Healing Medicine: Mindfulness, Mindset & Physician Well-Being

Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang
  • 4.9 (116)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Mindfulness, mindset, and sustainable well-being—not as another task to add to your plate, but as a way to experience life, love, medicine, and leadership differently. Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang share practical strategies, coaching tools, and real conversations to help you feel more present, fulfilled, and in control. When physicians are healthy and well, we become powerful agents of change. Healing Medicine was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast. Same hosts, same mission, same conversations — new name. It is for physicians exploring burnout, mindfulness, leadership, and sustainable careers. The Healing Medicine Podcast offers practical tools, coaching conversations, and mindfulness-based medicine. The Healing Medicine Podcast helps physicians reclaim balance, leadership, and a love for medicine—one mindful step at a time. When we heal ourselves, we become part of the solution to shaping a healthier, more sustainable culture of medicine for our patients and ourselves. The Healing Medicine podcast is hosted by two physicians who bring decades of experience in physician wellness and leadership development to the health and wellness conversation. The hosts are physician moms, eldest daughters of aging parents, and wives, mothers-in-law, and daughters-in-law.

  1. 11H AGO

    304. From Empty Nest to Connection: An Orthopedic Surgeon's Retreat Story

    When we've been carrying a lot for a long time, "fine" can start to feel like the only option.  In this conversation, Jessie is joined by Dr. Jennifer Swaringen an orthopedic surgeon and yoga teacher. She has already been to Jessie's Nicasio Creek Farm retreat twice: once with a friend, and once on her own during an empty-nest transition.  We talk about:  what shifts when women physicians step into a small, safe community how coaching helps us see the stories we've been living inside why nervous-system care (movement, breath, stillness, sound) can create a steadiness that thinking alone sometimes can't reach. Connection isn't a luxury and being cared for is a practice. We explore: How resentment, catastrophizing, and "I'm only valuable when I'm producing" show up (and soften) Why coming to a retreat alone can actually deepen connection Coaching vs. yoga: insight work and nervous-system work (and why both matter) Staying connected after the retreat so it becomes real life Empty nest as a transition point and a valid time to ask for support Pearls of wisdom Noticing our default stories reduces their power. Coaching and yoga work differently, and together. Safe community expands what feels possible. Coming alone isn't a disadvantage. Allowing ourselves to be cared for is a real practice—especially for women physicians. Reflection questions Where are you telling an old story that keeps us stuck? What support would you allow if you no longer needed to earn it? Where are you craving connection—and what is one small follow-through? Ways to work with Jessie: Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Blog: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

    39 min

  2. MAR 8

    303. From Powerless to Purposeful: Reclaiming Agency in Medicine

    What happens when physician partners step away and make space to slow down together? In this episode, we explore how rest, reflection, and shared experience can help us reconnect with ourselves, our relationships, and the deeper reasons we practice medicine.  Drs. Angela Wong and Doug Conrad share their experience of coming to The Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreat at Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center together as a physician couple.  They reflect on what it was like to step away from the daily pace of medicine for a few days to reconnect—with themselves, with each other, and with what matters most.   They talk about perfectionism in medicine, the hidden cost of constant productivity, and how slowing down can restore perspective, compassion, and connection.  This conversation is a reminder that a pause for self-care is not indulgent. It is one way we reclaim agency in medicine and remember who we are beyond the roles we carry. If this conversation resonates, we would love to welcome you to future retreats where we explore rest, mindfulness, and connection in community with other physicians.  The next Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreat is July 30-August 1, 2026 Listen to learn about: Why slowing down can help you reconnect with yourself and your partners How perfectionism can quietly shape life and work in medicine What happens when you allow yourself to receive care Why shared experiences outside medicine can strengthen physician relationships How rest, movement, breath, and nourishment can influence how you care for patients Pearls of Wisdom: Shared experiences outside the clinical environment can strengthen physician partnerships and help us see one another as people, not just colleagues in a busy life. Slowing down is not indulgent. It creates the space needed to reconnect with ourselves, our partners, and the deeper reasons we practice medicine. Perfectionism often masquerades as professionalism in medicine. Letting go of that inner judge can restore both well-being and relationships. The practices we experience personally—mindful movement, nourishment, rest, and breath—often become the most authentic tools we bring to patient care. Reflection Questions: What might shift if you intentionally created time to slow down with a partner or loved one? Where in our lives might you be moving so quickly that you have stopped noticing how you actually feel? How might releasing the need for perfection allow more compassion toward yourself and others? What small daily practice could help you reconnect with your breath, body, and sense of agency? Ways to connect and work with us: Website: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ ; https://awakenbreath.org/ Retreats: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Yoga: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga Blog: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Podcast: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast *The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

