My guests are Caryl and Jay Casbon co-authors of the book, Side by Side: The Sacred Art of Couples Aging with Wisdom & Love. The book is based on interviews with couples well into the second half of life and looks to answer the question, What keeps a marriage evolving and thriving, especially in the final season of life?And: How can we make the most of our remaining years?What does love mean now, at this seasoned age?How do we work with the tension of "me" and "we?"How do we practice mutuality to support each other in body, mind, and spirit?How can we offer a beneficial presence to our troubled world?When one of us dies first, how will the survivor live on and thrive?Vulnerability increases with age but so does our capacity for intuitive understanding. This thin-skinnedness allows us to absorb life more fully and connect deeply with others.Spiritual connection isn't just about faith; it's a bond that can reinforce love as we age. Sharing this path can lead to profound intimacy and strength within relationships.I had 2 important questions. The first is rooted in conversations with girlfriends who are either single by choice in their 60s or widowed with no desire to remarry.1. Is marriage necessary as we age?And all of this talk about working on ourselves together is great but...2. What happens when one partner refuses therapy?You can learn more about the couple Caryl and Jay interviewed and their other work, which includes retreats, here.And if you are new to the Rebellious Wellness concept of aging, head over here and get started.

Sue Robotti's personal journey experience with DES (Diethylstilbestrol) exposure through her mother led to her infertility. It also inspired her commitment to medication awareness.She created the MedShadow Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides education on the side effects and long-term impacts of medicines.As we grow older, it's not uncommon to face an increasing number of prescriptions. Each tablet or capsule promises relief or prevention from ailments that often accompany aging. But with every promise comes a caveat; medications carry risks and potential complications which may be heightened as our bodies change over time.We discussed prescription Drugs Vs. Lifestyle Habits:When is it necessary to take medication versus when can lifestyle changes improve health outcomes.Of course we talked statins. If you know my work at all you know I am a on a mission to educate people on the harms that statins do and the "high cholesterol leads to heart disease myth."Su shared the very real concerns surrounding statin prescriptions for cholesterol management—potential side effects like muscle pain, cognitive impairment, diabetes risk increase—and stories illustrating why some individuals may not need them after all.Then there are the hot new weight loss drugs like Wegovy, a class of drugs called semiglutides. Su is on the FDA's consumer panel and she saw the trial data--all trial members were men btw--and got to vote on this drug class-- originally created for diabetes patients. Find out why she wouldn't vote "yes" to approving them today.The Role of Pharmacists & De-prescribing Movement. Pharmacists are valuable assets in managing drug interactions and can answer any questions you have about your meds or a new prescription. They will call a doctor's office with concerns on your behalf.Su introduced us to "de-prescribing," a process aimed at reducing unnecessary medication. This is especially good news for those who may be on 4 or more medications and have been for some time. Are they all still necessary? Some docs will help you wade through the tangle and get off the ones you no longer need.Education empowers patients - knowing more about your medication can lead you towards better healthcare decisions.Supplements aren't always what they seem – research thoroughly before consumption; consider reputable sources such as Consumer Labs for guidance. Learn more about prescription medications and lifestyle changes for better health at Medshadow.org.

This week's guest, Alison Wearing, is a best-selling author known for her award-winning books and one-woman shows, discussed memoir-writing. Many listeners might relate with either wanting to write about their fascinating life experiences or feeling their life wasn’t quite exciting enough yet still desiring to craft a memoir. Alison touched on both scenarios.Do you aspire to pen a memoir but are hesitant about the process? Alison will help you understand the nuances of autobiographical writing versus memoirs, how to decide what stays in your story and what doesn't, where to start - she has answers for everything! When is the right time to begin? "We all need time for our stories - distance for perspective or healing from wounds or understanding what actually happened and its implications."For those contemplating writing their memoirs but hesitating due to fear or lack of experience – start now! Every life story has value and contributes to our collective human narrative. A well-written memoir doesn’t just recount events; it explores why they mattered then and why they still matter now. Sharing your journey can illuminate someone else's path.The beauty of memoirs lies within its selectiveness: you choose what parts of your life you want to share and omit the rest – this act alone can be liberating. As Maggie Smith beautifully puts it in her memoir "You Can Make This Place Beautiful": "This is not a tell-all; it's a tell mine". Alison offers a 12 week memoir writing course as well as retreats. The next cohort for the course begins January 15th, 2024. You can get on the waiting list now on that page.This was one of the most satisfying conversations I've had about writing and I would trust Alison with my heart and soul if I were to decide to write my own memoir.

Giving up on alcohol doesn’t necessarily mean giving up fun! Says my guest Lily Weiss, it restores joy suppressed by intoxication and paves the way for positive changes leading towards happier lives.If you are like me, someone who enjoys wine and other adult beverages and feels there is plenty of joy and happiness then this might not be the podcast for you. If you are also like me, someone who thinks less enjoyment of the grape would be a good thing, then listen in. If you are someone who is stuck in a cycle of drinking to excess and wanting to stop but 12-step programs aren't your thing, an organization called This Naked Mind, who trained Lily as a sobriety coach, is a successful, reputable alternative.They have a 30-day free sober experiment. Why wait for Dry January?One key takeaway from Lily’s discussion was understanding addiction as a spectrum rather than a binary state, ranging from mild usage to severe dependency. This shift in perspective can help us better understand our own habits or those of others around us.She delved into the science behind addiction explaining how our brains' reward system contributes towards it. The rush of dopamine experienced during activities like consuming sugar or using phones triggers addictive behaviors similar to substance abuse like alcoholism.Lily introduces us to the term, grey area drinker, someone who drinks daily but hasn't yet suffered major life disruptions due to it.Of course, whether we notice the effects of daily drinking or not our health may be impacted. But then, what of the French and Italians who drink wine with dinner most nights and have less heart disease than we here in the US? Could it be genetic?Addiction isn't indicative of personal failure—it's simply part of human biology—and shame or guilt do nothing to help you recover. What can help is support from a coach like Lily or an online group if you aren't keen on being in a room in a church basement. Lily has a one-liner that I love, "the first drink pours the second one." Food for thought.The Temper has a list of options for AA averse sober curious types.You can find Lily here.If you enjoy this podcast, please leave a review. Here's how:Open the Podcasts appChoose “Search” from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., “Rebellious Wellness Over 50”) into the search fieldSelect the show under Shows (not under Episodes)Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & ReviewsClick “Write a Review” underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You’ll then have the option to rate us on a 5-star scale, and write a review. You can rate without writing. Anything will help me get more listens and downloads.I so appreciate you!

Did you know that Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease?And can you imagine defying medical expectations and healing from MS or other autoimmune disease using the power of emotions, science, and energy? Tracy Hill, the Conscious Evolution Coach, did just that.Her diagnosis came while she was in grad school. She’d been over exercising, training for 2 marathons and more stressed with school when her left side went numb for hours. She had been tripping on things but couldn’t figure out what. At last, a neurologist gave her the diagnosis of MS.She started a daily shot but always felt like she had the flu and realized this was no way to live and wasn’t going to get better unless she did something.Traci realized, “Doctors don't know why you get an autoimmune disease and there's no cure, which tells me they don't know anything about it.”So she began digging and digging for information.She started with food although she was a healthy eater, what was causing inflammation and how could she keep it low?More digging and she found the ties to emotions.“About 95 percent of diseases are actually emotional because we aren't taught how to release emotions. We aren't taught how to release that energy.”There’s a great book by a western medicine physician titled “The Body Keeps The Score” by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD that talks about the long term effect of trauma on the body and the importance of incorporating things like play, yoga, mindfulness, and neurofeedback for healing.Once she dealt with her emotional trauma and took on her food and self care she has been symptom free for 18 or 19 years.To hear Traci’s whole story have a listen.You can find her coaching offers here.

Ever thought about the power of joy, even in life's toughest moments? Today, I'm joined by Kristen Sparks who has conquered abuse, addiction, and physical trauma to uncover an unbelievable joy and resilience. She emphasizes the importance of discarding obsolete narratives, embracing love's transformative power, and finding happiness in tiny moments of contrast."What I'm trying to get at is we have the ability to stop the craziness and the drama that we play in our heads and find that spark that literally does live. I, I say it's absolutely in the solar plexus. We talked about perception and the importance of remembering that we all see things differently. And not taking things personally."That's what life is all about. It's this beautiful dream that we get to dream in any way we want it. And every morning I am so grateful to wake up. And take a good, deep breath. I'm grateful for the pains and the aches and the cat screaming, the dog barking. Because I'm awake. I'm alive. We get another day.Amen to that peeps!Kristin has a podcast, find it at https://www.wrarinc.com/wrartvShe is having an event in Florida next month. Her keynote is Marci Shimoff whose program, Happy for No Reason has changed many lives.You can find more about Kristin here.And she's on IG here

