Health Lectures & Conversations | Dr. Claudia Welch: Recent Episodes
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Jack Stafford of www.podsongs.com interviews guests for his podcast and then writes a song inspired by the conversation.
Here he interviews Dr. Welch, who delves into the holistic health benefits of Ayurveda, focusing on stress relief, pregnancy nourishment, and balancing modern life with ancient wisdom. She shares personal experiences and expert insights on the interplay between physical, mental, and spiritual health. We explore topics ranging from the importance of a balanced lifestyle to managing thyroid issues and enhancing lactation naturally. The conversation also touches on possession, metaphysics, and how foundational beliefs impact overall well-being. Tune in for a comprehensive guide to incorporating Ayurvedic principles into everyday life. 00:00 Scenic Vermont and Outdoor Activities 01:22 Discussing Art and Metaphysics 02:41 Exploring Cosmic Religion and Metaphysics 07:28 Ayurveda and Metaphysical Connections 15:25 Stress, Courage, and Life Balance 18:04 Possession, Belief Systems, and Courage 28:46 Desire, Ignorance, and Enlightenment 07:26 Understanding Lifestyle Diseases 32:21 Women’s Health and Thyroid Issues 35:46 Endocrine Disruptors and Environmental Impact 36:18 Solutions for Thyroid Problems 39:08 Hormonal Changes After 35 41:38 Postpartum Depression and Oxytocin 49:05 Pregnancy Cravings and Their Significance 52:07 Increasing Milk Production 55:18 Final Thoughts and Reflections 57:41 Closing Remarks and Song
Jack Stafford was inspired to write this song: Ayurveda Lifestyle Blues from this conversation. Enjoy Here are the lyrics:
I’ve been trying to live an Ayurvedic life With the wisdom of the ancient minds But I wonder if they’d have been so wise If they had to live in these times Can’t sit cross-legged in the restaurant Can’t lie down on the aeroplane Can’t do what your urges want And it all adds up to pain I’ve been having an oil massage every day Oil in my hair and enemas Footprints on the stairs My girlfriend’s in despair And the only food I cook is Kitchari Now she’s thinking about leaving me Too many turmeric stains She thinks that I’m insane I’ve got the Ayurveda blues The Ayurveda blues Chlorine in the water Plastic everywhere EMF from everything No one seems to care Particles in the air Pesticides in food Modified and fertilised To a malevolent magnitude And I’m on my guard But health these days is so hard And you I’d know to like to sleep from 8-4 But then my friends all feel ignored I gotta keep the balance right But I belong in bed at night To meditate in the Brahama Muhurta Is it to take a step closer to God And every day that I fail to pray I take another step further away The secret is the seasons But nobody wants the reasons As the last sane man alive It’s a very lonely drive I know I gotta be a guiding light Living the life I know is right I can’t change the world just me So I’ll be the change I want to see I’ve got the Ayurveda blues The Ayurveda blues Chlorine in the water Plastic everywhere EMF from everything No one seems to care Particles in the air Pesticides in food Modified and fertilised To a malevolent magnitude And I’m on my guard But health these days is so hard The sages foresaw All these problems before And predicted the rise of the cities While they studied us We know so little of them Only how poorly we compare to these men But their Sutras survive And they make perfect sense All we need Is obedience Handed down From enlightened minds And been proved right A million times I don’t need no AI Ain’t gonna rely On no computers I’ve faith in Sutras I don’t need no AI Charaka’s my guy You keep computers I’ve faith in Sutras
The post Discovering Ayurveda Stress Relief, Pregnancy Tips, and Ancient Wisdom with Dr Claudia Welch appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
Summary: Dr. Welch discusses the profound importance of hormonal health and the tectonic shifts that occur throughout our lives, with Christine Eck of the Center for Sacred Window Studies. She emphasized the role of oxytocin in creating a receptive matrix for the formation of new neural pathways, underscoring the significance of connection and safety, particularly during the postpartum period. Dr. Welch’s insights shed light on the transformative power of these liminal spaces, where the body and mind undergo profound changes.
Welch delved into the three fundamental laws of tissue nutrition in Ayurveda: irrigation, selectivity, and transformation. She explained how the body’s tissues possess an innate intelligence, selectively drawing from the circulating pool of nutrients what they need for nourishment and refinement. This process, Dr. Welch suggested, is so much a conscious, mental choice but a result of natural intelligence, something we can cooperate with in a more conscious way in some meaningful areas of our lives.
Addressing the impact of stress on hormonal balance, Dr. Welch stressed the importance of creating a supportive environment during the postpartum period. By protecting the space for the mother and child to navigate the tectonic shifts, she suggested, we can foster an atmosphere conducive to the body’s natural healing and transformation. Dr. Welch’s holistic approach underscores the interconnectedness of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, guiding us towards a deeper understanding of the profound mysteries of the human experience.
The post 3 Laws of Nutrition and Hormonal and Postpartum Health: a discussion with Sacred Window appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
In this podcast episode of Her Daily Rhythm, with Natalie Smyth, Dr. Welch explores the interconnectedness of stress, hormonal balance, and personal growth from Western and Eastern medicinal perspectives, highlighting the impact of belief systems and stress on health with guest Dr Claudia Welch.
The conversation spans vital topics like the impact of menopause, the importance of community, and the stages of life, offering valuable wisdom for navigating personal growth and health. Dr. Welch also contributes transformative insights from her spiritual journey, making this episode a beacon of inspiration for women committed to their spiritual and physical well-being.
00:00 Understanding the Impact of Stress on Hormonal Balance
00:45 Introduction with Dr Claudia Welch
02:07 Exploring Dr. Welch’s Journey and Women’s Health
02:59 The Role of Courage in Personal and Professional Growth
03:46 Integrating Eastern and Western Medicine Perspectives
07:36 The Importance of Satsang and Good Company
11:21 Finding Your Inner Guru and Daily Practices
18:08 Ayurveda and Hormonal Health
23:20 Addressing Hormonal Imbalances and Practical Advice
27:04 The Medicine of Subtraction and Listening to Your Essence
29:55 The Leap of Courage
32:38 Understanding Hormonal Balance
33:24 The Role of Stress in Hormonal Health
40:00 The Physiology of Stress vs. Courage
44:57 Stages of Life and Letting Go
50:00 Living in Rhythm and Final Thoughts
The post HOW TO FIND HORMONAL BALANCE: Integrating Eastern and Western Wisdom in Women’s Health appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
Dr. Welch talks with Kate O’Donnell about the following:
Shifting Focus on Women’s Health
The conversation on women’s health initially focused on external factors. However, there is currently more awareness of the importance of internal nourishment and rest. Rest and nourishment are crucial for maintaining balance with all the external distractions that draw our attention outward. Nurturing inner stability creates ripples of positivity, much like the various cycles of nature.
Inner Attention Versus External Focus
We need to focus on our internal motivations rather than our external actions. While actions like cooking or caregiving may seem nourishing, the internal mindset driving those actions is what truly matters. In Ayurveda, nurturing our inner world is essential as it helps reduce the impact of fears and external seductions, allowing for more balanced and grounded lives.
Shifting Interests in Health
Over time, there has been a shift from focusing on the biological details of health, like hormones, to a broader view of how people live their lives. According to Eastern philosophy, health imbalances stem from internal belief systems, fears, and seductions. That is why we need to address the root causes of those imbalances rather than focusing on biological symptoms for lasting health.
Hormone Management: HRT vs. Bioidentical Hormones
Claudia emphasizes the benefits of bioidentical hormones over traditional hormone replacement therapy (HRT), explaining that while lifestyle, diet, and herbal remedies can help with menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia, they may not offer immediate relief for those with a history of poor health habits. Even though those symptoms are not life-threatening, the stress they cause can have long-term health impacts. If bioidentical hormones are inaccessible, HRT might be an acceptable alternative despite the associated risks.
The Uncertainty of Medical Science
Claudia is skeptical about overly confident medical opinions and encourages everyone to be cautious and self-aware when using hormone therapy. In the decades she spent studying hormones, she learned that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Stress and Hormonal Imbalance in Midlife
Stress, especially during midlife, significantly impacts our hormonal balance. The emotional challenges many women face in their late 40s and 50s, like the fear of aging and death, can amplify stress. The demands of caring for children and aging parents often worsen these hormonal imbalances.
Confronting the Fear of Death
Reflecting on a personal experience in India, Claudia once believed she did not fear death. However, she felt afraid when she faced the possibility of dying from hepatitis. She feels it is essential for us to intentionally engage with the concept of death as a natural part of life.
The Practice of Dying Daily
Claudia has come to embrace the idea of dying daily, a practice from various spiritual traditions. That means we need to let go of our professional, personal, or emotional attachments if we want to learn about the impermanence of life. By surrendering to that process, we can reduce our fear of death while supporting our hormonal health.
Embracing Loss and Personal Transformation
Letting go means accepting that we cannot control everything. As we age, we must make peace with the inevitable losses we will face. Even though the void our losses leave can feel overwhelming, it ultimately leads to transformation and growth.
Menopause Support and Facing Mortality
Claudia created the Menopause Chronicles, a community to support one another and share experiences for women navigating menopause. She is also excited to offer a course on death and dying this October to help people approach mortality with peace and acceptance.
