On episode 7, we go deep with Bobbi Aqua, an elder with 45 years of experience in Chinese and Functional Medicine. While originally from the Hamptons of New York, she has been based in Bali the last 17 years and is best known for setting up a holistic and acupuncture clinic in Bumi Sehat, which provides free health services in response to the growing economic disparity of the underserved local communities in Bali. Arguably one of the original pioneers of foreigners who came to Bali, she arrived right before the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 hit. This natural disaster was believed to be the deadliest tsunami in history, killing more than 230,000 people across 14 countries including Bali.

In a time when elder wisdom is fading fast from culture (thanks to technology and globalization), we had the pleasure of tuning into nearly eight decades of knowledge, experience and wisdom. As a true pioneer in the field of healing, Bobbi shines a light on the importance of cultivating spirituality for long-lasting health, which is more relevant now than ever before with the second wave of COVID on the horizon. At 78, she is still sharp as a tack and we’re honored to be with her. On this episode, we cover:

• What it was like growing up as a trust fund baby and hippie during the Vietnam War 

• Her pursuit of ambition in an era when a women were expected to achieve an “M.R.S. degree”

• Studying Chinese Medicine at the height of the AIDS crisis in 1989, when this 3000-year old practice had finally taken hold as a licensed form of medicine in the late 70s/early 80s 

• The core differences between Chinese Medicine and Functional Medicine, and why she identifies as a “spiritual midwife” above all else

• Demystifying the “virome” and reframe our relationship to it much like what Zach Bush M.D. says, “If we shift direction quickly, we can become co-creative partners with this nature to prevent our own extinction and to bring forth the richest biodiversity and vitality that this planet has ever seen.”

• What preventative health can look like from a blended Chinese Medicine and Functional Medicine background 

• The connection between our higher consciousness and immune system through the lens of psychoneuroimmunology (the science of how consciousness shapes the brain’s control of the immune system) and why this connection is so challenging for Western doctors and patients to accept 

• Bobbi’s vision for a future healthcare as we navigate through a global health collapse and planetary crisis of our air, water and soil systems

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