Connecting With The World

Connecting With The World

Show Notes In this episode, I continue reflecting on my recent trip to Colombia and explore the idea of connecting to the world as a resource. Recording from a warm summer walk in Alaska, I share how the landscapes, people, and relationships that emerged through several years of teaching in Colombia have become a source of support and perspective in my own life. We explore the ways that connection to land, mountains, oceans, and expansive spaces can help us hold big emotions and create a greater sense of spaciousness in the nervous system. From there, I reflect on another kind of connection: remembering that there are caring, creative, and deeply committed people doing meaningful work all around the world. In times when news cycles and global events feel overwhelming, this perspective has become an important resource for me. This episode is an invitation to explore what happens when we widen our view—connecting not only with the natural world, but also with the larger web of people, places, and communities that remind us we’re not carrying everything alone. Timestamps 00:00 — Summer in Alaska + introducing the topic 01:30 — Reflections from teaching in Colombia 03:00 — Mountains, place, and nervous system connection 05:00 — A guided pause: connecting with beauty and landscape 07:30 — When life feels bigger than your body can hold 09:00 — Nature as witness, support, and spaciousness 11:00 — How connection to place can shift nervous system states 12:00 — The “spider web” of connection across the world 13:00 — Remembering the helpers and healers 14:00 — Connecting with people doing meaningful work 15:00 — Resource practice: bringing supportive people to mind 16:00 — Tracking what happens in the body 17:00 — Widening perspective during difficult times 18:00 — Closing reflections + invitation to connect with the world Submit your questions for the Q&A [here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWCEmKCyGEGIrxIEaJGTmOPwv6TBnJ_SDUDuDBQ4TTVFAbIw/viewform]] Photos and links from this episode: www.mindandmountain.co/podcast [http://www.mindandmountain.co/podcast]

Getting Out of Our Bubble + The Somatics of Difference

Show Notes In this episode, I record from a steep trail in the Chugach Mountains while reflecting on a recent trip to Colombia and the ways travel can expand our perspective. We explore the somatics of difference — specifically the difference between experiences that feel threatening or stressful to our nervous systems and the kinds of differences that feel exciting, nourishing, and life-giving. Through stories from Colombia, I reflect on how encountering different ways of moving through the world can help us step outside our assumptions and widen our understanding of what’s possible. Along the way, we practice noticing how the body responds to different kinds of change: the kind that makes us brace and the kind that invites curiosity, delight, and connection. We also explore the nervous system’s natural process of orienting to something new and how awareness of those subtle responses can help us relate to difference with more flexibility and openness. This episode is an invitation to get curious about your body's response to novelty, difference, and change—and to notice where there may be opportunities for expansion, delight, and learning. Timestamps 00:00 — Recording from a mountain trail + introducing the topic 02:30 — Returning from Colombia + supporting a Somatic Experiencing training 05:00 — The value of perspectives outside our own 07:00 — Difference as something beautiful, not just threatening 09:00 — Polarization, media, and anticipating stress 12:30 — The nervous system's response to difference 14:30 — Colombian culture, dancing, and celebration 17:00 — Practice: noticing “good” difference in the body 18:30 — Practice: noticing “not fun” difference in the body 20:00 — Pendulating between challenge and resource 22:00 — Nature as a resource for exploring change 24:00 — Bringing the practice into relationships 26:00 — Noticing the stages of a nervous system response 27:00 — Startle, orienting, and scanning for safety 28:00 — Opening to experiences that feel safe and supportive 29:00 — Closing reflections + invitation to explore Submit your questions for the Q&A [here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWCEmKCyGEGIrxIEaJGTmOPwv6TBnJ_SDUDuDBQ4TTVFAbIw/viewform]] Photos and links from this episode: www.mindandmountain.co/podcast [http://www.mindandmountain.co/podcast]

Still Shaken After the Scare

Show Notes In this episode, I respond to a thoughtful question that came out of The Art of the Mother Duck workshop Luc and I recently taught on nervous system skills in outdoor recreation and group dynamics. We explore what happens after a stressful or overwhelming experience outdoors — when the body continues carrying activation, fear, or protective responses long after the moment itself has passed. I walk through why these responses are normal, how the nervous system learns quickly around threat and survival, and the ways intense experiences can leave behind incomplete survival responses that continue showing up when we return to similar situations. From there, we explore some practical ways to support the body through this process: orienting to safety cues, resourcing, co-regulation, pendulation, and titrating slowly back into challenge. I also talk about the importance of patience when capacity feels smaller than it used to — and how rebuilding trust with the body often happens through small, successful experiences over time. This episode is an invitation to approach nervous system healing with more compassion, more slowness, and a deeper understanding of what your body is trying to do for you. Timestamps 00:00 — Introduction + walking in the woods 01:00 — Reflecting on The Art of the Mother Duck workshop 03:30 — The listener question: what happens after intense experiences? 04:30 — Prevention vs. response in nervous system work 06:00 — It’s normal to be impacted by intense experiences 07:30 — The nervous system as a fast learner around threat 09:00 — Fight, flight, freeze, and the “panic zone” 10:00 — Completing survival responses 12:00 — When experiences land as growth vs. overwhelm 13:00 — Interrupted cycles + incomplete responses 14:30 — Why some activation stays stuck in the body 15:00 — Somatic therapy + completing survival cycles 16:00 — Returning to activities after scary experiences 17:00 — Orienting, resourcing, and co-regulation 19:00 — Pendulation: activation + safety together 21:00 — Lowered capacity after overwhelm 22:30 — Titration + rebuilding trust slowly 23:00 — Whitewater story: feet in the river as the right first step 24:00 — Giving the body small successful experiences 25:00 — Learning safety takes time too 26:00 — Closing reflections Submit your questions for the Q&A [here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWCEmKCyGEGIrxIEaJGTmOPwv6TBnJ_SDUDuDBQ4TTVFAbIw/viewform]] Photos and links from this episode: www.mindandmountain.co/podcast [http://www.mindandmountain.co/podcast]

Somatic Snack: For the Busy Times

Show Notes In this episode, I introduce a new summer series format: Somatic Snacks — shorter, more focused episodes exploring practical nervous system tools for real life. Recording from a spring walk in Anchorage, I reflect on the seasonal shift into busier, brighter, more activated rhythms — and the nervous system challenges that can come with high-capacity seasons. From there, we explore how to stay tethered to ourselves while moving through periods that require sustained activation. Together, we practice noticing the sensations of “busy season” in the body and experiment with bringing awareness to something grounding or pleasurable at the same time. We also explore the importance of micro-pauses and tiny moments of down-regulation throughout the day — especially during transitions, after completing tasks, or when approaching overwhelm. This episode is an invitation to work with activation instead of against it, and to build nervous system practices that support sustainability during full and meaningful seasons. Timestamps 00:00 — Spring in Alaska + migratory birds 01:00 — Summer travel + seasonal nervous system shifts 03:00 — Introducing “Somatic Snacks” 05:00 — Invitation for future topics + listener questions 06:20 — Busy seasons + sustained activation 08:00 — The “accordion” metaphor for nervous system work 09:00 — Noticing the sensations of activation 11:00 — Being with activation without changing it 11:30 — Pendulation: activation + resource together 12:40 — “Playing harmony” vs. going back and forth 15:00 — Can the body be activated and okay? 16:00 — Presence, stress, and metabolizing activation 18:00 — Activation as fuel instead of overwhelm 18:40 — The importance of micro-breaks 19:30 — Feeling completion + satisfaction 20:00 — Transition moments + threshold awareness 21:30 — Examples of micro-pauses and resets 22:30 — Building new neural pathways through repetition 23:00 — Presence, pleasure, and nervous system shifts 24:00 — Closing reflections + practice invitation Submit your questions for the Q&A [here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWCEmKCyGEGIrxIEaJGTmOPwv6TBnJ_SDUDuDBQ4TTVFAbIw/viewform]] Photos and links from this episode: www.mindandmountain.co/podcast [http://www.mindandmountain.co/podcast]

Practice: A Slow Walk

Show Notes In this episode, I invite you on a slow walk practice — an exploration of pace, nervous system regulation, and what becomes available when we intentionally downshift. We begin with a story from a recent neighborhood walk, where someone commented on how slowly I was moving — and how differently that landed in my body than it might have in the past. From there, we explore the idea that slowness isn’t “better” than speed, but that many of us live in cultures and nervous systems that are deeply conditioned toward urgency and fast pacing. Together, we experiment with slowing down physically and noticing what shifts: awareness, sensation, breath, attention, pleasure, discomfort, and connection to the environment around us. Along the way, I offer reflections on nervous system range, inner critic healing, and the importance of finding your own pace rather than performing someone else’s. This episode is an invitation to get curious about rhythm, pressure, and what your body might want if there was nowhere to be and nothing to achieve. Timestamps 00:00 — Introduction + invitation to slow walk 01:00 — The “Art of the Mother Duck” class announcement 04:30 — Early spring in Alaska + the story behind this episode 05:20 — “You’re walking so slow” 06:30 — Slowness, nervous system range, and cultural pacing 07:30 — Inner critic healing + trusting your own pace 08:50 — Beginning the slow walk practice 10:00 — Settling into a slower rhythm 11:00 — Feeling feet + contact with the ground 12:30 — Letting your feet choose the pace 13:00 — Slowness is not morally superior 14:00 — Activation, exercise, and learning to slow down 15:00 — “Your pace is sacred” 16:00 — Bringing awareness to ankles, knees, and hips 18:00 — Expanding attention into the environment 19:00 — Sights, sounds, smells, and air on the skin 20:30 — Checking in with your current pace 21:30 — Releasing pressure + achievement 23:00 — Noticing what happens in the body 23:30 — Discomfort with slowness + nervous system learning 25:00 — What becomes available at a slower pace? 26:30 — Closing reflections Resources:  Learn more about and sign up for The Art of the Mother Duck here! [https://www.mindandmountain.co/mother-duck?cid=4fda3069-efba-4ffe-9125-430878d4a192] Submit your questions for the Q&A [here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWCEmKCyGEGIrxIEaJGTmOPwv6TBnJ_SDUDuDBQ4TTVFAbIw/viewform]] Photos and links from this episode: www.mindandmountain.co/podcast [http://www.mindandmountain.co/podcast]