In this powerful conversation, Julie Ann and guest co-creator Megan announce their new collaborative book project: The A to Z of Healing—a collection of real-life stories from people who chose a different path with their health.
Megan brings 20 years of experience as a nurse inside the Western medical system, and shares how her own arthritis diagnosis during the pandemic became a turning point. Faced with the offer of methotrexate (a chemo-adjacent drug that wipes out the immune system), she drew a hard line and said, “No—that’s not an option.” That decision led her to naturopathic support, supplements, brain retraining, and a completely different relationship with her body.
Julie Ann shares how she was told she would never walk without radical spinal surgery—removing vertebrae and inserting rods—and how one Feldenkrais session opened a completely new healing trajectory. From there, she reframed what’s possible when we lean into stories, not just statistics.
Together, they explore healing modalities like Feldenkrais, Reiki, plant medicine, hypnosis, timeline therapy, nutrition, movement, and the power of imagination—and why informed choice must mean more than a single pill or protocol.
This episode is also a call for contributors: if you have healed (or are actively healing) through a “non-standard” approach, they want to hear your story for The A to Z of Healing collaborative book.
In This Episode, You’ll Hear About
- How the A–Z of Healing collaborative book was born and why it may become multiple volumes
- Megan’s journey from ICU nurse to integrative healing advocate after saying no to methotrexate
- Julie Ann’s scoliosis/spine story and how Feldenkrais helped her avoid major surgery
- Real-life examples of people healing with modalities like Reiki, hypnosis, plant medicine, and timeline therapy
- Why nutrition, movement, and brain health are foundational “fuels” for the body
- The story of their friend with MS who challenged her prognosis through intense strength training
- How imagination and a “perfect day” visualization helped a patient go from lying flat to sitting up after weeks
- A heartfelt invitation for listeners to share their own healing stories and join the book project
6 Key Takeaways
- Stories expand what we think is possible: Hearing real people’s healing journeys—like Julie Ann avoiding spinal surgery or Megan navigating arthritis without chemo-adjacent drugs—opens portals in our minds: if they did it, maybe I can too.
- “That’s not an option” is a powerful turning point: Both Julie Ann and Megan reached a moment where the proposed medical solution felt impossible for their lives. Saying “no” became the doorway to exploring other modalities and reclaiming agency over their bodies.
- Healing is bigger than one system or one pill: This is not an anti–Western medicine conversation; it’s a pro-full-picture conversation. Surgery, pharmaceuticals, and hospitals can save lives, and they are not the only tools available for healing.
- Your body is a high-performance vehicle—fuel and use it accordingly: Anti-inflammatory foods, supplements like turmeric and ginger, regular movement, and brain engagement (not just zoning out in front of a screen) all signal to the body that it’s worth maintaining at a high level.
- The brain is a healing partner, not just a bystander: From a patient who could suddenly sit up after visualizing her perfect day, to people refusing to be defined by their diagnosis, this episode underscores how belief, imagination, and intention influence the body’s healing trajectory.
- The A–Z of Healing is a collaborative map, not a prescription: The upcoming book will feature only modalities that Megan and Julie Ann (or their contributors) have personally experienced. It’s designed as a story-driven “menu” of 26+ options so no one is left thinking they only have one path or no hope.
If you’d like to share your own healing story or explore joining The A to Z of Healing collaborative book, you can follow the contact details and links Julie Ann has placed in the show notes.
Featured Guest: Megan Timmins
Megan Timmins is a former ICU nurse turned soul-led storyteller, health concierge, and advocate for conscious, holistic healing. After two decades inside the walls of Western medicine, Megan experienced a profound awakening that changed everything. Realizing that the system she served was keeping people sick—not helping them heal—she made the courageous decision to walk a new path.
Through her own health crisis, she discovered the power of natural remedies, mindset medicine, and the body’s innate intelligence. Her story—once buried under burnout—is now a beacon for others seeking “the what else”: the other options, the deeper questions, the truth behind true healing.
Megan is currently writing her first book, birthed during a transformative Book in a Week retreat in Mexico, where she reclaimed her voice and purpose. She now supports others in becoming empowered stewards of their health—offering guidance, insight, and a compassionate presence to those ready to explore a more aligned way of healing.
Whether through her writing, speaking, or sacred listening, Megan’s mission is simple but powerful: To help others remember that they have a choice—and that their story holds the key.
Follow Megan:
Website: https://growtoday.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megan_timmins1985?
Meet the Host: Julie Ann
Julie Ann is a publishing oracle and storytelling midwife who helps soul-led leaders birth books that awaken, heal, and transform.
With over 17 years in the publishing industry, she has guided more than 300 authors to write and publish nonfiction works that shift paradigms and reclaim truth. She is the founder of Influence Publishing, now evolved into The House of Story Medicine — Her gift is sacred listening — not just to words, but to what lives beneath them. She perceives the deeper current beneath your story, attuned to the moments where your voice trembles with truth. She is the eye of soul — the one who sees the unseen, holds the unspoken, and midwifes your message into clarity
Julie Ann is the host of the podcast Your Story is Your Portal, a sacred container for storytellers, seekers, and soul-led leaders ready to speak the story they were born to tell.
These are not interviews. These are activations.
Each episode is a portal — a moment of recognition, a mirror of becoming, a reclamation of voice and Soul Purpose.
Her TEDx talk has reached over 100,000 viewers, and she’s been featured on international television, radio, and in major press for her visionary work in authorship, voice activation, and transformational publishing.
She is also the author of Around the World in Seven Years, a bestselling memoir chronicling her global pilgrimage of personal awakening and soul-led leadership.
Connect with the Host:
Website: www.influencepublishing.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/InfluencePublishing
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/julieannpv
Instagram: instagram.com/julieinspires
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If you’d like to share your own healing story or explore joining The A to Z of Healing collaborative book, you can follow the contact details and links Julie Ann has placed in the show notes.
