Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD

Priya Rao Media LLC
  • 5.0 (3)
  • SPIRITUALITY
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Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD, an interventional cardiologist, explores the intersection of medicine, spirituality, and consciousness. From clinical intuition and medical innovation to sacred sexuality and energetic healing, no topic is off limits. Real stories. Radical authenticity. When healing defies logic and invites us to listen instead. A new era of healing begins here. Subscribe to join the movement where science meets soul. © 2025 Priya Rao Media LLC. All rights reserved. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

  1. Behind the Scenes of My Spiritual Healing Session

    FEB 10

    Behind the Scenes of My Spiritual Healing Session

    In this episode of Open Heart, Priya Rao, MD spends time with Fran Bell inside her office, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how integrative healing unfolds in real time. Rather than a conceptual conversation, this episode centers on observation, presence, and what it looks like to work with the body when symptoms, emotions, and life context are addressed together. In this conversation, they explore: ■ What it looks like to enter a healing session ■ How the nervous system, physical tension, and emotional patterns are assessed through direct engagement with the body ■ The role of touch, attention, and pacing in creating a sense of safety and participation ■ How physical symptoms are explored alongside life stressors, decision-making, and fatigue ■ Why healing work often focuses on restoring responsiveness rather than fixing a specific problem ■ How gratitude, rest, and nourishment are discussed as lived practices rather than prescriptions ■ The tension between wanting clear answers and allowing the body to guide the process ■ What it means to participate in healing without certainty about outcomes Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and connecting with the body 01:10 Observing the nervous system and physical responsiveness 01:55 Evaluating tension and fatigue patterns 03:00 Beginning physical adjustments 09:08 The role of gratitude in the session 12:48 Discussing nutritional support and deficiency 15:16 Emotional and energetic patterns 21:15 Thyroid and antibody concerns 22:14 Exploring flow and responsiveness 22:52 Changes in lifestyle and awareness 24:08 Fatigue, rest, and self-care 26:31 What it means to hold the role of a healer 28:58 Grief, loss, and integration 32:50 Integrity in healing work 41:29 Connection with nature and grounding 43:05 Healing with horses Follow Fran Bell Website: https://franbell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franbell_integratedhealing Hosted by Priya Rao, MD Website: https://www.openheartpodcast.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/priyaraomd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyaraomd Subscribe to Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD for grounded conversations with people who are curious about intuition, meaning, and different ways of understanding healing and human experience. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

    46 min
  2. When Your Intuition Whispers, Do You Listen?

    FEB 3

    When Your Intuition Whispers, Do You Listen?

    In this episode of Open Heart, Priya Rao, MD sits down with Fran Bell, an intuitive healer and former competitive athlete whose work bridges physical injury, lived experience, and forms of knowing that don’t fit neatly inside conventional systems. Together, they explore what it means to trust intuition in a world that asks for proof, and how healing often begins before we have language for it. In this conversation, they explore: ■ How a childhood injury disrupted Fran’s life and quietly reshaped how she understood the body and healing ■ What intuition actually feels like in lived experience, not as a concept or belief ■ How people are trained out of sensing and into over-reliance on cognition and control ■ Why many capable, rational people struggle to trust what they feel if it can’t be measured ■ The tension between evidence-based medicine and forms of healing that require participation rather than certainty ■ How physical symptoms, emotional patterns, and life direction often intersect ■ What integration can look like when medicine and intuition are allowed to work side by side ■ Why healing does not always mean “feeling better,” and how meaning, purpose, and wholeness can show up in unexpected ways Fran Bell works with people whose symptoms, pain, or sense of disconnection have not been fully explained by conventional approaches alone. Her perspective is grounded in lived experience with injury, athletics, and years of working directly with the body. In this conversation, she offers language for experiences many people sense but hesitate to trust, especially when those experiences fall outside familiar systems of validation. Follow Fran Bell Website: https://franbell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franbell_integratedhealing Top Moments 00:00 Introduction to Fran Bell: Intuitive Healer 01:25 Fran's Childhood and Awakening of Gifts 03:52 Developing and Trusting Intuition 08:41 Integrating Physical and Spiritual Healing 11:14 Synergy Between Intuitive Healing and Medicine 17:17 Commitment to a Spirit-Led Life 33:16 Gratitude Practice and Its Impact 37:40 Embracing the Path of Healing 38:41 The Journey of Channeling 40:27 Understanding Channeling 41:38 The Role of Trust in Healing 45:30 Integrity in Healing Practices 52:44 The Courage to Heal 55:47 The Deeper Purpose of Healing 01:01:33 Concluding Thoughts on Healing Hosted by Priya Rao, MD https://www.openheartpodcast.com https://www.instagram.com/priyaraomd https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyaraomd Our Sponsors Thank you to our sponsors for supporting this episode: Don’t Miss a Beat: https://linktr.ee/dontmissabeat Summit Wealth Financial Advisors: https://www.summitwealthgroup.com/ Subscribe to Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD for grounded conversations with people who are curious about intuition, meaning, and different ways of understanding healing and human experience. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

