Ep. 26: Do You Know How to Flow? Exploring How Your Brain Gets Its Happiest — with Dr. Lara Salyer, DO

What if the secret to better health — and a career you love — is learning how to get into ‘flow’? In this Friday conversation, Dr. Regina Druz is joined by her friend Dr. Lara Salyer, an osteopathic family physician who left a burnout-inducing practice to build a flow-centered model of medicine and mentorship. Together they unpack the neuroscience of flow: why burnout looks like grief in the brain, the five feel-good neurochemicals flow unlocks, and the four phases every flow cycle moves through — struggle, release, flow, and the recovery we all skip. Dr. Salyer shares her ‘AHA Method,’ practical flow triggers and disruptors, and power-up and power-down rituals — and the two physicians connect it all to resilience, heart rate variability, patient adherence, and longevity.

Watch on YouTube: A video version of this episode is available on the Own Your Heart Health YouTube channel. Subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

Episode Chapters

[00:00] Introduction & Meet Dr. Lara Salyer
[01:43] From Burnout to Functional Medicine
[04:23] The Catalyst Studio: Why Practitioners Burn Out
[07:36] What Is Flow?
[10:57] The Four Phases of Flow
[14:03] Recovery & Micro-Breaks
[18:40] The AHA Method: Anchor, Highlight, Activate
[23:35] Flow Triggers & Flow Disruptors
[26:00] Beyond Practitioners: Adherence, Community & U.S. POINTER
[30:20] Measuring Flow: Biometrics & Somatic Awareness
[35:24] Power-Up & Power-Down Rituals
[43:43] Flow as a Longevity Tool
[48:11] Resources & Closing

Transcript

[00:00] Introduction & Meet Dr. Lara Salyer

Dr. Regina Druz (00:02): Welcome to Own Your Heart Health. I’m Dr. Regina Druz, your holistic cardiologist. This week we’ll dive into common heart health concerns, uncovering root causes and unpacking scientific discoveries and controversies. The information provided does not constitute medical advice. Please contact your healthcare practitioner before making any changes that may impact your health.

Dr. Regina Druz (00:40): Hi everyone, yet another fun Friday — TGIF. Today I’m with a colleague who’s like a sister from another mother: Dr. Lara Salyer, a functional medicine physician, founder of The Catalyst Studio, and a practitioner who helps us understand how important it is to know what flow is and to be in it. I pride myself on being a scientist who looks at the data — and the data is strong for how our mindset and emotional thermostat shape what we can achieve, in areas once thought to be just biochemistry or genetics. Lara, welcome.

Dr. Lara Salyer (01:25): Thank you for having me, Dr. Regina — it’s always fun to share space with you.

[01:43] From Burnout to Functional Medicine

Dr. Lara Salyer (01:43): I’ll ask what I ask all my guests: how did you grow up to be a functional medicine doctor, founder of The Catalyst Studio, and the ‘flow’ person? Many of your listeners in the functional or integrative space entered through the back door — we go through traditional training, find it doesn’t answer all our patients’ questions, and often have our own hero’s journey. Mine was burnout. I burned out as a traditional family practice physician in rural Wisconsin. I loved the job in theory, but it wasn’t what I’d signed up for as a DO and a holistic physician. When I was ready to resign, I found functional medicine and launched into it — my rural community needed it, and explaining it honed my creativity fast. Now my mission is to help women physicians, PAs, and nurse practitioners step into their creative power and build a work-life masterpiece so they can love practicing medicine.

[04:23] The Catalyst Studio: Why Practitioners Burn Out

Dr. Regina Druz (03:20): We’re in such an exciting era where practice models get redefined — shaped by the kind of care people actually want. Like you, I didn’t plan my model; it revealed itself. So what is The Catalyst Studio, and what are you bringing to practitioners?

Dr. Lara Salyer (04:57): In my excitement as a new functional practitioner, I started networking across state lines and noticed my colleagues burning out — they’d jumped from the pan into the fire. The reason: flow isn’t in their model or their day; they’re still stuck in productivity and rushing. It’s especially hard for women, who do significantly more charting, carry more unspoken societal burdens, handle more mental-health complexity, and have a much higher burnout and suicide risk than male colleagues. Even I felt the familiar tendrils — depersonalization, low perceived achievement, emotional exhaustion. So The Catalyst Studio was born, not planned but revealed. Five years on, it’s a studio of women physicians, NPs, and PAs from around the world who build a business uniquely their own using flow neuroscience, boundary work, and a curriculum that lets them choose their path — so they feel proud of their work instead of white-knuckling their days.

