Ways 2 Wellness Podcast

Tamara Wolfson

A podcast exploring the modern science and ancient wisdom of health and human potential with clinicians, scholars, researchers, and advocates. Host Tamara Wolfson is a Chinese medical doctor and apitherapist in the San Francisco Bay area with over thirty years of clinical practice specializing in osteopathic acupuncture. She is a certified death midwife and has trained at the California Institute of Integral Studies in psychedelic-assisted therapy and research and with MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. She is presently working on her doctorate degree in Mythology and Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is the creator of Ladybee Botanicals, a line of organic herbal formulations and leads transformational workshops through her organization, Golden Garuda Retreats. The information of this podcast is not intended or implied to be in any way a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. All content and information is for general purposes of education only.

  1. 08/06/2025

    21 - Re-Envisioning our Forests with Josh Traub

    Josh Traub is a grandfather who grew up in West Marin surrounded by one of Earth's greatest creations: trees. At age five he recalls his first introduction to what it meant for a tree to belong to a forest community. As Josh grew from boy to man, he deepened his relationship with the trees of Marin: the old-growth Coastal Redwoods of Roy's Redwoods, the sprawling Valley Oaks of San Geronimo Valley, and the thousands of second-growth Redwoods in Samuel P. Taylor Park. Working his first job on a trail crew at Point Reyes National Seashore, he met ancient California Bay Laurels, sacred Elderberry trees, and streamside Willows that welcomed spawning salmon home. Josh joined the ranks of tree care professionals, learning to climb 150-foot Blue Gum Eucalyptus with chainsaws and arm-thick ropes—dangerous work that sometimes claimed lives. He mastered the gentler craft of pruning American Elms along Ross's Shady Lane, only to witness their demise from Dutch Elm disease. Later, he observed the emergence of Sudden Oak Death threatening California Tan Oaks—possibly another species extinction event. Transitioning from the woods to farming, Josh raised his two daughters while working an organic farm at the base of Mount Barnabe. He became a school gardener, planting his first tree—a California Buckeye—alongside elementary students. Eventually moving into carpentry to support his growing teenage daughters, Josh discovered an intimate new relationship with trees through wood itself: milling Monterey Cypress, harvesting Bishop Pine logs, building with old-growth timbers that revealed wood's exquisite beauty. Though carpentry provided good livelihood, Josh carried an unrealized dream that would eventually call him toward his next chapter.   To learn more about Tamara's work: https://tamarawolfson.com

  2. 04/11/2025

    20 - The Healing Power of Music with Gary Muszynski

    Tamara speaks with Gary Muszynski, an award-winning percussionist and composer, discussing his journey in music, focusing on the handpan, its origins, and its role in creating meditative experiences. He emphasizes the healing power of music, its ability to unlock memories, and the importance of improvisation in creating emotional connections. Gary also shares insights into his personal journey and the influences that shaped his music, highlighting the cultural significance of global music.  Gary Muszynski is an award-winning percussionist, composer, bandleader, recording artist, and producer. He creates genre-defying, original music that combines world folk traditions, infused with an improvisational sensibility with a healing vibe. He refers to his music as global medicine music. Gary has performed and recorded with some of the great musical luminaries of our times, including Bobby McFerrin, legendary Cuban pianist Omar Sosa, virtuoso cellist and co-founder of the Turtle Island Quartet Mark Summer, Brazilian guitar master Romero Lubambo, world-funk-jazz bassist Kai Eckhardt (John McLaughlin) and pianist Frank Martin (Sting). Bay Area venues include the Freight and Salvage, SF Jazz, the Zellerbach stage for TEDxBerkeley, and Peri Park in Fairfax.  Gary's last album, Roots & Wings (Medicine Music), won the top honor at the prestigious Global Music Awards in 2021 and can be accessed through Gary's website, oneworldmusic.com. Gary's new album, The Journey Home (Songs of Longing & Belonging) is now avilable on all streaming platforms and won the Gold Medal at the Global Music Awards in Sept 2024.   To learn more about Tamara's work: https://tamarawolfson.com

