Calming the Mind: Meditation, Breathwork, Tapping, and the Science of Spirituality PH324

Pursuing Health

Julie Foucher Brown MD, MS.

Health & Fitness

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How do meditation, breathwork, and tapping influence the brain—and what can they teach us about healing, connection, and resilience? In this episode, I speak with four thought leaders exploring the neuroscience and practice of inner calm: Niraj Naik, creator of SOMA Breath, on breathwork rooted in Pranayama and how rhythmic breathing and brief hypoxia strengthen mitochondria and balance energy. Nick Ortner, founder of The Tapping Solution, on how Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) calms the amygdala, lowers cortisol, and helps rewire stress and cravings at the brain level. Dr. Lisa Miller, author of The Awakened Brain, on how meditation shifts us from rumination to guidance, activating the brain’s natural capacity for oneness and enduring alpha waves associated with peace and spiritual connection. Dr. Tony Nader, neuroscientist and leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement, on TM’s measurable effects on blood pressure, brain coherence, and even collective consciousness. From ancient practices to modern neuroscience, this episode explores how tuning the mind and body can transform stress into clarity—and reconnect us to our shared field of consciousness. Related Episodes: Ep 289 - Niraj Naik on Efficiency with Breath Ep 223 - Tapping to Reduce Stress with Nick Ortner Ep 277 - Dr. Lisa Miller on the Science of Spirituality + Mental Health Ep 303 - Tony Nader on Exploring Consciousness + Transcendental Meditation If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health. Disclaimer: This podcast is for general information only, and does not provide medical advice. I recommend that you seek assistance from your personal physician for any health conditions or concerns.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello and welcome to pursuing health. I'm Dr. Julie Foucher, family physician and former CrossFit Games athlete.
0:18.0	Here I bring you information and inspiration to help bridge the gap between
0:21.9	fitness and medicine and support your journey toward your healthiest self. Thank you so much for
0:26.9	joining me. Now let's get started with this week's episode. In today's episode, we're exploring how practices like meditation, tapping, and breath work
0:41.1	can help calm the mind and reconnect us to something larger than ourselves.
0:46.2	You'll hear from Dr. Lisa Miller on the neuroscience of spiritual awareness,
0:51.1	Nick Ortoner on how tapping helps regulate stress, Naraj Nyak on the power of breath
0:56.9	to strengthen the body and shift consciousness, and Dr. Tony Nader on the far-reaching effects
1:02.6	of transcendental meditation. Together, they reveal how science is beginning to explain what
1:08.4	ancient wisdom has always known, that peace and connection
1:12.0	are already within us.
1:14.1	First up is Naraj Nayak, creator of soma breath on breath work rooted in pranayama and how
1:20.4	rhythmic breathing and brief hypoxia strengthen mitochondria and balance energy.
1:26.2	So think of pranayama, which is the most ancient school of breathing practices from,
1:32.3	it's a branch of yoga, a very important branch of yoga, okay, as a pharmacy, right?
1:38.3	Imagine this is a pharmacy. And each breathing technique has its own application,
1:43.3	indication, right, and it can help with a range of
1:47.2	different symptoms. But it can also be a very powerful tool if done with a sequence of phranial
1:53.1	techniques, a routine that can actually help prevent diseases from happening and to also enhance
2:00.5	your longevity, right? So what I did was I made,
2:05.0	firstly, an education that is all about teaching these pharmacy of different brain
2:13.5	techniques with the science behind it, the application, when to use them, when not to use them.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Julie Foucher Brown MD, MS., and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Julie Foucher Brown MD, MS. and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.