Nonviolent Communication (NVC) has helped me communicate with clarity and compassion (even when emotions are high). It’s transformed how I speak to myself, how I speak to the people I love, and how I handle conflict. My first teacher in it was Judith Hanson Lasater, so having her on the show is incredibly special. Judith has taught yoga since 1971, studied with B.K.S. Iyengar and trained for years with NVC founder Marshall Rosenberg.

In this conversation she walks us through the four steps of NVC: observations, feelings, needs and requests. She does it through stories from her own life. We talk about self-empathy, saying no with respect, and how conflict can keep a relationship healthy. We also talk about the three words I now say to myself ALL the time…”how human of me”.

In this episode:

• Judith's definition of empathy
• "How human of me" as a daily self-empathy practice
• Saying yes on the outside and no on the inside
• The difference between complaining and asking for what you want
• Observation vs judgement, and why "you always" starts a fight
• There's no such thing as a wrong feeling
• Finding your core needs, and why having needs isn't being needy
• Making clear, specific requests
• How empathy leads to compassion, and compassion to gratitude

“May we live like the lotus, at home in the muddy waters”.

Resources:

• What We Say Matters by Judith Hanson Lasater - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/62232936-what-we-say-matters
• Feelings and needs lists, Center for Nonviolent Communication: https://www.cnvc.org/images/pdf/Feelings-Needs-CNVC.pdf
• Judith's website - https://www.judithhansonlasater.com/

About Judith:

Judith Hanson Lasater has taught yoga since 1971 and is a leading voice in bringing yoga to the West. She trained with Marshall Rosenberg, founder of Nonviolent Communication, and now weaves NVC into her yoga teaching. She is the author of What We Say Matters and several other books.

7 Steps to Unlocking Your Limit with Poppy Delbridge

In this episode we walk through Poppy's seven-step system for creating change that lasts. We get into what she calls IMPs (Invisible Mind Patterns), why "I'm fine" can be the most limiting sentence you say to yourself, and why hitting a limit isn't a sign to stop, it's just information.

We cover:

• The difference between pushing to succeed and creating from a regulated nervous system
• What IMPs are, and how naming a pattern separates it from your identity
• Five common IMPs: the Prover, the Pleaser, the Doubter, the Controller, the Diminisher
• The "toleration test" — what you're quietly putting up with, and how that becomes the reality you're living
• Poppy's frequency scale, from despair to bliss, and why the flat "fine" middle is the sneakiest place to get stuck

Links & Resources:

Unlock Your Power

Poppy's website

Unlock Your Power Live, Royal Academy of Music, 11 October — https://app.poppydelbridge.com/high-frequency-live

Loved this episode? Please rate and/or leave a review, it helps more people discover the show.

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If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe to Expanding Inward wherever you listen to podcasts. For more on meditation, nervous system work, and practical spirituality, check out my Substack, also known as Expanding Inwa

We spend so much energy holding pain at arm's length distance. So many of us do all we can to numb it, avoid it & distract ourselves from it. In this episode I'm exploring what happens when we do the opposite and move toward what hurts instead of away from it.

We look at the following through the contemplative and somatic lenses:

• The difference between pain and suffering
• Turning bad circumstances into the path
• Resourcing, the window of tolerance, and titration
• Why co-regulation matters
• Practical tools for people pleasers and empaths

Doors are now open for Reclaiming You, my 28-day group program, to reclaim your clarity, focus and personal power. Learn more and register here.

Use code EXPANDING for 15% off

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Loved this episode? Please rate and/or leave a review, it helps more people discover the show.

If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe to Expanding Inward wherever you listen to podcasts. For more on meditation, nervous system work, and practical spirituality, check out my Substack, also known as Expanding Inward.