In this episode of Roots of Healing, Dr. Siri Chand Khalsa sits down with Dr. Robyn Tiger, a double board-certified physician in Diagnostic Radiology and Lifestyle Medicine, and a trauma-informed mind-body expert. As founder of the wellness practice StressFreeMD, Dr. Tiger shares how chronic, unrecognized stress can masquerade as dozens of unrelated symptoms, even when labs and imaging are normal, and why “feeling stressed is optional” is not a slogan, but a trainable skill.

Together, they explore the stress response beyond the traditional emergency box, including how thought-driven stress activates the same physiologic cascade as real danger, and how small, evidence-based practices can shift the nervous system in seconds. Dr. Tiger reflects on her personal turning point, the role of yoga therapy and iRest Yoga Nidra in nervous system healing, and the mindset shift that makes lifestyle medicine accessible for busy clinicians: becoming just one percent better every day.

This episode is an invitation to stop mopping the floor and start turning the faucet off, and to remember that the most powerful medicine often fits into the minutes you already have.

1. Why the stress response is bigger than emergencies and how thoughts trigger real physiology
2. How chronic stress can present as wide-ranging symptoms despite normal testing
3. The “turn the faucet off” model of lifestyle medicine versus disease management
4. Yoga therapy and iRest Yoga Nidra as gateways to nervous system regulation
5. Coaching, cognition, and reclaiming agency through self-experimentation
6. Myth-busting time scarcity for clinicians with practices that take seconds to minutes
7. Integrating lifestyle medicine into diverse careers and practice models
8. Midlife, burnout, and the inner unlearning behind lifestyle-oriented pivots
9. Feeling Stressed Is Optional and why it was designed for real-life learning

Chapters

00:00 — Feeling Stressed Is Optional and Why Stress Is Trainable

00:44 — Introducing Dr. Robyn Tiger: Lifestyle Medicine and StressFreeMD

09:26 — Understanding the Stress Response Beyond Emergencies

13:13 — Yoga, Meditation, and the Body as a Doorway to Healing

19:19 — Bridging Ancient Wisdom with Modern Medical Training

25:04 — Lifestyle Medicine as Prevention, Reversal, and Treatment

27:21 — Turning Off the Faucet: Root Causes vs Disease Management

29:42 — Healing Thyself: Self-Discovery Before Treating Others

32:03 — Rethinking Medical Education Through Lifestyle Medicine

35:28 — Integrating Lifestyle Medicine Without More Time Pressure

39:38 — Career Transitions: Walking Toward Alignment, Not Running Away

43:44 — The Ripple Effect: How Physician Regulation Changes Systems

46:37 — Writing Feeling Stressed Is Optional During the Pandemic

53:49 — Agency, Neuroplasticity, and One Percent Better Every Day

58:10 — Closing Reflections and How to Work With Dr. Tiger

Robyn Tiger MD, a double board-certified physician in Diagnostic Radiology and Lifestyle Medicine and a trauma informed mind-body expert. As founder of the wellness practice, StressFreeMD, she uniquely