What do you do when your back hurts, or when your neck and shoulders get tight and sore? Acupuncture is a potent medicine for joint pain, muscle pain, and nerve pain that provides an immediate relaxing, anti-inflammatory effect in a way that other healing modalities can’t. A growing body of research shows that acupuncture is a potent medicine for joint pain, muscle pain, low back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis of the knee, as well as chronic conditions like fibromyalgia. But people often try it only after drugs, physical therapy, chiropractic, massage and aren’t yielding optimal results. In this episode, Licensed Acupuncturist and host Brodie Welch and Dr. Anthony Lombardi unpack why acupuncture should be your go-to treatment modality available for muscle and/or joint pain due to its ability to neuromodulate, returning the neuromuscular system to homeostasis: improving range of motion, strength, while reducing inflammation. On Today’s Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: How Dr. Lomb...
Chances are, if you're checking out this episode, you're looking for tools and techniques to help tune into yourself and be a better self-healer. You're probably also aware that the things we do every day can make a massive difference in how we feel as opposed to only finding healing in a bottle. In this conversation, Amy Kuretsky, L.Ac. joins us to examine the deceptively simple, yet powerful technique of breathwork. As a broad term, breathwork is about simply bringing some intention to how you are using or manipulating your breath to reach specific outcomes such as regulating energy, clearing trauma, and reprograming old beliefs. On Today’s Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: What some of the differences are between types of breathwork Who often benefits the most from the type of breathwork Amy practices The benefits she found for herself through her practice How breathwork can help to unpack trauma A short example of the breathwork Amy works with Amy Kuretsky (she/her) is a breathwork facilitator and business coach working on Dakota and Anishinaabe ancestral land. Her work is focused on helping successful businesses tap into their intuition and do business differently so that they can fall back in love with their work. She uses the breath as a tool for healing and business building and has led online and in-person breathwork groups all over the world. This past year, she organized with a group of other breathwork facilitators for more anti-oppression and trauma informed training as part of the Breathwork for the People collective. Along with her coaching business, she also has a background in acupuncture and Chinese medicine and co-owns Constellation Acupuncture and Healing Arts, a healing space in NE Minneapolis. Links: Stanislav Grof The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. Holotropic Breathwork by Stanislav Grof & Christina Grof Breath by James Nestor Get Amy's free 15-minute guided breathwork meditaton to relieve stress and move energy! Connect With Amy Kuretsky: Website Constellation Acupuncture & Healing Arts Instagram Constellation Instagram -- Learn more about Brodie's Classes and Meditations Enjoying the show? Help support us and keep the show going with the tip jar!
Winter is cold, dark, slow time of year, and since we’re a part of nature, it’s easy for us to feel the same way: sluggish and more inclined to hibernate than to get things done. This most yin of seasons is necessary to balance the yang of life, and we ignore its gifts at our peril. In this episode, we examine how we can embrace the yin nature of winter, along with: The connection between slowness, empathy, and connection What winter is about according to Chinese Medicine How qi gong can make you a better listener Why doing less is seasonally appropriate How to overcome winter’s inertia to keep moving forward Links: Register for Brodie’s 1-hr Intro to Qi Gong: Embodied Meditation for Your Nervous System (Feb. 9, 2022) https://inaura.com/events/qigong-basics/ Brodie’s on-demand qi gong class Enjoying the show? Help support us and keep the show going with the tip jar!
What would you really like to make time for on a regular basis, that somehow keeps getting pushed to the back burner? Whether it's writing a book, starting a meditation practice, or dropping a few pounds, developing a consistent routine is often the key to realizing your goal. And developing a new routine -- or stopping an old behavior -- is hard. And it's about more than just willpower. It takes time, energy, strategy, planning, and support. It takes examining the emotional triggers, and being able to see what hidden subconscious forces might be holding us back. In this episode, Brodie shares not only share a personal win, but also some of the healing that it took to make it happen. You'll hear which tried-and-true techniques helped her succeed, and an old story she was forced to examine and break up with. May it inspire you to Do the Thing! On Today’s Solo Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: What helped with keeping a daily exercise commitment for over 13 months Why it’s important t...
From time to time, every one of us makes mistakes and bad decisions. Once we recognize what happened, it can often be hard to regain our self-trust. Kelly Thiel joins us for this conversation to share her own experience of losing self-trust and how she's been able to work on rebuilding it. Her story inspires us to let go of resentment and anger to move forward; to move on from perfectionism and mistakes to find trust in ourselves once again. On Today’s Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: How discernment relates to self-trust in Chinese Medicine What some of the conditions were that led Kelly to the NXIVM cult The difference in the feelings of evolution versus things that are actually dangerous to us Why the answers we seek always come from inside ourselves How she defines enlightenment for herself now Kelly Thiel is an accomplished voice actress, author, speaker, consultant, and spiritual seeker. She practices yoga, does Pilates, and and has worked with spiritual healers around the wor...
Our digestive microbiome supports every other system in our bodies. Since we can't use what we can't digest and what we can't digest can cause problems, we can see cascading effects through our bodies if something's not right. Here to unpack how the digestive system works and its central role in the body is Dr. Darlene Easton. She brings us some practical insights to help us understand our digestive functions and shift our understanding of our place in the world as living ecosystems. On Today’s Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: Why Dr. Easton thinks everyone should be obsessed with digestion What she would like people to do differently to improve their microbiome and digestive health How we can use Chinese Medicine to address common issues like acid reflux, instead of over-the-counter medications Why bile is so important to our bodies Dr. Easton earned her MSAOM (1998), MSACN (2011) and DACM (2020). She is an NCCAOM diplomate and board certified CNS. Dr. Easton has earned 2 post-grad...
Given the stress and restriction of the last year, a lot of us might be carrying around some neck pain or unproductive posture. In the spirit of allowing ourselves to do less than we're humanly capable of, this conversation will address how we can work to reverse these issues with very gentle movements. Movements that invite us to be curious about the sensations we feel rather than trying to force our bodies to move in a certain way. To help guide us, Kieran Schumaker joins us for this episode to share their unique approach to bodywork. If you're into optimizing the functioning of your autonomic nervous system or the blood flow to your brain, you won't want to miss what Kieran brings to this conversation. On Today’s Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: How Kier started connecting different sets of knowledge they were studying through structural integration What neurovascular release is and how it’s different from structural integration Some background on where the vagus nerve is and wh...
It's been a tough year. As we slowly begin to emerge from, hopefully, the worst of the pandemic, we're also entering the full on yang-mode of summer. In the spirit of self-compassion on the heels of such a trying time, what would it look like to give yourself the gift of doing less? How can we lean into play and joy instead of the temptation of sending all of our energy and attention outwards this season? These questions are tough to untangle as we try to move from a mode of surviving to one of thriving. Dr. Yvonne Farrell, DAOM, L.Ac., joins us in this conversation to share her wisdom regarding how we can find the balance between these two phases. She provides insight into how we can attempt to harvest useful things from the pandemic experience in order to pursue meaning and purpose in life. On Today's Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: Navigating the tension between going with the flow of the summer season and doing what's important to stay balanced How Dr. Farrell uses gratitude as ...
Almost everyone that comes through the clinic is dealing with some combination of two things: stress and dampness. This episode is a masterclass, or at least a lengthy public service announcement, on dampness since some of the most common questions that come up are regarding what it is and how to address it. If you're dealing with tiredness, lethargy, poor digestion, brain fog, congestion, or are struggling with weight loss, understanding more about dampness can change your life. In this episode, you'll hear some guidelines for things to include in your life, but the ultimate focus should always lie on subtracting the dampening effects in the first place. On Today’s Solo Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: Some things to look for on the tongue, as well as other signs, that can indicate dampness Why dampness usually comes from dietary indiscretions How Phlegm relates to dampness What causes of dampness can occur that don’t come from food Links: The Tao of Healthy Eating by Bob Flaws Nu...
As the world slowly begins to emerge from the worst of the COVID era, there is a lot of collective trauma that we'll be working through for years. While any healing takes time, there are ways to move through trauma in accordance with the principles of Chinese Medicine that invite more ease into the process. Bringing with her some practical tips for processing grief, being soft with ourselves, and aligning with the season of spring, Ellen Goldsmith joins this conversation to elaborate on ways that Chinese Medicine can support us as we heal from trauma. On Today’s Episode of A Healthy Curiosity: What aspects of Chinese Medicine Ellen identifies as helping to work through difficult times What we can learn by learning from and aligning with the patterns of nature The advice she has for those of us having difficulty being with what is Why resilience and flexibility are so crucial Ellen Goldsmith is a licensed and board certified acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist with over two decades ...