Ellen Sentier is, as she would call herself, a witchy woman. She was raised in the old ways of Great Britain, with a profound connection to nature, celestial bodies, and inner wisdom. Like so many of my guests, her life journey, told in wonderful stories, kept me rapt. From her experiences as a hippie in the 60s, to her career transition from dance, drama, and art to psychotherapy and business coaching, she’s had a full life. She even reveals how she managed to hitch a ride in a fighter trainer jet!Rheumatoid arthritis showed up and ended her dance career, but she took it all in stride and looked for the next thing.  “So it was a jump. And one of the biggest leaps that I took, 'cause I'm not the sort of woman who can, you know, be happy with bingo or afternoon TV or something like that.”When a friend invited her to a lecture on transpersonal psychotherapy she thought, sure, why not but what’s that? By the end of the lecture she was hooked. Enter the next chapter of her career.By way of teaching about the cycles of the moon and how they affect all of us, no matter our gender, she talked about her unique management style, harnessing the power of moon cycles to enhance her then team’s efficiency. She was able to understand her team's work and organize their tasks in alignment with the moon phases, ultimately improving creativity and productivity.Finally, we explore the importance of intentional being, thinking, connecting with our inner wisdom. Also, the power of questioning the status quo. We are both rebels at heart. Thankfully, Elen had her witchy ways and I had a mother who encouraged me to “question everything.” She talks to the energies around her when things are lost or when she needs an answer to something. I’ll admit I do too.Ellen also shares how she encourages young people to explore possibilities and how she tailors retreats to suit individual needs for personal growth. So, tune in and get ready to unleash the badass within you.Elen has a podcast and you can find out more about her here.Her coaching programs are here.

Let’s talk dirty for a bit, shall we?See where your mind went?I’m talking dirty as in toxins. My guest, Wendie Trubow, MD, MBA, IFM certified practitioner, is a detox expert. Like so many health experts with a niche specialty, it was her struggles with mold and metal toxicity, Celiac disease, and other health issues that steered her in this direction, she started out as an OB-GYN.She is the poster child for healthy living and was even when she was suffering multiple symptoms that finally, at 35, led to a diagnosis of celiac. She’d likely had it since she was a teen, but it wasn’t a thing that docs knew to test for.Even as the queen of healthy living—no sugar, processed carbs, alcohol—nada yet once she started testing for heavy metals after an exposure to lead dust while visiting Notre Dame in France after it burned, she found was loaded with one bad thing after another.&nbsp;&nbsp;“If the healthy person can have this much toxicity, what about the average person who isn’t aware of all of this?”That is how she got into being a detox doc.&nbsp;“I think the part that's pertinent for all of the listeners is that if you want to be vital, vibrant, healthy, able, and interested in intimacy, until you're at least a hundred,&nbsp;you need to manage your toxins because they are directly impacting your endocrine system.”And you probably know that your endocrine system is responsible for energy, metabolism, hormones. Toxins also impact your immune system, your risk for cancer, dementia, Parkinson’s, MS.We will never be toxin free but we can certainly lighten the load we carry.How? Testing but first finding out what you need to test for and why. This probably means working with a Functional Medicine practitioner, someone who can go beyond just the usual tests. It’s important to look at what’s hanging out in our bodies and where. If we don’t optimize our health the body can’t eliminate these things.Toxins can not only contribute to weight gain (Grab my free report on obesogens&nbsp;and how to lose weight when you’ve tried everything) they can make it hard or even impossible to lose what you’ve gained.We talked about the&nbsp;Environmental Working Group&nbsp;who publish two lists called the Dirty Dozen—produce you should buy organic due to heavy pesticide use-- and the Clean Fifteen—produce that’s ok not to buy organic.Wendie espouses starting small when it comes to making healthier, less toxic, changes for your body and your home.&nbsp;Finish your favorite face wash that’s not chemical free? Find one that is. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Why bother? What goes on, goes in.Level up to a better dish soap, laundry soap, (I love these laundry soap sheets from Earth Breeze&nbsp;and no longer buy those huge plastic jugs.)We talked chelation, hair testing for metals, how detox works and why you need to work with a pro or risk overloading your body rather than eliminating the gunk.Her free offer is mega valuable we created an online, Platform that has community, supplements programs, you can do limited testing, uh, you can really get involved with your health like. Start to work on your toxins and your hormone balance, because that's, those are the big things that throw people off. Mm-hmm. It’s a gift that's designed to get you started. Because it's a process. It's not, it's a journey not a destination.Here's the link to sign up for the platform.<a...

