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Eva:
Hi, this is The Pure Living Family Podcast. I'm Eva. My little brother's Theo, and my mom and dad are Shawn and Angela.
Shawn:
Hello friends. Thank you for joining us for another podcast with the Pure Living Family. I'm very excited to welcome in today's guest. Before I allow her to say hello though, I just wanted to give you all a little bit of context of who we're speaking with. Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum, goes by Dr. Sandy, is an amazing soul. She contributes with Forbes Magazine, writing and talking about wellness and health coaching. She founded the Functional Medicine Coaching Program, which we will talk about this a little bit more in this podcast in, 2015. She's an integrative clinical psychologist, graduated from Northwestern University and she's board certified in functional medicine. And you guys know how much we love functional medicine here at the Pure Living Family. So Dr. Sandy, thank you so much for joining us and taking the time to speak with us.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Well, it is such a pleasure to be here. I'm excited to talk with your audience.
Shawn:
Well, so I was just reading through your background, so you've got your bachelor's degree in teaching of individuals with specific learning disabilities. Can you talk a little bit about that and what guided you there?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Sure. So initially, my undergraduate was in elementary education. And then when I went to do my student teaching, that was back in the day the late 60s, it was actually 1970 and open classrooms were really popular and that concept was anything goes. In other words, there was no discipline. Kids just could do what they want. And so I had a lot of trouble with that and controlling kids. It was a first to third grade. So they were mingling all these kids of different ages together. They later found out that didn't work so well and went back to traditional classrooms. So I didn't do well. I got a very poor grade in student teaching, which meant that the job prospects for me would be pretty nonexistent.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
And so I decided that I would go on and I always loved learning. And so I got a master's degree in learning disabilities, figuring that well, that concept is great. I really loved that digging into the learning process, but also, it meant that I would be that teacher who would pull kids out one at a time. So surely, that would be something that I could handle. And so of course, low and behold, my first teaching job was running a classroom for kids with both learning and severe behavior challenges.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
So quickly learned how to help kids by imposing a lot of structure. What we were using at the time was applied behavior analysis, behavior management strategy. So that's actually how I got started. And then from there, went on to teaching teachers of kids with special needs and supervised practicum students, people who were getting their masters in learning disabilities or teaching kids with behavior disorders. And from there that led to an interest in psychology, specifically clinical psychology. So I went back and became a clinical psychologist, got my PhD. And I was always very focused on health. And at the time, I remember in my master's program, we were told that there's no such thing as the connection between what kids eat and how they behave or their ability to learn. The fine goal theory was popular at the time. And I remember the head of my department said, "This is just basically hogwash. There's no signs. This is quackery, pay no attention."
Shawn:
Wow. That's super impressive. So you were challenged in your belief by your superiors, but you just knew intuitively that was the truth?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
I knew intuitively that there was something to it, but I was pretty mainstream this classroom. We had snack time, we had a rotating list for parents to bring in cookies for treats, there were also behavior reinforcement, a lot of it is reward. And these were the days when we would use direct reinforcement like M and Ms basically. So we had no idea that this was going on. There was something to it. I started finding more and more evidence, but it was still ... This was back in the early 70s. And we had one study or one book from Fine Gold and then a few others started appearing. So gradually, I made that transition. And when I raised my own kids, started to increase awareness of that and then made that personal shift as well, because at the time I was pretty seriously addicted to sugar. So that cupboard in classroom, it was like, "Okay there's all these treats, these bags of Oreo cookies." And it was how I was seriously addicted on a personal level.
Shawn:
Well, I'm guilty of that. I've been working on it for the last few years, myself for growing up. Going on vacation and boating and things like that, we would always have fruit snacks and treats. So the one thing I learned in the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy that I really loved is the cultural heritage that you grow up with, and the feelings that you have when you go on vacation, you're drawn to eat the same foods that you ate as a child. And so I've become more aware of that as we go boating, or now we go on vacation, we try to bring more health conscious, more nutrient dense type of snacks and freeze dried fruits, and things like that, instead of eating the sugar loaded, high fructose corn syrup foods that are everywhere.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Yes.
