Join me this episode of A Beautiful PA Life Podcast for an interview with Michelle Dellene, MMS, PA-C, RYT. In this episode, Michelle shares her journey of healing from multiple sclerosis through the integration of Eastern and Western medicine into her life and clinical practice. Michelle discusses her experiences with medical gaslighting, the impact of her diagnosis on her identity as a PA, and the importance of daily practices such as meditation and yoga. She emphasizes the need for healthcare professionals to prioritize their health and well-being while empowering others in the medical field. Michelle also highlights her leadership role in the American Association of Surgical PAs and her mission to heal the healers through coaching and education on incorporating Eastern medical practices into their lives.
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Episode Breakdown
Join me this episode of A Beautiful PA Life Podcast for an interview with Michelle Dellene, MMS, PA-C, RYT. In this episode, Michelle shares her journey of healing from multiple sclerosis through the integration of Eastern and Western medicine into her life and clinical practice. Michelle discusses her experiences with medical gaslighting, the impact of her diagnosis on her identity as a PA, and the importance of daily practices such as meditation and yoga. She emphasizes the need for healthcare professionals to prioritize their health and well-being while empowering others in the medical field. Michelle also highlights her leadership role in the American Association of Surgical PAs and her mission to heal the healers through coaching and education on incorporating Eastern medical practices into their lives.
Resources mentioned in this Episode:
Today’s Podcast Guest
Michelle Dellene is a neurosurgery PA on a mission to Heal The Healers By Bridging The Gap Between Eastern and Western Medicine. Michelle combines her life experience healing from MS through the practice of yoga, meditation and application of the anti-inflammatory protocol with her clinical expertise caring for patients to coach women in medicine how to detox to heal. Michelle was awarded a Bachelor’s of Science in Microbiology and Cell Science from The University of Florida in 2013 and a Master’s of Medical Science from Nova Southeastern University in 2016. She also serves as The President of The American Association of Surgical PAs, performs as a silk aerial artist and is happily married to her husband Anthony and a proud mother of her six year old daughter Ella. Michelle encourages all listeners to never give up on your healing and live your life to the fullest!
Connect with Michelle:
Happy Sunday to you, my friend, and thank you for tuning in today. For all of those who have been here since episode one, I just wanted to say a special thank you for supporting me. I want you to know that I see you and I wrote down in my gratitude journal today that I'm so grateful for you following me on this journey. Thank you for being here.
And if you're new here, let me personally welcome you into the family of a beautiful PA life podcast where we are here to lift each other up, to support each other and where we believe that we can all have a beautiful PA life. And if you're a new listener, I want to make sure you can find all of the free resources that I have created for you.
First of all, make sure you follow the show so that you get new episodes into your podcast feed every week. They drop Sunday at midnight. Also, every Sunday at midnight, I also send a weekly newsletter to each of you listeners that includes a deep dive into the episode of the week and includes a ton of free resources that I create for the episode. And you can get those resources by clicking the link in the show notes.
And to all of you listening, I just so appreciate you being here to listen to what I've been struggling in my life, in my career, and for being here on this journey for me as I'm also trying to find my beautiful PA life. We're in this together. I'm here to support you, and I so appreciate you being here to support me too. Today, I have such a beautiful guest, Michelle Dellene.
who gives us a glimpse into the ways that she has incorporated Eastern medical practices into her own life and into her clinical practice. She shares about her own health journey and her diagnosis with MS and how even as a PA, she experienced medical gaslighting of her symptoms, which is very interesting. She teaches me about Ayurvedic medicine and her anti -inflammatory diet.
protocol and how she uses yoga and meditation to continue to practice as a PA in trauma neurosurgery. I learned so much about Eastern medicine, which, as you know, is not something that we are taught about in PA school. So I linked all the resources that we discussed in this episode in this week's show notes, which by the way, you can find just underneath this episode.
So without further ado, I hope you enjoy learning from the inspiring Michelle Dellene.
Hello and welcome to A Beautiful PA Life Podcast. I love being a PA, but my career as a PA has also been filled with exhaustion and burnout and heartache and so much anxiety. And I believe that you deserve better. I'm Rachel La Costa and I'm a PA with expertise in pediatric oncology and prioritizing self care as a PA.
I'm sharing evidence -based tools and strategies to help you from feeling the pain of burnout that I know all too well. And I'm here to be your mentor, your guide. Let's change the culture of medicine together. I invite you to envision what would a beautiful PA life look like for you. Welcome. I'm so grateful you're here.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (02:50)
Welcome to this week's episode of a beautiful PA life podcast. My guest today is Michelle Dellene. Michelle is a neurosurgery PA and she's on a mission to heal the healers by bridging the gap between Eastern and Western medicine. Michelle combines her life experience healing from multiple sclerosis through the
of yoga, meditation, and application of the anti -inflammatory protocol with her clinical expertise caring for patients to coach women in medicine how to detox to heal. Michelle was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Cell Science from the University of Florida in 2013 and a Master's of Medical Science from Nova Southeastern University in 2016. She also serves as the president of the American Association of Surgical PAs.
