Hey friend — today on That's So Intimate Bryan and I dig into the fiery topic of Passion. We open with Khalil Gibran: “Your reason and your passion are the rudder and sails of your seafaring soul,” and then wander into what passion really is: a fierce ache, a yearning, and yes, historically, a kind of suffering (passio). That history makes sense — sometimes wanting something deeply hurts — but passion has also evolved into our aliveness, creativity, and erotic spark.

We talk about passion as the sacral-center energy: sensual, creative, messy in the best way. When it’s balanced, it’s vitality, joy, and erotic imagination. When it’s out of balance it can be obsession, apathy, or distraction. That’s where the “riverbanks” metaphor comes in — structure and safety help channel the flow so passion can bloom without drowning practical life.

Think of masculine energy as structure or riverbanks and feminine energy as flow. We all carry both. The trick is to stop treating them like gender rules and start treating them as tools: curiosity, reason, and container-setting paired with surrender, feeling, and movement. Together they give you both meaning and safety.

We push back on the idea that logic is superior and passion is reckless. You can be wildly passionate and wise — and you can be logical and hollow. The sweet life is the one where you check in: is this desire aligned with my values? Is it rooted in fear or genuine longing? Sometimes the answer is “let’s go,” and sometimes it’s “let’s set riverbanks.”

Practical, tiny ways to invite more passion: start small. Cook a beloved meal slowly, dance in your living room, journal what lights you up, try a sensory fast so the next bite or breath feels electric. Boredom can be a gateway to creativity; deprivation can sharpen desire. These are experiments, not dramatic declarations.

On sexuality and shame: if your erotic life has been tamed or shamed, that energy can leak into other parts of life. Do the inner work — shame work, somatic practices, hip-openers, slow movement — to reclaim pleasure as information, not something to hide. Your body knows things; listen to it gently.

Relationship dynamics matter: one partner’s passion can be another’s chaos unless there’s clear communication and agreed-upon riverbanks. When someone creates safety, the other can open. Vulnerability + a grounded container = the chance to blossom.

We also dig into culture: a capitalist, patriarchal system often prizes logical, measurable success while mistrusting the feminine fire. That’s a loss. Passion can’t be bought — it’s the kind of joy that makes a battered Jeep feel richer than a polished SUV. Don’t wait to “retire” your life of feeling — weave small sparks into the everyday.

To wrap: passion is a gift and a compass. Let it inform you, then bring reasoning, curiosity, and boundaries so it can serve your life instead of sabotaging it. So tell me — what lights you up right now? What would a tiny, brave step toward that passion look like today?

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. 💛

Welcome back, dear listeners, to That's So Intimate. Today Bryan & I unpack the big, often scary word: change — what it means, why we so often resist it, and how to move with it rather than against it. We talk about that familiar sting of the unknown, the comfort of stability, and why both safety and flow are essential for a healthy life.

We wander through nature metaphors (seasons, strawberries, butterflies) and human ones (identity, golden handcuffs, the runner who becomes something else). Change can be beautiful and terrifying: sometimes it’s a graceful falling away, sometimes it’s messy, awkward, and loud. That messy middle is normal — and where most real growth happens.

Practical stuff, friend: start small. Try a different route home, change the order of your morning, say yes to an invite you’d usually skip. Treat life like an experiment — curiosity beats fear. Picture the most beautiful outcome you can imagine and let that image pull you through the hard parts. And recruit a cheerleader or two; having someone in your corner makes all the difference.

We also dig into relationships and how change shows up there. Think of the relationship as its own third entity worth tending: weekly check-ins, honest requests, and focusing on the bond (not just the other person) can hold space for both people to evolve. Nobody wins when we force someone to become someone else — but everyone wins when we practice compassion, curiosity, and clear communication.

Listen to your body. Sometimes the change you resist is the body screaming for rest, or movement, or a new routine. Aging, injury, panic, and stress are all feedback — use them as signals to adapt, not reasons to shrink. Practices like yoga, breathwork, and a steady community can be your anchor through transitions.

And here’s a perspective tweak with huge power: the story you tell about a thing often moves mountains more than the thing itself. Shift the narrative, notice growth points instead of framing everything as failure, and hold gratitude alongside the hard stuff. If you’re stuck between options, remember: often both are fine — pick one, move, learn, pivot if needed.

Change is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be punishing. Get curious, get playful, and remember you don’t have to go it alone. There’s room for aching and joy, cocooning and flying — and we’ll be here to witness it with you.

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. 💛

Welcome back to That's So Intimate! In this episode Bryan and I get curious about the idea of "home" as both a place and a feeling. We talk about home as a noun (those four walls, the hearth, the winter refuge) and as a verb (returning, belonging), and we get honest about what it means when home is missing — whether by choice or circumstance. We touch on everything from the womb as our first home, to the comforts and burdens of physical houses, to the deep solace you can build within yourself.

We chew on big questions — can a traveler feel at home? How does childhood, trauma, and trust shape our inner sanctuary? — and share practical, warm ideas for cultivating home: creating cozy rituals, leaning on community, tuning into your body, and making space for love and safety. We also celebrate small comforts (hello, candles and warm pie) and name how healing touch, honest communication, and belonging can make any place feel like home.

Resources:

Finding home in a yoga community...find yours with Sadhana Yoga School.

Cozying up with the practice of Hygge

The Book Wintering by Katherine May

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran - on Houses

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. 💛

Hey friend — in this episode Bryan and I sit down to unpack the word connection. We talk about what it means to be linked — emotionally, spiritually, physically — and why those overlaps matter for meaning and belonging.

We dig into the small, everyday ways we find connection (the Venn diagram of shared books, hometowns, or hobbies), and the larger, deeper ties — family, land, nature, the divine, and even an idea or outcome you’re attached to.

We get curious about mutuality: can connection be one-sided? Does the land feel it? Is it a chemical thing (hello oxytocin and dopamine) or an energy exchange? Bryan brings a yogic lens — that everything comes from the same source — so connection can be both an inherent truth and something we cultivate.

Safety, trust, curiosity, and vulnerability keep coming up as prerequisites for connection. We talk about how attachment styles from childhood shape our ability to open up, and why courage is often the price of connection. If you’ve ever felt protective or defensive, you’re not alone — that’s a human response, and it can be healed.

Intimacy and connection are cousins: intimacy is the practice of sharing parts of ourselves, and that sharing deepens connection. But connection shows up in lots of ways — intellectual, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual — and sometimes baby steps are all we need to begin.

We also talk outcomes and attachment: how to show up fully and practice without getting crushed by one specific result. There’s a tension between taking action and holding results lightly, and we reflect on how fear of failure can keep us from trying the things that matter most.

Play and nature get a big spotlight. Bryan shares a sweet moment playing in the woods with his son — balance beams, streams, and total presence — and we agree that play plus nature is a magical doorway to connection because it lowers defenses and invites joy.

We touch on tools that help people feel connected, from somatic therapy to plant experiences that can open the heart and perspective. And while we don’t pretend there’s a one-size-fits-all fix, we celebrate glimpses of oneness — those moments when everything feels aligned.

If this episode landed for you and you want to practice connection in person, join us for our Love in Practice Relationship Day Retreat — a full day with Bryan and me digging into tools for intimacy, repair, and self-relationship. Visit radintimacy.com or email sarah@radintimacy.com for details.

"Connection is why we're here: it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives." — Brené Brown

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. 💛

Welcome to That's So Intimate — a warm, curious space where Sarah and Bryan invite you into conversation about purpose, dharma, and what it means to live a life that actually feels like yours. Together they unpack how to tell the difference between social expectations and your inner callings, why choice can sometimes be more paralyzing than necessity, and how fear often tags along when we step into what truly lights us up.

They explore practical ways to get clearer: waking up earlier to a favorite practice, carving out quiet time to tune into your intuition, trying small experiments to feel how things land in your body, and leaning on trusted people who’ve walked the path you’re curious about. They also get honest about the real-life stuff — money constraints, parenting responsibilities, and the messy middle of transitions — and offer gentle permission to sit with the discomfort and keep trying.

If you’ve ever felt hollow in your day-to-day or been stuck wondering what your gifts are for, this episode is a friendly guide to noticing the signals: joy, energy, and aliveness when you’re on purpose — or lethargy, distraction, and doubt when you’re not.

Resources:

Bhagavad Gita - many English translations of this Sacred Sanskrit text

Discover Your Dharma by Sahara Rose

Offerings:

Sadhana Yoga School's Teacher Trainings with Bryan

Transform your practice. Transform your life.

"Taking this training is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself."

• In-person 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training (located in Keene, NH)
• Online 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training
• Hybrid (Online & In-Person) 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training

'Relationship like a PRO' Workshop Series with Sarah & Bryan

Because love is something we do, not just something we feel.

Relationships don’t run on autopilot. They grow stronger when we practice how we connect, communicate, and care for each other.

In this workshop series, you’ll learn how to relationship like a PRO—with intention, skill, and heart. We’ll practice tools to help you find common ground, hear each other fully, and navigate challenges without losing connection.

You’ll walk away with the your very own Relationship PRO Toolbox, packed with skills you can use right away like Mindful Communication, Boundary Setting, Repair After Rupture, Rebuilding Connection, Reigniting Passion, and more.

Message Sarah to join! sarah@radintimacy.com

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. 💛

Welcome back loves! Today we’re talking about repair, not the home-repair kind but the way we mend hurts or missteps with the people we love. Think of it like kintsugi: the cracks don’t ruin the pot, they become the gold. This episode walks through why repair matters, how it actually works, and how repair attempts can make relationships deeper and more beautiful.

We break repair down into practical steps you can try right away using the Relationship Repair Ladder.

Repair Ladder Steps:

1. Pause and regulate
2. Acknowledge impact
3. Take responsibility
4. Express care and commitment
5. Collaborative repair
6. Reconnect

Some fixes are 30 seconds (a quick apology and a hug), and some take months of intentional work. Both are repair. Both matter.

We also dig into why “sweeping things under the rug” sometimes seems to work, why timing and nervous-system regulation are real and necessary, and how patterns of small un-repaired slights can grow into walls and estrangement. Boundaries vs. walls, resentment vs. protection — we talk about those differences and how to keep love and self-respect in balance.

If you want a real-life model, we share a careful, staged reconciliation process (think reading a book together, listening without interruption, and giving everyone time to sit with what they heard).

These are the tools Bryan used with his parents -

Book: It Didn't Start With You by Mark Wolynn

Desmond Tutu's Four-Part Reconciliation Process:

1. Tell the story (an uninterrupted recount of your experience)
2. Name the hurt (give voice to the feelings that arose)
3. Grant forgiveness (release anger and resentment toward the other)
4. Renew or release the relationship (decide on the future of the relationship)

So if a relationship in your life feels strained, this episode is your friendly, practical guide to trying again. Reach out, take one small rung on the repair ladder, and remember: repair is hard, but it’s also how we make love stronger. Try it with someone you care about and see what gold appears.

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. 💛

This week on That’s So Intimate, Bryan and Sarah are back to continue their conversation on Trust. They talk through real-life moments (like airport delays and a curious plane pin), how trust and timing shape our lives, and why balancing effort with ease is the secret sauce to a more peaceful, juicy life.

They get personal, sharing how trusting themselves and the rhythms of life helped them through big transitions — from building careers to dating, parenting, and learning to follow intuition. Expect practical ideas you can try today: start small to build trust, practice clear communication and repair, loosen control in tiny ways, and notice the helpers and small kindnesses around you.

This episode feels like a conversation with a wise friend: warm, thoughtful, and full of little invitations to experiment with surrender. If you’ve been pushing too hard or feeling stuck in limbo, this one will help you find your balance and remember that sometimes letting go opens room for something more beautiful.

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. 💛

Welcome to That's So Intimate — where Sarah and Bryan get cozy with the big, messy questions. In this episode we unpack Trust: what it means, where it lives (in others, the universe, and especially inside you), and how our culture, news cycles, and personal histories shape our ability to surrender and rely on one another.

They trade stories — from spilled cacao to washed-out roads — to explore how trust is often specific (we trust people for certain things), learned (through community and crisis), and practiced (try surrendering a small thing this week). They also talk about the balance between self-reliance and interdependence, how media fear shifts our perspective, and why asking for help can actually strengthen connection.

If you’ve ever wondered how to trust more without compromising your safety, or how to build a resilient inner compass so you can lean into life with less control, this episode is a warm invitation. Cozy up, breathe, and let the conversation open a little room for you to experiment with trust — in yourself, in others, and in the world.

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. 💛