This week’s episode sees Victoria Fenton reunited with her colleague and friend, Alex Manos as he shares with her (and all of you!) his journey from personal illness, to becoming a Personal Trainer, into a nutrition professional and ultimately Functional Medicine practitioner - and from there into both breathwork and psychedelic facilitation training. Victoria and Alex discuss: Why psychedelics - especially psilocybin - and what Alex’s experiences with The Synthesis Institute have provided him The journey towards feeling more emotion with psilocybin experiences The current movement of promotion of psychedelics and how that needs to be balanced with temperance and care, and a focus on community and integration The contrast between the Western medical approach and the indigenous, shamanistic traditions The growth of psychedelic experimentation in the UK and Europe The power of psychedelics for shifting someone into a different way of being - and the destruction and grief that can be part of that process Breathwork - its role, power, potential, and how to do this right (clue: it’s not about the big emotional release) Integrating breathwork into psilocybin retreats and Alex’s vision for his professional future The limitations of Functional Medicine and dependency on protocols The felt sense of safety and its fundamental role in healing, irrespective of modality Despite being one of the UK's leading Functional Medicine Practitioners (IFMCP) with a focus in gut health and mould Illness, Alex's interests further extend into physical therapy, movement, resiliency, coaching, biohacking, psychedelics, breathwork, masculinity, spirituality, and the assimilation or ancient wisdom concerning health. Away from clinic, Alex co-founded Healthpath Pro and The Applied Function Medicine Mentoring Program, and is the Chief Wellness Officer for Exhale Coffee - the U.K's healthiest coffee! Alex also lectures at various colleges and institutions including The Institute Of Optimum Nutrition and is on the MSc program at The Centre For Nutritional Education and Lifestyle Management. Please enjoy this wide-ranging and thoughtful discussion which provides insights into this ever-expanding world of plant medicines and altered states of consciousness. For a full transcript of this episode, click here. Follow Alex on Instagram @alexandermanos Alex’s websites are: alexandermanos.co.uk and psilocybinresearcher.co.uk Healthpath can be found at healthpath.com Alex is training in Transformational Breathwork Alex’s professional psilocybin facilitation and personal psilocybin experiences have been conducted through The Synthesis Institute You can sign the petition Alex and Victoria discuss here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/621199 Rosalind Watts’s original TEDx talk on “Can Magic Mushrooms Unlock Depression?” can be found here. Her article updating her perspective on her own talk can be accessed on Medium here

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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