    1h 3m
  3. Unlock Your Erotic Essence and feel ALIVE again

    JAN 27

    Unlock Your Erotic Essence and feel ALIVE again

    In this episode of Open Heart, Priya Rao, MD sits down with Pavla Haluskova, a yoga teacher and intimacy guide whose work focuses on nervous system safety, embodiment, and honest self-expression. Together, they explore why intimacy feels harder than it should, even for people who are competent, accomplished, and deeply self-aware. In this conversation, they explore: ■ Why so many people feel disconnected from their own desires, even in close relationships ■ How professional training and high-pressure environments can quietly shape how we relate to our bodies ■ The ways people learn to make themselves smaller to stay safe, wanted, or accepted ■ How intimacy breaks down when the nervous system is overwhelmed or on guard ■ What it can feel like to lose access to aliveness without realizing it ■ Why talking about intimacy often brings up shame, fear, or avoidance rather than clarity ■ How slowing down and paying attention to the body can surface needs we did not know we had Pavla Haluskova works at the intersection of body awareness, nervous system regulation, and relational honesty. Her perspective is grounded in lived experience with people who feel outwardly capable but inwardly disconnected. In this conversation, she offers language for experiences many people recognize but rarely articulate, especially around intimacy, safety, and self-expression. Follow Pavla Haluskova Website: https://www.pavlayoga.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unleashthefeminine_pavla Top Moments 00:00 Introduction to Sacred Sexuality 01:37 The Power of Voice and Embodiment 05:52 Challenges of Women in Hyper-Masculine Fields 08:01 Understanding Masculine and Feminine Energies 14:58 Nervous System and Trauma Work 20:01 The Role of Safety in Intimacy 27:16 Transcending Relationship with Emotions 28:33 Differentiating Wants and Desires 30:43 Reclaiming Sexuality and Soul Calling 34:18 Intimacy and Childhood Conditioning 38:48 Opening to Sensuality and Presence 40:51 Living with an Open Heart 44:48 Connecting with Ancestral Wisdom 47:31 Embracing Purpose and Sharing Hosted by Priya Rao, MD Website: https://www.openheartpodcast.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/priyaraomd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyaraomd Open Heart is a space for grounded conversations about where systems, training, and conventional frameworks fall short of lived human experience. The show explores what happens when logic, competence, and achievement no longer explain everything we feel. Many people sense that something is missing in how they relate to themselves and others, but they do not have clear language for it. This conversation does not offer fixes or formulas. It offers recognition. It sits with the tension between capability and disconnection, and invites curiosity about what intimacy might require when safety, presence, and honesty are brought back into the room. Subscribe to Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD for grounded conversations with people who are curious about intuition, meaning, and different ways of understanding healing and human experience. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

