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In this episode of Wisdom of the Body, Heather Grzych talks with author Katya Suvarova about how family, culture, childhood, and the circumstances we grow up in can shape the people we become. Drawing from Katya's memoir Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter, they explore what happens when childhood adaptations become adult identities, how inherited family patterns can continue long after the conditions that created them have changed, and what it means to understand your family without simply repeating its patterns. Heather brings in an Ayurvedic perspective on the relationship between a person and the conditions they live in, and the question of whether we can deliberately create new patterns through different practices and circumstances. This conversation explores what we inherit, what we adapt to, what we choose to keep, and what it takes to decide which parts of your family story belong in your future.  Chapters: 00:00 Intro   00:07 How early survival adaptations become personality   01:14 Who is Katya Suvorova and what her memoir is about   02:46 Learning she was undocumented   06:52 Coping patterns that followed into adulthood   10:33 Did writing the memoir change her relationship to trauma?   12:48 Grounding herself after the book   19:45 Discovering her mother's hidden past   27:16 What produces trauma and identity confusion   30:23 Did publishing the book bring freedom?   35:49 How secrecy and trauma affected her body   40:12 What she still keeps private about her mother   46:19 What remains unsaid, and what comes next   50:12 Outro  Heather Grzych, ADLC is an author, healthcare strategist, and host of the Wisdom of the Body podcast, a top 2.5% global podcast. A former president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, healthcare executive, and clinician who has guided women through high-stakes fertility decisions, Heather has spent her career helping people navigate uncertainty where health, strategy, and human behavior intersect. She is the author of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, which has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. www.heathergrzych.com  Katya Suvarova is the author of Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter. Raised as an undocumented Russian immigrant in Texas, Katya is now a US citizen writing from abroad. She says her work is powered by strong coffee courtesy of her husband's amateur barista phase, a cat so unruly she once earned a spot on the no-fly list, and a three-legged dog who moves through the world like she has five legs and no regrets. Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter is her debut memoir. https://katyasuvorova.com

Can AI know your body better than you do? In this episode of Wisdom of the Body, Heather Grzych explores what artificial intelligence could mean for the future of medicine—and the difference between measuring the human body and actually experiencing life inside one. AI can analyze medical images, health records, genetic information, wearable data, and physiological patterns at a scale no human physician can match. But can AI actually know what pain, fatigue, hunger, fear, or a change in your body feels like? Drawing on Ayurveda, the story of Prometheus, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and science fiction including Gattaca, Brave New World, and Blade Runner, Heather examines the difference between data, intelligence, human experience, and wisdom. She explores why the human body is not simply an object to be measured, why patients' own observations still matter in medicine, and what could happen if we begin trusting algorithms more than our own lived experience. AI may become extraordinarily intelligent, but intelligence isn't the same as wisdom—and AI isn't God. The future of healthcare may depend not only on what machines can know about our bodies, but on whether humans remember how to know themselves.   Heather Grzych, ADLC is an author, healthcare strategist, and host of the Wisdom of the Body podcast, a top 2.5% global podcast. A former president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, healthcare executive, and clinician who has guided women through high-stakes fertility decisions, Heather has spent her career helping people navigate uncertainty where health, strategy, and human behavior intersect. She is the author of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, which has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

What can AOC's decision to freeze her eggs tell us about fertility, reproductive technology, and our desire to control the future? In this episode of Wisdom of the Body, Heather Grzych explores egg freezing, IVF, fertility preservation, and what actually happens when sperm meets an egg, including the remarkable "zinc sparks" scientists can observe during egg activation. Through real fertility stories, modern reproductive medicine, and an ancient image from Genesis, Heather asks a deeper question: Does understanding the mechanics of reproduction mean we understand the mystery of life?This isn't an argument against egg freezing or IVF. It's an exploration of what reproductive technology can give us—time, options, and possibility—and what it can never give us: certainty about the future.  Heather Grzych, ADLC is an author, healthcare strategist, and host of the Wisdom of the Body podcast, a top 2.5% global podcast. A former president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, healthcare executive, and clinician who has guided women through high-stakes fertility decisions, Heather has spent her career helping people navigate uncertainty where health, strategy, and human behavior intersect. She is the author of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, which has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