Udo Erasmus&nbsp;has lived enough versions of himself for 20 lifetimes.&nbsp;&nbsp;He has held brief jobs in various trades: fruit picking, dairy farming, logging, mining, carpentry, house painting, clearing land, burning brush, growing food, gardening, and finally pesticide spraying. He spent a year in medical school and several years in science research.&nbsp;It was in medical school that he realized you don’t learn about healing people.Psychedelics, music, even marriage and children are all part of what makes Udo the kind of guest you want at the dinner table.&nbsp;It was that stint spraying pesticides that led him here, to the interest that would capture his very being, his health. Ironically it also led him to his commitment to pesticide free living and product development.Our conversation zigzagged through his journey from sick with no hope of a cure from western medicine to realizing his health was his responsibility. He took it on&nbsp;obsessively.And arrived at two essential nutrients found in oils from seeds.“There's 42 essential nutrients, and two of those come from oils and none of them come from carbohydrates.” He went in search of the perfect source for these essential oils. Along the way he discovered the dirty seed oil industry secrets.&nbsp;These oils—mainly the ones that line supermarket shelves, found in clear glass or plastic bottles—are produced for long shelf life not health. Unless you buy organic oil they start with non-organic, pesticide laden seeds.&nbsp;“Then they treat the oil with sodium hydroxide. Very corrosive base. Then with phosphoric acid, a very corrosive acid. Then they bleach it with bleaching clays, which makes it rancid and smell bad. And then they heat it to frying temperature in a process called deodorization.”&nbsp;When he found that out, he realized he I could not get healthy on oils like that and set out to answer the question, “how do you make oils with health in mind?”Well, they're the most sensitive of all of our essential nutrients. Omega three and Omega six. Omega three is five times more sensitive than omega six and light oxygen heat damage them very rapidly, so you have to protect them from light, oxygen, and heat if you wanna make them with health in mind.Fast forward to today and not only did he figure it out, he invented the equipment needed to preserve the nutrition in Omega 3 and 6s without the need to bleach or deodorize these delicate oils.&nbsp;Today,&nbsp;His&nbsp;Udo's Choice&nbsp;product line still sells all over the world.&nbsp;Udo doesn’t eat like most of us and he’d like us to get rid of our frying pans. You’ll have to tune in to hear his argument.Don’t do shots of olive oil no matter what you see on TikTok or Insta. It’s very hard on the liver and not at all a super health bio hack. He does recommend pouring your omega 3, 6, 9 oils over your food when it’s either raw or off the heat.&nbsp;Here’s a caveat for anyone looking to lose weight and plans to incorporate some of Udo’s oils into your food plan. “The one thing you have to be careful of omega threes turn on fat burning and turn off fat production in the body.But if you eat too many carbs, they block that effect, huh? And so when you decide to take more oil as you fuel instead of carbohydrates, then you need to also lower the carbohydrates so that they don't interfere with what oils do exceptionally well if you give them the space to do it.”Udo will be back to talk about his other passions, the heart, the planet, and living fully.He’s the author of&nbsp;<a...

“I have a bad back.”&nbsp;Can you relate?Today, back pain has reached epidemic levels, not just in the United States, but throughout the world.It’s recently become the #1 cause of disability in the country.Chronic back pain adversely impacts pretty much every aspect of life and derails your ability to participate in the activities that bring you joy.It can lead to clinical levels of depression, anger, fear, anxiety and hopelessness.This is why I was happy to find this week’s&nbsp;guest, Dr. Ryan Peebles.He is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and makes a bold promise:&nbsp;You can become pain free for life&nbsp;in just 15 minutes a day.He knows from back pain having suffered for years as a young person. The pain was so debilitating it drove his career choice to see if he could find a solution.“Throughout all my experiences, everything has pointed towards one simple thing...In order to bring the body back into balance, you have to start with the core. And when I began taking this approach with my own body, it was pivotal&nbsp;in allowing me to finally climb out of what I call the "back pain spiral".Modern healthcare is unable to successfully reverse chronic back pain because it is "treatment" focused.Anytime you are being "treated" for your pain, changes are being made from the outside-in.This might work if back pain was an isolated problem, but it's not.Chronic back pain is the result of a much deeper problem in an interconnected system of your body and mind.Aside from learning why conventional treatments—including physical therapy don’t work—Ryan explained why back pain is so common today.Did you know that sit ups can cause back pain? The Army recently took sit ups out of military bootcamp training. Good enough for me to lay that to rest.A word about physical therapy. Ryan said it’s not that it’s not effective. It can be but it doesn’t—in most cases—teach you how to take the corrective movements into your daily life.With Dr. Peebles program,&nbsp;Core Balance Training,&nbsp;which I joined not long after our interview, you learn how to integrate this new relationship with your core into your daily activities.I asked about stretching, good or bad? He said it can be good but when it’s done repeatedly you can weaken the muscles.“Really stretching is not inherently bad. It's just should be combined with functional stuff in that lengthened position, that vulnerable position.”These are the conditions people have had success with using his programStenosisDegenerative Disc DiseaseHerniated/Bulging DiscsSpondylolisthesisAnterior Pelvic TiltSciaticaSI Joint PainScoliosisGeneral Lower Back PainKnee &amp; Hip PainThe Core Balance program and all of Dr. Peebles’ work is based on how infants and children learn to balance, push away from the floor and create perfect posture.If you are heading for a back surgery or tired of living with back pain, I can personally recommend this program. And I’m not an affiliate. I bought the program for an SI joint that gives me problems and it’s not been bothering me at all after 3 weeks.He has a 7-day free trial of the program which is enough to give you a sense of what it will be like and get you started on the exercises.You can find Ryan on&nbsp;Instagram,&nbsp;and he has a ton of short videos on&nbsp;<a...