The Vital Side Podcast

Are you wondering how you can improve your relationship with your food? Physician assistant and food lover, Kate Martino, joins us to explain all the ways we can re-establish a better relationship with the food we eat. With so much information on food, it can create overwhelm. Kate outlines how you can reconnect with your own intuition, choosing foods that better align with what you need, and why you shouldn’t have to sacrifice loving what you eat in order to be happy.  Kate is a physician assistant, who educates and empowers others to improve their health through diet, lifestyle, and mindset shifts. She's passionate about helping people have a healthier relationship with food and believes everyone can access their own unique relationship with food in a positive way. On her blog, Kate shares simple, healthy, and balanced recipes as well as health and wellness tips. She also hosts workshops that dive deeper into healthy eating and living.    Show Notes: -Kate’s early experience with food – carrying extra weight, acid reflux – and treating patients with chronic conditions -Mindfulness as the first step in shifting Kate’s relationship with food -Weight loss as a side effect vs. a goal -How you can make a more conscious choice on what to eat as a form of self-care -Shifting from restriction to freedom & adventure with our food choices -Connecting with worthiness in choosing the foods that nourish your unique self -Knowing that there is a balance you can create with the foods that we eat -Stress can impact blood sugar balance - when you experience ravenous hunger throughout the day, it’s harder to make better food choices -Explanation of hypoglycemia - sugar lows and spikes -Food freedom means losing stress around food, choosing what you want, when you want it without experiencing a sense of guilt -Taking inventory of the foods that you eat, then creating a plan - how do those foods make you feel? Set yourself up to succeed for the week -Checking in with your body after you eat - are you feeling nourished? -The Hunger Scale - eat until about a 7 if 10 is the fullest you can feel -Connect back to your bigger intention and your personal “why” (i.e. your vision, goals, etc.) as a catalyst to drive more conscious decisions around your food choices -If “healthy eating” causes a lot of stress in your life, prepare yourself with a plan of action to help you enjoy the meal more -Start to connect with an enjoyable process of making food: put on music, a podcast, and connect with activities that are fun during this experience   Resources: -Sign up here to receive an exclusive healthy copycat Reese's Balls! -Visit Kate’s Website -Kate’s Instagram: @kate.martino -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website   Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Do you feel the craving to spend more time outside with nature? We’re talking with Maria Failla to discuss the power of plants and connecting with nature. Maria explains how our connection with nature relates to the nervous system, as well as how you can use plants as an alternative to other tools like meditation, how to engage all of your senses, and how you can use one simple daily tool to improve your connection with nature.  Maria is a “Plant Killer Turned Plant Lady” on a mission to help people successfully care for plants and make the world a kinder and greener place. After learning to care for plants successfully and experiencing the exponential joy caring for plants brought to her life, she founded the Bloom and Grow Radio Podcast. Since the launch of her podcast, she also launched the Bloom & Grow [Virtual] GardenSociety and authored Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants). Show Notes: - Going from being an avid plant killer to connecting with the natural world - Moving from overstimulated millennial to living more intentionally and mindfully through the power of plants - Maria’s journey into entrepreneurship – starting one of the first plant podcasts, Bloom & Grow Radio - Using plants to create space & regulate your nervous system - Engaging in nervous system regulation as a lifestyle - Caring for something else as a way to disconnect from your own problems or challenges - Tuning yourself into the frequency of plants - Pruning a plant as an analogy for healing & personal growth in us humans - The science + research behind using house plants for nervous system regulation and for overall wellness - Biophilia Theory – humans evolved in nature amongst trees, hard wiring us for connection to something bigger than ourselves - “Plant Bias” (Plant Blindness) – not recognizing nature as a living & breathing