Shawn:
So that's really cool that you brought that up. So now I'm curious, so you helped teach these special needs kids, you see a correlation with food and behavior, but then, soon after that, going and start working as an integrative clinical psychologist. So do you start working with adults or are you still working with kids at that time?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Yeah, so when I was still a classroom teacher, this was a special education classroom. It was a district classroom, so kids came from a lot of different regional schools to be in our classroom. And I started running groups in the evening for parents of kids who were in the class, and found that I really enjoyed that. And also I was giving workshops on stress. Stress for teachers, stress for parents. When I was teaching at a local college in their special education department, that was one of the things that I started to specialize in, did relaxation tapes for kids. And so then decided I would focus on clinical psychology. So that was my orientation was mind body medicine.
Shawn:
Then from there, did you go back to school as a clinical psychologist?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Yes. I went back to school and I got my doctorate in clinical psychology.
Shawn:
So this is beautiful, because it's so aligned with what we're trying to do at Pure Living Family, because what we've learned, both my wife and I is that we reached burnout pretty quickly when we didn't take care of ourselves. So I love how you organically discovered this as you were supporting special needs kids. It sounds like you then were teaching meditation and wellness to the parents. Can you talk a little bit more about that? What was your learnings and how did you transition that into your PhD program and then now what you teach everyday?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Sure. So I started teaching breathing techniques and started giving workshops for parents on how, if they were gathering themselves, if they were quiet inside. So their child might be having a meltdown in a store for example, but how can the parent stay cool, calm and collected? And so I realized that I wanted to work with not just parents, but a broader audience. And so when I studied in my doctoral program, I was focusing on health. So I became a health psychologist. In other words, I was wanting to work with people, not just who had anxiety, depression, but those who may have some physical challenges, chronic pain, for example. And so when I was a psychologist for many years, I saw lots and lots of people with physical challenges, migraine headaches, for example, insomnia. And I taught what was called self-regulation strategies.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
At that time, we didn't have breathwork, even meditation wasn't used that frequently as a word, it was more the old fashioned, like, "Okay, put your hand on your belly and feel your stomach expand and keep your chest quiet." And so it was just different ways of calming yourself with breathing and then adding imagery and changing your thoughts. And I spent a lot of time studying cognitive behavior work, which is where you realize that your thoughts are not you, they might be highly irrational because you're catastrophizing and so I'm teaching people to change their thoughts at the same time that they're quieting themselves, physically had a huge impact.
Shawn:
That's so cool. I got my 200 hour yoga certification in that. So I can relate with so much of this as a special needs parent because you're thrown into fight or flight response so often when you're dealing with the stress of taking care of a special needs soul and so recharging and resetting is extremely important. Our mission, our goal is we want to give the tools to the special needs parents on our website. We state, we give you permission to take better care of yourself so you can take better care of those special souls you care for. And my wife and I have a goal that we want to run retreats, where we give these tools to special needs parents and we come together and ... Because the other thing with that is the collective consciousness that we bring all the learnings together.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Yes.
Shawn:
My wife actually, on social media, created a group that that's where we find a lot of our solutions together. So that's so beautiful. So now you are working as an integrative clinical psychologist and then in 2015, you launch Functional Medicine Coaching Academy in collaboration with the Institute for Functional Medicine. Can you talk through, how did that come to be with Elyse Wagner as your business partner? How did you guys collaborate with the Institute of Functional Medicine? Who did you meet? How did that all come together?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Sure. So at the time I had already been a psychologist for over 35 years and I found that what I was teaching people was effective. So it's this combination of integration of cognitive behavioral strategies, positive psychology, which didn't have a name until the mid 90s, but focusing on what's right with people, including what's right with kids, even back when I was doing learning disabilities and I was a diagnostician, I tested thousands of kids and I ran a clinic for kids with ADD, but I was always focusing on what's right with them as opposed to just what the deficit is.
