Episodios

  • Choosing to Die: One Daughter's Story of Her Mother's Assisted Death

    Choosing to Die: One Daughter's Story of Her Mother's Assisted Death
    Apr 16 2026
    Medical assistance in dying is one of the most consequential — and least discussed — health decisions a family can face. Theresa Evans, critical care nurse and author of Choosing to Die, sat with Greg to talk about the three and a half months she spent by her mother's side in Canada as her mother chose MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying). The conversation covers the legal landscape, the family dynamics, the anticipatory grief of knowing the exact date, and — most importantly — why having these conversations now, before you need to, changes everything.About Theresa EvansTheresa Evans is a critical care nurse, international educator, and the author of Choosing to Die: A Daughter's Story of Supporting Her Mother's End of Life Through Assisted Death. Having spent decades at the bedside witnessing both good and difficult deaths, Theresa brings a rare combination of clinical fluency and personal candor to one of medicine's most sensitive topics. She lives in the United States and divides her time between nursing education and advocacy for informed end-of-life choice.Key TakeawaysKnowing your options reduces fear. Once Theresa's mother understood that MAID was available to her, she stopped fixating on future suffering and refocused on the time she had left. The option itself became a source of peace.MAID in Canada vs. the US looks very different. Canada permits intravenous administration by a physician; the 13 US states (plus Washington DC) where it is legal require patients to self-administer orally — a critical distinction, especially for those with progressive conditions like ALS.Two independent physicians must approve. In Canada, the patient must be evaluated and deemed appropriate by two separate physicians before MAID can proceed. The process is deliberate, not automatic.Anticipatory grief is its own experience. Knowing the date — November 15th, her mother's 80th birthday — meant living three months of grief before the death itself. Theresa writes honestly about how disorienting and unexpectedly clarifying that was.Advanced directives are a gift to the people you love. Theresa, at 66 with her 75-year-old husband, has already completed her own DPOA for healthcare and finances. She makes the case that waiting until a crisis is too late — and that even grown children may resist these conversations.You can do hard things. Theresa's takeaway isn't about MAID specifically — it's about showing up without an agenda. Her experience taught her that she could hold enormous difficulty with love and without pushing her own outcomes onto someone else.What we talked aboutHow Theresa raised the option of MAID with her mother — and what her mother did with itThe difference between MAID as practiced in Canada and in the US states where it is legalWhy her devoutly Catholic mother called a nun before making her decision — and what happenedHow the family navigated disclosure: who knew, who didn't, and whyThe role Theresa's nursing background played in being the family's "death sister"How a complicated mother-daughter relationship healed over four decades — and at the endWhat Greg's own experience with a dying stepfather revealed about forgiveness and apologyVSED (voluntary stopping of eating and drinking) as an alternative available to anyoneWhy the garden became a metaphor for everything the family was living throughHow to start having end-of-life conversations with people you love — now, not laterResources & LinksTheresa's book: Choosing to Die: A Daughter's Story of Supporting Her Mother's End of Life Through Assisted DeathFollow her in IGWebsite: choosingtodie.comMAID legal status in the US: Currently legal in 13 states and Washington DC, with approximately 12 additional states with legislation in progressVSED: Voluntary stopping of eating and drinking — a legal option available to any patient in any state, typically in the context of hospice or palliative careConnect with the Rebellious Wellness Lifestyle PodcastSubscribe wherever you listen to podcastsShare this episode with someone navigating end-of-life decisions in their familyLeave a review — it helps more people find the show. Need help? Here are step by step directions
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    25 m
  • Breaking In: Energy, Healing & the Life You're Meant to Lead with Dr. Sue Morter