Links and Resources:
Ayurvedic Living Community Membership
Dr. Welch’s Website
Book: Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life
Course: Part I: Hormonal Balance & Stagnation
Menopause Chronicles
Satsangam’s Vedic Threads
Death & Dying Course
The post Hormones, Death & Menopause Dr. Welch with Kate O’Donnell appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
Dr. Welch speaks with Kate O’Donnell about the following:
Shifting Focus on Women’s Health
The conversation on women’s health initially focused on external factors. However, there is currently more awareness of the importance of internal nourishment and rest. Rest and nourishment are crucial for maintaining balance with all the external distractions that draw our attention outward. Nurturing inner stability creates ripples of positivity, much like the various cycles of nature.
Inner Attention Versus External Focus
We need to focus on our internal motivations rather than our external actions. While actions like cooking or caregiving may seem nourishing, the internal mindset driving those actions is what truly matters. In Ayurveda, nurturing our inner world is essential as it helps reduce the impact of fears and external seductions, allowing for more balanced and grounded lives.
Shifting Interests in Health
Over time, Dr. Claudia has shifted from focusing on the biological details of health, like hormones, to a broader view of how people live their lives. According to Eastern philosophy, health imbalances stem from internal belief systems, fears, and seductions. That is why we need to address the root causes of those imbalances rather than focusing on biological symptoms for lasting health.
Hormone Management: HRT vs. Bioidentical Hormones
Claudia emphasizes the benefits of bioidentical hormones over traditional hormone replacement therapy (HRT), explaining that while lifestyle, diet, and herbal remedies can help with menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia, they may not offer immediate relief for those with a history of poor health habits. Even though those symptoms are not life-threatening, the stress they cause can have long-term health impacts. If bioidentical hormones are inaccessible, HRT might be an acceptable alternative despite the associated risks.
The Uncertainty of Medical Science
Claudia is skeptical about overly confident medical opinions and encourages everyone to be cautious and self-aware when using hormone therapy. In the decades she spent studying hormones, she learned that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Stress and Hormonal Imbalance in Midlife
Stress, especially during midlife, significantly impacts our hormonal balance. The emotional challenges many women face in their late 40s and 50s, like the fear of aging and death, can amplify stress. The demands of caring for children and aging parents often worsen these hormonal imbalances.
Confronting the Fear of Death
Reflecting on a personal experience in India, Claudia once believed she did not fear death. However, she felt afraid when she faced the possibility of dying from hepatitis. She feels it is essential for us to intentionally engage with the concept of death as a natural part of life.
The Practice of Dying Daily
Claudia has come to embrace the idea of dying daily, a practice from various spiritual traditions. That means we need to let go of our professional, personal, or emotional attachments if we want to learn about the impermanence of life. By surrendering to that process, we can reduce our fear of death while supporting our hormonal health.
Embracing Loss and Personal Transformation
Letting go means accepting that we cannot control everything. As we age, we must make peace with the inevitable losses we will face. Even though the void our losses leave can feel overwhelming, it ultimately leads to transformation and growth.
Menopause Support and Facing Mortality
Claudia created the Menopause Chronicles, a community to support one another and share experiences for women navigating menopause. She is also excited to offer a course on death and dying this October to help people approach mortality with peace and acceptance.
Links and Resources:
Ayurvedic Living Community Membership
Dr. Welch’s Website
Book: Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life
Course: Part I: Hormonal Balance & Stagnation
Menopause Chronicles
Satsangam’s Vedic Threads
Death & Dying Course
The post appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
In her first episode of her new, “Changing Seasons” Podcast, Jody Vassallo, old associate of Dr. Welch, talks with Dr Claudia Welch about perimenopause and menopause through an Ayurvedic lens.
Jody and Claudia chat about:
- The importance of using the medicine of subtraction in our lives
- Rest and how essential it is during the perimenopausal journey
- Fat and oestrogen and why its beneficial to be carrying a little more fat in menopause
- The Ayurvedic Phases of life and how menopause takes us into the Forest Dweller phase of our lives
- How our habits now will impact our health in later years
- Resisting the seduction of another project during perimenopause when we need to take time to do less
Menopause Chronicles is a forum where we talk about all this stuff twice monthly with a group of women from all around the world.
The post “Living The Medicine Of Subtraction” appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
https://drclaudiawelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AvantiCWMenopause.mp3In this podcast episode, Dr. Avanti Kumar Singh engages Dr. Claudia Welch in an insightful discussion about menopause from an Ayurvedic perspective. Dr. Welch elaborates on menopause as a significant life transition, comparing it to the four stages of life, emphasizing its spiritual, emotional, and physical dimensions. She critically examines hormone therapy, advocating for a personalized and cautious approach and shares Ayurvedic practices and herbal remedies that soothe and balance the symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, sleep disturbance, vaginal dryness, joint pain and weight gain. Their conversation highlights the importance of community support and the role of Ayurveda in navigating menopause effectively.
The post Navigating Menopause: An Ayurvedic Journey with Dr. Claudia Welch appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
Drs. Welch and Vignesh Devraj meet on Dr. Devraj’s podcast to share a conversation on various topics including:
- their individual understanding of the past and the future of Ayurveda
- the importance of satsaṅga
- the power of saṅkalpa (intention)
- the dying arts of Indian culture
- how to retain these pockets of wisdom for the future generations
Podcast #154 Conversations On The Power Of Satsanga, Sankalpa And Conscious Living With Claudia Welch on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify.
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Dr. Welch talks with Aparna Sridhar of Indica in Jan, 2024 about how she got connected with India, the value of contextual learning, the medicine of subtraction and the role slavery played in our current never-is-enough culture, which is contributing to our stress and affecting our health and hormones.
The post Shrug Off Colonialistic Ideas of Work to Regain Health appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
If you have felt stressed, you have experienced a health and hormonal imbalance.
Dr. Welch joins Dr. MC’s Self-Care Cabaret Podcast to cover a lot of ground, from maintaining hormone health, healing from an imbalance, accessing your true essence, and getting to the root of what possesses you. Dr. MC found Dr. Welch’s Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life book life-changing in her journey to re-balancing her hormones after stopping hormonal birth control. Here’s the conversation:
Resources
- Link to Women’s Health & Hormones Part I: Hormonal Balance & Stagnation–online course
- The Pill, Are you sure it’s for you?
- Taking Charge of Your Fertility
- Vedic Threads Course
https://drclaudiawelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DrMCPodcastWithCW.mp3Episode Transcript
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In this 2022 conversation, Colleen Quinn, founder of LabAroma has a conversation with Dr. Welch about the philosophy of hormones, what led her to study them, how ideas in Eastern medicine apply to women’s health and hormonal balance in today’s day to day environment, the...
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In this conversation, Fanny Olsson of The Cyclic Sadhana Podcast & Dr. Welch discuss the following: The role of dharma and the relationship between dharma and sādhana What brought Dr. Welch to Eastern medicine How Eastern medicine can help us understand women’s hormones How Dr....
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In this conversation on 21 July 2022 on Elements of Ayurveda podcast, Colette Kent and Dr. Welch explore the transition from the pitta to vata stages of life, including: a brief overview of the vata, pitta & kapha stages of life the overlap between the...
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This is from Jan 31, 2019, just before most of us knew about Covid. I must’ve got swallowed into the new world order and forgot to post it then. So…here it is now…. In this episode #65, “Women’s Health, Hormones & Fertility”, Colette chats with...
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In this conversation founder of Yoga of Recovery, Durga Leela shares: how modern addictions no longer resemble old views of the addict/alcoholic battling with substance use – it is now more a ‘spread addiction’—an addiction to fetching things outside ourselves to fill the, “holes in...
The post The Addiction to Fetch. We’ve probably got it. Now What? appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.
In this podcast Dr. Vignesh Devraj MD, 4th generation Ayurvedic healer and Dr. Welch discuss: The concept of hormones in Western Medicine The long term risks of cortisol secretion Understanding yin (bṛṃhaṇa) and yang (laṅghana) energy in the body The interconnection between lifestyle and diseases...
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Here’s a 68 minute discussion on hormonal health with Dr. Welch, interviewed for The Sage Space. Hope you enjoy. Here are a few words from Victoria Averill, who conducted this interview: “I don’t care at all about hormones in a way. I care about what’s...
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Dr. Welch had a conversation with Angelica Rose of SoulfullVeda.com on 14 June, 2021 for their podcast. It was lovely and went like this: 0:00 – Celestial Update and journaling prompts for the New Moon on July 9th 6:59 – Angelica defines and breaks down...
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Christine Chen from Esalen Institute and I begin to explore transitioning from the pitta stage of life into the vāta stage of life and transitioning from the second to the third stage of life according to the four āśrama. Both of these third stages begin...
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In this October 8, 2019 interview with Dr. Welch by Olga Grischenkova of Core Spirit, they discuss: What hormones are major players for women A particularly interesting thing Traditional Chinese Medicine & Ayurveda have in common Why stress is often followed by weight gain How to increase...
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In this November 1, 2019 podcast interview, Dr Welch & Cate Stillman explore: * What the four stages of life are. * What’s come up for Dr. Claudia as she transitions to midlife. * How Cate and Dr. Claudia have reorganized their work at this stage of life.
Links Mentioned in Episode: * Healthier Hormones * Physical, Energetic & Spiritual Changes in a Woman’s Late 40’s * Women’s Health & Hormones Part 1 * Women’s Health & Hormones Part 2
https://drclaudiawelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/A_Womans_Midlife_Transition-_An_Ayurvedic_Perspective_with_Dr._Claudia.mp3 The post A Woman’s Midlife Transition: An Ayurvedic Perspective with Dr. Claudia Welch appeared first on Dr. Claudia Welch.