    49 min
  4. Surviving Cancer as a Doctor: The Story She Was Ready to Share

    JAN 20

    Surviving Cancer as a Doctor: The Story She Was Ready to Share

    Hosted by Priya Rao, MD, this episode features Dr. Kerri Glasner, a gastroenterologist diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and often fatal bile duct cancer. They examine what it means to face a life-threatening cancer diagnosis as a physician and how surviving a liver transplant reshaped how she practices medicine, understands pain, and lives her life. What’s Covered in This Episode: ◼️ Being diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma as a young physician ◼️ Understanding your own cancer prognosis through medical training ◼️ Chemotherapy, radiation, and qualifying for a liver transplant ◼️ ICU complications, extreme pain, and not being believed ◼️ Loss of control and vulnerability after becoming the patient ◼️ Returning to clinical work before being ready ◼️ Medical PTSD and avoidance after critical illness ◼️ Leaving an academic role after surviving cancer ◼️ Reprioritizing family, time, and work after facing mortality ◼️ How surviving cancer changed how she practices medicine Jump to Key Moments 00:00 — Diagnosing bile duct cancer as a physician 03:00 — Prognosis and treatment decisions 11:40 — Chemotherapy, radiation, and transplant eligibility 16:50 — ICU trauma and loss of control 22:15 — Severe pain and not being believed 27:45 — How illness changed her medical practice 31:00 — Leaving an academic role after trauma 36:15 — Returning to work too soon 41:30 — Belief, survival, and meaning 45:45 — What living with an open heart means now In this conversation, Kerri shares what it was like to receive that diagnosis as a physician and new mother, fully understanding the prognosis from her medical training. She walks through undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, qualifying for a liver transplant that most patients with cholangiocarcinoma never reach, and surviving a complex surgery that included a liver transplant and a Whipple procedure. Kerri describes the complications that followed, including liver necrosis, pancreatic leaks, prolonged ICU care, and severe postoperative pain. She speaks candidly about being told her pain was “out of proportion,” the loss of control that comes with critical illness, and how different the patient experience feels when you are on the other side of the bed. The conversation also explores what happens after survival. Returning to clinical work before fully recovering. The quiet pressure physicians feel to function as if nothing happened. Medical trauma and avoidance after time in the ICU. Why going back to the same institution where the trauma occurred can be destabilizing. How becoming a patient changed the way she listens to pain, intuition, and fear in her own patients. Kerri also shares the life changes she made after surviving cancer, including leaving an academic role, moving closer to family, working fewer days, and redefining what matters most. She reflects on faith, uncertainty, intuition, and what it means to live with an open heart after facing mortality. This is the first time Kerri has shared her story publicly. Hosted by Priya Rao, MD. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/openheartthepod/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/open-heart-podcast/about/ Website: https://openheartpodcast.com/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

    50 min
  5. A Healthcare Founder’s Path Through Intuition and Flow | Michael Gratch

    JAN 13

    A Healthcare Founder’s Path Through Intuition and Flow | Michael Gratch

    EECP is one of the most evidence-backed therapies in cardiology that many physicians still don’t fully understand, and even fewer feel confident explaining to patients. Guest & Resources: Michael Gratch - Founder & CEO, Flow Therapy Website: https://flowtherapy.com/about-us/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gratch-8557266/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/flow-therapy-eecp/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowtherapyeecp/ https://www.instagram.com/mbgratch/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/FlowTherapyEECP Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlowTherapyEECP/ YouTube: @TrinityHeartCare KEY MOMENTS 00:00 Introduction to Flow Therapy 01:18 Michael Atch's Personal Journey 03:06 Founding Flow Therapy 07:12 Challenges and Triumphs 21:51 The Technology Behind Flow Therapy 26:29 Flow in Life and Medicine 26:59 Exploring Healing Modalities and Rural Medicine 27:31 Incorporating Flow State into Therapy 28:50 Biofeedback and Patient Experience 30:39 The Interrelationship of Focus and Behavior 32:36 Challenges in the Healthcare System 34:51 The Role of Food and Parenting in Health 37:15 The Impact of Stress and Emotional Health 39:41 The Influence of Technology on Society 49:13 Advice for Navigating Life's Challenges 51:56 Living with an Open Heart In this conversation, I sit down with Michael Gratch, Founder and President of Flow Therapy, to talk about what it actually takes to build a healthcare company centered on EECP, or enhanced external counterpulsation, inside a complex medical system. Michael’s journey began with one patient, his grandfather, who had undergone multiple bypass surgeries, stents, and had no remaining revascularization options. Quality of life mattered, and there were few answers being offered. EECP is not alternative medicine. It is a noninvasive cardiovascular therapy supported by decades of research, offered at major academic centers, and covered by Medicare. And yet, access remains limited, adoption uneven, and understanding incomplete. Michael shares how that gap between evidence and availability became the catalyst for building what is now Flow Therapy. If you are a doctor who has ever struggled to explain EECP to a patient, questioned why effective therapies remain underutilized, or felt the strain of practicing inside a system resistant to change, this conversation will resonate. ✨ Subscribe to Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD to hear more conversations where modern medicine and spirituality meet, where we remember that healing is as much about consciousness as it is about care. Follow Priya & Open Heart: Instagram: Instagram.com/openheartthepod Website: https://openheartpodcast.com/ © 2025 Priya Rao Media LLC. All rights reserved. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

