Mindfulness, Medicine & the Biology of Stress explores how meditation can change our relationship to stress, support the body's natural healing systems, and help us live with more presence, compassion, and ease.

In this episode of The FitMind Podcast, we sit down with Craig Hassed, MD, physician, educator, and mindfulness expert, to examine the science and practice of mind-body medicine. Drawing from decades of clinical work, teaching, and contemplative practice, Craig explains how chronic stress creates physiological wear and tear in the body, known as allostatic load, and why learning to return to the present moment can have effects far beyond feeling calmer.

The conversation explores how mindfulness may influence inflammation, immune function, gene expression, and biological aging, including research on telomeres and the body's stress circuitry. Craig also discusses why informal mindfulness in daily life may be just as important as formal meditation practice, especially when we are caught in worry, pressure, or mental projections about the future.

Topics include:

• How mindfulness became part of the medical curriculum at Monash University
• Why chronic stress creates wear and tear on the body
• What allostatic load means for health and aging
• How meditation may affect inflammation, immunity, and gene expression
• The relationship between mindfulness and telomeres
• Why presence can improve focus, performance, and flow
• The difference between empathy, empathic distress, and compassion
• Why compassion may protect against burnout
• How mindfulness can support doctors, patients, students, and everyday life
• The question of consciousness and whether it may be more fundamental than matter

A practical and wide-ranging conversation for anyone interested in the medical science of mindfulness, the biology of stress, or how contemplative practice can support resilience, compassion, and human flourishing.

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Liam's book, Fit Mind, is now available! You can pick up a copy and learn more at fitmind.org/book.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind

Website: www.fitmind.org

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Show Notes

0:00 | Introduction to Dr. Craig Hassed
3:23 | Discovering meditation without a teacher
9:18 | Bringing mindfulness into clinical medicine
10:21 | Teaching mindfulness to medical students
15:10 | How chronic stress affects the body
15:56 | Understanding allostatic load
20:57 | Epigenetics, inflammation, and immune function
22:42 | Meditation, telomeres, and biological aging
26:17 | How much meditation is enough?
29:18 | Formal practice vs. mindfulness in daily life
31:17 | The growth of mindfulness research
36:54 | The ESSENCE model of health
38:56 | Choosing the right meditation practice
41:47 | How the mind creates unnecessary stress
45:21 | Mindfulness, performance, and flow states
51:21 | Mindfulness education and human flourishing
52:40 | Technology, isolation, and genuine connection
1:00:43 | Empathy, empathic distress, and compassion
1:01:42 | Why compassion may protect against burnout
1:06:16 | Is consciousness more fundamental than matter?
1:07:10 | Can consciousness be scientifically measured?
1:08:33 | Craig's daily practice and rapid-fire questions
1:09:15 | Final thoughts

Neuroscientist Idil Sezer joins the FitMind Podcast to explore what meditation changes beyond the brain. She explains how meditation may influence attention, emotional regulation, pain, brain–heart communication, and our fundamental sense of self.

The conversation also explores the difference between long-term and advanced meditators, unusual cardiovascular patterns observed during deep meditation, and how virtual reality may help researchers study embodiment, nondual awareness, and the boundaries of the self.

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Liam's book, Fit Mind, is now available! You can pick up a copy and learn more at fitmind.org/book.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind

Website: www.fitmind.org

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Show Notes

0:00 | Introducing Idil Sezer, PhD
2:11 | From Clinical Neuroscience to Meditation Research
3:58 | Why Meditation Is a Unique Tool for Training the Mind
5:21 | Meditation Beyond Relaxation and Performance
7:27 | What Different Meditation Traditions Change in the Brain
10:03 | The Nervous System and Meditation's Effects on the Heart
11:01 | Cardiac Spectral Peaks in Advanced Meditators
16:54 | Brain–Heart Communication and Holistic Neuroscience
18:13 | Long-Term vs. Advanced Meditators
20:25 | Mental Health, Pain Relief, and Neuroprotection
22:09 | Meditation, Gut Health, Epigenetics, and Cellular Memory
28:23 | Predicting Who Responds to VR Anxiety Interventions
38:17 | Using Virtual Reality to Investigate the Sense of Self
44:21 | Nondual Awareness and the Future of Meditation Research
49:22 | Finding the Meditation Practice That Works for You

Clinical neuropsychologist Dr. Aldrich Chan joins the FitMind Podcast to explore the intersection of Taoist philosophy, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology, and what these fields can teach us about our growing sense of disconnection from nature.

Drawing from his book 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return, Aldrich explains his theory of separation, alienation, and discord, and how capacities that helped humans survive—such as abstract thinking, mental time travel, and a strong sense of self—may also contribute to some of the challenges of modern life.

The conversation explores the default mode network and our perception of time, the neuroscience of meditation and self-transcendence, and the Taoist idea of our "original nature." Aldrich also discusses nothingness as a space of possibility rather than a void, the relationship between wu wei and flow states, how to work more skillfully with stress and uncertainty, and why play and spontaneity remain important throughout adulthood.

Topics include:

• The intersection of Taoism, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology
• Separation, alienation, and modern evolutionary mismatch
• The default mode network, thinking, and our perception of time
• Meditation, self-transcendence, and "original nature"
• Taoist nothingness and creating space for difficult experiences
• Wu wei, Tai Chi, and the neuroscience of flow
• Eustress and the difference between productive and overwhelming stress
• Working with uncertainty through curiosity rather than threat
• Why play, spontaneity, and intuition matter for well-being

A wide-ranging conversation for anyone interested in meditation, consciousness, neuroscience, Taoist philosophy, or how we might live in greater alignment with our minds, bodies, and the natural world.

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Liam's book, Fit Mind, is now available! You can pick up a copy and learn more at fitmind.org/book.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind

Website: www.fitmind.org

0:00 | Original Nature, Selflessness & Consciousness

0:51 | Introduction to Dr. Aldrich Chan

1:56 | From Neuroscience to Taoism

8:18 | The SAD Theory: Separation, Alienation & Discord

15:38 | Evolutionary Mismatch & Modern Isolation

19:46 | The Default Mode Network, Time & Meditation

24:23 | The Neuroscience of "Original Nature"

32:13 | Self-Transcendence Without Losing Function

34:33 | Meditation vs. Psychedelic States

37:04 | Taoist Nothingness & the Uncarved Wood

42:08 | Creating Space for Difficult Emotions

44:14 | Tai Chi, Wu Wei & Flow States

49:54 | Eustress & Dynamic Equilibrium

57:52 | Dr. Chan's Stillness Meditation Practice

1:00:30 | How to Work With Uncertainty

1:06:25 | Reframing Mental Health & Evolutionary Mismatch

1:10:07 | Why Play Matters

1:12:48 | The Seven Principles as Invitations

1:14:24 | Dr. Chan's Book & Where to Find His Work