    57 min

  3. MAR 1

    302. A Big Energetic Pivot: Wood Snake Wisdom to Fire Horse Momentum

    We're continuing an annual tradition on the Healing Medicine Podcast: a Lunar New Year conversation that uses the Chinese zodiac (and the five elements) as a framework for reflection and intention-setting.  Even if this isn't part of your culture or your belief system, exploring how a different cultural lens can help you see your patterns around transitions and help you endwell, pause to integrate, and begin well.  We're moving from the Year of the Wood Snake (2025)—slower, observant, inward, "shedding what no longer serves"—into the Year of the Fire Horse (2026)—movement, visibility, courage, momentum, and a louder, more activating energy.  This episode covers: Why Lunar New Year is also called Spring Festival (Chunjie) The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac (and why there's no cat) The five elements and how they "flavor" a year (wood → fire) Wood Snake themes: introspection, boundaries, shedding, somatic signals Fire Horse themes: courage, action, visibility, warmth—and the need for wisdom Transition practices: ending well → pausing → beginning well A journal prompt: What are you leaving behind from the Wood Snake year? Invitation: Connect in Nature Retreat (Green Gulch + Muir Woods) Mentioned Invitations: Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreat (Green Gulch + Muir Woods): www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreat-connect-in-nature Nothing shared in this episode is medical advice or a substitute for your own medical care. This is educational content and personal reflection.

    43 min

  4. FEB 22

    301. Relationship Wisdom: What 40 Years of Love Has Taught Me

    In this episode, I share what has helped sustain my long-term relationship over the past four decades.  I was asked to share my secrets with a large group of physicians.  I preparing for that realized that I have no secrets. I have an approach. Since I started approaching my relationship with intention, it has gotten better than ever. Resentment grows from silent expectations. Shifting from expectation to intention makes more room for connection. What would love do now? guides me as a practical filter for tone, attention, listening, and repair. It's especially useful given our mismatched neurotypes and when our nervous systems are depleted. In this episode, I share The cost of silent expectations and resentment The value of replacing expectations with clear intentions "What would love do now?" as a moment-to-moment practice How nervous system depletion turns neutral moments into conflict Why friendship and fun matter Pearls of Wisdom Clear intentions open doors. Resentment keeps them shut. Love becomes steadier when we treat it as a verb Long-term relationships are built through practice. Protecting your health, and your partner's health protects the relationship Friendship sustains intimacy Reflection questions: What silent expectations are you holding? What intention do you want to bring to your relationship: connection, kindness, honesty, peace, love? When you are depleted, what could help you respond instead of react? How could you treat your partner more like a friend this week—lighter, more generous, more on the same team? Ways to work with me https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/ https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

    35 min

  5. FEB 15

    300. What Do You Want to Be Known For? A Tool to Reclaim Your Identity and Establish Boundaries

    What do you want to be known for?  One thing we want to be known for is this podcast. 300 episodes in, we are committed to offering fresh perspectives and value as healing medicine for our listeners as well as conversations that help to heal the culture of medicine. When we ask the question, "What do we want to be known for?" it becomes a decision-making filter, a boundary-setting tool, and a compass for alignment—helping us lead with love and live closer to our true selves. In this episode, we explore: How "default identities" form in medicine (often unintentionally) The cost of being known for something that no longer, or never fit How to use the question "what I want to be known for" as a values-based filter Pearls of Wisdom Default identities form through repetition, people-pleasing, and conditioning—not always conscious choice. Naming what you don't want to be known for helps refine what matters. Values like authenticity, compassion, and love support intentional leadership. There's no urgency for a perfect answer—clarity can emerge slowly. Reflection Questions What are you currently known for? Did you choose this, or did it just happen? Where does your current identity feel true? Where does it feel heavy or misaligned? What's one small step you can take toward being known for what really matters to you? Resources & Next Steps Read Jessie's blog on this same topic: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog/what-do-you-want-to-be-known-for-1?rq=known%20for I fyou want to work on this question, reach out 1:1 coaching or join Jessie for a mindful coaching retreat at Nicasio Creek Farm in 2026. Join Jessie and Ni-Cheng for Connect in Nature at Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center (the only retreat we offer together and an opportunity to bring friends, partners, and colleagues of all genders and professions. Speaking/Workshops: Dr. Mahoney: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Dr. Liang: www.awakenbreath.org Disclaimer Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