What happens when reproduction becomes something we can measure, manage, and control? In this episode, Heather explores that question through Brave New World, Gattaca, and The Handmaid's Tale, alongside ancient stories about fertility and the Ayurvedic view of preparing the conditions for life without confusing preparation with control. Drawing from her work with fertility clients, she examines how more information and more reproductive choices can create both freedom and anxiety—and why agency is not the same as determining an outcome. The episode asks a deeper question about our relationship with the body: How much control do we actually want over something as mysterious as creating another human being? Heather Grzych, ADLC is an author, healthcare strategist, and host of the Wisdom of the Body podcast, a top 2.5% global podcast. A former president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, healthcare executive, and clinician who has guided women through high-stakes fertility decisions, Heather has spent her career helping people navigate uncertainty where health, strategy, and human behavior intersect. She is the author of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, which has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

Can people really change? Or do we simply become more of who we've always been? In this episode of Wisdom of the Body, Heather Grzych explores this timeless question through Victor Hugo's Les Misérables and the transformation of Jean Valjean, a man whose life is changed by an unexpected act of mercy. Drawing from Christianity, Greek mythology, and Ayurveda, Heather explores the forces that shape who we become—from grace and choice to our environments, habits, and experiences. She reflects on why some people are able to transform while others remain trapped in old patterns, and why lasting change requires not just different actions, but a different relationship with who we believe we can become.   Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

What Ayurveda Teaches About Uncertainty. Whether you're thinking about changing careers, ending a relationship, moving, or starting a new chapter, uncertainty can make even the right choice feel overwhelming. In this episode of Wisdom of the Body, author and Ayurvedic practitioner Heather Grzych explores why humans struggle with major life decisions, how keeping every option open can leave us feeling more anxious than free, and what Ayurveda teaches about navigating uncertainty with greater clarity. Through timeless stories from the Ramayana and Homer's Odyssey, Heather examines self-trust, commitment, the body's response to the unknown, and why creating grounding in times of transition helps us move forward. If you've been wondering how to stop overthinking, trust yourself, and know when it's time to make a change, this episode offers a thoughtful perspective that blends storytelling, psychology, and Ayurvedic wisdom.   Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

How do you know when it's time to change your life? In this episode of Wisdom of the Body, Heather Grzych explores why change can feel so difficult—even when we know something needs to shift. We often fear losing what we love: our relationships, identity, career, home, or the life we've built. Through the stories of Peter from the New Testament and Persephone from Greek mythology, Heather explores personal transformation, self-discovery, and the process of becoming someone new. Drawing from Ayurveda, she shares how observing your habits, environment, and daily choices can help you recognize when it's time to let go, grow, and create the conditions for a new chapter. Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

This episode of Wisdom of the Body, "Why Don't I Feel Like Myself Anymore?", explores the unsettling experience of feeling disconnected from the person you once were, even when nothing obvious has gone wrong. Ayurvedic practitioner and author Heather Grzych examines why major life transitions often begin long before our circumstances change, drawing on Dante's journey through the "dark wood," the natural stages of a plant's growth, and insights from Ayurveda to show how identity evolves over time. If you've been searching for answers to questions like Why don't I feel like myself?, Why have I changed?, Why do I feel lost or disconnected?, How do I know if I'm going through a life transition?, or How can I reconnect with myself?, this episode offers a thoughtful perspective on personal growth, identity, self-discovery, and the body's role in navigating change. It also includes a guided heart-centered meditation inspired by Ram Dass's reminder that "The real work you have to do is in the privacy of your own heart," inviting you to reconnect with your inner wisdom during times of uncertainty.   Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

Heather is joined by fellow author and career strategist Mandy Tang for a candid conversation about grieving the life you thought you'd have—and finding meaning in the one unfolding before you. They explore career disappointment, identity shifts, unmet expectations, fertility journeys, and the quiet grief that can accompany life transitions. If you've ever questioned your path, struggled with burnout, wondered whether you're behind in life, or felt disconnected from the future you once imagined, this episode offers a thoughtful perspective on resilience, reinvention, and how the body often reveals change before the mind fully understands it. Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.  Mandy Tang is the author Heal Your Career Wounds: Navigating the Trauma of Today's Workplace. A career coach and holistic healer, she helps clients from Big Tech, start-ups, and the nonprofit sector bring more creativity and joy into their work lives. Her training includes an MBA in finance from Columbia, certification as a trauma-informed yoga instructor, and completion of a three-year shamanic practitioner program. Mandy runs the popular TikTok account @CareerCoachMandy with over 161K followers and a Skool community of artists and creators called the Everyday Creatives Club that meet weekly for accountability and inspiration. Visit her online at www.mandytang.co.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com   Instagram.com/heathergrzych   Facebook.com/grzychheather     Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

