The mindbodygreen Podcast

"I think structure is more liberating than it is stifling, and it often takes people losing it to sort of realize that,” says David Epstein.

Epstein is the author of the number one New York Times bestseller Range and the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene. He has master’s degrees in environmental science and journalism and has worked as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and as an investigative reporter for ProPublica. He lives in Washington, DC. His newest book, Inside The Box, is out now. 

00:00 - Why constraints drive creativity

06:35 - How mnemonics help you memorize

10:31 - The power of low-stakes practice

12:25 - The problem with youth sports 

18:56 - The constraints-led approach in elite sports

22:25 - Good vs bad constraints

25:39 - Constraints at NASA & Pixar

31:07 - Why we always add instead of subtract

35:02 - The dizziness of freedom

41:29 - Experimentation as a practice

45:19 - The importance of self-reflection

49:02 - How to fix your fractured attention

Referenced in the episode: 

Read The Athletic’s article about the constraints-led approach: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6665943/2025/09/29/sports-training-cla-coaching-wembanyana-ohtani

For more about David Epstein, visit his website: https://davidepstein.com/ 

Buy Inside The Box here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNDSKWMY/?/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?tag=mind0a3-20 

Buy Range here: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214506/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?tag=mind0a3-20 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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“Every human being comes equipped with the capacity to flourish,” says Richard Davidson, Ph.D. 

Davidson is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds. He is best known for his groundbreaking work studying emotion and the brain. A friend and confidante of the Dalai Lama, he is a highly sought after expert and speaker, leading conversations on wellbeing on international stages such as the World Economic Forum, where he served on the Global Council on Mental Health.  In 2014, Davidson founded Humin (formerly Healthy Minds Innovations), a global nonprofit on a mission to make wellbeing real by translating science into action.

00:00 - What it means to flourish

05:48 - Using your mind intentionally

09:46 - Why informal practice works just as well

11:50 - A mindful walk

14:21 - The biology of loneliness

17:15 - The narrative you carry about yourself

20:38 - Mental reps & neuroplasticity

23:54 - Connecting purpose to small tasks

28:25 - The free Healthy Minds app

31:02 - How fast the brain actually changes

36:48 - Inflammation, dementia, & longevity

38:53 - Davidson's morning & evening ritual

43:13 - Setting kids up to flourish

44:43 - How a volleyball team connects

Referenced in the episode: 

The Healthy Minds app: https://www.humin.org/wellbeing-tools/app

For more about Davidson, visit: https://www.richardjdavidson.com/ 

Purchase his book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668066238/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?tag=mind0a3-20 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"When it comes to high-intensity interval training work, quality is much more important than quantity,” says Fraser Thurlow, Ph.D. 

Thurlow is a high-performance coach, researcher, and lecturer with over a decade of experience helping people improve their fitness and performance. He holds a PhD in Human Performance, has published extensively on training, and has lectured at leading Australian universities in sport and exercise science. His work focuses on translating science into practical, evidence-based strategies that improve health, fitness, and athletic performance.

00:00 - How to actually raise your VO2 max

05:26 - Long vs short interval training

09:00 - Heart rate vs. perceived exertion

11:13 - Accurately monitoring heart rate 

13:12 - The sprint interval training protocol

19:07 - A sample weekly plan

23:58 - Working exercise into the day-to-day

28:24 - Making the most out of supersets

31:58 - VO2 max mistakes

34:32 - How to train for HYROX

39:17 - Foot strength & barefoot lifting

43:37 - Overrated & underrated fitness

45:35 - Fraser's sprint research

50:40 - VO2 max vs. muscle for longevity

Referenced in the episode: 

For more about Thurlow & his personal training, visit: https://stan.store/drthurlow 

Jan Helgerud sprint study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17414804/ 

Vollaard analysis of VO2 max studies: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28079707/ 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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“When we engage in the arts, it exposes us to a lot of emotions, which can have a tangible impact on the neurotransmitters released in our brains, the stress hormones in our bodies, and even the levels of inflammation in our immune system,” says Daisy Fancourt. 

Fancourt is a Professor of Psychobiology and Epidemiology at University College London where she heads the Social Biobehavioural Research Group, and serves as the Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health. She is one of the most highly cited scientists in the world, having published 300 scientific papers and won over two dozen academic prizes. She is a multi-award-winning science communicator and has been named a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and BBC New Generation Thinker. 

00:00 - Art as the fifth pillar of health

01:21 - The benefits of arts engagement

08:10 - Your daily & weekly arts prescription

09:35 - Why attention is the key ingredient

11:12 - Visual vs. audio art

14:56 - Making the most of a museum visit

18:11 - Art for stress & mood regulation

19:09 - Using art to wind down

21:04 - Art & the brain

27:44 - Prescribing art for anxiety & depression

32:08 - Reconnecting with childhood creativity

34:14 - Finding art in the every day

36:45 - Biological evidence of art’s impact

40:14 - Art for joy & exercise

44:54 - The creative commute

Referenced in the episode: 

Greece’s art program for mental health: https://artonprescription.gr/en/  

For more about Fancourt & her research, visit: https://sbbresearch.org/ 

Buy Fancourt’s book here: https://a.co/d/03ypycB7 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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“Anatomy and physiology always matter when it comes to pain. They're just not the whole story,” says Rachel Zoffness, Ph.D.

Zoffness is a pain scientist, pain psychologist, and thought-leader revolutionizing the way we understand and treat pain. She's an assistant clinical professor at UCSF, lectures at Stanford, and consults on the development of pain management programs around the world. Dr. Zoffness’s new book, Tell Me Where It Hurts, is out now, and in the process of being translated into over 25 languages.

00:00 - Everything we know about pain is wrong

05:48 - Pain is biopsychosocial

09:45 - Building your personal pain recipe

15:00 - Emotions can turn pain volume up & down

18:14 - Your thoughts affect your physiology

25:29 - How cancer cured a kidney stone

31:51 - Optimism & letting go of outcomes

37:47 - What the placebo effect really is

39:45 - A daily protocol for pain resilience

44:35 - Why friends are medicine

48:05 - When words make pain worse

51:00 - Rachel's own pain story

Referenced in the episode: 

For more about Zoffness, visit her website: https://www.zoffness.com/ 

Buy her book here: https://a.co/03dKuChz 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"Making the effort earlier totally changes the trajectory for the rest of your life,” says Jeremy London, MD.

London is a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with more than 25 years of clinical experience caring for patients across the full spectrum of heart disease — from prevention to advanced intervention. Dr. London received his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia and completed his general surgery residency at Joseph’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado. He completed a general vascular and thoracic surgical fellowship at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C. To deepen his understanding of medicine, he completed the Institute of Functional Medicine core program.

00:00 - When a cardiac surgeon has a heart attack

10:46 - Waking up with different priorities

13:49 - Missed signals

18:35 - The CGM experiment that revealed pre-diabetes

21:43 - The 5 tests that actually matter

25:44 - Diving into Lp(a)

30:36 - Target numbers for primary prevention

32:26 - Why taking medication isn't failure

38:24 - Atherosclerosis starts in childhood

41:19 - Why a zero calcium score doesn't mean you're safe

45:40 - What we don't know

48:41 - GLP-1s & the future of prevention

For more about London, visit his website: https://drjeremylondon.com/ 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"Midlife is a perfect time for you to think about where you've been & where you want to go,” says Margie Lachman, PhD. 

Lachman is professor of psychology at Brandeis University and director of the Lifespan Lab. A leading expert on adult development and aging, Lachman is one of a small group of scholars who study midlife from a lifespan developmental perspective. Her honors include research awards from the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Gerontological Society of America. Lachman was a member of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development, which launched the landmark Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. She is a coinvestigator on MIDUS and several other projects exploring cognition, health, and well-being in midlife and later adulthood. 

00:00 - Why midlife is actually prime time

04:37 - The hinge moment & the pivot point

08:08 - Looking back vs. looking ahead

11:16 - The midlife crisis myth, explained

14:24 - Stability, identity, & personality change

18:42 - Traits of people who thrive in midlife

22:55 - What to do in retirement

26:53 - No one wants to look older

29:00 - Emotional regulation gets better with age

31:20 - Resilience, optimism, and sense of control

35:52 - Giving vs receiving in midlife relationships

38:36 - The U-shaped happiness curve is overstated

41:32 - Cognitive peak in midlife

40:36 - How your mindset can be anti-inflammatory

44:30 - Exercise as a panacea for health 

Referenced in the episode: 

Buy Lachman’s book here:

For more about the MIDUS study, visit: https://midus.wisc.edu/

Patent holder study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733322001500 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"There is no one magic test for brain health,” says Richard Isaacson, MD.

Isaacson is a Harvard-trained neurologist who directs the Precision Prevention Program at Atria Health and Research Institute and founded the world's first Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian. A leader in precision-medicine approaches to Alzheimer's risk reduction, he has served as principal investigator for multiple research initiatives focused on individualized care. He recently led an NIH-funded clinical trial showing that a free online tool (RetainYourBrain.com) reduced Alzheimer's risk by 16% in six months, and is working to democratize brain health testing through an at-home, lower-cost blood biomarker test (AlzLabs.org).

Show notes:

00:00 - What we don’t know about Alzheimer’s

04:49 - Where to start with Alzheimer’s risk

06:55 - Lifestyle first: optimizing what you can control

10:39 - Using wearables & health tech for brain health

16:19 – Why there's no perfect blood test for the brain

29:06 - Cutting through the information noise

31:10 - Steps to take when symptoms appear

35:37 - Is it actually memory loss?

38:54 - The future of Alzheimer’s testing

Referenced in the episode: 

Free cognitive risk & assessment tools: retainyourbrain.com

Free information about blood biomarkers: ind.org/bloodtest  

Free information about home testing: alzlabs.org 
We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"You shouldn't be spending more than five minutes in there at a time,” says Trisha Pasricha, MD, MPH.

A graduate of Harvard College, Pasricha earned her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her training includes an internal medicine residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and gastroenterology and motility fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital. Currently, Pasricha is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Institute for Gut-Brain Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an NIH-funded research laboratory at the forefront of gut-brain science. Her book, You've Been Pooping All Wrong, is out now. 

00:00 - What actually makes a bowel movement healthy

07:55 - The Bristol Stool Chart explained

10:50 - The case for bidets

14:49 - What hemorrhoids actually are

17:44 - The smartphone-hemorrhoid study

20:33 - Fiber timing & psyllium husk

24:03 - The rise in early-onset colorectal cancer

27:43 - Microbiome testing

30:03 - The future of gut health

32:33 - Why we can't poop when traveling

35:40 - How much gas is actually normal

38:01 - Runners with the runs

41:10 - How to overhaul your gut in 30 days

Referenced in the episode: 

For more about Pasricha, visit her website: https://www.trishapasricha.com/ 

Buy Pasricha’s book here: https://a.co/d/0gZZImBR 

Smartphone usage on the toilet study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12407481/ 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"Almost all of the interventions that make us happier work because they make us feel more connected and more loved,’ says Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D.

Lyubomirsky is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the bestselling author of The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness—and her latest, How to Feel Loved (Harper Collins, 2026), paired with a mainstage TED talk. A Harvard and Stanford-trained scientist whose research has been featured in the New York Times, on podcasts, and in documentaries worldwide, she is one of the world's leading experts on the science of happiness

00:00 - What connects every happiness practice

03:24 - Why you should talk to strangers

04:41 - Kindness changes your DNA

08:32 - Money, power, & fame are overrated

10:36 - The case for reaching out to old friends

13:49 - Why 70% don't feel loved enough

17:03 - The walls we walk around with

18:52 - The radical curiosity mindset

23:55 - How to really listen 

28:19 - AI as a companion

31:05 - The relationship SEAsaw

39:00 - When introverts act extroverted

43:40 - The conversation to have tomorrow

Referenced in the episode: 

For more about Lyubomirsky & her research, visit her website: https://sonjalyubomirsky.com/ 

Buy her new book: https://a.co/d/04sCyQSj 

Listen to her mainstage TED talk: https://youtu.be/pdRWeK9f02w?si=1vV8cwwsSHeCMZ3y 

For more about Nicholas Epley’s research & upcoming book, visit his website: https://www.nicholasepley.com/ 
We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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