[07:36] What Is Flow?

Dr. Regina Druz (07:36): Let’s pull back the curtain — what is flow, and what does flow neuroscience tell us? It resonates with me even in the patient encounter and in the functional medicine model itself.

Dr. Lara Salyer (08:36): To understand flow, understand its opposite — which in the brain is grief. And grief and burnout share the same brainwave pattern on functional MRI: sludgy, heavy, foggy, not good. That’s about half of healthcare workers going to work in a stuck pattern. Flow is the opposite — your brain produces all five feel-good neurochemicals, including dopamine, endorphins, and anandamide, and you’re ‘in the zone’ with all your senses engaged. We can all recall being in flow — playing soccer as a kid, playing an instrument — but you’re also in flow in the shower, when alpha brain waves rise and ideas arrive; surveys suggest most of us get ideas there.

Dr. Regina Druz (09:51): For me it’s exercise — my brain unburdens and creative ideas come. In a warm yoga class, I started wrapping a eucalyptus-infused cold towel around my neck, and it was a powerful enhancer — multisensory: the cold, the scent, the sweat. A small thing that made a huge difference and put me into that flow state.

[10:57] The Four Phases of Flow

Dr. Lara Salyer (10:57): You did that perfectly — you married flow triggers (the scent, the cold, the sweat) so your body anticipates flow. Flow is actually a four-phase cycle, and it always starts with struggle. People give up here because they think flow should be easy, but the task has to feel almost unreachable — if it’s too easy, you won’t drop into flow. One trick is to make an easy task harder by setting a tight time limit. The second phase is release — the alpha-brainwave trigger, like nature, quiet, or no distractions. The third phase is flow itself, lasting from 30 seconds to a few hours, with that distortion of time. And the fourth phase — the one everyone overlooks, including me — is recovery.

Dr. Lara Salyer (13:25): We’re greedy: flow feels good, so we jump straight to the next task or scroll our phones. But recovery is essential — silence, unplugging, no blue light, organic nothingness — so the receptors reset and you can invite flow back for the next cycle.

[14:03] Recovery & Micro-Breaks

Dr. Regina Druz (14:03): This is amazing. I use my Oura Ring, and a recent update tracks resilience from heart rate variability, daytime stress, and sleep. It kept flagging excessive daytime stress — so, like exercise snacks, I started taking ‘rest snacks’: a minute or two to step outside, sip cold water, walk the dog, stare at my flowers. Previously my resilience was a roller coaster — high highs, then crashes. Since the micro-breaks, I’ve flattened it: mostly solid or strong, far fewer extremes. That recovery you describe is critical.

Dr. Lara Salyer (16:46): It really is — it gives your prefrontal cortex a rest. We use it all day analyzing and deciding, which is why candy sits at the checkout: by the end of a long day your willpower is depleted. Meanwhile your alpha brain waves work in the background — call it intuition — and in flow your brain makes unexpected connections, like suddenly remembering a relative’s birthday on a run.

Dr. Regina Druz (17:57): Hi everyone, it’s Dr. Regina here. I know there are contradictory opinions about nutrition for heart health and longevity — the discussion gets heated and confusing. Some push low-fat, low-cholesterol; others are fans of a ketogenic diet; and there are many voices urging vegan or vegetarian eating. To cut through the clutter, my team and I created Holistic Heart University: on-demand courses, nutrition and lifestyle resources, and supplement guidance to make healthy choices for your heart easier to understand. I’m especially proud of our open office hours and the Q&A feature where you can put us in the hot seat. Head to the show notes for the link and use promo code OWNER20 for 20% off our annual subscription. I’ll see you in office hours.

[18:40] The AHA Method: Anchor, Highlight, Activate

Dr. Regina Druz (18:40): You built a method to harness all four phases — how do you teach practitioners (and patients) to move through them?

Dr. Lara Salyer (20:02): Like functional medicine, every case is different, so I built a framework where everyone’s recipe varies — it can even be seasonal. It starts with energy management, because when we’re depleted, flow is hard. We practice ‘time alchemy’ — being discerning about what earns a place in the calendar. My framework is the AHA Method, retroactively solving the burnout equation. First, Anchor: anchor your calendar and decisions into your values, checked quarterly and annually, and anchor each day into something meaningful, even a gratitude journal. Second, Highlight: highlight your mini-accomplishments and notice what triggered you — a chance to investigate boundaries. Third, Activate flow: set flow triggers and remove flow disruptors. A big one — put your phone in ‘phone jail’ while you work, and use timers so your brain can rest and slip into flow.