ecosystem - Forest Bathing (a book by Qing Li) + its benefits for our wellbeing - Going from a busy city to a silent relaxation in the middle of the forest, we can drop into an overall state of calm - When we step away from fast-paced life, we can feel initially anxious, then step into a more regulated way of life that benefits our health - Rewiring the “perfection” mentality & how to integrate wellness & regulation practices into your life using your intuition - One simple daily tool: look at a plant before you look at a screen - Using a traditional alarm clock instead of using your phone in the morning - Grounding & earthing first thing in the morning before you start your day to regulate your nervous system - Maria’s Plant Course – link here - How to take care of houseplants – 1) assess your current lighting environment & window direction 2) choose plants based on that lighting 3) put your plants in pots with holes at the bottom - The same plant can require different conditions - and the same goes for people! Resources: -Read Maria’s Book “Growing Joy” -Read Qing Li’s “Forest Bathing” -Listen to Maria’s Podcast Bloom and Grow Radio  -Take Maria’s Plant Personality Quiz! -Visit Maria’s Website -Maria’s Instagram: @bloomandgrowmaria -Maria’s TikTok -Maria’s Pinterest -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Are you feeling that your healing journey is at a standstill? This week, Lindsay discusses how the relationship between our brains and bodies can impact our physical symptoms. Lindsay also dives into how she coaches people with chronic illness at Vital-Side and the individualized approach she takes to get you started on your nervous system regulation journey.  Lindsay Mitchell is the founder of Vital-Side, a membership program that empowers those with chronic illness and limbic system impairment (LSI) to retrain their brains out of the chronic stress response. When we’re operating from the parasympathetic growth-and-repair response, we can start connecting with our innate healing properties… but we need simple & structured tools to access these. That’s the information she gives you in Vital-Side; she uses her training in medicine as a physician assistant, work as an NLP practitioner, and experience having recovered from Lyme disease to assist others in learning how to shift out of a state of stress and into a state of resilience and balance within their nervous systems. Show Notes: -Lindsay’s story of overcoming Lyme disease -Addressing chronic symptoms of fatigue, pain, brain fog, anxiety, dizziness, and more -3 pillars to healing: physical body, nervous system, trauma processing/ subconscious beliefs -Each pillar of healing is not exclusive to one another - the brain and body are always communicating -We cannot treat each pillar separately & expect results  - Using the body as a vehicle- reframing chronic symptoms & chronic illness in a way that benefits our own physiology -Addressing the nervous system does not mean we need to start processing immediately -We can use understanding of our limbic brains to shift & change the way we feel - more information on chronic inflammation & Limbic System Impairment (LSI) -Receiving information from our internal and external environments through our 5 senses always occurs, and then we ask the question, “Is this something that I need to be afraid of?” -We can get clear on WHY we are using a more holistic approach & connect with our own self-worth Resources: -Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership -YouTube Video: Uncover your natural resilience in Vital-Side - Omar Akther's Episode 43 Rewire Podcast - Lindsay Mitchell interviews Dr. Daniel Amen -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Are you wondering what possible benefits anxiety could provide you? Do you struggle with anxiety and want to learn how to begin to understand it? This week, Lindsay and Cait discuss anything and everything to do with anxiety from the different ways it can manifest in the body to how we can begin to normalize acute anxiety and associated symptoms. They also discuss the chronic stress response & how to acknowledge it, then begin to make small shifts to transform your life. Show Notes: -Lindsay’s free 7-day RESET program in Vital Side for somatic & mental tools -Acute anxiety can be a normal part of life & show up in different phases of the menstrual cycle & different situations -The definition of “good anxiety” -  normalizing a fun, challenging situation that can help you feel connected to your purpose when it's over -Cait shares an example of how anxiety shows up for her before a speaking engagement -When good anxiety occurs, it’s likely because