    Breaking In: Energy, Healing & the Life You're Meant to Lead with Dr. Sue Morter
    Apr 7 2026
    What if the hardest things in your life aren't happening to you — they're happening for you? In this conversation, Greg sits down with Dr. Sue Morter, bioenergetics expert, healer, and founder of the Morter Institute, to explore the energetic roots of physical and emotional health. Dr. Sue unpacks why your body responds to imagined threats as readily as real ones, how chronic stress creates the chemistry for cellular breakdown, and what it actually means to live from the inside out. This is a conversation about agency, energy, and what becomes possible when you stop reacting to life and start creating it.Key Takeaways"Breaking in" vs. breaking down: What most people call a breakdown is really a breaking in — a moment of falling into your own wisdom, power, and heart space. The crisis is the doorway.The "it never should have happened" trap: Framing difficult experiences as wrong or unjust — consciously or not — keeps you from receiving the growth inside them. Resistance isolates. Openness integrates.Your body doesn't know the difference: The subconscious responds identically to a real threat and an imagined one. Every stress story you tell yourself triggers fight-or-flight chemistry — the same chemistry that drives cellular breakdown, hormone dysregulation, and immune suppression.Adrenals, thyroid, and the domino effect: Chronic stress exhausts the adrenals. The thyroid steps in as backup — a job it wasn't designed to do long-term. The result: energy crashes, mood swings, hormonal imbalance, and the 3 p.m. wall.Bears vs. beaches: At any moment, you can choose the lens you interpret your circumstances through. That choice directly changes your body chemistry. Three possible positive reasons a difficult situation is happening — write them down. Your cells are listening.Joy isn't something you find — it's something you uncover: You are made of creative energy, and that energy is inherently celebratory. Joy isn't earned or sought; it rises naturally when you release what's compressing it.Drop it into your body: Positive thinking alone has a ceiling. The real shift happens when you bring that possibility into the body — breathe it into your heart center, your solar plexus, your wisdom center below the navel. This is where chemistry changes, where trust lives, where healing begins.Vibrational matching: Your subconscious protects you by keeping out what it doesn't recognize. If you're operating at a "3," an "8" feels foreign and unsafe. The work is incremental — raise your baseline, and what you want becomes something you can actually hold.Responsible stewardship: You can't pour from empty. Serving from a place of self-sacrifice doesn't just harm you — it destabilizes the field around you. Your first job is your own alignment. Everything else flows from there.From the Conversation"I broke in. I broke into myself. I broke into my core, I fell into my heart space — my own wisdom center, my own personal power.""If you're vibrating at a three, your subconscious thinks that an eight is way too different from you. So it's never gonna let you have the eight.""You really can't do it wrong. You can just do it long."About Dr. Sue MorterDr. Sue Morter is an international speaker, master of bioenergetic medicine, and founder of the Morter Institute for Body, Mind & Spirit. Drawing on quantum science, energy medicine, and decades of clinical experience, she helps people bridge their spiritual awareness with practical daily life. Dr. Sue travels the world leading BodyAwake® Yoga experiences, Energy Codes® workshops, and immersive retreats that guide participants from surviving to thriving — at the cellular level.Resources & LinksDr. Sue's website: suemorter.comThe Energy Codes® workshops — introductory single-day and full multi-day immersive formats availableCDs, DVDs, and home-study materials available at suemorter.comConnect with GregWebsite & email list: RebelliousWellnessLifestyle.comPodcast: Rebellious Wellness Lifestyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTubeSocial: Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
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    58 m
  • The Dementia Journey No One Prepared You For with Amy Shaw

