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 connection

And 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.

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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!

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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

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 want

And 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.com

Know 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 🧘🏼‍♂️

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 description

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.

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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.

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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 🧘🏼‍♂️