The Lucas Rockwood Show

Understanding Madness
with Susannah Cahalan 
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Susannah was an ambitious young adult starting an exciting life in New York City when she began having seizures, experiencing a bout of mania and depression, and even hallucinating. After nearly a month of hospitalization, she was wrongly diagnosed with bipolar disorder before eventually being diagnosed with a rare auto-immune condition that was affecting her brain.

We often think of mind and body as two separate systems, acting independently - but this is flawed thinking. Thoughts chains of amino acids, physical movements impact your neurotransmitters, and this distinction between mind and body quickly becomes irrelevant. The two are inextricably linked.

On this week’s show, Susannah will share her story, her research into mental health, and how she took charge of her own health. 

Listen & Learn: 

  • How mental illness is often treated like a character flaw, not an illness

  • How important it is to take control and responsibility for your own health 

  • Why we lack proper care and treatment for mental illness

  • How the mentally ill are ending up homeless, imprisoned, and lost in society 

Links & Resources: 

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Susannah Cahalan is a journalist and author of the books, Brain on Fire and The Great Pretender. She has worked for the New York Post. A feature film based on her memoir was released in June 2018 on Netflix.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

  • VitD-Covid

Got Questions?

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Direct download: 413_-_Understanding_Madness_with_Susannah_Cahalan.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 4:25pm CET

Men with Meaning & Purpose
with Connor Beaton
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What do you call a man who cannot perform, provide, and protect? Many people would call him a loser. It’s true that men have it easier in some areas with greater access to income and opportunities, but that often comes with the price tag of loneliness, isolation, and mental illness. 


The stereotypical successful man is often work-torn with heavy eyes, floundering health, and little or no personal life to speak of. This is no way to live. On this week’s podcast, we’ll explore the struggle of men, meaning, and purpose. 

Listen & Learn:

  • How loneliness and isolation typify the modern male experience 
  • Why men are often expected to perform and provide at the expense of almost everything else
  • The downside privilege: how many successful men have no real friends   

Links & Resources:

Connors’ webpage

ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Connor is a speaker, writer, and podcaster. In 2014, Connor founded ManTalks, a community for men looking to expand and deepen their sense of self-awareness.  

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

  • Protein Supplement

Got Questions?

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Direct download: 412_-_Men_with_Meaning__Purpose_w_Connor_Beaton.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 10:53am CET

Heart Rate Variability Simplified
Marco Altini
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“I know my body!” is something I hear from yoga students constantly. Sometimes they want to keep practicing and shouldn’t (due to injury or illness) maybe they want to stop practicing and shouldn’t (because the breakthrough is a few poses away). I wish we all knew and understood our inner world as well as our outer world, but most of us don’t.

Quick check-in: do you know your resting heart rate right now? Do you know your respiratory rate? How about your blood glucose level? These can all be measured at home, and yet most of us don’t. We don’t know our bodies. 

Of all the quantified self measurements, heart rate variability is perhaps the least known and utilized because it requires math and a daily commitment to check - but it delivers powerful insight into your readiness state based on your stress levels. A healthy heart is not slow and steady like a locomotive, it’s highly agile and variable like a cat meandering through a field. On this week’s show, we’ll give into the how and why of heart rate variability. 

Listen & Learn:

  • How a healthy heart is not slow and steady but instead agile and variable
  • How the variability of your heartbeats is a direct window into your nervous system
  • How overtraining and lifestyle stress can affect your HRV score
  • How breathing, rest, and a good training schedule can improve your HRV, reduce the risk of injuries

Links & Resources:

ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Marco is a data scientist, programmer, and has a PhD in applied Machine Learning. He leads data science at Bloomlife, a digital health startup focusing on helping expecting mothers have a healthy pregnancy. He’s been developing apps since 2012.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

  • Onions & Garlic Flexibility

Got Questions?

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Direct download: 411_-_Heart_Rate_Variability_Simplified_Marco_Altini.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 11:37am CET

Water, Whiskey, Coffee - Yoga Breathing Made Simple

With Lucas Rockwood

 

“It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” - Hans Selye

Mental and emotional stress were at historic highs pre-Coronavirus. Today, the collective anxiety of the world borders on dangerous. How much uncertainty and loss can we tolerate? Is there an upper limit? The answers will unfold in real-time in the coming months, and that’s why it’s more important than ever to equip yourself with stress management tools for navigating your inner world.

Yoga breathing is one of the most powerful nervous system modulated practices available - and yet it continues to be misunderstood and neglected in most health circles. The benefits are immediate, and even a beginner can impact their nervous system dramatically in as little as 10 breaths.

In today’s podcast, I’ll help demystify yoga breathing and share with you three simple practices you can use right now.  

Listen & Learn: 

  • How yoga breathing can be put into three simple categories: water, whiskey, coffee
  • How to switch breathing from automatic to manual mode and then downshift to relax and soothe yourself 
  • Three simple practices you can use right now 

Links & Resources: 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Lucas Rockwood is an internationally-renowned yoga teacher and trainer. He’s the founder of YOGABODY and the Yoga Teachers College. His TEDx Talk on yoga breathing has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. 

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

  • Canned COVID Food

Got Questions?

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Direct download: 410_-_Yoga_Breathing_w_Lucas_Rockwood.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 3:14pm CET

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