What Stress Is Trying to Do

Holding Grief and Joy at the Same Time

In this deeply personal episode, Dr. Christine reflects on one of the most transformative experiences of her life: losing her mother at 37 weeks pregnant while simultaneously preparing to become a mother herself. What began as a conversation about motherhood became a reflection on something much larger, the human capacity to hold seemingly opposite experiences at the same time, grief and joy. Love and loss. Expansion and heartbreak. Through stories from her own journey, lessons from Chinese medicine, and reflections on nervous system health, Dr. Christine explores why emotional complexity isn’t something to fix, avoid, or simplify. Instead, it may be one of the greatest gifts of being human. This episode is an invitation to rethink what it means to be resilient, to question the idea that regulation means always feeling calm, and to consider the possibility that some of life’s most difficult moments are also the ones that expand our capacity for love, depth, and presence. ⸻ In This Episode: * The experience of losing a mother while becoming a mother * Why life rarely asks us to feel one thing at a time * The surprising gift of discovering our capacity to hold opposing experiences * Grief, pregnancy, and the fear of “doing it wrong” emotionally * A powerful conversation with a midwife that changed everything * Why witnessing human emotion can be healthy and healing for children * The difference between suppressing emotions and allowing them to move through us * How grief helped shape Dr. Christine’s perspective on life and motherhood * A Chinese medicine perspective on emotions and health * Why nervous system regulation is about capacity, not constant calm * The role of challenge, loss, and uncertainty in personal growth * What “plot twists” can teach us about resilience and adaptability * The importance of making space for life’s complexity and nuance * Why humans are built for more emotional depth than we often realize * The concept that “the intensity of life is a gift” * How difficult seasons can expand our ability to love, connect, and be present PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://thedaoofhumaning.buzzsprout.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1869811351 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79Llx5Um3cDSJqXG0JIsVL RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss [https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss] Support & Connect Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchristine.sanmiquel/ [https://www.instagram.com/om_mami_/] Produced by: Reese Leanne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shot_by_reese/

The Heart-Womb Connection: Fertility Is a Whole Person Journey

In this episode, Dr. Christine shares reflections from attending a patient’s embryo transfer and explores the emotional, energetic, and deeply human aspects of fertility that often get overlooked. While fertility conversations are frequently centered around hormones, timelines, testing, and outcomes, the reality is that the journey to parenthood is also one of uncertainty, transformation, surrender, hope, disappointment, joy, and growth. Through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this episode explores the connection between the heart and the womb, the role of emotional well-being in reproductive health, and why supporting the whole person matters just as much as supporting the physical body. Dr. Christine also shares a powerful patient story about anxiety, fertility, unexpected surprises, and the profound transformation that occurs as we move through the journey of becoming parents. ⸻ In This Episode: * Why fertility is about much more than hormones, timelines, and test results * The emotional and spiritual aspects of trying to conceive * How Chinese medicine supports fertility beyond the physical body * The value of having a space where all emotions are welcome during a fertility journey * Why more fertility clinics are recognizing the benefits of integrative care * What it looks like to receive acupuncture before and after embryo transfer * A patient story about fertility struggles, anxiety, and an unexpected pregnancy * The journey from embryo retrieval to transfer and everything in between * A Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective on the heart-womb connection * The role of joy, openness, and emotional nourishment in reproductive health * How motherhood transforms us long before a baby arrives * Learning to live with uncertainty, surrender, and trust * Holding multiple emotions at the same time during fertility and parenthood * Why perfectionism often shows up during fertility and motherhood * The importance of repair, grace, and embracing our humanity as parents * How support systems can look different for every individual and every fertility journey * Finding the balance between structure, control, and flexibility during fertility treatment * Why whole-person support can make a meaningful difference throughout the fertility experience PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://thedaoofhumaning.buzzsprout.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1869811351 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79Llx5Um3cDSJqXG0JIsVL RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss [https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss] Support & Connect Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchristine.sanmiquel/ [https://www.instagram.com/om_mami_/] Produced by: Reese Leanne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shot_by_reese/