[23:35] Flow Triggers & Flow Disruptors

Dr. Lara Salyer (23:44): Give us more on flow triggers and disruptors. A flow trigger raises dopamine and makes it likelier your brain slips into the cycle — humor and a good laugh, gratitude, time in nature, anything loving or comforting, even a spiritual practice. Repetitive, bilateral motion like running, drumming, or knitting works too.

Dr. Regina Druz (24:29): Exercise is a big one for me.

Dr. Lara Salyer (24:34): Yes. Flow disruptors lower dopamine and break concentration — a toxic work environment is a flow annihilator, and so are interruptions. Every interruption can cost you the equivalent of one to three IQ points — so glancing at three new emails is quietly ruining your flow. Unitask, don’t multitask, and protect against interruptions. And don’t forget your physiology: we’re so invested in patients that we forget to fuel ourselves — fueling your body well also promotes flow.

[26:00] Beyond Practitioners: Adherence, Community & U.S. POINTER

Dr. Regina Druz (26:00): This applies far beyond practitioners — it works beautifully for patients. The recent U.S. POINTER trial tested fairly straightforward lifestyle approaches in people with early cognitive concerns, and the group that did best had a structured program — a blueprint and accountability, not just advice. After working with hundreds of patients, I learned the most important variable isn’t their bloodwork, genetics, or supplements — it’s them. If they’re committed, consistent, and in the flow of the program, they get fantastic results; if not, the result is average or absent. Do you agree?

Dr. Lara Salyer (28:19): I love that — it’s about trust. Flow can feel undefinable, so practitioners and patients fear they can’t trust themselves to let go into it. But if you trust that the magic of you will unfold along the path, your body adapts and you learn. And community matters — burned-out women physicians enrolled in group coaching have better resilience and well-being. We thrive in community.

Dr. Regina Druz (29:21): Absolutely — it’s like the Blue Zones. They differ in geography, food, and activity, but they all share strong community, which anchors wellness in place. So — can flow be measured?

Dr. Regina Druz (30:45): Hi everyone, it’s Dr. Regina here. Many of my colleagues and I are seeing patients arrive with self-ordered blood tests. When this trend started, I thought it would help — who doesn’t want more access to their health data? But too often self-ordered labs lead to more confusion and frustration: patients come in with a pile of results and are no better off. That’s why we created HeartWell Toolkits — a curated collection of at-home blood and genetic markers focused on heart and brain health that gives you the data you need to make informed, actionable decisions. You can order them at the shop on holisticheartcenters.com — the link is in the show notes. Use code TESTING10 for 10% off and free shipping.

[30:20] Measuring Flow: Biometrics & Somatic Awareness

Dr. Lara Salyer (30:20): In training with the Flow Research Collective, they cited that flow can increase productivity by around 500% and the generation of creative ideas by about 250% — measured on self-reported scales; I’m not sure how you’d capture it metrically in the brain.

Dr. Lara Salyer (32:04): The older I get, the more I embrace somatic awareness. I try to un-velcro practitioners and patients from the data — everyone wants their numbers to improve, but numbers are often the lagging metric; the leading metric is that you feel fantastic. So I ask: how’s your time management, are you making decisions that feel good in your body, where do you feel that? If you feel overwhelmed or tight in your throat, you’re not in flow. You go by feeling and by how close you are to your goals — the little milestones, the ‘snacks’ along the way.

Dr. Regina Druz (43:30): We default to biometrics as a surrogate — resilience scores, sleep efficiency, and especially heart rate variability. When I see HRV trend up and resilience improve, I can virtually guarantee that person comes back feeling much better.

[35:24] Power-Up & Power-Down Rituals

Dr. Lara Salyer (35:24): Can people curate their environment for flow? Absolutely, and it’s fun. Especially working from home: do you have a dedicated workspace that’s only for work? Cultivate your favorite lighting, scents, comforts, and temperature — and add rituals. A short power-up routine signals ‘we’re working’ (like your eucalyptus towel signals ‘we’re exercising’), and a power-down routine signals you’re finished — your brain loves that clear cut. The worst thing is doing charts on the couch in front of the TV.

Dr. Lara Salyer (37:42): Tell us your power-up routine — I’ll tell you mine. In summer in Wisconsin I step onto my deck to catch the sunlight, then do ‘morning pages’ from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way — free-writing with no rules, like taking your brain to the dog park to run off its 70,000 daily thoughts. I set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes, then get ready while listening to gratitude affirmations on the Insight Timer app. That’s it.

Dr. Regina Druz (39:06): Mine is simpler: early morning, a glass of water and coffee, out to the backyard with my dog Ginger after she runs her circles. She sits against me, I feel her warmth, time slows, and I’m grateful in the moment — then I pass my little gratitude corner with family photos as I walk into my office. That’s my bookend. Power-down is my weak spot — mine tends to be Netflix, which isn’t really a power-down.

Dr. Lara Salyer (41:21): I’m no master either. What works for me is setting an alarm — often my kid’s pickup time — because otherwise I’d tweak and improve all night. Then I thank the universe for the work I have, shut the computer, turn off the lights, and talk to my plants — thanking them for keeping me company and cleaning the air. A routine that signals ‘finished’ is what matters.

[43:43] Flow as a Longevity Tool

Dr. Lara Salyer (45:10): Of the four phases — struggle, release, flow, recovery — how do you know which still needs work? Great question — I do a time inventory: where do you find yourself distracted or procrastinating (sometimes procrastination is your brain manufacturing struggle to boost dopamine), and where did you sail through faster than expected? From that, the flow disruptors or missing triggers pop out of the woodwork.

Dr. Regina Druz (47:47): Flow triggers, flow disruptors, and dedicated time blocks are my big takeaways — brains love structure. People think the brain should brainstorm and multitask, but that wears you down. As someone said, you don’t find time, you make time — and flow is really about making time aligned with who you are. I tell patients real longevity is hard; don’t buy hype and hope. Establishing flow patterns is just as impactful — and just as demanding — as regaining metabolic flexibility or cardiovascular endurance in midlife.

Dr. Lara Salyer (53:02): There’s so much overlap between our worlds — flow and creativity are a kind of physiologic flexibility, the capacity to adapt and make room for what you love.

[48:11] Resources & Closing

Dr. Lara Salyer (48:32): For practitioners who’d like to work with me — one-on-one or in the business mentorship — it’s drlarasalyer.com; head to the Catalyst page, where there are options and freebies. I’ll also email you a master checklist of flow triggers and disruptors for your audience. For resources: Atomic Habits by James Clear, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and the Flow Research Collective’s training programs — their flagship is ‘Zero to Dangerous.’ I also host a weekly podcast, The Catalyst Way, on time management and flow in medicine — and falling in love with your career again. And my book is Right Brain Rescue.

Dr. Regina Druz (53:29): Listeners, we’ll put Dr. Salyer’s flow-trigger and disruptor checklist and her book in the show notes. If you’re watching on YouTube, you can see her phenomenal artwork and a copy of Right Brain Rescue — she’s an extraordinary artist as well as a physician. I think I was in flow this whole episode. Thank you, Lara.

Dr. Regina Druz (54:29): To the professionals listening: if you’re thinking of launching a cardiometabolic or integrative cardiology program in your practice, we can help. Holistic Heart Centers helps physicians expand into hybrid or concierge services — head to the show notes and click the application link; your intro call is entirely free. Ready to schedule a practice review? Use code DOC10 for 10% off our Practice Power Hour, a 60-minute coaching session. Thank you for tuning in to Own Your Heart Health with Dr. Regina Druz. This podcast is powered by Holistic Heart Centers. If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review us on your favorite platform, and visit holisticheartcenters.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel. See you next week.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is “flow,” and why does it matter for health?

Flow is the brain’s ‘in the zone’ state — fully engaged, with a distorted sense of time — and, as Dr. Salyer explains, it’s essentially the opposite of burnout. Strikingly, burnout shares the same brainwave pattern as grief on functional MRI: sludgy, heavy, and foggy. In flow, by contrast, the brain releases its feel-good neurochemicals (including dopamine, endorphins, and anandamide). Why it matters for health: Dr. Druz connects flow to resilience, heart rate variability, and — crucially — to whether patients actually follow through on health programs. She notes the single biggest predictor of a patient’s results isn’t their labs, genetics, or supplements, but whether they’re committed, consistent, and ‘in the flow’ of the plan. Both physicians frame flow as a genuine, if demanding, longevity tool. This is educational information, not medical advice.

What are the four phases of flow?

According to Dr. Salyer, every flow cycle moves through four phases. First is struggle — the task must feel almost unreachable, which is where people give up because they expect flow to be easy (a trick is to make an easy task harder with a tight time limit). Second is release — the alpha-brainwave trigger, helped by nature, quiet, or removing distractions. Third is flow itself, which can last from about 30 seconds to a few hours, with all senses engaged and time distorting. Fourth — and the one almost everyone skips — is recovery: true unplugging, silence, no blue light, ‘organic nothingness,’ which lets the brain’s receptors reset so you can re-enter flow later. Skipping recovery (jumping to the next task or scrolling) is a common reason people can’t get back into flow. This is general education, not a clinical protocol.

What are flow triggers and flow disruptors?

Flow triggers raise dopamine and make it easier for your brain to slip into the flow cycle. Dr. Salyer’s examples include humor and a genuine laugh, gratitude, time in nature, anything loving or comforting, a spiritual practice, and repetitive bilateral motion such as running, drumming, or knitting (exercise is a big one for Dr. Druz). She also suggests ‘marrying’ triggers — like pairing a scent with a workout — so your body anticipates flow. Flow disruptors do the opposite, lowering dopamine and breaking concentration: a toxic work environment, and especially interruptions — she cites that each interruption can cost the equivalent of one to three IQ points, so even glancing at new emails undermines focus. Her advice: unitask rather than multitask, use ‘phone jail’ and timers, and take care of your physiology. This is educational information only.

Can you measure flow?

Not precisely — and Dr. Salyer encourages people to ‘un-velcro’ from the numbers. In her Flow Research Collective training, flow was associated with large gains in productivity and creative idea generation, but measured mostly on self-reported scales rather than a direct brain metric. Instead, she leans on somatic awareness — how your body feels (energized versus tight or overwhelmed) — as the leading indicator, with measurable numbers often lagging behind. Dr. Druz adds that wearable biometrics can serve as useful surrogates: heart rate variability, sleep efficiency, and resilience scores tend to trend upward when someone is genuinely thriving, and she’s found those trends reliably track with people feeling better. So while there’s no exact ‘flow meter,’ a combination of how you feel and your biometrics gives a practical read. This is general insight, not a diagnostic tool.

Show Notes & Resources

Guest: Dr. Lara Salyer, DO

Dr. Lara Salyer is an osteopathic family physician and functional medicine practitioner in rural Wisconsin who, after experiencing burnout, founded The Catalyst Studio to help physicians, PAs, and nurse practitioners build creative, sustainable practices using flow neuroscience. Trained with the Flow Research Collective, she created the ‘AHA Method’ (Anchor, Highlight, Activate), hosts The Catalyst Way podcast, and is the author of Right Brain Rescue. She is also an accomplished artist.

Dr. Lara Salyer / The Catalyst Studio: drlarasalyer.com
The Catalyst Way — Dr. Salyer’s weekly podcast

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Dr. Lara Salyer / The Catalyst Studio — flow-based mentorship for practitioners; one-on-one coaching and a business mentorship (drlarasalyer.com)
The Catalyst Way — Dr. Salyer’s weekly podcast on flow, time management, and loving your medical career again
Right Brain Rescue — Dr. Salyer’s book on reclaiming creativity
Flow Research Collective — flow-training programs, including the flagship ‘Zero to Dangerous’
The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron) — the ‘morning pages’ free-writing practice; Insight Timer app for gratitude affirmations
Atomic Habits (James Clear) and Big Magic (Elizabeth Gilbert) — recommended reading on habits and creative flow
U.S. POINTER trial — a structured lifestyle program for cognitive health (referenced; structure + accountability mattered most)
Wearables for resilience and HRV — Oura and similar trackers to follow daytime stress, sleep, and recovery (referenced)
Holistic Heart University — on-demand courses and resources (use code OWNER20 for 20% off annual)
HeartWell Toolkits — at-home heart and brain health lab panels (use code TESTING10 for 10% off and free shipping)
For clinicians: Practice Power Hour coaching with Holistic Heart Centers (use code DOC10 for 10% off)

Holistic Heart Centers

holisticheartcenters.com
HeartWell.ai — AI-powered cardiovascular risk assessment
Address: 55 Bryant Avenue, Suite #6, Roslyn, NY 11576
Phone: 877-511-5166
YouTube: @reginadruzmd
Instagram: @dr.reginadruz
Podcast: Own Your Heart Health — available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms

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