She performs as a silk aerial artist and is happily married to her husband, Anthony, and a proud mother to her six -year -old daughter, Ella. Michelle encourages all listeners to never give up on your healing and live your life to the fullest. What a beautiful message, Michelle. Welcome to the podcast.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (03:57)
Thank you for having me.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (04:00)
Absolutely. I'm so delighted to hear about you and to hear about your story and your journey and how you have had some own bumps in your own personal health and how that affected your career as a PA. So I'd love to hear about your diagnosis with MS and how that has affected you if you're open to sharing that.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (04:24)
Yeah, most definitely. As we were talking just a bit before we get started, it was one of the most challenging experiences that I had ever personally gone through.
because of the fact my body shut down and I couldn't do all the things that I love to do. This happened back in 2019 really. I always never felt quite right ever since I had my daughter Ella in 2017, but I was like, you you're recovering from pregnancy and
It was really rough for me. I was also diagnosed with preeclampsia. I was emergently induced. I was on, before that, even on bed rest for several weeks. And when I delivered Ella, I felt so much better, the preeclampsia resolved, but I was still...
so fatigued, especially navigating being a neurosurgery PA and breastfeeding and taking care of a newborn. And so after about two years, I was still having issues. It was intermittent.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (05:39)
I was going to say, is your PA, you know that postpartum is going to be difficult. You know that adjusting to having a child is going to be difficult. Of course, that's going to be a huge transition for anyone. But your symptoms were not getting better. It sounds like they were only getting worse in those two years.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (05:59)
Yeah, and I knew something wasn't right. You know, I had that gut feeling. And so I was very busy, but I took time off. And that can be really hard to do as a provider. Yeah, to go visit with multiple providers. I went to my primary care, I told her I had this really weird ringing in my ears. And she's like, it's just because you're not sleeping as much.
Don't worry, as soon as you rest more, go away. And I was like, OK. And then the ringing progressed to decrease auditory acuity. I couldn't really hear. I kept asking everybody, what? What? I was like, and it was more so on my left side. And then I noticed in the OR, when looking at monitors, I had to ask the circulator to bring the monitor closer because suddenly,
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (06:40)
Wow.
Okay.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (06:54)
I couldn't see what I normally could see. And these symptoms would kind of wax and wean. And I mean, they weren't too concerning. I was like, okay, I just need to de -stress, take better care of my body, sleep more.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (06:58)
Wow.
Sure.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (07:09)
But when I started developing like numbness and tingling in my fingertips, in patches of my face, even my tongue, this weird kind of ataxia, especially my left leg would feel heavy. And so I start doing all these neuro tests on me. And I do like, know, I'm like, okay, yeah, I'm like, this is weird. I'm like, what do we got? You know?
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (07:30)
Right, of course, ever the PA. Especially neurosurgical PA.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (07:39)
And I was like, okay, like my left side is definitely acting odd. And I'm like, did I have a stroke? Like maybe, you know, with the preeclampsia and the hypertension, maybe you had just a little stroke. And I was like, okay, so go to my provider. She's like, again, you're stressed, you're fine. I was like, no, I need to numerize my brain, please. And she goes, no, you don't need one. And I was like, okay, peace out.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (07:54)
huh.
Wow.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (08:07)
I traveled to another provider and she ordered it. And then we started to discover it wasn't just stress. There were multiple lesions around the ventricles, especially in the right posterior occipital lobe, which made a lot of sense because of, know, the vision and the leg and everything. And so at that time,
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (08:21)
you
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (08:31)
I went from on a mission to figure out what was wrong with me to this. felt like the world crashing on my shoulders. Like, wow, this isn't all in my head, like mentally, but physically it is. And there's a reason for this. And I remember just holding my husband in the kitchen and crying because I was like, I can't lose everything that I worked for.
I was the first one in my family to ever go to college. I had always been different and wanted to pursue medicine and everyone told me I couldn't and I proved them wrong. And I felt like at that time it was a substantial risk to my career and this huge dream of serving the community. So.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (08:59)
Right.
Wow.
Yeah.
Right, right.
Michelle, I want to kind of zoom in on two things here. Number one, what was it like to, as a PA, feel that your symptoms were being gaslit by the providers that you saw? What was that like?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (09:46)
At first, because I really trusted them, as most patients do when they present to a provider, I took what they said to heart. And I was like, I really do need more sleep. And I need to take better care of myself and de -stress. And so I did optimize those the best that I could as a new mom.
But when they kept getting worse, and I kept presenting myself in a way that I knew I wasn't being that kind of patient that was like over dramatic or, you know, whatever you want to call that person a bit annoying. That are just a bit much.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (10:26)
hypochondriac or...
Sure.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (10:32)
yeah, it felt horrible. Like the person that I trusted, I felt so alone. And I was like, if they can't hear me, if they can't see me, if they can't figure it out, well, who can? Right? And that was an incredibly trying time.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (10:54)
Now, did you talk to like your coworkers, your attendings, like about the symptoms that you were experiencing too and saying, like, what do you think? Do you think I need to seek a second opinion? I really think that I need an MRI, but I'm being told that I don't. What was that like?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (11:11)
Yes, I do. Yeah. And so just to back up a bit here, I started practicing in trauma neurosurgery, but after I had my daughter, I realized I couldn't like breastfeed and take trauma call. And also her father
I thought he would be able to take good care of her, but we were just in a situation where I had to be with her more. And so I left my dream job of practicing neurosurgery to practice something that I could sleep at night. And I ventured through aesthetics, a bit of general surgery, even elective spine before I just made it full circle back to trauma neurosurgery about a month ago.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (11:46)
Mm
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (11:57)
so at this time when all of this was going on, I was working in general surgery and I hated it. It was a lot of big, you know, belly cases, stool. I mean, I love the brain. It's like clean and beautiful. And this was the polar opposite, but I was like, okay, we're going to get work, whatever mommy has to do. So there's that. And when I
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (12:04)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, not the same. Yeah, right.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (12:24)
you know, talk to my attendings. We worked with five general surgeons at the time. They kind of brushed it off. They're like, yeah, you're probably stressed, you know.
And I was like, no, like my MRI has like multiple lesions. I mean, I'm scared. Like, what, what do I do? Am I okay to practice medicine? Like, is, is this okay? Like, can you please give me some type of advice here? And a lot of them would just, I don't think they knew. And they would just kind of like put their head down.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (12:57)
Yes.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (13:04)
and shake their head and they're like, it's gonna get better. It's gonna be okay. I'm like, what? No, do you know like the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis? It doesn't get better. It's not gonna be okay. So I felt like I didn't have that support there either, which made it harder.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (13:10)
Mm.
