Untangle

Chris Winter is a neurologist, sleep specialist, and author of the book, "The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It." He explains why we’re a culture of poor sleepers and how we got that way, and includes five things we can do to improve our sleep right now. Spoiler alert: an attitude change might be the best tactic of all...

Kern Beare is the author of the book, Difficult Conversations, the Art and Science of Working Together. He shares strategies to help us have more productive dialogues and to resolve differences when it matters most. Whether in relationship, work, or political conversations, he discusses the importance of dropping our egos, letting go of feeling like we need to be right all the time, deep listening to truly understand the other, and seeing beyond our own stories. Understanding our implicit triggers and underlying ’stories’ can help us to be more self-aware when we’re in the heat of a difficult discussion or, as he says, about to ‘flip our lid.'

Todays Guest is Dan Harris, ABC News journalist and author of 10% Happier and Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. Dan has a humorous way of turning ancient wisdom into useful everyday tools for staying sane. In this interview, we talk about Election Sanity (or lack thereof) and trainable mental skills and practices that can give us a bit of a boost right now.

One of our most important podcasts ever, a riveting story that teaches us how to overcome our divides through respect, patience, and recognition of shared humanity. Daryl Davis is a black man who has gotten over 200 KKK clansmen to leave the KKK by becoming friends with them. Daryl tells incredible stories of these meetings and shares his powerful method for conversing with someone from another viewpoint. It is a snapshot of what is possible to achieve in our divided country, and a methodology we can all use to do it.

Koshin is a zen teacher, monk, author, and the founder of the Zen Center for Contemplative Care in NY. He's also a favorite teacher on Muse and Meditation Studio. Koshin helps us deal with stressful reactions, especially those triggered by the US election and the many other events we’re all experiencing. He shares some tools, practices, and inner resources that he's tapping into right now. At the end of the interview, he asks...how do you want to live today? how are you going to nourish your life? How are you going to leave sorrow behind so you can be of service to yourself and to the world?

Want to be free? The journey begins within. Diego Perez, aka "Yung Pueblo", talks about understanding your mind to set yourself free, find contentment, connection--and maybe even save the world! Get inside the head of this incredible poet, meditator, and speaker who inspires hundreds of thousands of people daily on Instagram.

Dr. Robert Brooks is a clinical psychologist and author of over 17 books, including the one we discuss in this interview, "The Power of Resilience". He shares some of the characteristics of those who believe we have control over our lives versus those who are quickly overwhelmed by challenges. Hear how gratitude, making a difference, practicing empathy, and turning off the ‘struggle switch’ all lead to more emotional intelligence and the realization that we are the authors of our own lives.

Jim Donovan is a drummer for the 2x platinum band Rusty Root. He's also a Music Therapist and co-wrote the first song played on Mars (!). In this episode, we learn all about sound and how it helps us heal, how to use it to stimulate our vagus nerve, and how to harness the power of sound to get us through the best - and worst- times. Jim gives us the rare treat of guiding interactive sound exercises right on the podcast, and plays it for us, live!

Sebene is a renowned meditation teacher, speaker, and author of the new book, You Belong, A Call for Connection. She talks about how meditation has transformed her world and how we can bring these teachings into every part of our lives. She believes that we are all inherently interconnected and shares how meditation has been a catalyst to expand awareness, reduce suffering, stay in the present moment, and to generally see the world more clearly.

Reverend Angel has extraordinary and actionable insights on how to stay grounded and sane through these trying times, and transform ourselves for the better as the world around us transforms. She is an activist, a Zen Buddhist priest, and the second only Black woman to be ordained as a Zen Buddhist teacher. She shares powerful techniques to find liberation, identify what matters, and use the pandemic and this unprecedented time as a powerful tool for personal growth.

Intuitive Eating Expert, Natalie Zises shares why our hidden food 'rules' and body image standards wreak havoc on how we eat. She shares the many emotional ties we have around our food decisions and that 95% of diets don't work because we so easily fall back into our old habits and patterns. When we begin intuitive eating, she says, we learn to select foods that make both our bodies and minds feel good. Natalie's inspiration has been her own emotional relationship with food and observing how intuitive eating has transformed her life.

Mark Coleman is a therapist, coach, author of 3 books, and an amazing mindfulness teacher and trainer. His newest book, "From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness," gets to the heart of what mindfulness really is and defines it in pretty simple but powerful terms: “A depth of awareness that we bring to life...and the clarity that we need to meet the changing and challenging circumstances we all face, many of which are out of our control.” True wisdom from one of the top mindfulness teachers anywhere.

Amy Baglan is back on Untangle! She’s an entrepreneur with a personal mission to give people the tools they need to make meaningful connections and to live with purpose, joy, and a sense of belonging. Her new company is called Fabriq, a platform intended to help us prioritize, track and reconnect regularly with the people who matter most to us. We spoke at the beginning of COVID, but this discussion about how we build deeper connections and stamp out loneliness is always important.

Did you know that the way you breathe can energize or relax you? That a simple hack can help with snoring and sleep apnea? That your lung volume can relate to your longevity, and that your lung volume can be expanded with simple exercises? James Nestor takes us on a fascinating trip into the breath, explains how and why different breath techniques work and will transform each breath you take for the better.

Emily Fletcher is back on Untangle! Emily is the founder of Ziva Meditation, author of Stress Less, Accomplish More, Meditation for Extraordinary Performance and a meditation teacher on Muse and Meditation Studio. She’s an amazing fountain of wisdom and inspiration. Today she talks about her life in New York, why the pandemic is giving us an opportunity to reset and to awaken, why it’s important that we grieve the losses we’ve experienced over the last several months, and how we can quite literally be our own light. She talks about what she calls the one minute rant — which she recommends doing daily — to just let it all out…and to tap into our inner brat. This, of course, is in addition to meditating daily.