October 14, 2025
103. Maya Raichoora: Train Your Brain Like Your Body + The 5 Types of Visualization
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MDAbout this episode
What if your brain's biggest limitation isn't its capacity, but your failure to train it? In this episode of Extend, Maya Raichoora joins me to share how visualization techniques helped her reverse debilitating ulcerative colitis. We explore the neuroscience behind visualization, from rewiring neural pathways to regulating the immune system through thought. We dive into five distinct types of visualization and why mental fitness deserves the same daily dedication as physical fitness. Maya Raichoora is the UK's leading mental fitness and visualization expert, bestselling author of "Visualize," and a former international badminton player. After being told she'd need lifelong immunosuppressive medication or colon removal surgery for ulcerative colitis at age 17, Maya used visualization and mental training to achieve complete symptom remission. She now coaches elite athletes, C-suite executives, and teaches the science of training the brain. We Also Discuss: 01:45 - How Visualization Reversed Severe Ulcerative Colitis Without Surgery 03:45 - The "Piranha Technique": Making Pain Playful Through Creative Imagery 11:48 - The Brain-Gut Connection: Why Your Colon Has as Many Neurons as Your Brain 18:06 - How Your Brain Directly Controls Immune Cell Production 21:15 - The Five Types of Visualization 26:07 - Why Your Brain's Stories Become Your Ceiling 29:55 - The Neuroscience of Mental Rehearsal: Why Imagined Reps Equal Real Ones 38:00 - The 90-Second Rule for Releasing Trapped Emotions 55:32 - The Language of Medicine: How "Incurable" Becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 1:04:15 - Mirror Neurons: Why You Become What You Watch Thank You for Our Sponsors: Try IM8 today with a 30-day money back guarantee. You can get 10% off your first order with code DRSHAH at https://im8health.com/discount/DRSHAH . Learn more about Dr. Shah: Website: https://www.drshah.com/ Clinic: https://www.next-health.com/ https://www.instagram.com/nexthealth/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darshanshahmd/ Learn more about Maya Raichoora: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-raichoora/ Website: https://mayaraichoora.com/