something is at stake that is connected to your core values -When experiencing acute “good” anxiety - connect with greater/future vision; locate sensations in the physical body that you’re feeling; move energy through shaking, dancing, or stretching; reframe what is going on in the moment even if it’s uncomfortable -Anxiety and excitement can feel very similar and are similar physiological responses -Chronic anxiety and the differences between acute & chronic anxiety -The science behind what happens in the brain and body when we experience about anxiety -Fight / flight / freeze responses and their associated signs & sensations -When acute anxiety becomes chronic, we can get stuck in a negative feedback loop -We can be open, understanding, and gentle with ourselves when we experience anxiety -Emotions shift and change Resources: -Link to Lindsay’s 7-day RESET Program -An Unspoken Voice By Dr. Peter Levine -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Are you overwhelmed by the daily inundation of crises happening around our world? We’re talking with renowned international teacher of Kundalini yoga and Ayurveda, Jai Dev Singh, to discuss how we can connect with our own happiness and what that looks like in our everyday lives. Jai also discusses what makes Kundalini different from other yogas, the values of interconnectedness, moving away from conditional happiness, and moving through change by practicing self-compassion. Jai Dev Sing is the founder of Life- Force Academy (LFA), a global training academy for the yogic arts and sciences with members in over 60 countries around the world. LFA offers (virtual and in-person) courses and workshops on Kundalini yoga, Ayurveda, and meditation. The courses are designed to improve your health, mental wellness, inner confidence, increase prosperity, and so much more. Show Notes: -Jai’s childhood journey with food health struggles which led him to Ayurveda -Real health is intertwined with real happiness -Dharma practice - an exercise system regulating the nervous system, balancing the glandular system, and connecting with your resilient physiology in order to connect with your prana, the life force -Definition of Kundalini Yoga - adjusting the body, the mind, and the nervous system; anyone can do it! -Intuition is natural and available to everyone -Ayurvedic Medicine (‘life wisdom’) - a modality used for healing & health and how it supports bio-individuality -The 5 element system: earth, water, fire, air & space -The key to happiness is prioritizing it and having patience with the process -Jai’s relationship with his priorities: put it on the calendar -When dealing with a chronic condition or symptoms, this is an opportunity to prioritize happiness & connect with health -Moving through any change by practicing self-compassion -Being an investigator of our minds -Subconscious beliefs can cause us expansiveness & suffering -How to operate in a society of interconnectedness to all events - positive & traumatic ones alike -The hypnotizing nature of social media and the news & how to have discipline in our relationship to these information platforms and sources -Engaging in information & the dialogue happening around world events without so much polarization -Being of service to others and seeing our shared collective happiness as an important tool to support ourselves and others -Accessing unconditional happiness and joy in spite of what’s happening in our lives -The dance between desire and detachment -If we have self-compassion, we won’t be scared to be real with ourselves in order to be loving to ourselves -A quick breathwork tool to use when feeling overwhelmed & in need of self-compassion Resources: -Visit Jai’s Website to learn more -Jai’s Instagram: @jaidev108 -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Are you overwhelmed by the all-or-nothing approach in functional medicine?? Lindsay is joined by board-certified internist, Dr. Omar Akther, who explains his approach to functional medicine, integrating the best aspects of western medicine combined with a more lifestyle approach. He explains that this is the best approach we can take when dealing with a chronic illness or chronic symptoms & how it differs from other fields of medicine. Omar also explains how he broke free from the mindset of traditional western medicine and transitioned into a root cause approach, how he balances earning a living while being aware of a client’s financial limitations, and how you should advocate for yourself in a hospital setting. If you have had a negative experience with functional medicine and you’re wanting to truly understand its importance, this episode is for you! 
