MindBodySpace – Details, episodes & analysis

That “lump in your throat” might be a symptom of something more chronic.

In this episode of the MindBodySpace Podcast, Dr. Juna sits down with her own doctor, Dr. Jonathan Aviv—ENT physician, Columbia professor, clinical professor at Mount Sinai, and author of The Acid Watcher Diet.

We talk about silent reflux, acid influx, and a stomach enzyme called pepsin that may sit in the throat, mouth, nose, and sinuses—and then get reactivated by acidic foods and drinks.

This matters because reflux does not always feel like heartburn and chronic reflux can lead to problems benign and pre-cancerous.

Sometimes it feels like:

✔️ chronic cough
✔️ hoarseness
✔️ constant throat clearing
✔️ post-nasal drip
✔️ a lump in your throat
✔️ waking up at night feeling like you can’t breathe

Dr. Aviv also explains why some “healthy” flavored drinks, sparkling waters, sports drinks, vinegar, citrus, tomato sauce, and wine can be triggers for some people—and why the solution does not have to be a miserable, restrictive diet.

This is where tracking matters.

Changing your diet is not just willpower. It’s pattern recognition. The RELAX TO SOAR™ planner helps you track food, sleep, stress, exercise, routines, and how your body feels—so you can start seeing what actually helps you feel better.

Small changes. Real patterns. Less guessing.

Explore the planner here: limited time special offer
https://www.mindbodyspace.com/store

This is not medical advice. Always consult your doctor for individual care.

#mindbodyspace #drjuna #braintalk #brainbun #parenting

You know what’s good for you. Better sleep. Less scrolling. More movement. Healthier food. More calm.

So why is it still so hard to choose it?

In this episode, Dr. Juna Bobby M.D., Ed.M, explains why this is not a laziness problem or a character flaw. It is a brain-under-stress problem. When your nervous system is overloaded, your brain defaults to old habits, quick rewards, and familiar coping patterns. That is why stress can make healthy choices feel harder, even when you know exactly what to do.

You will learn how the Relaxation Response helps calm the nervous system, interrupt stress-driven habit loops, and create the conditions for real behavior change. Dr. Juna also walks you through simple practices to help you reset and rewire your brain for better habits, more self-awareness, and greater resilience.

If you are a high-achieving parent, professional, or anyone trying to feel better without relying on more willpower, this episode will help you understand what your brain needs first.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• why stress makes healthy choices harder
• how the brain defaults to quick fixes under pressure
• what the Relaxation Response is
• how stress affects habits, self-control, and behavior change
• how to start rewiring the brain through small repeated practices
• how to build healthier habits with less shame and more self-awareness

Dr. Juna is a mom, medical doctor, double board-certified in diagnostic radiology and lifestyle medicine, and a Harvard-trained educator. Juna has taught resilience and peak performance tools to students, professionals, performers, and families, and her goal is to help you understand your brain so you can work with it instead of against it.

Comment RELAX if you want a free download and more episodes on the RELAX TO SOAR™ method.

RELAX TO SOAR™ planner with limited bonus offerings here: https://www.mindbodyspace.com/store

This is not medical advice. Always consult your doctor for individual care.

#StressManagement #HealthyHabits #BrainHealth #Neuroplasticity #RelaxationResponse #LifestyleMedicine #NervousSystem #BehaviorChange #MindBodyMedicine #MindBodySpace

Mental Training for Peak Performance with Belief, Recovery & Resilience with Coach Sean Brosnan, Newbury High School Coach Cross Country Track

How do you motivate kids to reach for their highest potential?

In this powerful episode, Dr. Juna interviews elite running coach Sean Brosnan, who led a public high school team from obscurity to national record-breaking success—with his student-athletes winning D1 scholarships and one of his runners, Nico Young reaching the Paris Olympics.

The secret wasn't just talent or grind. It was a belief mindset and a full mind-body-space approach to success.