This episode of Wisdom of the Body, "When You're Between Two Versions of Your Life," explores the disorienting experience of feeling disconnected from yourself even when nothing is obviously wrong. Author and Ayurvedic practitioner Heather Grzych reflects on life transitions, identity shifts, emotional numbness, burnout, and the feeling of being "stuck" or lost during periods of internal change. Drawing from stories in spiritual traditions, including from the Book of Genesis, she examines what it feels like when your body, emotions, and sense of self begin changing before your external life catches up. If you've been searching for answers about why you feel different lately, why your life no longer feels fully aligned, or why you feel emotionally unsettled despite functioning normally, this episode offers a deeply human perspective on transition, uncertainty, and becoming someone new before you fully understand who that is.   Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com  Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

This episode of Wisdom of the Body, "Is Your Supplement Stack Actually Helping You?", explores the growing confusion around supplements, herbal medicine, and modern wellness culture. Author and Ayurvedic practitioner Heather Grzych explains why more supplements do not always lead to better health, unpacking the difference between targeted herbal support and compulsive accumulation, the Ayurvedic concept of agni (digestive and processing capacity), and why simplification is often more supportive than constant optimization. Using personal stories, practical examples, and character references, she examines how wellness culture can encourage people to override their body's signals in pursuit of an ideal. You'll also learn how Ayurveda approaches herbs like Ashwagandha through individualized assessment, cleansing, and rejuvenation rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. This episode offers a more thoughtful framework for choosing the best herbs and supplements for stress, energy, inflammation, nervous system support, and overall wellness—while helping you understand when the body may actually need less input, less fragmentation, and more clarity.   Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

This episode, "Why You Still Feel Stuck Even When You Know What To Do," explores the common frustration of knowing what needs to change but not being able to follow through. Author and Ayurvedic practitioner Heather Grzych explains why insight alone doesn't lead to transformation, unpacking the gap between intention and daily patterns, the role of habit and repetition, and how overthinking can keep you stuck. Using relatable examples and a powerful reference to The Truman Show, she shows how people often stay in familiar routines even when they're ready for something more. You'll learn why change happens through consistent, embodied action—not more information—and how small shifts in your daily life can help you move forward with clarity, whether you're navigating a major life decision, feeling stuck in a routine, or trying to align your actions with who you're becoming.  Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.  Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

This episode explores The Real Question Behind Having Children, and why so many people feel stuck when deciding whether or when to have a child. Author and Ayurvedic practitioner Heather Grzych unpacks the deeper reasons behind declining birth rates, the real question people are asking about regret, and the reality that you can't fully understand the experience of having a child until you're in it. She addresses what's often in the mind of people considering egg freezing and preserving fertility, and why daily patterns—not big decisions—determine how you move through major life transitions. This episode offers a grounded, honest perspective on one of life's biggest decisions, helping you shift from trying to predict the future to building a life that can hold it. Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

Part 3 of of 3 in the series "Why Part of You Wants Change But Another Part of You Is Afraid," this episode of Wisdom of the Body explores how to move through transformation when you don't feel ready yet. Author and Ayurvedic practitioner Heather Grzych introduces the concept of the "refusal of the call" and explains why hesitation is a natural phase of change, not a failure. Blending insights on physiology, identity shifts, and daily patterns, she shows how small, consistent rituals—not big, dramatic decisions—shape who you become and determine how you navigate major life transitions. You'll learn why the mind often races ahead while the body anchors in the present, how over-planning the future can disconnect you from real change, and why true readiness is built through repetition. This episode helps you understand that lasting transformation doesn't come from forcing clarity, but from aligning your daily actions with the person you are becoming.    Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and teacher of Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online

Part 2 of the series "Why Part of You Wants Change But Another Part of You Is Afraid," this episode of Wisdom of the Body explores how your nervous system and body begin adapting to personal transformation before your external life changes. Author and wellness leader Heather Grzych explains nervous system change, predictive processing, and identity shifts, alongside Ayurvedic insights into how attention and energy shape the body. You'll learn to recognize subtle signs of transformation – like changes in sleep, posture, focus, and energy – and understand why your body may be preparing you for a new role, including major transitions like career shifts or pre-parenthood. This episode helps you answer a powerful question: is your mind moving faster than your body, or is your body already leading you into change?   Heather Grzych, ADLC is an American author and expert in Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Heather's first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally.    Connect with Heather:  Learn more at www.heathergrzych.com  Instagram.com/heathergrzych  Facebook.com/grzychheather    Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE: https://www.heathergrzych.com    Connect with Heather to balance your health with Ayurveda: https://www.heathergrzych.com/book-online