We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaye Brundidge. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaye below.

Kaye, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Canvas Rebel Essay

While I had been happy and fulfilled as an anesthesiologist caring for my patients, I had a vague impression that my true gifts lay outside the operating room. After extensive study and training in anesthesiology, I also had a feeling that I was only getting part of the healing and pain management story. I immersed myself in my yoga practice as a way of finding both balance and solace in my life. I went from intensive yoga practice to taking the 200-hour yoga teacher training, and teaching yoga classes before starting my workday as an anesthesiologist two days a week. It was during this time that I became aware of the power and effectiveness of non-western healing modalities and practices.

After a ski knee injury requiring surgery, I chose to minimize my consumption of oral pain killers in favor of using regional and spinal anesthesia for postoperative and intraoperative pain management. After my surgery, I also found out about the power of INTENTION and FOCUS one night when my regional anesthesia pain management technique was overwhelmed by the degree of pain I was in. I had been successful to that point in using breath work, regional analgesia and regular use of Tylenol as well as resolving that I would not have much pain after surgery, and that my chosen pain management techniques (spinal and regional analgesia) would work to control what pain there was. That night, the pain was beyond my usual management choices, so I finally took some oral pain medicine (Percocet) in additional to the Tylenol, but also focused on requesting that the pain leave my body by whatever route it needed to take. Almost immediately, that’s what began to happen. The pain took an odd route up my leg, up my torso, and crossed to the opposite arm and outside of that elbow, where one point on the radial or outer aspect of my elbow became fiery hot for a few minutes, diminished, then totally resolved taking all my knee pain with it. This happened less than 15 minutes after taking the Percocet, so I can’t attribute the complete lack of pain to the effectiveness of the medicines, but to something that I had intended; that the pain would leave my body. I had NO IDEA why the exit route had taken the path that it did but was very happy that what I had done had worked and slept comfortably the rest of the night.

Fast forward to months later, when I was in the middle of learning acupuncture and meridian points during an Acupuncture for Medical Doctors Course with the Helm’s Institute for Medical Acupuncture. I learned that the pain departure route had been along an energy meridian of the body that was taught in the 3000-year-old healing tradition of acupuncture. I had never had any experience or training in acupuncture until I took the course, months after I invited the pain to leave my body, and it did. This experience taught me that with intention, intuition and focus, we have the power to intervene in our own healing. It’s our legacy and birthright. It also taught me the power of allowing intuition to guide my personal healing and medical work as a physician, and to realize that for many years, I had relied heavily on that intuitive guidance in my successful anesthesia practice, allowing my intuitive sense of what was needed to work hand in hand with my medical training to produce positive results for my patients. It also gave me first-hand insight of the power of combining the advances and knowledge of western, modern medicine with intuitive knowledge and traditional healing modalities. The power of the increase in effectiveness was in the synergy of both traditions and the extra oomph provided by incorporating the energetic aspects of healing and self-care in what I was doing. I found over the next few years that incorporating these aspects of care was a game changer for my patients.

I began to have experiences with recovery room nurses relating how my patients enthused that they had a transformational surgery and anesthesia experience after I cared for them; feeling better than they had after previous anesthetics, and feeling also empowered that things would go well in their post op care and recovery. I shared Breath work, Intention setting, and Focus on desired outcomes as guiding concepts for the surgery period with my patients in the brief time I had with them in the preoperative period before their surgery. During their surgery and anesthesia, my focus was on providing the best possible anesthetic care for their particular situation as well as sending loving kindness healing energy to them during the case and early recovery period. I didn’t think I was doing anything special until I began to get consistent feedback from recovery room nurses from my patients in several different hospital and surgery centers over the years. I also heard years later that my surgeon for my knee surgery used my focus, intention setting and resolve to have minimal during surgery, recovery and rehab process as a kind of poster child moment to share with other patients what was possible if they resolved for it to be so. My surgeon had remarked immediately after surgery how smoothly everything went, during surgery. I absolutely told him what I had resolved and intended before surgery. I really had a charmed recovery and rehab, with minimal complications. I was over 45 at the time of my injury and surgery but rehab and recovery went exceptionally well. I was climbing a glacier with crampons within five months of surgery, and back to downhill skiing blue runs less than a year later. I wasn’t a competitive athlete before this happened, but I harnessed the power of Intention, Focus, Intuition in my pre surgery, surgery and recovery periods. Honestly, I was also rather annoyed at how the injury had messed up an awesome to that point ski season. It was a prime example of an unfortunate situation morphing into something that ended better than I could have ever imagined.

I followed my awesome orthopedic surgeon’s instructions to the letter and actively participated in post-surgery rehab to achieve great results that were a combination of his skill and my alternative and complementary healing techniques. It was at this time that I realized that I had an experience and technique that perhaps others could benefit from. I had combined the intense training of my modern anesthesia practice with my intuition and training in age old complementary (yoga) and alternative medical techniques (acupuncture) in a synergistic fashion to come up with a replicable technique that could be used in a variety of different situations. During the subsequent years, I also received training in Reiki, an age-old energetic healing modality based on the principle that the therapist can channel Universal energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body and restore physical and emotional well-being. I discovered that I had been doing intuitively was actually reiki, a tested and effective way of channeling healing energies to a patient and client.

I tried my process on willing friends and family, with great success, before seeking the help of a business strategist and other allied professionals to help me develop, package and market my approach and use it to help patients as a surgery coach. To my intuitive process, I added a conventional medicine focused fact sheet for patients so that they had the accurate information to ask their surgeon about their particular surgery and the processes that would be involved before during and after the surgery. This was a fact and anesthesia practice driven process that drew extensively on my knowledge of the procedure involved. Anesthesiologists see almost every surgery done in a hospital; I know the procedures well! The best thing about it was that using my revolutionary technique that combined traditional medical knowledge with intuitive, intention and energetic work, I was able to do something that I loved and was passionate about combined with my passion for and knowledge of complementary energetic and health management techniques to help patients have better outcomes and surgery experience. The knowledge they gained about breathwork, intention and focus could also be used in their every day- non surgery lives and shared with their family. Win-win situation!

I can’t say that the whole entrepreneurial process as I presented my techniques has been an instant success, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of communicating my very different yet successful techniques, building momentum and finding consensus and support with like-minded entrepreneurs. I’ve learned from their challenges and success stories and built lasting friendships on the way. Embarking on this very different path has also invigorated my anesthesia practice and allowed me to find new joy in something that I’ve been doing for over twenty-five years. Yes, I have continued to use my knowledge of energetic input and intuition to help my anesthesia patients even as I have built my new business and focused on teaching others the power of their own innate intuitive gifts and healing abilities. It’s taught me the beauty of taking a slightly different path and perspective and incorporating new knowledge to create a synergistic experience of healing for my patients. I have been having fun in the process, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s all good.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a surgery coach, energy intuitive and anesthesiologist with over 25 years-experience. My company, Oshun Energy Medicine, is unique! In it, I combine my experience and knowledge gained during my years of practice as an anesthesiologist with my skills as a lifelong energy intuitive to offer specialized, insider-level pre-surgery coaching tailored for the incredibly busy superwoman. My role is to provide invaluable insights and intuitive support to ensure optimal surgical outcomes. Why do I target women? Because I saw from observation in the preoperative area, and by reading the statistics, that women are the force of nature that makes our society function. It’s women who make over 85% of the health decisions in their families. Those families often stretch generations, to include elder parents and their own children and others in their extended family and community.

Despite this involvement in family and work responsibilities, I frequently saw women manage everything and everyone in their families and workspace he preop area, only to realize that they hadn’t taken time to care for their own needs and concerns about their surgery and the mental preparation that everyone must done to successfully navigate surgery. I began to realize that the quick breath exercises, focusing and intention setting techniques I used to help these women prepare last minute for surgery were working. I consistently got feedback from the recovery room nurses that y patient felt comfortable, and confident that they could manage and navigate the challenges of recovering from surgery and returning to their busy lives. I realized that I had a service that would be useful not only to the women I served but could also be used in turn by the former patient to help others in their friend and family network. It was knowledge of techniques, and intuitive training that could and should be shared.

I am most proud of the fact that I have provided not just the basics, but exemplary and patient focused care for every patient I’ve provided anesthesia for. Realizing that all of my explorations into alternative and complementary techniques and traditions could further add value and ease to my patients, and in turn to their families and networks, made me eager to share the concepts that led me to found Oshun Energy Medicine as a service that could have a positive ripple effect of education and provision of a unique an needed service at a time when primary and consultant health care professionals were frankly overwhelmed.

The medical practice environment and industry has changed drastically since the stressors put on it during the Covid 19 pandemic. Before that recovery was processed and adjusted, we have further stressors as well as service and personnel cuts as of January 2025. To me, the point of health care is to care for the patients such that they can receive services, then return to their lives and live them fully. I see what I do as a surgery coach with Oshun Energy Medicine as someone who can provide not only coaching but an introduction into the power that all of us have within us to use our Divinely given intuition, set Intentions and Focus on the goals we want and achieve them.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

For years, I did locus teens or traveling anesthesia work, going to practice in difference cities an states to provide anesthesia care. I had the luxury of being able to set my own schedule, and work according to what worked for me. During the process of working one such job, I was offered a permanent position as an anesthesiologist with a hospital. It seemed like the dream staff anesthesiologist job with all the bells and whistles of a CME (Continuing Medical Education) financial allowance and time to go to conferences, and limited call. the reality was brutal. Many days of late hours even when not on call, and limited call days, but hours which stretched into 15-18 hours of work, 8 hours off then back to do it again. When you counted weekend call, there was every potential and frequent reality that I could be on call, and frequently working 48 hours at a time. After four years of that, I was done. I resigned, and took a year off to do research o pay the bills, and had to decide if I ever wanted to do anesthesia again.

I did return to anesthesia practice, but limited my hours and days of work as I prioritized my quality of life rather than maximizing my income potential. I strove for HAPPINESS AND BALANCE, time to enjoy my life, and where I lived. i wanted to spend time with friends and families, and enjoy the area where I lived. This time, when the job situation I was in proved to been untenable, it didn’t take me four years to make a change to a situation that worked for me. That was the biggest lesson; never be afraid to make a job change that led to more happiness and ease and joy. A healthy mind, body and spirit is PRICELESS. Money is important, but it absolutely was not everything and definitely not the most important thing for and to me. Happiness, and the ability to enjoy my life, and be grateful for my family and friends who are life family and the many amazing people and fur babies and experiences in life is important to me. And I like to be able to share some of the things that bring me joy, and my skills and training, with others to make their lives better.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I working at a university medical center, doing my post anesthesia residency fellowship training in Neuroanesthesia, or anesthesia for brain and spinal surgery. The fellowship training involved both research and performing and supervising anesthesia residents and CRNA’s (nurse anesthetists) and nurse anesthetist trainees providing anesthesia for the most complex neurosurgery cases. It was in the course of being scheduled to do anesthesia for specialized seizure surgery the next day, that I found out the His Holiness The Dalai Lama would be coming to observe in the observation suite for our surgery suite, since he was in town for a series of lectures at the main university and had an interest in the brain. I was interested, but at that point, honestly did not know much about His Holiness.

My first impression as I was working the next day, was that all of a sudden, a wave of peace and calm rolled into the operating room where I was working. As is usual with most operating rooms, there aren’t many windows, so I could see nothing. I knew something significant had changed. Minutes later, I glanced at the observation area, to see a slight man in back rimmed glasses, and saffron and red robes standing at the observation window. He was flanked by enormous men in suits, with the head surgeon for the case there with a white coat over his scrubs. We didn’t speak via the OR room/observations suite intercom, but I had never felt such a feeling of peace and well-being as that that came from the observation area for the OR. It was my first time being around someone with presence.

Things went VERY WELL that day for the surgery and patient. Everything went smoothly and the surgery for the patient was successful, and his recovery was also smooth and uneventful. For my part, the night of the surgery, I researched and read everything I could find about The Dalai Lama and his teachings. This was at the dawn of the internet; research meant going to a library and bookstore and getting books to read. Through my reading, I came to believe quite intensely and clearly that what I was doing was not just about the mental and technical aspect of patient care, but should also be about sincerely wanting to give each patient my best and having a feeling of loving kindness towards those that I cared for. I learned by being in the presence of His Holiness the importance of putting my heart into what I did. Years later, and from a source that I cannot name, I got a card that I framed, with a quote from the Dalai Lama about Never Giving Up and developing the heart and compassion for both myself and others. The quote also stressed importance of developing and working toward peace. There are many times that I have struggled and despaired, and fallen short of that ideal, but I never give up and always have those words to inspire me.

And yes, that card sits in a frame on the corner of my desk now, and every desk I have had since I received it. That tangential encounter (I did not meet His Holiness face to face) was one that changed the course of my life thereafter

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Oshunenergymedicine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oshun_energy_medicine_oem/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Oshun-Energy-Medicine/61554926144813/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oshun-energy-medicine-coaching/?viewAsMember=true