Women In Wellness: Dr Sandra Subotich of BIAN On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Laughter really is the best medicine and it can go a long way. Laughing not only changes your mood but also changes your physiology. It stimulates a number of organs, activates and relives the stress response and soothes tension. One positive thing we can utilize our electronics for is to find some videos or memes that just tickle the funny bone. Obviously, having a good laugh with friends is ideal but if you don’t have any funny friends, then going to your electronics might be your best bet. I make it a point to laugh daily!
As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Sandra Subotich.
Dr Sandra Subotich is a Doctor of East Asian Medicine and director of East Asian Therapies at Bian Chicago. Dr. Subotich studied East Asian medicine, medical Qi Gong and traditional Taoist and energetic practices throughout the world including Hawaii, China and Thailand, eventually completing her masters and doctoral degrees in Santa Cruz, Ca. Dr Subotich has extensive training in autoimmune disorders, chronic pain, psycho-spiritual disorders including anxiety, depression and trauma, gastrointestinal disorders and stroke rehabilitation
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I was raised by immigrant parents so the concept of home and traditional remedies for healing was not a foreign one. My father went to traditional medical school and ended being a biochemist for a very well known multinational medical device and health care company. Despite this, he always encouraged natural healing methods and remedies before opting for western medical interventions. It was pretty well balanced. So I initially studied psychology and education in undergrad. I was always very taken with the human psyche and the workings of the universe, especially those things we couldn’t explain. After exploring a number of different career paths, including teaching middle school, a number of very fated events happened that lead me to studying and being completely immersed in East Asian medicine.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
There are too many interesting things that have happened since I started my career for me to be able to pick one. But something I find extremely interesting is being a part of the healing journeys that are deemed “incurable” or “chronic” or “idiopathic” which is just a fancy way of saying “we don’t know what’s wrong”, and then witnessing that shift. Often a big piece of this shift is helping people realize and process their emotions, stories, traumas that they’ve been holding onto for a lifetime. In east asian medicine we don’t separate the physical from the emotional or the spiritual, its all looked at through a cohesive lens where all aspects not only have an affect on each other but are simultaneously independent and intertwined all at the same time. This symbiotic relationship can actually be seen through the entirety of the workings of the universe. So I have seen people, not only make some pretty amazing shifts to their health and to these labels that they’ve been given, but to who they are as a person and how they see and interact with the world. Its a pretty remarkable thing to be a part of. To me it illustrates how interconnected we are as a species, and that healing really needs to address the person as whole. This allows for some really wonderful things to unfold.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I was first starting out, I had this patient come see me with chronic pain. After my assessment, I had a conversation about adding in an herbal formula and the patient agreed. Now, this was a new patient and in my initial paperwork I always ask for all diagnosed medical conditions, prescription medications and any supplements that are being taken. So I thoroughly read through the paperwork not only to see what medications they were taking to make sure they weren’t on any blood thinners as the herbal formula I was going to give could potentiate the effects of a blood thinner. The paperwork did not mention any medication in that class of pharmaceuticals so I thought I was in the clear. The patient came back the following week and said they noticed they were bruising easily. I immediately asked the patient if they were on blood thinners, and they responded with I don’t think so. So I had to dig deeper and started naming the moist common medications in that class and what they might be prescribed for. Suddenly, the patient says ‘oh yes I am taking that one, but I couldn’t remember what it was for’. So it was very big lesson for me to always have a conversation with patients despite what they may write on their paperwork. I think a lot of people forget what their medications are for or what they do and that can be a very important factor in someones treatment plan. This experience also taught me how to ask better inquiry questions about different aspects of peoples health and lifestyle so that I was getting the most clear and appropriate answers to better be able to help them. The patient in this story was fine and I ended up making modifications that wouldn’t interfere with the medication. Nonetheless, it was a very big lesson that could have had significant consequences and changed my approach with patients.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
Being able to look at and approach health from a different paradigm, in this case an East Asian medicine paradigm, allows me to be able to address many conditions that western medicine doesn’t have answers to. Im a big believer in integration and it has been a model that Ive practiced within for many years. But, in order to truly be able to help people in the most beneficial ways, we have to be able to acknowledge where we fall short in our approaches or in the tools that we utilize. Being able to look at health and wellness through a lens that encompasses not only the whole person, but that takes into account their environment, their mental, emotional and spiritual well being, their lifestyle their food choices and then be able to explain how all of these things are affecting what ever issue they are coming in for, is very powerful. It allows people to shift their perspective on how they approach life and themselves and understand how all of their choices contribute to their well being. It gives us an expanded understanding of not only ourselves but the world around us and how we are mutually impacted. As an example, we could use the issue of chronic pain, which affects somewhere around 50 million people in the US alone. So traditionally, the approach has been to focus on the pain by giving people opiates or nerve blockers or NSAIDS etc. For awhile, those things might work, but its not addressing the actual problem. Eventually, we end up with needing more, or causing gastrointestinal side effects or even worse, causing an addiction problem as we’ve seen in the case of opiates. So then the question becomes, why isn’t addressing and focusing on the pain enough? What we find is that we cannot fragment ourselves into separate aspects of existence. We start to realize that our physical state is directly related to our emotional, mental, spiritual, cellular, bioenergetic and environmental states and vice versa. What do we think happens to our body, which is a living, breathing organism, when we have constant negative self talk day in and day out? What do we think happens to our body when we have traumas, wounds, emotions and experiences that have never been processed? Do they exist separate from us, somewhere in the ethers? They do not. They are stored in our systems in our tissues in the fascia, they form neurologic pathways in our brains, as does the chronic pain, and keep us functioning from this place. So when we start to address all these other aspects and bring awareness to them, we can really start to see things shift and I think as a society we are starting to understand this. Ideally, this starts to shift the world around us, but the starting place is with each of us individually.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
- Regulate your nervous system/decrease stress levels: Nervous system health is crucial to not only healing but to being able to navigate life in general. Please find things that help you to regulate on a daily basis. Examples might be polyvagal exercises, meditation, consistent acupuncture, therapy, naps, walking barefoot outside in the grass, gentle movement like somatic therapies or yin yoga, EFT, listening to calming sounds or frequencies, massage, herbs/supplements epsom salt baths. There are many ways to approach regulating your nervous system and decreasing stress, the key is to find the things that work for you and to be consistent. Make time in your day that you can dedicate to this practice.
- Add warming foods and spices that encourage digestion into your diet. Im a big gut health person and I believe its a crucial piece in any wellness journey. A simple thing you can do is to add cooked warming foods to your diet to encourage the “digestive fire” (your bodies own stove) and frequently add things like ginger, cardamom fennel, peppermint, turmeric etc. I won’t get started on my smoothie rant, but if you’re absolutely unwilling to give that up, at least try to put some digestive and warming herbs in there and try having it at room temp. I also love a high quality digestive enzyme, herbal blend or bitters blend.
- Sleep/rest: I cannot talk enough about the importance of sleep and rest when it comes to health and wellness. Some simple things you can do to improve sleep hygiene are the following:
Go to bed by 10:30
Get black out shades and remove any excess light from the bedroom
Remove electronics from the bedroom
A foot soak or bath in warm water with epsom salts
Have your last meal at least 3 hours before sleep
Make sure the temp in your house is cooler at night, 68–70 degrees seems to be ideal
Get an herbal blend made by an experienced practitioner
As far as rest goes, I encourage people to listen to their bodies. I think we have somehow equated rest with lazy and I think that’s a huge disservice. Many cultures still carve out rest periods in their daily life because it is crucial and necessary. Feeling tired, overwhelmed, exhausted and even moody, can all be signs that we need rest and I encourage everyone to do that. It doesn’t have to be an actual nap. Maybe its just 20 minutes alone with no distractions, maybe its not scheduling every minute of every day and giving yourself time to just “do nothing” but breathe or stare into space or sit outside, there are no rules to how you rest.
4. Connection: We are social and emotional beings who thrive on connections with others. I encourage everyone to make time for meaningful social connection ideally each day but at least once a week. Something that makes you feel good and is uplifting and supportive. It doesn’t have to be with friends or family, sometimes a small kind gesture or word to a stranger is enough to make both of you feel good and connected.
5. Laughter: Laughter really is the best medicine and it can go a long way. Laughing not only changes your mood but also changes your physiology. It stimulates a number of organs, activates and relives the stress response and soothes tension. One positive thing we can utilize our electronics for is to find some videos or memes that just tickle the funny bone. Obviously, having a good laugh with friends is ideal but if you don’t have any funny friends, then going to your electronics might be your best bet. I make it a point to laugh daily!
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Nervous system regulation and acupuncture for everyone.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- Healing is not linear: Healing is a journey and it it doesn’t move in a straight line, knowing that in the beginning would have saved me a lot of time worrying and questioning the process
- You can’t help everyone: I am only part of the equation in another’s healing journey, they have to meet me at least half way.
- You will need to make time to take care of yourself: This is a big one, honestly for everyone, but especially if you are in the field of caring for others. It takes a toll to hold that much space and thus requires extra attention to self care and rest.
- Create strong boundaries because they will be tested. Having boundaries for ourselves is crucial to navigate the world appropriately. In healthcare, because we are dealing with people in a moment in time when they are not feeling their best, it’s not uncommon to have boundaries get tested or pushed. Having those stablished clearly will help to prevent a lot of misunderstandings.
- Know what you don’t know. We place a lot of our focus on gathering as much information as possible in order to be able to do the best job we can. While that is certainly important, I think its just as important to know when you can’t help. When you need to refer out or when you need assistance. This is a crucial piece in personal integrity and for the journey of the patient.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
I think all of these issues are of extreme importance and deserve our attention, contemplation and action. If I had to pick one, especially in our current environment, Id say mental health. Mental health is an area that as a society, I think we have long had room for improvement. Especially after the last three years, I think we are seeing how delicate, multifaceted and pervasive the issue of mental health really is within society and possibly expanding our understanding on what that even means. Without addressing this, I think it makes addressing all the other issues that much harder. If we don’t have a grasp on mental health, our own or that of the collective, we will be hard pressed to adequately address anything else.
What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?
On IG @drsandraacupuncture
On IG @livebian
Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.
Women In Wellness: Dr Sandra Subotich of BIAN On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.