  3. 08/20/2024

    18 - The Black Madonna with China Galland

    China Galland, M.A., is the award-winning author of several non-fiction works including Galland's non-fiction work, The Bond Between Women, A Journey to Fierce Compassion (Riverhead/Penguin), was chosen as one of the best five books on Spirituality by the annual "Books For a Better Life Award" when it was published in 1999. Race has been an abiding concern in Galland's work since she published her first non-fiction piece in 1977 on the kidnapping of an African American gardener by a white woman in the middle of one of the wealthiest neighborhood in Dallas, Highland Park. The police brought the gardener down out of her attic where he had been blindfolded and kept in chains. That was 1939. Galland also teaches and lectures nationally and internationally. She has been a Professor in Residence at the Center for the Arts, Religion, and Education at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, the largest consortium of Christian schools of theology in the U.S, as well as a Research Associate at the Center for Women and Religion. New curriculum in theology grew out of her graduate level intensive course, "Art, Darkness, and the Womb of God." Her book and curriculum grew out of her pioneering work on images of the Divine Feminine cross-culturally, especially the forms that are dark and/or black. She has been affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union for over 20 years. CARE/GTU initially sponsored her Keepers of Love work as a project of the Center for Art, Religion, and Education. Galland also created the Images of Divinity Research Project at the GTU's Center for Women and Religion in the 1990s. A riveting storyteller and public speaker, Galland has lectured at Harvard University, Columbia, Cornell, Bowling Green University, and Prescott College among others. She's led pilgrimages to the Divine Feminine in Nepal, India, France and Spain, appeared on "Good Morning America," Bloomberg TV, PBS, NPR, and PRI's "To the Best of Our Knowledge." She's also written for the Washington Post, Outside Magazine, and a host of other non-fiction venues nationally. She's the author of six award-winning non-fiction books. Galland has been awarded a Hedgebrook Women Writer's Residency by the Hedgebrook Institute on Whidbey Island, WA. as well as prizes for both non-fiction and fiction by the California Arts Council. She was given the national "Courage of Conscience Award" by the Peace Abbey of Sherburne, MA, in 2010 at the Harvard Foundation where she was presenting excerpts from the documentary film, Resurrecting Love, and reading from her book, Love Cemetery, Unburying the Secret History of Slaves for the Harvard Foundation's annual Writers and Film series. A former river guide, Galland also co-founded the national non-profit organization, "Women in the Wilderness," dedicated to growing women's leadership through outdoor experiences. Her first non-fiction book, Women in the Wilderness, was published by Harper & Row (New York). Galland was also the first woman Assistant to the City Manager in Dallas, Texas, and ran the Citizen Assistance office for the City of Dallas. Prior to her work with the city of Dallas, she taught English Literature at Boston College. Galland was married to the playwright, performer, and co-founder of the former Traveling Jewish Theater, Corey Fischer. She has three children, the youngest of whom, Ben Galland, she just produced the documentary film RESURRECTING LOVE. The 76-minute documentary grew out of her most recent book, Love Cemetery, which Bill Moyers described as "Riveting!" Sue Monk Kidd said that Galland introduced her to the Black Madonna. Resurrecting Love has been invited to participate in the Morehouse College 6th Annual Human Rights Film Festival in Atlanta, GA, September 17th-21st. Galland will be joined there by her son, Ben Galland, the director, and co-producers Barry Opper and Alexis Yancey. Opper is also known for his work in Africa on the documentary film, Slingshot, as well as his years of work in feature films. Yancey has just been inducted into the Black Journalists Hall of Fame in Chicago. To learn more about China's work: https://www.chinagalland.org   To learn more about Tamara's work: https://tamarawolfson.com

About

A podcast exploring the modern science and ancient wisdom of health and human potential with clinicians, scholars, researchers, and advocates. Host Tamara Wolfson is a Chinese medical doctor and apitherapist in the San Francisco Bay area with over thirty years of clinical practice specializing in osteopathic acupuncture. She is a certified death midwife and has trained at the California Institute of Integral Studies in psychedelic-assisted therapy and research and with MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. She is presently working on her doctorate degree in Mythology and Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is the creator of Ladybee Botanicals, a line of organic herbal formulations and leads transformational workshops through her organization, Golden Garuda Retreats. The information of this podcast is not intended or implied to be in any way a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. All content and information is for general purposes of education only.