Your Lifestyle Is Your Medicine Episode 50: Dr I-Chia Sun

PODCAST INFORMATION

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The body stores every trauma, stress, and unprocessed emotion we’ve experienced (packed away for later processing), and these repressed emotions are destroying our health more than any external factor, according to Dr. Eicha Sun, who discovered this truth through her own journey from frustrated Western MD to holistic healer.

💡 ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Healing requires moving beyond symptom management to address the root causes of illness, which are often stored as repressed emotions and traumas in the body that can be released through fascial release practices and self-compassion.

📖 SUMMARY

In this illuminating episode of “Your Lifestyle is Your Medicine,” host Ed Padet sits down with Dr. Eicha Sun, a Western-trained MD who transitioned to practicing acupuncture and fascial release therapy. The conversation explores Dr. Sun’s journey from a conflicted medical student to discovering a more holistic approach to health that addresses the emotional and energetic roots of physical illness.

The conversation begins with Dr. Sun sharing her background as the child of Chinese immigrants who pushed her toward Western medicine despite her early interest in Chinese healing practices. She describes her challenging experience through medical school, where she felt she didn’t quite fit in and was constantly stressed and disheartened. A pivotal moment came when a pediatric oncologist who had interviewed her years earlier stopped her in the hallway and told her, “You’re going to do something great one day,” predicting she would be “led into medical school” despite her struggles.

After completing her training, Dr. Sun practiced family medicine but found it deeply unsatisfying. She describes the limitations of the Western medical model: 10-minute appointments, one problem per visit, and a focus on labeling and medicating rather than addressing root causes. She became increasingly frustrated that she couldn’t actually solve people’s health problems, only manage symptoms.

A turning point came when Dr. Sun experienced a mountain biking accident that resulted in a concussion and broken hand. After a month of unsuccessful physiotherapy, she received one acupuncture treatment that included manual therapy and needling, resulting in a big emotional release and immediate functional improvement. This experience revealed what was missing in her medical practice: hands-on healing that addresses the whole person.

Dr. Sun then pursued acupuncture training with Dr. Steven Hong in Edmonton, describing it as a spiritual awakening that opened her mind to concepts beyond the Western medical paradigm. She learned about chakras, energy channels, and the mind-body-spirit connection, which filled in the gaps in her Western medical education.

The conversation explores how Dr. Sun later discovered fascial release therapy through Human Garage, particularly their 15-minute stress reset practice. She experienced profound emotional releases and unwound 90-95% of her old injuries, including multiple concussions and compression injuries from mountain biking and skiing. This led her to integrate fascial release into her practice, teaching patients how to heal themselves rather than being passive recipients of care.

Dr. Sun explains that fascial release works because it allows the body to release stored emotions and traumas that have been “packed away for a later date to try to process and resolve.” She shares powerful examples of how emotional releases during fascial work can lead to physical healing, including her own experience with sacral pain that resolved after memories of a car accident and C-section trauma came up and were released through crying and emotional processing.

The conversation delves into the concept that the body stores emotions in different organs (large intestine holds sadness and grief, for example) and how releasing fascial restrictions around these organs can facilitate emotional release. Dr. Sun shares a compelling example of how a mother’s large intestine release led to her daughter releasing unprocessed grief about her father’s death during sleep.

Dr. Sun emphasizes that true self-care isn’t about doing all the right things (appointments, diet, exercise) but rather “the caring part, the compassion, the self-love that’s needed.” She explains that as we release stress and tension stored in the body, we not only improve physical function but also shift our perceptions and how we see the world, which can lead to profound life changes.

🔍 INSIGHTS

Core Insights

  • The body stores every trauma, stress, and unprocessed emotion we’ve experienced, packed away for later processing
  • Western medicine often focuses on labeling and medicating symptoms rather than addressing root causes, which are frequently emotional or energetic
  • Fascial release therapy allows the body to release stored emotions and traumas, leading to both physical and emotional healing
  • True healing requires moving beyond symptom management to address the underlying causes of illness
  • Self-care is not about doing all the right things but rather developing the compassion and self-love needed to process stored emotions
  • Different organs hold different emotions (large intestine holds sadness and grief, for example)
  • As we release physical restrictions in the body, our perceptions and how we see the world can shift
  • Parents’ emotional healing can ripple out to their children, creating healing across generations
  • The most responsible thing we can do is understand what’s happening inside us rather than deferring to external authorities
  • Crying is a healthy and important way to release emotions that many people have been conditioned to suppress

How This Connects to Broader Trends/Topics

  • Growing recognition of the mind-body connection in health and healing
  • Increasing interest in holistic approaches that address emotional root causes of physical illness
  • Shift from passive patient care to empowering individuals to participate in their own healing
  • Rising awareness of how trauma and stress manifest physically in the body
  • Integration of Eastern and Western medical approaches
  • Growing understanding of the fascial system as a communication network in the body
  • Movement toward self-care practices that address emotional and physical well-being simultaneously

🛠️ FRAMEWORKS & MODELS

The Stored Emotion Model

Dr. Sun’s understanding of how emotions are stored in the body:

  • Storage Mechanism: The body packs away unprocessed emotions, traumas, and stress for later processing
  • Physical Manifestation: Stored emotions create physical restrictions, tension, and eventually disease
  • Release Process: Fascial release allows the body to access and release these stored emotions
  • Healing Layers: The body heals in layers, starting with superficial layers and progressing to deeper ones over time
  • Integration: Physical and emotional healing occur simultaneously as restrictions are released

The Multiple Pathways to Healing Framework

Dr. Hong’s teaching that “there are many ways into the house”:

  • Front Door: Conventional approaches like diet, exercise, lifestyle changes
  • Back Door: Spiritual practices, meditation, energy work
  • Window: Creative expression, relationships, community connection
  • Chimney: Direct physical interventions like fascial release, acupuncture
  • Key Insight: All pathways can lead to healing, but different approaches work for different people at different times

The Organ-Emotion Connection Framework

Understanding how emotions are stored in different organs:

  • Large Intestine: Holds chronic sadness and grief
  • Lungs: Hold sadness, grief, and unresolved emotions
  • Heart: Holds joy and unresolved emotional issues
  • Liver: Holds anger and frustration
  • Kidneys: Holds fear and anxiety
  • Practical Application: Organ releases during fascial work can facilitate emotional release and healing

The Self-Healing Empowerment Framework

Dr. Sun’s approach to patient care:

  • Patient as Active Participant: Rather than passive recipient of care, the patient does the work of healing
  • Practitioner as Guide: The practitioner walks alongside the patient, facilitating their journey
  • Self-Care Redefined: True self-care is about compassion and self-love, not just doing the right things
  • Two-Way Exchange: Both practitioner and patient benefit from the healing process
  • Long-Term Maintenance: Teaching patients self-care practices creates sustainable health improvements

The Trauma Release Pattern

How the body processes and releases stored trauma:

  • Trigger: Physical movement, emotional activation, or therapeutic intervention
  • Memory Surfacing: Related memories surface as physical restrictions release
  • Emotional Release: Crying, shaking, yawning, sweating, or other physical releases
  • Physical Discharge: Orange, gritty vaginal discharge or other unusual eliminations as toxins release
  • Integration: The body integrates the healing, often leading to improved function and reduced pain

💬 QUOTES

  1. “It’s actually the caring part, the compassion, the self-love that’s needed. Those are those core emotional wounds that are there stored in the body, which when we work with the fascia, such a wonderful way to start to open it and when people do it for themselves, it’s not someone doing it to you and forcing something open that you’re not ready for.”

  • Dr. Eicha Sun on what true self-care really means

  1. “We have to get up and go and work and do life and you know at some point there’s no you know not a coincidence by middle age a lot of times the bodies aren’t healing or people feel old or they don’t feel good and they think it’s because they’re getting old, but it’s not. It’s just the accumulation of all the stress and unprocessed emotions and trauma and things that we keep in that we’ve never sat with to understand and so healing of the body is really about coming home into the body.”

  • Dr. Sun on why people feel “old” in middle age

  1. “In Western medicine, we might take that to be either we think people you know it’s in your head which is a terrible thing right right but actually I did that in my first five years I got to that point where the more people told me I’d be like trying to leave the room cuz you just I can’t hear anymore you just can’t make sense of it right and you almost start to blame the patient that’s not doing medicine right.”

  • Dr. Sun on the limitations of Western medicine’s approach to emotional issues

  1. “I always say if you’re not yet in the coffin, you know you could be in better health, you could live longer, you could do better.”

  • Dr. Sun on when it’s too late to make health improvements

  1. “The most responsible thing we can do in our lives is to actually understand what’s going on inside of us because so much of what’s happening in here there’s a lot of imbalance a lot of turmoil a lot of stress a lot of repression which is actually creating our external experiences and realities and situations.”

  • Dr. Sun on the importance of internal awareness for health

  1. “As the fascia gets healthier through the hydration, it can respond, it can perceive, and we can actually actualize our life better. We can feel better like the Mind Body Spirit is what I love and this practice kind of picks off all those boxes.”

  • Dr. Sun on the benefits of fascial release for overall well-being

  1. “Crying is the healthiest thing that we can do and yet so many of us you know we’ve stopped the ability to we don’t have space to maybe we don’t even know how to become vulnerable to cry so but it is a an important way to release to feel.”

  • Dr. Sun on the importance of crying for emotional release

  1. “When I was having this pain, the flashes of memory were starting to come up of being hit by a car when I was riding my bike going to work and how I landed on the floor on the road on my butt and in my trauma response I just got up right away and I still went to work.”

