The EverythingMatters Podcast

Pain isn’t just about tissue, it’s about the story your body tells after the tissue heals. In this episode, we explore how the nervous system learns protection, why fear and pain share the same circuitry, and how small acts of safe movement can rewrite the body’s story. Featuring insights from neuroscience, patient stories, and Alex Honnold’s “Free Solo” mindset, this episode invites you to see your body not as broken, but as remembering and ready to relearn safety.

In this opening episode of the How to Heal series, we begin with three threads that shape every healing journey: pain, love, and loss. I share why understanding the brain’s role in pain is the foundation for recovery, and how unhealed experiences both physical and emotional can keep us stuck in cycles of suffering. Through reflection, compassion, and perspective, this episode invites you to see pain not as the end of your story, but as a doorway to transformation.

What if the version of you that’s stuck in pain… is only alive because you keep rehearsing it?In this episode, we explore what it really means to change not just think differently, but to become different. Through the lens of neuroscience, cellular biology, identity, and behavior, we’ll unpack how healing requires more than tools or tricks—it requires the biological death of the old self.You’ll learn:Why thoughts, emotions, and behaviors become embedded in your biologyHow rehearsing pain—mentally and physically—keeps you stuckWhat true transformation looks like at the cellular levelWhy identity must evolve for healing to lastHow to use daily awareness to interrupt old patterns and build new onesReal-life examples of pain, movement, and emotional rewiringThis episode is a call to stop tweaking the old story… and start becoming the person you’re meant to be.You don’t just heal by doing. You heal by becoming.And the process starts now.

This week, I took on the dopamine detox challenge to see if cutting out instant gratification really makes a difference. From battling my phone to finding joy in simple moments, I’m sharing the highs, the lows, and the surprising lessons I learned along the way. Tune in to hear how a week without screens, snacks, and distractions reset my brain—and why it might be worth a try for you too.

In this episode of The EverythingMatters Podcast, we explore the role of dopamine in motivation, pleasure, and pain. With insights from Dr. Anna Lembke, we’ll uncover how chasing instant gratification can throw our brain’s balance off and why leaning into discomfort might be the secret to better health. Plus, meet Sam, whose journey from dopamine overload to finding balance offers some valuable lessons. Tune in for humor, relatable stories, and practical tips for restoring your dopamine balance.

Today, we’re going to dive into something that has changed my perspective on life, healing, and even chronic pain—the *Map of Consciousness* by David Hawkins. Now, if you haven’t heard of it, don’t worry. We’re going to break it down together, and by the end of this episode, I hope you’ll see how understanding this map can help you navigate everything from emotional turmoil to physical pain. I tell the Story of Alex and Taylor's Hike up the hill of consciousness and Mark's story of overcoming chronic low back pain by ascending the levels of consciousness.

Today, we’re exploring how our beliefs shape us biologically. I want to touch on neuroplasticity, the placebo effect, stress responses, gene expression, and more. And, to make it real, I’m going to take you through some emotional stories and examples of how these concepts play out in our lives—because, let’s face it, this isn’t just science. It’s *life.*

Thanks to everyone who has participated as a guest and thanks to everyone who has chosen to listen to the podcast. I appreciate your support and helping me build this project. I will be taking a break for a little while and wanted to leave you with a goodbye for now and a review of what we have done together.

This week we have Siera Heaton. Siera is a licensed marriage and family therapist focusing on chronic pain, anxiety and trauma. She runs the Creek Retreat, a unique chronic pain and illness retreat outside of Zion National Park. We have a fun conversation about pain and emotions and discuss the way out of suffering. You can find her here: https://www.sieraheatontherapy.com/the-creek-retreat

Learn the simple steps to letting go You will here about a patients success story of letting go and the 5 step process that you can start implementing everyday.

Meet Rick Visser Rick is an Iraq war veteran who struggled with substance abuse that led to him being a homeless alcoholic and in a psych ward by age 23. Rick has lived a great deal of life in a short amount of time and through all his pain and rehabilitation he found a passion for facilitating internal growth and peace in people. He has been mentoring and teaching for the last 10 years and has been a life coach for the past 6. He owns a life coaching company called True Freedom Coaching. You can find his Instagram @truefreedom_coaching and Living the P.R.O.M.I.S.E Rick shares his amazing origin story and we discuss life-skills to help you take back your free agency and live the life you were meant to live.

This week I sit down with Tami. Tami tells her story of how she overcame her chronic back pain, emotional breakdown, depression, and the end of her long term relationship with a cross country move, strength, resilience and love. She had lost hope that she could return to the active lifestyle she loved to live after a back injury that led to surgery and an eventual diagnosis of chronic vertebrogenic low back pain. We hope her story will inspire you and help give you strength to overcome your own challenges

How do we learn to be more present and learn to take action to live more and embrace the beauty and miracle of life. Find yourself motivated to be a better self with this episode and learn 10 ways to live in the now.

Fear plays a significant role in our growth. Our ability to allow it to be felt and use it as a tool to better understand and expand ourselves is crucial to life success. Rather you struggle with challenging your body, your mind or your soul this episode will give you some insight and tools to use to move forward with fear and change the process of your life.

Part 2 of Somatic tracking Try this exercise to calm your pain, improve emotional regulation and improve your overall well being. Great for anyone with physical or emotional pain/discomfort Do it as a daily practice and change your nervous system!!!

In this episode you will learn the benefits of somatic tracking for pain, sensitivity and emotional regulation. Somatic tracking is a mindfulness technique where you focus on bodily sensations to become more aware of your physical experience in the present moment. It involves paying attention to sensations like tension, relaxation, warmth, or coldness in different parts of your body, helping you better understand and regulate your emotions and stress levels. 

This week we discuss herniated discs and a better understanding behind healing and recovery. The good news is....... Discs heal! Discs heal just like all the other tissues of the human body and if you have chronic back/neck pain related to disc injuries from the past, the good news is you don't have to be stuck in a cycle of pain and suffering, you have hope too! Learn to better understand disc anatomy Learn to better understand the data/stats behind disc injuries Learn to better understand how to get your body and your life back Learn more about intervertebral discs, herniations, imaging and all the things that need to be accounted for when going through the recovery process after this type of injury.

We're BACK!!! This is season 2 of the EverythingMatters Podcast This week learn about the foundational need of trust for health and healing. Rather it be physical or emotional injury that has caused us to distrust. The process of rebuilding trust and gaining quality of life is quite similar.

This week I sit down with Brandon Lewis Brandon is a Certified Functional Medicine Nurse Practitioner We will be discussing all things related to heart health. Brandon tells the story of his wife's heart surgery and how that experience led him to a passion for helping patients with their heart health. We discuss how nutrition, anxiety, sleep, exercise and happiness all play crucial roles in having a healthier heart and life. So many cultures look to the heart to understand human life. It’s a symbol of love. Its a symbol of courage, its a symbol of passion and a symbol of living life. The heart starts beating while we are still growing in the womb and it beats and beats and beats until the end of life. It’s the perfect definition of consistency. It is always working and changing its rhythm to meet the demands of our life. It speeds up when we need it to and it slows down when we need rest. It pumps our life blood. It circulates our oxygen, our hormones and with many other things it circulates our healing. Every tissue of the human body depends on the heart to supply the nutrients we need through our blood stream to continue growing, changing and adapting. The best healers have a strong heart both literally and figuratively.

Paige's Story Paige has been through a life of obstacles. It's the perfect example of how you gotta "Feel it to Heal it" She has overcome so much and is one of the most beautiful souls you will ever meet! From dyslexia, physical assault, dissociation, knee reconstruction, being in a car accident and coming to us while trying to recover from a traumatic brain injury. Why does Feeling Matter? Listen and Heal as you learn the importance of listening to your body and mind. Dr. Tyler Burton will also be joining us for insight in how Paige turned things around and created something beautiful out of destruction.

This week I sit down with Darren Marchant and we discuss the importance of having resilience. Darren is the founder and current regional director of operations for Fit Physical Therapy where he has changed the landscape of physical therapy in Southern Utah over the last 20 years.He specializes in orthopedic physical therapy and is a board certified orthopedic specialist. Has played a role in Utah techs physical therapy assisant program and as a clinic instructor for several physical therapy schools.But most importantly he specializes in being a great human! He is thoughtful, compassionate and has required the use of resilience time and time again in his life and will give some great insight on what it means to me Resilient!

This week I tackle the question of death and it's importance to our health and our lives. The conversation of death can be a painful and vulnerable one. Our culture struggles to have healthy conversations around death and embrace the one thing we all have in common. We are all going to die. Maybe it's what we do with the time we are given that Matters most? Our life slows down when we lose someone we love. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on what really matters.

This week: I sit down with strength and power enthusiast Dr. Justin Clifford, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS, down in San Antonio, Texas, where he provides expertise in rehabilitation and physical training for tactical personnel. We will be trying to answer the question: “Why does Strength Matter?” We discuss how strength training has been important to Justin's life. Strengths relationship to function, emotional health, injury prevention, back pain and when do biomechanics matter. Justin shares his workout routine and gives advice and expertise on all things Strength.

This week I sit down with Jennifer Hinton. We tackle the question "Why does Mental Health Matter?" We use Jen's story of resilience and a positive mindset to set the tone. Jen struggled as a child with experiences of physical, mental, sexual and emotional abuse. As she grew up and married, she discovered she had Multiple sclerosis and more recently POTS. Jen chose a life of love, kindness and gratitude and while raising her 4 children received her Masters in mental health counseling. Jen is a contagious spirit who will fill you up with a growing/positive mindset by the end of the episode. We discuss anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, life and general health and give advice on how to start improving mental health.

