Category Archives: Addiction, Learning and Behavior

Ep. 340: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction: An Interview with Maia Szalavitz; Author of Unbroken Brain

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Today the Train Your Brain Podcast welcomes special guest Maia Szalavitz onto the show. Maia has spent decades researching addiction recovery and is the author of Unbroken Brain.

The sponsor for our podcast today is Muse. You can visit ChooseMuse.com to receive a $70 discount off of their $249 Meditation Headband Device to help you learn how to meditate and also, how to meditate daily. Use code APEX and you’ll also receive a free hard case for the Muse meditation headband.

Dr. Trayford and Maia Szavalitz discuss these revolutionary shifts in understanding addiction. The first step is seeing addiction as a learning or neuro-developmental disorder. Continue reading →

Ep. 339: The Transformative Power of Mindfulness: An interview with Cory Muscara

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Train Your Brain Podcast welcomes special guest Cory Muscara onto the show today to discuss mindfulness and mediation. Cory spent 6 months practicing meditation 14 hours a day as a Buddhist monk in South East Asia. Cory is the founder of The Long Island Center for Mindfulness. He is a teacher, speaker and coach, and he’s here with us today to spread the word about the power of mindfulness

Dr. Trayford and Cory Muscara begin discussing why we find it so difficult to sit quietly. For some of us, busy individuals and multi-taskers, it may be quite a shock to the system to sit still and do nothing, attempt to think nothing. As we do engage in mediation we will essentially experience the startling stillness of stepping off of an airport walking conveyor belt. The nervous system is not used to stopping.

Mediation practice should be accompanied by therapy in many cases, as tapping into mindfulness may revisit any form of trauma that may have been stored at the cellular level in the body. Continue reading →

Ep. 338: Childhood Developmental Disorders and Their Influence on Learning and Behavior in Adulthood: An Interview with Dr. Robert Melillo

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Train Your Brain Podcast is proud to bring you a fascinating interview today with Dr. Robert Melillo: clinician, educator, researcher, author and trail-blazer. He is the hardest working man in childhood neuro-developmental disorders and a friend and mentor to Dr. Trayford for better part of 20 years.

Dr. Trayford and Dr. Melillo begin their discussion on neuro-
developmental disorders by addressing the largest influencers. These can be pre-natal, genetic, nutritional, environmental, etc. At birth the brain is still not yet fully developed and so these factors, we’re learning, play a major role in disorders than may present much later in life.

For example, certain regions of the brain involved addictive tendencies correspond to some of these factors like sugar, technology and lack of impulse control. As we compare these effects in children and adults we are able to learn more and more about causes. Perhaps most relevenatly, Neuro-scientists are studying links in childhood medications and later adulthood additions. Continue reading →

Ep. 337: Addiction Recovery – The Power of Behavioral Change: An Interview With Todd Weatherly, Treatment Consultant

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After a long hiatus, the Train Your Brain Podcast has finally returned and will now be releasing on a bi-weekly schedule. In Episode 337, Dr. Michael Trayford and Jason Pyles the producer welcome special guest Treatment Consultant Todd Weatherly (pictured at right) to discuss Addiction Recovery, the Power of Behavioral Change. You can learn more at Weatherly & Associates and Widening Circles. And at the end of the show, we bring you tip No. 337 is “Get Back on the Horse.”

Don’t forget our seminar on October 14-15, 2017. And be sure to check out our addiction recovery alternatives ebook.

If you have any concerns regarding the information and applications discussed in this podcast, please consult your physician and a doctor who is experienced in functional neurology. Michael Trayford DC, DACNB is available for consultation by calling (828) 708-5274. Continue reading →