by Rona | Aug 23, 2023 | KPFA, Podcasts, Radio Shows
Listen now to About Health–8/28/23
There has been a lot of talk about the Vagus Nerve these days, so I decided to do a show to learn more about how it functions, and how it can help us during times of stress or illness. The vagus nerve is one of the longest and most important of 12 cranial nerves in our bodies, and it connects our brain to our gut, and affects our mood, digestion, heart rate, immune response, and much more.
Join me and my guest Amelia Barili to learn about the Vagus Nerve and ways it can help us respond instead of react and calm ourselves in these challenging times.
Guest
AMELIA BARILI PhD, travelled the world studying ancient traditions on how to develop good health from the inside out. She received her diploma in Yoga Therapy and Philosophy, in 1972, at Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute, India. Having also studied the Medical Qigong system with old Chinese masters, Amelia is a pioneer at integrating both wisdom traditions. She has brought these ancient contemplative practices into the academic environment and teaches meditative techniques as tools to overcome stress and foster deep learning. She is an award-winning faculty at UC Berkeley and the Osher LifeLong Learning Institute, where she teaches youth and older adults a systematic embodied mind approach for personal and community transformation. Since March 2020 she has been offering, and continues to offer, free Saturday online classes. The classes integrate Yoga, Qigong, and Neuroscience to teach participants how to work with their nervous system to maintain good health, resilience, and inner strength. She just finished teaching a nine weeks course with Dr. Stephen Porges, at the Polyvagal Institute, on “Embodying Safety: Integrating Yoga, Qigong and Polyvagal Theory.” For more information about Dr. Barili’s work and to join her Saturday classes visit ameliabarili.com and her YouTube channel thenewparadigms.
by Rona | Jul 24, 2023 | KPFA, Podcasts, Radio Shows
KPFA Radio, 94.1FM, 7/31/23
Joining me was author Elizabeth Rosner, discussing her book, Survivor Café: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory, where she looks at how descendants of atrocities cope with inherited trauma.
As the child of parents who survived the Holocaust, Elizabeth explores the collective memory of the murder of 6 million Jews, the genocide in Rwanda, and the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She stresses the vital importance of telling stories as a part of the medicine needed to understand and heal from these historic events, as well as from the racism, terrorism, and anti-Semitic traumas that people are experiencing in current time.
Guest
Elizabeth Rosner is an author, teacher, and lecturer whose work focuses on the redemptive power of storytelling and deep listening. Her books have been translated into ten languages and have received several literary prizes in the US and abroad. Her most recent book of creative nonfiction, Survivor Café: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory, explores the intergenerational aftermath of atrocities while offering hard-won hope for individual as well as collective resilience. Raised in upstate New York as the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, Elizabeth’s writing interweaves personal reflection with scholarly research, revealing the profoundly resonant impacts of the past upon the present. She leads writing workshops locally in Berkeley as well as internationally; her teaching carries forward a message of perseverance and tenacious optimism.
More about all of her work can be found on her website: www.elizabethrosner.com.
by Rona | Jun 21, 2023 | KPFA, Podcasts, Radio Shows
Listen now to About Health on KPFA radio–94.1FM, 6/26/23
We discussed the complexities of neurosurgery, brain disorders, physician burnout, talking to patients and families about death, and ghosts.
Gary Simonds, MD is a retired neurosurgeon who’s treated tens of thousands of patients. He’s the Founding Chief of Neurosurgery at the Carilion Clinic, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and the author of three non-fiction books on burnout and psychological distress in healthcare providers. His first novel, Death’s Pale Flag, has just been published. (June,2023).
Dr. Simonds has written and spoken widely on the subjects of neuroscience, medical school admissions, humanism, medical socioeconomics, medical ethics, burnout, personal wellness, spirituality, death and dying, and the interface between science and religion. For more information go to https://garyrsimonds.com/
by Rona | Apr 25, 2023 | KPFA, Podcasts, Radio Shows
We never know when an accident or emergency will happen. Are you prepared?
Listen now to About Health on KPFA.org—94.1FM
* https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=399706 *
We discussed topics such as child safety, poisoning, drowning, CPR, choking, bleeding, and what to put in a first aid kit. This is a good time to think about safety and be prepared so you can stay as calm as possible if an accident or emergency occurs.
Guest:
Anna Griffin is an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) with more than 20 years’ experience teaching CPR and First Aid classes. She is an instructor certified by the American Red Cross and the Health & Safety Institute (HSI) and teaches CPR and First Aid to undergraduates at Cal State East Bay. She worked for many years at Washington Hospital in Fremont, recertifying the staff in BLS (Basic Life Support) and has also taught community classes in Baby and Child CPR at hospitals in San Francisco, Daly City, and Berkeley. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she currently offers classes for parent and neighborhood groups, school teachers, office workers and non-profits. Learn more at www.annagriffincpr.com
by Rona | Apr 4, 2023 | Uncategorized
Listen here to today’s show (4/10/23) on 94.1FM—KPFA.org
https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=398972
From microdosing mushrooms, to ecstasy, to Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), the Bay Area is home to what some are calling a psychedelic renaissance.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is a treatment method that involves utilizing ketamine to help patients struggling to find relief from mental health symptoms such as resistant depression, post-partum depression, terminal illness anxiety, or PTSD. It is also used by some to explore existential and spiritual questions about their life.
Join me and my guest Melissa Whippo to discuss Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. We’ll discuss why preparation before the treatment, integration afterwards, and the set and setting, are so important in this treatment model.
Guest:
Melissa Whippo is a licensed clinical social worker, certified yoga instructor, and practitioner of sacred herbalism. She has guided thousands of women through transformational experiences, from motherhood to the ceremonial. Her work focuses on holistic healing, liminal self discovery, and sacred reciprocity. Clinically, she incorporates aspects of attachment theory, object relations, internal family systems, and has a keen interest in dreamwork and authentic movement. She has been practicing Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy since 2019 and has been a lead trainer with the Ketamine Training Center and Inbodied Life. She is pioneering research on postpartum depression and psychedelics. Learn more at www.melissawhippo.com
Resources:
-The Fireside Project is a help and harm-reduction site for people working with psychedelics.
-MAPS is a foundation working in clinical research Phase 3 trials for psilocybin and MDMA.
-The Beckley Foundation is a female-founded psychedelic research organization in the U.K. that also runs retreats in Jamaica, where psilocybin is legal.
-Erowid is a longtime online source of information for all things psychedelic, including sourcing and dosing.
-Reddit has several subreddits dedicated to psychedelics, including resource materials, sourcing and dosing.
-The Ancestor Project is a source of support for psychedelic use and integration focused on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color).
