The Mind Bod Adventure Pod

This week we’re hanging with Ivan Bercholz, co-owner of Shambhala Publications, publisher of Bala Kids, and co-author (with illustrator Lasha Mutual) of My Friend Tara, a children’s book that introduces kids to Tara, the Buddhist archetype of compassion.Ivan set out to create a book that gets straight to the heart of practice: how can kids actually relate to an archetypal quality? How do you help them imagine compassion as something fun, alive, and embodied? How do you make an ancient practice feel natural for modern kiddos?When Jeff’s rambunctious six-year-old Eden stumbled on the book, he flipped through, chose his favorite of the colorful Taras and, while playing with the visualization, had a profound, whole-body shift.Jeff describes it as a “rainbow-candy version of internal regulation” that honors children’s natural inclination towards imagination. Kids are naturals at this stuff. Ask them to picture beams of warmth radiating from the heart and they just do it, while adults tie themselves in knots worrying about doing it “right”.That might be the core thread of our conversation: practice is really about getting open enough to let what’s naturally here come through. Kids, wild lil portals that they are, let that wisdom stream through all the time. Books like this can give them language for what they already know.We talk about:* Visualization as a practice playground for kids and adults* The 5 Taras and their different archetypal qualities (white for calm, green for protection, blue for difficult emotions...)* Why mantra might be our oldest human practice* How books can become spiritual oases when teachers aren’t accessible-------------We make this show with love, lols, and a lot of curiosity. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription 🌿-------------The Adventure:Ivan walks us through a Green Tara visualization and mantra practice.We breathe, settle, imagine Tara’s smile and the rays of warmth coming toward us, and repeat her mantra: Om Tare Tu Tare Ture Soha. Then we let those qualities dissolve into us and send them back out to others.Ivan calls it the workout before the Savasana: the color, sound, imagery build up the energy… and then you release and relax, held in the felt sense of deep meaning.This is medicine for all of us - not just the kiddos!Let us know in the comments how the practice lands - is it your first time doing mantra or visualization?Till next time,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️-------------Know a parent (or a kid at heart) who might dig this? Pass it along 💫-------------Ivan’s Links:* Book: My Friend Tara: And Her Rainbow of Compassion* Shambhala Publications: shambhala.com* Bala Kids: shambhala.com/balakids Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week we're hanging with wandering Celtic teacher John Philip Newell and Earth & Soul Director Cami Twilling to talk about what it means to connect to the sacred when you're living outside the bounds of formal religious tradition.John Philip is an ordained-minister-turned-spiritual-exile who spent years with one foot in the church and one foot out in the wilderness, before finally giving back his ordination. He couldn’t reconcile his experience of the sacredness of humans and nature with Christianity’s history of getting “into bed with empire.”His book The Great Search asks: What are millions of spiritual seekers actually searching for? And how can we nurture those yearnings?John Philip talks about philosopher Simone Weil's idea of 'the efficacy of desire': that getting in touch with our deepest longings actually helps bring about what we're yearning for. When we name our hungers with clarity, we become better able to serve them.We talk about:* Why the wilderness and the temple need each other* The 8 yearnings at the heart of spiritual searching* What happens when you "pray until the tears come" and tap into primal flow* Why regular retreat matters more than occasional long stints------------------------------------We make this show with love, lols, and a lot of curiosity. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription 🌿------------------------------------The Adventure:This one’s subtle and luminous. Cami and John Philip drop us into a contemplative space where the main practice is reconnecting with the light that exists at the heart of all things. We watch how the light moves, and in this simplicity, let our awareness touch eternity.------------------------------------Let us know in the comments: what does your “great search” look like right now?Till next time!🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

