Nicole Hutton Shannon, Ph.D., joins us to discuss holistic wellness, accessibility, and the many ways people can support their health and well-being. As the owner of HSB Crossbuck LLC, a holistic wellness boutique in Shelbyville, Michigan, Nicole offers dry salt therapy, sound baths, yoga, barre, and movement experiences designed to promote relaxation and connection.

A certified Halotherapist™, Sound Facilitator, Barre Instructor, and Registered Yoga Teacher, Nicole shares how her personal experiences living with a limb difference and autoimmune conditions have shaped her approach to wellness. In this episode, we explore the importance of accessible wellness, reconnecting with the body, and discovering what living well can look like for each individual.

Follow Us:

Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations to empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!

What happens when life changes in an instant—and pain becomes part of your everyday story?

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Esther Combs, educator, therapist, and founder of The Alternative Counseling Center. Esther shares how a serious car accident changed her relationship with pain, resilience, and recovery, and how that experience now shapes the way she supports others.

We explore self-advocacy, the impact of past experiences, finding your own “recipe” for well-being, and learning to give yourself grace while still looking toward what comes next.

Follow Us:

Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations to empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!

Living with chronic pain can make it difficult to truly rest. Even when the body slows down, the nervous system may remain on high alert—watching, anticipating, and responding.

In this episode, Deb and Lindsay are joined by Debra Hart, Level 1 iRest® Meditation Teacher, to explore iRest, a guided meditation practice designed to support deep rest, body awareness, and nervous-system regulation.

Deb shares how iRest grew from the practice of Yoga Nidra and how it is being used with people experiencing chronic pain, stress, sleep difficulties, trauma, and other challenges. We talk about what actually happens during an iRest practice, why body sensing and choice are important, and how practices like iRest can complement—not replace—conventional approaches to pain care.

We also explore an important theme of this season: there is rarely one tool that works for everyone. Building a personal toolbox and discovering what helps your body feel safer, calmer, and better supported can be an important part of living well with persistent pain.

Resources:

https://www.healwithcfte.org/research

https://shop.irest.org/pages/about-irest

iREST Meditation event registration

Follow Us:

Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations to empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!

The mind-body connection is more than a wellness buzzword. It’s the ongoing, two-way communication between your brain, nervous system, thoughts, emotions, and the physical processes happening throughout your body.

In this episode, Deb and Lindsay explore what the mind-body connection really means—and what it doesn’t. Your thoughts don’t simply “cause” chronic pain or illness, and physical symptoms aren’t “all in your head.” Instead, the brain and body are constantly exchanging information, influenced by stress, past experiences, emotions, relationships, environment, movement, and more.

We’ll talk about how the nervous system, hormones, immune system, and gut-brain connection all play a role in this communication, and why stress can influence the way we experience pain and other physical symptoms.

You’ll also hear practical ways to support a healthier mind-body connection through nervous system regulation, movement, recovery, social connection, and simply becoming more curious about the patterns your body is showing you.

If you’re living with chronic pain or chronic illness, understanding the mind-body connection can offer a different way to look at your symptoms and bring greater awareness and more options for supporting your health.

Follow Us:

Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations to empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!

Chronic pain comes with a lot of messages about what pain means, what you should avoid, and what you need to do to get better. But what if some of those long-held beliefs are actually making it harder to move forward?

In this episode, Deb and Lindsay unpack common chronic pain myths—including the belief that pain always means damage, imaging tells the whole story, stress makes pain “psychological,” rest is always best, and you need to eliminate pain before you can start living again.

Drawing from current pain science and their backgrounds in nursing, physical therapy, nervous system regulation, and chronic pain care, they explore a more complete way of understanding pain—and why movement, stress regulation, mindset, connection, and gradually building capacity can all be important pieces of the puzzle.

If chronic pain has left you fearful, frustrated, or unsure what to believe, this conversation may help you look at your pain—and your possibilities—a little differently.

Follow Us:

Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations to empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!

What happens when the life you knew changes in an instant?

After a serious automobile accident left Jessica Crosby with significant injuries, pain, and mobility limitations, she found herself facing a long and uncertain road ahead.

In this episode, Jessica Crosby, owner of Delight Designs & Remodeling, joins Deb and Lindsay for an open conversation about grieving the life she knew, accepting help, finding ways to keep participating in the things she loves, and learning that progress and grief can exist at the same time.

Jessica also shares the words that have become her new life statement: “The vision is bigger than the setback.”

This is a conversation about hope, perspective, and continuing to live—even when the road ahead looks different than you expected.

Follow Us:

Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations to empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!

Have you ever left a doctor's appointment wishing you'd remembered to ask one more question? You're not alone. In this episode, Dr. Pam Zelasko joins us to share simple, practical tips for preparing for healthcare appointments, communicating with confidence, and building a stronger partnership with your healthcare team. It's a conversation filled with ideas that can help you feel more informed, empowered, and heard.

Download our Guide to Getting the Most From Your Healthcare Visit HERE.

Popular symptom trackers:

https://bearable.app/

https://www.curablehealth.com/

https://managemypainapp.com/

http://www.mypaindiary.com/

https://flaredown.com/

https://careclinic.io/

Chronic Illness Tracker:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=chronic.illness.tracker&hl=en_US

https://medisafeapp.com/

https://sleepcycle.com/

Follow Us:

Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations to empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!

What happens when the person everyone else depends on suddenly becomes the one who needs help?

In this episode, we're joined once again by professional organizer and Michigan NAPO President Susie Marsh. After an unexpected series of heart health challenges turned her world upside down, Susie shares the realities of navigating chronic illness, accepting support, rebuilding her health, and discovering new priorities along the way. Her story is an honest reminder that healing isn't just about recovering physically—it's about learning to adapt, finding gratitude, and creating systems that help us through life's most difficult seasons.

Follow Us:

Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations to empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!