The mindbodygreen Podcast

"Trauma isn't just what happened to us. It's more so about the support we may or may not have had to navigate the emotional fallout of what happened."

Nicole LePera, Ph.D., is the creator of the worldwide @theholisticpsychologist movement, and the author of multiple bestselling books including How to Do the Work and her newest, Reparenting the Inner Child. She was trained in clinical psychology at Cornell University and the New School for Social Research and studied at the Philadelphia School of Psychoanalysis. Her work has reached tens of millions of people on social media, who are waking up to the idea that healing doesn't happen in a therapist's office alone.

00:00 — How to recognize your inner child

04:05 — Redefining childhood trauma

06:09 — How parenting has shifted over time

10:00 — Safety as a foundation

14:30 — Why children internalize a parent’s anger 

18:10 — How ownership & awareness can lead to reparenting

20:21 — Epigenetics: when the trauma didn’t start with you

22:55 — Why insight alone doesn’t create change

24:19 — Embracing discomfort & developing resilience

26:01 — Navigating difficult relationships

29:53 — What acceptance actually looks like

37:03 –– Emotional dysregulation & numbness

40:16 — What you can do to start healing right now

Find Nicole LePera on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/the.holistic.psychologist/ 

Buy her book here: https://a.co/d/04SVp4tW We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].
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“Sweating is our superpower," explains Bill Gifford.

Gifford, a veteran science journalist and author of Spring Chicken, a New York Times bestseller on longevity. His latest book, Hotwired: How the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger, dives deep into the emerging science of heat, sweating, and what happens when we stop running from discomfort.


​​00:00 — Sweating as an evolutionary superpower


03:00 — The science of ancient heat rituals


05:45 — How long & how hot?


07:55 — The dehydration trap


09:52 — All about Finnish sauna culture


12:50 — Heat acclimation training


16:41 — Elite athletes & what they can teach us


18:50 — The science on hot-cold contrast


21:49 — The case against cold plunging


29:08 — Sauna as a social ritual


33:20 — Heat as a mental health tool


36:34 — A beginner's guide to safe heat exposure

Referenced in the episode: 

Find Bill Gifford on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billgifford/ 

Get his book here: https://a.co/d/01osyyRH 

Learn more about The Culture of Bathing here: https://www.instagram.com/thehighlineguy/?hl=en

Mayo Clinic review of the effects of Finnish sauna bathing (2018): https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30275-1/fulltext 

Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness study on the effects of hot yoga (2011): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X12600033 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].
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This podcast was created in sponsorship with Toyota. Find a vehicle that makes memorable moments happen, from the 2026 RAV4 and Sienna to the Highlander and Grand Highlander. Plan the trip, pack the trunk, gather your crew, and go places—together. Toyota: People are the destination. 

"Emotional flexibility is literally the skill that we all should be sharpening like a muscle," explained Deepika Chopra, Ph.D.

Chopra (widely known as The Optimism Doctor) is a clinical health psychologist, visual imagery expert, and author of the upcoming book The Power of Real Optimism. But here's what makes Deepika's work so different: she's not selling you positivity. In this episode, we get into the real science of optimism—and why it has far more to do with resilience and curiosity than with good vibes. 


Optimism vs. positivity: what we're getting wrong (0:00)


Why affirmations don't always work (6:58)


The seven-tenths rule for effective affirmations (10:00)


Manifestation and getting what you expect (10:50)


Emotional flexibility: the skill to sharpen like a muscle (17:46)


Why the nervous system has to feel safe before growth can happen (23:11)


Deepika's son's rare diagnosis (23:40)


A Holocaust survivor with real optimism in practice (36:58)


Letting go of control vs. reclaiming agency (40:52)


Healthy hope vs. delusion—the dark room metaphor (42:45)

Referenced in the episode: 

Find Deepika Chopra on her website: https://www.drdeepikachopra.com

Get her book here: https://a.co/d/0dG1VFwX

Find her viral article from 2018 here: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/what-to-do-if-positive-affirmations-dont-work-for-you

Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index (2026): https://news.gallup.com/poll/702125/american-optimism-slumps-record-low.aspx

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Your body heals better when it feels safe, when your nervous system is quiet,’ explains Victoria Maizes, M.D.

Maizes is the Executive Director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine and co-host of the Body of Wonder podcast. She's a leading voice in integrative medicine and author of the new book Heal Faster, which makes the case that modern medicine has been so focused on treating disease that it's largely overlooked the body's most powerful asset: its innate capacity to heal.

In this episode, we discuss:


What is the recovery reflex? (1:10)


Why two people can have completely different health outcomes (3:26)


Protein, the catabolic state, & tests to run before major surgery (6:11)


The difference between managing disease & actually healing (18:21)


The power of language (19:00)


Trauma & how to activate your vagus nerve (29:00)


Mindset, guided imagery, & letting go of outcomes (35:42)


The mystery of long COVID (41:46)


Circadian medicine & red light therapy (48:50)

Referenced in the episode: 

You can find Dr. Maizes website here: www.drvictoriamaizes.com

And her latest book, Heal Faster, here: https://a.co/d/0i0OT4KJ

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"You are in control of your brain health, just the same way you're in control of your heart health."

Today's guest is Majid Fotuhi, M.D., a Harvard and Johns Hopkins-trained neurologist, brain health researcher, and author of Invincible Brain. Dr. Fotuhi has spent his career studying one of the most pressing questions of our time: why do some people's brains deteriorate with age, while others stay sharp well into their eighties and nineties? His answer might surprise you.

Why 45% of dementia is preventable (00:00)

The biomarkers worth testing for cognitive decline (1:53)

Why you should never test tau in isolation (2:50)

How COVID can spike your tau levels (10:54)

How to grow your hippocampus in 12 weeks (16:00)

The 5 pillars of brain health (18:16)

Slow breathing can reduce amyloid in the brain (24:00)

Chronic stress is silently shrinking your brain (30:13)

Why your IQ doesn't define your intelligence (33:19)

Lifestyle outperforms Alzheimer's drugs by 200-400% (43:02)

Referenced in the episode: 

Learn more about Dr. Fotuhi on his website: https://drfotuhi.com/about-dr-fotuhi/

You can find Dr. Fotuhi’s book here: https://a.co/d/00qJcyuE

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices