Hormonal birth control has been directly correlated with weight gain, mental health problems, and decreased libido—not exactly an ideal mix when it comes to sexuality. But what are you supposed to do? What is the alternative? With anything health and wellness, all decisions are personal, but unfortunately, most decisions are uninformed. Our guest on this week’s show will shed some light on the real concerns so you can make the decision that is right for you. Listen & Learn How the pill can make ...
Nov 21, 2019•46 min•Ep 386•Transcript available on Metacast I had a rough year in 2006. It was the year I opened my first yoga studio. I should have been on cloud nine, but I wasn’t ready for all that responsibility and all that stress. I had a staff of 12, hundreds of students, courses, a restaurant, and very little support. Mostly, I was alone. An old friend sent me some audio meditation tracks he’d be using that had a technology called binaural beats. I’d never heard of it, but I gave it a try. Right away, I felt something. Technology and I have a com...
Nov 13, 2019•52 min•Ep 385•Transcript available on Metacast I wanted to run a marathon this year. The truth is, I hardly ever run, but like any good mid-life crisis man, I wanted to tackle that goal to prove to myself I still could do hard things. Sounds great, right? Fun and challenging? Here’s the problem—I didn’t do it. I don’t even think I wanted to do it. If I had been smarter, I would have set a tiny goal, like running 5 km per week for a year for example. Then I could “win” the goal, and if the marathon happened, it’d be gravy. Instead, here I am ...
Nov 07, 2019•50 min•Ep 384•Transcript available on Metacast You close your blackout curtains, flip your phone to airplane mode, and crawl into bed with all the best intentions to get 7.5 hours of sleep—and then your monkey mind starts peeling bananas. Work deadlines stream through your mind, the next episode of your current favorite series beckons, and for no good reason, you’re dying to see what your friends are posting on Instagram. Thirty minutes pass, and more of the same. You’re now worried you’ll have raccoon eyes at the office meeting in the morni...
Oct 30, 2019•44 min•Ep 383•Transcript available on Metacast I said goodbye to my grandfather when I was 8 years old. He had his first heart attack, and my mom was convinced he didn’t have long to live. Turns out he had many, many years ahead of him. Unfortunately, he was riddled with recurring heart problems, Parkinson’s, and a whole host of medical challenges. He lived a long life, but not a healthy one. His rapid decline shook my family, turned my mother into a health fanatic, and she passed the bug onto me. I wish I could say that pleasure and dreams ...
Oct 24, 2019•52 min•Ep 382•Transcript available on Metacast Would you survive if you had to grow or forage your own food for an entire year? Would you eat roadkill, wild yam, coconuts, and acorn grubs? Rob Greenfield is finishing up 365 days straight growing and gathering (from the ‘wild’) as his own food. Rob is an adventurer, environmental activist, humanitarian, and a guy on a mission to create a more sustainable and just world. Listen & Learn: Why our current food systems are broken How extremes can plant seeds for moderate ideas that make more sense...
Oct 16, 2019•51 min•Ep 381•Transcript available on Metacast “Inhale fresh, life-giving oxygen… exhale toxic, dead carbon dioxide,” said my yoga teacher. I’ve heard some variation of this hundreds of times in classes. Oxygen is good, carbon dioxide is bad. In with the good, out with the bad. Right? As it turns out, this kindergarten understanding of breathing physiology is wrong. Most of us could really benefit from more CO 2 because it opens up your air passageways, relaxes smooth muscle tissues, and allows for greater absorption of oxygen. Lack of CO 2 ...
Oct 10, 2019•1 hr•Ep 380•Transcript available on Metacast People often compare the human body to a car, but this is a bad analogy (unless it’s a Tesla) because your body doesn’t contain a combustion engine. You’re electric, my friend, and your nerves are in the driver’s seat. One electrical stimulus makes you anxious, another makes you calm; mostly, you’re an out-of-control cross-fire of signals that kicks you around energetically and emotionally throughout the day. To know your nerves, you must know the vagus nerve. It’s the master controller of the p...
Oct 02, 2019•42 min•Ep 379•Transcript available on Metacast My second child has black circles under his eyes in all his photos from birth to age four. He slept as little as possible and willed himself through most days with all the angst and irritability of any insomniac. At age four, he finally started sleeping and quickly became a new person. He learned more, laughed more, talked (a lot) and was a joy to be around. Was it just the sleep? No, but it made a huge difference. No more nervous anxiety in the mornings, no more dark circles, and finally, he se...
Sep 26, 2019•44 min•Ep 378•Transcript available on Metacast The American life expectancy is currently 79, which sounds great until you realize that is the 26th in line worldwide. Despite being one of the most developed and wealthy nations in the world, the US system is not only ridiculously overpriced (at least 2x), it’s also ineffective. It’s a double fail with upstream and downstream effects that are impossible to even begin to quantify. This wonky system was built post World War II with financial incentives going to everyone except the average citizen...
Sep 19, 2019•46 min•Ep 377•Transcript available on Metacast I live in Spain where the average life expectancy just hit 83 years—number three in the world, less than one percentage of a point behind Switzerland and Japan. Foreigners often hypothesize that the reason is due to the diet, the long walks, or red wine that keep people alive until such an old age, but after I’ve lived here for 10 years, I must disagree. As I look out of my office window right now, the corner cafe is filled with office workers on a morning break drinking coffee, smoking cigarett...
Sep 12, 2019•49 min•Ep 376•Transcript available on Metacast Imagine a mosquito bites your arm. You scratch the bump and it grows big and red and doesn’t go away for months. You’d be panicked, right? Now, imagine that the red inflamed area is inside your gut, your small intestines, and your colon. What now? Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. The long-term health impact of gastrointestinal inflammation is devastating. At the extremes, there’s Crohn’s and Colitis, but hundreds of millions of people are suffering from endocrine disrup...
Sep 04, 2019•45 min•Ep 375•Transcript available on Metacast More than 80% of people are dissatisfied with their work, and yet work is where we spend the majority of our waking hours. People say things like “Do what you love and the money will follow” and “Follow your passion…” but is it really that simple? Not for most of us. On this week’s show, author, speaker, and entrepreneur, Evan Carmichael, shares his research for finding meaning and purpose at work. Listen & Learn: Why most people run away from their life rather than running toward a better one W...
Aug 29, 2019•43 min•Ep 374•Transcript available on Metacast One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted in college in America*, so there are literally tens of millions of victims living every day with guilt, shame, pain, trauma, and baggage. How can we be body-positive and sex-positive in this environment? How do people trust each other or even themselves? The challenges between men and women have existed since the beginning of time, and yet, the rules of engagement are unclear; and mostly, things are left unsaid, trauma is left to fester,...
Aug 22, 2019•1 hr•Ep 373•Transcript available on Metacast Just as an infant requires physical touch to ensure healthy development, every adult requires intimacy and connection to be mentally and physically healthy... and yet many of us are left lacking. A lingering hug can increase oxytocin and decrease cortisol, deep conversations can be neuroprotective, and a true friend or lover can alter not just your emotional life but also your biology. On this week’s show, we’ll unpack the role between intimacy and your endocrine system, and the vital importance...
Aug 14, 2019•42 min•Ep 372•Transcript available on Metacast Any relationship crisis is usually coupled with a communication breakdown. Your needs are not being met, so you shut down. You’re upset about something, but instead of voicing it, you bottle it up. Your partner does the same, and over time, you grow distant, bitter, and even resentful. We’ve all experienced this poor communication pattern at some point. But what does good communication even look like? Do you take notes and make an outline of your key points? Do you talk, text, or email? There is...
Aug 07, 2019•44 min•Ep 371•Transcript available on Metacast You don’t manage to leave the office until 8 pm. Traffic is terrible, so it takes you an hour to get home. One of your relatives is sick and has been texting you all day, but you haven’t had a moment to call to check in. Your taxes are due in a few weeks, and you don’t have any idea how much you’ll owe. You’re best friend is just not there for you the way she used to be. She hasn’t called you in weeks. It’s Thursday evening, and you’re all alone in your kitchen trying to manage this very common ...
Jul 31, 2019•53 min•Ep 370•Transcript available on Metacast The pursuit of health, wealth, and relationships drive 99% of our action, but just how important are each of these to you personally? How much time are you willing to invest and what are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals in these three areas? My guest on this week’s show has flipped the script in many ways and is doing more with less, simplifying his life, living off the grid at times, and cherry-picking his life experiences. A truly simple life is not for everyone (mine is oozing w...
Jul 25, 2019•53 min•Ep 369•Transcript available on Metacast How many of your exes are you connected to on Facebook? How often do you find yourself dredging up past emotional head trash from lost love? For most people, the answer is “too often.” We live in an era where forgetting and moving on has never been more challenging, and most of us need to learn strategies to put the past in its place to make room for a fulfilling future. And some of us are even “exaholics,” literally addicted to the emotional rollercoaster of times long ago. On this week’s show,...
Jul 18, 2019•31 min•Ep 368•Transcript available on Metacast Your home and workspace affect your mood, your sleep, your productivity, and your feeling of belonging, but how much time have you spent to make them truly serve you? For most of us, we’re stuck working in a random office environment, and we might not even be able to control our living space as much as we’d like. The feeling you get is subjective, of course, but there is an emerging science that teaches us fascinating universal truths about what makes a great space. On this week’s show, you’ll m...
Jul 11, 2019•42 min•Ep 367•Transcript available on Metacast Whether you’re a devout believer or a staunch atheist, the research is clear: prayer works. Here’s what also works: introspective time, mindfulness, positive focus, and big ideas. Science has proven that your brain physically changes through the regular practice of prayer, meditation, and mindfulness, and the changes can happen in as little as six to eight weeks. Our guest on this week’s show has dedicated his life to the study of positive neural changes through prayer and spiritual practices, a...
Jul 04, 2019•56 min•Ep 366•Transcript available on Metacast Many women start hormonal birth control in their teens and continue for years or even decades. This can be a responsible decision, but most people don’t realize the long-term side effects and risks including infertility, reduced libido, weight gain, and even mood disorders. With all things birth control, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but throwing a pill at the issue without weighing the options is surely a bad idea. On this week’s show, you’ll meet Dr. Jolene Brighten, a women’s hormon...
Jun 27, 2019•41 min•Ep 365•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know that 80 percent of generic drugs are manufactured in India or China, thousands of miles from the US FDA inspectors? When it comes to oversight, manufacturing safety, and transparency, it’s a huge problem when Big Brother is on the other side of the planet. Generic drugs offer consumers huge cost savings, but is safety and regulation the price we have to pay in order to afford our medicines? On this week’s show, you’ll meet an investigative journalist who uncovered the real problems ...
Jun 20, 2019•35 min•Ep 364•Transcript available on Metacast I used to say, “I’m bad with names!” It wasn’t until my late 30s that I realized this was just an excuse for not learning how to remember names. Turns out, it’s not that hard. I’m not amazing, but I’m now pretty good and getting better all the time. My big secret? I put some effort into it. My guest on this week’s show is a four-time USA memory champion. Here is a short list of his accomplishments: Memorized 217 names in 15 minutes Memorized 256 words in 15 minutes Memorized 907 digits in 30 min...
Jun 13, 2019•39 min•Ep 363•Transcript available on Metacast That glass of red wine after dinner soon turns into two or three. On Friday and Saturday, two or three often turns into a bottle or two. After a decade or more of drinking, it’s not uncommon to clock in 30+ drinks per week. It creeps up slowly, so it can almost go unnoticed. But your body, mind, and spirit notice, and it has a real impact. On this week’s show, you’ll meet a very successful executive who didn’t start drinking until her late 20s but quickly found herself living a lifestyle that sh...
Jun 06, 2019•39 min•Ep 362•Transcript available on Metacast When you think of a spiritual seeker, you probably conjure up images of shaved heads, orange robes, dark meditation halls, and gongs. But sitting in silence is not the only way to mediate. You can also run around in circles 12-14 hours a day, pushing your body and mental resolve to their limit. Every year, a dozen or so seekers show up in Queens, New York, to run around an unremarkable city block until they hit 59 miles. They do this for 52 days straight, 3100 miles total. This extreme race has ...
May 30, 2019•47 min•Ep 361•Transcript available on Metacast Real health is more than just food and exercise. The key elements we often overlook are love, support, community, and stress management. These factors are so much more difficult to manage but potentially even more important than nailing the perfect diet or workout routine. My guest on this week’s podcast has an incredible track record for reversing and healing heart disease through lifestyle interventions, and he shares his very simple four-pronged approach to health and wellness for life. Liste...
May 22, 2019•36 min•Ep 360•Transcript available on Metacast Your social media feed is filled with the curated lives of a bunch of strangers who you “follow” for no obvious reason. They are better-looking than you, their lunch looks tastier, their prose is so witty. Wow, what a life . But is it real? Probably not. On an average day, most of us feel a combination of overwhelm, exhaustion, silliness, joy, loss, fear, anxiety, and depression. For a few wonderful moments, we get lost in our work or family lives, we get sucked into an inspiring story or enchan...
May 15, 2019•43 min•Ep 359•Transcript available on Metacast From the melting ice caps to dying marine reefs and depleted fish populations, we’re facing some big challenges right now, but very few people flip the lens to look at their own bodies to ask: “How are these petrochemical toxins affecting me and my family?” The truth is, toxins affect all of us from the moment we’re born. Newborns enter the world with 200+ chemical toxins inside them, and the quantity tends to go up and up as we age. Plastics can make your fat cells bigger and mess up your hormo...
May 08, 2019•36 min•Ep 358•Transcript available on Metacast The two big reasons marriages fail are sex and money. While finances are by no means easy, you can always go get another job, cut back, add on, or get creative. These creative solutions rarely play out well when it comes to sex, so you can quickly see why challenges often end in disaster. Sexuality is such a private issue, something most people prefer to discuss behind closed doors; but in reality, they don’t even discuss it in privacy either. Mostly, it goes unspoken. So what do you do? What is...
May 02, 2019•39 min•Ep 357•Transcript available on Metacast 
