In Episode 027 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, we turn our gaze inwards and talk all things functional when it comes to eye health with entrepreneurial optometrist Dr. Travis Zigler. Dr. Zigler graduated in 2010 from The Ohio State University College of Optometry and is the founder of Eye Love, https://eyelovethesun.com, an organization and business whose mission is to end preventable blindness. Travis and his wife, Dr. Jenna Zigler, use the profits from Eye Love to fund free and low cost clinics in South Carolina and Jamaica.  

They also started a charity called the Eye Love Cares Foundation, https://eyelovecares.org, which provides exams, glasses and sunglasses for those in need, free education, and scholarships for students that align with their mission.  

In this conversation Travis describes his framework for understanding eye disease, seeing systemic chronic inflammation as a much greater contribution to the health of our eyes than when classically think.

Travis then shares his revolutionary business model, turning the classic optometry clinic on its head in order to create a flourishing online business and education platform that has enabled him and his wife to fund larger scale mission trips to provide eye exams to those who otherwise would go without.

We explore the evolution and success of new businesses driven by foundational missions and core values as compared to the simple pursuit of growing the size of a business.

We then get back into the medical space as Travis offers his insights into some of the most common conditions he sees affecting the eye and how he seeks to help his patients heal.

We explore the role of a plant based diet, supplements such as fish oil, the integration of regular eyelid cleaning and the protection of one’s eyes from blue light as some of the most effective ways to prevent many of the common chronic eye conditions.

Jumping from dry eye and cataracts to disrupted sleep from blue light exposure and myopia, Travis offers so much practical insights into how we can effectively keep our eyes and our entire bodies healthy as we age.

Please check out the links on the podcast page to explore Travis’s business, his foundation and the many products he offers including his variety of more fashionable and functionally designed blue light blocking glasses.

Having searched at length to find functionally mind clinicians speaking about eye health, I feel so blessed to have found Travis and to share this conversation with you.

I really hope you enjoy the show.

​Stay up to date with Dr. Zigler and his advice by using the following website links


Dr. Zigler
​
Eye Love: https://eyelovethesun.com/

Eye Love’s Vision Vision / Mission: https://eyelovethesun.com/pages/2019-vivid-vision-for-eye-love

Eye Love Cares Foundation: https://eyelovecares.org

Eye Love Shop:https://eyelovethesun.com/collections/all

Dry Eye Syndrome Support Community:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dryeyesupport/


Blue Light Blocking Reading Glasses:
https://eyelovethesun.com/products/vagary-computer-reading-glasses-blue-light-blocking?variant=43024012942


Eye Love on Amazon

• Sunglasses:
  
  • https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=me%3DA2JLGM9DE4Z30V&field-keywords=sunglasses
• Dry Eye Products:
  
  • https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=me%3DA2JLGM9DE4Z30V&field-keywords=dry+eyes

Business Consulting and Coaching
Business Igniters:
https://www.facebook.com/Business-Igniters-165108987349546/
Dr. Travis Zigler:https://www.facebook.com/Dr-Travis-Zigler-261315727610737/


Hilarious Eclipse Youtube video =
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kr3GNPCC2I&t=1s

In Episode 026, the Thanksgiving edition of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing I share space with one of the most creative, curious and supportive souls in my life, the owner and healer behind Davidson Yoga Therapy, Samantha Leonard.

In addition to her work with Davidson Yoga Therapy, Samantha is the founder and creative director of MyBackPainGuru, Learn2TeachYoga and has led education, professional development and mind-body wellness programming for the Carolinas Healthcare System, Davidson College and The Sanger Heart Clinic.  As part of her thriving practice with Davidson Yoga Therapy, she works with people with conditions from ulcerative colitis and ischemic stroke, to anxiety and anorexia, diabetes and low back pain.

As you will hear in the podcast, the intersection of my healing journey both professionally and personally with that of Samantha’s is beyond rational explanation. First connecting as part of an initial session of the American Viniyoga Institute's Yoga Teacher Training, we have continued to remain close, tied geographically by the shared homes of my grandparents and Samantha in Davidson, North Carolina.

In this conversation, Samantha shares some incredible insights and vulnerable wisdom as part of her own journey through life, exploring her spiritual self and the fascinating practice we have both come to know as Yoga.

