Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: The doctors told my wife I had a 2% chance of living, so they actually sent her home with a therapist. The cancer that took a toll. I don't wish this on anybody. But that's when I learned because of the circle that I had around me and what people were doing for us, I have to show them that I'm not going to give up. I really wanted to show these people my gratitude and I felt that was the best way, by not giving up, continuing to move forward.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: You know, Rylan, I want to point something out. There is the word that you spoke. You know, I'm grateful. So the fact that you spoke out loud, I'm grateful.
Which is probably the highest vibrational word in the English language.
[00:00:41] Speaker C: Ryland Otis, the gratitude Warrior.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: Thank you. I like that.
[00:00:49] Speaker D: Welcome to Harmonize youe Life. Conversations that inspire, awaken and harmonize. I'm your host, Kingsley Willis, and each week we talk with experts in functional medicine, therapy, technology, quantum biology, and personal growth. Today on the podcast we have Gratitude Warrior Rylan Otis, joining us to talk about his dramatic health journey. I'm also joined by co host Michael McDonald, the co founder of Aya Fit and Amanda Carpenter, Aya's CEO. Welcome, everyone.
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Thank you, Kingsley.
[00:01:21] Speaker C: Thank you, Kingsley.
[00:01:23] Speaker D: Yes. So today we've got Rylan. I think the stars are aligned. Finally.
Pluto has left us. We've got a mini moon now.
Welcome to the podcast, Ryland. Tell us about how you met Michael. Let's just start there because I think we've got some things to connect here.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: Yeah, so actually our kids do competitive cheers and here in Austin, Texas. And that's, that's really how we met. We kind of just finally crossed paths. It took a while. I think it took a good couple years. Would you agree with that, Mike? It may have been two or three years. So yeah, we finally crossed paths and actually my daughter and a few of other of Mike's son, they're friends, you know, they all compete together and I think they're on the same team and actually did a little event at their house and I came over and Mike and I just kind of started talking and then before we knew it, been an hour to two hours or something like that, and we just kind of hit it off. So that's in a nutshell, that's really how it happened.
[00:02:29] Speaker D: Well, funny you should say that because something similar happened last December.
I also have a daughter who does cheer at the same gym.
And again we got to talking, Michael and I, just about what he's doing. And I'm curious To get your take on it. What was your initial thoughts of when he started telling you what he was building? What did you think initially?
[00:02:58] Speaker A: First thought confusion.
In fact, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this. It's. It's amazing.
I love what he's doing. I love, you know, the concept behind it and what it's going to do for people.
He has sent me some links and I've been listening to these over and over, to be honest. And what it does to the human body and how it responds, whether driving down the road or in the gym or dealing with work like I am today, with major issues and the different responses that your body will give.
So I guess in one word and absolutely amazing.
[00:03:39] Speaker D: That's great. So I'm curious to hear your story how.
Because you've told us about your trials and tribulations with your personal health.
Let's go back before kids. Tell us the story of how it all started.
[00:03:58] Speaker A: My medical past.
[00:04:01] Speaker D: Yeah. Well, anything that comes to mind in terms of leading up to that moment where you met Michael and he played you some I am music.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: So going back prior to kids. So in fact, just after November 14th, my wife and I, we just had our 21st wedding anniversary. So we actually went to Colorado and got out of town for a little bit and got to relax for a couple days at least. But really this all started in March of 2003 and that was really where I had my first really big speed bump. I actually had a brain aneurysm that caused two strokes and a grand mal seizure. And long story short, end up in the hospital.
The doctors told my wife I had a 2% chance of living. So they actually sent her home with a therapist and I'm sorry, I gave you the wrong. That's the wrong story. 2003 of March was when I had kidney failure. And this was during a time of bird flu. And so they put me in icu. They didn't know what was wrong with me. Ultimately what happened was this was two months after my stepfather had passed away and the stress, I was trying to do too much, helping my mom, not eating, still working out, still trying to live my life and get things done. And I think it just took a toll on my body. But that was really the beginning of my medical history. And that's actually when I met Lou Ferrigno. So after I got out of the hospital and started to recover, he actually helped me recover and put weight back on. And that kind of started so far, you know, roughly a 22 year friendship which has really been fun. And I've learned a tremendous amount from him. He's a great person to know.
So after that, my wife and I, we ended up getting married. This is 2003, and I think it was. It was actually 2011.
That's when I had the brain aneurysm. And I was at my aunt's house. We were in California. We lived on the Central coast in California. And it literally happened as I got out of my truck, parking in her driveway. It. It was weird. It felt like a gunshot. And it actually knocked me over.
Me, I'm kind of stubborn. And I got up and figured out I couldn't really think. Couldn't think of words, couldn't spell. My aunt told me, hey, you need to rest. I ended up driving home. So that's when I had the aneurysm in the small baby stroke, if you will. Actually drove home. Not sure how I made it home. I. Now I look back, I go, wow, that was pretty crazy.
And then that night, I was trying to do work, trying to do emails and billing and so forth. My wife said the same thing because I couldn't spell. I couldn't do anything.
Went to bed. The next day is when I had the big grand mal seizure. I had the big stroke, and that's when I went down. So that took a lot of recovery. And, you know, when you're in the Central coast, this was actually in a town called San Luis Obispo, California. A fairly small town. You know, it's not. It's not a big town. But, you know, I had a lot of friends. I had a lot of family there. And what I took from that was the camaraderie and the friendship and the circle that we had around us. I'd never in my life had the experience where an entire town rallied behind you. We had people bringing food. They were mowing our lawn, taking our trash out, fixing anything that we needed fixed around the house. It was. It was unreal. And so I think from that, you know, I had my two older kids at the time, but they were pretty young. They were 4 and 3. So they do remember that situation, but, you know, they couldn't really truly comprehend it.
