#247: An Unconventional Path to Treating Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Cynthia Li

An Unconventional Path to Treating Autoimmune Disease | This episode is brought to you by Vivobarefoot and Cozy Earth

Dr. Cynthia Li seemingly had it all—a successful career in medicine, a loving marriage, and children. But it all came crashing down after developing an autoimmune thyroid condition, chronic fatigue syndrome, and dysautonomia. Mysterious symptoms began consuming her body—test after test came back “within” normal limits,” baffling her and her doctors. She was housebound for two years with two young children, and she began a solo odyssey from her living room couch to find a way to heal. 

In this episode of The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru sits down with Dr. Cynthia Li to talk about her disabling autoimmune illness, the limitations of Western medicine, and her hard-won lessons on healing—mind, body, and spirit.

Dr. Cynthia Li received her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Her personal health challenges led her to integrative and Functional Medicine, and she currently has a private practice in Berkeley, CA. She serves on the faculty of the Healer’s Art program at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, and she is the author of Brave New Medicine: A Doctor’s Unconventional Path to Healing Her Autoimmune Illness.

In this episode, we dive into: 

-How Dr. Li came to discover her autoimmune disease (5:56)

-The importance of not being attached to one healing modality (12:53)

-How Dr. Li’s mindset was a big obstruction to seeking alternative help (18:06)

-Why we have to distance ourselves from our diagnosis (33:22)

-One of the first things Dr. Li did to heal her illness (39:35) 

-How Dr. Li learned to tune into her own intuition and use it to guide her (43:19)

-Key pillars that were crucial in Dr. Li’s healing (55:55) 

-The impact qigong had on her healing journey (59:01)

-Hitting rock bottom for the second time (1:00:34)

-Dr. Li’s qigong practice (1:12:33)

For more on Dr. Cynthia Li follow her on Facebook @dr.cynthia.li and through her website https://cynthialimd.com/. Get her book Brave New Medicine at https://cynthialimd.com/brave-new-medicine/.

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