    The Dementia Journey No One Prepared You For with Amy Shaw
    Mar 26 2026
    "The task for caregivers of a loved one with dementia is strikingly similar to what we do to support children when they're growing up. But the task and the journey is in reverse — because we are losing cognitive sophistication on the dementia journey. That is very unsettling for caregivers at home when they don't understand what, when, and why it is happening."If someone you love has been diagnosed with dementia, you were handed a life-changing role with almost no training. The medical system is built around patients who can remember, report, and advocate for themselves — which means dementia, by definition, often slips right through the cracks. And caregivers are left trying to make sense of confusing behavior on their own.In this episode, Greg talks with Amy Shaw, palliative medicine practitioner and dementia care educator, about what the medical system routinely misses — and what caregivers actually need to know. Amy breaks down why dementia is predictable, not random, and how understanding the brain's breakdown pattern can replace confusion and resentment with clarity and compassion.Amy's website is betterdementia.com — her course, private family support, and newsletter are all available there.About Amy ShawAmy Shaw is a palliative medicine practitioner, dementia care educator, and founder of Better Dementia. Her background spans primate cognition, wedding photography, urgent care, and cardiology — a path that gave her a uniquely human lens on one of medicine's most misunderstood journeys. She works privately with families, trains professional caregiving organizations, and has built an online course designed specifically for the busy, overwhelmed caregiver. Her book is forthcoming in 2027.What You'll Hear in This EpisodeWhy the medical system is structurally designed to miss dementia — and why patients often appear fine in a clinical settingThe "caregiver backpack" — the invisible emotional weight that builds when behavior goes unexplainedWhy dementia follows a predictable pattern, and how Amy's four-stage framework helps caregivers locate where their loved one actually isThe "cognitive detective" approach — working backward from behavior to brain to understand what's really happeningDementia as an umbrella term — and why understanding Alzheimer's disease (60–80% of cases) gives you the framework for understanding dementia overallPsychiatric symptoms, medication options, and how to have productive conversations with your medical teamNavigating care decisions — home care, memory care facilities, hospice — and how to make them before a crisis forces your handWhy 1 in 5 working adults is also caring for someone with dementia — and what that means for organizationsWhat self-care actually looks like on the caregiving journey — and why there's no single right way to do thisKey TakeawaysDementia is not random. It follows a pattern. When caregivers understand the stages and what's breaking in the brain, confusion gives way to clarity.Your loved one is not lying. Behaviors that look like manipulation or deception are a reflection of brain failure — not character.Dementia may rob skills and abilities, but it will never take away humanity. Caregivers who understand the biology can show up with compassion instead of judgment.There is no right way — only the way that's right for you. What another caregiver chooses is not the standard. Your needs matter too.You're doing a good job. Amy's message to every caregiver who has never heard those words.Resources MentionedAmy Shaw's website and course: betterdementia.comAmy's newsletter — available at betterdementia.comAmy's forthcoming book — expected 2027Connect with Amy ShawCourse: betterdementia.comWork with Amy 1 on 1Newsletter signup: betterdementia.com
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    37 m
  • The Cage Is In Your Head: Breaking Free From Ageism

    The Cage Is In Your Head: Breaking Free From Ageism
    Mar 11 2026

    What if the most damaging thing about aging isn’t the physical changes — it’s the story you’ve been told about it? Ande Lyons, host of the podcast Don’t Be Caged By Your Age, joins Greg for a wide-ranging conversation about ageism in its many forms: institutional, societal, and the kind we’ve internalized so deeply we don’t even notice it anymore.

    From retirement myths to gendered medical treatment, from intergenerational community-building to the quiet courage it takes to age out loud and proud — this episode challenges the default narrative and offers a more honest, energizing one in its place.

    About Ande Lyons

    Ande Lyons is an entrepreneur, podcaster, and community builder based in Westford, Massachusetts. Since 1992, she’s been self-employed — launching businesses, mentoring startup founders, and most recently building a thriving intergenerational community for indie podcasters she calls the Pod Garden. Her podcast, Don’t Be Caged By Your Age, explores what’s possible when we stop letting age define our limits.

    In This Episode
    1. Why so much of what we believe about aging comes from borrowed narratives — and how to start rewriting them
    2. The real cost of retirement: a WHO study showed societies paying billions when people lose purpose and stop engaging
    3. Gendered ageism in medicine: how women’s symptoms are routinely dismissed or attributed to age
    4. Why intergenerational connection matters, and how Ande built a monthly in-person community that draws people from across New England
    5. The patronizing language older adults hear constantly — and how to push back with grace
    6. Advanced directives: why having that conversation before a crisis is an act of self-respect
    7. Aging out loud and proud: what it costs to hide your age, and what it frees when you stop

    Resources Mentioned
    1. Rewire, Don’t Retire by Jerry Sittser — a book with guided questions to help you discover what fuels your purpose at this stage of life
    2. Ande’s blog post on healthcare and ageism, including a downloadable list of tests to request at your annual appointment: dontbecagedbyyourage.com
    3. The Pod Garden — Ande’s community for indie podcasters (in-person, New England, with a Zoom option)
    4. AARP’s advance directive template — Each state has their own version and it includes space for clarifying statements beyond the standard yes/no questions

