How are you at waiting calmly or allowing things to unfold as they will? Sometimes the pace of patience is excruciatingly slow and sometimes we lose our cool when stressors get high.

In this episode Bryan and I dive into the last of our three P’s: Patience. We talk about what patience really is (hint: it’s not passive), why it’s both a virtue and a skill, and how it shows up in messy, real-life moments — like the pressure cooker of event planning, parenting while under the weather, and the long, cyclical work of grief. We share stories about losing our cool (been there), learning to trust others and ourselves, and finding the balance between steady waiting and necessary action.

We also explore the shadow side of patience — when it becomes complacency — and how modern life, with its obsession for speed and instant gratification, is quietly eroding our ability to sit with uncertainty. Along the way we pull in references to nature, spiritual perspectives, and even walking-for-peace monks to remind you that patience can be practiced one step at a time.

If you’ve ever wanted to be kinder to yourself during hard seasons, learn to regulate your emotions under stress, or simply stop letting the external world dictate your internal weather, this chat is for you. Stay curious, be gentle with yourself, and remember: patience is not about inaction — it’s about steady presence, trust, and loving the unfolding.

Connect with Us:

• Sarah Koch: @radintimacy | radintimacy.com
• Bryan Russell: @sadhanayogaschool | sadhanayoga.com
• Yoga Earth & Soul: @yoga_earth_soul | Facebook | Youtube
• Suggest a topic: DM us or email podcast@radintimacy.com

Subscribe & Share: If this episode moved you, subscribe wherever you listen and share it with someone who might love it too. Let’s grow this beautiful, curious, intimate community—together. 💛

When is the last time you really played, just for play sake? Play isn’t just a childhood luxury but a grown-up practice that sparks creativity, calms the nervous system, and opens us to deeper connection.

Sarah and Bryan talk about the difference between unstructured play (think: a bucket and some balls, making up a game as you go) versus structured play (pickleball, salsa, a choreographed dance). The magic often happens when you’re invited to invent and improvise: the brain lights up, time flies, and you remember how to be delightfully ridiculous.

Play asks for willingness and a little bravery. There are stories — handstands in the middle of town, plunges into cold water, truth-or-dare over drinks — that show how risking a little silliness can build trust, spark attraction, and make someone feel like a keeper. Play is a social risk that pays off in deeper intimacy.

There’s real science here too: play raises endorphins, lowers cortisol, lifts mood, boosts resilience and creativity, and is linked to better emotional stability and healthier aging. With anxiety and depression up worldwide, rediscovering play is literally good medicine.

Of course, play needs consent and attunement — jokes, sarcasm, or pranks only land when everyone’s in. Use curiosity to check in: is this playful for both of us? If not, pause. When consent is present, play becomes a kinder, braver form of connection.

They also widen the lens: playing with nature (wandering without agenda, climbing a tree, delighting in small discoveries) and seeing life as divine play — lila — turns routine struggle into playful curiosity. Even spiritual practice, flirting, and foreplay can be reclaimed as sacred, joyful play.

Practical tips: play a little every day — try a silly morning movement, invent a game while cooking, bring a playful prompt to a date, play with your kids, or add a lighthearted ritual at work. Start small, practice when you’re safe, and expand into public as your comfort grows. Journal, improvise, dance, or just throw rocks in a pond — permission to be childlike is a practice, not a costume.

If this episode made you smile, try one tiny playful experiment today and notice how your mood and connections shift. We’re rooting for you — let curiosity lead, laugh loudly, and remember play isn’t frivolous: it’s fundamental.

Connect with Us:

• Sarah Koch: @radintimacy | radintimacy.com
• Bryan Russell: @sadhanayogaschool | sadhanayoga.com
• Yoga Earth & Soul: @yoga_earth_soul | Facebook | Youtube
• Suggest a topic: DM us or email podcast@radintimacy.com

Subscribe & Share: If this episode moved you, subscribe wherever you listen and share it with someone who might love it too. Let’s grow this beautiful, curious, intimate community—together. 💛

What does it really mean to be present?

What would change if you treated your attention as the rare, unrepeatable gift it actually is?

In this episode of That’s So Intimate, Sarah and Bryan slow things down and explore presence as more than paying attention. Presence is the ability to stay with what’s here — even when it’s uncomfortable, uncertain, or intense.

Together, they unpack how presence shows up in:

• Moments of crisis and calm

• Relationships and conflict

• Parenting, partnership, and leadership

• The body’s wisdom and nervous system responses

They talk about how clarity in a crisis can actually be a sign of deep presence — when we’re regulated enough to respond instead of react. Presence isn’t about being perfect or peaceful all the time. It’s about staying connected to yourself, your body, and the moment in front of you.

You’ll hear reflections on:

• The difference between reacting and responding

• Why presence starts in the body, not the mind

• How grounding and regulation create choice

• What it looks like to “show up” for yourself and others

• Why presence is a practice, not a personality trait

This episode is an invitation to pause, breathe, and remember: You don’t have to do more to be present — you just have to be here.

A great listen if you’re navigating stress, change, relationships, or simply wanting to feel more alive in your daily life.

Connect with Us:

• Sarah Koch: @radintimacy | radintimacy.com
• Bryan Russell: @sadhanayogaschool | sadhanayoga.com
• Yoga Earth & Soul: @yoga_earth_soul | Facebook | Youtube
• Suggest a topic: DM us or email podcast@radintimacy.com

Subscribe & Share: If this episode moved you, subscribe wherever you listen and share it with someone who might love it too. Let’s grow this beautiful, curious, intimate community—together. 💛