Happy New Year!One week into 2026 and we’re already firing on all cylinders. So let’s kick it off with some destress tools to keep us all cool as cucumbers when things get spicy. 🥒😅🌶️This week we sit down with Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, physician, Harvard Medical School faculty member, and author of The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain for Less Stress and More Resilience. We talk about what stress actually is, why it gets so dismissed in medicine, and what to do when your diamond finally cracks.Dr. Aditi knows stress from both sides. As a medical resident working 80-hour weeks in the cardiac ICU, she was taught that "pressure makes diamonds." Then she experienced a stampede of wild horses across her chest that turned out to be... stress! Not a heart attack or low blood sugar. It was her nervous system completely losing it.When her doctor said "just relax," she realized there was a massive gap between how common stress is (60-80% of doctor visits) and how little support exists for it (only 3% of doctors counsel for stress). So she became the doctor she needed.We talk about:* Why calling it “just” stress is medical gaslighting* How doomscrolling is the modern way to scan for danger* The “popcorn brain” effect of having too much screen time* Why breathing is one of the few things you can control (and how to use it)--------We make this show with love, lols, and a lot of curiosity. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription 🫶 --> www.mindbodpod.com--------The adventure:Dr. Aditi walks us through three of her Five Resets, including “Stop, Breathe, Be”, a simple practice she did 30-40 times a day as a resident.It’s a pause and reset you can use every time you turn a doorknob, before Zoom calls, picking up your kids, or brushing your teeth. Any moment works.Know someone who would appreciate a few new destress tools in their kit? Pass it on!Let us know how these practices work for you!Till next time,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week we’re hanging with our friend Chela Davison — facilitator, sacred mischief maker, former master coach, and writer of the Substack, Wisdotainment.She brings her trademark mix of depth and irreverence to the question of what it means to live a “regenerative calling”, a purposeful life that actually feeds you instead of wringing you dry.Chela walks us through 4 dimensions of personal calling:1. Interiority – the pulse of what’s meaningful inside you.2. Aptitude – the weird mix of things you’re naturally good at and the skills you might still need.3. Contribution – how your doing lands in the world and loops back as feedback.4. Regeneration – how you stay resourced, supported, and non-crispy while doing all that.It’s a conversation about vocation, yes, but also about capacity, cycles, and what it means to build a life that keeps you sparkly and invigorated.-------------We talk about:* Why “purpose” culture leaves so many of us exhausted* How to work with your capacities instead of against them* The difference between extraction and regeneration* How to know when your calling needs composting-------------We make this show with love, lols, and a lot of curiosity. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription 🌿-------------The Adventure:Chela invites us to feel into our own calling through these four lenses: what’s pulsing with meaning, what capacities are growing, where your gifts want to land, and what actually keeps you resourced. A full-body check-in with your life!Know someone rethinking their “calling”? Pass this episode along 💫Till next time,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

We chase healing in all directions: therapy, breathwork, cold plunges, maybe a lil microdosing… but what if all your nervous system is asking for is a safe place to land?This week, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. David Rabin joins us to talk about how safety is the foundation of healing. His research explores how vibration, touch, and rhythm can retrain the body for calm. He’s the creator of Apollo Neuro, a wearable (and app) that uses subtle vibrations to signal safety to the nervous system and help the body unlearn chronic stress.We talk about:* How trauma is the body’s stress response that never shuts off* Why safety (not control) is the real foundation of healing* Why top-down thinking can’t fix bottom-up stress* How tech can help retrain the body----------We make this show with love, lols, and a lot of curiosity. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription 🌿----------The adventureDr. David guides us through a two-minute vibration meditation. A body-based practice for retraining your nervous system toward calm. If you want to try it, download the free app, set your phone on your chest, and feel what some good vibes can do!Let us know how it goes!Till next time,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️----------Dr. David’s Links* Wearable tech: Apollo Neuroscience* Apollo App: IPhone App | Android App* Instagram: @drdavidrabin* Website: drdave.io Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

How do we stay aware in a world designed to steal our attention?This week, we sit down with Jay Vidyarthi — designer, tech founder, meditation teacher, and author of Reclaim Your Mind: Seven Strategies to Enjoy Tech Mindfully — to explore what it means to live mindfully with technology instead of fighting against it.We look at how our phones, apps, and algorithms are constantly training our nervous systems, and how awareness itself can change the relationship. Jay calls this attention activism: a way of reclaiming choice and joy in a tech-infused world.----------------------------“Freedom of attention is a fundamental right. It’s a natural resource… and it’s being exploited.”- Jay Vidyarthi----------------------------In this Episode, We talk about:* The invisible pull of notifications and how to stay present in real time* How to turn tech boundaries into rituals of pleasure* What false urgency does to our nervous systems and how to step out of it* How our conversations with AI can become mirrors for awareness* Why we need mindful, creative people shaping the future of technology!The Adventure:Jay guides us through a real-time experiment to feel the physical and psychological pull of our devices. Then transform that into presence!This episode is an invitation to stay grounded, curious, and capable of wonder in the midst of the digital age.----------------------------Know someone who loves tech but wants their mind back?! 🤪 Share this episode!----------------------------Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time.🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️We make this show with love, lols, and sweat. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription: www.mindbodpod.com---------------------------- Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

When it comes to “getting to know ourselves,” we talk about mindfulness, creativity, career… basically everything except sex. But as Dr. Juliana Hauser argues, sexuality might be the most direct doorway into who we really are. In this episode, she takes us past the performance of “being sexy” into the raw territory of authenticity, agency, and connection.Dr. Juliana has spent over two decades helping people claim their own sexual agency. She’s a counselor and family therapist with a PhD in Counseling Education, a TEDx speaker on agency, and creator of the Revealed course on holistic sexuality. Her work shows up in therapy rooms, media outlets, and classrooms… and as of today (🥳) in her brand new book: A New Position on Sex: A Guide to Greater Sexual Confidence, Pleasure, and AuthenticityIn this Episode, We talk about:* Why so many of us are trapped in “performative sexy” mode* How to tell the difference between a “yuck” and a “yum” in your body* How sexuality is central to self-awareness, agency, and connection* How shame and culture block authentic sexual expression and what it takes to unlearn themThe adventureDr. Juliana guides us through a simple touch practice: four different kinds of touch on your own forearm. With each one, notice: does your body say yuck or yum? It’s a playful way to start tuning in to your own signals of agency and authenticity.We make this show with love, lols, and sweat. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription!Talking about sex can feel taboo, but Dr. Juliana makes it curious, light, and doable. This episode is an invitation to stop performing, start listening, and discover that your body already knows more than you think.Let us know in the comments how this practice goes :)Thanks for practicing with us,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️Dr Juliana’s Links* The Nine Pillars: dr-juliana.com/holistic-sexuality/* Revealed Course: therevealedlife.com* Book: A New Position on Sex* Personal Website: dr-juliana.com Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made as a creative? Chelene Knight answers without hesitation: “I think the biggest mistake was just not being me.”This week, we sit down with acclaimed poet, novelist, memoirist, and Tasha’s own writing mentor, Chelene Knight, to talk about what it means to build a creative life. Not the tidy, “professionalized” version, but the messy, alive, human one that actually feels good.Chelene’s most recent book, Safekeeping: A Writer's Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love, is part guided journal, part treasure map through the writing life. It also, as she puts it, “contains all of my mistakes as a writer and all the things that I’ve learned.” Listening to her is like being handed a permission slip to go slower, trust yourself, reread the same book forever, throw out the pressure to finish, snack on a single poem and call it a meal.We talk about:* Why “there is no reading, only rereading”* The mistake of ignoring your instincts and how to recover.* Poetry as the foundation for all writing.* What happens when writers trust the reader enough to leave space.* How slowing down turns reading into a kind of prayer.The adventureChelene guides us through two delicious reading practices: one with Julia Bouwsma’s Dear Ghosts, I Pick the List, and another from Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler. They’re haunting and beautiful.The exercise is simple but radical: Hear a poem once, notice the phrase that hooks you, then hear it again. The second time through, the text has changed… and so have you.----------We make this show with love, laughter, and absolutely no corporate overlords. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription!----------What stayed with us most from this practice is how a poem can feel like a hurricane one moment and a whisper the next, depending on how you let it in.Reading, in Chelene’s hands, is more than consumption. It’s a meditation, a prayer, a slow fire that lights us from within.Let us know in the comments how this practice goes :)Thanks for practicing with us,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️Chelene’s Links:* The Say No with Love Letters* Safekeeping: A Writer's Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love* Cheleneknight.com Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This is an exciting one, friends!Stephen Porges is the visionary scientist who gave us polyvagal theory—a framework that’s reshaped how the world understands trauma, safety, and human connection. His work has influenced everyone from therapists to meditation teachers to parents trying to soothe a colicky baby. And now he’s here with us, alongside his brilliant co-author Karen Onderko, to talk about their new book and the Safe and Sound Protocol.This episode is part science, part storytelling, and part live experiment.In this conversation, we talk about:* The origins of polyvagal theory and why it changed the trauma world forever* How the Safe and Sound Protocol helps bodies shift out of defense and into connection* Wild stories of teens, adults, and even toddlers in a sound cube discovering safety for the first time* Why “safety” can sometimes feel scary (and what to do about it)* The nervous system’s three favorite things: context, choice, and connectionAnd then, because we’re all about real-time practice over here, Jeff guides Stephen and Karen in a short meditation. Afterwards, Stephen deconstructs it through a polyvagal lens, showing us how context, choice, and connection are the nervous system’s love language.-------We make this show with love, laughter, and absolutely no corporate overlords. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription!-------This is one of those conversations we’ll be talking about for a long time. It’s science, but it’s also about how to be human together. How to tune our bodies toward safety and open the doors to connection.✨ Know someone who’s been geeking out on the nervous system, or just trying to figure out how to feel safe in their own skin? Share this episode with them!Thanks for practicing with us,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️Links* Stephen Porges* Karen Onderko @ The Polyvagal Institute* Book: Safe and Sound: A Polyvagal Approach for Connection, Change, and Healing Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week on the Pod, we’re joined by the luminous Sherri Mitchell: Indigenous rights attorney, activist, ceremonial leader, and the author of Sacred Instructions.We dive into the birth canal of this moment — a world in transition, contracting and expanding as it labors to bring something new into being. Sherri doesn’t shy away from the pain, confusion, or cultural clusterf*ck of our times and she also doesn’t wallow. Instead, she offers radical clarity, vision, and a deeply embodied path forward.Together, we explore:* What it means to live through a species-wide rite of passage* The vibrational power of oral traditions and why sound is sacred science* Why “triggered” might just be the most misused word of our generation* How to move beyond naming the water we’re drowning in, and start swimming toward land* The 80/10/10 rule for building the world we actually wantAnd then Sherri guides us in a practice of remembering, of dreaming the world we want into being, and dreaming ourselves into the kind of people who can live there.As Jeff put it: “You can dream a better world. But you have to dream yourself into it too.”This conversation is a balm, a fire, and a wake-up call. If you’ve been overwhelmed, heartbroken, or teetering on the edge of despair, listen in. It’s about metabolizing this moment into wisdom, vision, and action.We make this show with love, laughter, and absolutely no corporate overlords. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription at mindbodpod.comKnow someone who’s been thinking hard about how to show up in these strange times? Share this with them too!Thanks for practicing with us,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week on the pod, we’re joined by writer and teacher Sarah Selecky for a beautiful, funny, and surprisingly deep exploration of writing as a contemplative practice.Sarah teaches writing as presence. As a way of being and noticing. She helps writers get out of their own way so that something real and alive can come through the page (or the google doc 😅).Together, we explore:* the overlap between writing and meditation* how honesty transmits (and why you can feel when a writer is lying)* the difference between trying to write and being a clear channel* creative shadow work and what we’re most afraid to say* the value of plain, unadorned descriptionShe guides us through three simple exercises that can unlock creative flow.By the end, we were lol’ing, moved, and filled with the kind of wonder that has no agenda. Just a pen, a page, and the shimmer of real presence.-------------We make this show with love, laughter, and absolutely no corporate overlords. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription.-------------This is a great episode to write along with! Grab a notebook and come join us.You can also watch the full video over at MindBodPod.com.Know someone who could use these exercises to shake some creative goodies loose? Pass it along!Thanks for practicing with us,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week on the pod, we’re joined by Chan teacher and sociologist Rebecca Li for a luminous practice session in Silent Illumination, a deceptively simple, deeply transformative form of open awareness meditation.Rebecca guides us through a full-body relaxation and easefully invites us into the “method of no method,” offering a living glimpse into this subtle and powerful practice. As we settle into presence together, she shares insights from her lineage, her own experience, and her new book Illumination.We talk about:* Why relaxation isn’t the goal, but the doorway* How even trying not to try can become a subtle trap* What happens when presence meets real-life loss and grief* The radical possibility of not fixing anything, just being-------------We make this show with love, laughter, and absolutely no corporate overlords. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription!-------------This one is full of practical wisdom, unexpected laughter, and real-life Dharma. Whether you’re new to open awareness or have been sitting for decades, Rebecca’s gentle clarity and precision will meet you right where you are. 🫠Pop into the comments to share your reflections: Did the “method of no method” shift anything? Did it feel natural? Impossible? Familiar?Thanks for practicing with us! See you next week.🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week, we’re in conversation with therapist and longtime Focusing teacher Serge Prengel about the transformative power of slowing down and listening from the body.Serge is one of those rare people who seem to live from a deeper layer of presence. His work blends Focusing, Somatic Experiencing, Core Energetics, and Polyvagal Theory to support real, embodied change.What stood out for us was how relational this practice is. It brought us into a slower, softer place of deep listening, where we could fully meet each other’s nervous systems.We explore:* What Focusing actually is (and isn’t)* How to feel into what’s “not fully formed yet”* The role of safety and vulnerability in a therapeutic or relational container* Why this is a two-way street: the listener is as active as the talker* How to turn everyday conversations into profound practices of connectionWe also talk about what it means to be in right relationship: with yourself, with others, and with the felt sense of a moment that’s still unfolding.-------Wanna watch this as a video pod? Check us out at www.mindbodpod.com------* Learn more about Serge and his work* Check out the Active Pause Podcast* Explore the Proactive Twelve Steps------This one’s relational, tender, and surprisingly intimate. Drop in and tell us what moved in you:Thanks for tuning in. Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week on the Mind Bod Adventure Pod, we get our somatic groove on with tapping wizard and trauma therapist Mirjam Paninski. Miriam guides us into the world of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)—a deceptively simple practice where tapping acupressure points while speaking truth can open up big shifts in the body, mind, and heart.It’s part therapy, part ritual, part emotional plumbing.In this episode, we explore:* Why EFT is becoming a popular trauma modality (and how it stacks up to EMDR)* How tapping calms the nervous system and gives stored emotion somewhere to go* Ancestral trauma (your body might be carrying Grandma’s fears!)* What happens when you stop bracing and start releasing------------We make this show with love, laughter, and absolutely no corporate overlords. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription!------------Also: find out why EFT works so well with kids, how it can be used in war zones and post-shooting trauma support, and why tapping might be the pre-meditation dimmer switch you didn’t know you needed.🎯 Practice highlight: Miriam guides us through a powerful tapping sequence that opens into inner child healing. The result is some surprising nervous system release in real time (spoiler: Tasha’s jaw melts, Jeff yawns like a lion).Check out Mirjam’s Group Work: The Conscious Tapping Tribe- For $100 off 6-month membership: use code MINDBOD100- For 20% off yearly membership: use code MINDBOD20This one’s playful, poignant, and weirdly effective. Tap along with us and let us know how it lands in your nervous system!Thanks for tuning in. Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week on the Mind Bod Adventure Pod, we sit down with Dr. Joel Schwartz, a psychologist and one of the early architects of the Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapy movement. Joel is known for speaking truth to systems that pathologize difference — and for offering a way of working with our minds that’s healing, joyful, and radically humane.In this episode, we explore:* Why the “pathology model” of ADHD and autism misses the point* The emotional toll of masking and code-switching to survive* What actually helps when someone is overstimulated (spoiler: not deep breathing)* Reclaiming movement, joy, and the right to stim without shame* An unexpected practice that ends in synchronized swaying and yodel-singing!Joel brings brilliance, humor, and zero tolerance for the rigid norms that ask neurodivergent folks to contort themselves into “acceptable” versions of humanity.Along the way, Tasha reflects on late-diagnosed spectrum-y traits, Jeff gets real about rejection sensitivity, and we all momentarily dissolve into giggles about somatic intelligence and… mosh pits.✨This episode is both a call to arms and a warm hug — a guide to seeing difference not as deficit, but as creative, embodied, meaningful expression.We make this show with love, laughter, and absolutely no corporate overlords. If it lights you up, help us keep it going with a paid subscription! ❤️Connect with Joel’s Practice: Total Spectrum CounselingNow it’s your turn! Let us know what this episode and practice shook loose for you:That’s all for this week. Thanks for tuning in.Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week, we sit down with relational facilitator James-Olivia Chu Hillman, whose teachings on radical responsibility, integrity, and unconditional positive regard are already shifting how Jeff shows up in relationship… and how Tasha tries not to ghost people who annoy her. 😅Together, we explore:* The four core skills of relating well* why being “right” isn’t the same as being relational* Why saying “I agree” can be the most disorienting move in a conversation* What it really means to take responsibility—without shame, and without blame--------The Mind Bod Adventure Pod is a community-supported project. If you like these adventures, consider helping us keep the lights on with a paid subscription! ❤️--------And we wrestle with the tension between compassion and boundaries, support and self-abandonment, and the paradox of allowing versus control in both meditation and relationships.✨ “Integrity has a cost,” James-Olivia reminds us. “But so does losing it.”Whether you’re conflict-avoidant, righteousness-prone, or deeply tired of your own relational fuckery—this episode offers a compassionate (and funny) mirror.--------The Afterparty (watch at www.mindbodpod.com)Jeff breaks and Tasha explores why setting boundaries and advocating for oneself can be both challenging and powerful.Let us know in the comments what this episode shook loose for you.K, That’s all for this week. Thanks for tuning in!Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

What if happiness wasn’t just a feeling but something you could train and reinforce?This week on MindBod AdventurePod, we sit down with Dr. Axel Bouchon, a neuroscientist and biotech entrepreneur who spent 20 years searching for a cure for depression—only to realize he’d been asking the wrong question. Instead of curing sadness, he discovered the source code for happiness—a set of six neurotransmitters that shape our emotional landscape.In this episode, Axel takes us on a guided tour of our own brains, revealing:* Why depression can’t be erased—but happiness can be cultivated* The six neurotransmitters behind different flavors of happiness (it’s not just dopamine!)* How to “train” yourself for more joy, resilience, and long-term well-being* Why laughter, nature, music, and even bass drops all play a role in happiness* How our best memories act as anchors—and why taking photos might actually make us happier------------------------------------The Mind Bod Adventure Pod is a community-supported project. If you like these adventures, consider helping us keep the lights on with a paid subscription! ❤️------------------------------------We also dive into Matter, Axel’s innovative app that helps reinforce positive neural pathways by engaging with your own peak memories—those moments that spark deep joy, connection, and meaning. It’s a fascinating look at how we can actively shape our emotional landscape for greater balance and well-being.This episode is part neuroscience, part meditation, and part mind-expanding happiness experiment—so get ready to light up your brain in real time.------------------------------------LINKS* Learn more at: Matter.xyz* Download the Matter app: matter.xyz/appWhat’s your most happiness-inducing memory? Let us know in the comments!------------------------------------The AfterpartyThe Pod is about to get way weirder… we’re turning these Afterparty sessions into full bi-weekly episodes! We’ll talk, unpack, guide short practices, sing, dance—who knows what else—all in the spirit of bringing you deeper into our weird worlds as practitioners, teachers, and friends. Coming in APRIL! 🎉------------------------------------K, That’s all for this week. Thanks for tuning in!Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

What if the secret sauce to navigating the world isn’t hustling harder, fixing yourself, or achieving inner peace like it’s an item on your to-do list—but something way simpler and right under your nose?This week on the Mind Bod Pod, we sit down with Oren Jay Sofer, a meditation teacher, communication wizard, and all-around wise human, to talk about his book, Your Heart Was Made for This.We dig into the deep but wildly practical ways we can meet life’s chaos with more presence—and fewer panic spirals:* Why patience and courage might actually be magic powers* The giant, thorny question—should we even have kids?? (Yup, we go there)* Why the “I don’t have time for practice” excuse is a lie (and what to do instead)* How self-care, spirituality, and social action are actually the same weird beast--------The Mind Bod Adventure Pod is a community-supported project. If you like these adventures, consider helping us keep the lights on with a paid subscription! ❤️--------This episode isn’t about adding more stuff to do—it’s about seeing that your life, exactly as it is, is already the practice.Oren has a way of making wisdom feel like a quiet ‘of course!” you forgot you knew—the kind that lands gently, like a deep breath or a long walk in the park.Let us know in the comments what thoughts, feels & practice revelations wiggled loose for you during this episode!--------The AfterpartyPS… Big Afterparty Upgrade Incoming! 🚀The Pod is about to get way weirder… Instead of just lil Afterparty snippets tacked onto episodes, we’re turning these sessions into full bi-weekly episodes.That means just the two of us, showing up candidly—diving into the questions, quandaries, and delightful existential messes arising in our own lives.We’ll talk, unpack, guide short practices, sing, dance—who knows what else—all in the spirit of bringing you deeper into our weird worlds as practitioners, teachers, and friends. Coming very soon - Stay tuned! 🎉K, That’s all for this week. Thanks for tuning in!Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

In this episode, we remix therapy and healing with Angela Ai, a syncretic teacher practitioner of Core Energetics, Radical Aliveness, and Human Design.What the heck are these modalities? Good question!In a nutshell: they’re different ways to get insight into — and intuitive contact with— the human experience. Into our internal patterns, our relationships, and the ways we meet the world.This is an adventure for the taxonomy nerds among us. Enjoy!The Mind Bod Pod is a community-supported project. If you like these adventures, consider helping us keep the lights on with a paid subscription! ❤️Watch The Afterparty (available at www.mindbodpod.com):In this here After Party, Tasha and Jeff talk about how they are in relationship with each other, cause it’s fun to talk about friendship and our patterns and all that. Then they blab more generally about “maps of consciousness” like the Enneagram, the Zodiac, Tarot, Human Design and so on, whether they are objectively “true,” or more like subjective psychological tools, or some mystical combo of all that.Let us know what you think in the comments!K, That’s all for this week. Thanks for tuning in!Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week, we go deep into the spiritual heart of psychedelics with Celina de Leon, founder of the Circle of Sacred Nature Church, and adjunct faculty at the Graduate Theological Union. Celina has spent 20 years working with ayahuasca – or yagé, as it’s known in the Kamentsa indigenous community of Colombia, her root lineage.We talk about the contemplative practice of yagé, its unique characteristics, and how it opens us up to benefits beyond individual mental health. So much goodness!The main thing is we go into ceremony – we experience how the deliberateness and care of ceremony takes us into the sacred present.In Celina’s guided practice, we feel into the mystery of this and try to articulate the remembering that happens… although, of course, no words can ever be adequate.So friends, come experience it with us :)The Afterparty (watch at mindbodpod.com)Tasha and Jeff get personal about some of the benefits of exploring psychedelics over the long-term, but also some of the ways they can be destabilizing. No one needs to do psychedelics, but if you do, be responsible: Find an experienced community that understands how to hold a safe container, and …. pace yourself!We also get into a great discussion about how to think about teachers and communities of practice at a time when there are not enough deeply experienced teachers to go around.Let us know in the comments how this practice was for you!K, That’s all for this week. Thanks for tuning in!Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe