Why I Took a Strategic Year-Long Sabbatical to Build the Capacity for My Next Era | Ep. 162
Release Date: 01/28/2026
XPAND CAPACITY™
Most people are taught that performance comes from doing more. More hours. More pressure. More execution. But at the highest levels of leadership, performance is not about intensity. It is about capacity. In this episode, we break down what BILLION-DOLLAR HUMAN PERFORMANCE™ actually requires and why nervous system regulation is the foundation most leaders skip until their body forces the conversation. This is not about slowing down. It is about building the internal capacity to scale without breaking. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: • Why hustle-based performance works temporarily and...
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DECIDE: How Leaders Stop Self-Sabotage Under Pressure Most leaders don’t fail because they lack intelligence, discipline, or strategy. They fail because they’re making high-stakes decisions from a dysregulated nervous system. When pressure is high, time is tight, and the nervous system is overwhelmed, the body is not optimized for clarity. It’s optimized for survival. And survival mode doesn’t just affect how you feel. It directly shapes the decisions you make, often in ways that quietly sabotage your health, your relationships, and your long-term success. In this episode, we explore...
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“Most people are taught to scale first, hustle harder, and optimize strategy.” “But no one is asking the most important question: is your nervous system capable of holding what you’re trying to build?” In this episode of Xpand Capacity™, Dr. Christine Manukyan introduces the first pillar of the podcast: Regulate. This conversation is for executives, founders, and high performers who have achieved success on paper but feel the hidden cost in their bodies, relationships, and mental health. After investing deeply in her own inner work, including joining Tony Robbins’ Platinum...
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In 2025, I wrote a six-figure check to become a Platinum Partner with Tony Robbins. And then I paused my business. Not because the strategy wasn’t sound. Not because the rooms weren’t powerful. But because I wasn’t ready to receive what I was asking for. Burnout. Overwhelm. Constant motion. I was chasing the next event, the next tactic, the next breakthrough—while my nervous system was quietly collapsing under the weight of it all. This episode marks the beginning of a new season and a full rebrand to Xpand Capacity™. And it’s the most honest conversation I’ve had about...
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From Wall Street to Purpose: Mastering Communication & Leadership Join Dr. Christine Manukyan as she sits down with executive coach and keynote speaker Jill Wheaton to discuss the transformative power of authentic communication, leadership, and following your inner voice. Jill shares her journey from Wall Street success to finding true fulfillment, her work with Tony Robbins, and how she's helping leaders become magnetic communicators. In This Episode: Why traditional success doesn't always equal fulfillment The power of listening to your inner whisper before it goes silent How...
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In this episode, Dr. Christine Manukyan introduces Energetics of Elite Leadership™, a groundbreaking program within the STORRIE Institute’s School of Business & Leadership. Designed for visionary executives, founders, and industry disruptors, this executive education experience redefines leadership by merging neuroscience, energetics, and performance psychology. Dr. Christine shares how the program helps leaders regulate their nervous systems, expand emotional intelligence, and lead with clarity, vitality, and purpose. This is the evolution of leadership—where science meets...
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What if your emotions are making you sick? In this powerful episode of The Wholistic Vitality® Podcast, Dr. Christine Manukyan - also known as The Vitality Doctor™ - shares the truth most people miss on their healing journey: You can’t heal a body that feels unsafe. You can eat clean, take supplements, and even have “perfect” lab results, but if your nervous system is stuck in survival mode, your body will resist healing. True transformation happens only when you feel safe to heal - physically, emotionally, and energetically. This episode bridges science and spirituality,...
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Traditional healthcare is broken—and if you're a healthcare professional, you already know it. But what most clinicians don't realize is that while the system crumbles, a $77 billion opportunity is exploding right in front of them. In this episode, we're diving into the future of healthcare, why the wellness industry represents the biggest professional opportunity in a generation, and why the next 90 days are strategically critical for any healthcare professional ready to expand beyond traditional practice limitations. If you're a PharmD, MD, DO, NP, RN, PT, PA, or any healthcare...
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What You'll Learn in This Episode Are you a wellness practitioner, health coach, or clinician looking to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape? This episode introduces STORRIE® AI - the first AI-powered certification guide designed specifically for wholistic practitioners. In this episode, you'll discover: ✅ Why AI certification training is the future of practitioner education ✅ How STORRIE® AI provides 24/7 personalized coaching and clinical guidance ✅ What Dan Martell (serial entrepreneur and AI expert) revealed about AI in the wellness industry at Tony Robbins'...
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Why are corporate wellness programs failing, even as companies spend billions on gyms, meditation apps, and wellness perks? In this episode of The Wholistic Vitality Podcast, Dr. Christine Manukyan, The Vitality Doctor™, breaks down why traditional workplace wellness initiatives don’t work and what organizations must do to reduce burnout, improve mental health, and create thriving cultures. You’ll discover the 3 levels of true transformation - individual, leadership, and organizational and why wellness must shift from a perk to a strategic business initiative. Christine also shares her...
info_outlineIn 2025, I wrote a six-figure check to become a Platinum Partner with Tony Robbins.
And then I paused my business.
Not because the strategy wasn’t sound.
Not because the rooms weren’t powerful.
But because I wasn’t ready to receive what I was asking for.
Burnout. Overwhelm. Constant motion.
I was chasing the next event, the next tactic, the next breakthrough—while my nervous system was quietly collapsing under the weight of it all.
This episode marks the beginning of a new season and a full rebrand to Xpand Capacity™. And it’s the most honest conversation I’ve had about leadership, growth, and what actually sustains elite performance.
In This Episode, I Share:
• Why high-level strategy fails when your nervous system is dysregulated
• What Business Mastery revealed that no funnel or framework ever could
• The three choices I faced on the flight home—and why I chose the one no one understood
• How inner work, not effort, removed my revenue ceiling
• Why I stopped selling education and rebuilt everything around capacity
• The exact moment I realized I wasn’t scaling a business—I was scaling survival
• What it truly means to lead, decide, and perform from safety instead of stress
The Hard Truth Most Leaders Avoid
No tactic outperforms a regulated state.
I didn’t need another plan.
I needed to stop operating in armor.
Through deep nervous-system work, family constellation work, and releasing identities built on overworking and overgiving, everything changed:
• 28 pounds released
• Deeper sleep
• Clearer decisions
• Less internal noise
• Greater capacity to hold responsibility, leadership, and revenue—without breaking
This wasn’t a pause.
It was preparation.
Why Xpand Capacity Exists
I killed the offers that no longer served the future.
I simplified everything down to one question:
What do leaders actually need to perform at the level they’re paid to operate?
The answer wasn’t more information.
It was more capacity.
Xpand Capacity is built on one promise:
Leaders who regulate first decide better—and perform at an elite level without burnout.
One brand.
One path.
One operating truth.
The Five Decisions That Changed Everything
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Capacity over strategy
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Safety over speed
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Alignment over options
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One brand, one path
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Inner work before outer results
Confusion is expensive. Clarity compounds.
Final Word
I’m not here to add to your to-do list.
I’m here to expand your capacity so the right things get done—calmly, consistently, and at the level your role demands.
Welcome to Xpand Capacity™.
This is where leaders regulate, decide, and perform.
Learn about your host, Dr. Christine Maukyan
Have you ever had that inner knowing that something has to change, but you push it away until one day you can’t ignore it anymore?
Dr. Christine Manukyan knows that exact feeling. After 25 years in healthcare, she took the leap of faith from pharmacist to The Vitality Doctor™ to mentor elite leaders transform their lives from the inside out.
As a Fractional Chief Vitality Officer and creator of Xpand Capacity™ and NeuroBreathwork®, she works with founders and executives convert overwhelm into calm authority, decisive leadership, and durable performance without sacrificing their health.
A five-time #1 international bestselling author, with her latest book, Breathe. Heal. Surrender. and host of the Xpand Capacity™ podcast, Dr. Christine leads executive retreats in Bali and across the U.S., has spoken to audiences of 15,000 and has been featured by Forbes, Yahoo, ABC and CBS.
Her message is simple: Vitality is the ultimate edge - the foundation of your Billion-Dollar Human Performance™. Let’s unlock yours, so when the inner whisper returns, you’re ready to act.
Contact Dr. Christine Manukyan
Email: dr.christine.manukyan@gmail.com
Website: https://drchristinemanukyan.com/ or https://www.xpandcapacity.com/
Join us in Bali May 24 - 30, 2026 https://drchristinemanukyan.com/bali-retreat/
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