Wheelchair-Bound at 18 to Holistic Health Expert — Lauren Vaknine's Extraordinary Healing Journey

Most of us approach our health the same way. We get a symptom, we find a treatment, we manage the condition. What we rarely ask is why — why is the body doing this, what is it trying to tell us, and what would it mean to actually heal rather than just cope?

In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Lauren Vaknine — holistic health expert, author and chronic illness advocate whose own healing journey is one of the most extraordinary I've encountered.

Diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis just before her second birthday, Lauren spent her childhood navigating the medical system, and by the age of 18 was completely wheelchair-bound — unable to grip cutlery, bend her elbows or sit up straight — after while being on a chemo-based drug, her arthritis spread to every joint in her body within ten months. It was in that moment, at 18, sitting in the rheumatologist's office, that she made a decision that changed everything. Disability wasn't going to be her story. Wellness was.

What followed was a decade-long healing journey — through nutrition, meditation, somatic work, inner child healing and nervous system regulation — that not only transformed her own health but became the foundation for the work she now does with thousands of women through her Rise membership.

We cover:

Lauren's extraordinary personal story — from diagnosis at two years old to wheelchair-bound at 18 to holistic health expert

Her mother's instinct to reject conventional steroids in 1986

The moment in the rheumatologist's office that changed everything — and the decision she made at 18 that set the course of her life

Why nervous system regulation has to come before everything else — supplements, protocols, nutrition — everything

What chronic stress is actually doing to your body — the predator response explained in a way that will change how you think about your gut health, your immune system and your sleep

Food as medicine — where to start and what Lauren changed first on her healing journey

What somatic healing actually is and how to begin — breathwork, movement and processing emotions through the body

The difference between existing in trauma and processing it

Meditation and the corpus callosum — the neuroscience behind why meditation is the only practice shown to strengthen the bridge between the two sides of the brain

Identity work — why shifting out of the identity of your illness or your problem is the missing piece most people never address

Why you can't hear guidance through the noise — and what sitting in silence every day actually does

Intuition as a health tool — how Lauren now makes decisions about food, movement and her body without any tracking or testing

This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health.

Lauren has kindly offered The Health Review audience a discount on her Rise membership: Just use the code RISEIS45 to get it for £45 instead of £75. https://www.laurenvaknine.co.uk/risemembership

This week's sponsor, vagus nerve stimulator SONA has offered The Health Review listeners 15% off SONA. Use code THR at checkout or access the discount automatically here: https://sona.help/?im_ref=SkfXugw-kxyZWz0TwYRUY2%3AdUkuReuR-SzLO0Q0&sharedid&irpid=7022575&irgwc=1&afsrc=1

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