The Healing Catalyst

Are you constantly striving… but still feeling unfulfilled?

Does success come at the cost of your sleep, your health, or your peace?

If you’ve ever found yourself burned out from the hustle—or stuck in a cycle of chasing more while feeling less—you’re not alone. So many of us were taught that our worth is measured by how productive we are. But there’s another way to live. A way to be ambitious without abandoning your health and well-being.

In this episode of The Healing Catalyst, Dr. Avanti Kumar Singh is joined by author, executive coach, and leadership trainer, Amina AlTai to unpack the interplay between ambition, health, and personal fulfillment. Amina shares how to find purposeful ambition—the kind that fuels your soul and protects your health. She also breaks down the core beliefs that drive burnout, how to recognize when your nervous system is stuck in overdrive and how to easily regulate it, and what it takes to redefine success on your own terms.

You’ll walk away with practical tools to regulate your inner fire, reconnect with your purpose, and stop sacrificing your body for your goals.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• (08:13) Why ambition alone isn’t the problem—and what is
• (11:45) The warning signs that your body is burning out before it shuts down
• (13:19) What “purposeful ambition” looks and feels like (and how to find yours)
• (17:41) How to shift from proving yourself to honoring yourself
• (38:47) Ayurvedic insights for balancing Pitta energy and ambition
• (40:13) How to regulate your nervous system when your inner fire is running too hot
• (43:11) The daily practices that help turn ambition into healing
• (48:52) How to redefine success in a way that sustains your health—not sabotages it

This episode is your guide to transforming ambition from something that depletes you… into a practice that heals and sustains you.

About Amina AITai:

Amina AlTai is an executive coach, leadership trainer, proud immigrant, and chronic illness advocate. She works at the intersection of ambition and well-being, guiding high-performing founders, creatives, and executives toward lives of meaningful impact and sustainable success. She is the bestselling author of The Ambition Trap: How to Stop Chasing and Start Living, and a coach to leaders at companies like Google, Meta, Roku, Snap, Outdoor Voices, NYU, and HUGE.

Named one of Success Magazine’s Women of Influence, Amina is also an Entrepreneur Magazine expert-in-residence and a Forbes contributor. Her work has been featured in goop, Well+Good, The New York Times, Yahoo, NBC, Adam Grant’s Next Big Idea Club, and more.

Connect with Amina AITai:

Hormone therapy doesn’t have to be confusing, scary, or controversial.

In this powerful episode of The Healing Catalyst, Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh sits down with OB-GYN and menopause expert Dr. Suzanne Gilberg to bring clarity, compassion, and science to one of the most misunderstood topics in women’s health. Together, they unpack the myths born from the Women’s Health Initiative study, reveal what the science really says, and explore how hormones impact everything from brain health to bone strength.

Dr. Gilberg also shares her personal experience with breast cancer and why she ultimately chose to go on hormone therapy — a story that will surprise and empower you.

This episode goes beyond hormones. You’ll hear how lifestyle, sleep, nutrition, and stress interact with HRT; how ancient wisdom like Ayurveda reframes menopause as a sacred transformation rather than a decline; and why curiosity, community, and connection are powerful medicine for this stage of life.

If you’ve ever wondered whether hormone therapy is safe, if you’ve “missed the window,” or how to navigate menopause with clarity and confidence — this conversation is for you.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• (03:55) What hormone therapy really is — and why it matters
• (10:54) The truth behind the Women’s Health Initiative study
• (17:04) When to start HRT, who it’s for, and if it’s ever too late
• (21:05) How to weigh real risks and benefits with confidence
• (28:44) The role of lifestyle, gut health, sleep, and stress
• (31:06) How Ayurveda reframes menopause as a sacred transition
• (43:31) Why community and connection are powerful medicine
• (47:41) Dr. Gilberg’s self-care rituals and her message for every woman

This episode blends modern medical science with ancient wisdom to bring clarity, compassion, and confidence to menopause. Discover the truth about hormone therapy, the integrative self-care practices that support it, and the mindset shifts that can turn this transition into a powerful new beginning.

About Dr. Suzanne Gilberg:

A disruptor, healer, educator and fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Suzanne Gilberg earned her medical degree from USC in 1996 and completed her OB/GYN residency at Cedars-Sinai. Board certified in integrative and holistic medicine, she also holds a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist degree. Dr. Gilberg is Chief Medical Correspondent for The Drew Barrymore Show and author of Menopause Bootcamp. She serves as Chief Clinical Officer at Monarch, transforming women’s healthcare, and co-founded Cedars-Sinai’s Green Committee. Based in Beverly Hills, she’s committed to healing individuals, families, communities, and the planet.

Resources Discussed:

In this practical and empowering episode of The Healing Catalyst, Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh sits down with Dr. Jen Ashton—board-certified OB-GYN, nutritionist, obesity-medicine specialist, and four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist—to explore the science of weight management and strength in midlife.

