A personal bout with asthma at the age of 18 led Monica Mae Leibson to learn about a variety of ways to create good health – which ultimately inspired her to build a career in acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Today, working with Michigan Associates of Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine, Monica plays detective to get to the root cause of troubling symptoms for her patients, leading them to lifestyle, diet, and perspective shifts that contribute to long-term wellness.
In this episode, Monica shares insights about the importance of preventative measures to ensure good health, the role of energy to get your body in flow, and how treating the root cause lasts longer than simply addressing symptoms. Monica joins Lynne Golodner on the Make Meaning podcast to discuss our culture of busy-ness and addiction to stress, living through the COVID-19 pandemic, the politics of health, and what really makes you sick.
Monica’s Permission Slip: “Go within. Give yourself what you need. What you crave, you already have. There is another way of looking at the situation.”
In this episode, Lynne and Monica discuss:
- Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine
- Reiki & Naturopathy
- Western medicine vs. alternative medicine
- Commonalities between Chinese Medicine & Ayurveda
- How lifestyle and diet affect overall health
- Community acupuncture
- A pandemic as a global reset
- Promoting lung health to deal with COVID-19
- Building an equitable health care system
Links and Resources:
- Michigan Associates of Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine
- Community Acupuncture
- Alternative health and the COVID-19 pandemic
- Ayurveda
- Chinese Medicine
There are many ways to build long lasting good health – consider these alternative perspectives from other Make Meaning guests! If you like this episode, you’ll also like these episodes of the Make Meaning podcast:
- Episode 57 – Positive Public Health with Tista Ghosh
- Episode 34 – Building True Health with Julie Silver
- Episode 47 – Quieting the Mind with Linda Makowski
Coming up on the Make Meaning Podcast:
Next week, Lynne speaks with Jim Reese, professor at Mount Marty University and National Endowment for the Arts writer-in-residence at Federal Prison Camp in Yankton, South Dakota. Tune in to hear about honesty in writing, how crime affected Jim’s life, and finding your purpose through simple writing prompts.