Literally not.
Wow.
Yeah.
The second piece I wanted to zoom in on was how this effect on your identity as a PA was being literally threatened by this diagnosis. How scary, like this duality of being so scared for your own health while also knowing that this diagnosis might interfere with your ability to perform this job that you've worked so hard to get to, that you're so passionate about.
these patients that you care so much about, what was that like the risk of losing that identity and that purpose and meaning?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (14:06)
Yeah, it was life changing. And I remember being in the OR just closing and all of a sudden I lost control of my hand and dropped the needle driver. And I couldn't even feel it. Like I just kind of watched it happen without like feeling it happen, if that makes sense. And in that moment I was like, okay, something is not okay.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (14:27)
Mm -hmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (14:32)
Then I brushed it off, you know, I asked for another one and I just kept going. I'm really good at like keeping my chin up and being positive. But then what really shook me and what I would consider is my rock bottom is I was walking out from clinic one day and walking to my car in the parking lot. And then my legs went out on me and I just found myself like on the ground.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (14:32)
you
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (15:00)
And it was like literally hands and knees, rock bottom. And that I just started crying because I was like, my body is going. And everything that I've ever worked so hard to become has been threatened. And it feels like no one is there to support me. And it was then really where...
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (15:04)
Mm. Mm -hmm.
Mm
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (15:25)
Like we mentioned before, could do one of two things. You could be the victim. You could let it happen to you. You can listen to all the doctors saying, hey, you should probably go on disability, like stop practicing medicine as a PA. And I just bought a brand new house. Like, sell your house, move in with your parents. I was like, absolutely not.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (15:44)
Hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (15:50)
So what I did do was I took a break from medicine to focus on my health. I studied anything alternative because from an allopathic perspective, there wasn't really anything that could help me. And unfortunately, the providers that I visited with, you know, didn't really offer any alternative treatments or recommendations. So I took it into my own hands.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (16:04)
you
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (16:18)
And through studying and applying the anti -inflammatory protocol, which was a game changer, like understanding that food can be medicine and how food can be really triggering for inflammatory conditions. That was in itself an entirely different challenge because I love food. it's. Yeah, yeah.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (16:41)
Sure, they don't teach this in PA school, right?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (16:47)
and been incredibly efficacious. you know, I would develop first like a little tingling in my fingers if I was overly inflamed or like the visual or hearing issue. So I was like, okay, I feel like coming on. And then if I kept eating things like, you know, eggs and toast in the morning, inflammatory or like a bowl of oatmeal, inflammatory or you know, night shades.
for lunch, like green beans with like a steak, both inflammatory, all these things. Some people think, that's healthy. It's like there's a difference between healthy and inflammatory. you know, every food has, you know, it's different way of affecting the body and everyone's body is very different. So I also incorporated, are you Veda? Have you ever heard of that?
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (17:43)
A little bit, tell me more.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (17:45)
Yeah, so this, my gosh, I feel like this is the missing link in medicine that could really connect Eastern and Western medicine and dramatically change the way we help our patients. Are you Veda? this this? Are you ready? Drum roll. Here we go. So are you Veda is the sister science of yoga? And are you?
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (18:00)
Tell me more. I'm ready. I want to hear.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (18:11)
A -Y -U -R means life in Sanskrit. Veda is knowledge, right? So it's life knowledge. It is, if you want to think of it as the oldest healing system known to humankind with an origination in India. And to break it down very simply, the idea is we are all made of five elements. Yeah? Earth, water, fire, air, and ether.
And everyone has a different constitution. This is called prakruti, right? And when we're out of balance, our current constitution is called vikruti. And so by doing a basic exam, by taking a history, an Ayurvedic practitioner or self -tools online can kind of help you figure out like where you are and recommendations to bring you back into balance. And for instance,
There are three doshas, so three different types of people that generally present in Aryaveda. There is the kaffa type, usually
broad, stocky individual, darker hair and eyes. They're predominantly made up of earth and water energy. My husband is mostly kapha. So he is prone to fatigue, stagnation, even like rhinorrhea or sinus infections if he isn't consistently adding in tapas or fire heat, right? So.
For him, waking up early is really important so that he can maintain his energy levels and adding a bit more spice or fire to his diet. He puts like sriracha on everything and he loves coffee. It is, right? The second dosha is pitta, which is made up of fire and water energy. And we all have seen that kind of person with the red hair, the freckles, the green eyes, fair skin.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (19:54)
Interesting, interesting.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (20:10)
They may even present with dermatography where you touch their skin and it turns red. That's because of the excess heat in the body. Their spirit, they're very focused, sometimes a bit stubborn, but very driven and they're very excitable.
when in excess they can get a bit aggressive and they could be a bit oversensitive. What I've noticed in the OR, these types of constitutions actually bleed like heavily, which I haven't really been able to explain that yet, but I would love to keep like connecting these allopathic observations. And then lastly is VADA, which is more air and ether energy.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (20:44)
Interesting.
Huh?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (20:58)
And this, you think of Elsa, like blonde hair, blue eyes, ethereal, very magical, you know, a bit out there. And so when you have excess Vata, you can feel cold here.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (21:02)
huh.
-huh.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (21:12)
Bowel habits can be irregular, prone to constipation, depression, and even just feeling aloof, of like head in the clouds out there. So those are the basic doshas, kapha, pitta, and vada.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (21:23)
Mm
I think that this is such a great discussion of what Eastern medicine has to offer in terms of perspective and therapy for various diseases, illnesses, ailments, because I mean, particularly as PAs, at least in my experience, we're really only trained on Western medicine.