Together, they unpack how shifting hormones, changing metabolism, and lifestyle habits affect women’s health in their 40s, 50s, and beyond—and what truly works to stay strong, energized, and balanced.

Drawing on Dr. Ashton’s medical expertise and her own six-month Wellness Experiment, they discuss how women can combine evidence-based science, smart movement, and self-compassion to thrive through perimenopause and menopause.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• (03:17) Why midlife weight gain happens—and how hormones like estrogen, cortisol, and testosterone influence metabolism
• (13:58) How Ayurvedic principles of balance, rhythm, and individuality align with modern science on women’s metabolism and longevity
• (18:58) How to balance strength training, cardio, and recovery to optimize energy and results
• (30:33) How variety and intensity (not restriction) are essential for healthy weight management and long-term vitality
• (43:17) Why adaptability—not perfection—is the foundation for sustainable health
• (47:26) The role of creatine in supporting muscle, metabolism, and brain health—and how to use it safely
• (52:07) Why Dr. Ashton’s one simple wellness tip, to start doing today, is meditation

This episode is your science-backed guide to weight management and strength in midlife—showing how adaptability, balance, and variety can help you feel strong, confident, and fully alive at every stage.

About Dr. Jen Ashton:

Dr. Jennifer Ashton is the founder and President of Ajenda, a multimedia company centered around weight management, women’s health and nutrition. She is the creator of Ajenda’s Wellness Experiment, a daily nutrition, fitness and health program designed specifically for women over 50. One of the only physicians with a national platform who is credentialed in nutrition, obesity medicine and gynecology, Dr. Ashton is the former ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent where she was the first woman and only the third physician to hold this position in the history of the network. A graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Medical School, she is board-certified in Ob-Gyn and Obesity Medicine, is a 4-time Emmy Award winner for her work in medical reporting and has received the Columbia Alfred DuPont Award for Excellence in Journalism and the American Heart Association’s Woman of the Year Award for her work on women’s health advocacy.  She serves on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association and is the author of six books, including the national best-seller, The Self Care Solution. 

Connect with Dr. Jen Ashton:

In this episode of The Healing Catalyst, Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh welcomes back her good friend and recurring guest, Tara Stiles, founder of Strala Yoga, for a timely and powerful conversation about the health benefits of living softly.

Tara shares wisdom from her upcoming book Living Softly, and explores how the cultural obsession with hustle and constant productivity is not only misguided—but harmful to our health and well-being. Instead, she offers another way: a practice of softness that creates real strength, resilience, and presence.

Together, Tara and Avanti dive into what it means to soften—physically, emotionally, and mentally—and how simple “softness breaks” throughout the day can help us access flow state, regulate the nervous system, and create more meaningful connections in every area of life.

They also explore how, in a world that feels increasingly difficult and disconnected, Living Softly helps us reconnect—not just to ourselves, but to each other. This way of being allows us to show up with compassion, empathy, and presence—qualities that are urgently needed as we navigate the uncertainty and division in our world. It’s a reminder that healing is never just individual—it’s collective. And the more we soften, the more we can support ourselves and each other.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• (07:32) How “Living Softly” can have an expansive impact, mentally, emotionally, and physically
• (12:55) Why hustle culture harms our health and what the science says about its long-term risks
• (23:28) How flow state improves productivity, focus, and emotional well-being—and how softness helps us get there
• (32:18) What “Living Softly” really means—and how it’s different from simply relaxing or doing less
• (33:22) Tips for handling negativity and toxic behaviors and how to employ the practice of softness in our relationships
• (37:51) The ripple effect of nervous system regulation and how softening helps us connect more deeply with others
• (41:55) Practical ways to integrate softness into your daily life—including Tara’s “softness breaks” that you can try today

This episode is your guide to redefining strength through softness—and learning how small, conscious shifts in how you move, breathe, and show up can lead to better health, deeper connection, and more grounded power.

In a world that feels increasingly hard and divided, Living Softly reminds us that healing isn’t just personal—it’s relational. The more we soften, the more we can connect—with ourselves, with others, and with the communities we’re part of. This practice helps us create calm within, so we can become a calming force in the world around us.

(correction: the World Health Organization (WHO) study discussed in this episode was published in 2021; not 2019)

About Tara Stiles:

Tara Stiles is the co-founder of Strala Yoga, best-selling author, and well-being expert. Tara has revolutionized yoga for millions, transforming a practice so often seen as dogmatic, and guru-based, into an everyday movement that supports ease and well-being.

Strala Yoga is practiced in more than 100 countries, thousands of Guides lead Strala classes around the globe every day, and Tara shares yoga with thousands of people on the Strala Yoga app. She has been profiled by The New York Times, Times of India, The Times (UK), and featured in most major national and international magazines.

Connect with Tara Stiles: