291. The Practice of Choosing Intention Words

Have you ever considered how a few carefully chosen words could shape your year, your energy, your decisions, and the way you experience life? In this annual tradition, we share our personal practice of choosing intention words for the year ahead. This isn't about goals or resolutions. It's about choosing how you want to be, move through, and live your life. This year's process was deeper, slower, and more nuanced than in past years.  Intention words act like a GPS for your nervous system. They offer clarity and direction through challenge, and how the right words if chosen with care can become some of your most transformative tools for personal and professional growth. Whether you're new to this practice or returning to it, you'll find inspiration, permission, and a deep sense of possibility. Pearls of Wisdom: Intentions are not goals, they're a mindful orientation. They work at the nervous system level to support aligned action and self-compassionate growth. Choosing multiple words (including a stretch word) adds richness and dimension. Life is complex, and your words can meet that with grace. Words should feel aligned, not performative. Let go of judgment, and choose words that support the version of yourself you're growing into. Words are powerful tools for decision-making. Ask yourself: Will this make me feel wealthy, healthy, strategic, or exquisite? This practice is most powerful when done with intention, over time, and often with support. It's subtle but profoundly transformative work Reflection Questions: How do you want to feel at the end of next year? What do you want to experience emotionally, physically, and in your relationships? What version of yourself are you growing into? What does she wear, how does she lead, how does she make decisions? If you'd like support in choosing your own intention words and integrating them into your year, I offer this process within all of my 1:1 coaching and group programs. This work is gentle, profound, and truly life-changing. If this episode resonates and you're ready to lead your life, your relationships, or your team more strategically, bravely, and exquisitely—join me in a coaching container or at a retreat. Explore retreats at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Learn about coaching at https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching If you'd like to bring this mindful approach to your team or conference, I'd be honored to speak or lead a workshop. Learn more at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking For Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang's speaking and workshops, visit www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

What if the very things you're hard on yourself about are actually strengths that are simply overused?  In this solo episode, I invite you to step into a new understanding of your patterns without judgment or shame. Explore the "overs" and the "toxics" which are the subtle (and not so subtle) ways our best traits become burdens when they're overdone. If you've ever been told you're too much, felt depleted by the traits that once helped you succeed, or wondered why awareness alone isn't shifting your patterns,  this episode is for you. Pearls of Wisdom: Many of your "admirable" qualities such as achievement, responsibility, or independence can become draining when taken too far. There's nothing wrong with you; you're just overdoing what once worked. Naming the "overs" (like overthinking, overdoing, overfunctioning) and the "toxics" (toxic productivity, toxic independence) brings both awareness and relief. It's not about fixing yourself; it's about finding your way back to balance. Awareness alone doesn't shift entrenched patterns. Real change happens in relationships with yourself, your nervous system, and others who can reflect your patterns back to you compassionately. Reflection Questions: What are you over right now? Which of your strengths has become emotionally or energetically expensive? What might become possible if you moved beyond consuming and started engaging with this work in a deeper, more embodied way?   If you're ready to move beyond listening and into transformation, join me for small group coaching or a nourishing retreat. Both are designed to help you unwind the "overs" and move from depletion to aligned ease.  Learn more at: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you'd like to invite me or Dr. Liang to speak or lead a workshop for your team, institution, or conference, learn here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

As we celebrate five years of the Healing Medicine podcast, this episode is a reflection on what has truly sustained us—intention, alignment, and choosing with awareness.  Together, we explore how consistency rooted in love, not obligation, leads to energy, creativity, and sustainability. We share personal stories about letting go, taking pauses, and returning to what feels alive.  This conversation is also a joyful announcement: our Connect in Nature Retreat is returning July 30–August 2, 2026. It's a decision made not out of expectation, but because we missed it, and because we chose it again. Whether you're feeling weary from "pushing through" or simply curious about a gentler way to stay committed, this episode offers a new lens and a powerful invitation to rechoose, realign, and return to yourself.     Pearls of Wisdom: Sustainability isn't about willpower, it's about choosing with presence and letting alignment lead. Feelings of resistance or resentment are gentle cues to pause, reevaluate, and possibly release. Healing happens when we release the pressure to perform and give ourselves permission to rest and evolve. Fun, ease, and joy aren't frivolous, they are wise signals of what's truly aligned. Spaciousness, non-judgment, and collaboration support the longevity of meaningful work.     Reflection Questions: Where in your life are you being consistent by force, rather than by choice? What would it feel like to choose instead of push? Which commitments feel alive and which might be asking for a pause, a shift, or a graduation? Where could more lightness or joy gently be welcomed in?   Why Connect in Nature is a Different Kind of Retreat Connect in Nature is unlike any other retreat I offer. It is the only opportunity to work in person with both Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang and Dr. Jessie Mahoney. It's intentionally designed for healers, physicians, and wellness professionals who crave a reset rooted in nature, mindfulness, and joy. Held at the Green Gulch Zen Center just north of San Francisco, you'll be surrounded by eucalyptus groves, redwoods, gardens, and the quiet beauty of the California coast. Here's what makes it special: Nature as co-teacher: Forest bathing, beach meditation, and fog hikes support nervous system healing. Freedom to choose: All practices are optional and guided with non-judgment—you participate in what serves you. Spaciousness: Core retreat hours are 10:30–3:30, with optional morning offerings and space for rest, reflection, or local exploration. Inclusive and welcoming: Open to all genders and professions—bring a partner, a colleague, a friend, or come solo. Choose your own lodging at local inns, allowing for private rest and personal integration. This retreat isn't about pushing yourself. It's about letting nature and mindfulness gently bring you home. Join us July 30–August 2, 2026 at Green Gulch Zen Center.   And yes—it's over my birthday weekend, and there's no better way to celebrate than in community, in nature, and in joy. Retreat details + registration: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats     Our Birthday Wish is to Help More Healers Find This Work As part of celebrating five years of the Healing Medicine podcast, we'd love to ask for your help in spreading this healing ripple even further: If this podcast has supported you... Please leave us a written review and a 5-star rating on your favorite listening platform. It helps others find the show and tells the algorithms to share this with more people who need it. Recommend it to a friend or colleague. Send them your favorite episode. Share it in your Facebook group, department, or residency class. Let someone know how it's helped you—that personal sharing is how this work continues to grow. This podcast was born out of love, and continues because of you. We are so grateful you are here.     If you're longing for more intention and joy in your life and career, I invite you to explore mindful coaching with me: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching To bring this kind of healing to your institution, department, or medical team, learn more about my speaking offerings: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang also offers powerful keynotes, workshops, and wellness sessions through www.awakenbreath.org We would love to meet you this summer in the redwoods, and help you reconnect to what's truly meaningful. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine podcast is medical advice.  

How a Teen and Her Mom Turned Breathwork Into a Book for Kids. This episode shares the story of how a teen and her mom turned breathwork into a book for kids. Inhale, Exhale, Shoot is a beautifully illustrated children's book born from a mindful mother-daughter collaboration. Co-written by integrative psychiatrist Dr. Holly MacKenna and her 13-year-old daughter, Maeve Graffanini, the book is a gentle guide to teaching kids mindfulness through the language of basketball, breath, and big emotions. Whether you're a parent, teacher, or someone passionate about helping children regulate emotions, this conversation offers a fresh, creative way to connect. It's a powerful reminder that when we pause to breathe, we open the door to presence, empathy, and resilience for children and ourselves. We also explore how creative projects, especially ones shared across generations, can become meaningful tools for healing, growth, and impact. Pearls of Wisdom: Teaching kids to breathe through big feelings is one of the most powerful lifelong gifts we can offer. What looks like anger in children is often something deeper like fear, anxiety, or overwhelm. Mindfulness helps us meet the root emotion. Creative metaphors, like basketball, can make mindfulness more accessible, relatable, and fun for kids. Co-creating a book strengthened Holly and Maeve's relationship and helped them navigate life's significant transitions together. Mindfulness isn't just a solo practice but something we can model, share, and co-create with those we love. Reflection Questions: When a child in your life has a big emotion, how do you usually respond? Could a breath shift the interaction? What projects or practices bring you closer to your children or your inner child? How might you integrate creative mindfulness practices into your family or classroom? Stay for the mindful moment at the end, where you'll be invited to enjoy a few breaths with us.     If you would like to donate a copy of Inhale, Exhale, Shoot to a child who needs it, you can do so this month for just $15 at susanschadtpress.com. Maeve and her school's service club are hand-delivering these books to shelters in New Orleans—mindfulness in action. If you would like to order a copy as a holiday gift, the book is available on Amazon or at susanschadtpress.com.  For those craving a reset and deeper embodiment of these practices, join me for a retreat where mindfulness, rest, and healing come alive in community. Upcoming dates are at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats. To bring these kinds of mindful, compassionate conversation to your organization, team, or conference, Dr. Mahoney offers keynote talks and workshops on emotional awareness, leadership, and well-being. Visit www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking. Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang also offers breath-centered workshops and speaks on mindfulness and medicine. Learn more about her work at www.awakenbreath.org. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