And I'm wondering what is lacking in Western medicine's approach that Eastern medicine can offer to complement and supplement the traditional practices of Western medicine, prescribing medications and those sorts of things.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (22:16)
Yeah, so it's definitely tying the personal medicine into the application of allopathic medicine, but also instead of systematizing things, looking at the patient as a whole. And in surgery, we always say, don't treat the hole in the patient, treat the whole patient. Yet we don't, really.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (22:41)
Ha
Right, right.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (22:45)
And just to wrap around, and how I led down the rabbit hole of Ayurveda. But this is what I did first with me.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (22:50)
Yeah.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (22:52)
was I applied Ayurveda to AIP, that anti -inflammatory protocol. And because I had excess pitta and vata, I learned that certain foods like spicy foods, anything with excess fire would inflame me. And also drinking cold drinks would...
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (22:52)
Mm -hmm.
Mmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (23:13)
It all comes down to the gut, as Hippocrates says. And so in this Western world, we put ice in all of our drinks and that's one of the worst things we can do for our gut. It inhibits and stalls peristalsis. It also promotes basal constriction. So we're not getting that healthy blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract. So we can absorb what we put in our mouth.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (23:23)
huh.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (23:40)
And for me, that was a huge changer, a huge game changer. And for my clients, that's been something consistent.
incorporating more routine, warmer meals has changed their gut health and their overall health. So I think that's what we need to do when it comes to applying these, you know, Eastern healing modalities to this Western world is first, let's get personalized. Every single patient is different and we can't treat them as the same. We need to listen. We need a more in -depth approach instead of being like, well, I just work with neurosurgery.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (24:12)
Mm
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (24:18)
are going to focus on that? No. Like I talk to my patient about everything. And I love the team that I'm working with because they're behind me on that, which is the first time in my life to ever feel supported, you know, by an incredible medical team. I mean, I finally can feel safe. And I feel like we're all here to treat the patient instead of just, you know,
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (24:20)
Right.
Right.
Mm -hmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (24:48)
treat the number of people on our list or to make sure the money comes in that's supposed to. All the other things, yeah, just didn't feel right and now it feels good.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (24:51)
Right.
me to quote a rate.
Mm -hmm.
Michelle, you learned all of these Eastern practices in your own health journey. So tell me how has your health journey been with MS and how is your health now and what is your work life look like? Are you able to, I mean, you said you circled back to neurosurgery and trauma, which is exciting. How have you been able to manage your own health now and work as a PA?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (25:30)
Yeah. So it all comes down to my daily practice every single day, no matter what. Since October 27th, 2019, I practiced Transcendental Meditation and that's 20 minutes, you know, whatever time I have to be somewhere.
Subtract two hours and get up and make sure that I do yoga physical Asana or moving the body to prepare myself for meditation and then get ready and I'm on my way and That has been my staple that has allowed me to heal each and every day and also optimize
my mental health and really allowing me to focus on, well, you know, if I could do anything, what do I want to do? When you ask yourself that question every day, you're like, I want to be the president of Aespa and I want to doing aerialists and I want to practice neurosurgery again. And you know, I want to do these difficult yoga poses because my body is so strong.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (26:16)
Mm -hmm.
Yes, yes.
Hahaha!
Yeah.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (26:41)
but it wasn't like, I'm just going to do that. And it happened overnight. When I started to practice this, it was incredibly difficult. I would sit down, have a million thoughts. Ella was so little. she would cry and you know, my teacher is like,
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (26:58)
huh.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (27:01)
just sit, recite the mantra, everyone else, your animals, your children, your husband, they'll figure it out. They'll understand that this is your practice. so those thoughts as PAs, our minds are so active and I hear so many PAs, I can't meditate.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (27:04)
huh.
Mm -hmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (27:22)
my thoughts are so active and my mind is so busy. Well, hey, you're never doing it wrong. As long as you sit there and you let the thoughts kind of bubble up, you recite the mantra and you come back to that place of pure consciousness, peace of healing of love and light, you're doing it perfectly. And so about eight months in, yes, go for it.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (27:23)
Yeah. Yeah.
I've really, can I ask you more about meditation?
So I, like many people, I'm sure have struggled to meditate. And so I'm wondering, you said you take 20 minutes. Did you start by, and you set a timer for 20 minutes? Did you start with 20 minutes? Did you start with like a shorter amount of time? For someone who's wanting to start a meditation practice, what are your tips for?
starting and committing to that meditation practice. Cause I know it can be so challenging to just sit there exactly as you described and have all these thoughts running through your head.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (28:28)
Yeah, yeah. Well, to be honest, Rachel, I didn't have a choice when I was starting it. I was like, if we're going to do this, we're going to do this. And I'm an Aries. I'm like, we're jumping in, we're going all in. And like, a lot is on the line. So we have to do this. And, you know, I am a creature of habit. Like once I do something and I know it works, and that is something I will never skip ever.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (28:57)
Mm
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (28:58)
And so to answer your question, I use Insight Timer, I -N -S -I -G -H -T, it's an app, it's free. There's an option for a paid version and you can buy that if you want, but you don't have to. And I teach this at every conference where I offer this lecture about meditation and neuroplasticity. And so I set the timer for a total of 23 minutes with a 30 second warmup, a 20 minute meditation interval, and it,
brings you out with this beautiful gong instead of like a shocking alarm which is really important. Yes and then there's about a two to three minute time period where you come out of meditation which is really
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (29:36)
Definitely.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (29:51)
influential to your central nervous system health, because if you sit down for 20 minutes, you get really deep, you change your brain waves from beta to alpha, maybe even into gamma, and then you jump back into that beta brain wave activity, you can develop all sorts of things, headaches, a bit of anxiety, know, visual changes. And so
In that time period, I use it as visualization. I'm still in that energy of that deep connected space. And I visualize what I would like my day to be like and what I would like my five to 10 year future, five to 10 year future look like in regards to how healthy my body is. You know, maybe the car, I manifested my Mercedes with this, I'll tell you.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (30:29)
Mmm.
