Fluent Wellness
It’s often said the human body should come with an owner’s manual and now we are living even longer without these manuals, facing more challenges along the way. Challenges like chronic illness, recurrent injuries, obesity, new infections and medical misinformation on and around all the above.
Fluent Wellness, like our podcast My Body Odyssey, presents the sharpest science-based insights for a general interest audience on a wide range of wellness topics– exercise and diet, mindfulness and stress management, lifestyle choices that impact our quantity and quality of life. But all presented without the commercial hype around so much health and wellness content.
Featured
Mom-on-the-run Erin: The Challenges of postpartum Depression
Mom-on-the-Run Erin According to the CDC, one in eight new mothers experience postpartum depression, which in Erin’s case, as with others,…
Four Body Odysseys On Two & Three Wheels: Cycling the 20th Maine Lighthouse Ride
Four Body Odysseys On Two & Three Wheels: Cycling the 20th Maine Lighthouse Ride My Body Odyssey rode along the 20th…
PTSD & Open Water Swimming: Atlantic Annie Finds Calm Within the Waves
PTSD & Open Water Swimming: Atlantic Annie Finds Calm Within the Waves The benefits of open water swimming are widely felt…
posts
Exercise may be medicine when it comes to Parkinson’s disease
January 3, 2023 John Brodhead – “Nordic John” – has spent his life pushing the envelope…
What Respected Medical Experts Want You To Know… About Cancer & Exercise
MBO recently produced a three-episode series on cycling with cancer, featuring three protagonists (Gene, Sue and…
Cycling: Healthy Fun for the Soul
October 30, 2023 By Dr. Rebecca Breslow When Jim, an avid mountain biker in his 60s,…
podcasts
Nordic John on the Parkinson’s Trail: Family Support, Muscle Memory & Ski Wax
Nordic John on the Parkinson’s Trail: Family Support, Muscle Memory & Ski Wax “I haven’t had any medical people tell me that I shouldn’t go all out,” says our protagonist in this episode, Nordic John. He’s 80 years young but still competing internationally in cross-country skiing despite, or possibly because of, the onset of Parkinson’s…
PTSD & Open Water Swimming: Atlantic Annie Finds Calm Within the Waves
PTSD & Open Water Swimming: Atlantic Annie Finds Calm Within the Waves The benefits of open water swimming are widely felt and observed but not yet fully documented by the scientific community, as they combine the effects of immersion in nature, cold water and strenuous exercise all at one time. “It actually does change your…
Cycling & Sweating Sue: Two Decades Outriding Metastatic Breast Cancer
Cycling & Sweating Sue: Two Decades Outriding Metastatic Breast Cancer Completing the 200-mile Pan Mass Challenge (PMC) bike ride every year for two decades would be an accomplishment for anyone; but it’s particularly remarkable in the case of Cycling Sue, who has ridden 10 of those 20 years with metastatic breast cancer. “I’ve had many…
Generational Gene: Ups and Downs of Weight Loss & the Stark Risk of Cancer
Generational Gene: Ups and Downs of Weight Loss & the Stark Risk of Cancer In this season two episode, Generational Gene details the serious risk of colon cancer and his two pronged approach of cycling and weight loss against three related medical issues– obesity, diabetes, and cancer, all of which run in his family. This…
Four Body Odysseys On Two & Three Wheels: Cycling the 20th Maine Lighthouse Ride
Four Body Odysseys On Two & Three Wheels: Cycling the 20th Maine Lighthouse Ride My Body Odyssey rode along the 20th Annual Maine Lighthouse Ride this year, interviewing 4 protagonists who faced steep uphill challenges to even get to the starting line of this scenic ride. Rebecca, a yoga teacher in her early sixties, has…
Grit, Gravel & Commitment: Cycling with Larry at the Maine Lighthouse Ride
Grit, Gravel & Commitment: Cycling with Larry at the Maine Lighthouse Ride My Body Odyssey rode along with Larry Langmore on the 40 mile option of the 20th Annual Maine Lighthouse Ride this year, a benefit for the Eastern Trail Association that attracts 800 riders from near and far. 40 miles is a good long…
Three Passionate Odysseys from the 51st Falmouth Road Race: On Foot, Wheels & Crutches
Three Passionate Odysseys from the 51st Falmouth Road Race: On Foot, Wheels & Crutches My Body Odyssey attended the 51st Falmouth Road Race– the local, 7-mile pub crawl that quickly evolved into a major, international event with 75,000 spectators and 10,000 runners annually. Our episode features three participants at this year’s event, including the only runner…
My Expert Odyssey: Dr. D.J. Kennedy On back Pain & Life As a Weightlifting Event
My Expert Odyssey: Dr. D.J. Kennedy on Life As a weightlifting event As a former competitive weightlifter, strength coach, and now Chair of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at Vanderbilt Medical School, Dr. D.J. Kennedy specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of back issues that nearly all of us experience- including chronic back pain. “The numbers…
Primal Posture for Modern Pain? The Gokhale Method of Walking, Sitting & Bending
Primal Posture for Modern Pain? The Gokhale Method of Walking, Sitting & Bending Three decades ago, Esther Gokhale created the Gokhale Method to apply primal posture to modern pain. Gokhale emphasized small improvements in everyday movements to prevent and heal back pain and musculoskeletal damage. Now, more than 20,000 people have learned to walk, sit,…
The New Ultimate Mark
The New Ultimate Mark: More Community, Less Injury, Same Sick Tattoo Featuring Esther Gokhale & Dr. Michele Kerulis You deeply love your sport and the people who play it. But your body is telling you it’s time to move on. You need more community, less injury. At some point in our adult years, we all deal…
Rehab Without Fatigue? The Great Challenges of Long COVID Treatment
Rehab Without Fatigue? The Great Challenges of Long COVID Treatment Featuring Dr. David Putrino Long COVID can feel like a lifetime sentence — yet scientists are developing more effective treatments for these deeply debilitating cases. Dr. David Putrino, Director of Rehabilitation Innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System, is a major contributor to this effort….
Who Am I With Long COVID?
Who Am I With Long COVID? The Challenge to Health, Wealth & Identity “Who am I with Long COVID?” When Kaelyn Lynch caught COVID-19, she was a multimedia journalist, filmmaker, mountain climber, weightlifter, and roller derby enthusiast. That changed when Long COVID crashed into her life. After two back-to-back COVID infections, she had frightening symptoms…
The Steep Climbs of Chronic Lyme: Nordic Skier Siri Waxes, Wanes & Wins
The Steep Climbs of Chronic Lyme: Nordic Skier Siri Waxes, Wanes & Wins Like a growing number of Americans, you discover the bull’s-eye rash around a tick bite. But you get to the doctor quickly, receive a diagnosis of Lyme disease, and complete the standard course of antibiotics. So everything will be fine, right? Not…
My Expert Odyssey Part 2
My Expert Odyssey Part 2: Scoliosis, Pre-Diabetes, Postpartum, & Cancer In this second of two holiday bonus episodes, we again get a bit more personal with season one expert guests whose own experiences have inspired and informed their professional pursuits – “My Expert Odyssey” times four. First off, Dr. Mark Stoutenberg of Temple University’s Department…
My Expert Odyssey Part 1
My Expert Odyssey Part 1: Depression, Diabetes & Trauma (Bonus Episode) What leads someone on a path to becoming a noted researcher on the benefits of exercise for depression or diabetes? Or a coach in the relatively new sport of para rowing? Not surprisingly, personal experience can play a huge role in lighting those pathways….
Rowing Through Cancer, Injury & Trauma
Rowing Through Cancer, Injury & Trauma Three Body Odysseys At 2022 Head Of The Charles “I plan to row till my last breath.” That’s a pretty strong endorsement for any sport. And we heard this deep love of rowing several times from committed rowers at the 2022 Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR), the rowing…
Generational Gene
Generational Gene: Cycling for Diabetes Prevention Our protagonist in this episode, Generational Gene, may at first seem like a special case. A middle-aged school superintendent with a father and grandfather who’ve contracted Type 2 diabetes later in life, Gene seems at higher-than-average risk to develop the condition, as well. But in fact Gene is very…
Cyclist for Life Howie
Cyclist for Life Howie: Riding the Ups & Downs of Cancer Howie, a recently retired software engineer, has been an avid cyclist most of his adult life, with a total mileage equivalent to a few laps around the planet. But more remarkable is the fact that Howie has done a good bit of that cycling…
Josie & Joe in Tandem
Josie & Joe in Tandem vs. Multiple sclerosis Six months ago, Josie was bedridden with a flare-up of the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) she has been battling for a decade alongside her husband Joe and with some help from their much loved custom tandem bike. Over that same decade Josie and Joe have logged over 10,000…
Yogi Jess on a Tightrope
Yogi Jess on a Tightrope: From Mobility to Stability Jess is a successful and respected yoga teacher – young, fit, doing all the right things to stay healthy. She’s also highly knowledgeable about anatomy and physiology, with two graduate degrees in the field. But a series of mysterious episodes involving circulation to one arm led…
Mom-on-the-run Erin: The Challenges of postpartum Depression
Mom-on-the-Run Erin According to the CDC, one in eight new mothers experience postpartum depression, which in Erin’s case, as with others, came after a difficult pregnancy. “I was on bedrest for a while and I had preeclampsia,” confides Erin. “And I wasn’t good at being pregnant.” Weight gain didn’t help matters either. But Erin had…
Doc Sarah: Mysterious Condition, Miraculous Race
Doc Sarah: Mysterious Condition, Miraculous Race How do we know when to push through pain and injury to pursue the sports and activities we love? And when should we suspect that injuries are not isolated events but part of a disease process? In this episode, we meet MBO protagonist Doc Sarah, a pediatrician, mother of…
Iron Woman Diane
Iron Woman Diane The Rewards & Challenges of Exercise With Diabetes Iron Woman Diane, a recently retired power industry executive with Type 1 diabetes, has completed three full Ironman triathlons, numerous marathons and many lengthy cycling events, such as the New England Tour De Cure where My Body Odyssey first met her. One day, though,…
Ultimate Mark: “I Just Love Playing Too Much!”
Ultimate Mark: “I Just Love Playing Too Much!” In My Body Odyssey’s first full episode we meet Ultimate Mark– an uber competitive weekend warrior in many sports but most frequently Ultimate Disc (formerly Ultimate Frisbee). Mark hurls himself on the ultimate field just as he once did as an aspiring soccer goalie. Problem is Mark…