery #ChronicPainRelief #FunctionalMedicine #HolisticHealing #VeteranWellness #FirstResponderSupport #MindBodyMedicine #TraumaHealing #IntegrativeHealth

00:00 Introduction to Alternative Healing Paths

01:20 Understanding Fascial Counter Strain

05:59 The Specificity of Counter Strain

08:51 Chronic Pain and Mental Health

11:58 The Bridge Back Project and Research Initiatives

17:41 The Study on PTSD and Counter Strain

23:44 Physiological Responses to Trauma

29:21 The Role of Counter Strain in Healing

35:34 Expanding Access to Counter Strain

39:19 Conclusion and Future Directions

When you’ve tried everything and the system still fails you—what’s next? In this deeply moving episode of The Alternative Flight Plan Podcast, host Dr. Kristin Barnes sits down with Angela Skudin, founder and CEO of The Case Skudin 343 Fund, to explore healing beyond the conventional. Angela shares her powerful personal story of chronic illness, medical gaslighting, and finally finding relief through alternative therapies like iboga and bee venom therapy. Her journey from near collapse to mission-driven advocate is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Angela opens up about her late husband Casey—a 16-year FDNY veteran—whose legacy inspired the founding of the 343 Fund, an organization dedicated to bringing life-saving psychedelic therapies and holistic healing to first responders. From battling Morgellons disease and Lyme to investing in pre/post-journey support systems, she unpacks the reality of healing on your own terms. This is more than medicine—it’s a revolution in how we care for those who serve others.

Watch the full episode of The Alternative Flight Plan Podcast featuring Angela Skudin and host Dr. Kristin Barnes on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OfAtApyAIx8

#AlternativeFlightPlan #KristinBarnes #AngelaSkudin #343Fund #FirstResponderWellness #PsychedelicHealing #FunctionalMedicine #ChronicIllnessRecovery #MentalHealthMatters #IbogaineTherapy #VeteransSupport #WomenInWellness #PodcastEpisode #TraumaHealing #HolisticHealth

00:00 The Quest for Healing: First Responders and Alternative Medicine

02:53 Angela's Journey: From Chronic Illness to Healing

05:43 The Power of Iboga: A New Path to Recovery

08:49 Morgellons Disease: Misdiagnosis and Stigma

11:40 Neuroplasticity and Healing: The Role of Psychedelics

14:54 The 343 Fund: Supporting First Responders' Healing Journeys

17:43 Building a Supportive Community: Integration and Coaching

20:32 Sauna Therapy: Detox and Recovery for First Responders

23:52 The Future of Healing: Vision for the 343 Fund

26:40 Conclusion: A Call to Action for Support and Awareness