    56 min

  6. JAN 10

    When a Plastic Surgeon Says 'You Don't Need This'

    What if the most powerful thing a plastic surgeon could say is no? In a world that rewards more, more procedures, more perfection, more transformation, restraint feels almost radical. Especially in medicine. Especially in plastic surgery. And especially when your livelihood is built on being able to change the human face. KEY MOMENTS 00:00 Introduction to Dr. Deepak Duggar 01:51 Journey into Rhinoplasty 05:56 Emotional Intelligence in Plastic Surgery 11:40 Balancing Professional and Personal Life 19:11 Acts of Kindness and Service 29:22 Gender Disparities in Plastic Surgery 29:54 The Demands and Expectations of Medical Professionals 30:52 Underserved Communities and the Importance of Medical Presence 32:05 The Emotional Impact of Plastic Surgery 34:39 The Power of Positive Change and Patient Testimonials 37:45 Energy, Intuition, and Patient Relationships 40:47 The Importance of Therapy and Self-Reflection 43:23 Balancing Professional and Personal Life 49:45 Final Thoughts and Reflections In this episode of Open Heart, Priya Rao, MD, interventional cardiologist and host of the Open Heart Podcast, sits down with Deepak Dugar, MD, a world-renowned Beverly Hills facial plastic surgeon whose reputation has been built not only on extraordinary technical skill, but on something far rarer: ethical clarity, humility, and the courage to refuse surgery when it is not truly needed. Dr. Dugar specializes exclusively in rhinoplasty, one of the most complex and psychologically charged procedures in all of medicine. He spent nearly a decade training under elite mentors, studying anatomy obsessively, shadowing cases while others vacationed, and committing himself fully to mastery. Yet what ultimately distinguishes him is not just what he can do with a scalpel. It is when he chooses not to use one. Guest Links: Deepak Dugar, MD Website: https://www.scarlessnose.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrDeepakDugar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deepakdugarmd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepak-dugar-05a16059 📘 Deepak’s Book: Be You To Full, So Beautiful Purchase here: https://a.co/d/9LO2KIP Follow Priya & Open Heart on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@openheartthepod Instagram: Instagram.com/openheartthepod Website: https://openheartpodcast.com/ Priya Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.kothapalli LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pkothapallimd/ Thank you to our sponsor, Don’t Miss a Beat, for supporting this episode: https://linktr.ee/dontmissabeat © 2025 Priya Rao Media LLC. All rights reserved. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

    54 min

  7. JAN 6

    Why Ignoring Intuition Is Hurting Clinicians (and Patients)

    There’s a moment every physician and clinician knows. If you’ve spent time in a cath lab, an ICU, an OR, or making high-stakes decisions under pressure, you’ve felt it. A tightening in the chest. A quiet pause at the table. A sense that something isn’t right, even when the vitals look stable and the protocol says proceed. And too often, we override it. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Sam Propper 01:13 Sam's Journey and Career Pivots 03:57 Navigating Challenges and Doubts 05:06 The Cath Lab Experience 12:08 Becoming an Educator 18:18 Creativity and Intuition in Medicine 24:47 Magical Synergy in the Cath Lab 26:00 The Importance of Intuition and Gut Checks 26:52 Creating Educational Resources for Medical Training 27:25 Overcoming Fear and Embracing Creativity 28:22 Challenges and Rewards of Teaching 29:01 The Impact of Visual Learning 30:55 Balancing Compassion and Professionalism 32:46 Navigating the Medical Field with Intuition 38:29 Encouraging Change and Self-Trust 41:03 Personal Stories and Emotional Connections 44:23 Living with an Open Heart 45:49 Conclusion and Final Thoughts In modern medicine, clinical intuition is rarely named, rarely taught, and often dismissed. Training rewards certainty, speed, and control. But intuition quietly informs some of the most consequential decisions we make as physicians and clinicians. Ignoring it doesn’t just cost alignment. It can cost safety, creativity, and connection to the patient in front of us. In this conversation, I sit down with Samantha Propper, a cath lab technologist turned award-winning educator and entrepreneur, and one of the earliest supporters of Open Heart. Sam’s path didn’t follow a straight line, and that’s the point. From years at the cath lab table to the classroom to founding Don’t Miss a Beat, her work has shaped how cardiac teams are trained, how they communicate, and how they advocate for patients. At its core, this is a reminder for those of us practicing medicine today. Healing is not purely mechanical. It is relational. It is embodied. If you are a physician, cardiologist, nurse, technologist, or clinician who has ever felt that quiet inner pull during patient care and wondered whether it belonged in medicine at all, this conversation is for you. Connect with Samantha Propper and Don’t Miss a Beat YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dontmissabeat.youtube Website and Textbooks: https://dontmissabeat.store Instagram: https://instagram.com/dontmissabeat Facebook: https://facebook.com/dontmissabeat LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/dontmissabeat/posts/?feedView=all ✨ Subscribe to Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@openheartthepod Instagram: Instagram.com/openheartthepod Website: https://openheartpodcast.com/ © 2025 Priya Rao Media LLC. All rights reserved. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

