The Mind Bod Adventure Pod

Welcome, Frank Yang – we love you! Frank is an “Infinite Brah” – a true bodybuilder of consciousness who shares his “journey, insights and practices for accessing the highest states of consciousness, awakening and beyond” to quote his fresh and wildly kinetic YouTube channel.So, there’s lots of talk about the experience (and health benefits!) of non-duality and awakening, whether it shows up in different ways for people in different cultures, the value and traps of using a map to find your way, the primordial mistake of separation (what Tasha’s teacher Lama Lena calls “the original oops”), and other excellent topics for consciousness nerds.Then, 30 minutes in, he takes us to Frank Yang Land — a WONDERFUL and very impactful guided practice that merges mindful noting with surrendering to effortlessness. We hit the sweet spot between doing and non-doing.Then, join us at www.mindbodpod.com for The Afterparty, where we discuss what percentage of our suffering has actually been reduced through practice. Is it 99%, like Frank says for himself, or some other number? How does this change with external intensities (like having kids)? Would the Buddha have gotten his ass kicked if he had to raise two kids in our 21st-century urban insanity? Probably!Let us know your thoughts in the comments!That’s all for now! Thanks for tuning in & see you next week.Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

This week, we welcome Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, world-renowned meditation teacher, author, and lineage holder in the Bön tradition of Tibet, one of the oldest spiritual traditions on the planet. Today, we take three protective imaginary “pills” – a white pill, a red pill, and a blue pill. “Because in the West everybody loves to eat pills!”Each pill is both a syllable that we voice out loud and a mini-meditation that addresses a specific challenge. The white pill – “Ah” – is awareness of stillness in our body, which can protect us against unskilful physical action. The red pill – “Om” – is awareness of silence, which can protect us against saying something stupid. And the blue pill – “Hung” – is awareness of spaciousness in the heart, which can protect us from making decisions out of anger or urgency.For eight ethereal minutes, Wangyal Rinpoche sings these three syllables to us again and again. You can let them wash through you as you sit with us or sing along.“Ah…”“Om…”“Hung…”The audio isn’t perfect, but who cares?! Can you feel each vibration? Can you feel each blessing? Jeff cries, as usual. It’s an honor to experience such venerable medicine.Let us know how the pills went to work on you and tune into the video afterparty over at www.mindbodpod.comThat’s all for now! Thanks for tuning in & see you next week.Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

OK friends, enough with the talky talky. Grab some paper and a pencil: in this episode, we’re waking up our inner artists and making Zentangle magic!Martha Huggins and Molly Hollinbough are our sister guides. Many years ago, their romantic parents – Maria and Rick – figured out the Zentangle method together. Ever since, they’ve been teaching it to people around the world as a way to slip into a fulfilling artistic flow and create beautiful works of pattern, shape, and color.Then we chat about:* how nothing is a mistake* the equanimity training of going with the flow* the balance of freedom vs constraints in art* the therapeutic and healing benefits of “tangling,”* and much moreShare your Zentangly thoughts with us in the comments! Then watch The Afterparty over at www.mindbodpod.comThat’s all for now! Thanks for tuning in & see you next week.Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

Pádraig Ó Tuama, a poet and theologian known for his work on The On Being Project's Poetry Unbound, shares his insights into storytelling's power. He reads from his impactful series "Seven Deadly Songs," reflecting on his experiences growing up gay in Ireland. They dive into the Aisling poem's themes of identity and loss, discuss the role of narratives in healing, and creatively explore how prayer can clarify personal desires. The conversation blends personal struggles with literary references, making for a rich exploration of self and society.

This week, we welcome the multi-talented Ofosu Jones-Quartey, a meditation teacher, author, and hip-hop artist. This discussion is so fun! It starts with how to share meditation and mindfulness with young people – how to stay real and relatable. Then gets into the role of the artist, creativity, and what it means to connect to your actual voice.We do 2 practices: the first is a self-compassion practice that ends with Ofosu singing! And that leads to a second practice: an actual song - a beautiful (it made Jeff cry) hip-hop track called “Avalo” that features the voices of Ofosu’s wife and daughter. Ofosu plays the full music video for us. Definitely worth checking out the whole video episode!How do we make being kind to ourselves an accessible practice, while also acknowledging (in Ofosu’s own words) “how stupid it can sometimes feel”?! Good to figure this out, since we’re talking to ourselves all the time anyway.Relatedly, how can you integrate meditation into your art practice without it coming off as corny or performative? We explore the challenges and rewards of being both a meditation teacher and an artist and how both Ofosu and Tasha negotiate these roles in public.Then join us for the Afterparty over on www.Mindbodpod.com!In this Afterparty your hosts, Tasha the Amazon and Jeff the Non-Amazonian, continue to discuss navigating being both an artist and a meditation practitioner. We talk high-brow/low-brow, spiritual materialism, and authentic artistic expression. Then we say these phrases, not in this order: “You don’t talk about Tantra - you do it!” “Take your demon and stick it in someone else’s nut sack!” and “Tank-top, nice shirt, put in the work!”That’s all for now! Thanks for tuning in & see you next week.Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

Authors Mudita Nisker and Dan Clurman share wisdom on effective communication, including feedback, reflective listening, and positive intentions. They discuss navigating challenging conversations, building genuine connections, and the importance of provisionality in language. The episode emphasizes the transformative power of communication skills to foster equanimity and compassion in relationships.