    Connect with Ande Lyons

    Podcast: Don’t Be Caged By Your Age

    Website: dontbecagedbyyourage.com

    https://www.dontbecagedbyyourage.com/

    LinkedIn: Ande Lyons

    TikTok: @andelyons
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    43 m
  • You don't have to go alone — women, community, and adventures abroad

    You don't have to go alone — women, community, and adventures abroad
    Mar 4 2026
    Regina Winkle-Bryan founded Bold Spirit Travel after two decades living and working abroad — from Guatemala to Barcelona — driven by a belief that travel is one of the most powerful ways women can build connection and friendship at any stage of life. Her trips combine modest to moderate physical challenge, cultural immersion, and intentional community in some of the world's most compelling destinations.Key TakeawaysTravel is a community-building tool. The friendships formed on group trips — women who stay in touch and continue traveling together long after returning home — are often what guests value most.The Camino de Santiago is one of the most transformative experiences available to women at a crossroads. Whether facing career change, loss, empty nesting, or simply a desire for something different, the Camino offers unstructured reflection time inside a structure that naturally generates connection.Group travel removes conflict from group dynamics. When itineraries are pre-planned, friends and family can simply show up — no spreadsheets, no arguments, no resentment.Connection is not a nice-to-have — it is a health necessity. Every physician Greg has interviewed over three years of podcasting points to social connection outside of family as one of the most critical and underreported factors in healthy aging.Off-peak travel is almost always better. Spring and fall visits to Europe mean fewer crowds, lower costs, and cooler temperatures — especially relevant as summers across the continent have grown significantly hotter.Nervousness before a group trip is completely normal. What Regina consistently finds is that by the end of the first welcome dinner, women have relaxed into the experience and begun to form real friendships.Destinations DiscussedCamino de Santiago (Spain) — Bold Spirit walks the last 100 kilometers (the minimum to earn the Compostela certificate) over 10 days at roughly 10 miles per day, with luggage shuttled by van. Best seasons: April–early June and September–October. Recommended footwear: Hoka trail runners.Costa Rica — Wildlife-rich and accessible, with monkeys, crocodiles, and abundant birdlife. Groups stay near an active volcano with on-site hot springs.Scottish Highlands — A hiking-focused trip with serious elevation gain, wilderness trails, and a loch cold plunge followed by a lakeside sauna. Begins and ends in Edinburgh.Iceland — A March adventure built around glaciers, geothermal springs, and lava caves. Highlights include glacier hiking with crampons, the Secret Lagoon, the Sky Lagoon, and geothermally baked traditional brown bread. Next departure: March 2027.Greece & Southern Italy — Santorini, the Amalfi Coast, and a boat trip to the island of Ischia (famous for its thermal springs). Best visited May or late September.Japan (in development) — A pilgrimage hiking trip modeled on the Camino experience, planned for a future departure.Actionable GuidanceIf the Camino is on your list, start training now — five miles a day, five days a week in the two to three months leading up to the trip.Consider an immersive language course abroad as a solo travel entry point. You arrive with built-in structure, a daily schedule, and an instant peer community.For private or custom group trips of six or more — milestone birthdays, long-standing friend groups, family reunions — Bold Spirit can plan a custom itinerary.Check Meetup.com for travel-focused women's groups in your area. Regina runs several aimed at connecting women who want to explore together.In Iceland, consider the Sky Lagoon or Secret Lagoon over the Blue Lagoon — equally beautiful, significantly less crowded.Connect with ReginaWebsite: boldspiritravel.comInstagram: @boldspiritravelCustom Groups: Contact Bold Spirit directly for groups of 6 or more.Referenced in This EpisodeGoal Time— Jet lag and recovery supplement developed by previous guest Patti Milligan, Ph.D.The Way (film) — A popular introduction to the Camino de Santiago.Hoka trail runners — Regina's recommended footwear for the Camino. Boots are unnecessary for the last 100km.Meetup.com Regina uses this platform to run travel-focused women's groups.
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    42 m
  • Spit, Stress & Resilience: The Science of Feeling Better with Patti Milligan Ph.D

    Spit, Stress & Resilience: The Science of Feeling Better with Patti Milligan Ph.D
    Feb 25 2026
    What do spit, jet lag, chewing your food, and resilience have in common?

    More than you think.

    In this episode, I sit down with my longtime friend and colleague Patti Milligan — dietitian, neuroscience-of-taste researcher, and now PhD — to talk about something most of us never think about… saliva.

    Yep. Spit.

    Turns out it might be one of the most underrated keys to digestion, immunity, stress management, and even how well you age.

    We first worked together decades ago creating fresh, actually-healthy fast food (back when that was revolutionary). Since then, Patti’s career has taken her from hospital nutrition to executive performance coaching to studying the neuroscience of taste at the Sorbonne in Paris — and eventually into researching what really happens to our bodies when we travel.

    Spoiler: your saliva drops 30–50%.

    And that one shift affects everything.

    This conversation is geeky in the most fun way — but also wildly practical. You’ll walk away with simple tools you can use today.

    ✨ What We Talk About
    1. How Patti went from dietitian to PhD studying the neuroscience of taste
    2. Why saliva is far more important than we ever realized
    3. The connection between saliva, stress, and your nervous system
    4. Why travel (even short flights) throws your body into fight-or-flight
    5. How that stress response messes with digestion, immunity, and energy
    6. The real reason chewing your food matters (your grandma was right)
    7. Why humming or slow breathing can calm your body instantly
    8. The surprising link between saliva and early disease detection
    9. Lymphatic drainage, movement, and why sitting all day makes you ache
    10. Hydration myths — and why plain water isn’t always enough
    11. Simple electrolyte tricks (salt + citrus = magic)
    12. Jet lag, resilience, and bouncing back faster
    13. Why Patti prefers “resilience” over biohacking or anti-aging
    14. And yes… how a jet lag remedy we once wrote about over raspberry beer turned into an actual product 😄 It's called Goal Time.

    🧠 Tiny Practices You Can Try Today
    1. Belly breathing to shift out of stress mode
    2. Move your tongue (up/down/left/right) to stimulate saliva
    3. Chew your food thoroughly
    4. Hum or sing before meals to relax your nervous system
    5. Add minerals or citrus to your water
    6. Get up and move to support lymphatic drainage
    7. Focus on resilience, not perfection

    Small inputs → big physiological wins.

    💛 My Favorite Takeaway

    We don’t need complicated protocols or expensive hacks.

    We need awareness.

    Your nervous system, your breath, your digestion — these are levers you can actually control.

    That’s agency.

    And that’s rebellious wellness.

    Find Patti on IG

    And LinkedIn
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    37 m
  • Age vs Agency: The Distinction That Changes Everything

    Age vs Agency: The Distinction That Changes Everything
    Feb 9 2026

    In this solo episode, I tackle a concept that's been brewing for a while—one that finally has the right words. If you've been feeling like something's off about how we talk about aging but couldn't quite name it, this episode gives you the language.

    This isn't about denying that our bodies change. It's about understanding the critical difference between a number and a practice—and why confusing the two causes unnecessary suffering in how we think about ourselves, move through the world, and show up as we get older.

    What You'll Explore

    • The lazy shortcut our culture uses to predict health, capacity, and even value—and why it's causing us to quietly shrink our expectations

    • Why "this is just your new normal" is where agency goes to die

    • The real difference between what's common and what's inevitable (hint: they're not the same thing)

    • How some wellness messaging actually undermines agency while pretending to empower it

    • Why remaining visible as you age is a form of activism

    • One powerful question to ask yourself this week that shifts everything: "Where do I have agency, and where have I given it away?"

    Key Takeaway

    Aging happens. Suffering is optional. Much of that suffering comes from giving up agency long before we have to—and it's time to stop accepting narratives that don't serve us.