But that's when I learned, because of the circle that I had around me and what people were doing for us, I have to show them that I'm not going to give up. Would have been easy to say, I'm done. I give up. I can't do this anymore.
And so I really wanted to show these people my gratitude. And I felt that was the best way, by not giving up, continuing to move forward. You know, I love working out, so, you know, getting back into the gym. I love helping people in the gym. In fact, I train a lot of people. I try to help as many people as I can, only because I've been so blessed with the people that have crossed my path and the things that people have done for me. So, you know, I love to be able to kind of pay it forward, so to speak.
And so that was in California.
Jumping forward after that, we ended up moving to Texas. So my wife and I, we've been here for 13 years now.
Now I'll fast forward to my. My cancer and the cancer that. That took a toll. I don't wish this on anybody. You know, I had a game plan going into the cancer. I thought I was going to continue working out. I thought I was going to eat. I have it. I will keep it for the rest of my life. I put together an entire meal plan for myself and what I was going to do, and I had it all planned out. I had a workout plan.
What the doctors didn't tell me was the treatment for the throat, anything from the neck up is the worst treatment for the human body to go through.
The pain is.
It was. It was bad. I've been very honest about my story. I've been very open about everything I was going through. I think one of the reasons my wife and I decided to go public was we talked about it before we took it public.
We want people to learn from this. We want people to have hope. We want people to know that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's going to get bumpy. It's going to get rough. It's going to get scary. I have another lady in on the East Coast. She's like my second mom. She's going through cancer right now. We're communicating a lot because she watched me go through my story and watched my attitude. But I would be absolutely lying if I didn't tell you the pain.
It was so bad that I had to tell my wife, you need to hide the guns. If I didn't have kids. And that's a. That's a bold statement. That's a scary statement when you're looking your wife in the eye saying, hide these guns. Because I don't know if I can handle this anymore.
That was for me, for the cancer and going through the treatment, that was my low point.
And it didn't take long. It took maybe an hour or Two. And for lack of better terms, you know, I got my stuff.
I got my stuff put back together. I have four kids, and I don't want my kids to see me fail.
So, you know, this was really about the kids and watching their dad respond from this. And I can already tell what they've taken from watching me rebound from cancer treatment. You see it in their training. You see it at cheer. My daughters don't give up. They work hard, they will throw up, they'll be in tears, but they'll keep going. And they see that motivation, and they think about what I went through and what their dad went through. And, you know, they've said it to me numerous times, hey, we watched you go through cancer. We watched you. I lost 62 pounds. You know, I was 200 pounds. And I. You know, I ended up at, like, 138. I was. I was lucky if I ate a baby yogurt a day. And that was all I could eat.
And that was because my throat was getting damaged. It was. It was closing up. I had no taste buds in the pain alone. You know, it's really weird how the body reacts when you're in that much pain.
And so really, from there, it's been all about the recovery and how can I help people. I've had people reach out to me from all over the world. It's truly unbelievable. The people that have reached out and they're telling me their stories, they're telling me the tribulations that they've been through. And I continue to talk to them through Instagram and through Facebook. A lot of people I've given my personal number, and we text and call and talk. We check in on each other. I've had local people here in Austin find me at the gym that have said, hey, we started following you. Your story has inspired us, and it gets people getting healthy. It gets people getting in the gym. And I've had a lot of people tell me, hey, you went through cancer, you lost all this weight, you're working on recovery, and if you can do it, then what's our excuse?
That made me think as well. I made a post on Instagram, and I don't have a lot of followers. You know, I'm not one of those. One of those guys with a lot of followers, but a friend of mine who is actually posted my story, and it got like 25,000 views. And it was, you know, for us, that's a lot.
But the story was, hey, here's my list. Here's my medical history. What's your excuse. I wanted. I wanted to get people's responses and it was awesome. Everybody started reposting the story and talking about what they've been through and what they did to get through it and how they recovered and reaching out to different people. It was. I would read a lot of these stories and get teary eyed. It was. It was an unbelievable experience and it's exactly what I've been trying to do and getting my story out and the reason why.
[00:12:58] Speaker D: So I love that. I appreciate you sharing that and it sounds like you've really inspired a lot of people.
If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to your family for a second. Yeah. Because I have two kids myself.
And just tell me, like, what did you. What did you tell them that motivated them? What was that thing that you said to them, apart from them witnessing, like your resolve?
What was it? What was it that transferred to them? You think that really made the difference?
[00:13:34] Speaker A: This is going to get hard. Sorry. Try not to get cry or get teary eyed.
So, man, that was tough. That was a tough day. We brought them into the kitchen and I can. Man, it's a day you'll never forget. I actually kept my sunglasses on because I knew I would start crying like I am right now.
And we sat them down and they sat on the other side of the counter.
And, you know, we told him, hey, dad's going through some stuff. You know, mom was doing the bulk of the talking because it was really hard for me.
And I was just kind of sitting there nodding my head, agreeing with what mom was saying. And, you know, we said, hey, you know, Dad's going through some stuff. You guys know he's had some physical issues.
We have an app called Life360, which I think a lot of people have with their kids. My daughter checks up on us a lot, always checking where we're at. So she had noticed and recognized that I had been at the doctors and the hospitals a lot lately in the previous weeks. So I think she kind of knew something was up, which she later told us. And, you know, we said, hey, dad, you know, dad has throat cancer. And we let them react to that first. It's a shock. That's a hard thing to hear as a kid. I couldn't imagine hearing it at their ages if, you know, my parents had cancer like that.
And so my oldest son, we knew how he was going to react and he basically shrugged his shoulders and he goes, well, dad, you've been through everything. You beat everything. I don't expect anything less. That when he said that really helped me in that moment try to clear my head and stop getting teary eyed. Still kept my sunglasses on. Hard thing was the two younger kids. I've got a 10 year old and an 8 year old and they got. My youngest daughter got really emotional because that's hard for them to hear. My oldest daughter who is now 15, she didn't really react. She was very quiet.
I knew she needed to absorb it a little bit.
And so my youngest daughter, my 10 year old, she got really emotional. So after that sitting down, we said, listen, we have a game plan. We have great doctors lined up, we have a great game plan. But at the end of the day dad is going to be okay.
The younger kids don't understand percentages and what is the likeliness that dad's going to make it through this cancer. But the reality is my particular cancer has an 85 to 95% success rate with natural medicine.
And so we knew that I had a pretty good chance.
I also made the decision and if I went back again and had to make the same decision, I would have made the exact same decisions that I made. I chose not to have a feeding tube. That was against all of the doctors opinions and I chose not to have a port which is where they would actually they put a little port here under your skin and then that's where they inject the chemo. It's basically an under skin iv.
I chose not to do that because I know there's a lot of opportunities for infections. I talked to a lot of people, a lot of friends, a lot of different doctors. A lot of them agreed that it's not necessarily the best way to go.
You know, we knew my game plan was going to be around seven weeks so we figured my veins could handle that and get in the IVs every day, which for the most part was okay.
Near the end it got a little rough. But once we gave the kids, you know, the game plan, told them what was they were going to, what the doctors were going to do and how we were going to beat this. Then I told them, hey, dad's going to lose some weight, you know, because they've only known me as this bigger person. You know, to little kids in particular, you're kind of larger than life.
A lot of people would make remarks as we're walking down the street. They would see me and make remarks about working out. A lot of people call me the Hulk, probably because they know I know them. But, you know, and so that's what the kids hear and that's what they know. So they have this expectation of their dad, and he's kind of larger than life to them. And so I plan to wear baggy clothes from the get go, which I think really helped the kids. As I was slowly losing weight, not having the feeding tube, I didn't want my kids to see that. I thought that would affect them, you know, hey, what's wrong with dad? Why does he have this thing in his stomach? You know? So from a visual point of view, all of my choices and decisions were made based on my kids and what's going to ease them and get them through this whole process as easy as possible.
And so that was really challenging. But like I said, I would have made that same decision knowing even now that I couldn't eat.
It was really hard. So that was.
Man, that was the worst day. That was tough.
But having said that, after I got to sit down and digest everything and the reactions of the kids, it was almost like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Because every day, and still to this day, I pray every night before bed, and I ask God if there's anything that comes through my front door, anything that infiltrates my family, you know, illnesses, broken bones, anything, give it to me so that my wife and kids don't have to experience that pain. And so it dawned on me after I'd spoken with my kids, and it was really weird, this feeling that lifted off of my shoulders and this just the soothing feeling came over me because I realized God had actually answered my prayers. You know, I've got this cancer. It's going to be a hell of a ride here.
This is going to be the ride of my life. But my kids don't have to go through it. The physical pain that I went through is nothing compared to watching your own kid go through that. They're just. There's no comparison. So, you know, we all have kids. I think we all probably have that same feeling. But knowing that my prayers were answered, it actually made this thing a lot easier going through it, Getting up every morning tired, you're brain fogged, you can't think. And, you know, it was tough. We have four kids. We wanted to, you know, have the kids live their normal life as much as possible. And Mike, you guys. You guys can attest to this because, you know, you guys have your kids in cheer.
It's a lot. It is very demanding, and we're driving in circles a lot. We're all over the place. And so, you know, mom, she had to Step in for two and take care of this. And I was driving myself to chemo and radiation daily, and it was tough. I mean, it. Oh, man, was that tough. When you're. When you're driving home after radiation and you don't want to move, you don't want to think, you're tired, you can't function, your. Your body's in physical pain. But then I would think about my kids, and I would think about what my wife was going through, and it gave you this burst of energy.
This cancer happened for a reason.
And I think this is the beginning of what my journey. My journey hasn't even started. I mean, let's face facts. My journey hasn't started. I've just barely scraped the surface right now, and I think today is kind of the really cracking the egg and getting it open. And in the beginning of my journey, which I'm super excited for.
[00:21:03] Speaker B: Well, Kingsley, if you wouldn't mind if I jumped in there for a second.
Rylan, everything you just spoke about was so touching. And to hear your stance and your protective nature for your family and, you know, in trying to find, you know, the most graceful path forward for your children, you know, because. Because you knew they were going to witness some stuff, right?
[00:21:30] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:21:30] Speaker B: And you didn't even know what they were going to witness. You had an idea. Right. And I remember, you know, when we first. You know, our paths have crossed, you know, several times through the last couple of years in cheer, but we've never really shook hands and got to know each other. Yeah. Until that day, you know, when our kids were hanging out and you came to pick up Dylan.
And it was interesting because, you know, you and I just immediately just hit it off, right? Like, you're like a long lost brother finally, you know, and it's funny, because I walked you downstairs and into the office, sat you down in front of the computer, and this is the first time we've. We've really formally met, you know, And I said, here, sit down. Right. And for the next two. Two hours, I'm basically walking him through the IFIT website as he's telling me his story. Right? So it's like this back and forth.
[00:22:30] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:22:30] Speaker B: Thing, Right? And at one moment, you were like, oh, my God, every athlete in the world needs this. And that's what opened up the door to you as the athlete, Right. And, you know, and you've been. And I know, a little bit more of the backstory than Amanda and Kingsley do, because you shared with me that that day, but you opened up the door about, I believe it was MMA fighting that you did for many years, and that was a big part of your life. And, you know, bodybuilding and being fit and through the story you just shared, you know, there was a lot of, you know, working out and diet and this and that. And so I wanted to bring out the context to that because, you know, earlier, you know, when we were talking to you before, you know, the podcast formally started, you know, about, you know, how do we introduce you? Right? And the first thing that came up for me is that, you know, yes, he's a cancer, you know, survivor. Right, but you're a warrior, right? And you're like the, you're the 10th degree of warrior, right? I mean, you've been in the ring, you've been smashed, you've smashed, you've done it, you know, you've been there and you understand what it means to be a high level athlete, right? And to move your body, your body is your tool, very physical, right? Your diet is masterful. And now you're in this situation to where one, you can't eat, two, you can't work out. But I bet you anything you, you still were working out to some degree to whatever you could, right? Whether it's stretching or pushups or whatever. I could just imagine, right?
[00:24:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: And so, so can you kind of share a little bit more about, about your backstory of who you were before you heard this news? And that must have just completely rocked your world. Not not only because of the obvious, but it's just who you, who you are as a physical being all of a sudden being, you know, opened up to, oh, my God, you know, I got cancer, right? And in the throat. Right. So, which is going to, you know, change everything. So can you give us a little backstory on that?
[00:24:57] Speaker A: On how the cancer came up or.
[00:24:59] Speaker B: Being an who you were back then? Like, tell us, tell us that journey as well.
[00:25:04] Speaker A: So going way back, you know, I played football in high school. I didn't play a lot, but I was always very athletic. I did boxing, I did karate as a kid.
I was always super athletic. I could pick up a golf club and go golf. I could tennis, play tennis. I've just always been super athletic. And thankfully my kids got that as well. They inherited that from me, thank God.
But it was actually after all my school, on a whim, I went to a, this, this football tryout and you know, it's like a local combine like you would see for the NFL they have in Indianapolis. And I didn't think Much of it. But I actually got invited by the, by the Cardinals in the NFL to go do their camp and, you know, try to play for them. It was short lived, you know, I had a couple physical issues and stuff like that. So, you know, long story short, I didn't make it. But the fact that I got invited, I was like, wow, you know, I guess I'm kind of athletic. So the point is, you know, I've always worked out, I've always maintained a certain level, excuse me, of athleticism. I've always tried to be as fit as I could and that. Actually, you know, going back even further, I'm a hard gainer. My brother, he can eat a piece of bread and put on 10 pounds and bulk up and you know, we're polar opposite of how our bodies are built. So he's always trying to run and do opposite where I'm always trying to eat and put on weight. We always laughed about it our entire life. So he's also super athletic, that kid. If he didn't injure his knee, probably could have been on any NFL team. He wanted to pretty fun to watch growing up and playing together and stuff like that. So. And then, you know, after that didn't happen for the NFL, that's. I actually got in the MMA by accident.
I have a friend who was in the UFC and he had a gym in San Luis Obispo, California. I knew a lot of the people there, we all had common friends. I really did it for cardio purposes because I can't stand running. And so I thought, well, if I can learn a new skill and further advance my other skills and get some cardio in. Then I realized I was pretty good at it. So I was like, well, heck, let's keep rolling with this. And that's kind of how that happened. It was short lived because that's when the brain aneurysm came in, which I have to make very clear, was not from the fighting. It was actually from a birth defect that I had had my entire life and we never had it checked. You know, there would never be a reason to go check your brain, you know, unless you knew something was wrong or you had some kind of pain or something like that. So, you know, so it was in a nutshell because of all that stuff that I always did growing up, I've always maintained this certain balance, if you will, of going to the gym and staying healthy, watching my diet.
You know, when you're trying to make weight for something, you have to really dial in your diet your way Your food, you're counting your macros, your fats and carbs and protein and so forth, which has really come in handy. Now recovering from cancer and having the limited mobility in my mouth because I can't open my mouth that much. So eating has. Is still to this day extremely challenging. But I've learned how to work around my limitations and stuff like that, so.
And then ironically, I had been having earaches for. Honestly, when I really think back now, probably a good two years. And I would always complain to my wife every once in a while my ear hurts. And it was mainly when we were sleeping. So if I was laying on my ear, I would get this pain.
I didn't think much of it. I never went to the doctor. Now, mind you, this is probably 2021, 2022, so it goes back quite a ways.
And then it was a year ago this past August, we came home from a trip. My wife and kids and all my friends, we're all considered family. We're a huge family. We go up to Northern Wisconsin every summer. We're on a lake up there. We have a boat and skis and toys and we hang out there for a couple weeks. It was after that trip a year ago this past August that the earaches were getting worse. I never had any pain in my throat.
I would get headaches here and there. So I finally went to an ear nose throat doctor. Went in there thinking I have an earache, maybe a busted eardrum. Never in a million years did I think I was going to walk out hearing that you have cancer. But it was that ear nose throat doctor that literally saved my life because she did a biopsy on the spot right there. She did not let me go. I tried every excuse in the world to leave that doctor's office. Honestly, I probably would have never gone back. I know myself, I don't think I would have gone back. She basically said, not very nicely, very stern, you're going to sit down in that chair and not move.
And I didn't. I listened to her. So, yeah, we found out that day. She knew immediately what I had. She knew that it was probably HPV positive throat cancers, because there's a couple different throat cancers. I've now learned all of this through my trials here.
And she did the biopsy. She explained what was going to happen from A to Z and almost to a T. Everything she said is exactly what happened. It was, it was pretty unbelievable. I actually went back after I got my clear note that I was cancer free. I went back to her Office, gave her a big old hug, lost it there as well. Started crying. I've cried a lot in the last year. A lot of good tears, but a lot of bad tears as well.
So. Yeah. So, you know, it was simple. It was simple to. You know, after the cancer and after recovery, I knew exactly what I was going to do. I knew what I had to do.
I feel like this is a primary job of mine, and now it turns into, okay, how can we benefit from this? How can we show the world that cancer isn't a scary word?
I can understand why people would say that.
It's only natural. But the more you learn, and the more you learn about the body and the more you learn about things, like about this app that you guys have created and what it does in the mental side of things. And that's when Mike and I were sitting down, and that's when a light bulb went off, and I was like, man, we've got to get this out to athletes, because I don't care what sport you're in, what you're doing, if it's bowling, golf, game of chess, football, it's all mental.
Getting into the cage. A lot of what you have to do is maintain your breathing, because the more you start to panic, the more you let your emotions get out of control. You're burning that gas tank, and it's the hardest thing in the world to get back in control once it's already out of control. And that all starts with the mental side of things. And when Mike started, you know, showing me the app and going through it and what it does, it was the weirdest feeling. I kept getting chills. I mean, it really. It really hits you. And people don't realize how much everything in life has to do with the mental side of things. And that's really where it starts. I don't care what it is. It's the mental side of things.
God, I can remember it so well. We got to get this out. And I have a lot of friends who are athletes that I know this can help them and what it could have done to further along their career and extend it maybe a little bit.
Amazing. It's absolutely amazing.
[00:32:44] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you know, right. Rylan, I remember hearing your story on that day, and I remember telling you about Amanda. I go, you. You gotta meet Amanda. You're gonna love her.
[00:32:57] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:32:57] Speaker B: And. And what.
And why she came up in my mind that day is because I know Amanda's story, her journey to now, as far as her awakening. Right? And I know. And so there's some really interesting parallels because, you know, her awakening, I'll let her share herself, but was, you know, through her own life, physical challenge. And it turned her into what, you know, for lack of better words, like a holistic wellness master. Right. She's got this masterful knowledge of holistic healthcare and traditional healthcare. Right. And I feel like you do too. And even though you've both come in from completely different angles, I feel like there's going to be a lot of cool cross pollination and discovery talk. Absolutely.
And I think that's a perfect segue into Amanda, who's talking about, you know, it's all mental and, you know, the breathing, the heart rate variability and getting into coherence. Right. When you're going into the cage, is it better to be in fight or flight, or is it better to be in centered coherence and thinking clearly and strategically and all that good stuff? So I want to bring Amanda into the conversation here too, because I know, Rylan, you went through this traditional care route to overcome cancer. Right.
[00:34:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:33] Speaker B: However, it opened and unlocked this whole new world that you're unaware of previously about holistic, and now you're coaching people in a completely different sense than you would have before have. So this was a blessing in disguise that opened you up to a whole new world of possibilities and the same for Amanda. And so I want to pass the mic to Amanda for a second, introduce herself to you, because I know that the two of you are going to become friends and have things to share.
[00:35:05] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:35:07] Speaker C: Thank you, Michael. So, Rylan, I'm sitting here in your story and there's so many synchronicities and crossovers when you were talking about your children as a six year old girl. That happened to me watching my dad. So it wasn't cancer for him. It was a severe logging accident.
[00:35:26] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:35:27] Speaker C: And so he had a. A very large limb from a pine tree come down and basically crush his skull. So he had a massive brain injury and, you know, broke his jaw. And I remember the first time going into the hospital to see him, he looked like a monster.
[00:35:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:43] Speaker C: Because of the way that he looked. But there was something in me that even as a six year old little girl that knew it was all going to be okay because my daddy was so freaking tough, like nothing can rock him. Right. So, you know, being a logger, he had these big, huge pipes on him and he used to roll his cigarettes up and his T shirt and, you know, to me, like, you know, dad was indestructible.
[00:36:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:05] Speaker C: So Watching him go through that.
And my brother was three years old at the time, and one of my roles was kind of like to, like, just to support and love on everybody. Right.
But it was that foundation that actually set me on this caregiver's journey. You know, I didn't know what type of healer or caregiver I would become, but it was because of that. And so your children, you know, have been changed in a very great way that they're going to impact the world because of what they watched you go through. Right. And to. To know that, you know, daddy's so tough, he's going to make it, but at the same time, you know, to feel those emotions and. And to see that, because even when we try to be tough, kids and animals can read through that toughness. They can call bullshit on that. Right. Like, you can't hide it from them. You can wear sunglasses, but they can feel you. Right? They totally.
[00:36:56] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:36:57] Speaker C: So, you know, they learned an emotional lesson. Like I always say, nobody's an expert in anything until they've had the emotional experience of something.
[00:37:06] Speaker A: That is so true.
[00:37:07] Speaker C: Right. So you are more of an expert in cancer than an oncologist who has never experienced it themselves nor had a family member. Right. Because what happens in those desperate moments is rationalization and all of our thinking and all of the statistics and everything are out the freaking window.
[00:37:23] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:37:24] Speaker C: Right.
It really brings us to the. To the present moment. And that's where there's another commonality in our stories. In 2009, 10, I became severely ill, and nobody knew what was wrong with me. And they initially told me it was all in my head.
And, you know, just, you need an antidepressant. You're self employed. You know, I was running a big physical therapy practice. I was very busy at the time, and so they just said it was all stress. And so there's a part of me that believed that, but then a part of me that was like, no, there's something wrong. I know my body. I know my body. And so I just kept advocating for myself. And I was like, well, hell, if there's like, nothing wrong with me, then I'm going to go to an integrative specialist and find out, you know, what might be wrong with me. Long story short, I was eventually diagnosed with lupus and then went on to find out how to treat the lupus naturally and found out I actually had lyme encephalitis. So my brain was infected and I had such a severe headache. You know, that was part of. And they said, it's all in your head. Well, they were right and they were wrong.
I felt like I was wearing a helmet and every once in a while somebody would smack the helmet. And so I remember that, like, oh my God, if I could just blow my brains out, it would relieve the pressure and feel so freaking amazing. Right. One, I didn't have any access to guns, which was beautiful. But two, I really contemplated what else I could do to end it all. And what kept me around was actually the responsibility that I carried for others. It was actually my limiting belief that it was my responsibility to take care of everybody else. Right. And the similarity in your story, it was like your kids were the reason that you didn't do it. Right. Like in those desperate moments, it's always initially something outside of us rather than inside of us that will keep us going, you know, so these limiting beliefs that we have about, you know, serving others before ourselves and loving others before ourselves, you know, in a way they serve us until sometimes they don't. Right. But there's two examples of it can be life saving, you know.
[00:39:31] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:39:32] Speaker C: And when it comes down to it, it's those desperate moments where you are ready to end your life that you become incredibly present and you realize what really matters. Like just feeling better in this moment.
[00:39:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:46] Speaker C: It's all that really matters. Right. All the things I worried about with work and all the future based stuff, it doesn't matter because I feel so uncomfortable.
[00:39:54] Speaker A: Right, Absolutely. Yeah.
[00:39:57] Speaker C: So there's such a lesson in presence there. And being able to survive comes down to resilience. You know, resilience isn't just surviving from, it's adapting in the midst of. So because of the foundational health strategies that you had in place, you actually were able to continue to survive. Right. You went into it and you know, when we're talking to people about prevention, prevention is never about the future. Prevention is about what we do right now to make our vitality feel better in this present moment and to prepare us for the unknown. Because like you said, that diagnosis, like you couldn't have imagined it. Right. The things that take us out as humans are never anything that we've worried about or predicted.
[00:40:40] Speaker A: You think it will never happen to you.
[00:40:42] Speaker C: Right, Right. So a few amazing things in your story that I want to point out to you. So I was completely mainstream orthopedic physical therapist. I've been a doctor of physical therapy for 25 years. And until the traditional system failed me, I didn't know any different. And it was all hardcore athletics, sports I did a lot of work with industrial athletes, so, like tree climbers and linemen, people who use their body to make a living. And it was all about like, you know, toughness and, er, until that system kind of failed me. And I. When I first got sick, I thought I could exercise my way out of it and all I was doing was breaking my body down, you know, But I tried, so I had to learn a lot of different things. And now I'm very aware of the patterns that the body tries to tell us. So going back to your kidneys, you know, your kidneys are all about fear and like, what fear was there that you didn't know that you went through, you know, and then the brain. And this has happened to so many people that I've been involved in as a medical consultant and a health coach. Their brain is somehow taken out. Taken out. Like the operating system of their body is somehow taken out. And if they're resilient enough, will come back. When we learn to live from our heart, it's like an upgrade, you know, it happened to my dad, it happened to you, it happened to multiple clients of mine, happened to myself with my own encephalitis, you know, so really, is it the brain, is it the mental, or is it the heart? You know, and the science actually shows us that the rhythm of the heart is what impacts what the brain does in interpretation. You know, so when we're in this mental drive. Mental drive, mental drive. And we're not connected to our body or we're not connected to our heart, and our heart is really where the intelligence is, the ability to read energy in the field. Right? So your aneurysm, like, I see it as a way of like knocking that previous operating system out so that you could learn to, to live more from your heart. And if we look at that warrior in you, you know, that, that physical warrior and that mental warrior, but now there's this beautiful opportunity to be like that warrior of love, that warrior from the heart.
[00:42:49] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:42:50] Speaker C: And then coming around to the throat, that's all about like the throat chakra and speaking, speaking your truth, how like you have something to share with the world that's got to come through your mouth. Like that's where your impact is. Yeah, Right. So that warrior of speaking your truth and that warrior of love. And, you know, in time that message will come clear to you. But it's such a, such a beautiful story, you know, and the body is so absolutely resilient when we pay attention to it. And your story is one that highlights all that. So thank you so much for sharing, and I'm so excited for you to continue to evolve into. What is this message that's going to come through you to change humanity?
[00:43:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, thank you.
[00:43:38] Speaker D: Absolutely.
Yeah. What struck me, Rylan, about your story, as you were telling it, was that when you heard you got cancer, you were thankful. Like, for me, that's kind of an astonishing realization to admit.
I'd love to dive into that more because. And you also mentioned that it would be hard to watch your kids go through something. Yeah, I actually had that with my son. He got RSV when he was less than 1 years old, so he actually got put on a ventilator eventually. Wow.
And it was rough because it's like, we're new parents. Our one job is to keep this kid alive.
[00:44:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:44:28] Speaker D: You know, you feel like a failure, and you're watching your kid go through this. And I. I had that thought. I was like, okay, what if I could just trade. We just trade here. Like, give it to me.
[00:44:38] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:44:40] Speaker D: And of course, you can't do that. And ironically, we had a friend who was. She specialized in, like, breathing meds. She did research on that.
So she. She said, just get him out of there. Get him out of the hospital. We're like, you're a medical doctor. What are you talking about?
[00:45:01] Speaker A: She.
[00:45:02] Speaker D: Get him out of there. Like, it's this. He has. He's not sick.
We're like, well, he has rsv. She's like, no, no, just get him out of there. We're like, okay, how do we start doing that? He's on a ventilator.
And we listened. We stopped the meds, and his. My son's grandmother came. It was all this strange stuff happening that had nothing to do with medicine. It got him better. Anyway. I digress. But the.
Just that thought of being thankful, dive into. Tell us more about that. Like, how. Because I feel like that's where your message is.
[00:45:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:44] Speaker D: Share with people that you wanted this challenge, you know, and you're a warrior, as we could see.
[00:45:53] Speaker A: So I'm always up for a good challenge. I love physical challenges. I always have my whole life now doing those challenges.
I look back, and I think maybe I wasn't doing that for the right reason.
Maybe it was out of arrogance.
Not saying it was or it wasn't, but it really makes you think about your past life and what you've been doing and how you've been going about it. It was when I got the cancer, and when I told I had cancer, of course there's that initial shock and of. And after that initial shock, it's like, okay, I'm ready, let's go. Let's get through this. Let's make this happen. It hadn't really sunk in yet. And it wasn't about my kids. It wasn't about the right thought. It was just really more. We're just going to get through this. Because you don't think about it that much and you're kind of, you're kind of numb.
You do walk around in a brain fog for, you know, a couple, couple days at least. It could be a month. You know, everybody's going to vary a little bit.
But it was really when I had that conversation with the kids and we told them, and most, I think it was my oldest son, you know, I was really looking at him and watching how he was reacting. And it was, it was the weirdest thing. He didn't even bat an eye. It never crossed his mind, not for a split second that anything's going to happen to my dad. And I could really read that during the conversation. So, you know, after I got through my, you know, crying and my teary eyed, I had to conduct myself and put myself back together in my room.
And that's when it hit me and that's when I really thought and I, and maybe I think this was for the first time ever, I'm grateful.
And I thought it and it was in my head and then I said it out loud. And then, you know, I'm sitting in the room by myself, I sat there, I go, I'm grateful. I said it out loud. I said it again. I probably repeated it 10 times.
And it wasn't to hype myself up. It wasn't to, you know, psych myself up for this challenge that I'm going to be going through.
It actually came from the heart. And then I looked up and I said, thank you. And I think that's really, that's the moment that it really clicked for me. And I love telling the story to people because you get a lot of different reactions. I mean, you're going to get reactions of why the hell would you be grateful? Why would you want to go through this? And then you explain yourself, you explain the kids, you know, and some people, they may want to go through this, they may not. But at that moment when everything clicked, I was ready. I mean, I was ready. I knew it was going to be hard. I didn't think there would be the low moments, as low as they were.
I never thought that I can't do this. I can't go through this. I got to end this. I didn't think that would cross my mind, but I also think those moments, those low moments that I had were on purpose. And it was a reminder of, hey, I'm in control of this. Referring to God, I'm in control of this. I got this. I've got you. And you're going to get through this.
Don't you worry about that. And so that was that second moment through this journey when I was talking to my wife and telling her to hide the guns, that, you know, it was like another epiphany. Another light bulb went off. And, you know, it was, okay, I'm good. I just need to keep following this path. I can't deviate. I gotta stay on this path. I gotta do what I'm being told to do. And again, I'm not referring to the doctors, I'm referring to God and putting me on this path. And it was a sense of relief, you know, it really was.
I'm not watching my kids go through this. I'm not watching my wife go through this. I'm not feeling my kids pain. I'm not feeling my wife's pain. I'm going through this. I am. I am going to battle this. I am going to beat this. I am going to show my kids. I'm going to show my wife. And so that's really. That's really where this all came from. That's really how it started. And then of course, as you're finishing your journey and you're kind of closing your journey, another journey is just beginning. And you know what? It could be a year down the road, another journey is going to start. And it's all the same path. And it all kind of ends and opens up another door. And I'm here today and this door opened up, you know, by Mike and I crossing paths because I never thought in a million years a path like this would cross because our kids are doing competitive cheer, by the way, I watched them doing their competitive cheer and the physical, you know, work that they put in and that they're going through. And I almost feel like what they are doing is actually harder than what I went through. You know, now I look back at my journey and I go, that wasn't that bad. It really wasn't. Did it beat me down? Yes. Did I have some very challenging days? Absolutely. But then, you know, you see these kids doing what they're doing on a daily. I mean, they're there a lot. You guys know that and my journey wasn't that bad. It really was.
[00:50:49] Speaker B: You know, Rylan, I want to point something out. There is the word that you spoke. You know, I'm grateful, right? And it's interesting because I just finished writing a chapter in a book and I'm talking about the power of words and language and. Right? And this is our. Our words are our sword, right? You know, they call it spelling for a reason. We're casting spells with our words, right? Good and bad, right? It's. It's up to us to use our words and our sword in the. In the manner that we. We wish to create our worlds, right? So the fact that you spoke out loud, I'm grateful.
Which is probably the highest vibrational word in the English language, you know, gratitude. Grateful. I'm grateful. You know, Dr. Emoto Musari with his messages from water, if you've ever looked, you know, crystallizing, you know, putting words on glass containers with water, freezing it, and then under a microscope looking at those crystal fragments and words like love and I'm grateful. I love you were beautiful fractals where I hate you. And lower vibrational words were all these deformed crystal frequencies. There's a lot of research in science behind the power of words and language and the fact that, you know, and it was an unconscious driver to think, you know, I'm grateful, and then to speak it out loud. So now you're giving vibrational form to that intention, right? To that thought, to that state of gratitude. So now, you know, you're fully embraced and you're vibrating to the frequency of being grateful. I am grateful. Right? And so to me, what intuitively I'm seeing, that was like the hardening of your warrior healing stance, right? And, you know, I think that's part of your message and what you can bring to the world is your self talk and bringing that self talk to physical voice and to. To add that physical vibration of gratitude, right? For another breath, for another step for the people in your life, for everybody has something to be grateful for, right? You know, if you look hard enough, there's the sunshine on my face, right? Whatever it is, right? There's something to be. So just to be able to step into that vibration of gratitude as you did is like you put in a stake in the ground that, you know, I'm getting chills as I'm saying this, but stake in a ground to, you know, I'm standing in a high vibrational frequency because, you know, I choose. I choose vitality, I choose life, you know, I choose to conquer this. And you're one that loves physical challenge, Right. You know, in the ring, in the weight room, you know, running and cycling, whatever you're doing, right. You want to challenge it to the max. Well, guess what? You brought yourself the maximum challenge, right? Probably one of the most painful experiences you could ever imagine, emotionally and physically. And you did it. Right. You conquered it. Right. And now you're building this platform to bring this message to the world, to help others, because, you know, we're living in a world that the pandemic of cancer, Right. And it scares the hell out of everyone.
[00:54:45] Speaker A: Yeah, right.
[00:54:47] Speaker B: But, you know, not only are you going to give a message of hope to those going through the traditional routes. Right. As you did, but you're also going to give this message of, well, there's these other things, too, that you can consider in research. And here's a starting point, right? Resources that helped me, and I wish I would have known this back then because things would have been a little different. And so that's so beautiful that you're going to be offering these resources and your insight and your inspiration and that frequency of gratitude to the world, because I really feel you're going to prevent a lot of people picking up that pistol.
[00:55:35] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:55:36] Speaker B: And finding something, another meaning to attach to, to get them through those really hard points. Right. So I'm so grateful for you and for you to, you know, come on this podcast of ours and share your story and get that message out there. And, you know, I am a. I'm your fan. I'm a cheerleader for Rylan Otis. And, you know, you're welcome on this, you know, podcast anytime. We'd love to follow your journey and to be a part of it and magnify it and, you know, and bring Aya to your world as well, because I know that, you know, there's all kinds of sonic supplements and, you know, ask Aya guidance and, you know, on and on that can. Can really give people in those trying times a life raft. Right. And there's a lot of times, I'm sure, where you're too embarrassed, you know, to even talk about certain things that you're going through to people. Right. You know, and so now with, you know, with Aya, Ask Aya, you can, you know, you can. You can talk to her, you know, those things that you can't share with anybody else. And she's not going to tell you what to do, but she's going to give you something to consider. Yeah, right.
So, you know, I just think that this was such a universal timing, destiny thing for us to have met. And so ironic that I just rushed you downstairs and sat you in front of the taped, your eyes open, look at this, right?
And then you just shared your heart and soul and your story. And I'm so grateful for it and for you to come into my life. And I really feel that there's something. I know you're starting your own supplement.
There's a whole nother story and unfortunately, we don't have the time to explore that. We need a round two because of where you're going. I mean, I know you have this vision, this roadmap, this plan to take this message far and wide, including, you know, supplements and resource list. And, you know, you've got a community of athletes and thought leaders, you know, that are surrounding you. So I know that there's a lot of juicy things for us to, you know, either support you in or to, you know, collaborate on. So I'm exciting, I'm excited to uncover that and to, you know, to kind of flesh out, you know, the rest of, you know, Rylan Otis and his magnificent journey.
I'm going to pass the mic off to our glorious host, Kingsley here. But I'm so grateful. Sit in gratitude for I've met you, for sharing this time with you and hearing your journey even for I've learned even new things from the first time we sat down. So thank you for that.
[00:58:34] Speaker A: No, thank you. Thank you for having me.
[00:58:37] Speaker D: Yeah, I think, you know, especially this time of year, gratitude is on everyone's minds. But, you know, especially, you know, what Michael just said being very. The highest vibrational thing. I think that's so lovely. And I started writing like a gratitude journal myself over this past year.
[00:58:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:58:59] Speaker D: And it really, like, is a great thing to do, I think, just to like, take stock of what, what is so great about this life.
So I extend my gratitude to you for joining us. I'm glad the stars aligned. We got you, got you in here. And I would love to continue the conversation on around 2 and, and see where, you know, where can we, where can we take this with. With music, with the physical.
Yeah. With my kids, I'm just like. So.
Yeah, just that whole mental aspect of it, I think is so important. I think that very. We're getting to the age where they're like, they understand the physical. Bringing the mental part in, I think is really the next stage of things for them.
[00:59:50] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely, Absolutely.
[00:59:53] Speaker D: Thank you for joining us on this episode, Rylan.
[00:59:57] Speaker A: Thank you for having me. This is this, this is I, I can't thank you guys enough.
I think I'm excited to see what comes with this. I'm very excited to do a round two, round three, four with you guys and continuing this journey and going further and getting, getting the word out there. And I, I think overall it, you guys have hit the, all of you hit the nail on the head here. But I, I enjoy helping people. I, it's what brings joy to me, you know, showing people that whatever, whatever speed bump they're going over right now, it's not the end of the world and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
It brings me a lot of joy. It actually brings me so much joy. I'm actually at a loss of words right now for it. I apologize for that.
[01:00:44] Speaker B: I love that.
[01:00:46] Speaker D: That's beautiful.
[01:00:47] Speaker C: Beautiful. Well, Rylan Otis, the gratitude warrior.
[01:00:54] Speaker A: Thank you. I like that.
[01:00:55] Speaker C: Ryland Otis, the gratitude warrior. Yes. So thank you so much for sharing your story. And it's from our own depleted, desperate moments that really build our life's purpose and our life's missions. So when it comes to the physical aspect of things, that can be. I did love physical challenge or I appreciate physical challenges, but you don't need to call anymore. In the future, your biggest challenge will be getting your voice out there.
In a world of healthcare, that's challenging. Right. We do have to have the voice of a warrior to get people to listen. And the future is not about health because health is defined by a third party system and we can be told we're healthy even when we're not. The future is really about vitality. And vitality is a continuation of a meaningful and purposeful exist.
And because of what you went through, you are going to assure that other people don't have to go through that. And that's part of your life's purpose and mission that you're going to share through your voice. So thank you so much, Rylan, for sharing your story with us.
[01:02:00] Speaker A: Thank you. And thank you for your story as well.
[01:02:02] Speaker C: You're welcome.
[01:02:05] Speaker B: Until next time, be well and stand in gratitude you all as well.
[01:02:11] Speaker A: Thank you.
[01:02:13] Speaker D: Yes. Be well and I look forward to meeting you in person. Yeah, probably see you in the gym.
[01:02:19] Speaker A: Absolutely. I like that.
[01:02:21] Speaker D: All right. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Harmonize youe Life. We hope you found inspiration and practical insights to enhance your well being. Until next time, stay well and keep shining.
