The Alternative Flight Plan Podcast

The Alternative Flight Plan Podcast From the Ready Room to the Treatment Room

11/28/2025

The clinical model can treat symptoms — but it rarely touches the root.

In this episode of The Alternative Flight Plan, Dr. Kristin Barnes and Gary Hess explore what’s often missing in traditional approaches to trauma: the moral and spiritual dimensions of healing.

Guilt says, “I did something bad.”
Shame says, “I am bad.”

When identity and purpose are lost — especially for those who’ve served — recovery requires more than medication. It requires meaning.

By bringing spirituality, community, and even intentional plant medicine into the conversation, Dr. Barnes and Gary open space for a kind of healing the clinical model often overlooks.

11/26/2025

Big transformations don’t last without small, consistent practices.

In their conversation on The Alternative Flight Plan, Dr. Kristin Barnes and Gary Hess discuss how healing isn’t just about the breakthrough — it’s about what happens afterward. The integration. The self-care. The daily commitment to staying connected when life tries to pull you off center.

Breathwork, meditation, even moments of stillness — they’re not trends, they’re anchors.

11/24/2025

Emotions aren’t meant to be stored — they’re meant to move.

In this episode of The Alternative Flight Plan, Dr. Kristin Barnes and Gary Hess talk about what happens when we hold on to pain for too long. Those unprocessed emotions don’t just live in the mind — they live in the body, creating tension, restlessness, and constant overdrive.

Real healing begins when we allow ourselves to feel and release what the body has been carrying.

11/21/2025

💬 “The medicines are tools. The healing is in community.”

In this episode of The Alternative Flight Plan, Dr. Kristin Barnes and Gary Hess remind us that true healing doesn’t happen in isolation.

When people feel safe enough to sit with what’s hard — shame, guilt, pain — and are met with understanding instead of judgment, transformation begins.

Healing starts when we stop running from what hurts and allow ourselves to surrender, breathe, and feel — together.

11/19/2025

“I talk a lot about plant medicines, but I don’t think I’ve ever shared my perspective on cannabis — even though it’s one of the few I can legally prescribe here in Washington.”

In this episode of The Alternative Flight Plan, Dr. Kristin Barnes and former Marine Gary Hess explore cannabis not as a trend or escape, but as a tool for reconnection — a bridge between mind and body for those who feel stuck in cycles of anxiety, pain, and disconnection.

Gary calls cannabis a “somatic gateway,” a medicine that helped him reconnect to himself when nothing else worked.

This conversation challenges stigma and invites reflection on what true healing can look like when approached with intention, curiosity, and respect for the plant.

11/17/2025

Since 2001, far more veterans have been lost at home than on the battlefield.

It’s time we start talking about what healing really means.

On this week's Alternative Flight Plan, Dr. Kristin Barnes sits down with former Marine Gary P. Hess, who found his way out of deep trauma through intentional plant medicine, breathwork, and community support.

Today, Gary leads Warrior Tribe Assembly and VAHA, helping veterans and first responders reconnect to themselves and rediscover purpose through holistic and peer-led care.

This episode is about breaking stigma, rebuilding trust, and finding real ways forward — beyond pills and protocols.

Learn more or get involved:

👉 https://warriortribeassembly.com/

👉 https://meridianpassagewellness.com/

Like. Share. Keep the conversation going — healing starts with awareness.

11/17/2025

Feeling stuck, disconnected, or like no matter what you try, you keep ending up in the same place?

In this episode of The Alternative Flight Plan, Dr. Kristin Barnes and former Marine Gary Hess open an honest conversation about what it means to feel out of options — and how healing begins when we start addressing the emotions we’ve been holding onto for too long.

This message isn’t just for veterans. It’s for anyone ready to reconnect, rebuild, and find a new path forward.

Like, share, and tag someone who might need this reminder today.

11/16/2025

So many people believe their anxiety is purely emotional — something that can only be fixed through mindset or therapy.

But as Dr. Holly Christy explains, anxiety often starts in the body.
When your nervous system is running hot, your “volume” is already turned up — making it nearly impossible to meditate, focus, or integrate any emotional work.

Calming the physiological response can be the key to real healing.

🎧 Watch the full conversation on The Alternative Flight Plan Podcast with Dr. Kristin Barnes and Dr. Holly Christy:
https://youtu.be/dgVEeVONee0

11/14/2025

Imagine being able to treat trauma without forcing someone to relive it.

In this clip, Dr. Holly Christy explains how psychedelic-assisted therapy could help calm the body’s physiological response to trauma — reducing the constant “alarm” signal that keeps people stuck in survival mode.

By addressing PTSD as a physiological issue — not just psychological — this approach could change how we heal.

🎧 Full episode: https://youtu.be/dgVEeVONee0

11/12/2025

When the body stays in “alarm mode,” the brain starts working against you.

In this clip, Dr. Holly Christy explains how trauma and PTSD increase blood flow to the brain’s alarm centers — like the amygdala — while decreasing flow to the prefrontal cortex, where judgment and decision-making happen.

That shift makes it harder to think clearly, solve problems, or stay calm — especially in high-pressure professions like law enforcement or the military.

🎧 Full episode: https://youtu.be/dgVEeVONee0

11/10/2025

It all started with one patient’s question: “Why don’t people know about this?”

In this clip, Dr. Holly Christy shares the origin story behind The Bridge Back Project — how a single conversation inspired her to launch a nonprofit dedicated to research, education, and collaboration in advancing healing practices.

What began as one person’s curiosity turned into a mission to bring new medical understanding to the world.

🎧 Full episode: https://youtu.be/dgVEeVONee0

11/07/2025

In this conversation, Kristin Barnes and Dr. Holly Christy explore how the body’s systems are far more interconnected than most people realize — especially when it comes to inflammation.

As they discuss the vagal inflammatory reflex, Dr. Christy shares how the body’s nerves and arteries run side by side, creating powerful communication pathways that regulate immune response. Even dental ligaments, she explains, can influence inflammation through their connection with the vagus nerve.

It’s a fascinating look at how understanding the body’s internal design can open new doors for healing and whole-body wellness.

🎥 Watch the full episo

Full episode: https://youtu.be/dgVEeVONee0

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