In this episode I sit down with Jude Hunt. We discuss Jude's story. Diet, Fasting, Anti-inflammatory diets, stress eating and create a general understanding that we are what we eat. Jude is a mother of four. She started having perplexing, chronic, painful symptoms following the birth of her fourth child. She didn't have an infection and there was nothing anatomically wrong. After researching for months, she found the culprit, and within days of making changes to her diet, was no longer in excruciating pain. In three short weeks, she felt normal again, but the dietary adjustments she made are just the start of her story. Jude's story is about life, family, diet and nutrition Her story is not just about what she learned to eat, but the diet of what she learned to watch, read, listen to and the people she chose in her life. How she learned to be mindful of what she put into her body physically, emotionally and spiritually. Jude was born and raised in Southern Utah, but spent 25 years in Dallas. She started college with the desire to become a dietician, but after completing all the prerequisites, spending two years working in the dietary department of a hospital, and applying to the program, she withdrew her application and studied business instead. Jude didn't agree with everything the ADA or FDA encouraged when it came to what was considered a healthy diet. Although she went another route in college, she has been a student of nutrition her entire adult life. She taught herself to cook to benefit her health and the health of her family. Jude wanted to avoid the standard American diet (SAD). It was finding its way in more and more homes and she could see the consequences it was having.

Listen and heal with George's story. George was in a violent gang in Southern California and turned his life around with love, resilience and a drive for something better. If you want to be inspired and uplifted then this is your day! Our conversation was amazing and you will fall in love with George (as I have) by the end of the episode. Culture, religion, community, and family or the lack thereof are the foundational layers of someone's story and can play an important role in the understanding of someone's pain and suffering, rather it be physical or emotional in nature. We discuss Georges life story from his time as a gang banger, finding the love of his life and his transition to becoming self-less and loving to his family, community and using his business to help troubled young adults learn life skills to get them out of crime and into a life of stability.

The next guest on The EverythingMatters podcast. Dr. Steven Larsen Dr. Larsen spent two years abroad in South Korea doing missionary service. Soon after he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he honorably and meritoriously completed several overseas assignments and combat tours. After a decade of military service, he enrolled at Brigham Young University prior to medical school. He is a passionate Doctor helping people improve their well-being in a multidisciplinary approach of pain management, optimizing nutrition, physical function, and mental health while incorporating medications and targeted procedures. He loves Empowering his patients and going the extra mile to get results for their health and quality of life. You can find him as Desert Pain specialists. Listen in as we answer the question. "Why does Function Matter?"

Special guest Dr. Tyler Burton joins me to ask the question, Why does trauma matter? Trauma is an internal change and neurological adaptation to an event or series of events like a physical accident, physical assault, natural disaster or un foreseen circumstance in one’s life. Trauma is normal, Trauma is an effective tool for safety and survival and it is not the event we carry with us, but rather the imprint on the mind, body and brain. The issue is when someone has difficulty moving forward and adapting in healthy ways, finding acceptance, gratitude and reconnecting in what happened and where they want to be.

Listen and Heal with Lana Wimmer's incredible story of overcoming a complete spinal fusion using the tools discussed on The Everything Matters Podcast. Lana has lived an incredible journey. She had corrective scoliosis surgery in her youth. Began a 25-year-long globe-trotting adventure. As the wife of a CIA officer, Lana has navigated 17 domestic and international moves while raising 4 children. In 2017 she published a book titled "Unpack: A guide to life for the expat living spouse" to help others with the challenges of expat living. Lana has since earned a Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Utah and is a practicing Licensed therapist helping individuals and couples. Please Follow, Rate and Share with your friends.

In this episode we discuss natural law of human nature and the consequences of breaking these natural laws.

Being present and connected to your environment, thoughts, feeling, emotions and sensations makes you a creator, instead of a survivor of life. This episode I guide you through the practice of slowing down and becoming more mindful and relaxed.

Stress is a normal part of being human. Come investigate why stress matters to our body's physiology with a story about a patient and her trial of overcoming chronic stress and migraines.

Self love is an important process for healing. Love from others is also crucial, but it is hard to feel loved when you can’t find any for yourself.  The types of neurobiological chemistry that are present with love are the building blocks for tissues to be adaptive in self preservation and growth. When fear, shame, guilt, anger or anxiety are being felt by an individual they produce chemistry that creates hyper sensitive receptors to pressure, movement, blood flow, temperature, vision and auditory stimuli, amongst others. This produces more cortisol, adrenaline and inflammatory proteins which create more protective tendencies in our tissues/organs and emotional behavior. Tissues don’t tend to heal when protection is the main energy of the body, which another way to describe this is through the autonomic nervous system. Our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems or fight/flight and rest/digest systems.

This episodes we ask the question: Why does pain matter for our health and healing? We describe pain and it's importance in our health through easy listening and simple metaphors.

This episode will create the foundation for what to expect in the podcast going forward. I explain how everything is consequential on our health and the complicated journey of healing