Health Beets: Recent Episodes
Hanan Aquil
Welcome to Health Beets where Katie Sayad and Hanan Aquil discuss their personal journeys in health and wellness and alternative medicine. You'll learn things as unique as reiki, neurofeedback, and even Ayurveda medicine. Stay tuned for our episodes!
“We think of health as a pulse, it’s not a task, it’s not a chore, it’s what makes you alive and makes you vibrant in a person. It’s a heartbeat, it's the center.”
In our tenth and final episode, co-hosts, Katie and Hanan, reminisce on our eight guest speakers and the gems we learned from each episode. Each speaker brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our conversations and opened our minds to the power of alternative therapy to change people’s lives.
In our episode with Jenny Meyer, we discuss how reiki is a unique and individual experience and the energy you put in is the results you see. Katie explored her past life regressions and Hanan learned about her chakras and opened up her energy channels.
We enjoyed interviewing Julie Stewart about ayurveda; ayurveda is very diverse and goes in depth to the time of day, season, doshas, and the food you eat. Food is such a simple and powerful component to health that ayurveda provides a guideline to follow.
It was humbling to listen to yoga therapist, Laura Jane, discuss her mental health journey in yoga and you can hear the passion in her voice. This is a topic near and dear to Katie’s heart, as she discovered yoga at a young age and found her identity and voice. Yoga provides a catharsis for Laura Jane, a way to release emotional energy and connect with oneself.
Massage therapy is a well known healing modality we discuss with massage therapist, Melody Lien. Massage is in her bloodline. What makes massage therapeutic is more than just touch, but the intimate relationships Melody forms with her clients. Melody describes how she creates space for her clients to express themselves during massage therapy and gives them space to be themselves.
We were inspired by Pricilla Jackon’s story of finding naturopathy and gained appreciation for what we call “nature’s pharmacy.” Naturopathy harkens us back to our ancestral past where we use simple remedies such as herbs to heal ourselves. Pricilla Jackson inspires us to consider alternative medicine for treating common ailments like an ear infection rather than relying on traditional medicine.
Neurofeedback with Dr. Joseph O’donnell was our most scientifically in depth discussion about brain wave functioning. We learned about the function of different brain waves and how they function to create different brain states. Dr. O’Donnell shares with us success stories of treating individuals with severe neurological conditions such as PTSD, ADHD, and traumatic brain injury among other conditions.
After talking to acupuncturist Dr. Whitney Dunlap, we are eager to try acupuncture ourselves. Dr. Dunlap inspires us with stories of treating conditions one wouldn’t imagine are treatable with acupuncture like insomnia, stress, and even a COVID cough! Dr. Dunlap works with Dr. Pricilla Jackson at their office to provide holistic care for their patients to include labs and blood work for their treatment.
Our final guest, chiropractor Dr. Hassan Baqir, describes his work as a chiropractor in helping others find alignment in their body. Dr. Hassan is unique in that he takes a multi-dimensional approach to treating a person utilizing a whole team including a health coach and rehab therapists so the individual experiences the best possible outcome.
Overall, our speakers give us hope. Hope that we can feel happy and healthy in our lives, and share with our families and friends. Hope that we can all taste what healthy feels like and unleash our full potential, together.
What are your health and wellness goals for the rest of the year? What therapies will you try for yourself?
**Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come this season of Health Beets!
@katiesayad
@hananaquil**
“We think of health as a pulse, it’s not a task, it’s not a chore, it’s what makes you alive and makes you vibrant in a person. It’s a heartbeat, it's the center.”
In our tenth and final episode, co-hosts, Katie and Hanan, reminisce on our eight guest speakers and the gems we learned from each episode. Each speaker brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our conversations and opened our minds to the power of alternative therapy to change people’s lives.
In our episode with Jenny Meyer, we discuss how reiki is a unique and individual experience and the energy you put in is the results you see. Katie explored her past life regressions and Hanan learned about her chakras and opened up her energy channels.
We enjoyed interviewing Julie Stewart about ayurveda; ayurveda is very diverse and goes in depth to the time of day, season, doshas, and the food you eat. Food is such a simple and powerful component to health that ayurveda provides a guideline to follow.
It was humbling to listen to yoga therapist, Laura Jane Mellencamp, discuss her mental health journey in yoga and you can hear the passion in her voice. This is a topic near and dear to Katie’s heart, as she discovered yoga at a young age and found her identity and voice. Yoga provides a catharsis for Laura Jane, a way to release emotional energy and connect with oneself.
Massage therapy is a well known healing modality we discuss with massage therapist, Melody Lien. Massage is in her bloodline. What makes massage therapeutic is more than just touch, but the intimate relationships Melody forms with her clients. Melody describes how she creates space for her clients to express themselves during massage therapy and gives them space to be themselves.
We were inspired by Dr. Pricilla Jackson’s story of finding naturopathy and gained appreciation for what we call “nature’s pharmacy.” Naturopathy harkens us back to our ancestral past where we use simple remedies such as herbs to heal ourselves. Pricilla Jackson inspires us to consider alternative medicine for treating common ailments like an ear infection rather than relying on traditional medicine.
Neurofeedback with Dr. Joseph O’Donnell was our most scientifically in depth discussion about brain wave functioning. We learned about the function of different brain waves and how they function to create different brain states. Dr. O’Donnell shares with us success stories of treating individuals with severe neurological conditions such as PTSD, ADHD, and traumatic brain injury among other conditions.
After talking to acupuncturist Dr. Whitney Dunlop, we are eager to try acupuncture ourselves. Dr. Dunlop inspires us with stories of treating conditions one wouldn’t imagine are treatable with acupuncture like insomnia, stress, and even a COVID cough! Dr. Dunlop works with Dr. Priscilla Jackson at their office to provide holistic care for their patients to include labs and blood work for their treatment.
Our final guest, chiropractor, Dr. Hassan Baqir, describes his work as a chiropractor in helping others find alignment in their body. Dr. Hassan is unique in that he takes a multi-dimensional approach to treating a person utilizing a whole team including a health coach and rehab therapists so the individual experiences the best possible outcome.
Overall, our speakers give us hope. Hope that we can feel happy and healthy in our lives, and share with our families and friends. Hope that we can all taste what healthy feels like and unleash our full potential, together.
What are your health and wellness goals for the rest of the year? What therapies will you try for yourself?
Tune
**Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come this season of Health Beets!
@katiesayad
@hananaquil**
“Chiropractic is the umbrella and underneath that is so many modalities… Literally the possibilities to your health and healing are endless.”
In this episode, we bring in our final guest speaker for this season, who is both a dear friend and well-respected colleague of ours, Dr. Hassan Baqir. Dr. Hassan, a doctor of chiropractic medicine, shares with us in this episode his passion, knowledge, and joy behind this life-changing alternative medicine.
Dr. Hassan speaks of his gratitude for the work that he does because of how he sees it change the lives of so many of his patients. He believes that the energy from hands is healing; that it’s almost a spiritual experience. The element of human touch and energy exchange is so big and evident in the power behind chiropractic therapy.
We learn in this episode that in chiropractic work, there is much involvement with the spine and the joints. The focus is on flexibility, strength, stability, and mobility on the overall body. When you combine all these areas you not only get results faster, but you stay healthier for a longer period of time. It’s an integrative approach to health and healing.
Chiropractic work also addresses the energy and misalignment in the spine. As chiropractors, the job is to remove the energy blockage. The philosophy is to help the flow of the innate energy from the brain to every single cell, tissue, and organ in the body.
While there is so much misinformation out there and people are often bombarded with so much information and get burnt out, Dr. Hassan emphasizes in his work, patient education. He states that it’s not easy in the culture that we are in to practice a healthy lifestyle. Instead, we have to create it for ourselves. If we are deficient in knowing how to do that, then we need to know how to find the resources in other practitioners to teach us. That is his hope in his work to be able to share with his patients.
So, how do you create a healthy lifestyle for yourself? Who do you lean on for a healthier education? Tune in to find out more of the modalities!
**Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come this season of Health Beets!
@katiesayad
@hananaquil**
“We can use acupuncture to help address the issues, but if you don’t change the environment which you are in, then your body will go back to its dysfunctional state… It typically takes 1 to 2 sessions for patients to notice a difference.”
