Back in Control with David Hanscom, MD

Weaving Motivation, Movement, Mindfulness with Self-compassion to Heal

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Janet Huehls a clinician, coach, and educator.  She discusses her approach to wellness, emphasizing the interconnectedness of nutrition, exercise, and rest. She describes her coaching process, which begins with a "core why" call to identify internal motivation. Her coaching approach combines movement, mindfulness, and motivation, which she has personally applied to navigate challenges like grief and emotional pain. She emphasized the importance of a whole person approach and introduces the concept of the "big 3" factors—eating, exercising, and managing stress—and the innate energy management system that includes nourishing, moving, and resting well. Download the transcript [https://backincontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Transcript-Interview-2-w-Janet-Huehls-transcript.pdf] Janet Huehls is a clinician, coach, and educator transforming exercise from something people feel they should do into a resource for whole-person well-being. For over 30 years, she has guided individuals with medical conditions to use movement in ways that support healing, function, and quality of life. Her evidence-based method blends movement science, motivation science, and mindfulness to reduce pain, stress, and low motivation so people can Be Well Now. She holds a master’s degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology and is a national board-certified health coach and certified yoga teacher. For more information visit:  https://exercisingwell.com [https://exercisingwell.com/]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Exercising Well to Heal and Strengthen Resilience

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Janet Huehls a clinician, coach, and educator. She explains that current weight loss approaches focus on calories in and out rather than addressing underlying physiological issues. She describes two scenarios where people's physiology is either functioning well but being incorrectly labeled as unhealthy due to weight gain, or where they genuinely need physiological intervention due to high body fat and inflammation. She emphasizes that exercise often becomes a source of stress in these situations, particularly when people are told to "exercise to lose weight," which can worsen their health rather than improve it. Download the transcript [https://backincontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Transcript-Interview-1-w-Janet-Huehls-transcript.pdf] Janet Huehls is a clinician, coach, and educator transforming exercise from something people feel they should do into a resource for whole-person well-being. For over 30 years, she has guided individuals with medical conditions to use movement in ways that support healing, function, and quality of life. Her evidence-based method blends movement science, motivation science, and mindfulness to reduce pain, stress, and low motivation so people can Be Well Now. She holds a master’s degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology and is a national board-certified health coach and certified yoga teacher. For more information visit:  https://exercisingwell.com [https://exercisingwell.com/]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Building Bridges to Heal and Thrive

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Cynthia Austin, a board-certified health and wellness coach.  She discusses the role of emotions in healing, and notes that learning to feel emotions is part of the healing process. She emphasizes the role of personal agency and lifestyle changes in recovery. She explains her treatment approach which includes: sharing her own story with clients as a way to build trust; a hybrid self-paced course that educates them about pain neuroscience and the importance of restoring balance with self, and regulating thoughts, emotions and behaviors and coaching sessions to help them integrate this learning into life. Download the transcript [https://backincontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Transcript-Interview-2-w-Cynthia-Austin-transcript.pdf] Cynthia Austin is a board-certified health coach who helps people change their pain experience.  She created her business, My Pain Coach and her programs, to support those living with pain. Cynthia blends professional coaching and pain neuroscience with nearly five decades of lived experience with chronic pain and illness.  Having overcome conditions like migraine, fibromyalgia, back pain, and other debilitating challenges, she now guides others through the complex, often confusing process of changing the pain experience.  For more information, visit: https://mypaincoachllc.com [https://mypaincoachllc.com]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Healing Through Believing and Agency

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Cynthia Austin, a board-certified and wellness health coach. She shares her background of transitioning from accounting to helping people manage their pain experiences after dealing with migraines since childhood and encountering limitations in traditional medical systems. She describes how her own research and legislative advocacy work led her to understand the role of the brain, nervous system, and behavior change in pain management, ultimately leading her to become a health and wellness coach to help others navigate their pain experiences. Download the transcript [https://backincontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Transcript-Interview-1-w-Cynthia-Austin-transcript.pdf] Cynthia Austin is a board-certified health coach who helps people change their pain experience.  She created her business, My Pain Coach and her programs, to support those living with pain. Cynthia blends professional coaching and pain neuroscience with nearly five decades of lived experience with chronic pain and illness.  Having overcome conditions like migraine, fibromyalgia, back pain, and other debilitating challenges, she now guides others through the complex, often confusing process of changing the pain experience.  For more information, visit: https://mypaincoachllc.com [https://mypaincoachllc.com]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Healing through Love and Science

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with writer and spiritual teach Regan Caruthers.  She discusses her approach to healing, which combines spiritual practices with HeartMath techniques to help people regulate their autonomic nervous system and access a state of love and gratitude. She emphasizes the importance of a disciplined practice and the power of love to heal, both physically and emotionally. She also shares her own miraculous recovery from emergency open heart surgery, which she attributed to divine guidance. Download the transcript [https://backincontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Transcript-Interview-2-w-Regan-Caruthers-transcript.pdf] Regan Caruthers is a writer and spiritual teacher whose life has been shaped by an early education rooted in contemplative practice, including daily meditation, tai chi, devotional singing, and direct exploration of the human energy field. From a young age, she learned to attune to divine guidance—an embodied intelligence that has repeatedly proven life-saving. She is the author of Tragic Magic and the founder of ASET Yoga Center, where she integrates the original heart-centered teachings of Jesus, the yoga tradition, and heart-based science. Her professional background includes corporate leadership in Silicon Valley, management of academic innovation initiatives for the California State University system, and work on staff at the HeartMath Institute, where she taught HeartMath programs to business audiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]