🧠 Learn how Sean applied belief, recovery, motivation, and habits he learned from top performance coaches to high school athletes!

Tips for raising resilient kids who excel in sports, music, academics

✨ Stick around to the end for Sean’s #1 strategy to immediately shift your child’s mindset and performance.

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🧠 Free tools: https://mindbodyspace.com/podcast
🎒 Courses: https://mindbodyspace.com/
🎧 Subscribe & follow https://www.youtube.com/@MINDBODYSPACE

Sean Brosnan Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/realseanbrosnan/?hl=en

Buy Sean's Book!

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Beyond-Fast/Sean-Brosnan/9781668204382

Rx Chill Pill — Meditate Your Brain to Resilience Podcast.  This new episode is called “Our Highest Potential”. It's my monthly chat with Fiona Murden, my great friend, awesome mom, award-winning author, and host of Dot to Dot Podcast. We immediately hit it off because we are both passionate about the science behind positively influencing our own brains. We are on a mission to widely share practical cognitive and motivational research tools with curious people who want to fulfill their potential and ultimately, lead happier lives. Fiona is a Chartered Psychologist who coaches top performers and C suite individuals in business, healthcare, sports, and politics to achieve optimal performance. 

Sign up to get FREE useful worksheets, cheatsheets, and resources at mindbodyspace.com/podcast

I met Dr. Karen Chan Barrett when she gave a fascinating talk as part of a special presentation called Music and the Mind with world renowned soprano, Renee Fleming, at The Juilliard School in NYC. This program is inspired by Ms. Fleming’s collaboration with the National Institutes of Health in association with National Endowment for the Arts, called the Sound Health initiative, and created for general audiences, the program explores the power of music in relation to our health and neuroscience.

This evening’s highlight was “ improvisation and the brain”. Dr. Karen Chan Barrett, Ph.D. representing Dr. Charles Limb's Music and Perception Lab at the University of California San Francisco discussed research on the neuroscience of musical creativity and improvisation. Dr. Barrett is also faculty at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, co-teaching a class on Music and the Brain with Dr. Indre Viskontas.

Dr. Barrett was adjunct faculty at the Peabody Institute of Music and Johns Hopkins University, where she taught seminars on music cognition. Dr. Barrett has a Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Music Theory and Cognition and is an accomplished pianist.

She tells us about the fascinating research on  the impact that music and musical training has on our brain development, - hint, it’s not just about listening to classical music - she discusses how they gather data on creativity, even improv comedy, and the brain.

Karen also tells us the surprising reason she, a classically trained pianist, pivoted to become a neuroscientist and how her husband, a classically trained cellist, taught himself into a whole new career.

If you have kids taking music classes or kids who are interested in STEaM fields, get them to listen along with you. You may even get them to practice more and start the conversation about how all of these seemingly disparate fields connect!

That was Dr. Karen Chan Barrett, mom, neuroscientist, classical pianist, showing us that STEM is really STEAM and you can definitely excel at more than one thing in life, and yes, lifestyle matters!

Find out more about Dr. Karen Chan Barrett and Dr. Charles Limb's Music and Perception Lab and Renee Fleming’s work in the show notes at MindBodySpace.com podcast Episode #62

Look out for the upcoming monday meditation inspired by Music

You can email me at podcast@mindbodyspace.com with questions for myself or my guests for the new Tuesday Q&A segment starting in 2021.

Leslie Koenig MD is a mom, a combat veteran, and author of “Stress Relief Survival Guide: Fast, Easy, Totally Natural Techniques and Real Life Tips from a Combat Veteran ER Doctor”.

We talk about why she turned to meditation and stress relief techniques for her own personal life as well as for her patients’ lives.

Leslie walks us through a few of her favorite techniques with us at the end, so stick around. This one is full of practical tips you can use right away to relieve your own stress.