Digging into questions such as

What is Yoga and more specifically Yoga Therapy?

What does it mean to be a Yoga Teacher vs a Yoga Therapist? What kind of training is required?

Grounding in faith we explore some curious concepts and questions surrounding Christianity and Yoga: Where exactly does Jesus fit into the practice and can I meditate and still remain a Christian?

Being left wordless on more than one occasion, this conversation is filled with nourishment and inspirational ideas that will likely leave you seeking, if not already, a road of self exploration through more purposeful contemplation and reflection. Samantha is pioneering a field of healing through yoga therapy and I can only imagine the possibilities for greater collective wellness through the continued training and promotion of certified yoga therapists as part of integrative and multidisciplinary care teams.

I am so lucky to have met Samantha and all of the engaging souls with the American Viniyoga Institute including our teacher Gary Kraftsow.

I am blessed to offer, through this engaging conversation, at least a small sampling of some of the most enlightening teachings as part of my brief time with Gary and our nurturing yoga family.

And with that let’s breathe into the show!

Keep up with Davidson Yoga Therapy:  https://www.davidsonyogatherapy.com

Follow Davidson Yoga Therapy on Facebook:
​https://www.facebook.com/DavidsonYogaTherapy/

In Episode 025 of A Medicinal Mind Wisdom and Wellbeing, I hold space with one of the most innovative and genuine hearts in the ancestral and integrative health space, Mickey Trescott.

Mickey is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner seeking to help people find creative solutions to preparing, cooking, and succeeding on allergen-free diets. She is the author of the best-selling book, The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook, co-author of The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook and co-host of The Autoimmune Wellness Podcast with her friend and colleague Angie Alt.

While many of you listening to this podcast may have heard Mickey’s moving story before, in today’s conversation, Mickey shares some of the newest evolving pieces of her calling and mission to help hundreds heal from chronic autoimmune disease.

In the podcast, we dig into Mickey’s recent work educating and training nutritional therapy practitioners fluent in applying targeted dietary and lifestyle approaches for various medical conditions, including some of the most devastating autoimmune diseases currently with few answers in the traditional medical model.

We explore the greater social movement behind Mickey and Angie’s work, seeking to increase awareness, education and empowerment so that any individual or family can make informed and nourishing choices to support optimal wellbeing. We all agree that while information alone will not change the epidemic of chronic disease, there are still hundreds and thousands of individuals completely unaware that there are dietary and lifestyle approaches that can halt and even reverse their autoimmune disease.

Getting in the heart of the episode Mickey and I then explore a landmark study recently published involving the implementation of Angie Alt’s uniquely designed phased elimination and lifestyle protocol based on the principles of the autoimmune paleo diet. I cannot encourage you enough to check out this study available on our podcast page and steep in the insights from Mickey and her partner Angie as they continue to hold a space for those seeking to heal from autoimmune disease.

I was so grateful to have this conversation with Mickey and am so thankful to call her a friend, sharing a space for innovators trying to break new ground towards a future of happy, healthy and flourishing human beings. I really hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did and please share it with your family, colleagues and friends. I truly cannot recall a more a joyful and authentic conversation as part of this podcast. And with that, let’s dig into the show.


Follow Mickey: http://autoimmunewellness.com

Sign up from her page to get the QUICK START guide for AIP!

Check out her books below!

1. Autoimmune Wellness Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/Autoimmune-Wellness-Handbook-Chronic-Illness/dp/1623367298

2. Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Autoimmune-Paleo-Cookbook-Allergen-Free-Approach/dp/0578135213/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=H5GNA2JDWA7D3JKRW0Q6

To explore the study: Efficacy of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Follow the link below to download this groundbreaking OPEN ACCESS paper

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28858071

In Episode 024, I interview Mackay Rippey, a New York Licensed acupuncturist who specializes in the treatment of Chronic Lyme Disease. Mackay first started his study of acupuncture in 1989 at the Maryland Institute of Integrative Health and has been in practice for more than 25 years. For the last several years, he has been a pioneer in the field of chronic lyme disease bringing free content to thousands suffering from chronic illness as part of his website and podcast Lyme Ninja Radio.

As you will hear in the show, I was quite fortunate to stumble across Mackay and his work, and am so grateful to have connected with his passion for helping those suffering with chronic lyme.

Mackay starts us off with his unique background and persistence to finally discover his calling in acupuncture. He then leads us into his own experience with lyme  and how it inspired him to broaden his view, seeking to help others through his podcast and blog.

We then get really practical and down to earth in this discussion, as Mackay and I dig into the disease process behind lyme, the current evolving state of diagnosis and the interplay between the body’s immune response and the presence of various viral and bacterial pathogens. Mackay offers his advice for patients who are suffering and worried they may be afflicted by chronic lyme. 

Mackay provides us with some recent insights as part of forays into the newest cutting edge research behind lyme and lyme treatment.

Asking questions such as: 

What are Bioflims? Are antibiotics able to penetrate these bacterial colonies? What alternatives are there to antibiotics in treating lyme? How important are stress management practices and dietary modifications to healing from lyme? How about neuro-psychiatric manifestations of lyme disease.

​Mackay’s wealth of knowledge and curiosity is a blessing to thousands seeking wellness. I hope you enjoy this conversation and be sure to check out Mackay’s page and podcast to dig deeper into lyme disease.

Without further adieu, let’s start the show!

To learn more about his amazing work, visit his website at:
​ http://www.mackayrippey.com

To hear more exciting news stay tuned at: http://lymeninjaradio.com

And to hear more amazing podcasts, listen in at: http://lymeninjaradio.com/blog-boxed-grid-2/


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In Episode 023 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, I plunge head first into the world of inorganic chemistry, minerals and metals with the man known affectionately as the “Magnesium Man”: Morley Robbins.

Morley is one of the foremost experts on Magnesium’s role in the body, as well as the delicate dance that this “Conductor of the Orchestra of Minerals” plays with Calcium. Morley has also recently feverently explored  the body’s dynamic regulation of Copper<>Iron Metabolism and its relation to multiple chronic disease states.

As a certified health coach, Morley has specialized expertise in interpreting mineral metabolism, particularly as impacted by “Stressors!” that are revealed in both HTMAs (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) and a specialized blood panel that he devised. He has now performed over 4,500 one-on-one consultations with clients around the world.

In 2012, Morley founded the Magnesium Advocacy Group (http://gotmag.org). Shortly thereafter, he created the Magnesium Advocacy Group on Facebook as way to further spread his research regarding the innumerable roles of magnesium in the body as well as the delicate balance or imbalance of iron, copper and magnesium.

Today’s conversation is one not meant for a single listening, but rather for a series of inquiries as we collectively open to the mysteries of human mineral metabolism.

Digging in quickly, we explore some basics behind mineral metabolism, who are the main players, what is magnesium responsible for in the first place? How about Fe? Copper?

As Morley sheds light on the intricate regulation of these minerals, we begin to uncover the all too frequent scenario of chronic inflammation and increasing oxidative stress and its relation to relative iron overload, as well as copper and magnesium deficiency.

Getting a little gritty, we begin to ask some interesting questions such as

What are the implications of the modern lifestyle on magnesium metabolism and overall health?

Is iron overload and the associated oxidative burden more common than we thought and does iron overload pose a greater threat than is currently espoused.

Is iron fortification really helping us?

And what in the world is copper deficiency anemia?

I really hope you take the time to listen to this podcast, possibly in bit sized chunks or on a couple occasions to really tackle some of the ideas and concepts presented by Morley and myself. As you will hear in the episode, I am already planning to have Morley back on the show to get even more into the weeds of mineral metabolism and human health.

I encourage you to check out the links on the podcast page  as well to read more about Morley’s work and some of his additional discussions on the topics of magnesium, iron and copper metabolism

​We thank you guys for tuning in and as always  appreciate your support. As we move
into the Fall season, we express our gratitude for your presence and  for your choice to spend some of precious moments in your day with us.


We hope you enjoy the show!

Listen to Lyme Ninja Radio's Podcast with Morley: 
http://lymeninjaradio.com/152-morley-robbins/ 

Learn more about Morley's Root Cause Protocol:
 http://gotmag.org/the-root-cause-protocol/
​
And join/follow his Facebook group The Magnesium Advocacy Group: 
​https://www.facebook.com/groups/MagnesiumAdvocacy/

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