It's complicated when love and medical expertise collide. In this deeply personal and heartfelt episode, I share the story of becoming a grandmother—twice over—to beautiful twin girls born at home. As a pediatrician, this choice was outside the guidance I was trained to give. Yet, it was fully aligned with my son and daughter-in-law's values. This experience, and others like it, have invited me into profound reflection on what it means to love fully while letting go of control. We explore how to navigate the emotional terrain of being a doctor when family members, adult children, aging parents, and siblings make health decisions that differ from our training or advice. This episode is a powerful guide for healthcare professionals who find themselves caught between the desire to protect and the practice of presence. Whether your expertise is welcomed or dismissed, this conversation is about staying connected, grounded, and compassionate, even when it's complicated. Pearls of Wisdom: Medical advice and love are not the same and withholding advice can sometimes be the most loving choice. Connection is medicine. Staying in a relationship often matters more than being "right." Your role in your family isn't to be "the doctor,"  AND  it's hard for our minds to step out of being "a doctor." When your medical expertise isn't invited or followed, your role is to love, connect, and stay present simply. Offering guidance is not always loving and sometimes withholding advice is the greater gift of compassion and trust. Mindfulness allows us to notice our urges to control, advise, or correct and choose connection instead. Letting go of being "right" opens space for peace, gratitude, and trust in both the medical process and our loved ones' autonomy. Cultural, generational, and spiritual influences often shape health decisions and awareness of these differences can invite compassion and curiosity. Practicing mindful boundaries in families allows for more ease, trust, and authenticity. Reflection Questions: Where do you feel the urge to protect, control, or advise and what is that urge trying to offer you? What might shift when you ask yourself: What would love do? What would trusting your loved one, or yourself, look like in this moment?   If this episode speaks to you, and/or you find yourself exhausted from being the expert in your family or navigating strained medical dynamics with those you love, I invite you to explore coaching or join me on retreat. Together, we can untangle the emotional weight of "doctoring" your loved ones and find a more easeful way forward: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you'd like to bring this conversation to your institution, team, or medical conference, I offer speaking and workshop opportunities that bring the themes of this episode—mindful connection, autonomy, and healing—into the workplace: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking To invite Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang to speak or lead mindfulness offerings, visit: www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

What if the holidays could feel spacious, nourishing, and connected? This episode offers a strengths-based perspective on holiday dynamics—focusing less on what goes wrong and more on the mindful choices that cultivate ease, joy, and connection, even amidst grief, change, and complexity. We share what helped us experience Thanksgiving with ease this year.  Our experiences were quite different, and yet a shared approach grounded in intention, space, simplicity, and trust led to remarkably peaceful gatherings. Whether you're anticipating difficult family moments, feeling the ache of absence, or simply longing for more presence, we hope this conversation brings clarity and peace. Pearls of Wisdom: Speaking early and clearly about what matters shifts the energy of gatherings. Grief and joy can coexist—and allowing grief makes more room for peace. Space (mental, emotional, physical) supports nervous system regulation and connection. Letting go of rigid plans often makes things flow better. Flexibility and boundaries are both acts of love. Reflection Questions: What would a spacious, easeful holiday look like for you? What expectations are you willing to soften or let go? Where might more trust, flexibility, or rest make a difference? If this episode resonated… We invite you to take this work deeper.  Coaching with me offers personalized support to create space, peace, and purpose in your life—through the holidays and far beyond. Learn more here: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching For a truly transformative experience, consider joining me on retreat in 2025: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Many of us carry shame and anxiety around money and stories we've inherited, absorbed, or unconsciously lived into. Mindfully acknowledging our stories is the first step toward freedom. Money is emotional, relational, and often a mirror of what matters most in life. Awareness of your money "story" creates spaciousness for something more compassionate. This week, Jessie is joined by Helena Rosenthal, MBA, MPH, and Nikki Macdonald, CFP®, financial advisors from Northwestern Mutual who specialize in supporting women and women-led households.  Mindfulness and money are powerful partners. Thoughtful awareness transforms how we save, spend, and invest.  Learning to trust yourself with money is a practice. Financial safety doesn't come from overthinking but from clarity, planning, and presence. Reflection Questions: What story were you taught about money growing up? What feelings arise when you think about money? Are they guilt, fear, shame, or hope? If money weren't an issue, how would you spend your time? What would change if you approached your finances with compassion and curiosity rather than fear or judgment? If you'd like support to integrate what you heard today into your life, coaching is a powerful place to begin. You can explore working with me here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching To experience this kind of reflective work in a beautiful and nourishing setting, join me at a retreat: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you'd like to bring this kind of mindful conversation to your team, institution, or conference, reach out to explore having me speak: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking To learn more about Dr. Liang's work or invite her to speak, visit: www.awakenbreath.org Helena and Nikki offer a complimentary 30-minute session that's thoughtful, values-aligned, and designed to help you begin with ease. *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Misguided ideas surface in healthcare settings all the time.  With warmth and loving amusement, we reflect on how these initiatives—often wrapped in corporate optimism—miss the mark.  yet don't have to steal our peace.  Brilliantly bad ideas aren't about you and tehy don't have to steal your peace. They're structural, impersonal, and often just disconnected from the day-to-day reality of clinical life. We invite you to laugh with us, reflect, and most importantly, not to take them personally. Pearls of Wisdom: • Bad ideas often come with good intentions—they're usually more about systemic gaps than personal disrespect. • You get to choose how much energy to bring to these initiatives—humor and grace are powerful tools. • "Wellness" programs often miss the mark because they don't reflect the lived reality of those they're meant to support. • Expecting and accepting mismatched ideas can bring lightness—and maybe even loving amusement. Reflection Questions: • What is your favorite "brilliantly bad idea?"  • How might you use humor to help you when the next one comes your way? Please send us the brilliantly bad ideas you have witnessed.  We would love to hear them! If you're navigating burnout, frustration, or the absurdities of healthcare, we offer coaching, retreats, and workshops to help you find clarity, compassion, and joy again. Jessie offers 1:1 coaching and mindful retreats designed to bring back peace, purpose, and presence in your work and life.  Learn more at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching and www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats. CME is available for most Pause & Presence offerings. If you'd like to bring humor, mindfulness, and meaning to your institution or event, we both offer also offer keynotes and workshops. Learn more here: Jessie Mahoney, MD: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Ni-Cheng Liang, MD: www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