  • Dr. Sun on how old traumas can resurface during healing

  1. “The most powerful thing we can do as mothers now I’m a woman mother, same for fathers, I’m sure, is to do our own healing work. Just take care of this. Moms are always putting themselves last and trying to take care of everything household work, whatever, and we try to make external factors perfect for our kids and our families, but if we just take care of ourselves, wow, it’s powerful.”

  • Dr. Sun on how parental healing impacts children

  1. “Instead of feeling like we have to defer, you know, um, our health to somebody else or for the answers, actually there’s a lot we can actually do in here, and in fact, instead of us being externally out there all the time, actually the most responsible thing we can do in our lives is to actually understand what’s going on inside of us.”

  • Dr. Sun on empowering patients to heal themselves

⚡ APPLICATIONS & HABITS

Practice Fascial Release for Self-Healing

Start with Human Garage’s free programs (1, 3, or 7-day resets) available on their website. The 15-minute stress reset is a good introduction that can provide immediate benefits. Practice regularly to release stored emotions and physical restrictions.

Connect with Your Body’s Wisdom

Develop the habit of checking in with physical sensations rather than just thinking about problems. When you feel stressed or overwhelmed, pause and ask: “Where do I feel this in my body?” This practice helps you process emotions through the body rather than just in your mind.

Allow Emotional Release

Create safe spaces for emotional expression. Crying is a healthy release mechanism that many people have been conditioned to suppress. Allow yourself to feel emotions fully in your body without judgment or trying to understand them intellectually first.

Address Root Causes Rather Than Symptoms

When experiencing physical symptoms, consider what emotional or stress factors might be contributing. Look beyond the immediate physical issue to potential underlying causes that may be stored in your body.

Practice Self-Compassion

Recognize that true self-care isn’t about doing all the right things perfectly but developing compassion and self-love for yourself. This is especially important for those who tend to put others’ needs before their own.

Explore Multiple Healing Pathways

Remember that “there are many ways into the house”—different approaches work for different people. Experiment with various modalities (physical, emotional, spiritual, creative) to find what works best for you.

Consider the Organ-Emotion Connection

When working with specific health issues, consider which organs might be involved emotionally. For example, if dealing with unresolved grief, consider practices that support large intestine health.

Trust Your Body’s Healing Process

Understand that the body heals in layers and that old injuries or traumas may resurface as you progress. Trust this process and allow time for integration between releases.

Share Your Healing Journey

Consider sharing your experiences with others to inspire hope and demonstrate what’s possible. As Dr. Sun notes, this can create ripple effects that benefit others beyond yourself.

Balance Doing and Being

In our action-oriented world, remember the importance of simply being present with your experience. This balance is essential for true healing and long-term health.

📚 REFERENCES

  • Human Garage (humangarage.net) - Free programs and resources for fascial release
  • Dr. Steven Hong - Dr. Sun’s acupuncture teacher who emphasized loving patients and self-healing practices
  • Chiang and Tai Chi - Traditional Chinese practices for self-cultivation and energy movement
  • The concept of “Triple Energizer” in Chinese medicine
  • Organ-emotion connections in Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • The relationship between fascia and overall health
  • Trauma release patterns and physical manifestations
  • The role of crying and emotional release in health

⚠️ QUALITY & TRUSTWORTHINESS NOTES

E-E-A-T Assessment

Experience: Excellent. Dr. Sun demonstrates exceptional first-hand experience both as a Western MD practicing family medicine for years and as someone who has personally experienced healing through alternative approaches. Her insights come from her own healing journey and clinical work with patients.

Expertise: Excellent. Dr. Sun shows deep expertise in both Western medicine and holistic healing approaches. Her understanding of how emotions are stored in the body and released through fascial work demonstrates sophisticated knowledge of the mind-body connection.

Authoritativeness: Excellent. As a Western-trained MD who has integrated Eastern approaches into her practice, Dr. Sun has established authority in bridging these different paradigms. Her perspectives are backed by both clinical experience and personal healing journeys.

Trust: Excellent. Dr. Sun provides balanced insights about both Western and alternative approaches, acknowledging the strengths and limitations of each. She shares personal vulnerabilities and healing experiences that build trust and authenticity.

Quality Assessment

  • The podcast provides concrete frameworks that listeners can implement in their lives
  • Dr. Sun shares specific examples from her personal healing journey and clinical work
  • The conversation balances theoretical explanations with practical application
  • The host asks thoughtful follow-up questions that probe deeper into key concepts
  • The discussion acknowledges uncertainties and individual variations in healing responses
  • The content is well-structured with clear transitions between topics
  • The insights are relevant to anyone interested in holistic health and healing

Crepi il lupo! 🐺