The JOY Broadcast – How I Healed My Migraine with JOY
Host: Ali Mortimer, The JOY Coach
Date: March 20, 2026
Episode Overview
In this heartfelt and uplifting episode, Ali Mortimer shares a very personal story of how she managed and ultimately healed a severe migraine by intentionally choosing JOY as her strategy, rather than simply enduring pain or frustration. Through practical anecdotes, self-awareness, and compassionate wisdom, she demonstrates how turning to joy—even on the hardest days—is not just an abstract idea but a real, actionable pathway to healing and thriving. This episode is especially resonant for women balancing careers, home life, and personal well-being, and serves as a vivid reminder that JOY is not a reward, but a fundamental strategy—both for healing and for achieving more.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Redefining JOY: Not Fluffy, but a Core Life Strategy
Timestamp: 00:01–03:15
- Ali opens with a powerful statement:
"Joy is not fluffy. Joy isn't frivolous. Joy is not the reward you get after you've ticked all the boxes. Joy is the only strategy you will ever need. It's your competitive edge, your antidote, and your super attractor…It's the power that creates miracles and makes life feel like magic." (00:15)
- She emphasizes that joy isn't something to be postponed until after responsibilities are met. Instead, it's the energy that equips you to hold life’s demands with more capacity and grace.
2. Personal Migraine Story: How Joy Became the Healer
Timestamp: 03:16–07:35
- Ali candidly describes waking up with the start of a horrendous migraine and her deep frustration about potentially missing her dedicated creative day.
- She shares her lifelong history with migraines—rooted in stress, hormonal changes, and self-imposed pressure.
"I've had migraines pretty much all my life, since my twenties… It was my body's way of forcing me to stop, to rest, to slow down.” (04:24)
- She reflects on the intersection between her perimenopausal symptoms and migraines, and credits functional medicine experts like Liz Sargent and Debbie Townsend for helping her understand her body's needs.
3. Human Design, Self-Awareness, and Choosing Satisfaction
Timestamp: 07:36–11:09
- Ali discusses her journey with Human Design, noting that frustration signals misalignment with her energy as a “generator.”
"Frustration is my not self theme in human design… so I'm very, very aware of that. I need to go back to my signature theme… satisfaction." (08:48)
- With this self-awareness, she consciously chooses to honor her energy, embracing satisfaction as her guide.
4. The Joy List: Making Joy an Intentional Daily Practice
Timestamp: 11:10–14:30
- She introduces her “OG Joy List”—a simple list on a scrap of paper of things she does purely for pleasure.
- The act of “joying”—turning the noun ‘joy’ into a verb—becomes her framework for self-care:
“Joy isn’t just a noun, it’s a verb. To joy. To spend time focused just on you. A choice to choose me, joying, so that I can become joy.” (12:30)
- Her daily dose of joy (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins) is both a physical and emotional practice that supports healing and happiness.
5. A Joy Day in Practice: Simple, Intentional Joyful Acts
Timestamp: 14:31–22:40
- Ali details her “joy day” activities:
- Morning dog walk: Savors the sunshine, moves slowly, and enjoys serendipitous encounters (like bumping into “God”—a beloved local vicar).
“It’s a beautiful spring day up here in Yorkshire… I just enjoyed the sunshine on my skin…I bumped into God…today is going to be the most magical day.” (15:42)
- Writing on the doorstep: Writes two substack articles for pleasure, not obligation, highlighting the difference between devotion and discipline in creative work.
“The title of the substack is 'Fuck discipline. I know a better way.' Excuse my French. But it really is…” (19:15)
- Rest and meditation: Gives herself permission to rest, meditate, and do a full chakra energy cleanse, describing a powerful emotional release.
“Each of these meditations is about seven or eight minutes long...it was an hour just on me. It was an hour of cleansing. And, yes, that sounds incredibly indulgent, but you know, what has happened since? I felt so much better.” (21:28)
- Morning dog walk: Savors the sunshine, moves slowly, and enjoys serendipitous encounters (like bumping into “God”—a beloved local vicar).
6. After the Healing: Unexpected Productivity and Magic
Timestamp: 22:41–26:45
- After following her joy, Ali finds herself refreshed and more productive than anticipated, even managing to complete her podcast, errands, and creative content.
"I've done so much more than I thought I needed to do that I had on my list this morning. I've done it all, and I've done more. I've created some beautiful reels today because I did it, because I wanted to, because I was enjoying it. It’s felt like magic." (24:26)
- She reflects on business mentorship and how the true secret to amplification and business growth is aligning more deeply with JOY, rather than rigid discipline.
7. Key Takeaways: Joy as Healing Energy
Timestamp: 26:46–30:30
- Ali circles back to the science and physics of joy, referencing the Hawkins scale and the tangible, biochemical effects of joy on the body.
“Joy is a healer because joy is that healer that creates a chemical change in your body that makes you feel good… Joy is right up there in the highest frequencies to magnetize everything that you need, that you desire, that you want from the quantum field.” (27:40)
- She invites listeners to notice where in their own bodies or days they could benefit from invoking more joy, for healing of any symptoms or pains—not just migraines.
Memorable Quotes & Moments
- On Joy as Non-Negotiable:
“Joy is always the answer. When the chips are down… but also when the chips are piling up and everything is going really well, you still need to remind yourself to take those moments of joy…” (28:25)
- On Intuitive Healing:
“The very first time I ever did this was intuitively… it’s chemistry. It’s how I change my hormones from the inside out. It’s how I healed myself happy, the daily dose of joy.” (12:05)
- On Permission for Pleasure:
“It was such a pleasure just for me. It was almost like I was writing them for me as a reminder. Then I went to bed, because why not?” (20:35)
- On the “Joy List” Practice:
“So what I recognized this morning that the only thing I needed to do was to do me. I had to do it.” (13:56)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:01: Introduction & redefining joy
- 04:24: Personal migraine history & body wisdom
- 08:48: Human design, energy, and satisfaction
- 12:30: Turning to the Joy List and the daily dose of joy
- 15:42: Embodying joy in daily life (dog walk, Yorkshire morning)
- 19:15: Devotion vs. discipline in creativity
- 21:28: Meditation, energy cleansing, and physical/emotional release
- 24:26: Surprising productivity and the magic of joy
- 27:40: The science and physics of joy
- 28:25: Joy as the answer—no matter the circumstances
Additional Resources & Invitations (briefly noted)
- Ali mentions her Joy Rebellion membership, her Brilliance mentorship, and her Human Design Master Course for further support and JOY amplification.
- Links will be available in the show notes for anyone interested in deepening their practice of joy.
Final Reflection
Ali Mortimer’s infectious enthusiasm and vulnerability make this episode both meaningful and actionable. Her lived experience with migraine becomes a universal metaphor—no matter your pain, “to joy” (as a verb and a strategy) is a pathway to healing, energy, and fulfillment. Whether you’re struggling to “get through the next ten minutes” or looking for a new approach to achieve your goals, Ali’s message is clear: JOY is always the answer.
“The ripple of joy starts with you.” – Ali Mortimer (29:58)