Prescription drugs may have helped millions live illness-free lives, but they have also destroyed many families. This episode opens our eyes to the reality of how misprescription or over-prescription of medication can deplete years of supposedly good family time. Today, Carrie Miller interviews Cheryl Anthony Alexander, the owner of ROAM Yoga Retreats, about her own mother’s suffering from stress and opioid addiction. Cheryl notes how pharmaceutical companies should be held reliable for many similar cases. She also shares how she resets her mind, body, and spirit through yoga. Start managing your overall health and living a well-balanced life as you discover some gems from today’s show.
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The Heartfelt Story Of How Prescription Drugs Can Effect A Family And Key Strategies To Heal Your Mind, Body, And Spirit | Cheryl Anthony Alexander
I’m excited about our guest interview. I’m talking to someone who’s been in the yoga industry for decades. She’s the owner of ROAM Yoga Retreats and certified in a variety of yoga styles including a Pilates-based high-intensity interval training that she teaches to other fitness professionals. Please welcome to the Healthy Brain Podcast, my good friend, Cheryl Anthony Alexander. How are you?
I’m good.
I’m glad to have you on the show. You are precious to me.
I am thrilled to be here and you, your whole family and your mission are precious and important to me forever and ever.
Thank you so much. We go way back. Childhood days, right?
Yes.
Your daddy was the pastor at the First Baptist Church in Port Neches, Texas. Let’s give a little shout-out to Brother Tony and all our friends out in Port Neches, Texas. Cheryl, let’s start out with you sharing with our readers a little bit about your upbringing.
My upbringing is rather unique. I was born into a Baptist minister’s family. My daddy was always, for my whole life, the pastor of the biggest church in town, no matter where we lived. My mom had a unique role as the pastor’s wife. If you are anywhere close to being familiar with that role and lifestyle then you know that it comes with a lot of pressure and a lot of expectation. That trickles down not only from the pulpit but to the pastor’s wife whose life is probably the hardest life of anyone I know, and into the lives of the children. In fact, there’s a whole cultural level of a PK. You’ve heard of the term PK, preacher’s kid or pastor’s kid, and I’m one of those.
My mother took her role seriously and my father was successful at what he did. He was a shepherd to a flock of, most of the time, a few thousand people and taking care of other people’s families and other people’s problems was his job. My mom’s role was to make sure that our family was representative of my father’s job. I knew from a young age that every single thing we did was a reflection on my father and our church. Beyond that, what people thought of Jesus Christ and of God, we were like ripples in a big pond that ultimately led to heaven. That’s what my upbringing was like. It’s a lot.
We have talked in length before about our moms on several occasions and some of the similarities that they’ve had. Most of my readers know about the doctors placing my mom on seventeen prescription drugs. Can you talk to us a little bit about your mom and what she endured over the years?
The pressures of being a pastor’s wife are profound and there’s a lot of research that’s been done on that particular role in soci...