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Hurdle with Emily Abbate

Choosing The Narrative: Meditation Teacher Megan Monahan on Meeting Health Challenges With Grace, Breathwork for Stress & Unmasking Trauma Responses

Hurdle with Emily Abbate

iHeartPodcasts

Health & Fitness

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

    What happens when your body, the very thing you've spent nearly two decades teaching others to harmonize with, begins to fail you in a way you never saw coming?

    This week on the show, I'm sitting down with meditation teacher, and author Megan Monahan. Megan first appeared on Hurdle back in 2019, and today she returns to share a profoundly personal update. In late 2024, Megan faced a life-altering health hurdle: a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

    Megan takes us inside the raw moments of her diagnosis—from the sudden loss of vision in her right eye to an eight-hour wait in an UCLA emergency room. We discuss the power of the "meditation muscles" she built over 16 years and how they allowed her to meet this challenge with resilience instead of a victim mindset.

    In this episode, we discuss:

    • The sudden symptoms and 36-hour journey to an MS diagnosis.

    • How a decade of spiritual practice reframed a "devastating" diagnosis into a "resurgence of purpose".

    • The 4-7-8 breathwork framework and somatic shaking for navigating high-stress moments.

    • Unmasking personality traits that are actually trauma responses.

    • What it truly means to be authentic and "come home to yourself".

    • Lessons learned from spiritual giants like Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer.

    QUOTABLE MOMENTS

    "You get to choose how a life-changing moment changes you. We all have the ability to author our story in whatever way we want."

    "There is a part of you that can't be diagnosed with MS, that can't be broken up with, that can't be broke, that can't be relocated. That is who you are."

    "We mistake the need to enjoy the experience or the process with finding value in it."

    "You are not your thoughts. You don't have to believe every thought you have."

    SOCIAL
    @megmonahan
    @emilyabbate
    @iheartwomenssports

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    ASK ME A QUESTION: Email hello@hurdle.us to with your questions! Emily answers them every Friday on the show. 

    Listen to Hurdle with Emily Abbate on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Transcript

    Click on a timestamp to play from that location

    0:00.0

    This is an IHeart podcast.

    0:02.5

    Guaranteed human.

    0:04.2

    You get to choose how a life-changing moment changes you.

    0:08.0

    We all have the ability to author our story in whatever way we want. Hey, everyone, Emily Abadi here. You are listening to another episode of Hurtle, a podcast featuring the mindset secrets and true stories of the most inspiring

    0:38.0

    women in sports and wellness, empowering you to live a healthier, happier, more motivated

    0:42.5

    life, and of course, conquer your own hurdles. Joining me today as meditation teacher and author

    0:49.3

    Megan Monaghan. Megan's journey is one of profound transformation, sparked by a spiritual awakening 16 years ago

    0:57.2

    that shifted her path from high stress living to a life rooted in purpose. In 2024,

    1:03.2

    that foundation was tested when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a challenge she met

    1:08.8

    with incredible mental and emotional resilience.

    1:11.7

    In today's episode, Megan shares the raw details of her diagnosis from the sudden loss of

    1:17.2

    vision in her right eye to the clarity she found during a silent eight-hour wait in the ER.

    1:22.9

    We dive deep into what it truly means to be authentic and how to unmask personality traits that

    1:28.9

    are actually just trauma responses, tactical tools for navigating adversity, including the

    1:34.8

    4-7-8 breathwork framework and the power of somatic shaking, and her experience learning from

    1:41.4

    spiritual titans like Deepak Chopra and the life-changing realization

    1:45.8

    that you are not your thoughts.

    1:48.2

    To say that this was a well-timed episode for me personally is the biggest understatement.

    1:53.2

    Megan is a dear friend of mine and her perspective on lifting the heavyweights of life

    1:58.0

    is an inspiration for anyone navigating their own hurdles. Make sure

    2:02.4

    you are following a long with hurdle over on social. It's over at Hurdle Podcast. You can also

    2:07.7

    check out IHeart Woman Sports over at IHeart Woman Sports and me over at Emily Abadi. Listen to

    ...

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