Wow! This works!
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (30:44)
dream job. It works. It works for sure. There's also a book by a neurosurgeon into the magic shop. And he talks a lot about this, the power of relaxing the body, and then visualizing until you feel it to be true, and then accepting it and moving on. And then of course, taking action in the right direction.
So that's what I would recommend for meditation and definitely jump right in. I noticed anything less than 16 minutes. There's so much evidence. If you go to tm .org around what's called Transcendental Meditation or Automatic Self -Transcendence.
This decreases blood pressure, improves cardiovascular health, improves sleep, decreases cortisol levels, and enhances mental activity performance levels. The feeling of purpose and meaning. I was like, okay, everybody needs to meditate.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (31:54)
For real, yes. And I am going to download that app Insight. I will also link it in the show notes so that the listener can find that as well. And I'll link that website as well, tm .org, so that for the PA listening, they can get those resources and start a meditation practice. And Michelle, the thing that is really sticking out for me too is that this
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (32:16)
Yes.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (32:22)
Setting that time aside, as you described, it requires prioritizing yourself and making time for it, making time for these things that make our bodies and our minds well.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (32:38)
Yes, and I don't know if you've ever heard of Jay Shetty, but for the people, yeah, I love him. I say, I don't have time for meditate. I don't have time for meditation, or I don't have time to meditate. He says, Well, that means you should probably meditate more.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (32:43)
Yes.
-huh.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (32:58)
You should probably meditate longer because when you prioritize your health and you put yourself first, think about it. What are you doing? You're prioritizing your whole life because it's in this moment of stillness and silence that you're able to purge, you know, all of that excess mental activity, what's considered
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (32:59)
There you go. There you go.
That's right.
That's right.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (33:26)
cheetah in yoga is that kind of chitter chatter of the mind and you get closer and closer to it is known as such a or truth, which is this pure consciousness it is energy that is vibrant it's full of love and and life and I like to say that you can hear those whispers of the universe a bit easier because
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (33:30)
you
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (33:54)
you're more open and attuned, you know, to resonate with them.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (34:00)
that is so beautiful. As someone who struggles with anxiety and a dysregulated nervous system, I think that establishing a practice like that for me would allow me to really slow down and take the time for myself to... I heard this quote that you cannot...
have a regulated nervous system if you're always rushing. And I feel like I'm always rushing. So instead of always rushing, taking that time to, as you said, process those thoughts, process what's going on and allow the healing that our bodies have the capability and innate ability to do for that, allow that to happen.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (34:35)
Yeah.
Yeah. And I have a tip for you, Rachel. Are you ready? Okay. So when you catch yourself, you're moving quickly, maybe it's physically or mentally, you know, there's a lot of activity in your mind. You're feeling those sensations of anxiety. First thing first, congratulations because you're aware of it. You know, most people operate in this way and they're like, yeah, I'm fine. They have no idea.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (34:57)
Please, yes.
you
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (35:24)
So congratulations, you're there. That's a huge step.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (35:26)
Thank you, thank you. I do have self -awareness around it.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (35:31)
Great, good, good. And the second part is if you know it's not really serving your lifestyle at the moment and you'd like to shift more into a state of peace, of intention with your action and also productivity, take three deep diaphragmatic breaths. So we're going to practice, you ready?
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (35:57)
Yes.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (35:57)
Okay, so you're gonna place one hand on your belly, the other on your heart. Close your eyes. Inhale through your nose, expand through your chest and make your belly big. Sip in a little bit more air, really stretch those lungs into the rib cage. And then exhale to release.
Again, two more deep breaths. Inhale, expand into the chest and the belly, sip in a little bit more air, feel the stretch. Now exhale, really expel every last drop of stale air here. Engage Uddiyata Bandha by pulling the navel into the low back. Beautiful.
Now biggest breath yet, inhale, expand through the chest, make the belly big, sip in even more air. A little bit more here. And exhale, let it go.
So this practice of the three deep yogi breaths or diaphragmatic breaths actually stimulates the vagus nerve and it shifts the body from that sympathetic to parasympathetic state.
And there's incredible literature out there to support even surgeons that run into a problem in the OR and, you know, your patient is dying on the table. They teach this deep diaphragmatic breath just so they can focus and move intentionally to save the patient and also control the high volume of emotions and mental activity.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (37:50)
Wow, I not only feel more calm in this moment, but what's coming to mind is that taking three deep breaths is something that's literally always accessible to me. And for you listening, it's something that's always accessible to you. And by shifting into that parasympathetic state, then if you're in surgery,
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (38:04)
Yes. Yes.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (38:18)
you know, and the patient is having a complication or if your patient codes or if you have another emergency for a patient, taking that small amount of time to calm your nervous system is going to allow you to think more clearly and make the right decision because you're not clouded by all of that chaos of the adrenaline and the cortisol.
that are of course rushing through your system at the time.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (38:50)
Most definitely. Yes. And if you notice after those three deep breaths, you return to the same habit. There's also a trick to break that cognitive loop. Do you want to learn about it? Okay, I'm full of the tips and tricks that you just tell me.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (39:04)
Yes.
I love it. Absolutely. I'm here for it.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (39:13)
So this one is the five second rule by Mel Robbins. She's incredibly famous for this. I love her. And you think about NASA, like when the rocket is going off five, four, three, two, one.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (39:17)
Ugh, I love her. Yes.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (39:27)
Okay, so you've been running around like a chicken with your head cut off acting crazy, lots of thoughts, you take the three deep breaths, you know, you feel a little bit better, but your body will continue to do the same habit over and over and over again until you break the loop. And so this changes that mental activity that goes in a circular pattern into the frontal lobe where you're aware after you count down from five, and you have the ability to change your behavior in the
moment, the key is you act quickly. That's why you count down from five. You can even anchor a mantra like, I move slow after you count down from five.
