In this episode, I sit down with Lawrence Susskind—city planner, mediator, and MIT professor—to unpack how consensus actually gets built in complex, high-stakes settings. From urban planning to Arctic governance, Larry shares what it takes to bring the right people to the table—especially those with less formal power—and how they can meaningfully influence decision-makers.

We explore what it means to be a “pracademic,” blending theory with real-world practice, and dive into the often-misunderstood concept of stakeholder assessments. