NEW: Plant Yourself merch designed by my daughter, Yael Zivan.

Pain

Navigating an Addictive World: Anna Lembke, MD on PYP 530

We are biologically hardwired to seek pleasure and avoid pain. But easy access to intense pleasure turns out to lead to intense suffering long-term. What are we do to?

Read More

How to Fix Your Pain for Good: Rick Olderman on PYP 527

Is it possible to make subtle changes to posture and movement, and completely eliminate long-standing chronic pain?

Read More

Good Posture, Healthy Back: Leon Turetsky on PYP 510

Smartphones and computers have wrecked our posture. Today’s guest explains the importance of good posture, and shows us how to get it back.

Read More

Mindful and Pain-free Walking and Running with Danny and Katherine Dreyer: PYP 346

Danny and Katherine Dreyer are the co-authors of three of the most valuable books ever on human bipedal locomotion: Chi Running, Chi Walking, and Chi Marathon.

The promise of their methodology is that you can walk or run a lot farther and faster, without pain or injury.

Read More

Thriving Despite Chronic Pain with Emily Skamla: PYP 298

While leading the morning run groups at Engine 2’s Plantstock this August, I met a young woman named Emily Skamla. She was fit and speedy  – easily pounding out 6-minute miles, and smoking me during the hill repeats.

I figured that the combination of youth, a Plant Strong diet, and a commitment to training were the whole story. Instructive, mildly inspiring, but certainly not Plant Yourself Podcast material.

Boy was I wrong.

Read More

Recovering from Rheumatoid Arthritis with Clint Paddison: PYP 272

Clint Paddison was pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian in Australia when he was struck with a debilitating case of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A former athlete and science all-star, Clint found himself almost unable to work, to move, to enjoy life. He discouraged his girlfriend from marrying him because he didn’t want to ruin… Read More

An Olympic Quest Powered by Plants with Sarah Bofinger: PYP 271

Sarah “Mergoddess” Bofinger swam before she walked – literally. Born with hip dysplasia (I thought the same thing: “Isn’t that something Golden Retrievers get?”), she required six surgeries before she celebrated her fourth birthday. Sarah was put in the water for therapy and rehabilitation, and took to it like a, well, mergoddess to water. Swimming,… Read More

Training for Life (Literally) with D Anthony Evans: PYP 270

D Anthony Evans found out at age six that he had a rare disorder (Neurofibromatosis) that caused painful tumors to emerge at random all over his body. And things just got worse from there. His doctors explained that this disease generally leads to a highly aggressive form of cancer, MPNST (Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors). So… Read More

Caring for Our Bodies as Temples of Spirit with Nalida Besson: PYP 201

Nalida Lacet Besson wasn’t so concerned about weighing 240 pounds or passing the occasional painful gallstone. What got her attention in the summer of 2013 was a physical malaise so complete and overwhelming, she believed she was dying. Everything hurt, including her skin. It was as if her body were saying, “I’ve had enough of… Read More

Scott Carney on Extreme Cold and Facing the World as It Is: PYP 197

In the winter of 2013, Scott Carney traveled to Poland to debunk the prophet/madman Wim Hof, a charismatic Dutchman who claimed that his method of breathwork, cold exposure, and meditation could confer superpowers on its practitioners. Read More