So your body is much more responsive to the intention to move slower instead of taking three deep breaths, I feel good and then I'm just gonna keep doing whatever I did before.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (40:26)
Yes. Interestingly, I love the 54321 and the time that I use this the most is when I'm on a Peloton ride and it's very challenging and I find that I've taken a break in like the middle of an effort and I'm like saying and I start saying to myself, I need to push myself right now. I can do this.
five, four, three, two, one, and then I'm gonna get back into that effort and challenge myself, push myself. I know that I can do it. I just need, and maybe it is that shift into the prefrontal cortex that is then telling my body, you can do this, you're safe, you're okay. This is just hard.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (41:19)
Yeah. So how does that feel after you count down from five? Do you feel like you can do it?
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (41:27)
most of the time, yeah. It's like a reset where like if I otherwise was thinking I'm just gonna skip this effort and just like take it easy and then I'll catch the next effort, it's a reset to say no, I don't need, I'm okay. I just need more motivation or more push or more drive in this moment to push my body to do what I want it to do versus
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (41:28)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (41:56)
the part of my brain that's like, no, I don't really want to do that. No, I actually do. And I can if I let myself.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (42:05)
Yes, yes you can. I feel the same way. You know, when I work out or practice yoga by myself.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (42:07)
Hahaha.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (42:13)
It is not the same in comparison to showing up to a class of 50 people and you know, having a teacher that is incredibly passionate, like guiding you with like hands on adjustments. And so thank you for that. I never thought about that application of the five second rule to your own like personal, I call it medicinal movement practice, but yeah, I will do that now.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (42:40)
Ooh, I love that. Yes. It's just, again, it's something that's so accessible, so accessible. takes, you know, five seconds and it's like a, it's a reset. It's a reset for your mindset.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (42:48)
Right.
Yeah.
Definitely, and this is what I love. It is inevitable when I'm working with clients or just meeting with others that I intend to show up and teach, you know, to give something to the world, but inevitably it's the golden rule of reciprocity. We always receive something and just, I wanted to, you know, honor that. Thank you for sharing that with me. I'm really grateful.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (43:24)
and same to you. Goodness, I've learned so many things already. And I love how you've enriched your clinical practice as well as your own personal journey by learning these Eastern medicine techniques and practices and how they've really been beneficial for you to incorporate them into your daily life.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (43:47)
Yes, thank you. Now I'm slowly dripping it to all the neurosurgeons that I work with and being very careful not to overwhelm them with too much of it at once. That's so far so good.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (44:02)
It makes so much sense to me that this would be a beneficial practice for someone who works in neurosurgery. What a delicate practice neurosurgery is, right? The structures are so intimate, so delicate. They're just so delicate. Cue Delicate by Taylor Swift. And you have to be calm in order to...
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (44:22)
Yeah.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (44:30)
to be a good neurosurgeon, right?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (44:34)
definitely, especially like skull based neurosurgery. And it is so incredible to be able to work with these brilliant surgeons. Like, I feel just being in their presence every day, like I'm smarter, you know, and I hope that I'm also offering that, you know, sense of peace and integration of Eastern healing.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (44:50)
Absolutely.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (45:00)
to their lifestyle because that's my mission, right? The mission to heal the healers.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (45:06)
Well, this is a perfect segue because I would love to hear how you are empowering other medical professionals and healthcare providers to incorporate these practices into their own lives. Tell me about your coaching program and your mission to heal the healers.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (45:25)
yes, most definitely. So I work with women practicing medicine to detox to heal. And what that means is we go on a 12 week journey of studying Ayurveda.
yoga, the eight limb path of yoga, which is more the application of the philosophy of yoga. We learn about the chakra system, which is the energy system within us and how we can analyze our energetic health at any moment in time. And I offer physical exercise.
even different, wearing different colors, incorporating, you know, different foods and changes to your environment that all affect your energy. I teach Transcendental Meditation, which we practice every single day throughout the program.
What's cool is you have me in your pocket. I'm on your phone 24 seven. I have this online program where all of the modules are available to you and this daily recording of sadhana, which means a sacred practice where we move through several vinyasa sun salutation movements to prepare the body for sitting still in meditation and even do a bit of Kundalini, which is a power
breath practice and holding angles in the body to open up and prepare the mind for that integration of spirit and healing. And so we set goals in the beginning of, you know, what we would like to accomplish in 12 weeks. And I'll tell you those that show up and do the work, they hit those goals usually about seven days, which is crazy.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (47:13)
Wow.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (47:14)
especially physical goals, which is wild. It works very quickly.
And then, you know, around six weeks or so, we usually hit that point where something comes up and it's very challenging. And this is where we can turn our pain into purpose. And I helped them navigate that challenge. Recently, it was a surgery PA resident, and I love this because it's always so different, navigating job interviews. And at the time, I was also like,
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (47:46)
Mmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (47:48)
interviewing and so I love how it's so complimentary and I was coaching her through you know these PA interviews and she's like I don't know if I want to move to California or you know stay close to family and we're like okay well what's important to you and just being able to apply that part of practicing medicine that not many people teach
was super cool and she landed her dream job. She graduated from the program, hitting all of her physical goals, her health goals, her mental goals. I mean, it was a really proud moment. So it's unique for every person that comes through the program and it's always evolving. And that's kind of the synapsis.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (48:13)
Right.
incredible. And what a impactful difference that you're making for your clients. I'm wondering, most of your clients, what are they coming to you with? Like, what is their primary problem that that leads them to seek out your program?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (48:54)
Right, so a lot of it is gut health, energy levels, being overweight. I had clients with, know, suddenly they had this like cardiac workup and they were like so afraid, you know, that.
something bad is going to happen and quite overwhelmed with it all. And they just wanted to be healthy. Others, my first ever client, which was so exciting. I actually went to PA school with her and she was losing like patches of hair. She had alopecia areata and you know, really had a stressful job working in plastic surgery and also working in the emergency department. And so I see all sorts of things.
and I kind of I noticed this and you're probably familiar with this too just being in this world and the clients that you attract the people that you attract they're very much like a mirror of you in some way or another you've been there
you've experienced similar problems and you're able to offer this guidance, you know, towards the direction of health and solving their problems because you've been there yourself. And so that's been really cool to see it in someone else to help them through. But also I notice, you know, when I really need something and I may have difficulty listening to myself in some way of applying how to heal for me because I love
giving to others. Clients may loudly repeat the complaint or you know the issue over and over again. My hair is really falling out and I'm like okay well
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (50:33)
huh.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (50:46)
This is what we need to do. First, regulate your sleep. Then nutrition, stick with AIP. What foods are you eating right now? Did you start to reintroduce something and your hair started falling out? Navigating that reintroduction process of inflammatory foods is really important because that can make all the difference in maintaining what is known as a personalized anti -inflammatory protocol.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (50:50)
Mm -hmm.
Mmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (51:13)
and so even one of my clients recommended amla oil. Have you ever heard of this? and I love this because someone always teaches me something that just like you get and so yeah, my last client she, she was like, this amla oil is so good for your hair. And ever since I've been using it, my hair is like incredibly voluminous.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (51:20)
No!
I love it.
Wow.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (51:42)
And it's of Indian origin. It's made from this amla fruit. It is green. My husband and I did it on like a new moon because that's the time of the month that we need to, you know, nourish ourselves and kind of take it slow. And what we didn't realize is once we put it in our hair and we give each other massages, we like laid down to go to bed, we have all white bedding and it changed everything to green.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (51:55)
Yes.
Oopsies!
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (52:11)
Now I can teach clients. Yes, so you need a different pillowcase. Maybe a...
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (52:18)
That's too funny. Well, you learn from personal experience, right?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (52:22)
Yeah, for sure. So yeah, every client is so uniquely different. But what always remains the same is the meditation, Ayurveda.
learning about yoga, practicing yoga every single day, applying the philosophy of first do no harm, speaking the truth, practicing brahmachara, pranayama, focus. I mean, I could talk to you forever about the things we do, but yeah, those are the staples.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (52:53)
I love it. can tell how passionate you are. Yes. And I can tell that you're able to make an impact for your clients in a way that is so meaningful and is sort of analogous to the impact you're making on your patients. But as you said, you're also healing that part of yourself by paying forward that knowledge and information to
other people who have struggled just like you, that's like healing a part of yourself as well by sharing that knowledge. You seem to be a student, not just a Western medicine and Eastern medicine, but you seem to be a student of life, just trying to learn and take in from your environment and the people you interact with what can be beneficial and beautiful and supplementary and complimentary to your own practices, which I think is so beautiful.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (53:52)
Thank you. One of my favorite yoga teachers preached that over and over again. She said, sit at the feet of your life and be a student. And in that moment,
I resonated with that message so deeply and I promised myself I would. And it really humbles you and it also offers these gifts that so many people may miss by stepping only into the leadership role, only into the coach role, only into the PA role. I opened myself up to learn.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (54:27)
Mm -hmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (54:33)
in every setting, you know, and it is incredibly rewarding.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (54:39)
Hmm. Michelle, you are just such a inspiring and such an exemplary PA. I want to circle back to another thing on your resume and hear about your experience as a president of the American Association of Surgical PAs and what it's been like being the president of that organization and what impact and changes you have made or intend to make.
through your leadership role.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (55:09)
Yes, I love Aespa. So Aespa is like a big family. We're a whole bunch of surgery PAs really dedicated to developing our surgical education. And as president, I'm here to guide the incredible executive board of directors in...
not only operating well together, but also executing the delivery of high quality CME. So we just launched our Boston Conference in August. It was a huge success. We had a little over 150 attendees.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (55:49)
Awesome.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (55:51)
Yeah, it was so great. It's wonderful to see people in real life. And as surgery PAs, we need to practice hands -on. So we collaborated with NIFA, the National Institute of First Assisting. And we had, I believe it was about 28 people in like a hands -on two -day workshop, like learning how to suture and really practicing identifying all the layers and how, you know, suturing differently.
with different needles and different ways. And in a way where you're suturing across from each other, just as you are in the OR, with different types of tissue that is incredibly realistic really helps develop that muscle memory so that you can show up to your job or return.
to a setting that you were once not so confident in executing these surgical skills as this like brand new shiny surgical PA ready to rock and roll. So that was fun. And we got incredible feedback. I mean, everyone really loved that workshop. Shout out to Nifa. We love you. Thank you. We also, yeah.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (56:55)
What?
That's awesome. What a great opportunity to provide to PAs who want to increase their skills in that particular area and to leave the conference feeling more confident because they've been able to practice and on a realistic model and get feedback from experienced surgical PAs. can just imagine the energy in that room must have been electric.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (57:28)
It was, it was and we did at Mass General Brigham. They have such an incredible audio system. So it was like get the music right. Everyone's smiling. Of course, I come by with my camera, get all the shots. Like it was a vibe. It was wonderful.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (57:36)
Nice.
I love it. I love it. and I can just feel your passion, your excitement for sharing this with other sharing this knowledge and helping and empowering PAs to be successful and impactful for their patients.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (58:01)
almost definitely because like I've been there too. I've been a brand new PA in the OR where my attendings like, okay, you got this and I'm like, yeah. And he leaves and I'm like, my god, what are we here? You know, sweating and you're like, my your hands are shaking. And you're like, I can do this. I can do this. Look where we are now just like throwing down knots and just talking about the day like
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (58:04)
Yeah.
Right. Right, right, right.
-huh, -huh.
I love it. that sounds so fun. You're inspiring me to think about surgery. I'll probably never practice in surgery, but it sounds fun. I did have an awesome plastic surgery rotation at the Houston VA Medical Center and I had an awesome preceptor who let me do so much and I did love it. However, pediatric oncology is my, my love. I don't do a whole lot of suturing in that field.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (58:31)
Would I also...
Yeah, come on over. I'll teach you how to do it.
Yes.
Right.
Yeah, well, if you ever want to come play with us, more than, you know, welcome. We would love to teach you all the different skills.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (58:59)
you
I love it. It sounds fun. It sounds fun. And for the PA listening, if you're interested in learning more surgical skills, perhaps check out the next conference of, you say ASPA? ASPA? ASPA.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (59:18)
Yeah, Aespa. Yeah, so next year, it will be either August or September. We're still looking for a venue. So if you'd like us to come to your town and you have an academic medical center, just send me an email, michelledaleen .aespa .gmail .com. I'd love to know. I also teach yoga every single day at the conference. And that's part of my delivery of Healing the Healers.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (59:23)
Cool.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (59:48)
That's been incredible. This year there was a lot of, wow, I need to do that more.
And I incorporate everything, aromatherapy, turn out the lights in Shavasana to allow the pineal gland to secrete melatonin. So you get a deeper Shavasana experience. We do breath work. I offer hands -on assists and also kind of weave in a little bit of anatomy, physiology, and then the depth and science of yoga. So it's like its own kind of class in itself.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:00:26)
I would show up just for that. It sounds incredible. That sounds so it feels like the opposite of what you think of a stuffy medical conference feels like so warm and welcoming healing. you just and you just give me that energy of these healing warm welcoming vibes.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (1:00:28)
Yeah.
Yes, my gosh, that's what we're all about. And this is why I love Aespa so much because it's been like this since the first day I met them.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:00:51)
Mm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (1:00:56)
I was like, wow, you are my people. This was like back in 2020 when COVID happened. They did their like virtual conference for the first time. And it was like finally a CME that I could use and apply to my daily practice as a PA instead of like learning about diabetes and hypertension and everyone is like flat and monotone. I was like falling asleep, the drooling. Yeah.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:00:57)
Nice.
I love that.
Yes.
Right, right, right, yeah, same.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (1:01:25)
I'm like, I don't think I need this, you know? So that's been really cool.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:01:29)
Right, right. I just love how you're involved and paying forward your knowledge, sharing this knowledge with other PAs who are benefiting so greatly from your knowledge, your unique experience and expertise. I just, I'm very inspired by you.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (1:01:50)
thank you. And thank you for having me here and allowing me to share my story and share it with others. You know, if you're listening to this and you're really struggling, know that you're not alone. And there's so many people that want to support you, that want to help you. You know, and if you need anything, please reach out because we love to help you.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:02:15)
We do. I echo that sentiment 100%. We are here for you. We care about you. We see you and we're here to support you. Michelle, where can the listener find you? Where are your all the things your Instagram? Where can people find you?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (1:02:33)
Yeah, so on Instagram, if you want to follow more of this, like yoga type of content, right now we're going through the chakra system. My handle is MichelleDaleenHeels. I also have a website micheldaleen .com or you can email me micheldaleen at micheldaleen .com.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:03:00)
I will link all of that in the show notes as well. And that leads me to the very last question of the episode. ask every guest on the podcast. What does a beautiful PA life mean to you? And do you have a beautiful PA life?
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (1:03:15)
Yeah, so a beautiful PA life means to me living your beautiful PA life to the fullest. There are so many PAs that I have been able to speak with and they feel like they're not practicing to their full potential.
or they're in a toxic environment and they stay because of the money or the security or they come up with all these reasons why it's a good job after they just told me how miserable they are.
I want you to know that there are incredible opportunities out there for you always. And when you shift from victimhood into being this empowered PA, those opportunities fall into your lap. And it doesn't mean that it's easy, right? Usually what breaks you down is what eventually creates the room and space to build you up.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:03:52)
Mm -hmm.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (1:04:19)
Right, so never give up whether it's pursuing your career as a PA or on your own unique healing journey Keep your chin up your heart open and a big smile
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:04:33)
I love it. Thank you so much for being here, Michelle. You've shared so many impactful tips, tricks, tools, mindset changes, and I'm so grateful for you being here.
Michelle Dellene PA-C, RYT (1:04:47)
I'm so grateful for you. This has been such a pleasure. You know, after a day like full of trauma call and honestly, I was exhausted. I did my meditation and I'm still like, I could just sleep right now. I was like, I don't know how I'm going to do this. But when I'm here with you just talking, I mean, you saw me, I'm like quickly energized and it's just confirmation. Yeah. Doing what you love lights you up.
Rachel La Costa (she/her) (1:05:01)
You
Absolutely.
Thank you for joining me for this episode of A Beautiful PA Life Podcast. I'm here to help ease you into your PA week. So meet me at midnight every Sunday. I'm dropping a new podcast episode and also sharing a little love letter in my email newsletter. So to make sure you don't miss anything, just do two things. Number one, follow the show on your podcast app, so you automatically get those episodes every Sunday at midnight. And then number two,
Go to my Instagram page. It's @rachel.la.costa. Go to the link in bio and you can sign up for my newsletter. It's a little love letter I send every Sunday at midnight. You'll also find my Words of Wisdom Wednesdays. And, you know, if you've been feeling lately like, “it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me.” Check out my complete diagnostic assessment for burnout. It's a 10 question quiz. It's completely free. It's called, How Full is Your Cup?
You can find it at the link in bio. And until next time, remember, you can serve the patients you love without losing yourself. I believe in you and I'm here for you. Bye -bye.