What if there isn't one right way to do things, but many? Letting go of being right can open the door to creativity, flexibility, and even liberation. This episode offers a mindful and compassionate reframe: seeing our approaches as preferences—shaped by our experiences, values, and identities.  Pearls of Wisdom: • Softening into the idea of preferences fosters collaboration, both in medicine and at home. • Mindfulness helps us notice when judgment or irritation is a sign of unmet preferences. • Letting go of the need to be 'right' invites deeper trust, compassion, and innovation. • Seeing differences as diversity—not wrongness—can transform teams, relationships, and institutions. Reflection Questions: • Where in your life are you attached to doing things the "right way"? • How might it feel to see your way as simply your preference? • Whose preferences might you be overlooking at work or at home? • What would it look like to honor your own preferences without needing agreement? • How might this create more peace and possibility in your relationships? If you'd like support shifting from perfectionism to preference, or from rigidity to freedom, we would love to work with you. Jessie offers 1:1 mindful coaching and retreat experiences that integrate exactly these insights—visit www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching and www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats to explore upcoming options. End-of-year CME can be available with virtual coaching. We also speak and teach on these topics to healthcare teams, medical institutions, and professional conferences. To bring this mindful conversation about preferences, teamwork, and connection to your organization, learn more about inviting us to speak: Jessie Mahoney, MD: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking Ni-Cheng Liang, MD: www.awakenbreath.org Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.

Peace and joy await when you allow others to make their own decisions, even if you think they are bad decisions.  It is deeply freeing and surprisingly energizing when you stop trying to fix other people.  Pearls of Wisdom: Letting go of trying to fix others not giving up—it's trusting others to be on their own journey. Trying to manage, fix, or protect everyone is a hidden source of burnout and energy depletion. Showing up with "loving amusement" rather than control is a powerful act of mindful compassion. The gesture of "hands wide open" brings curiosity, calm, and even play into the present moment. Choosing peace often looks like not engaging, not defending, and simply saying: "How interesting." Reflection Questions: Where am I over-functioning in my relationships or at work? Where can I release control and choose presence and curiosity instead? What might it feel like to meet life with hands wide open? What do I notice when I stop managing and fixing?   If this episode resonated with you, explore coaching at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching. Join an upcoming retreat at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats.  They are both beautiful opportunities to cultivate authenticity, presence, and peace. If you'd like to bring this work to your team, institution, or conference, I would love to speak or lead a workshop. You can reach out through www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking.  Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang is also available for speaking engagements via www.awakenbreath.org. Thank you for listening and being part of this community. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.