    Greg's Everything Is Food Philosophy

    This episode brings the "everything is food" concept full circle—it's not just about what you eat, but what you consume mentally, emotionally, and environmentally. What messages are you feeding yourself about who you're allowed to be at this age?

    Have thoughts, pushbacks, or your own experiences with this? Leave a comment on YouTube or email me gregory@rebelliouswellnesslifestyle.com

    Until next time: Keep trusting your body and don't negotiate with nonsense.

    Let's connect on IG

    Facebook and LinkedIn
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    19 m
  • Genetics, Biochemistry, and the Truth About One-Size-Fits-All Wellness

    Genetics, Biochemistry, and the Truth About One-Size-Fits-All Wellness
    Jan 28 2026
    In this episode, we challenge the dangerous myth that everyone should follow the same wellness advice. Dr. J Dunn explains why your genetic blueprint determines whether popular supplements help or harm you, and how understanding your biochemistry can solve health problems that conventional approaches miss.About Dr. J DunnDr. J Dunn is the founder of MyHappyGenes® and Wholistic Methylation. After years of battling lifelong depression and finding no answers through conventional or natural approaches, Dr. J discovered the power of genetic testing focused on biochemical pathways. Her work helps people understand how their unique genetic variants affect detoxification, neurotransmitter production, energy creation, and overall health.Topics CoveredWhy genetic testing focused on biochemical pathways differs from ancestry or drug compatibility testingWhat genetic variants are and how they affect enzyme function at the cellular levelThe critical difference between genes and enzymes, and why this distinction mattersWhy popular supplements like turmeric can actually worsen symptoms for some people based on their genetic makeupThe truth about the MTHFR gene and why methylfolate isn't the universal solution many claim it to beHow genetic variants influence sleep patterns, entrepreneurial tendencies, empathy, and relationship dynamicsThe difference between methylation patterns (which can change) and genetic variants (which don't)Case examples: resolving ALS-like symptoms, depression, allergies, and autoimmune conditions through genetic-based interventionsCritical TakeawaysThere is no one-size-fits-all supplement or diet. What helps one person can harm another based on genetic variants that control enzyme function.Genetic variants don't create "fast" enzymes—only normal or slow ones. You inherit either 100% enzyme function or reduced function (30%, 70%, etc.), never increased function.Genes code for enzymes, not outcomes. The focus isn't on turning genes on or off—it's on providing the right co-factors (vitamins, minerals) to help slow enzymes work more efficiently.The MTHFR obsession is oversimplified. Looking at one gene in isolation ignores the complex interplay of biochemical pathways. Methylfolate can trigger rapid detoxification that overwhelms the body.Food reactions may be delayed. If you notice irritability, brain fog, or depression, look at what you ate yesterday—metabolites take time to build up and create symptoms.Genetic testing can reveal why conventional treatments fail. Issues like chronic depression, chemical sensitivities, or difficulty losing weight often have biochemical roots that standard approaches miss.Understanding your genes removes self-blame. When you discover your brain can't make neurotransmitters efficiently or your body holds onto fat due to inherited variants, it's not a personal failing—it's biochemistry that can be addressed.What You Can DoKeep a food diary and track how you feel 24-48 hours after eating specific foods to identify genetic mismatchesQuestion popular wellness trends—just because something is widely recommended doesn't mean it's right for your bodyIf you're taking supplements without understanding your genetic variants, you may be working against your biochemistryConsider genetic testing that focuses on biochemical pathways (detox, methylation, neurotransmitters, energy production) rather than just ancestry or drug interactionsLearn MoreAbout MyHappyGenes® test and sample reportsWeekly Q&A Series: Watch our weekly Q&A videos addressing questions about genetics, wellness myths, and science-backed health information on YouTube.Podcast Resources: Visit the Rebellious Wellness Lifestyle Podcast for more episodes challenging conventional wellness narratives and empowering you to question health limitationsBottom Line: Your genes aren't a life sentence—they're an instruction manual. Understanding your unique genetic blueprint allows you to work with your body instead of against it. Stop blindly following trends and start testing, not guessing.
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    43 m