In this episode of What Happens in Vagus, Dr. Stephanie Canestraro sits down with Leigh Ann Lindsey, founder of The Accrescent and creator of Healing Alchemy, to explore the powerful connection between the unconscious mind, emotional patterns, and physical illness. Leigh Ann shares her personal journey of being diagnosed with breast cancer at 25 and how that experience led her to discover and ultimately dedicate her work to EVOX therapy, a modality focused on the emotional and energetic contributors to illness.

Leigh Ann breaks down what EVOX therapy actually is, explaining how voice mapping identifies imbalanced emotions through vocal tones and how biofeedback frequencies help regulate the nervous system and support emotional release. She discusses why nervous system regulation is critical when working through trauma and chronic illness, and why talk therapy alone can sometimes feel slow or incomplete when the body remains in a stress response.

The conversation dives deep into unconscious narratives, safety, and how early life experiences can shape belief systems that quietly run our behaviours, health patterns, and even our ability to heal. Leigh Ann explains how unmetabolized emotions, looping thought patterns, and displaced pain can manifest as illness, and why healing requires more than positive thinking or affirmations. Together, they explore how illness can sometimes serve as a messenger or coping mechanism, offering insight into what the body and psyche may be asking for beneath the surface.

Throughout the episode, Leigh Ann emphasizes a “no stone unturned” approach to healing, blending EVOX therapy with depth psychology to help clients move through emotional blockages, rewire old neural pathways, and create a sense of safety within the body. She also shares how her Healing Alchemy membership and resources make this work more accessible for people navigating cancer, chronic illness, and long-standing emotional patterns.

This episode offers a compassionate, grounded, and deeply insightful look at healing that honors the mind, body, and spirit as an integrated whole.

Find Leigh Ann Lindsey on instagram here

Let us know your thoughts on this episode here

For any further information, feel free to email us at info@vagusclinic.com. Our team is happy to help. We offer 20-minute complimentary health calls, and you can sign up for one here.

In this episode of the What Happens in Vagus podcast, Dr. Stephanie Canestraro sits down with nurse Emma Robertson to explore her journey from high functioning perfectionism to a full nervous system crash and eventual recovery. With a background in human anatomy and frontline healthcare, Emma shares both the clinical and deeply personal realities of living with dysautonomia and chronic nervous system dysregulation.

Emma’s symptoms began after graduating university and starting an intense nursing job that left her overworked, under fueled, and ignoring early warning signs like gut issues, rashes, and anxiety. Over time, a combination of stress, restrictive eating, nutrient depletion, and environmental and immune stressors pushed her system past its limit, leading to a sudden and frightening escalation of symptoms.

She describes experiencing hyperadrenergic POTS, heart rhythm disturbances, constant panic, severe digestive dysfunction, blood sugar crashes, insomnia, dizziness, and exercise and heat intolerance. Many of her symptoms were misattributed to anxiety, leaving her feeling hijacked by her own body.

Emma and Dr. Canestraro discuss the tools that supported her healing, including adequate nutrition, frequent meals, electrolytes, binders, gentle movement, lymphatic support, nervous system regulation, and mindset shifts rooted in safety and trust. Emma also shares what did not help, including extreme diets, fasting, and electrical vagal nerve stimulation, which worsened her symptoms.

This episode offers insight, validation, and hope for anyone navigating dysautonomia, chronic illness, or nervous system overload, and emphasizes that healing often begins by slowing down, nourishing the body, and learning to listen to its signals.

Let us know your thoughts on this episode here

For any further information, feel free to email us at info@vagusclinic.com. Our team is happy to help. We offer 20-minute complimentary health calls, and you can sign up for one here.

This episode dives into the world of women’s hormonal health with Dr. Prudence Hall, who shares how her career shifted from gynecological surgery to integrative medicine after realizing how poorly menopause was being addressed in conventional care.

She breaks down why individualized treatment matters, especially when it comes to bioidentical hormones that mirror the body’s natural chemistry. The conversation explores the underrated role of testosterone in women’s health, from supporting muscle and bone to protecting mental clarity, and how environmental stressors, toxins, and chronic stress can disrupt hormonal balance.

Dr. Hall also highlights the importance of vitamin D, thyroid function, and comprehensive testing - hormones, antibodies, genetics - to get a full picture of what’s really going on in the body. Throughout the episode, she emphasizes the power of collaboration between patients and practitioners and the need for a more thoughtful, personalized approach to navigating menopause and beyond.

Learn more about Dr. Hall - Dr. Prudence Hall is an integrative medicine pioneer and founder of The Hall Center in Santa Monica, specializing in regenerative and hormone-based medicine. A former gynecologic surgeon, she’s spent over three decades helping patients restore vitality, balance, and longevity through root-cause healing. Dr. Hall’s approach blends modern science with holistic wellness, focusing on the powerful mind–body connection and the role of the nervous system in overall health.

Find Dr. Hall on Instagram here

Check out The Hall Center here.

Let us know your thoughts on this episode here

For any further information, feel free to email us at info@vagusclinic.com. Our team is happy to help. We offer 20-minute complimentary health calls, and you can sign up for one here.