When you think about acupuncture, what comes to mind? Big, scary needles and Chinese medicine? Join us as Dr. Whitney Dunlop discusses the power of acupuncture and the wide variety of benefits of it with us.
In her own fertility journey, Dr. Dunlop discovered the practice of acupuncture. Acupuncture uses small, steel needles that are strategically placed along certain points in the body in channels or meridians to help reduce negative symptoms the person is experiencing. The end result is a healthier, lighter person.
She discusses the western and Chinese medicine theory of acupuncture. If something is off balance, everything else is affected. Acupuncture helps stimulate the nervous system and promotes healing through blood flow and releasing endorphins. It also promotes balance of the yin and yang to unblock chi, the life force.
**In the acute phase, acupuncture is spaced 1-2 times a week with each session being 10- 15 minutes long putting in needles and then 20 minutes of relaxation with the needles.
Acupuncture has been used for a variety of issues, from COVID-19 cough, to stress and anxiety, to skin care for face lift and reduced scarring.**
Dr. Dunlop works with Dr. Jackson to provide a holistic treatment plan for her patients and as a result, patients receive more comprehensive care. She has earned her doctorate in chiropractic care with a certification for acupuncture.
Have you heard of acupuncture and is it something you are open to trying? Tune in to find out more!
**Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come this season of Health Beets!
@katiesayad
@hananaquil**
“One boy we worked with, he was a senior in high school and wanted to go to college, he was so fearful of getting off the meds, but over Christmas time, he decided to get off of the meds and didn’t go back on since. He decided to go to college and he took off!”
When it comes to health, mental health affects physical health. Neurofeedback is based upon the principles of learning theory that you can actually train how the brain works based upon feedback on how it should work consistent with what it should be doing. As Dr. Joe states, “It turned out to be a career saver for clients.”
Imagine living a life where you’re easily distracted, not knowing which direction to go, where to focus your attention and how to manage your greatest resource: your time? Some people thrive with attention deficit, given the proper environment and social support, and others struggle and are prone to addiction. This is the life work of Dr. Joseph O’Donnell, a psychologist who uses neurofeedback, brain training, to help children and adults with attention deficit reclaim their lives and live with more fulfillment.
Dr. O’Donnell measures the patterns of electrical activity. Depression is a lack of activity of the left frontal lobe, attention and concentration is linked to the midline of the brain, and impulse control is related to the right frontal lobe. Neurofeedback can be used to train those different regions of the brain to treat depression, anxiety, autism, and attention deficit. With consistency overtime, there are changes made in the brain. Neurofeedback does not eliminate anxiety-provoking events, but teaches clients how to manage their response to them.
There are two aspects to our behavior: congenital and learned behavior. Dr. Joe has treated individuals with PTSD and trauma to allow them to learn how to manage their anxiety. He has about a 90% success rate with his clients in giving them an overall quality of life.
So, how can you better improve your mental health in your life? Tune in to find out more!
**Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come this season of Health Beets!
@katiesayad
@hananaquil**
“All of us have had the experience of naturopathy, like when our grandmothers gave us teas for when we were feeling sick, or rubbing something on our chest, or taking a bath. It has always been there. This type of medicine and this type of healthcare brings us back to our truest essence; to our roots; and to how our ancestors lived.”
In this episode, we bring in another one of our special guest speakers, Dr. Priscilla Jackson, a naturopathic doctor, to teach us about the importance of getting back to our roots through the medicines of naturopathy.
Dr. Priscilla Jackson shares with us that natural medicine has always been there. Human beings have evolved in nature, but it is something we have forgotten. Modern society has pulled us away. We need to come back to nature because healing is stemmed within nature. As long as we provide those components that nature selected for our bodies to be healthy, then we are going to have a good environment and better help to prevent and/or fight disease.
We so often try to overcomplicate health, but really it can be simple, like hydration, breathing, exercising, and/or sleeping. All of these are basics for establishing conditions for health regardless of what conditions an individual might be experiencing.
We discover in this talk that naturopathy is a type of medicine and healthcare that focuses on the whole person. The entire being is looked at and different aspects of his or her life. Naturopaths are trained to get to the root cause, rather than just treating the symptoms. They take the time with every patient. They believe there is no such thing as a fast, quick visit. One of their principles that Dr. Priscilla Jackson shares that as a doctor, you must also be a teacher. To give patients autonomy over their health, so that they can be free and be in charge of their health.
Every patient can heal and get better in their own experiences and in their own way through the use of different modalities in naturopathy, such as herbal medicines, nutrition, supplementation, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, chiropractic medicine, etc.
So, how do you get back to nature and utilize nature’s resources for your health and happiness? Tune in to find out more details 🙂
**Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come this season of Health Beets!
@katiesayad
@hananaquil**
“My biggest point is that moving and stretching the body is one of the most important things you could do for health. Because if you can be mobile and you are stretching out the tight areas of the body, then problems won’t form and you will be out of pain easier.”
In this special episode, we interview Melody Lien, a massage therapist, as she walks us through her journey in the lives she’s touched through massage. From the magical island of Oahu with an uncle and a cousin in the field, it’s no wonder that Melody found herself becoming a massage therapist herself.
Studying at Harper College, Melody gained the skills to own her private practice and work for a company called the NOW massage. She has worked with a variety of clients, from elderly with arthritis to athletes with muscle soreness, she has used various techniques to help her clients improve their physical well-being.
In the modern day, most of us work desk jobs that can cause stress in the shoulders and in the head. We hold emotional tension built in our bodies that massage helps to release. Massage therapy helps keep the blood flow in the body, which allows the body to heal holistically.
Massage therapy allows a therapeutic touch to release the energy blockages. It’s a great opportunity to connect with one another and release emotional and physical tension.
So, how can you try to incorporate massage into your life more often? Tune in to find out!
**Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come this season of Health Beets!
@katiesayad
@hananaquil**
“We need SOUL health. Yoga is not saying physical health and mental health are separate. It’s saying they are both together. When you balance your system, you open your heart.”
In this episode, we bring in another very special guest speaker, Laura Jane Mellencamp, a certified yoga therapist, to share with us in a discussion of the power behind yoga therapy.
As Laura Jane puts it, yoga actually means a state of balance. To live in a state of balance is very difficult today, because we are in a state of change. Yoga is creating an opportunity to give us tools to bring our mind and our body back to a state of balance.
As a yoga therapist, Laura Jane teaches her clients tools. Tools to mend your garden. Tools to create opportunities to discover who you are. She believes we are all intrinsically kind and compassionate, but we have an armor up and it's called “identity”, which is why yoga therapy is considered as soul work. Yoga therapy inspires your identity to fall apart to instead feel this self-love to have the passion to feel alive. The intention behind yoga therapy is to balance through the breath, the movement, and the body to focus your mind.
This discussion reminds us that in yoga, we can move away from harm into healing. Laura Jane believes that pain’s acronym is: Pay Attention to the Inside Out. Our pain is our gift to come inward. Therefore, we must change the paradigm from a cold-hearted heart and a hot-headed mind to a cool mind and a warm heart. Through the workings of yoga, we can start to cultivate mindfulness in the experience of being in our body.
Laura Jane opens up in this soul-nourishing discussion to share with us her vulnerabilities and her personal journey of what led her to the discovery of yoga and her now renowned work as a yoga therapist.
So, how do you listen to your inner voice? How do you listen to the integrity of your soul? Tune in to find out more!
Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come in this season of Health Beets 🙂
@katiesayad & @hananaquil
**Follow us on our socials for more insights and what’s more to come this season of Health Beets!
@katiesayad
@hananaquil**
“Ayurveda is the science of life. Ayurveda believes that all issues, every single one of them, starts in the digestive system. So, we go to that digestive fire immediately to either ignite it, calm it down, or recharge it.”
In this episode, we bring in our special guest speaker, Julie Stewart, a practitioner of Ayurveda, to share with us in a discussion of the power behind this ancient medicine.
As Julie puts it, yoga is the hand and ayurveda is the glove. They work together. Ayurveda is based on a system of elements and energies. It’s believed that every being is made up of five universal elements, which are space, air, fire, water, and earth. These elements combine to form three energies referred to as doshas, which are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
While one dosha may be dominant right now, we are really a combination of all three. This combination ebbs and flows through the seasons of the year and the seasons of life. We are each a mix of all three doshas in different levels and at different times, and we’re all continually changing. But by understanding our doshas, we can learn how to listen to the intuitive messages our bodies are sending us about our health and nutritional needs.
Julie delights us in sharing bits and pieces of ayurveda to easily add into our day, like picking five things in the morning that you can consistently do. Keep a morning routine as it sets your whole attitude for the day. Or, whatever you are doing, do it with complete and utter presence.
In this discussion, we are reminded that the body is always trying to get back to optimal health. It doesn’t know any different. The more we can do those teeny tiny steps to get back to optimal health, then the easier it is to slide into that and be very happy. So, what little steps are you taking today to better your health and happiness?
Tune in to find out more!
“I think more for me, I love it when I hear someone say to me, “This has changed my life… my whole thought process and how I want to live my life has changed.” I hear that quite a bit and that makes me feel really good. That makes me feel like I’m actually helping somebody for real.”
When you think of energy, what comes to mind? Some invisible force? Well, imagine having access to the Earth’s energy and channeling it towards a specific individual to heal them. That is part of the art of Reiki, an ancient energy healing practice discovered in Japan and growing in popularity in the United States today.
We discuss Reiki with none other than Jenny Meyer, a certified Reiki master whom we had the pleasure of experiencing her magical touch that rejuvenated our bodies and our soul. Jenny’s first encounter with Reiki started when she was experiencing neck pain. When traditional treatment didn’t work for her, she stumbled upon a massage therapist who performed reiki and in one session her pain disappeared. In that instance, Jenny knew she would want to try another session. Almost a decade later Jenny would make the intention to learn Reiki. One invitation from a yoga studio and all the pieces in the universe would align and pave the path that Jenny is treading on today as a Reiki practitioner.
A series of childhood events and a family history of psychic mediums made her apt at practicing reiki. A reiki practitioner is an energy conduit that channels energy from the Earth onto an individual. Jenny has the gift of opening up energy blockages within a client. In this exchange of energy, both the client and Jenny experience an energy boost. We both had different experiences in our Reiki sessions with Jenny; Katie explored her pre-life and the connection to her physical body whereas Hanan learned more about her chakras and the connection to her identity. Katie would understand where her right arm weakness came from and Hanan would learn the source of her anxiety and longing for connection. Although different experiences, both gained a deeper understanding of themselves and opened up energy channels.
**In this episode, we learn that Reiki is a form of ancient energy healing that opens up energy blockages in the body. We all carry tension in our bodies from various stressors in our life; emotional, physical, or mental stresses from day to day. What tensions could you be carrying within you and how can you release that energy and feel lighter and happier? Whether it’s reiki or something else, we invite you to take the time out of your busy day and do something to release your energy from within.
Tune in to find out more!**
“We are shedding the light of different modalities to better your health, your well-being, and your happiness. We all want to live an extraordinary life, and I think the best way to do that is feeling good. And knowing that you have the control in order to do so.”
In our very first episode of our very first podcast, Health Beets, we are changing the dialogue to health. Meet your co-hosts, Katie Sayad and Hanan Aquil, as they open up with transparency and authenticity about their personal health journeys to share a soul-nourishing discussion to inspire others to break free from the standard healthcare system and explore alternative ways of understanding and healing themselves.
We discuss exploring the mind, body, and spirit connection when it comes to your health and well-being. So, it’s about being more mindful about what health can be. It’s not just nutrition and exercise, but there’s so many aspects to your health. Your health is unique to you. There is no one set playbook of how to feel good about yourself and feel healthy.
We hope through this episode and our podcast at large that we inspire you to try something new that you weren’t aware of before to better your well-being.
As this episode states, “Our challenges are our biggest opportunities to grow, and you can leverage that to make it powerful for your journey of discovery, health, and healing.” So, how are you leveraging your journey thus far to better your health?