Jamie Pabst, CEO of Spiritune, discusses how music can shift emotions with clinical-grade music on the podcast. They explore the power of music therapy principles like the ISO principle, neural entrainment, and tone. The conversation delves into emotional literacy, being genre-agnostic, and the potential of generative AI in shaping music technology.

Ross Ellenhorn and Dimitri Mugianis of Cardea discuss a playful approach to psychedelics, emphasizing the creative and dynamic relationship they offer. Topics include set and setting, the club scene, and how modern use of psychedelics can empower practitioners. The conversation touches on Cardea's unique practice model and the importance of integrating psychedelic experiences into healing journeys.

You don’t want to miss this one! A deep dive into “the heart of healing,” as we explore how medicines like cannabis and ketamine can amplify trauma therapy. Our guest is Saj Razvi, Director of Education at the Psychedelic Somatic Institute, and one of the original MAPS researchers and clinicians responsible for bringing MDMA-assisted therapy into the world.According to Saj, there’s a self-corrective homeostatic healing mechanism available in the body that gets amplified during altered states. The key intervention he uses with clients is called “selective inhibition.” Normally, when stressed, we calm ourselves with coping strategies like deep breathing, moving, rationalizing, dissociating, and more. These tools give us short-term relief, but the downside is they inhibit the long-term healing of trauma, which Saj says our biology “is organically trying to achieve.”In his 10-minute guided practice, we do something different: we find a mildly stressful memory, and instead of avoiding it, we slow the whole thing down to move through the discomfort into something else.What’s this like? We experience the full spectrum - Tasha’s pretty accustomed to emotionally triggering practices like this, while Jeff feels like a homunculus riding the bucking bronco of his nervous system! Meditation vs therapy vs psychedelics – we get right into it!Saj also talks about: - the amazing ability of cannabis and ketamine to heal dissociative tendencies - how human relational wounding requires human relational healing, - the role of the therapist as “a player in the psychedelic reality of the person.”- A thrilling exploration into the cutting-edge of mental health – join us!Then join us at www.mindbodpod.com for This week's Afterparty: The world premiere of our new chart-topping single, “Trauma Song”, which we unveil at the end of the video and which has already secured us a 3-album deal and is set to eclipse the entirety of Tasha’s career as a recording artist in one fell swoop. Plus: a fun discussion on the perils of meditative dissociation and the unique power of meditation to create more permanent states of extraordinary mental health. We talk about the spiritual preferences of male-identified vs female-identified practitioners, about sitting meditation vs body-focused disciplines like yoga, and other weird noises.Leave us a comment and let us know how you much you like our new song :) That’s all for now! Thanks for tuning in & see you next week.Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe

Welcome Lama Liz Monson, spiritual co-director of the Natural Dharma Fellowship, and author of a new book on “crazy wisdom,” Tales of a Mad Yogi. Contrary to its controversial reputation, crazy wisdom is more than a spiritual shock technique – of, say, covering oneself in feces (to use a classic example), or staggering drunkenly around the Tibetan countryside. It is, in fact, a powerful and time-tested way to cut through our habitual patterns and engage with how reality actually is, as opposed to how we want it to be.How do we practice this? By starting simple!Liz guides us in a 10-minute meditation on the breath, the body, and the larger bandwidth of awareness. Can we allow our experience to be exactly what it is, without trying to control it? Yes, maybe, no, yes… we do our best! This doesn’t seem crazy, although it can seem impossible. And yet, the implications are radical.Such a fun and provocative conversation on:* the nature of trust and spontaneity* the neutrality of things* our own “basic goodness” (Liz tells a wonderful story about 9/11 and New Yorkers’ initial response of compassion and care)* the free-flow of creativity* and much more!Let us know in the comments how this practice went for you!Watch the Afterparty video at: https://www.mindbodpod.comThat’s all for now! Thanks for tuning in & see you next week.Love always,🧘🏽‍♀️ Tasha & Jeff 🧘🏼‍♂️ Get full access to The Mind Bod Adventure Pod at www.mindbodpod.com/subscribe