Hidden Gems: Meet Matthew Lyon of San Pio Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Lyon.

Matthew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello. Here is a link to my bio on my website, and below I’ll share a different point of view as well: https://www.docmattlyon.com/dr-matt-lyon/

I KNEW I wanted to be a healer and a chiropractor at the age of 11. I was profoundly impacted by a couple of chiropractors when I was a kid. As soon as I felt the magic of the art, science, and philosophy of chiropractic I knew I wanted to devote my life to helping others with this gift. I grew up in a very challenging environment for a kid. The stress of that experience showed up for me as symptoms like asthma, allergies, back pain, ADD, and anxiety.

Like so many, I had no idea that it was my brain and nervous system that controlled all of those processes. When these chiropractors began to adjust my spine and help my brain regulate, I was able to self-heal. It was incredibly helpful and have the incredible focus to transcend my circumstances and rise to get into college and then go on to chiropractic school.

I was also a devoted student of various martial arts. This catalyzed my life one interest in acupuncture which has been a part of my life and practice for the last 20 years. In addition to the incredible gifts of chiropractic adjusting I learned the art and science of Applied Kinesiology where we use muscle testing as a way to gauge the specific imbalances and blocks to healing in each person.

We are all infinitely unique, and so the most integral and holistic health system will allow us to see what each client needs. I work from the perspective that health is a triad of balance between our body alignment, our body chemistry, and our thoughts and emotions. Applied Kinesiology is an incredible way to access the unique wellness formula for each client.

Over the last 3 years, I have devoted myself to more deeply understanding how trauma – physical, emotional, and chemical, changes the brain. I have learned and implemented a program where we can help clients who’ve been affected by trauma to truly get their lives back by changing their brains and the impacts of trauma on their bodies. It’s deeply meaningful work for me being a survivor of trauma.

In a world where anxiety, depression, and stress-related challenges are at an all-time high, holistic drugs free approaches to help people are imperative. I love my work and never stop learning and growing. I am married to Lynn, a psychotherapist and we have two kids aged 10 and 6 – Sienna and Michael. My wife and I love the practice of Yoga. We practice at YogaPod and love our yoga community there.

In my mid-career, I had a surfing accident which resulted in a real struggle with chronic pain. Through the trauma work, I do plus re-learning proper strength training and movement, I was able to heal myself of 2 years of chronic pain. Thus I am hugely devoted to strength training, kettlebells, and healthy living. I’m so grateful I started meditating when I was young and have been practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM) daily for 20 years. I also really enjoy the work of Wim Hof and LOVE cold river plunges here in Colorado.

My wife and I practiced in North Carolina up until 2019. After selling our clinic we decided to move to Colorado for a much better quality of life for us and our kids. I lead retreats on the island of Jamaica each year and we bring groups there to show them the beauty of the island, practice yoga, and receive a total brain and trauma reset with me in paradise. We have a wonderful relationship with Jake’s Treasure Beach, one of the coolest boutique hotels and yoga retreat locations in the world.

I believe each person has incredible potential within them. When Michaelangelo was asked how he made David, he stated that he simply took away everything that was not David. That’s how I see my work – we are just helping remove the damage and stressors that have accumulated through life so we can live our best life and express our highest potential. When enough people do this in a culture, we transform the culture. When we transform culture from the inside out, we create a better world for generations to come!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If anyone is honest, each of our roads is filled with tremendous challenges. Of course, my path has had incredible challenges. I view each of these as profound gifts and opportunities to grow and self-actualize. The first big challenge for me was growing up in a home with a father with PTSD from his military service in Vietnam and a family system based around trauma and addiction.

My faith, a deep practice of meditation, and martial arts, and the gift of chiropractic, truly set me on a path where I could overcome anything. Years after I had built a very successful clinic I had an accident and I went through about 2 1/2 years of life-changing chronic pain. That kind of pain can make you question everything. I knew I could never give up and so I used my pain as the platform to re-learn how trauma changes our brains.

I learned about how to change my brain to change the pain using a combination of movement, meditation, Breathwork, trauma reset (Quantum Neurological Reset Therapy), psychotherapy, and an attitude of persistence and grit. After going through that time and coming out the other side I re-discovered the value of the quality of life we have and the value of our most important relationships.

As a result, I sold my clinic to move to Colorado and begin a new adventure with my family. The Pandemic was a great challenge as well. We had just moved to Colorado and knew no one, and I wanted to open a new clinic. I had to dive deep into learning new ways to work with people, I had to re-learn everything I thought I knew about the immune system, I dove deep into getting better at healing trauma, and I had to be very agile to grow a clinic in a lockdown. It was so hard, and there were many days and weeks when we thought moving here was a huge mistake.

There were lonely days and stressful weeks. But we never gave up and we just kept learning our WHY – to love and serve people who are struggling. We leaned into our faith community and yoga community and just kept at it, one day at a time. A key component of any success is the ability to self-care and renew and heal when we are going through great stress.

In addition, taking great care of ourselves with the 3 pillars – eat well, move well, and think well was critical. I love this quote by Michael Jordan – says it all: I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

As you know, we’re big fans of San Pio Wellness. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My wife and I have our wellness corporation, San Pio Wellness. I practice Chiropractic, Applied Kinesiology, Acupuncture, and Quantum Neurological Reset Therapy. My wife is a psychotherapist who specializes in helping couples break through stress so they can have loving and beautiful relationships.

My deep advanced training in how the brain works, trauma, functional medicine, acupuncture, and very specific (and gentle) adjusting techniques allow me to help people with tough and complex issues. I’ve worked with rock stars, political dignitaries, New York Times best-selling authors, famous thought leaders, and professional athletes. As importantly I have been honored to serve over 100,000 sessions to amazing humans throughout my career.

I think our secret sauce is love – that we truly come from a place of love for others and a deep heart-centered desire to help others transform their suffering into health and wisdom. As far as a brand goes, I love how we have integrated integrative practices like meditation, breathwork, and yoga into our clinic culture. Our retreats are a unique experience that changes people’s lives for the better. Our retreats have also allowed us to add massive value to certain communities in Kingston Jamaica, giving us the chance to live up to people for whom poverty and struggle are a way of life.

Finally, we are obsessed with results and excellence. We go deep, we have no room for the shallows. I still, after nearly 20 years in the business am traveling and learning from the best of the best at least once per month. For us, our work is a calling and a sacred trust. We show up that way – with 100% passion and enthusiasm. This is infectious and emboldens the healing response.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
That’s easy – love.

Love people.

Love excellence.

Love the process.

Love the pain.

Love the success.

Love the sun as much as the rain, and love the pain of the lift as much as the gains.

Love the process of becoming a better person more than the outcome of success because success is just being loved in the world.

I also feel that joy and laughter and kindness are IMPERATIVE (and shockingly missing in most sectors) and so we create an energy, a vibe, that says “Everyone is welcome here. Expect a miracle. You are no longer alone. We believe in the goodness of the human spirit. We believe in the indomitable spirit of each person and we look for the genius in everybody we meet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.docmattlyon.com/
• Instagram: @dr.mattlyon
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/docmattlyon
• Twitter: @drmattlyon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQIxwr94mbdVHnMgugpkBw