How I Survive “Mayvember” as a Doctor of TCM

In this episode, Dr. Christine explores the phenomenon lovingly known as “Mayvember”: that unique stretch of the year where family schedules explode with school events, sports, performances, celebrations, and all the end-of-year chaos that somehow arrives all at once. Through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Wood element of spring, this conversation reframes May not as something to survive perfectly, but as a season to move with more intentionally. Rather than trying to stop the momentum, the goal becomes creating more flow within it. This episode explores movement, self-awareness, creativity, nervous system support, perfectionism, humor, and the importance of allowing space for rest and regrouping after intense seasons of life. It’s a grounded and honest conversation about navigating busy seasons with more grace, flexibility, and connection to what actually nourishes us. In This Episode: * What “Mayvember” is and why this season feels uniquely chaotic * How spring and the Wood element relate to movement, growth, and momentum * Why the goal isn’t to stop the chaos — but to keep energy flowing smoothly through it * Using movement and routine as support during busy seasons * The difference between fighting the season vs. working with it * A conversation about being a “Type C mom” and embracing flexibility * Letting go of perfectionism and making more space for grace * Why self-awareness is protective during intense seasons of life * Learning to recognize when you need movement vs. when you need rest * How nourishment includes more than just food in Chinese medicine * The impact of what we consume through our eyes, ears, and attention * Why humor, laughter, and joy are powerful nervous system supports * The role of creativity as a form of energy movement and inspiration * Redefining creativity beyond traditional artistic expression * Why intense seasons often highlight our desire for control * The importance of regrouping and reflecting after periods of activation * Creating intentional check-ins as we transition into a new season PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://thedaoofhumaning.buzzsprout.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1869811351 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79Llx5Um3cDSJqXG0JIsVL RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss [https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss] Support & Connect Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchristine.sanmiquel/ [https://www.instagram.com/om_mami_/] Produced by: Reese Leanne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shot_by_reese/

Chinese Medicine Is the Original Functional Medicine

In this episode, we’re talking about individualized medicine, the growing interest in functional medicine, and why Traditional Chinese Medicine has been practicing personalized, root-cause care for thousands of years. So many people are searching for deeper answers when they don’t feel well, especially when their labs come back “normal” but they still feel exhausted, inflamed, anxious, disconnected, or unlike themselves. What many people are actually looking for is not just more testing, but a different relationship to care: one where they feel heard, understood, educated, and supported as a whole person. Through stories from clinic and conversations with patients and friends, this episode explores the overlap between functional medicine and Chinese medicine, including pattern-based diagnosis, individualized treatment plans, root-cause thinking, and why symptoms that seem unrelated often make perfect sense together through a Traditional Chinese Medicine lens. We also talk about the overwhelm many people experience trying to navigate supplements, testing, and online health information, and why personalized care matters more than ever in a world full of generalized advice. In This Episode: * What people are often really searching for when they seek “functional medicine” * The gap between “normal labs” and not feeling well in your body * Why feeling heard by your practitioner matters so much * A Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective on individualized, root-cause care * How Chinese medicine looks for patterns instead of isolated symptoms * Why fatigue, digestion, sleep, mood, and cycles are often connected * A real clinical example of pattern recognition in practice * The concept of the “unwellness gap” and why so many people feel stuck there * The overlap between functional medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine * Why personalized care often feels validating and relieving for patients * The difference between branch symptoms and root causes in Chinese medicine * Why two people with the same symptom may need completely different treatments * The role of functional testing, supplements, herbs, and diagnostics * Why more supplements are not always better * The importance of education and helping people understand their own bodies * How tongue diagnosis, digestion, sleep, and menstrual cycles can provide insight into health * The value of creating a clear treatment plan with milestones and reassessment  * Why curiosity and learning about your body can be empowering * How AI and online information fit into modern healthcare conversations * Why individualized care still requires human interpretation and clinical experience PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://thedaoofhumaning.buzzsprout.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1869811351 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79Llx5Um3cDSJqXG0JIsVL RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss [https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss] Support & Connect Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchristine.sanmiquel/ [https://www.instagram.com/om_mami_/] Produced by: Reese Leanne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shot_by_reese/

What Stress Is Trying to Do

In this episode, we’re reframing stress through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine, nervous system health, and personal growth. Stress is often talked about as something inherently bad, something to eliminate, avoid, or “fix.” But the reality is more nuanced than that. Stress is a normal part of being human. We need challenge, activation, movement, and periods of intensity in order to grow, evolve, create, and move forward in our lives. The problem isn’t stress itself. The problem is when stress gets stuck in the body and we lose the ability to move with it, process it, and integrate it. Through both clinical examples and a Chinese medicine perspective, this episode explores how stress can actually become supportive when we learn to work with it differently. We talk about nervous system activation, stagnation, growth, awareness, and why some of the most transformative periods in our lives are often the most uncomfortable. This is a conversation about learning to build capacity, strengthen awareness, and relate to stress with more intention instead of fear. In This Episode: * Why stress is not inherently “bad” * The difference between activation and perceived threat * A nervous system perspective on challenge, movement, and growth * Why we actually need periods of activation in life * How stress can support personal and spiritual growth * The role of discomfort in transformation and change * Why some of the most meaningful seasons of life are also the hardest * A Chinese medicine perspective on stagnation and why “stuck” stress matters * How stress that doesn’t move through the body can contribute to pain and illness * Clinical examples of how stagnation shows up physically and emotionally * The importance of awareness and “training the noticing muscle” * How we can learn to move with stress instead of fighting against it * The relationship between stress, resilience, and capacity * Why healing isn’t about removing all stress from your life * How challenge can become supportive when we learn to work with it differently PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://thedaoofhumaning.buzzsprout.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1869811351 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79Llx5Um3cDSJqXG0JIsVL RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss [https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2574021.rss] Support & Connect Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchristine.sanmiquel/ [https://www.instagram.com/om_mami_/] Produced by: Reese Leanne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shot_by_reese/