The Mind Bod Adventure Pod

This week we’re hanging with Ivan Bercholz ( aka @ivanaredux ) 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 and embodied? How do you make an ancient practice feel natural for modern kiddos? 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 And then Ivan walks us through a Green Tara visualization and mantra practice. This is medicine for all of us - not just the kiddos! Read more & watch the episode here -> /p/ivan-bercholz-my-friend-tara-kids-compassion (link in bio), then let us know in the comments how the practice lands - is it your first time doing mantra or visualization? #mindbodpod @ivanaredux @shambhala_publications @balakidsbooks

This week we’re hanging with wandering Celtic teacher John Philip Newell ( aka @j_philip_newell ) and @sacredearthandsoul Director Cami Twilling to talk about what it means to connect to the sacred when you live outside the four walls of a 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 personal experience of the sacredness of humans and nature with Christianity’s history of getting “into bed with empire.” Read more & watch the episode here -> /p/john-philip-newell-cami-twilling-the-great-search-for-the-sacred (link in bio) Then let us know in the comments: what does your “great search” look like right now? #mindbodpod #sacredearth

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 ( aka @draditinerurkar )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. Watch the episode here /p/dr-aditi-nerurkar-when-stress-cracks-you-open (link in bio) #mindbodpod #stressmanagement #fiveresets

This week we’re hanging with our friend Chela Davison ( aka @cheladavison ) — facilitator, sacred mischief maker, former master coach, and writer of the Substack, Wisdotainment. 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 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. Read more & watch it here -> /p/chela-davison-how-to-find-a-calling (link in bio) Know someone rethinking their “calling”? Pass this episode along 💫 #mindbodpod

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 ( aka @drdavidrabin ) 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 Watch it here -> /p/dr-davd-rabin-good-vibrations-can-tech-train-safety (link in bio) #mindbodpod #apolloneuroscience @apolloneuro

“Freedom of attention is a fundamental right. It’s a natural resource… and it’s being exploited.” - Jay Vidyarthi How do we stay aware in a world designed to steal our attention? This week, we sit down with Jay Vidyarthi (aka @jay_viddy ) — 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. We talk about the invisible pull of notifications and how to stay present in real time, what false urgency does to our nervous systems, and so much more! Then Jay guides us through a real-time experiment to feel the physical and psychological pull of our devices. Know someone who loves tech but wants their mind back?! 🤪 Share this episode: /p/jay-vidyarthi-reclaim-your-mind-attention-activism (link in bio ☝️) #mindbodpod #jayvidyarthi #reclaimyourmind

When it comes to “getting to know ourselves,” we talk about mindfulness, creativity, career… basically everything except sex. But as Dr. Juliana Hauser ( aka @drjulianahauser ) 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. In 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 them 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. Read the full post and watch the episode here -> /p/dr-juliana-hauser-sex-the-final-frontier (link in bio) #mindbodpod #holisticsexuality

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made as a creative? Chelene Knight ( aka @nourishing.word ) 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. Read the full post and join us for a simple, but radical listening exercise guided by Chelene, here: /p/chelene-knight-slow-fire-of-reading (link in bio) #mindbodpod @breathingspacecreativestudio @_jeffwarren_ @tashatheamazon #creativepractice #poetry #slowreading #poetrylovers

This week’s episode is an exciting one, friends! Stephen Porges ( aka @polyvagalinstitute ) 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. It’s 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! (link in bio) #mindbodpod #polyvagaltheory #safeandsound #traumahealing

This week on the Pod, we’re joined by the luminous Sherri Mitchell ( aka @sacred_instructions ): 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. 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. Know someone who’s been thinking hard about how to show up in these strange times? Share this with them too! Find the episode here: /p/sherri-mitchell-how-to-dream-a-better-world (link in bio) #mindbodpod #sacredinstructions

This week on the pod, we’re joined by writer and teacher  Sarah Selecky ( aka @sarahselecky ) 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 😅). She 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. This is a great episode to write along with! Grab a notebook and come join us. Know someone who could use these exercises to shake some creative goodies loose? Pass it along! Watch it here -> /p/sarah-selecky-writing-as-presence (direct link in bio) #writingaspresence #mindbodpod @sarahseleckywritingschool

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. 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. 🫠 Watch it here -> /p/silent-illumination-how-to-meditate-rebecca-li (link in bio) #mindbodpob #silentillumination #meditation #guidedrelaxation #chanbuddhism #zen