Show Notes: -Prescription and procedure (P&P) care is great for acute problems -Chronic disease requires a unique approach to healing - lifestyle medicine is necessary to thrive -“Localization” no longer exists - the body and brain are always communicating & change with injuries, traumas, and life experiences -Integrative vs. holistic vs. functional medicine approaches -Omar’s story & why he feels passionate about functional medicine -Going beyond the role of a physician - connecting with a deep desire to allow people to heal on a larger scale -Practicing what you preach - as a practitioner, being able to model health & wellness in your own life & hold yourself  accountable -Many patients can feel disempowered in their healing journeys as a result of an all-or-nothing approach  -Story of a woman in her mid 30’s who suffered from hormonal headaches who was recommended a hysterectomy & didn’t recover from hormonal symptoms -What to do to advocate for yourself before going into a practitioner’s office - 1. Educate yourself & connect with a deeper-knowing 2. Find a practitioner that takes the time to listen to you & takes one step at a time 3. Building confidence in your own self-worth to ask the hard questions -Why functional medicine practitioners throw so many supplements, IV therapies, and modalities at someone with chronic symptoms. The reason? More = better in our society. -Taking a gentler approach & 1% approach to healing, introducing lifestyle medicine -Adding 1-2 lifestyle changes at a time. -When it comes to labs and diagnostic testing, pay attention to your body prior to testing. -More information does not lead to better care.  Resources: -Visit Omar’s Website -Visit Omar’s Facebook -Visit Omar’s LinkedIn -Omar’s Instagram: @dromarakhter  -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Visit Lindsay’s website -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Are you asking yourself how to maintain and connect with your personal freedom during uncertain times? The overturning of Roe v. Wade has left many women and people feeling like their freedom has been taken away from them. Lindsay and Cait discuss ways you can still connect with that innate sense of autonomy in the face of societal turmoil.  Lindsay and Cait talk about how to maintain your resilience, the way our unique experiences inform how we deal with challenging times, and clear-cut ways we can practice self-compassion to take action for ourselves.  
Show Notes: -As women in America, we have felt like there is a big freedom that was taken away from us -We can feel like life situations, health situations, or political situations can take away our personal freedoms -Come back to the question, “What is my personal limit today?” -Connect with your body, “How is my body reacting to this situation?” -Allow yourself the ability to talk about an acute emotion -Give your body a break when it needs one -Taking action looks different for everyone & can simply be processing your challenging emotions -How we experience a life event: we have a thought, emotion, reaction, and outcome -We can take action from an intentional, clear, and regulated place -Practicing self-compassion is one of the biggest ways we can take action -Coming back to your body by asking yourself, “What do I need right now?” Resources: -Listen to Rewire Episode 40: Using Your Intuition to Create Alignment In Your Decisions -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Information on Vital-Side programs and private sessions here -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Are you wondering how you can make a career out of your healing journey? Lindsay and Cait are joined by Jennifer Mann to discuss how leaving traditional medicine led to her current career as a mind-body practitioner. Jennifer details her personal journey with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), using brain retraining & somatic work to find relief from chronic symptoms, working with Lindsay in private sessions, and ultimately, forming a business around chronically healing. Jennifer is a certified mind-body practitioner and has worked in the health and wellness industry for 10 years as a functional movement therapist, holistic bodyworker, yoga teacher, pilates instructor, and performance coach. After her CFS diagnosis, Jen went on to fully recover and co-founded a trauma-informed healing course called CFS School, where she now helps people thrive in their wellness. 
Show Notes: -Jen’s journey & personal story – her background in traditional western medicine, her experience as a ballet dancer, and experience in the biomedical space -Jen’s experience working in a traditional hospital setting before her own chronic symptoms started -The beginning of Jen’s journey with CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) using western medicine approaches – seeing many doctors & specialists, getting many tests, trying antibiotics + antivirals – and her health was only getting worse -Getting diagnosed with POTS & having no energy -Jen’s decision to leave her traditional work in physiotherapy and her desire to focus on whole mind + body healing > simply managing her symptoms -Jen’s experience working with Lindsay in Vital-Side and learning how to change her state -Learning about the vagus nerve, Polyvagal Theory and the role of movement & physical touch in healing -Using somatic experiencing as the missing piece in Jen’s healing journey -Finding Human Design and receiving the permission to show up as her most authentic self (i.e receiving vs. pushing) -Early signs of Jen’s purpose to help others heal when she was a ballet dancer and helping others with physical pain -Tuning into her gut feelings and intuition to make decisions to start her business, CFS School -The early days of Jen’s business – experimenting, taking a slow & steady pace allowed her new business to flow with ease -Jen’s story of pregnancy - how she was able to defy the prognosis given to her by fertility doctors -Using visualization on her uterus to get her body ready to bring life into the world -Getting pregnant after 1 “try”, despite what the labs said Resources: -Jenn’s Instagram: @jcamylee -Discover your Human Design here -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Information on Vital-Side programs and private sessions here -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Are you wondering how you can better connect with & use your intuition to make everyday decisions? Whether it’s the next healing modality, the next investment in your business, or just simply the next activity you want to do that day, Cait & Lindsay discuss how you can connect to your intuition in a way that aligns with your greater purpose. They share how connecting with your intuition can give you clarity on your core desires and feelings and create intentional space each day. Cait shares more on how Human Design has helped her stay aligned with how she best makes decisions & how you can use the framework to connect with your own personal intuition.  
Show Notes: -Cait shares how she tunes in & connects with her intuition -The importance of taking space – small micro breaks each day, wellness sabbaticals, etc. -Tuning into your body to listen to the cues its giving you to identify if something is a yes or no -How Cait uses Human Design & her sacral authority to tune into what is a yes and what is a no and tuning into when the timing is right -Our modern culture’s emphasis on “doing more” and how Lindsay shifts into “being” mode -Creating more space for creativity, new ideas, reading & just being with ourselves -Inactivity & doing “nothing” as a tool to cultivate more creativity in our businesses and in our lives -Lindsay’s go-to tools: getting outside every morning, connecting with movement & exercise, micro-breaks throughout the day -The power of simplifying Resources: -Discover your Human Design: https://www.myhumandesign.com/ -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Join Lindsay in her community: The Vital-Side Membership -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer

Have you wondered how the voice relates to the regulation of your nervous system? We’re joined (for the second time!) by nervous system expert, Laura Larios. She helps us understand the power of our voices and our nervous systems to create more impactful marketing in our businesses. Laura discusses the difference between voice messaging vs. text messaging, the link between voice marketing as a tool for conscious connection, and how we can use our nervous system as our superpower.  Laura is the founder & CEO of The Potent CEO – a highly sought-after consulting & coaching brand that delivers customized world-class nervous system, cortisol, & adrenal support for high-performing women in the corporate, network marketing, entrepreneurial, & coaching industries.  She has a background in counseling psychology, polyvagal theory, nervous system stabilization, somatic practices, brain rewiring, and neuroscience.  
Show Notes: -Fight-Flight, Freeze, and Fawn are all necessary to our survival -We can recognize our stress responses in order to help other parts of our brains to work effectively (like the prefrontal cortex, necessary in making decisions) -Using neuroception to detect safety or danger -Hearing is the fastest of our senses - it takes less energy to use hearing than it does to write something out (we can process up to 400 words/minute) -Using voice messaging more frequently vs. text messaging -With audition, we’re able to interpret emotion and can have more access to oxytocin -Texting leaves room for interpretation and your own perspective. It can also heighten your cortisol levels -Businesses using voice marketing as a tool for conscious connection -Becoming aware of voice in fight-flight and freeze: biological acknowledgment -The power of the pause: how this can impact the nervous system -Vagal toning exercises to downregulate the nervous system Resources: -Visit Laura’s Website -Apply for Rewire Results here -Laura’s Instagram: @lauralisalarios -Listen to Episode 26 of the podcast with Laura -Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside -Join Lindsay in her community: The Vital-Side Membership -Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco -Visit Cait’s Website Join our community: bit.ly/rewirethepodcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: bit.ly/rewiredisclaimer