Healing Medicine: Mindfulness, Mindset & Physician Well-Being

What if you did not have to earn your rest, optimize your time off, or have the next chapter all figured out before it begins? In this episode of Healing Medicine, Dr. Jessie Mahoney talks with Dr. Jenny Kohr, a breast radiologist in the space between two jobs. After leaving a role she held for nearly 14 years, Jenny took nine weeks before starting the next one. She did not travel the world. She did not reorganize her whole life. She did not turn her time off into another ambitious project. Instead, she practiced pacing. Jenny shares what she learned from leaving space in her schedule, sitting outside with coffee in the morning, moving her body, taking a meditation class, writing, and learning to sing. Together, she and Jessie explore the old patterns that can make change so tiring for women in medicine: urgency, perfectionism, striving, and the belief that we need to prove we used our time well. This is a conversation about trusting yourself enough to let things take the time they take. About noticing when your strengths are serving you—and when they are asking too much of you. And about beginning again without abandoning yourself in the process. In this episode, we explore How to navigate a career transition without recreating the same pace Why "pacing" can be more helpful than simply telling yourself to slow down The urge to fill time off with travel, achievement, and productivity How urgency and perfectionism can masquerade as responsibility Why a reasonable pace can help you do better work, not less work What singing can teach us about strain, self-trust, and finding what fits How writing your story for yourself changes the way you see your life The difference between helpful strengths and patterns that have become draining How to ask better questions when you are new, uncertain, or in transition Pearls of wisdom Things take the time they take. What if the way you spent your time off was exactly what you needed? If you feel yourself straining, try something different. You do not need to explain every decision that is right for you. We do not have to get rid of our strengths. We can be discerning about when they are helpful. You do not have to have it all figured out right now. And if you did, how boring. Reflection questions Where am I cramming something in rather than letting it take the time it takes? What is my sense of urgency asking me to prove, finish, or figure out? Where do I feel strain—and what might it look like to try something different? What if this season is giving me exactly what I need? What would it look like to trust myself a little more in the change I am navigating? If this conversation resonates, Jessie's coaching offers a place to pause, hear yourself more clearly, and make changes with more presence, self-trust, and ease. 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.comCME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Jessie's Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast Page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Guilt heavily influences women physicians' decision-making. I see it day in and day out as a physician coach. Dr. Jessie Mahoney talks with psychiatrist and author Dr. Jennifer Reid about her book Guilt Free and the guilt equation she uses with patients: guilt as our expectations minus our perceived reality. They walk through the four expectations Jennifer calls "the four furies"—constant caretaking, hyper-accountability, seeking perfection, and the myth of having it all—and why these are especially expensive for women physicians. Jessie and Jennifer talk through the difference between adaptive guilt, which prompts real repair, and maladaptive guilt, which keeps us doing more. They cover disappointment as one of the most stressful things for physicians to navigate, why boundaries and delegating feel unsafe, and Jennifer's SPEAK framework for moving toward guilt-free decisions: showing up, paying attention, examining the evidence, taking action, and "keeping going," which = continuing the practice. Guilt also functions as a form of social control in medicine—training that keeps physicians giving more instead of questioning the system asking it of them. Awareness is the most important shift. In this episode:  The guilt equation: expectations minus perceived reality The four expectations that keep women physicians trapped in guilt Adaptive guilt versus maladaptive guilt Why disappointment feels so dangerous in medicine The SPEAK framework for moving toward guilt-free decisions How guilt functions as social control in medical training Pearls of Wisdom: Guilt equals our expectations minus our perceived reality—and perceived reality is rarely accurate. Guilt motivates the way junk food does: briefly, at a high cost. Adaptive guilt prompts repair; maladaptive guilt just prompts more and more. Disappointing others is often unavoidable—the litmus test that matters more is not disappointing yourself. Guilt functions as social control in medicine, keeping physicians giving more instead of questioning the system. Awareness is most of the shift. Reflection Questions Where do you notice yourself making decisions from guilt rather than desire or alignment? Which of the four expectations—caretaking, hyper-accountability, perfection, or having it all—shows up most for you? Where does disappointing someone else actually mean not disappointing yourself? What would it look like to delegate, set a boundary, or let someone be disappointed this week? More about Dr. Jennifer Reid: her book Guilt Free is available here, and she writes at her Substack, A Mind of Her Own, and at jenniferreidmd.com. Ways to Work with Jessie 1:1 Coaching: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ CME Wellness Retreats: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Jessie's Blog: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast Page: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Erica Bove are birthday twins. Once a year, they sit down to reflect on what they are proud of, what they have learned, and what they want for the year ahead. This year, the conversation moves through self-kindness and what it actually looks like. They also talk about surrender as a lived experience rather than a concept, the courage it takes to rest inside a life built for productivity, and what it means to choose fun and alignment over achievement and obligation.  Jessie walks through her TED talk, becoming a grandmother of twins, creative grandparenting, finishing certifications on her own timeline, and the story that changed how she thinks about legacy.  Erica shares how self-kindness led to a resignation, opened space for her mother's illness, made room for a new relationship, and reshaped her approach to rest and female friendship. Listen to Explore What it looks like when self-kindness moves from a mantra into an actual decision How surrender shows up differently in career, family, health, and relationships Why rest and non-productivity are essential to a physician's whole health, not extras Creative grandparenting and the courage to do things your own way Female friendship as a vital, non-optional part of a well-lived life The story that reframed legacy around fun, not achievement Pearls of Wisdom Coaching, career pivots, fertility, parenting, relationships: the access point differs, but the deeper work overlaps. Sometimes speaking up means standing tall, and sometimes it means letting other people be them. Patience and trust often deliver what pushing and forcing cannot. Rest is not a reward for finishing. It is what makes the next season possible. Female friendship is not optional. It is part of your whole health system. Reflection Questions What would be kind to yourself this year? Where are you pushing through something that patience or rest might serve better? What would your children or the people closest to you say about whether you are having fun? Which friendships are you letting drift that deserve an intentional reach? About Dr. Erica Bove: Dr. Erica Bove is a double board-certified OBGYN and reproductive endocrinologist who practices at the University of Vermont and runs a fertility coaching practice for female physicians.  www.loveandsciencefertility.com www.loveandsciencefertility.com/thepodcast   Ways to work with Jessie 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Jessie's Blog: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast Page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

There is a moment many of us know is coming: a parent's health changes, and our role changes with it. For physicians, caregiving can be especially complicated — our medical knowledge comes with responsibility, worry, and a powerful instinct to fix. We can know what might be medically best and still not be the person who gets to decide. Jessie and Ni-Cheng explore how mindfulness and coaching don't remove the difficulty of caregiving, but can change how we carry it and help us remain present, connected, and buoyant along the way. In This Episode: Why being "the doctor in the family" can complicate caregiving instead of easing it The difference between resilience and buoyancy Walking alongside aging parents versus managing them Letting go of overfunctioning and over-optimizing in caregiving What overwhelm, frustration, and resentment are actually telling us Pearls of Wisdom: Being "the doctor in the family" can make caregiving harder rather than easier. We may recognize every red flag and feel responsible even when the decisions are not ours to make. Buoyancy is different from resilience. Most physicians already know how to endure; buoyancy is about capacity, nervous system steadiness, repletion, and rising again when life pulls us under. Walking alongside our aging parents is different from managing them. We can offer knowledge and be helpful while still respecting their autonomy. Sustainable caregiving requires letting go of overfunctioning and over-optimizing. Doing something most efficiently doesn't automatically mean it's ours to do. Overwhelm, anger, frustration, and resentment aren't evidence that we're failing. They're information that may be asking us to rest, ask for help, regulate, or set a boundary. Reflection Questions: Where has caregiving opened us to a conversation or relationship we didn't expect? Where is caregiving difficult right now in a way that doesn't need to become a lesson? Where might our medical training be making caregiving harder rather than easier? What might change if we used mindfulness or coaching instead of our instinct to fix? Ways to work with Jessie 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Jessie's Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast Page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Shame around failure and rejection isolates physicians and fuels burnout. Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. René Roberts explore why, and what failure actually teaches us instead. Dr. René Roberts is a board-certified family medicine physician, a three-time Castle Connolly Top Doctor, and a TEDx speaker who got into medicine the hard way — rejected by every school she applied to for three years and failing her boards not once but twice. For years, she hid her story from almost everyone in her life. In this conversation, she and Jessie unpack the real cost of that hiding, why vulnerability is a skill worth practicing, and why how we receive someone else's vulnerability matters just as much as the courage it takes to share it. What We Explore Why failure and rejection are data, not evidence of inadequacy How shame fuels isolation and physician burnout Why the physicians who've struggled the most often become the most connected ones The overlooked role of the receiver — why not trying to fix someone's story is its own skill, and one that's rarely talked about Why elegant vulnerability changes culture faster than perfection does What it means to model wellness and vulnerability for the next generation of physicians Pearls of Wisdom Failure is data. It is not a personality trait or a scarlet letter to wear. The struggles that feel most disqualifying often become the equipment that makes you a better doctor. Hiding shame has a cost. It isolates us from our colleagues and from ourselves, and that isolation is part of what burns us out. Patients don't want a perfect doctor. They want a human doctor who understands what it's like to be given bad news. Sometimes the most healing thing you can do is just receive someone's story without trying to fix it. It's not what stops you. It's what you choose to do next. Reflection Questions Is there a failure or rejection you've never told anyone about? Where have you mistaken inadequacy for evidence, instead of equipment? What might shift for you and your colleagues if you were willing to show up with a bit more vulnerability? Are you someone people feel safe being vulnerable with — do you listen, or do you try to fix? What would change if leaders in your workplace modeled vulnerability instead of self-sacrifice? Ways to Work With Jessie 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Jessie's Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog  Podcast Page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Dr. Jessie Mahoney talks with family medicine physician Dr. Karen Fromhold, ten days into her hospice and palliative medicine fellowship. Karen had a good enough job. One she had loved and was a great fit for a while. She wasn't burned out. She simply had a dream she'd carried for over 20 years.  Our conversation explores what it took to voice her dream, trust it, and finally move toward it and the role retreats and coaching played at each step along the way. In This Episode: Why leaving a job you love can be harder than leaving one you don't How retreat spaces create room for clarity to surface The difference between moving away from something and moving toward something Why Karen waited for the right opportunity instead of rushing What it means to give yourself grace as a beginner again How the Retreat Space Made Room for This Decision Karen attended four retreats over four years, each one meeting her at a different point in the decision. At her first retreat, the dream was voiced out loud for the first time — in what Karen calls a "fragile, baby idea" state. Coaching conversations that followed helped the idea take shape. By her second retreat, she'd begun pursuing an alternate mid-career fellowship path. Jessie offers a framework for why this kept happening in the retreat space specifically: stepping out of daily environment and into relaxation activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is often why clarity that's been hidden or hard to access at home surfaces in that container of safety. Karen also describes going back through her retreat journals before quitting her job and noticing the same themes recur and deepen each time she returned — what Jessie calls "peeling a different layer of the same onion." Pearls of Wisdom Once you make the decision, you make it the right decision. We don't want to run away from something — we want to move towards something. A busy life makes it easy to leave a dream on the shelf. If not now, when? Reflection Questions Where have you made do with "good" instead of pursuing "great"? What dream have you left on the shelf, telling yourself it's too late? What would it look like to move toward something instead of just away from what isn't working? Ways to work with Jessie: 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Jessie's Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast Page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Many physicians reach a point where they are functioning well on the outside — delivering good care, staying credentialed, showing up — and yet something beneath the surface feels flat, restless, or not quite right. Not burned out exactly. Not unhappy exactly.  Just not fully found. Dr. Abhay Dandekar, a pediatrician who was a resident with Jessie, shares his journey of not feeling lost but also never feeling found either.  In this conversation, Abhay shares the arc of a career that has moved through clinical hospital medicine, residency program director, leaving for full-time administrative leadership in another institution, and then his journey back – to the exact clinical home he left. What changed when he returned was not the place. It was him. This is a generous conversation about navigating the pulls of medicine, the stories physicians tell themselves about staying and going, the difference between mentors and sponsors, and what it actually means to find yourself –  from the inside out.     What We Explore The specific feeling of "not yet being found" — distinct from being lost or burned out Why binary thinking narrows physician careers  What it means to return to a familiar place as a genuinely different person How to build what keeps you stable without stopping what keeps you moving The inner work of agency — and why waiting to be seen keeps you stuck How thought partners and daily reflection sustain longevity in medicine     Pearls of Wisdom The roses and the trash smell the same no matter where you are. What changes is how you show up. You can be functioning well on the outside and paying a real cost underneath. Agency does not come from the institution. It has to start from within. You can take a step without calling it a misstep. Sometimes it is a sidestep — or a diagonal forward step that puts you somewhere truer. Find thought partners, not echo chambers. The people around you carry wisdom you have not seen yet. Appreciating diastole — pausing and reflecting — is not recovery. It is practice.     Reflection Questions Where do you feel the gap between how you appear on the outside and what you are carrying underneath? Are you waiting for your institution to solve something that might need to start with you? Where is binary thinking shaping the choices in front of you right now? Who are your thought partners — and where are you in an echo chamber when you need honest conversation? What would it mean to appreciate diastole in your own career this week?     Ways to Work With Jessie 1:1 Coaching: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ CME Wellness Retreats: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Jessie's Blog: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast Page: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

After being rear-ended at highway speed by a driver who fled the scene, I found myself navigating physical pain, emotional shock, unanswered questions, and a choice I didn't expect to face: pursue justice or let go.  This solo episode is Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang's account of what happened, what I learned, and the mindfulness lessons that emerged.  If you've ever been blindsided by something you didn't choose, this one is for you. What We Explore What happens when your sense of safety changes in an instant Why acceptance is not the same as approval How people around us can restore our faith when one person breaks it The difference between being afraid and being incapable Transmuting pain into intentional good  Pearls of Wisdom Mindfulness is not about controlling outcomes. It is about how we meet what is already here. Getting help helps. Giving yourself permission to receive support is a strength, not a weakness. We can handle hard things even when we do not want them. Our choice lies in how we handle them. Even when the person responsible leaves, others show up. And we can show up for ourselves. There are inherent inner resources we do not give ourselves enough credit for. Reflection Questions When was the last time something unexpected revealed both your vulnerabilities and your strengths? Where are you resisting asking for help because you believe you should be able to handle it on your own? What would it look like to accept something difficult without approving of it? Where might you transmute a painful experience into something intentionally good? If this episode resonated with you, here are ways to go deeper: 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/  CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats  Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga  Jessie's Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog  Podcast Page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast #PhysicianWellness #Mindfulness #Resilience Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

In medicine, we are trained to trust what is hard, measurable, familiar, and structured. We question whether something spacious, nourishing, or beautiful can be meaningful, impactful, and lead to real growth and learning. Many physicians are skeptical of coaching, mindfulness, breathwork, retreats, and yoga as relevant and meaningful learning because they do not resemble traditional medical education. This episode encourages you to reconsider what medicine may have taught you to dismiss. PEARLS OF WISDOM • What medicine sometimes labels as "woo" may simply be unfamiliar, hard to measure, or outside the traditional medical framework. Mindfulness, coaching, yoga, breathwork, retreats, and nervous system regulation can still be rigorous, evidence-informed, and deeply impactful. • Suffering is not required for growth. We often equate exhaustion, discomfort, and over-effort with value, yet real learning is often more accessible when we are rested, regulated, and receptive. • Transformation is not the same as information. Physicians are excellent at consuming information, but lasting change comes from integration, practice, embodiment, and living differently in real time. • Simple practices are not shallow. A breath, a pause, a hand on the heart, a walk, a reflective question, or a meaningful conversation can interrupt old patterns and open space for a different response. • Conditions matter. Safety, spaciousness, beauty, community, nature, reflection, and skilled facilitation can make rigorous inner work more possible, not less credible. Real transformation happens when learning becomes embodied, integrated, relational, and safe.   Reflection Questions Where are we still equating suffering with value, rigor, or meaning? What kinds of learning have given us information without creating the change we were hoping for? Where are we treating something unfamiliar as not credible? What might become possible if comfort, beauty, rest, and spaciousness became part of healing and growth? Stay curious about the places where medicine has taught you to dismiss what you have not yet experienced.  Coaching, retreats, mindfulness, breathwork, yoga, reflection, and community are invitations to relate to ourselves, our work, our patients, and our lives with more presence and sustainability. www.jessiemahoneymd.com www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Communication can energize us, deplete us, or leave us energetically neutral.  When you are tired, unclear communication is even more costly. We can learn from both communication that flows and communication that feels clogged. With mindfulness, clarity, and honest reflection, communication can become a practice of energy stewardship. PEARLS OF WISDOM With mindfulness, clarity, and honest reflection, communication can become a practice of energy stewardship. Effective communication is not about everything happening quickly or smoothly. It is about clarity, transparency, and shared understanding of what is happening next. Response time matters less when expectations are clear. Knowing what we are waiting for can reduce frustration and conserve emotional energy. Communication preferences become clearer when we notice what works. We can learn from easeful interactions and use those lessons to guide future conversations. Communication clogs are part of life and medicine. We can pause, feel what is present, get curious, and choose the next healthiest and wisest response. Staying in our own energy is a mindful communication skill. We do not have to absorb confusion, urgency, or inefficiency in order to participate with care. Reflection Questions Where are you noticing communication flow right now? Where are you noticing communication clogs, delays, or unclear expectations? What helps you conserve energy when communication feels inefficient? We hope this conversation helps you notice how much energy communication requires, especially in medicine and leadership. Clear communication is not just efficient. It is compassionate. When communication feels clogged, pause, breathe, and ask what is actually yours to do. You can also notice when communication feels easeful, transparent, and energizing, and let that teach you something. This is a great topic for a workshop or keynote talk. Reach out to either of us to discuss further. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Almost every woman in medicine has, at some point, decided she doesn't belong. We were trained to do it — to scan for what's abnormal, what's different, what doesn't fit — and then we turn that same lens on ourselves. In this episode, we share our own stories of feeling alone, and the reframe that changed it for both of us: belonging is a decision, not a feeling. It's something you get to choose and practice, not something you wait to arrive — and there are simple, doable ways to start. What We Explore Why belonging is something you decide and practice, not something you wait to feel. How discomfort and unfamiliarity get mistaken for "I don't belong." The difference between deciding to belong and practicing it Why you don't have to belong everywhere — and how choosing where you don't is its own kind of freedom How vulnerability and connection become the antidote to loneliness Pearls of Wisdom We were trained to notice what doesn't belong, and we turn that same lens on ourselves. What you practice grows, and what you don't practice recedes. You don't have to belong everywhere; choosing where you don't belong is also a way of belonging to yourself. Vulnerability is valuable — it connects you, and it gives others permission. Reflection Questions Where do you keep waiting to belong, and where could you decide you already belong? Where are you spending your time, energy, and emotional currency — and are those spaces ones you've intentionally chosen? When you walk into a room where you feel different, what might happen if you started to notice what's actually the same about you? Ways to Work With Jessie 1:1 Coaching CME Wellness Retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga Blog Podcast Page If this episode resonates, the most powerful next step is to practice belonging. That's exactly what 1:1 coaching, small group coaching, and the Connect in Nature and Nicasio Creek Farm Women Physicians retreats are built for — authentic, aligned spaces where you actually want to belong. Come decide you belong, and see what shifts. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