    29 min

  6. FEB 10

    299. Fun Filter: Deciding What Lights You Up (Co-Released with Dr. Melissa Parsons)

    A conversation about living through a "fun filter." What does it looks like to let joy, ease, and alignment guide our decisions instead of obligation, striving, or outdated beliefs? A special co-released episode with Dr. Melissa Parsons, fellow retired pediatrician, coach, and kindred spirit.  Together, we reflect on our own transitions out of pediatrics, how we've redefined success, and the freedom that comes when we allow ourselves to change, grow, and choose what lights us up. We also share honest moments about parenting adult children, reimagining purpose, and how sometimes the most meaningful transformations begin when we stop pushing and start listening. If you've been wondering what gets to be "enough," this episode offers a gentler compass. In this episode, we explore: What a "fun filter" is (and what it isn't) Redefining success after leaving a long-held identity Why we don't have to earn rest, joy, or white space How change can be a sign of being fully alive Letting alignment and impact coexist Pearls of Wisdom Choosing what's fun is not frivolous and can be freeing. You don't have to earn rest, white space, or joy. Change doesn't make you flighty because it means you're alive. Fun and impact can coexist. "Enough" isn't a milestone; it's a mindset. Reflection Questions: What currently feels fun, easy, or light in your life? Where might you be holding onto old definitions of "success" or "productivity"? What might open up if you trusted fun as a valid reason to say yes—or no? Resources & Links: Enjoy these Mindful Yoga Classes about Fun Playfulness + Connection + Flow = Fun Mindful Yoga with Jessie Mahoney Breathe in Fun, Lightness, and Love. Exhale Stress and Anxiety. Mindful Yoga to Explore Ease. Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Speaking/Workshops: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Dr. Melissa Parsons: melissaparsonscoaching.com Listen to Melissa's podcast, Your Favorite You: www.melissaparsonscoaching.com/podcast Melissa Parsons, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician, who practiced in Columbus, Ohio for 22 years, retiring in 2021. She became interested in coaching in 2017, recognizing that she liked her life, but she did not love it, and could not figure out why. Coaching helped her create a life she never dreamed possible. Melissa started her business, Melissa Parsons Coaching, in May 2020, and she has not looked back since, except to help other amazing women learn to love themselves and their lives, too! Melissa hosts a popular podcast called Your Favorite You,. She runs a group coaching program by the same name for small groups of women looking to become their favorite versions of themselves, often by treating themselves as they would a best friend.  Disclaimer: Nothing shared on the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

    53 min

  7. FEB 8

    298. What Are You Waiting For? Physician Burnout and the Cost of Waiting

    We have been taught to wait as a measure of professionalism. We delay rest, joy, and alignment because medicine taught us that patience equals commitment. Many of us are still waiting long after training ends, hoping the system will change. This waiting can feel loyal, responsible, even virtuous. Over time, it quietly costs us our presence, our health, and our lives. PEARLS OF WISDOM • Waiting is not neutral. It often preserves systems that rely on our overfunctioning and silence. • Many of us are not waiting because it is right, but because we were trained to believe it is required. • The system is not always broken; sometimes it is functioning exactly as designed. • Agency begins when we stop waiting for permission and choose alignment, even in small ways. • Fear often shows up when we stop waiting, and fear does not mean we are wrong. Reflection Questions: Where in our lives have we normalized waiting that no longer feels aligned? What are we postponing because we believe now is not the right time? What might become possible if we stopped waiting for permission? Who benefits from our waiting, and who bears the cost? CLOSING INVITATION This conversation is not about leaving medicine. It is about staying in medicine without disappearing ourselves in the process. Many of us were trained to endure quietly and trust that relief would come later. What we are exploring instead is the possibility of choosing ourselves now, even gently and imperfectly. Coaching and retreat spaces are one way we practice this shift together.  Not to fix ourselves, but to remember that our lives matter now, not someday. We are allowed to live full lives alongside meaningful work. If coaching, a retreat, or an intentional pause feels supportive, notice what comes up when you consider not waiting. Often, the only thing standing between us and alignment is the permission we can give ourselves. Find out about 1:1 coaching with Dr. Jessie Mahoney: Learn about Jessie's small group coaching programs: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/group-coaching Join Jessie at Nicaiso Creek Farm CME Wellness Retreats for Women Physicians  or   Jessie & Ni-Cheng at the COED Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreat at Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. Other useful links to explore: • National Academy of Medicine – Clinician Well-Being https://nam.edu/initiatives/clinician-resilience-and-well-being/ • University of Arizona Integrative Medicine https://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu

    38 min

  8. FEB 3

    297. Why Women Physicians Are So Good at Doing Too Much

    In honor of National Women Physicians Day 2026, this episode, Why Women Physicians Overfunction (and How to Start Doing Less Without Guilt) is an invitation to notice overfunctioning with compassion. Overfunctioning may have helped you succeed in medicine—but it often costs intimacy, energy, and connection. We explore overfunctioning and underfunctioning as relational dynamics, not personality flaw. When one person consistently does more, the system adapts: others do less, resentment grows, and "holding it all together" becomes a role that feels hard to step out of. We talk about why doing less can be an act of love—creating space for relationships and systems to reorganize—especially when you start by tending to your own nervous system instead of stabilizing everything around you. If you've been asking, "Why am I always the one who handles it?" this conversation offers a grounded place to begin. In this episode, we cover Why overfunctioning isn't a flaw—it's a role shaped by training, culture, and context How overfunctioning/underfunctioning patterns form in relationships and teams Resentment as information (often pointing to over-capacity) "Doing less" as a path to clarity, growth, and alignment Why change begins with your nervous system Pearls of Wisdom Overfunctioning is a relational role developed in response to internal and external expectations. When one person consistently does more, others often do less; systems adapt that way over time. Resentment is information. It often signals over-capacity. Doing less can be an act of love that allows relationships to reorganize. When we stop stabilizing what's falling around us and tend to our nervous systems first, change begins. Reflection Questions Where in your life are you doing more than your share simply because you are capable? What feels most uncomfortable about stepping back? What might happen if you rest or stop managing? What would love do this week in your relationships or at work?   Work with Jessie Mahoney Coaching + retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com Speaking: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking or jessie@jessiemahoneymd.com Mindful Love Small Group Coaching (intimate relationships) Leading from the Heart + Transition Well Small Group Coaching (career/life pivots, leadership) Retreats + advanced coaching (moving beyond overfunctioning across your life) Work with Ni-Cheng Liang Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang: www.awakenbreath.com The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast. Nothing shared on this podcast is medical advice.   Other Healing Medicine Podcast episodes specifically relevant to Women Physicians you may want to explore: These episodes explore the inner experience of women physicians—without pathologizing it. 293. When Feedback Feels Threatening: Nervous System Wisdom for Women Physicians 292. When Physicians Stop Believing in Themselves: Burnout, Skepticism, and the Hidden Cost  290. The Overs, the Toxics, and Why Awareness Alone Isn't Enough  269. You Were Never Meant to Carry It All: Healing the Eldest Daughter Effect 259. What Are You Proud Of? A Conversation About Worth, Identity, and Redefining Success  154. Move Beyond Imposter Syndrome These episodes highlight connection, culture shift, and the idea that "you don't have to carry this alone." 275. The Power of an Introduction: How Women in Medicine Can Change Lives and Culture Through Connection  281. Be Radiantly You: The Antidote to Exhaustion and Judgment  263. It's Okay to Have Fun: The Evolution of a Happy Doctor (with Dr. Beni Seballos) 262. Standing Tall in Surgery: Finding Fulfillment Outside the Mold (with Dr. Jenny Kang)  261. From ER Burnout to Soulful Living: Enia Oaks on Poetry, Pause, and Healing  These episodes give practical frameworks for agency, boundaries, and sustainability. 289. How to Take Intentional Action So You Don't Burn Out  280. From Powerless to Purposeful: Reclaiming Choice and Agency in Medicine  279. Victimhood in Healthcare: Naming the Problem with Empathy and Truth  282. The Art of Not Fixing People  278. Finding Peace by Letting Go of Fixing, Managing, and Controlling  285. Mindfulness + Money: Rewriting Financial Stories for Physicians 239. Breaking the Over Helping Habit: Valuing Your Expertise as a Woman Physician

    37 min
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About

Mindfulness, mindset, and sustainable well-being—not as another task to add to your plate, but as a way to experience life, love, medicine, and leadership differently. Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang share practical strategies, coaching tools, and real conversations to help you feel more present, fulfilled, and in control. When physicians are healthy and well, we become powerful agents of change. Healing Medicine was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast. Same hosts, same mission, same conversations — new name. It is for physicians exploring burnout, mindfulness, leadership, and sustainable careers. The Healing Medicine Podcast offers practical tools, coaching conversations, and mindfulness-based medicine. The Healing Medicine Podcast helps physicians reclaim balance, leadership, and a love for medicine—one mindful step at a time. When we heal ourselves, we become part of the solution to shaping a healthier, more sustainable culture of medicine for our patients and ourselves. The Healing Medicine podcast is hosted by two physicians who bring decades of experience in physician wellness and leadership development to the health and wellness conversation. The hosts are physician moms, eldest daughters of aging parents, and wives, mothers-in-law, and daughters-in-law.

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