Shawn:
Yeah.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
And I want to give a special shout out to my hometown because my office was in Highland Park, Illinois. It's where I lived. And so it was a wonderful community, still is. And I just, again, want to give a shout out because of the tragedy that happened in my hometown.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
So that's where I was in Highland Park and seeing a lot of kids, a lot of adults, and I also got to know people in the community who were health coaches. So they had gone to other programs and they started saying, "We just don't feel like we have the right training. We don't feel confident." And at the time Elyse was my young associate. And so we would go into the community, there was a local store, Sunset Foods, and they allowed us to come in and we were doing these Saturday morning workshops, like, "Here's some good after school treats or snacks that you can pack with kids or what are some good lunches for kids?" For example, we were demonstrating how to do smoothies and with the head of the integrative medicine department of a local hospital, she was very into that as well.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
So people would keep coming up to say, "We would like to learn more." And then it's like in Jersey Boys, when they say, "And then just one day, this song popped into my head and that changed everything." The same thing. One day, this thought just popped into my head, Elyse had the same thought as well. Like, "Wow, what if we can start a training program?" And at the time we were trying to break into corporate wellness, there were big companies in the area like Allstate and we thought, "What if we branched out into corporate wellness" And that seemed really big to us. And then we decided, "Well, wait a minute. There are these people who are saying they're health coaches and they want more training. What if we started training them?" And that spawn that idea.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
And then we thought, well, I had just gotten certified through the Institute for Functional Medicine, they train doctors. I was actually the only psychologist to get approved. And I was in that first certifying class, 2013. And so this was 2014 when we first had this idea and we went to IFM and we said, "What if we collaborated and started a school for training health coaches?" And they said, "Yeah. They'd wanted to teach health coaching, but the right person hadn't come along." And so when we pitched our idea, they went for it.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
And so we set our first beta class in 2015 with 26 students. And now we've trained over three, or close to 4,000 around the world in 60 countries, every state. And I also want to add that I was 65 at the time. And there were a lot of naysayers, including my husband, who said, "What do you need this for? You've already done so much in your career. Just be a psychologist for a few more years and retire." But I knew I had a really big mission because I wanted to see a health coach in every doctor's office. So that's the story.
Shawn:
Well, I laughed because the spouse support is funny because I think every entrepreneur faces that at some point where it's like, "Why are you going into this discomfort when we're comfortable?" So I totally relate. And I think it's so beautiful of what you represent because I heard on What The Funk, another podcast that you're part of, that you do a hundred pushups a day and you have a walking treadmill that you use in all your meetings. And you're an example to so many people. And so maybe talk a little bit about that. Why you do that every morning or when you even take care of yourself?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Sure. So a thousand percent commitment to self care it's non-negotiable when you're ... I'm 72 at the time of this recording. And so it is like brushing your teeth. And so when I wake up and I have a routine and this first part I got from BJ Fogg, but actually this is something my mother always said, "When your feet hit the floor, today is going to be a good day." And I say that every morning. And then typically I'll start everyday with inversions from yoga. So no matter what else, if I don't have time for anything else, at least I do a handstand and a forearm balance. And I've been doing that for years and it feels good. It wakes me up and then I'll typically do some other yoga poses. I have a rebounder, which is so good for moving lymphatic fluids.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
So I will rebounding, I have also as you mentioned I have a treadmill desk, so when I'm answering emails or doing other types of work. I will be on my treadmill desk. Otherwise I'm standing. I've got my standing desk and then do a lot of resistance training because it is so, so important particularly as you get older, so committed to resistance training. And I like to mix it up. So I do that. I also take ballet classes, which I've done for years and tap and I like to have fun also when I'm working out, but I always have some type of physical activity everyday and not as much cardio as I used to, but some. And lots of walking. I listen to Audible and listen to podcasts while I'm walking.
Shawn:
So tell us what that does for you mentally, for your mental sharpness or mental awareness.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
You can tell the difference. It's clarity. Sometimes when I got off the routine and it's ... You need blood supply to your brain. And so I really feel that that's integral for self care and also helps me make good decisions, helps with sleep. And it's all related. We teach in functional medicine, it's all systems based and it is one connects to another. So if I feel sluggish, because say, I didn't work out and then I might have different food choices, that's going to impact my sleep. And now without that good night's rest, then the next day my food choices or my decisions might be worse, my mood might be worse. And so it is really important.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
I think some people think of those breaks or taking time out, especially if you're a parent to care for yourself is selfish and you feel guilty. And so really using that as restorative, that is so, so important. And so many things can be done with kids. I remember when my daughters were little, these were the days of VHS tapes. And there were these mom and me exercise tapes and we used to do them together. It was fun.
Shawn:
That's awesome. I just last week launched a challenge that I'm calling the sovereign man. This is a perfect segue. For our listeners, they know I suffered from addiction issues and I spent two years in therapy, $20,000 plus. But even still after all of that, I knew that I had to have a behavior change everyday that I committed to in order for me to get my mind right. So the challenge is three things. Well, four things, number one, no pornography at all. Absolutely zero, because that completely messes with your mind. And there's all sorts of studies that show that. Number two is 45 minutes of enlightenment, seeking further enlightening knowledge. And my favorite part is finding information that lights you up, that gets you excited, that makes you happy about life and functional medicine was that for me. It has been, and Functional Medicine Coaching Academy was that for me as well.
Shawn:
45 minutes working out some days on my light days, that's just a 45 minute walk outside, some days it's more intense cardio, but I like variety as well. Yoga I implement. But then also 45 minutes of finding joy and relaxation for you. If you do those three things, then you will be charged to show up for your people.
Shawn:
So I laid this challenge down on July 4th on Independence Day because I thought there's a lot of symbolism in that in a sovereign man, a sovereign man is not free. A sovereign man has responsibility. He needs to show up for himself and then show up for his family. So I think it's just aligned with everything you just said, because I really want to help liberate men's minds. I've learned that as a father, I stood in the way a lot of my son's recovery because mama's intuition is tied to source and she knows. So I love hearing from you. So thank you for sharing that story and giving me an opportunity to pitch my challenge to those dads out there that are listening.
Shawn:
One last thing just for my listeners. And maybe you can add anything that you feel that I leave out. My favorite part of the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy is, I'm still working as a software sales rep, but it's very flexible to take the program. I was able to do the program and still work a full time 40 hour plus work week. It was a 90 minute class every week and my classes were 6:00 AM to 7:30, and then I went to work the remainder of the day and that's through Zoom. And I met people from Italy, from Alaska, from all over the globe even from China. And so you get this perspective on health that is unmatched. And then from there you have coursework that you do on your own time. That's all virtual learning. And so it was perfect for me to really dive in, to help learn what I needed to learn to help my son Theo. Anything else you feel like I've left out for really talking about the FMCA program?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Well, first of all, thank you for those beautiful words about FMCA and what you said is what we hear from people who come to us. They often come thinking they just want to get the functional medicine piece for example, but what they do get, and I think this is true for you as well is personal transformation. And this process of learning these principles, practicing them, applying them with your family in your personal life. And yes, it is flexible, you can be working, you can be coaching on the side. You can be choosing to leave a position. If you're not feeling that this is your mission and purpose in life, but you can also do this on the side or blend it with what you're currently doing. So there's so many ways to use this training. And the one universal feature that people have when they come to us, and I think that's certainly true of you, Shawn, it's a calling. It's a calling to serve others and feel like you're making a difference in this world.
Shawn:
Well, selfishly, I joined for my own benefit at first, but the crazy thing is now my personal transformation is now listening to the call to serve more people, not just my family, but to serve those all around me and opportunities are expanding everywhere. I'm doing a men's retreat in Port Vita in November.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Awesome.
Shawn:
That is a functional medicine focus. The last thing I'll say is just Dr. Mark Hyman, world renowned functional medicine, touted the FMCA program this last week. We just have about two minutes left, what last things would you say to our audience? Special needs parents and maybe just what they need to know about the FMCA program?
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Yeah. Well, first of all, as a parent of special needs, it's to really focusing on you have the answers. It may feel overwhelming, it may feel like you are not up for the task, or you might feel overwhelmed by all the challenges. And it is really, there's an old saying that I love, that what's real in the mind is real in the body. I've been saying that for years. And so if you see yourself as somebody who is strong and courageous, then you will exhibit those qualities.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
And I feel that the training, we are so needed as health coaches. Right now, people are suffering like never before. Only 7% of American adults are considered metabolically healthy. That's really scary. So we have a big job and we have a big job to care for our kids. And so learning these principles will really help. And I'll say, I wish I knew that when I was raising my kids back in the 80s, I shuttered some of the things that I fed them, for example, but again, that's letting go. We can't be perfect, we all make mistakes and we just move on and see how we can change in the moment.
Shawn:
Perfect. Well, thank you so much for joining us for this podcast. We appreciate you taking time out of your busy life, helping so many people. And thank you for the FMCA program because it was totally transformational for me.
Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum:
Thank you. It's been a pleasure to be here. Thank you.
Eva:
Hi, this is The Pure Living Family Podcast. I'm Eva. My little brother's Theo, and my mom and dad are Shawn and Angela.