    47 min
  8. Your Midlife Crisis Isn’t Random (It’s Predictable)

    12/16/2025

    Your Midlife Crisis Isn’t Random (It’s Predictable)

    At some point, the life you carefully constructed starts to feel misaligned.The work that once energized you now drains you. The relationships that felt stable suddenly feel tight. The version of yourself you have spent decades becoming no longer fits the shape of your days. And when that unraveling begins, we are quick to label it a midlife crisis, as if something has gone wrong or something needs to be fixed.But what if nothing is wrong at all?In this conversation, astrologer and spiritual teacher Liv Toepfer reframes what so many people experience in midlife not as a breakdown, but as a predictable point of awakening. A moment written into the architecture of the soul. One that arrives whether you are ready for it or not, often quietly at first, and then all at once.Liv explains how astrology reveals specific life thresholds, times when the psyche, nervous system, and soul begin asking deeper questions. Chief among them is what many astrologers refer to as Neptune meets Neptune, also known as the Neptune square Neptune. This midlife astrology transit often occurs in the early 40s and is associated with spiritual awakening, identity dissolution, and a reorientation toward meaning and truth. Illusions fall away. Careers shift. Relationships strain or end. Old coping strategies stop working. The external markers of success no longer satisfy the internal call.This is not chaos. It is initiation.Astrology, as Liv shares, is not about prediction or bypassing responsibility. It is a language. A way of understanding why now and how to work with change instead of fighting it. From Saturn return in early adulthood to North Node purpose and nodal cycles in midlife, astrology transits offer a broader context for growth that many people feel but cannot yet name.#astrology #podcast #doctor #healer #spiritual We also explore how the body participates in these awakenings. The nervous system responds before the mind has language. Energy shifts show up as fatigue, restlessness, emotional sensitivity, or the sense that something wants to move but you do not yet know what. Breath, presence, and self trust become anchors when certainty dissolves.From the perspective of Priya Rao, MD, a cardiologist and physician working at the intersection of medicine and consciousness, this conversation bridges astrology, nervous system regulation, and healing beyond symptoms. It reflects the Open Heart lens where modern medicine and spirituality are not opposing forces, but complementary ways of understanding the human experience.If you have ever wondered why everything seems to be shifting at once, why success suddenly feels empty, or why your inner voice is getting louder, this may not be a crisis. It may be your soul asking you to listen more closely.About our guest:Liv Toepfer is an astrologer, spiritual teacher, and guide for conscious transition. After more than two decades as a high level event producer, burnout became the doorway that led her into yoga, meditation, astrology, and energy work. Today, she supports others through life’s pivotal thresholds with grounded wisdom, clarity, and deep respect for the intelligence of the body and soul.Connect with Liv:Email: liv@itsavibe.earthWebsite: www.itsavibe.earthInstagram: @thevibetribetxInstagram: @livbydesign✨ Subscribe to Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD to hear more conversations where modern medicine and spirituality meet where we remember that healing is as much about consciousness as it is about care.Follow Priya & Open Heart:Instagram: Instagram.com/openheartthepodWebsite: https://openheartpodcast.com/Priya Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.kothapalliLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pkothapallimd/© 2025 Priya Rao Media LLC. All rights reserved. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

    42 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD, an interventional cardiologist, explores the intersection of medicine, spirituality, and consciousness. From clinical intuition and medical innovation to sacred sexuality and energetic healing, no topic is off limits. Real stories. Radical authenticity. When healing defies logic and invites us to listen instead. A new era of healing begins here. Subscribe to join the movement where science meets soul. © 2025 Priya Rao Media LLC. All rights reserved. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Priya Rao Media LLC
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Priya Rao Media LLC
  • Show Website
    Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD