Pause, Presence, and What Wants to Emerge with Dr. Jessie Mahoney

Pause, Presence, and What Wants to Emerge with Dr. Jessie MahoneyIn this week's episode of Roots of Healing, Dr. Siri Chand Khalsa sits down with Dr. Jessie Mahoney, a board-certified pediatrician, certified physician coach, mindfulness and yoga teacher, and the founder of Pause &amp; Presence. After nearly two decades as a pediatrician and physician leader at The Permanente Medical Group, Jessie stepped outside the traditional medical model to reimagine what sustainable well-being in healthcare could look like.Together, they trace Jessie's path from delivering a sibling at the age of twelve and choosing pediatrics as a child, to motherhood in medical training, to two decades of leadership at Kaiser, and finally to the moment she realized she could no longer alter the same coat to make it fit. Jessie shares the inner work that quietly made leaving possible: coach training, yoga teacher training, mindfulness practice, and the willingness to develop muscles she did not yet know she would need.This conversation also opens into deeper questions about belief, embodiment, and the pace of becoming. Jessie describes the future-self exercise that gave her clarity, the terror that followed giving notice, the pandemic pivot that turned her plan upside down, and the unexpected way Nicasio Creek Farm came to be the home of her retreats. She speaks honestly about the "twangy moments" that still arrive when something is shifting, and why intuition, paired with a regulated nervous system, is one of the most reliable instruments a physician carries.Whether you are a physician feeling a quiet inner stirring, a healthcare leader curious about coaching and mindfulness, or anyone drawn to a slower, more intentional way of practicing medicine, this episode offers honest reflection, practical wisdom, and the reminder that you do not have to know the how before you take the first step.If you're inspired by our exploration on Roots of Healing, a physician-led podcast uplifting the wisdom and lived experience of integrative and lifestyle medicine doctors, subscribe to receive new episodes weekly.Key Topics &amp; TakeawaysPediatric origin story: How Jessie knew at age twelve, after watching her brother be born, that she wanted to be a pediatrician, and how the positive feedback loop of medicine kept her on a linear path.Motherhood in medical training: Being one of nine women in her UCSF class to have a child during medical school, and what that revealed about a system not built for the people inside it.Two decades at Kaiser Permanente: Building a career, raising three children, and serving as Chief of Physician Health and Wellness while quietly outgrowing the role.The integration years: Coach training, yoga teacher training, and mindfulness practice approached as self-permission rather than career planning.Whose belief, whose results: Why borrowed beliefs from family or culture often determine the life we end up living, and how to gently set them down.Future-self wisdom: Asking your sixty-year-old self what she would wish you had done, and trusting her answer.Giving notice: The terror that did not give way to relief, and the pandemic that arrived six weeks later.What coaching actually is: A forward-looking, strength-based practice that is not therapy, not mentorship, and not advice.Pause &amp; Presence: Building a coaching and retreat practice rooted in mindfulness, nervous system regulation, and lifestyle medicine.Nicasio Creek Farm: The four-acre property north of San Francisco that became the embodied home of the work, and the unexpected way it came to be.The retreat experience: Seven women physicians, four days, plant-forward farm-to-table meals, yoga, sound healing, forest bathing, and small-group coaching as CME.The twangy moments: Why intuition still requires courage, even after years of practice.You do not know the how: The reminder that clarity arrives after the first step, not before.Chapters00:00 — Introduction and Welcome01:55 — Meet Dr. Jessie Mahoney02:50 — A Pediatrician's Origin Story at Age Twelve05:00 — Once a Pediatrician, Always a Pediatrician06:35 — UCSF and the First Class of Women08:00 — Motherhood During Medical Training09:00 — Choosing Kaiser Oakland for Residency10:30 — Berkeley Roots and Growing Misalignment12:30 — Chief of Wellness and Asking Better Questions14:00 — Coach Training, Yoga, and the Permission to Explore17:00 — The Sabbatical and Borrowing Belief19:30 — Whose Belief, Whose Results22:30 — The Lifelong Learner Without an Agenda24:30 — Caring for Clinicians and the Suppression of Needs27:00 — Wisdom From Your Sixty-Year-Old Self30:00 — Giving Notice and the Pandemic Pivot33:00 — Coaching Stanford Anesthesia Fellows35:30 — What Coaching Actually Is39:00 — Stumbling Onto a Retreat Space41:00 — When Your Spouse Becomes Your Business Partner43:30 — Finding Nicasio Creek Farm46:00 — Embodied Living on the Farm48:30 — Skeptical Physicians and the First-Night Sound Healing51:00 — Who Retreats Are For, and Who They Are Not54:00 — Inside the Women's Physician Retreat58:00 — Speaking the Language of Physiology1:00:30 — What People Leave With1:03:30 Visionary by Upbringing, Not by Plan1:05:00 The Twangy Moments and Trusting Yourself1:06:30 For the Physician Feeling Her Own Stirring1:09:00 Where to Find Dr. Jessie Mahoney1:11:30 Closing ReflectionsAbout Today's GuestJessie Mahoney, MDPhysician Coach • Mindfulness &amp; Yoga Teacher • Keynote &amp; TEDx Speaker • Retreat FacilitatorJessie Mahoney is a board-certified pediatrician, certified coach, physician wellness leader, mindfulness/yoga teacher, keynote and TEDx speaker, and founder of Pause &amp;amp; Presence.After nearly two decades as a physician leader at the Permanente Medical Group/Kaiser, Dr. Mahoney stepped outside the traditional medical model 6 years ago to reimagine sustainable well-being in health care.She now helps physicians and leaders cultivate clarity, intention, and balance—leveraging mindfulness, coaching, yoga, and lifestyle medicine to create deep and lasting change.She hosts a popular podcast called Healing Medicine and recently built a retreat center, Nicasio Creek Farm, just north of San Francisco, where she host her popular wellness retreats for women physicians.Find Dr. Jessie MahoneyWebsite: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRQwr8-ITBQ&amp;t=345sAbout Jessie: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/about-jessieCoaching: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coachingRetreats: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreatsNicasio Creek Farm: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/nicasio-creek-farmPodcast (Healing Medicine): https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/healing--podcastApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/healing-medicine-mindfulness-mindset-physician-well/id1542538851Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0q9yep2gnjZEOpw5ItVevTLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessie-mahoney-md/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessie.mahoney.56/Free ResourcesHealing Medicine Podcast: Weekly episodes with Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang exploring mindfulness, mindset, and physician well-being.Free yoga classes on Dr. Mahoney's YouTube channel.Jessie's Blog: Reflections on physician wellness, coaching, mindfulness, and sustainable leadership at jessiemahoneymd.com.🌐 Connect with Your HostDr. Siri Chand Khalsa, MD MSLifestyle &amp; Integrative Medicine Physician • Culinary Medicine • AyurvedaWebsite: drsirichand.comInstagram: @doctorsirichandCulinary Medicine Blog: drsirichand.com/blogCommunity: https://vishuddha.comVishuddha: A Media Agency for Conscious Clinicians &amp; Wellness SeekersVishuddha is a media and creative agency dedicated to amplifying the voices of integrative and lifestyle medicine clinicians who are transforming how we understand health and healing.We provide media representation, book development, public speaking coaching, podcast strategy, content creation, and course development alongside classes and workshops for wellness seekers committed to intentional, conscious living.Rooted in whole-person healing, Vishuddha helps clinicians translate their wisdom into impact, design offerings that matter, and bring conscious, transformative work into the world.Ready to share your wisdom? 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