You, Me and the Family Tree - A Family Constellation Podcast

Episode 25: The Business of Family Constellations with Leslie NippsWe spend a lot of time learning how to facilitate Family Constellations, but what happens when we want to make this work our profession?In this episode, I sit down with Leslie Nipps, a longtime Family Constellations facilitator and trainer. I took basic Family Constellations training with Leslie in 2020, so I was especially curious to hear about her own journey of building a practice and making a living from this work.We talk about what it really takes to build a Family Constellations practice — finding clients, communicating the work in ordinary human language, finding your niche, getting business support, continuing to grow professionally, and developing the resilience to keep going when things don’t work.As Leslie says, building a business is “a marathon, not a sprint.”We also explore how a practice doesn’t necessarily develop in a straight line. We learn by doing, trying, adjusting, and discovering along the way what kind of practitioner we want to be.About LeslieLeslie Nipps is the founder of Convivium Constellations and the creator of the annual Western Constellations Intensive in New Mexico, where she also teaches.Interested in experiencing Family Constellations with me?I offer individual sessions, groups, and workshops, in person and [email protected], Me & the Family TreeHosted by Iris Shaham© 2026 Iris Shaham. All rights reserved.

Episode 24: Freedom and Contribution — Taking Our Place in Life with Suzi TuckerWhat does it mean to be free? And once we experience more freedom, what do we do with it?In this conversation, Suzi Tucker and I explore the connection between freedom and contribution through the lens of Family Constellations.We talk about Hellinger’s distinction between freedom from and freedom to—freedom from the constraints of the past, and freedom to turn toward the future and create something new.From there, we explore contribution: Does it need to be visible or significant? Who are we contributing to? And what changes when we think of contribution not as achievement, but as something we offer to life?Our conversation also moves through belonging, taking our place, the freedom to say no, and moving toward the future without having to replicate the past.As Suzi says:“Life will go on without you, but it benefits from your contribution.”What do freedom and contribution mean to you?About Suzi TuckerSuzi Tucker is a writer, teacher, and Family Constellations facilitator whose work explores family systems, language, belonging, and the ways we carry our histories forward.Work with IrisI offer private Family Constellation sessions and ongoing groups. Learn more about my work and find all podcast episodes at:www.irisconstellations.comYou, Me & the Family Tree — A Family Constellation Podcast© 2026 Iris Shaham. All rights reserved.

Episode 23: Back to the Foundations — The Essentials of Family Constellations with Suzi TuckerI began this conversation thinking about weaving—something I’ve been doing lately with leaves and willow. As I was weaving, I found myself thinking about basics and movement, and wondering about the connection to Family Constellations.It made me want to return to the foundations: What are the essential ideas we come back to, even after years of learning and facilitating?Suzi brought the image of weaving back into the work in a way I loved: as facilitators, we are also weavers, bringing together the threads a person carries with the threads of those who came before them.In this conversation, Suzi Tucker and I explore some of the foundations of Family Constellations and what they mean in practice:• Looking for the metaphor beneath a client’s question• The “kitchen table” and what we inherit from our family of origin• Parents give and children take• Everyone belongs• The balance of giving and taking• What it means that parents are “big” and children are “small”• Hellinger’s earlier and later work• Essential Hellinger books and recordingsI love going back to the foundations. We can meet them again from where we are now, understand them differently, and continue to make the work our own.I hope you enjoy this conversation.Connect with Iriswww.irisconstellations.com© 2026 Iris Shaham. All rights reserved.

Episode 22: Our Relationship with Money — with Ingala RoblWhat is our relationship with money—and how much of it is shaped by the families and systems we come from?In this conversation, I sit down with Family Constellations teacher and trainer Ingala Robl to explore money through a systemic lens.The inspiration for this episode began at Ghost Ranch, where I participated in an exercise Ingala offered on the spirituality of money. The exercise invited us to look at receiving money together with the work, effort, and family values behind it—and it left me with many questions.Why can receiving money be so difficult, particularly for therapists and people in helping professions? What do we learn about money from our parents and grandparents? And what happens when money becomes a topic between couples?We explore:• The beliefs about money we absorb as children• Why helping professionals may struggle to charge and receive• Money, work, pleasure, and rest• Mother, father, and prosperity from a Family Constellation perspective• Unconscious family loyalties around money, loss, and success• Giving and receiving as an exchange• Money within couples and differences in income• The value of unpaid work and caring for children and the home• What it means for our work and money to be “in the service of life”I hope this conversation invites you to become curious about your own relationship with money—not only how much you have or don’t have, but what money represents in your family and in your life.What did you learn about money in your family?About Dr. Ingala RoblIngala Robl is a Family Constellations teacher, trainer, and founder of Instituto Sowelu in Mexico. She has decades of experience in systemic work, Family Constellations, couples work, and education.Connect with Iris Shahamhttps://www.irisconstellations.comConnect with Ingala Robl / Instituto Soweluhttps://institutosowelu.com© 2026 You, Me and the Family Tree — A Family Constellation Podcast. All rights reserved.

Everything Is Alive — A Conversation on Shamanism with ShavastiWhat is shamanism?In this conversation, Shavasti and I explore shamanism and the many experiences that have shaped Shavasti's understanding of it.Growing up between cultures and languages, Shavasti has spent decades exploring ancestral wisdom, indigenous traditions, and the ways different cultures understand our relationship with the living world. As our conversation unfolds, he shares his understanding of shamanism—not primarily as a set of practices, but as a way of seeing the world, where everything is alive and everything exists in relationship.One idea that especially stayed with me was Shavasti's invitation to see ourselves not as separate from the world around us, but as part of a living web of relationships—with people, animals, plants, places, and the land itself.In this conversation, we explore:• What shamanism means from Shavasti's perspective• Living between cultures and how it shaped his worldview• History, ancestry, and the stories that continue to live through us• The relationship between shamanism and Family Constellations• Seeing the natural world as alive and in relationship• How this perspective influences the way we meet clients and lifeI hope you enjoy the conversation.Warmly,IrisAbout ShavastiShavasti (John L. Payne) is an international teacher, author, and Family Constellations facilitator. He is the author of The Language of the Soul and The Healing of Individuals, Families and Nations. For more than three decades, he has taught and facilitated workshops around the world, integrating Family Constellations, ancestral wisdom, and his exploration of shamanism into his work.Connect with ShavastiWebsite: https://www.shavasti.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/shavastiConnect with IrisWebsite: https://www.irisconstellations.comEmail: [email protected] you for listening.© 2026 You, Me & the Family Tree. All rights reserved.