Have you said 'yes' when you didn't mean it or said 'yes' before you had the chance to really think about what it means for your life?

'Yes' is a deceptively simple word, yet more complex than it appears. Turns out there's different flavors of 'yes': clean/uncomplicated, polite, fear-based, hopeful, and exhausted. So how can you slow down, listen to your body, and consult your values before deciding?

We talk about small, joyful yeses (like stepping into sunlight), big life yeses (kids, jobs, relationships), and the cost-benefit scales and second- and third-order consequences that shape our choices. You’ll hear practical guidance on how to ask for time to decide, how to create safer spaces for others to answer honestly, and ways to bring more wholehearted yeses into your everyday (from music during laundry to savoring morning rituals).

If you’re wrestling with obligations, family dynamics, or fear-based decisions, this episode offers compassionate insights on self-trust, consent, and reclaiming agency — plus a reminder that you get to choose again and again. Tune in and find out how saying yes (or no) can be a radical act of presence.

Connect with Us:

• Sarah Koch: @radintimacy | radintimacy.com
• Bryan Russell: @sadhanayogaschool | sadhanayoga.com
• 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. 💛

It’s the Holiday Season and you’re probably seeing the word “joy” everywhere — on cards, in songs, in well-meaning wishes. In this episode we get curious about what joy really is: is it just a brighter form of happiness, or is it something deeper and steadier? We riff on Khalil Gibran’s beautiful line — “your joy is your sorrow unmasked” — and how the full range of our experience can actually expand the capacity for deep aliveness.

We talk about the difference between happiness (a visiting smile when conditions are sweet) and joy (the quieter ground beneath your feet that can stay when the weather turns). Joy isn’t about denying pain — it can hold grief and light at the same time — which is why it’s such a radical, inclusive wish to send someone in the Holidays.

Practical and tender, we share three simple pillars for tending your joy: slow down and listen to your own heart, spend time with nature (even a single plant or a night sky can remind you you’re part of the miracle), and deepen intimacy with the people you care about. We also run through small, doable moves you can try today: pause and be present, cultivate gratitude, move your body, create without clinging to outcomes, and stop comparing your life to someone else’s highlight reel.

If you’ve ever felt hollow despite having the “perfect” holiday scene, this episode is for you — instead of chasing a pleasurable or happy moment, we offer ways to come back to a well of steady joy that’s always there when you practice for it.

Let's take a breath together and try some Loving Kindness meditation:

May you be safe and without fear. May you be healthy and strong. May you be happy and free from suffering. May you live with ease and joy.

Connect with Us:

• Sarah Koch: @radintimacy | radintimacy.com
• Bryan Russell: @sadhanayogaschool | sadhanayoga.com
• 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. 💛

Do you often consider your intention before doing things?

In this episode we unpack what intention really means (the why behind what you do), how it’s different from goals or outcomes, and why it matters whether you’re setting an intention for yourself or for someone else. We talk about how intentions carry energy, how they can misalign with impact, and why checking that impact matters when you’re interacting with others.

Think of intention as the feeling you want to carry out of an experience — the way you want to feel after a yoga class, a conversation with your kid, or even your morning shower. It’s not only about the action; it’s about who you want to be in that action. We share concrete examples (teaching adjustments in yoga, connection with your kids, the tiny rituals of morning routines) so you can see intention in real life — both the small daily moments and the big, five-year visions.

We also tease apart intention, manifesting, and goal-setting. Manifesting is often more internal — calling things in and a type of receptivity that allow possibility in — while intentions give you direction and invite external steps. Both are useful. We recommend doing both: imagine boldly, then take practical, aligned steps toward it.

If you’ve never done intention work, start small: set an intention for a meal, a day, or a short yoga practice and notice how that changes things. Build trust by experimenting — small wins show you this actually works and makes bigger intentions feel possible. And remember to leave space for play and spontaneity; being intentional doesn’t mean being rigid or perfectionistic.

Want a simple practice? Clear your mind (walk, breathe, journal), imagine what you deeply want (no limits), then choose three things to cultivate in the next year. From there: what can you do today, this week, and this month to move toward those things? Check that compass often — daily, weekly, or at least monthly — instead of once a year.

This episode is also an invite: Vision and Vibes — a ritual-filled, embodied visioning workshop on Sunday, January 11th where we’ll use movement, cacao, guided meditation, and journaling to craft intentions you can actually live into. Even if you don’t make the workshop, the practice is simple, sacred, and surprisingly powerful.

Set an intention today — plant a seed for your future self!

Resources:

Register for Vision & Vibes - held at Aloha in Keene, NH

Connect with Us:

• Sarah Koch: @radintimacy | radintimacy.com
• Bryan Russell: @sadhanayogaschool | sadhanayoga.com
• 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. 💛