Autonomic Rehabilitation: The Science of Training Your Nervous System to Recover | Dr. Raouf Gharbo | Ep 54
There are only a handful of physicians in the world practicing autonomic rehabilitation. One of them is on this episode.
Klaudia Balogh and Don Moxley sits down with Dr. Raouf Gharbo, MD, Don's former Ohio State wrestling teammate, All-American, and one of the world's foremost experts in autonomic rehabilitation — the emerging field of training your nervous system to switch, shift, and recover on demand.
Dr. Gharbo was admitted to his own hospital with atrial fibrillation at age 32. That wake-up call sent him deep into the science of Heart Rate Variability, parasympathetic function, and what it takes to rehabilitate a nervous system pushed past its limits — not just in patients, but in elite athletes, burned-out physicians, and high performers of every kind.
In this episode you'll learn:
* What autonomic rehabilitation is — and why almost no one is doing it yet
* What HRV really measures (hint: it's not a fitness score)
* The two independent levers of your nervous system — and why "balance" is the wrong framework
* Why high performers can look completely fine while their nervous system is in crisis
* The difference between courage breathing and sleep breathing — and why it matters
* How gratitude physically shifts your physiology — backed by a veteran study
* The mitochondrial housekeeping your body does at night (and what happens when it can't)
* Why trauma — including generational trauma — seeds burnout at the nervous system level
* Dr. Gharbo's "Stop, Shift, Decide" autonomic reset method
* The 10-factor autonomic recovery checklist — rated live on air
If you've ever felt "fine but exhausted," performed well while running on empty, or wondered why willpower alone isn't enough — this is the episode that explains what's happening under the hood.
Who's the 90% Healthy Podcast for?
It’s for you who wants to build a resilient body without losing your mind. If you are sick of counting every calorie, tracking too many stats, or not even wanting to start, yet ready to stop feeling just “OK”. Klaudia and Don invite you to build resilient health that bends with real life. No rigid rules. No guilt. Just simple 1% shifts that create a strong foundation, so you can sleep like a baby, perform like a boss. and feel damn good. We cut through the noise, bring you real science (not TikTok trends), and make it easy to understand what works for the long run.
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