Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast

The Eager to Be Healthy Podcast — hosted by Michael Scott Eger, health coach and wellness advocate — brings you inspiring health and happiness conversations that empower you to live a more vibrant, balanced life. Join us for aspirational, real-talk episodes featuring everyday people who've overcome struggles with health , chronic illness , happiness , mental wellness , and personal growth. We dive deep into nutrition , healthy eating , food sensitivities , gluten-free living , being active , fitness motivation , social dynamics , relationships , love , sadness , emotional resilience , and the joy of building a perfect life — one that's truly happy and healthy . The most powerful stories come from laypeople just like you — ordinary folks figuring out how to eat better, move more, feel better, and thrive without perfectionism. No experts-o

Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast is a education podcast hosted by Michael Scott Eger, with 25 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Michael Scott Eger hosts Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast, a education show with 25 episodes published.

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  Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast

  Eager to be Healthy - JR Rennie - When the Paycheck Stopped and the Calling Started

  Sep 25, 202643 min

  JR Rennie spent nearly forty years running a custom software company. In 2015 the revenue dried up almost overnight. He kept the doors open so his employees and clients were covered, and he stopped paying himself. Ten years later that income is still gone. What he found instead was a calling: BrushFires Ministry, which he and his wife Buffy run to help believers discover the work they were built to do. In this conversation we talk about what happens when the plan stops working. JR shares why he chose his team over his own paycheck, the day he said out loud, "I know you're behind this. What do you want?", and how months of prayer, scripture, and writing turned frustration into peace. He is honest about the hard parts too: marrying young, raising a son who has lived with epilepsy for forty years, and why faithful people still face tests. JR unpacks the new wine and new wineskins metaphor, explains why he never prays for patience, and gives his short answer to how to be happy: love God and love other people. Michael shares the car crash that reminded him he was never alone. Find JR at brushfires-digital.com. Free registration includes four books and a Romans 12 spiritual gifts assessment. The Design WorkShop helps you put your purpose into words. This is a value-for-value podcast. Support the show at eagertobehealthy.com/support. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes based on health content. Takeaways - Happiness follows circumstances; joy grows from loving God and loving others - A hard season can point you toward your real calling - Faithful people still face tests, and God stays present through every one - Shema: listen with the intent to act - Serving others is the surest way out of your own misery - Your purpose has no expiration date - Daily bread covers your needs; gratitude covers the rest Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:30 Have you always been healthy? 03:08 The year the revenue stopped 03:48 Employees first, paycheck last 06:55 Where faith came in 08:09 Faithful people still get tested 11:59 How his prayer life changed 13:14 Michael's car crash 18:09 Why JR never prays for patience 19:19 Love God, love others 22:01 The fruit of the Spirit 24:08 No expiration date on your purpose 27:19 "Your best days are ahead of you" 28:33 New wine, new wineskins 31:48 A ministry without a congregation 33:02 Happy comes from happenstance 34:47 Shema: listen with intent to obey 37:55 Waiting in survival mode 39:25 Daily bread, not filet mignon 40:33 Where to find JR 42:23 Closing Find JR Rennie: brushfires-digital.com Free: four books and a Romans 12 spiritual gifts assessment with registration Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com

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  Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast

  Eager to be Healthy - Elizabeth Kipp - Pain Is a Signal, Not a Life Sentence

  Sep 8, 202652 min

  Elizabeth Kipp is a chronic pain management specialist, addiction recovery coach, Ancestral Clearing® practitioner, and bestselling author of The Way Through Chronic Pain: Tools to Reclaim Your Healing Power. After more than forty years of severe chronic pain, anxiety, and panic attacks, and more than thirty years of prescribed opioid and benzodiazepine dependence following back injuries and surgeries, she got herself out first. Then she built the map so other people could follow. In this conversation we talk about chronic pain as a nervous-system problem, not just a tissue problem. Pain is a signal the brain interprets. Stay in it long enough and the pathways rewire: more stress response, more hypersensitivity, more fight-or-flight. Long-term opioids and benzos can mask that signal without resolving it, and they often tax gut motility, breath, sleep, and the very neuroplastic recovery you need. Elizabeth walks through de-identifying from pain: moving from "I am my diagnosis" to "this is sensory information moving through my body." She covers safety as a physiological requirement (you cannot digest well in fight-or-flight), trauma-informed breathwork and somatics for rapid down-regulation, Ancestral Clearing® for inherited survival stress that keeps the nervous system stuck, and practical recovery tools she used herself: sleep rhythm, anti-inflammatory nutrition, yoga, Tai Chi, and rebuilding trust in her own body. Find Elizabeth at elizabeth-kipp.com. Book: The Way Through Chronic Pain. Free resource: 5 Ways to Relieve Stress, Anxiety, & Fear (https://bit.ly/5WaysToRelieveStress). This is a value-for-value podcast. Support the show at eagertobehealthy.com/support. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes based on health content. Takeaways - Doing fine with chronic pain is not the same as being well - Pain is a brain-interpreted signal; chronic pain rewires the nervous system - Long-term opioids and benzos often mask symptoms without resolving root signaling - De-identify from pain: sensory information, not identity - Safety first: digestion, breath, and recovery fail in fight-or-flight - Ancestral Clearing® and trauma-informed breathwork can release stuck survival patterns - Small daily practices (sleep, food, breath, movement) rebuild capacity Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:26 Have you always been healthy? 07:21 Nervous system, safety, and walking on eggshells 11:11 Decades on opioids and benzodiazepines 12:58 The brain cannot tell one pain from another 14:09 Sleep, breathwork, yoga, and anti-inflammatory food 18:17 Benzo withdrawal and rebuilding appetite 28:00 Inputs you can still control 35:13 Taste buds change when sugar leaves 39:57 Detox in a toxic world 44:50 The Way Through Chronic Pain 48:58 Where to find Elizabeth 50:30 Closing Find Elizabeth Kipp: elizabeth-kipp.com Book: The Way Through Chronic Pain: Tools to Reclaim Your Healing Power Free: bit.ly/5WaysToRelieveStress Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com

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  Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast

  Eager to be Healthy - Dr. Radhika Achari - Doing Fine Is Not the Same as Being Well

  Sep 2, 202643 min

  Dr. Radhika Achari is a board-certified behavior analyst with more than fifteen years of clinical work. She has spent her career helping other people build better lives. Her education in wellness did not happen only in a clinic. It happened through years of IVF, and then through raising a neurodivergent son. In this conversation we talk about the difference between doing fine and being well. Radhika grew up physically healthy and active. The self-care part came later. A lot of us treat self-care like a fire extinguisher. We grab it after everything is already burning. She wants fireproofing instead: the boundaries you set before you are resentful, the rest you take before you are depleted. Motherhood was not the plan she practiced for. Unexplained infertility. IVF. Hope and grief on a loop. A son through IVF. A daughter eighteen months later. Then a diagnosis that was not a surprise, and still not the plan. Functioning and being happy are not the same thing. You cannot pour from an empty vessel. What she built from that is Analyze and Act, and an eight-week program called Bridge to College Independence. Parent track and teen track. Remote. She helps families hand over the real stuff on purpose: appointments, school, identity, when and how to disclose. The work is as much about parent burnout as teen skills. Autonomy, practiced early, becomes who you are. We also get into Spoon Theory, the word "yet," task analysis, and why a palm tree outlasts an oak in a storm. I told her the truth about my own social awkwardness, the anxiety loop, and what changed after I learned to forgive myself. No book. Website: analyzeandact.com . Free college readiness checklist. One-on-ones, and the eight-week course. Always consult your own provider before you change something real. This is a value-for-value podcast. Support the show at eagertobehealthy.com/support . Takeaways - Doing fine is not the same as being well - Self-care as fireproofing, not a fire extinguisher - Functioning and happiness can live in two different rooms - Hand independence to a teen on purpose, before college - "Yet" turns a wall into a ladder - Track what fills you and what drains you. No shame. Just data. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 02:14 Have you always been healthy? 05:18 Have you always been happy? 06:36 IVF, motherhood, and a plan that would not hold 11:36 How her son's diagnosis actually shows up 19:26 Analyze and Act / Bridge to College Independence 26:00 Autonomy, self-forgiveness, and the doomsday spiral 28:45 Spoon Theory and the social battery 32:33 ACT, "yet," and breaking a mountain into steps 39:34 Biggest life skill: oak trees and palm trees 42:04 Where to find her 43:05 Closing Find Dr. Radhika Achari: analyzeandact.com Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com

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  Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast

  Eager To Be Healthy - Lorraine Sanborn - Staying Young with a Dog Named Cali

  Aug 19, 202642 min

  Lorraine Sanborn, a healthy aging educator, shares her journey of health transformation and resilience at the age of 72. She discusses the importance of positive social networks, self-care, and the role of companionship in maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. Lorraine also reflects on her experiences as a caregiver and the valuable life lessons she has learned, promoting aspirational health for individuals over fifty. Takeaways Resilience and positive mindset contribute to healthy aging. Companionship and pet care play a significant role in promoting an active and fulfilling lifestyle. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Healthy Aging 03:10 Early Years and Health Journey 06:00 Life Changes and Resilience 09:04 Positive Social Network and Mental Health 12:00 Physical Health and Self-Care 14:58 Lessons and Relationships 18:00 Companionship and Pet Care 21:10 Caregiving and Aging Issues 23:58 Life Lessons and Aspirational Health 27:02 Promotion and Conclusion

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  Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast

  Eager to be healthy - Vanessa Cook - Your Body Isn't Working Against You

  Jul 28, 202630 min

  Vanessa Cook was hospitalized for severe asthma at eighteen months old. By her late twenties she was living with asthma, eleven years of fibromyalgia, and a heart condition nobody had found yet — and she'd been told to expect a pacemaker by forty-five. She's thirty-seven now. No pacemaker, no heart medication, no asthma medication, and a résumé that includes ultramarathons. In this conversation with Michael Scott Eger, Vanessa traces the turning point: the night her husband told her, through tears, that he was afraid he'd end up raising their children alone. What followed wasn't one fix. It was a five-mile obstacle course she had no business entering, two and a half hours of vomiting and crying, and a finish line that taught her she could do hard things — as long as she stopped trying to do them all at once. We get into why the trendy protocols failed her, how she learned that even a "healthy" food can be the wrong food for a specific body, and why she now reads symptoms as messages rather than problems to silence. Vanessa also makes the case for whole-person care — the emotional and spiritual work a fifteen-minute appointment will never reach — and for walking into that appointment educated enough to ask, "can we try this first?" Vanessa Cook is the founder of Starlight & Sage Wellness. Learn more at starlightandsagewellness.com . Eager to Be Healthy is listener-supported and ad-free. Support the mission at eagertobehealthy.com/support . Takeaways A symptom is a signal. Medicating it away can cost you the information underneath it. No protocol is universal. Vanessa's turnaround started when she stopped chasing trends and started paying attention to her own body. Your doctor gets fifteen minutes with you a year. You get 24/7. Showing up educated changes the conversation. Capability is built in small decisions, not dramatic ones. The finish line mattered less than the eight years after it. Chapters 00:00 Overcoming Health Challenges 02:16 What Started the Journey 03:15 The Hidden Heart Condition 16:16 The Bluff Mudder 23:15 The Whole Body Approach 26:54 Advocating for Yourself 29:08 Working with Vanessa Cook

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