What does following your inner knowing actually look like — not in theory, but in real life, with a mortgage, three kids, and twenty years practicing medicine inside an institution? In this solo episode, Jessie shares the long-form version of her story: how she went from Kaiser pediatrician of 20 years to leading 38 retreats, coaching hundreds of physicians, building Pause & Presence with her husband Mark, moving to Nicasio Creek Farm, and stepping onto the TEDx stage.  Every turn was an act of trust. None of it was a plan. This is not a story about leaving medicine.  It is a story about what becomes possible when you stop overriding your inner knowing — and what changes for the people around you when you do. Listen to hear: Why every turning point was an act of trust, not a plan Where the name Pause & Presence actually came from Working backward from how you want to feel The catalyst that actually moves physicians to change Why making decisions from depletion keeps you stuck What intentional healing spaces make possible The unexpected ripple effect on family, marriage, and kids Pearls of Wisdom Every turn we take toward our inner knowing is an act of trust — and trust grows by following it. What we model is far more powerful than what we say. The biggest gift of change is often the ripple effect on the people we love most. You cannot know the how until you get there — you can only set yourself up well for the process. Your best ideas come in a parasympathetic state, not when you are pushing. Without the pause, we react. Without the presence, we miss our own life. Working backward from how we want to feel is one of the most underused tools in medicine. Suffering is not required to make meaningful change. Reflection Questions Where in your life are you choosing fine over alive? How do you want to feel most days — and how do you feel now? What is one small act of trust you could make this week? What are you modeling for the people we love, whether you mean to or not? Where might support help you trust your own inner knowing more? Ways to work with Jessie Mahoney MD 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Food can become one more place where we try to get it right, especially in midlife. Perimenopause and menopause add more noise, rules, and self-judgment around food.  In this conversation, Dr. Heather Awad and Dr. Jessie Mahoney explore a kinder, simpler approach to mindful eating in midlife and menopause. We talk about nourishment rather than perfection, eating real meals instead of grazing, and using protein and vegetables as a gentle anchor rather than as another rigid rule.  We reflect on emotional eating, sugar, self-compassion, and how to make supportive choices on the busiest days.  This is not about doing food perfectly. It is about building more trust, steadiness, and ease in our relationship with food and with ourselves. Jessie reflects on the approach to nourishment she and her husband, Mark, share at retreats: food as medicine, culinary medicine, family-style, farm-to-table meals, and a return to the basics. The invitation is to be thoughtful, kind, and intentional about how we nourish ourselves. What emerges instead is a return to the basics: eating like your grandma, choosing real food, and being thoughtful, kind, and caring toward our bodies. It is a mindful and intentional approach to nourishment rather than another performance project. At retreats, nourishment is not only about what is on the plate. It is also about beauty, delight, creativity, and presence. Jessie reflects on tasting with your eyes, on how beautiful food can feel nourishing before we even take a bite, and on desserts that feel special, intentional, and thoughtfully made.  In that spirit, food becomes something to savor and enjoy with attention, rather than another place to strive or follow rules. In this episode, we discuss: How food can become another arena for striving and performance The value of simple meals over grazing all day Emotional eating and the importance of pausing with awareness Protein and vegetables as a helpful foundation in midlife Backup meals and flexibility for busy real lives Why shame and self-criticism do not create lasting change How to be more intentional about sugar and dessert What nourishment can look like in retreat spaces and everyday life Pearls of Wisdom Midlife eating does not have to be a part-time job. A simpler meal structure can support awareness and steadiness. Self-compassion creates more sustainable change than striving. Food can be beautiful, creative, and deeply nourishing when approached with intention. Reflection Questions Where has food become one more place where you try to perform or get it right? What might change if you approached midlife eating with more kindness and less striving? What stories are you telling yourself about your body, and how are those stories affecting you? How might beauty, creativity, and delight become part of nourishment? Dr. Heather Awad's Links: Free Resource: vibrant-md.com/breakfast LinkedIn: /www.linkedin.com/in/heatherawadmd/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/heatherawadmd/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/heathervibrantmd YouTube:www.youtube.com/channel/UC8ksjIG1j7eIRttczBE1o2Q Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Have you ever been asked to do something in a way that just didn't sit right with you? If you are a physician, the answer is almost certainly yes — and probably this week. We get trained to defer, to accommodate, to keep the peace, to make it work. And somewhere along the way, accommodation stops being a skill and starts being a default. A reflex. A cost. There is a quiet teaching most physicians absorb without realizing it: that there is one right way to do things, and our job is to find it, follow it, and not step out of line. The tension between that conditioning and our own inner knowing is the territory of this episode. There is no one right way. There are many. In this episode, Jessie and Ni-Cheng sit with the exact moment that conditioning gets tested — the bristle, the chest tightness, the split-second pull between complying, refusing, or saying nothing at all. Jessie shares a current dilemma where her expertise and what is being asked of her are not quite aligned. Ni-Cheng offers examples from her own practice, including the automatic bristle that comes when a patient hands her a pre-written letter to sign. Together they explore why over-accommodation is so common in medicine, what it actually costs us, and how mindfulness opens up something better than compliance or conflict. In this episode Jessie walks through the layers underneath that moment of tension — why it is rarely just about the task, and why physicians in particular are so prone to over-accommodation. The episode explores the hidden cost of defaulting to easy, good, and agreeable; the difference between an automatic reaction and a true inner knowing; the third option that becomes possible when we pause; and the four C's that change everything — curiosity, creativity, connection, and co-creation. Above all, this episode is a reminder that there is no one right way to practice medicine, lead, parent, or live. There are many. What we explore Why over-accommodation is so common — and so costly — for physicians What the moment of tension is really about: identity, safety, boundaries, belonging, self-trust How conditioning, hierarchy, and perfectionism shape our reactivity The difference between automatic reaction and true inner knowing The pause, the third option, and the four C's Why there is no one right way — there are many Pearls of Wisdom There is no one right way. There are many. Over-accommodation is a trained response, not a personality trait. It can be unlearned. The moment of tension is not just about the ask. It is about identity, safety, boundaries, belonging, and self-trust. Their urgency is not your urgency. You can choose alignment over someone else's approval — without abandoning the relationship. Not every disagreement means your inner knowing is one hundred percent right. Mindfulness helps us tell the difference. Reflection Questions When was the last time something didn't feel right, but we went along with it anyway? What did that cost us emotionally, energetically, or relationally? Where in our work or life have we confused accommodation with care? How do we recognize our inner yes versus our inner no? Where might we experiment with pausing before automatically agreeing or automatically refusing? What would it look like to trust ourselves a bit more — and stay curious about their perspective at the same time? Ways to work with Jessie 1:1 Coaching: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ CME Wellness Retreats — Connect in Nature & Nicasio Creek Farm Women Physicians Retreat: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Jessie's Blog: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast Page: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Most charting advice for doctors focuses on efficiency tools, templates, dot phrases, AI scribes, and time-blocking. Those things help. But they don't address the real reason so many physicians chart late into the night: the nervous system state we are in when we sit down to chart. If charting is taking over your evenings, weekends, and mental space, this episode is for you. Dr. Jessie Mahoney, a board-certified pediatrician, physician coach, and former physician wellness leader at Kaiser Permanente, shares a mindful, sustainable approach to clinical documentation that doesn't require working faster, working later, or any other productivity hack. In this episode, you'll learn: Why charting feels harder than it should — even when you know what to write The mindset shift that makes notes flow instead of stalling How perfectionism, people-pleasing, and over-explaining quietly inflate every chart A presence-based practice you can use between patients to reset Why "charting with ease" is possible without sacrificing clinical quality This conversation is for physicians who are tired of pajama-time charting and want a sustainable, human approach to EHR documentation. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast. If this resonates, go deeper with 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ Connect in Nature & CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog

Are you tired of mothering on autopilot or reactively? Of loving your kids deeply and sometimes losing yourself in the loving?  Of the constant " Am I doing this right?" In our annual Mother's Day episode, we explore "mothering on purpose."  Between us, we have an 8-year-old, a 16-year-old, a 21-year-old, a 26-year-old, and an almost 30-year-old. Each one needs something different.  What is similar is the approach.  "Your approach determines the landing." We get into not fixing, not swooping, holding your tongue, and recognizing that your urgency is not their urgency.  We talk about reparenting yourself in real time and becoming the mother you wish you'd had.  About mothering all the way out into adult children, in-laws, and grandchildren, and Jessie walks through mindfulness tenets as a framework for intentional mothering: patience, non-judgment, trust, letting go, acceptance, curiosity, generosity, gratitude, and paying attention on purpose. Pearls of Wisdom "Your approach determines the landing." Their struggle isn't yours to absorb. Hold it, look at it, put it down. "We are raising children to become adults, not raising children to stay kids." Your urgency is not their urgency. Sometimes love is sitting in silence. You can be the mother you wish you'd had.  Mothering is a long game.  Reflection Questions What tone and energy are you mothering from? Are you absorbing things that aren't yours? Solving problems that aren't yours to solve? What energy or intention do you want to bring to your mothering? Mindful coaching is one of the most powerful ways we know to parent with presence and intention.  Whether you're navigating a teenager, an adult child, or grandchildren, or simply your own urge to fix and swoop — coaching helps you build the skills to mother on purpose. A special invitation: join us at Connect in Nature at Nicasio Creek Farm. Mindfulness and yoga in the redwoods, the yurt, and the gardens. A few spaces are left this summer. Partners welcome. 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ Connect in Nature & CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

What happens when you've done all the right things, built the life you were supposed to build, and something inside you still won't settle?  This episode is for the physician whose inner self feels restless.  You'll hear Ni-Cheng share the raw truth of being diagnosed with breast cancer at 31 and what her body was trying to tell her. Jessie tells the story of the day she handed in her resignation and felt sick instead of relieved.  You'll meet the concept of expansion anxiety — the feeling that you've lost your mind when really you're just growing — and the idea of jumping into cold water with a life preserver.  You'll leave with permission to stop using struggle as proof of your strength and to let the easy parts be easy. "There are no shortcuts to a big life. There are many shortcuts to a life that looks big on the outside, but is killing you on the inside." - A line, from Enia Oakes' 108 Notes from a Studio in Oakland, is the heart of this episode.   Pearls of Wisdom If you don't choose who you're becoming, circumstances choose for you. Not choosing is still a choice. Jump but with a life preserver. When you feel untethered, it often means you're growing. Let the easy parts be easy. The person you become will catch you when you fall — if you've taken good care of her. Reflection Questions If you were building your life on purpose starting today, what would stay and what would go? Where are you taking shortcuts to a life that looks big but doesn't feel like yours? What life preservers do you already have, and what do you still need before we jump? Closing Invitation If you are in a season where your old life isn't quite fitting and the new one hasn't yet taken shape, you are not lost — you are in the liminal space where real change happens.  I'd love to support you there through coaching, a retreat, or a free live-stream mindful yoga class. 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga The PAUSE (my blog): www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Listen to other episodes of the Healing Medicine Podcast page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Referenced in this episode: Episode 261 with Enya Oakes on 108 Notes from a Studio in Oakland Jessie's TEDx Talk: What Would Love Do? The Question We're Not Asking Join Jessie and Ni-Cheng for the Connect in Nature Retreat at Nicasio Creek Farm: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

Do you know what you want? Not what is expected. Not what comes next on the list but what you actually want. For many of us, curiosity has been crowded out by pressure, productivity, and the conditioned belief that we should already know the answer. In this episode, we explore what curiosity needs to grow, what gets in its way, and how to start creating the conditions for more of it. PEARLS OF WISDOM • Curiosity does not grow well under pressure. It grows in specific conditions, and those conditions can be understood, created, and practiced. • For most physicians, curiosity has been pushed aside by urgency, productivity, perfectionism, and the belief that we should already know the answer. • Curiosity is physical, not just intellectual. Noticing how it feels in the body — openness, energy, flow, aliveness — gives us clues about how to create more of it. • Solving and fixing mode is the opposite of curious mode. Clarity, creativity, and connection show up when there is more room, not more thinking. • What we practice grows. Small, repeated conditions for curiosity matter more than one big breakthrough. Reflection Questions What conditions help curiosity grow for us, and what shuts it down most quickly? Where do we feel more open, more creative, and more like ourselves? What role do nature, community, and white space play in our own clarity? What strengths in us might be asking for more room right now?     If this episode resonated, and you are in a season of figuring out what is next — or simply wanting to feel more alive and connected to what you love — curiosity is the place to start. Listening to podcasts is a wonderful way to begin. Putting yourself in environments that support curiosity is where things shift. The Connect in Nature Retreat that Ni-Cheng and I co-lead is happening again this summer.  It is designed around exactly what we talk about in this episode: space, nature, community, embodiment, and room for curiosity to grow.  Retreats at Nicasio Creek Farm offer the same optimal conditions.  Coaching, one-on-one or in small groups, is another way to explore what you are asking for more room in your life. www.jessiemahoneymd.com www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats  www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.

Many of us have had frustrating experiences with AI — not because we lack intelligence or willingness, but because no one has translated it in a way that makes sense for how we actually work and live. This is part two of a conversation with my son Slade about using AI in mindful, practical ways. We talk about real use cases — reviewing a lease, finding a job, making a blog findable, writing show notes — and what it actually takes to communicate clearly with a tool that cannot read your mind. What emerged is something we did not expect: the skills that make AI work well are the same skills we teach in coaching. Get clear on your end goal. Offer the right context. Know where your own judgment and voice still matter. PEARLS OF WISDOM • AI cannot replace your authentic voice. Its output is never you, and that is where your value and job security live. • Communicating well with AI requires the same skills as communicating well with humans — clarity, context, and knowing your desired outcome. • AI can amplify your work and help people find you, but the creative and human parts still belong to you. • Knowing what AI can and cannot help with brings simplicity and reduces the overwhelm of endless possibilities. Reflection Questions Where in our work or life might AI save us energy on tasks that are not our unique gift, so we can protect time for what is? What would it look like to approach AI the way we approach learning a new language — with patience, curiosity, and a willingness to ask for help? Where might we be avoiding AI out of frustration rather than true limitation, and what would one small experiment look like? If you are curious about using AI in a more grounded, intentional way, Slade now offers sessions to help you build your own relationship with these tools. You can find him at AIWithSlade.com. Slade will also share his wisdom and answer questions in a live Zoom session for the Mindful Healthcare Collective and Pause & Presence. April 24th, 9:30 am Pacific Register here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/curious-about-coaching He will share a practical, grounded, and mindful approach to AI. You will leave able to relate to it more easily, effectively, and efficiently — so you can spend more time on what matters most in your practice, your business, and/or your life. This session will be clear, honest, and jargon-free. No technical background required. About Slade  Slade Mahoney is an AI consultant and strategist based in San Diego — and the son of Dr. Jessie Mahoney, founder of Pause and Presence Coaching and Retreats. He got into this work because he believes AI should make us more human, not less. Too many brilliant, accomplished people are spending their most valuable hours on things that have nothing to do with why they became brilliant and accomplished in the first place — the emails, the scheduling, the follow-ups, the research — tasks that have nothing to do with why they built something of their own. The work that means most to him is helping people like his mom: smart, accomplished people who are curious about what AI can do and want to explore it for their business, their work, or their life. In his career, he has built AI tools for organizations ranging from small businesses to Kaiser Permanente, The Walt Disney Company, and the CDC — giving him a rare view into how AI is actually being deployed at every level and what it means for the rest of us. He works one-on-one with physician entrepreneurs and small business owners — teaching them how to use AI to build real tools for their businesses and get back to the work only they can do. Find him at aiwithslade.com (http://aiwithslade.com). And if you are a physician who wants support in a deeply human space — through coaching, retreats, yoga, or simply being in community with other physicians who understand — I would love to connect with you. www.jessiemahoneymd.com www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga  www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog  www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast   Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.

What if your hesitation around AI is not a problem, but a reflection of how much you care? Have you noticed how thoughtful, conscientious people imagine the worst-case scenario when something new arrives? Could it be that some of the fear around AI is less about the tool itself and more about our stories about it? And what if you do not need to love it to change your relationship with AI? This is part one of a two-part conversation with Jessie's son, Slade, about AI — not the technology itself, but the feelings it evokes and the stories we tell about it. We explore why AI feels so charged for physicians and high-achieving women, and how we might relate to it with more awareness, discernment, and self-compassion. PEARLS OF WISDOM • Hesitation around AI is often not a lack of intelligence or willingness — it is a reflection of how much we care about doing things well and doing them right. • Physicians are trained to anticipate risk and forecast danger. Sometimes we misapply that training to situations where curiosity would serve us better than caution. • AI is a tool. How we interact with it depends on slowing down, asking ourselves the right questions, and deciding how we want to show up. • The one thing AI does not have is a soul. Original, heart-centered, authentically human work will become more valuable, not less. • Everyone needs support learning this — even people who seem like they already understand it. There is no shame in asking for a guide. Reflection Questions What feelings come up for us when we think about AI — and how might we begin to shift from catastrophizing into discernment? Where are we resisting, rather than showing up with curiosity? How do we want to relate to AI in a way that is aligned with our values and protects our energy for what matters most? This is part one of a two-part series. In the next episode, Slade and I dive into the practical side — real use cases, real tools, and how communicating with AI is a lot like learning a new language. If you are a physician looking for support in navigating change — whether it is AI, career, identity, or how you want to show up in medicine and in life — I would love to connect with you. www.jessiemahoneymd.com www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

What if the unexpected is not an interruption, but an invitation? Have you noticed how quickly a small technical difficulty become a full-on nervous system event? Could it be that some of our frustration is less about what went wrong and more about the stories we tell about what it means? What if we could meet these moments — the glitches, the delays, the disappointments — with a little more awareness, grace, and compassion? Technical difficulties are part of modern life. The microphone breaks, the internet fails, the slide deck disappears. Things go sideways, and suddenly we find ourselves frustrated, urgent, and judging ourselves. This episode explores what happens inside us when things do not go as planned — and offers a gentler, more grounded way to respond. PEARLS OF WISDOM • Technical difficulties show us our patterns of reactivity and our patterns of responding to stress. They are invitations to notice, not just fix.  • When something unexpected goes wrong, our nervous system often responds before our thinking brain catches up. Pausing to notice the body, name the emotion, and observe the story can soften the moment.  • Letting something be imperfect is not the same as not caring. Sometimes choosing presence over perfection is actually caring more. • Impermanence applies to technology, too. A broken thing is not always just broken. It might be a marker of all that has been lived through it.  • We can choose acceptance where acceptance is needed, and action where action is possible. The wisdom is knowing the difference. Reflection Questions What kinds of unexpected disruptions tend to activate you the most quickly? What do you notice in rour body and thoughts when something goes wrong that you did not plan for? Where in your life are you spending energy trying to fix things that might need acceptance instead? Have you ever discovered tenderness, meaning, or beauty in something ordinary when it breaks? This episode offers a gentler lens for the next time something does not go according to plan - in medicine, in life, or on a Zoom call. If you are looking for a community that practices exactly this kind of presence, I would love to have you join me for free livestream yoga most weekends. These classes blend coaching, neuroscience, mindfulness, and an incredibly warm community of women who have been practicing together for six years. You can also join us for a retreat where we practice all of this in real life, in nature, together.   Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.

Coaching is a practical and effective form of support for physicians practicing amidst the chaos of modern medicine. It is a grounded way to help physicians practice with greater agency, steadiness, and self-respect. This episode explores: Why many struggles in medicine are not effort problems The role of nervous system regulation in sustainable change What physician coaching is, and what it is not Pearls of Wisdom Depleted and burnt out physicians are responding predictably to current conditions in medicine. Sustainable excellence requires skills that most physicians were not taught in training. Skepticism can be wise, but it can also keep us from receiving helpful and needed support. Effective change comes from noticing, regulating, and responding on purpose --not trying harder.   Reflection Questions What are you trying to solve with more effort that requires a different skill? Where is skepticism serving you wisely, and where might it be getting in your way? What might shift if you showed up more regulated, less activated, and more intentional in medicine and at home?   Ways to work with Jessie 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.comCME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Jessie's Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast Page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.  

When we are depleted, reactive, and under pressure, even small decisions can feel surprisingly hard. Intention, physiology, and physiologic awareness make decision-making simpler, steadier, and less draining. This episode explores decision fatigue through the lens of physiology, neuroscience, mindset, and intention.  Decision-making in healthcare is an expensive process. Physician thought patterns make decisions more burdensome. Decision drain builds when choices are delayed, avoided, or made at too high a cost.  In this episode, we cover: How intention and physiologic awareness simplifies decisions The expensive decision-making process in healthcare and the burden of decision debt How focusing on what is in our control gives back our energy and agency Pearls of Wisdom: Physiologic depletion, chronic pressure, and conditioning are the problem Physician patterns make decisions more draining than they need to be. Intention and physiologic awareness make decision-making simpler and less energetically expensive. Reflection Questions: When does decision-making feel most draining for you? What is increasing the cost of choosing in your life right now? Which physician patterns make your decision-making more expensive than it needs to be? How might intention or physiologic awareness simplify one decision this week? What is within your control in about how you decide, communicate, or show up? What decisions are you postponing or avoiding? Ways to work with Jessie Mahoney MD Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.comCME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga More Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.

When we've been carrying a lot for a long time, "fine" can start to feel like the only option.  In this conversation, Jessie is joined by Dr. Jennifer Swaringen an orthopedic surgeon and yoga teacher. She has already been to Jessie's Nicasio Creek Farm retreat twice: once with a friend, and once on her own during an empty-nest transition.  We talk about:  what shifts when women physicians step into a small, safe community how coaching helps us see the stories we've been living inside why nervous-system care (movement, breath, stillness, sound) can create a steadiness that thinking alone sometimes can't reach. Connection isn't a luxury and being cared for is a practice. We explore: How resentment, catastrophizing, and "I'm only valuable when I'm producing" show up (and soften) Why coming to a retreat alone can actually deepen connection Coaching vs. yoga: insight work and nervous-system work (and why both matter) Staying connected after the retreat so it becomes real life Empty nest as a transition point and a valid time to ask for support Pearls of wisdom Noticing our default stories reduces their power. Coaching and yoga work differently, and together. Safe community expands what feels possible. Coming alone isn't a disadvantage. Allowing ourselves to be cared for is a real practice—especially for women physicians. Reflection questions Where are you telling an old story that keeps us stuck? What support would you allow if you no longer needed to earn it? Where are you craving connection—and what is one small follow-through? Ways to work with Jessie: Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.comCME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

What happens when physician spouses step away from the pace of medicine and make space to slow down together? In this episode, Drs. Angela Wong and Doug Conrad join us to explore how rest, reflection, and shared experience can help us reconnect with ourselves, our relationships, and the deeper reasons we practice medicine. They reflect on attending The Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreat at Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center together as a physician couple and share what it was like to step away for a few days, reconnect with each other, and remember what matters most beyond the roles and demands of daily life in medicine. They talk about perfectionism, the hidden cost of constant productivity, and how slowing down can restore perspective, compassion, and connection.  In this episode, we discuss: How Drs. Angela Wong and Doug Conrad, physician spouses, experienced stepping away together as a physician couple How rest and reflection can deepen connection in relationships The hidden cost of constant productivity in medicine How perfectionism can shape both work and home life What it feels like to receive care rather than always provide it Why shared experiences outside medicine can strengthen physician relationships How mindful movement, rest, breath, and nourishment influence patient care Pearls of Wisdom Shared experiences outside the clinical environment can strengthen physician partnerships and help us see one another as people, not just colleagues in a busy life. Slowing down is not indulgent. It creates the space needed to reconnect with ourselves, our partners, and the deeper reasons we practice medicine. Perfectionism often masquerades as professionalism in medicine. Letting go of that inner judge can restore both well-being and relationships. The practices we experience personally—mindful movement, nourishment, rest, and breath—often become the most authentic tools we bring to patient care. Reflection Questions What might shift if you intentionally created time to slow down with a partner or loved one? Where in your life might you be moving so quickly that you have stopped noticing how you actually feel? How might releasing the need for perfection allow more compassion toward yourself and others? What small daily practice could help you reconnect with your breath, body, and sense of agency? Resources and ways to connect Website: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ Awaken Breath: https://awakenbreath.org/ Retreats: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Yoga: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Blog: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast If this conversation resonates, we would love to welcome you to a future retreat where we explore rest, mindfulness, and connection in community with other physicians. The next Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreat is July 30–August 1, 2026. Nothing shared on the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

We're continuing an annual tradition on the Healing Medicine Podcast: a Lunar New Year conversation that uses the Chinese zodiac (and the five elements) as a framework for reflection and intention-setting.  Even if this isn't part of your culture or your belief system, exploring how a different cultural lens can help you see your patterns around transitions and help you endwell, pause to integrate, and begin well.  We're moving from the Year of the Wood Snake (2025)—slower, observant, inward, "shedding what no longer serves"—into the Year of the Fire Horse (2026)—movement, visibility, courage, momentum, and a louder, more activating energy.  This episode covers: Why Lunar New Year is also called Spring Festival (Chunjie) The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac (and why there's no cat) The five elements and how they "flavor" a year (wood → fire) Wood Snake themes: introspection, boundaries, shedding, somatic signals Fire Horse themes: courage, action, visibility, warmth—and the need for wisdom Transition practices: ending well → pausing → beginning well A journal prompt: What are you leaving behind from the Wood Snake year? Invitation: Connect in Nature Retreat (Green Gulch + Muir Woods) Mentioned Invitations: Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreat (Green Gulch + Muir Woods): www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreat-connect-in-nature Nothing shared in this episode is medical advice or a substitute for your own medical care. This is educational content and personal reflection.  

 In this episode, I share what has helped sustain my long-term relationship over the past four decades.  I was asked to share my secrets with a large group of physicians.  I preparing for that realized that I have no secrets. I have an approach. Since I started approaching my relationship with intention, it has gotten better than ever. Resentment grows from silent expectations. Shifting from expectation to intention makes more room for connection. What would love do now? guides me as a practical filter for tone, attention, listening, and repair. It's especially useful given our mismatched neurotypes and when our nervous systems are depleted. In this episode, I share The cost of silent expectations and resentment The value of replacing expectations with clear intentions "What would love do now?" as a moment-to-moment practice How nervous system depletion turns neutral moments into conflict Why friendship and fun matter Pearls of Wisdom Clear intentions open doors. Resentment keeps them shut. Love becomes steadier when we treat it as a verb Long-term relationships are built through practice. Protecting your health, and your partner's health protects the relationship Friendship sustains intimacy Reflection questions: What silent expectations are you holding? What intention do you want to bring to your relationship: connection, kindness, honesty, peace, love? When you are depleted, what could help you respond instead of react? How could you treat your partner more like a friend this week—lighter, more generous, more on the same team? Ways to work with me https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

What do you want to be known for?  One thing we want to be known for is this podcast. 300 episodes in, we are committed to offering fresh perspectives and value as healing medicine for our listeners as well as conversations that help to heal the culture of medicine. When we ask the question, "What do we want to be known for?" it becomes a decision-making filter, a boundary-setting tool, and a compass for alignment—helping us lead with love and live closer to our true selves. In this episode, we explore: How "default identities" form in medicine (often unintentionally) The cost of being known for something that no longer, or never fit How to use the question "what I want to be known for" as a values-based filter Pearls of Wisdom Default identities form through repetition, people-pleasing, and conditioning—not always conscious choice. Naming what you don't want to be known for helps refine what matters. Values like authenticity, compassion, and love support intentional leadership. There's no urgency for a perfect answer—clarity can emerge slowly. Reflection Questions What are you currently known for? Did you choose this, or did it just happen? Where does your current identity feel true? Where does it feel heavy or misaligned? What's one small step you can take toward being known for what really matters to you? Resources & Next Steps Read Jessie's blog on this same topic: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog/what-do-you-want-to-be-known-for-1?rq=known%20for I fyou want to work on this question, reach out 1:1 coaching or join Jessie for a mindful coaching retreat at Nicasio Creek Farm in 2026. Join Jessie and Ni-Cheng for Connect in Nature at Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center (the only retreat we offer together and an opportunity to bring friends, partners, and colleagues of all genders and professions. Speaking/Workshops: Dr. Mahoney: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Dr. Liang: www.awakenbreath.org Disclaimer Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

A conversation about living through a "fun filter." What does it looks like to let joy, ease, and alignment guide our decisions instead of obligation, striving, or outdated beliefs? A special co-released episode with Dr. Melissa Parsons, fellow retired pediatrician, coach, and kindred spirit.  Together, we reflect on our own transitions out of pediatrics, how we've redefined success, and the freedom that comes when we allow ourselves to change, grow, and choose what lights us up. We also share honest moments about parenting adult children, reimagining purpose, and how sometimes the most meaningful transformations begin when we stop pushing and start listening. If you've been wondering what gets to be "enough," this episode offers a gentler compass. In this episode, we explore: What a "fun filter" is (and what it isn't) Redefining success after leaving a long-held identity Why we don't have to earn rest, joy, or white space How change can be a sign of being fully alive Letting alignment and impact coexist Pearls of Wisdom Choosing what's fun is not frivolous and can be freeing. You don't have to earn rest, white space, or joy. Change doesn't make you flighty because it means you're alive. Fun and impact can coexist. "Enough" isn't a milestone; it's a mindset. Reflection Questions: What currently feels fun, easy, or light in your life? Where might you be holding onto old definitions of "success" or "productivity"? What might open up if you trusted fun as a valid reason to say yes—or no? Resources & Links: Enjoy these Mindful Yoga Classes about Fun Playfulness + Connection + Flow = Fun Mindful Yoga with Jessie Mahoney Breathe in Fun, Lightness, and Love. Exhale Stress and Anxiety. Mindful Yoga to Explore Ease. Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Speaking/Workshops: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Dr. Melissa Parsons: melissaparsonscoaching.com Listen to Melissa's podcast, Your Favorite You: www.melissaparsonscoaching.com/podcast Melissa Parsons, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician, who practiced in Columbus, Ohio for 22 years, retiring in 2021. She became interested in coaching in 2017, recognizing that she liked her life, but she did not love it, and could not figure out why. Coaching helped her create a life she never dreamed possible. Melissa started her business, Melissa Parsons Coaching, in May 2020, and she has not looked back since, except to help other amazing women learn to love themselves and their lives, too! Melissa hosts a popular podcast called Your Favorite You,. She runs a group coaching program by the same name for small groups of women looking to become their favorite versions of themselves, often by treating themselves as they would a best friend.  Disclaimer: Nothing shared on the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

We have been taught to wait as a measure of professionalism. We delay rest, joy, and alignment because medicine taught us that patience equals commitment. Many of us are still waiting long after training ends, hoping the system will change. This waiting can feel loyal, responsible, even virtuous. Over time, it quietly costs us our presence, our health, and our lives. PEARLS OF WISDOM • Waiting is not neutral. It often preserves systems that rely on our overfunctioning and silence. • Many of us are not waiting because it is right, but because we were trained to believe it is required. • The system is not always broken; sometimes it is functioning exactly as designed. • Agency begins when we stop waiting for permission and choose alignment, even in small ways. • Fear often shows up when we stop waiting, and fear does not mean we are wrong. Reflection Questions: Where in our lives have we normalized waiting that no longer feels aligned? What are we postponing because we believe now is not the right time? What might become possible if we stopped waiting for permission? Who benefits from our waiting, and who bears the cost? CLOSING INVITATION This conversation is not about leaving medicine. It is about staying in medicine without disappearing ourselves in the process. Many of us were trained to endure quietly and trust that relief would come later. What we are exploring instead is the possibility of choosing ourselves now, even gently and imperfectly. Coaching and retreat spaces are one way we practice this shift together.  Not to fix ourselves, but to remember that our lives matter now, not someday. We are allowed to live full lives alongside meaningful work. If coaching, a retreat, or an intentional pause feels supportive, notice what comes up when you consider not waiting. Often, the only thing standing between us and alignment is the permission we can give ourselves. Find out about 1:1 coaching with Dr. Jessie Mahoney: Learn about Jessie's small group coaching programs: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/group-coaching Join Jessie at Nicaiso Creek Farm CME Wellness Retreats for Women Physicians  or   Jessie & Ni-Cheng at the COED Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreat at Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. Other useful links to explore: • National Academy of Medicine – Clinician Well-Being https://nam.edu/initiatives/clinician-resilience-and-well-being/ • University of Arizona Integrative Medicine https://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu  

In honor of National Women Physicians Day 2026, this episode, Why Women Physicians Overfunction (and How to Start Doing Less Without Guilt) is an invitation to notice overfunctioning with compassion. Overfunctioning may have helped you succeed in medicine—but it often costs intimacy, energy, and connection. We explore overfunctioning and underfunctioning as relational dynamics, not personality flaw. When one person consistently does more, the system adapts: others do less, resentment grows, and "holding it all together" becomes a role that feels hard to step out of. We talk about why doing less can be an act of love—creating space for relationships and systems to reorganize—especially when you start by tending to your own nervous system instead of stabilizing everything around you. If you've been asking, "Why am I always the one who handles it?" this conversation offers a grounded place to begin. In this episode, we cover Why overfunctioning isn't a flaw—it's a role shaped by training, culture, and context How overfunctioning/underfunctioning patterns form in relationships and teams Resentment as information (often pointing to over-capacity) "Doing less" as a path to clarity, growth, and alignment Why change begins with your nervous system Pearls of Wisdom Overfunctioning is a relational role developed in response to internal and external expectations. When one person consistently does more, others often do less; systems adapt that way over time. Resentment is information. It often signals over-capacity. Doing less can be an act of love that allows relationships to reorganize. When we stop stabilizing what's falling around us and tend to our nervous systems first, change begins. Reflection Questions Where in your life are you doing more than your share simply because you are capable? What feels most uncomfortable about stepping back? What might happen if you rest or stop managing? What would love do this week in your relationships or at work?   Work with Jessie Mahoney Coaching + retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com Speaking: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking or [email protected] Mindful Love Small Group Coaching (intimate relationships) Leading from the Heart + Transition Well Small Group Coaching (career/life pivots, leadership) Retreats + advanced coaching (moving beyond overfunctioning across your life) Work with Ni-Cheng Liang Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang: www.awakenbreath.com The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast. Nothing shared on this podcast is medical advice.   Other Healing Medicine Podcast episodes specifically relevant to Women Physicians you may want to explore: These episodes explore the inner experience of women physicians—without pathologizing it. 293. When Feedback Feels Threatening: Nervous System Wisdom for Women Physicians 292. When Physicians Stop Believing in Themselves: Burnout, Skepticism, and the Hidden Cost  290. The Overs, the Toxics, and Why Awareness Alone Isn't Enough  269. You Were Never Meant to Carry It All: Healing the Eldest Daughter Effect 259. What Are You Proud Of? A Conversation About Worth, Identity, and Redefining Success  154. Move Beyond Imposter Syndrome These episodes highlight connection, culture shift, and the idea that "you don't have to carry this alone." 275. The Power of an Introduction: How Women in Medicine Can Change Lives and Culture Through Connection  281. Be Radiantly You: The Antidote to Exhaustion and Judgment  263. It's Okay to Have Fun: The Evolution of a Happy Doctor (with Dr. Beni Seballos) 262. Standing Tall in Surgery: Finding Fulfillment Outside the Mold (with Dr. Jenny Kang)  261. From ER Burnout to Soulful Living: Enia Oaks on Poetry, Pause, and Healing  These episodes give practical frameworks for agency, boundaries, and sustainability. 289. How to Take Intentional Action So You Don't Burn Out  280. From Powerless to Purposeful: Reclaiming Choice and Agency in Medicine  279. Victimhood in Healthcare: Naming the Problem with Empathy and Truth  282. The Art of Not Fixing People  278. Finding Peace by Letting Go of Fixing, Managing, and Controlling  285. Mindfulness + Money: Rewriting Financial Stories for Physicians 239. Breaking the Over Helping Habit: Valuing Your Expertise as a Woman Physician

We are not here to pretend this is fine. We are here to help you get steady enough to choose how we respond. When fear narrows your thinking, you can come back to the body first.  Regulate first. Respond second. In this conversation, Ni-Cheng and I name the collective fear, grief, exhaustion, moral distress, minority stress, and racial trauma. These are real, lived experiences that shape safety in our bodies. When we are activated, our wise brain is harder to access. That is when we send the text, make the decision, or take the action from urgency instead of intention. This episode offers practical micro-tools that work in real life. The breath, a longer exhale, box breathing, 4-7-8,  orienting to safety by feeling the ground under our feet, and hand to heart are ways to physiologically downshift. Yoga is too. Read more about this topic in Jessie Mahoney's blog:  What would love do when the world feels usnsteady. https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog/what-would-love-do-when-the-world-feels-unsteady PEARLS OF WISDOM • A dysregulated nervous system makes urgency feel like truth. Regulation gives us back clarity, choice, and values-based action. • Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn are adaptive responses. We can name our defaults without judging, then choose the next step. • Moral distress, grief, anger, numbness, and exhaustion are normal human responses to instability. Nothing is wrong with you. • Trauma and minority stress live in the body. When safety feels threatened, hypervigilance and shutdown make sense. • We do not have to do everything. We choose a lane of helping that matches our capacity and sustains us over time. Reflection Questions: When you feel activated, what is your default—urgency, over-functioning, numbness, shutdown, or fawn? What helps you return to the green zone —long exhale, feet on the ground, hand to heart, movement, nature? Which lane of helping feels like desire and alignment, and which lane feels like guilt or over-responsibility? If your future self looks back five years from now, what do you hope you feel proud of in how you showed up? If we want to practice these tools in community, especially in nature, explore our offerings here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

Practicing peace is an intentional choice. It's not something we wait for once circumstances improve. It's something we practice in our breath, our bodies, and our awareness—even while uncertainty and grief remain present. In this episode, we explore peace as a regulated presence with what is real (not denial, not bypassing). When the world feels overwhelming, we often notice it first in our bodies: urgency, vigilance, reactivity. Nervous system regulation is a skill for sustainable medicine and a sustainable life—and small, consistent embodied practices can interrupt spinning and bring us back to ourselves. We also talk about why community matters: coaching, yoga, mindfulness, and retreats can offer structure, support, and repetition—so these tools become lived practices. In this episode, we cover: What "practicing peace" actually means (and what it's not) How uncertainty shows up in the body Simple embodied tools that support regulation Why small practices ripple outward into relationships and culture How community supports steadiness and agency Pearls of Wisdom Peace begins with you. Regulation is a skill for sustainable medicine and life. Small, consistent embodied practices interrupt reactivity. Internal peace ripples outward into our families, workplaces, and communities. Reflection Questions What does your body need to feel even a little more settled today? What is within your control right now, even if it is very small? If "peace" doesn't resonate, what word feels supportive right now: peace, kindness, love, connection, or something else? Practices mentioned "Peace Begins With Me" finger-tapping mantra Grounding through the feet Restorative yoga Sound healing Mindful time in nature Links Individual + group coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/physician-coaching Nicasio Creek Farm retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreat-nicasio-creek-farm July 2026 Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreat-connect-in-nature Disclaimer Nothing shared on the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.

Giving a TEDx talk taught me a lot about nervous system regulation, self-trust, and choosing love over control. In a medical culture that rewards certainty and discourages vulnerability, visibility is a nervous system challenge. Standing on a red circle requires staying present when every instinct says to hide. Through the question "What would love do?", this episode offers a grounded framework for decision-making, leadership, and communication that integrates data, values, and human emotion.  It is an invitation to choose integrity and presence when outcomes are uncertain and what we carry matters. PEARLS OF WISDOM • The questions we ask shape the answers we receive. Fear-based questions rarely lead us where we want to go. • "What would love do?" is not sentimental or self-sacrificing; it is grounded, honest, and committed to doing no harm, including to ourselves. • Physicians are trained to equate control with safety. • Visibility and vulnerability are nervous system challenges, not character flaws, and they can be practiced with intention. • Choosing love often means choosing discomfort in service of what matters most. Reflection Questions: Where in your life are you trying to manage or control when a different question might bring clarity? What decisions feel heavy right now, and how might they shift if you asked, "What would love do?" Where are you being invited to tolerate discomfort so something meaningful can grow? How might your work, relationships, or leadership change if you asked what love would do? CLOSING INVITATION Giving this TEDx talk deepened my trust in the question that has quietly guided my life and work for years. It reminded me that love stays present even when outcomes are uncertain, and that choosing reach over ease is often part of meaningful contribution. Please listen to the full TEDx talk here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRQwr8-ITBQ Please share it and spread love-based decision-making far and wide. It is more needed than ever right now. You sharing the talk is the way it will reach those who really need to hear it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  If you want to learn how to use this tool in your own life, join me for coaching or a retreat. www.jessiemahoneymd.com *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Feedback can be a nervous system event—especially for women physicians navigating leadership, visibility, and the pressure to perform. In this episode, we reflect in real time on what happens in us when criticism lands unexpectedly: the body activation, the urgency to fix or explain, and the shame that can follow. We explore how medical culture and perfectionism shape these patterns, and how we can build the capacity to pause, process, and respond with more compassion and presence. This is not about "getting it right" in the moment. It's about practicing a different relationship with feedback—one that makes room for our humanity. Learn more about coaching and small group programs: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

Physicians are trained to believe that skepticism keeps us safe and belief is generally risky. Over time, this quietly erodes trust in ourselves and what might be possible. What once felt protective can slowly narrow our lives and choices.  Stuckness, disconnection, and a subtle loss of feeling alive grows.   PEARLS OF WISDOM Medical culture often rewards certainty while sidelining imagination, hope, and belief. • Not believing in ourselves can feel protective, yet it frequently keeps us confined to versions of life that no longer fit. • Belief is not naïve optimism. It is a skill and a gift that can be practiced and borrowed when our own feels unsteady. • Imagining what is possible, even without a clear path, is essential for healing, leadership, and sustainable change. • Practicing belief does not abandon logic or science. It creates the spaciousness and courage to move toward alignment. Reflection Questions Where have we organized our lives around not believing, perhaps to avoid disappointment? What have we stopped believing in, and what did that belief once offer us? Who has offered us borrowed belief, and how did it feel to receive it? What might it look like to risk a small disappointment in service of something more alive or more true? If you are ready to gently begin believing again, mindfulness and coaching offer grounded places to start. Slowing down allows us to notice where fear has shaped our choices and where belief may still be quietly present. Whether you are navigating burnout, transition, or a longing for more meaning and spaciousness, coaching and retreat spaces can support this remembering. They all offer a compassionate, practical way to reconnect with belief and possibility. Enjoy a yoga class on this topic on Jessie's YouTube channel - Mindful Yoga to Grow Trust and Belief with Dr. Jessie Mahoney Read more about this topic on Jessie's Blog - The Gift of Belief The Connect in Nature Retreat is also a meaningful space to rediscover awe, wonder, and belief—in ourselves and in what is possible. Partners and colleagues are encouraged to join. Shared experiences often deepen connection and clarity. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If we would like to bring this work into our organizations, Dr. Liang and I both offer speaking and workshop experiences that support belief, healing, and connection in healthcare and beyond. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

Have you ever considered how a few carefully chosen words could shape your year, your energy, your decisions, and the way you experience life? In this annual tradition, we share our personal practice of choosing intention words for the year ahead. This isn't about goals or resolutions. It's about choosing how you want to be, move through, and live your life. This year's process was deeper, slower, and more nuanced than in past years.  Intention words act like a GPS for your nervous system. They offer clarity and direction through challenge, and how the right words if chosen with care can become some of your most transformative tools for personal and professional growth. Whether you're new to this practice or returning to it, you'll find inspiration, permission, and a deep sense of possibility. Pearls of Wisdom: Intentions are not goals, they're a mindful orientation. They work at the nervous system level to support aligned action and self-compassionate growth. Choosing multiple words (including a stretch word) adds richness and dimension. Life is complex, and your words can meet that with grace. Words should feel aligned, not performative. Let go of judgment, and choose words that support the version of yourself you're growing into. Words are powerful tools for decision-making. Ask yourself: Will this make me feel wealthy, healthy, strategic, or exquisite? This practice is most powerful when done with intention, over time, and often with support. It's subtle but profoundly transformative work Reflection Questions: How do you want to feel at the end of next year? What do you want to experience emotionally, physically, and in your relationships? What version of yourself are you growing into? What does she wear, how does she lead, how does she make decisions? If you'd like support in choosing your own intention words and integrating them into your year, I offer this process within all of my 1:1 coaching and group programs. This work is gentle, profound, and truly life-changing. If this episode resonates and you're ready to lead your life, your relationships, or your team more strategically, bravely, and exquisitely—join me in a coaching container or at a retreat. Explore retreats at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Learn about coaching at https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching If you'd like to bring this mindful approach to your team or conference, I'd be honored to speak or lead a workshop. Learn more at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking For Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang's speaking and workshops, visit www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

What if the very things you're hard on yourself about are actually strengths that are simply overused?  In this solo episode, I invite you to step into a new understanding of your patterns without judgment or shame. Explore the "overs" and the "toxics" which are the subtle (and not so subtle) ways our best traits become burdens when they're overdone. If you've ever been told you're too much, felt depleted by the traits that once helped you succeed, or wondered why awareness alone isn't shifting your patterns,  this episode is for you. Pearls of Wisdom: Many of your "admirable" qualities such as achievement, responsibility, or independence can become draining when taken too far. There's nothing wrong with you; you're just overdoing what once worked. Naming the "overs" (like overthinking, overdoing, overfunctioning) and the "toxics" (toxic productivity, toxic independence) brings both awareness and relief. It's not about fixing yourself; it's about finding your way back to balance. Awareness alone doesn't shift entrenched patterns. Real change happens in relationships with yourself, your nervous system, and others who can reflect your patterns back to you compassionately. Reflection Questions: What are you over right now? Which of your strengths has become emotionally or energetically expensive? What might become possible if you moved beyond consuming and started engaging with this work in a deeper, more embodied way?   If you're ready to move beyond listening and into transformation, join me for small group coaching or a nourishing retreat. Both are designed to help you unwind the "overs" and move from depletion to aligned ease.  Learn more at: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you'd like to invite me or Dr. Liang to speak or lead a workshop for your team, institution, or conference, learn here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

As we celebrate five years of the Healing Medicine podcast, this episode is a reflection on what has truly sustained us—intention, alignment, and choosing with awareness.  Together, we explore how consistency rooted in love, not obligation, leads to energy, creativity, and sustainability. We share personal stories about letting go, taking pauses, and returning to what feels alive.  This conversation is also a joyful announcement: our Connect in Nature Retreat is returning July 30–August 2, 2026. It's a decision made not out of expectation, but because we missed it, and because we chose it again. Whether you're feeling weary from "pushing through" or simply curious about a gentler way to stay committed, this episode offers a new lens and a powerful invitation to rechoose, realign, and return to yourself.     Pearls of Wisdom: Sustainability isn't about willpower, it's about choosing with presence and letting alignment lead. Feelings of resistance or resentment are gentle cues to pause, reevaluate, and possibly release. Healing happens when we release the pressure to perform and give ourselves permission to rest and evolve. Fun, ease, and joy aren't frivolous, they are wise signals of what's truly aligned. Spaciousness, non-judgment, and collaboration support the longevity of meaningful work.     Reflection Questions: Where in your life are you being consistent by force, rather than by choice? What would it feel like to choose instead of push? Which commitments feel alive and which might be asking for a pause, a shift, or a graduation? Where could more lightness or joy gently be welcomed in?   Why Connect in Nature is a Different Kind of Retreat Connect in Nature is unlike any other retreat I offer. It is the only opportunity to work in person with both Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang and Dr. Jessie Mahoney. It's intentionally designed for healers, physicians, and wellness professionals who crave a reset rooted in nature, mindfulness, and joy. Held at the Green Gulch Zen Center just north of San Francisco, you'll be surrounded by eucalyptus groves, redwoods, gardens, and the quiet beauty of the California coast. Here's what makes it special: Nature as co-teacher: Forest bathing, beach meditation, and fog hikes support nervous system healing. Freedom to choose: All practices are optional and guided with non-judgment—you participate in what serves you. Spaciousness: Core retreat hours are 10:30–3:30, with optional morning offerings and space for rest, reflection, or local exploration. Inclusive and welcoming: Open to all genders and professions—bring a partner, a colleague, a friend, or come solo. Choose your own lodging at local inns, allowing for private rest and personal integration. This retreat isn't about pushing yourself. It's about letting nature and mindfulness gently bring you home. Join us July 30–August 2, 2026 at Green Gulch Zen Center.   And yes—it's over my birthday weekend, and there's no better way to celebrate than in community, in nature, and in joy. Retreat details + registration: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats     Our Birthday Wish is to Help More Healers Find This Work As part of celebrating five years of the Healing Medicine podcast, we'd love to ask for your help in spreading this healing ripple even further: If this podcast has supported you... Please leave us a written review and a 5-star rating on your favorite listening platform. It helps others find the show and tells the algorithms to share this with more people who need it. Recommend it to a friend or colleague. Send them your favorite episode. Share it in your Facebook group, department, or residency class. Let someone know how it's helped you—that personal sharing is how this work continues to grow. This podcast was born out of love, and continues because of you. We are so grateful you are here.     If you're longing for more intention and joy in your life and career, I invite you to explore mindful coaching with me: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching To bring this kind of healing to your institution, department, or medical team, learn more about my speaking offerings: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang also offers powerful keynotes, workshops, and wellness sessions through www.awakenbreath.org We would love to meet you this summer in the redwoods, and help you reconnect to what's truly meaningful. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine podcast is medical advice.  

*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "request-WEB:68ce92f3-792c-4cdc-8844-a0b15dab7687-12" data-testid= "conversation-turn-26" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> Many of us want to support children through big emotions but feel unsure how. We may notice anger, overwhelm, or shutdown and struggle to respond calmly. This episode reminds us that regulation begins with presence, not correction. Sometimes the most powerful tools are simple, creative, and shared together. This conversation offers a gentle path back to breath, connection, and play. PEARLS OF WISDOM • Teaching children to breathe through big feelings is a lifelong gift that supports emotional regulation and resilience. • What looks like anger in children is often fear, anxiety, or overwhelm beneath the surface. • Creative metaphors, like sports and play, can make mindfulness accessible and engaging for kids. • Co-creating meaningful projects can deepen connection and help families navigate transitions together. • Mindfulness is not just an individual practice but something we can model, share, and build in relationship. Reflection Questions: When a child in our life has a big emotion, how do we usually respond? What might shift if we paused to take a breath first? What creative practices could bring more connection into our family, classroom, or inner life? If we feel called to support children with mindfulness in tangible ways, there is an opportunity this month to donate a copy of Inhale, Exhale, Shoot to a child in need. For $15, books are being hand-delivered to shelters in New Orleans by Maeve and her school's service club—mindfulness in action. susanschadtpress.com The book is also available as a gift through Amazon or susanschadtpress.com. For those longing to embody these practices more fully, retreats offer space for rest, presence, and shared healing. Upcoming dates are available here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats To bring mindful, compassionate conversations into organizations, schools, or healthcare settings, I offer keynote talks and workshops on emotional awareness, leadership, and well-being. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang also offers breath-centered workshops and speaks on mindfulness and medicine. www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. Hashtags for YouTube (SEO Optimized): #HealingMedicinePodcast #MindfulnessForKids #ParentingWithPresence #EmotionalRegulation #MindfulParenting #WomenInMedicine #PhysicianWellness #Breathwork #MindfulnessEducation #JessieMahoneyMD    

Loving our families while holding medical expertise is profoundly complicated. We are trained to assess risk, give guidance, and prevent harm. When family health decisions differ from our training, our physician role collides with love and can lead to fear, grief, frustration, and/or an urge to intervene. In this episode, we explore how mindfulness can help us stay grounded and connected when letting go feels hardest. We reflect on the difference between love and advice, the challenge of stepping out of the "doctor" role within our families, and the practice of choosing presence and compassion even when our expertise is not invited or followed. We also consider how cultural, generational, and spiritual influences shape health decisions, and how mindful boundaries can support more ease, trust, and authenticity in our relationships. In this episode, we discuss: Why medical advice and love are not the same How family health decisions can activate fear, urgency, grief, and control The challenge of not being "the doctor" in our families Why connection often matters more than being right How mindfulness helps us pause before correcting, advising, or intervening The role of curiosity when cultural, spiritual, or generational values shape healthcare choices How boundaries support trust, authenticity, and peace Pearls of Wisdom Medical advice and love are not the same, and withholding advice can sometimes be the most loving choice. Connection is medicine, and staying in relationship often matters more than being right. Our role in our families is not to be "the doctor," even though stepping out of that identity is deeply challenging. When our medical expertise is not invited or followed, presence and compassion still matter. Mindfulness helps us notice urges to control, advise, or correct and choose connection instead. Letting go of being right can open space for trust, gratitude, and peace. Cultural, generational, and spiritual influences shape health decisions, and awareness invites curiosity and compassion. Practicing mindful boundaries within families supports ease, authenticity, and deeper trust. Reflection Questions Where do you feel the urge to protect, control, or advise, and what is that urge trying to offer you? What shifts when you pause and ask yourself, "What would love do here?" What might trusting your loved ones, or ourselves, look like in this moment? Resources and next steps When you feel exhausted from being the expert in your family, mindfulness and coaching can offer a different path forward. These practices help you untangle the emotional weight of "doctoring" the people you love and support more easeful, connected relationships. Join me for coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching A retreat: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Hore me to speaking or share a workshop www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking To invite Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang to speak or lead mindfulness offerings: www.awakenbreath.org Related KevinMD articles by Dr. Jessie Mahoney Pediatrician vs. grandmother: Choosing love over medical advice Why physicians struggle with caregiving and how to cope with grace Related KevinMD podcasts by Dr. Jessie Mahoney Why doctors struggle with family caregiving and how to find grace [PODCAST] Doctors often struggle to separate professional advice from family love [PODCAST] Nothing shared on the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

What if the holidays could feel spacious, nourishing, and connected? This episode offers a strengths-based perspective on holiday dynamics—focusing less on what goes wrong and more on the mindful choices that cultivate ease, joy, and connection, even amidst grief, change, and complexity. We share what helped us experience Thanksgiving with ease this year.  Our experiences were quite different, and yet a shared approach grounded in intention, space, simplicity, and trust led to remarkably peaceful gatherings. Whether you're anticipating difficult family moments, feeling the ache of absence, or simply longing for more presence, we hope this conversation brings clarity and peace. Pearls of Wisdom: Speaking early and clearly about what matters shifts the energy of gatherings. Grief and joy can coexist—and allowing grief makes more room for peace. Space (mental, emotional, physical) supports nervous system regulation and connection. Letting go of rigid plans often makes things flow better. Flexibility and boundaries are both acts of love. Reflection Questions: What would a spacious, easeful holiday look like for you? What expectations are you willing to soften or let go? Where might more trust, flexibility, or rest make a difference? If this episode resonated… We invite you to take this work deeper.  Coaching with me offers personalized support to create space, peace, and purpose in your life—through the holidays and far beyond. Learn more here: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching For a truly transformative experience, consider joining me on retreat in 2025: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Many of us carry shame and anxiety around money and stories we've inherited, absorbed, or unconsciously lived into. Mindfully acknowledging our stories is the first step toward freedom. Money is emotional, relational, and often a mirror of what matters most in life. Awareness of your money "story" creates spaciousness for something more compassionate. This week, Jessie is joined by Helena Rosenthal, MBA, MPH, and Nikki Macdonald, CFP®, financial advisors from Northwestern Mutual who specialize in supporting women and women-led households.  Mindfulness and money are powerful partners. Thoughtful awareness transforms how we save, spend, and invest.  Learning to trust yourself with money is a practice. Financial safety doesn't come from overthinking but from clarity, planning, and presence. Reflection Questions: What story were you taught about money growing up? What feelings arise when you think about money? Are they guilt, fear, shame, or hope? If money weren't an issue, how would you spend your time? What would change if you approached your finances with compassion and curiosity rather than fear or judgment? If you'd like support to integrate what you heard today into your life, coaching is a powerful place to begin. You can explore working with me here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching To experience this kind of reflective work in a beautiful and nourishing setting, join me at a retreat: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you'd like to bring this kind of mindful conversation to your team, institution, or conference, reach out to explore having me speak: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking To learn more about Dr. Liang's work or invite her to speak, visit: www.awakenbreath.org Helena and Nikki offer a complimentary 30-minute session that's thoughtful, values-aligned, and designed to help you begin with ease. *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Misguided ideas surface in healthcare settings all the time.  With warmth and loving amusement, we reflect on how these initiatives—often wrapped in corporate optimism—miss the mark.  yet don't have to steal our peace.  Brilliantly bad ideas aren't about you and tehy don't have to steal your peace. They're structural, impersonal, and often just disconnected from the day-to-day reality of clinical life. We invite you to laugh with us, reflect, and most importantly, not to take them personally. Pearls of Wisdom: • Bad ideas often come with good intentions—they're usually more about systemic gaps than personal disrespect. • You get to choose how much energy to bring to these initiatives—humor and grace are powerful tools. • "Wellness" programs often miss the mark because they don't reflect the lived reality of those they're meant to support. • Expecting and accepting mismatched ideas can bring lightness—and maybe even loving amusement. Reflection Questions: • What is your favorite "brilliantly bad idea?"  • How might you use humor to help you when the next one comes your way? Please send us the brilliantly bad ideas you have witnessed.  We would love to hear them! If you're navigating burnout, frustration, or the absurdities of healthcare, we offer coaching, retreats, and workshops to help you find clarity, compassion, and joy again. Jessie offers 1:1 coaching and mindful retreats designed to bring back peace, purpose, and presence in your work and life.  Learn more at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching and www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats. CME is available for most Pause & Presence offerings. If you'd like to bring humor, mindfulness, and meaning to your institution or event, we both offer also offer keynotes and workshops. Learn more here: Jessie Mahoney, MD: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Ni-Cheng Liang, MD: www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

What if there isn't one right way to do things, but many? Letting go of being right can open the door to creativity, flexibility, and even liberation. This episode offers a mindful and compassionate reframe: seeing our approaches as preferences—shaped by our experiences, values, and identities.  Pearls of Wisdom: • Softening into the idea of preferences fosters collaboration, both in medicine and at home. • Mindfulness helps us notice when judgment or irritation is a sign of unmet preferences. • Letting go of the need to be 'right' invites deeper trust, compassion, and innovation. • Seeing differences as diversity—not wrongness—can transform teams, relationships, and institutions. Reflection Questions: • Where in your life are you attached to doing things the "right way"? • How might it feel to see your way as simply your preference? • Whose preferences might you be overlooking at work or at home? • What would it look like to honor your own preferences without needing agreement? • How might this create more peace and possibility in your relationships? If you'd like support shifting from perfectionism to preference, or from rigidity to freedom, we would love to work with you. Jessie offers 1:1 mindful coaching and retreat experiences that integrate exactly these insights—visit www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching and www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats to explore upcoming options. End-of-year CME can be available with virtual coaching. We also speak and teach on these topics to healthcare teams, medical institutions, and professional conferences. To bring this mindful conversation about preferences, teamwork, and connection to your organization, learn more about inviting us to speak: Jessie Mahoney, MD: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Ni-Cheng Liang, MD: www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

Peace and joy await when you allow others to make their own decisions, even if you think they are bad decisions.  It is deeply freeing and surprisingly energizing when you stop trying to fix other people.  Pearls of Wisdom: Letting go of trying to fix others not giving up—it's trusting others to be on their own journey. Trying to manage, fix, or protect everyone is a hidden source of burnout and energy depletion. Showing up with "loving amusement" rather than control is a powerful act of mindful compassion. The gesture of "hands wide open" brings curiosity, calm, and even play into the present moment. Choosing peace often looks like not engaging, not defending, and simply saying: "How interesting." Reflection Questions: Where am I over-functioning in my relationships or at work? Where can I release control and choose presence and curiosity instead? What might it feel like to meet life with hands wide open? What do I notice when I stop managing and fixing?   If this episode resonated with you, explore coaching at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching. Join an upcoming retreat at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats.  They are both beautiful opportunities to cultivate authenticity, presence, and peace. If you'd like to bring this work to your team, institution, or conference, I would love to speak or lead a workshop. You can reach out through www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking.  Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang is also available for speaking engagements via www.awakenbreath.org. Thank you for listening and being part of this community. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Exhaustion and disconnection don't always stem from doing too much, often they stem from pretending too much. In today's episode, we explore surprising truths about energy, authenticity, and what it really means to show up as yourself in medicine and in life.  What if the path to healing, for ourselves and for others, comes from standing out, not blending in? Conformity has a significant cost. Deep-seated energy leaks often stem from hiding our true selves.  We hope you will take us up on the invitation to uncover and embrace the most radiant, wholehearted version of you. Pearls of Wisdom: Authenticity is the most efficient and sustainable way to manage your energy. Conforming and performing often disconnects us from joy and purpose. Your originality and uniqueness are not liabilities because they are your greatest offering. Standing out with sincerity makes you a beacon of safety and belonging for others. Peace and presence are found not in perfection, but in being whole. Reflection Questions: Where in your life do you feel most like your authentic self? Where do you find yourself performing or people-pleasing, and what does that cost you? What would it feel like to walk through your day radiantly, peacefully you– without apology or armor? If this conversation speaks to your heart and you're ready to live, lead, and love with more authenticity, we invite you to join us for a mindfulness-based retreat: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats.  For personalized support, explore coaching at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching. If you'd like to bring this message to your team, organization, or conference, reach out to have us speak or lead a workshop: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking. Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang is also available for speaking through her site: www.awakenbreath.org. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Empowerment isn't about pretending everything is fine; it's about remembering that we always can choose our response. Today, Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang explore the healing power of choice. We share how we can shift from complaining into creativity and how we can move from victimhood to agency, mindfully. We invite you to stop waiting for permission or for the system to fix itself, and instead to lead with integrity, clarity, and love. While we can't fix the entire system, we can always choose how we show up within it.   That is where true healing begins. Pearls of Wisdom • Empowerment is not toxic positivity, it's remembering our response-ability, our ability to choose how we meet what is. • A growth mindset asks, "What now?" even when circumstances feel stuck or unfair. • Boundaries are an act of love, not rebellion. They protect our empathy and preserve our capacity to care. • Micro-agency, tiny acts of intentionality throughout the day, rebuilds trust in ourselves and renews energy. • Shifting from complaining to creativity transforms not just us, but the culture around us.  Reflection Questions Where do we have choice, even if it's seemingly small? What would it look like to lead with agency today? How can we show up as a lighthouse in healthcare, rather than a rescue raft? If this conversation resonates, I invite you to explore coaching with me to help you name and shift patterns of disempowerment in your life and career: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching You can also join me at a Pause & Presence Retreat. A nurturing, transformational space to reconnect to what matters most: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you would like to bring a more mindful, compassionate approach to your institution, team, or training program, I'd be honored to speak or lead a workshop: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking You can also invite Dr. Liang to speak or lead a breathwork workshop for your group: www.awakenbreath.org Together, one mindful choice at a time, we can shift the culture of medicine. *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

A mindful, honest, and hopeful exploration of victimhood in medicine—what it is, how it shows up, and why so many of us feel trapped, powerless, and unseen within a deeply flawed system. We invite you to listen with curiosity and self-compassion, knowing that if you've found yourself here—tired, discouraged, or resigned—you are not alone, and nothing is wrong with you. Rather than shaming or simplifying, we offer this conversation as a compassionate mirror and a naming of what's real with clarity, awareness, and care.  We unpack moral injury, systemic betrayal, learned helplessness, and the quiet culture of resignation that seeps into even the most well-intentioned among us. Naming where we are is the essential first step to healing. This is part one of a two-part series. In this episode, we shine a mindful light on the roots of victimhood. In part two, we will offer mindful paths forward from powerlessness to purpose.   Pearls of Wisdom: Victimhood is not weakness, it's a human, protective response to chronic dysfunction. And it's not where you want to live. Naming victimhood with empathy, not judgment, allows us to reclaim agency, even within a broken system. Noticing where we give away our power is the first mindful step toward healing and change. Systemic "solutions" like suggestion boxes may unintentionally reinforce helplessness unless paired with authentic engagement and choice.   Reflection Questions: When have you felt the most powerless in medicine? What helps you feel safe and what erodes that sense of safety? What would it mean to believe that you still have influence, even in a broken system?     Don't miss the Mindful Moment at the end of this episode. It's an opportunity to ground, reflect, and reconnect to your inner wisdom with clarity and compassion. If this conversation resonates, I invite you to explore coaching with me to help you name and shift patterns of disempowerment in your life and career: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching You can also join me at a Pause & Presence Retreat—a nurturing, transformational space to reconnect to what matters most: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you would like to bring a more mindful, compassionate approach to your institution, team, or training program, I'd be honored to speak or lead a workshop: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking You can also invite Dr. Liang to speak or lead a breathwork workshop for your group: www.awakenbreath.org Together, one mindful conversation at a time, we can shift the culture of medicine. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

What if love doesn't look like fixing, managing, and controlling?  What if letting go is the most loving thing you could do? Today's episode shares the story of what becomes possible when we choose peace over control.  Our guest is Carol Howe, a school psychologist whom I met through a virtual Women of Dartmouth event in 2023. Her story is a testament to how the tools and wisdom of coaching are helpful well beyond the realm of healthcare. Her story illustrates how the most significant change always comes from within. Carol shares how coaching helped her move from feeling overwhelmed, resentful, and helpless in the wake of family mental health struggles and marital stress, to a place of peace, trust, and presence - without anyone else having to change. Pearls of Wisdom: You don't have to fix it to love it. Real love doesn't come from fixing, managing, or controlling—it comes from presence, compassion, and acceptance (even when you don't like something). Be the lighthouse. When others are riding waves of emotion, your steadiness is the greatest gift you can offer. It starts with caring for yourself first. Just like me. This simple phrase softens resentment and reconnects you to the humanity in the people around you, even when they can't or don't want to change. Change begins with you. Nothing outside you has to change for you to feel more peaceful and empowered inside. Your story shapes your life. Carol's powerful insight came when she realized the life she had once written as a "future story" had come true—because of how she chose to think, feel, and show up. Reflection Questions: What might "being the lighthouse" look like in your life today? Where are you stuck in fixing, managing, or controlling? What if letting go created more connection? What story are you telling yourself about your relationships—and what story do you want to tell in the future? Whether you're navigating challenges in your marriage, with your children, or within yourself, coaching offers the kind of compassionate, forward-focused support that can truly change your life—no matter your profession or background. If Carol's story inspired you or you're feeling stuck, lost, or desperate for change, 1:1 and/or group coaching may be precisely the shift you need. Learn more and sign up for coaching here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching If you're craving peace, rest, and a beautiful place to begin your own transformation, I warmly invite you to join me on retreat: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you'd like to bring this kind of compassionate, healing conversation to your institution, conference, or organization, I would love to come speak to your group. Learn more about my talks and workshops here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking My co host Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang, also brings mindfulness to the broader healthcare community through breath, presence, and healing workshops. Learn more about her offerings here: www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.