Check out her book:

Dr. Leslie Koenig, M.D.  is a true inspiration. You can find out more about her and purchase her book: Stress Relief Survival Guide: Fast, Easy, Totally Natural Techniques and Real Life Tips from a Combat Veteran ER Doctor  at https://stressreliefsurvivalguide.com/

Email me at podcast@mindbodyspace.com with questions for myself or my guests for the new Tuesday Q&A segment coming in 2021.

As  always, if someone is having mental health issues, they need to be evaluated by a qualified mental health professional.

Stress Management positive psychology and meditation are absolutely helpful for resilience and for long-term goals, however it is  definitely not the standard treatment of choice in acute situations and it should always be used in conjunction with mental health professionals and clinicians, so the whole person can be properly supported.

The Rx Chill Pill Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult with a physician or other professional healthcare provider for health-related issues, mental or physical.

Take just five minutes for this relaxing body scan to feel safe and connected with unconditional love for your baby. For alll of you beautiful moms out there, I remember how special those nine months were. May you be well, may you be happy. I remember my pregnancies so clearly. It was exhilarating and stressful at the same time! I was inspired by my interview with Mark Krassner, Founder of Expectful App to record a meditation for all of you beautiful and strong moms out there!

"As my health, happiness, relationships, and professional life improved significantly, I recalled my mother’s struggles with anxiety and depression when she was raising me, and I wondered if meditation might be an especially great tool for new moms."

Mark Krassner is the founder and CEO of Expectful, the meditation app for fertility, pregnancy, and parenthood. Since its founding, Expectful has partnered with several universities to conduct research on the relationship between a mother’s mind and her baby’s health.

Mark talks to me about why he, a single young man, who doesn’t have kids of his own, became passionate about how meditation could benefit a mother and her unborn child. We discuss how he came to his own meditation practice in his 20’s and how it pivoted his career from an entrepreneur into a social entrepreneur.

"As my health, happiness, relationships, and professional life improved significantly, I recalled my mother’s struggles with anxiety and depression when she was raising me, and I wondered if meditation might be an especially great tool for new moms."

Mark dug into research papers and found the harmful effects of maternal anxiety and depression on the baby. He also found evidence that meditation could help with fertility, pregnancy, and maternal health. Mark wanted to transform the lives of parents and the next generation so he put together a team and created meditations.

For more information on Expectful App, extended 14 day trial, resources, and free meditations CLICK HERE

Can PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, be measured and stopped in its tracks? Dr. Perusini, with her company, Neurovation Labs, is looking to do just that!

Listen to this fascinating conversation with Jennifer to find out how this innovative approach works and what adversities in her own life led her to become a neuroscientist and mentor for other women in STEM.

Jennifer is a neuroscientist and an entrepreneur. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Neurovation Labs pioneering in PTSD diagnosis and treatment. Her doctoral work led to a groundbreaking discovery that there is a physiological component to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which could mean that the disorder can be measured and treated.

Dr. Perusini earned her B.A. in Neuroscience & Behavior at Barnard College, Columbia University, and her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship, on aging and Alzheimer’s disease, at Columbia University in the Departments of Psychiatry and Integrative Neuroscience.

Neurovation Labs, Inc.: www.neurovationlabs.com

PTSD Recovery Foundation (the new non-profit): www.ptsdrecoveryfdn.org

Women in Learning (my other non-profit): www.womeninlearning.com

Press release on military contracts- link here.

Dr. Perusini was honored to receive Barnard's Young Alumna Awardee for 2020. Due to COVID the live event was cancelled and this is her video talking about her path as a neuroscientist and her advice for young women wanting to go into science. Link here.

This short, but powerful meditation will help you see yourself already achieving your goals. Our brains are powerful in that we "see" and create stories in our minds before anything happens in our lives. This is the intention that activates our behavior to move toward our goals.

The practice ends with a beautiful bell. 

Use anytime, anywhere, to elicit your relaxation response and to get extra clear motivation on your goals and performance.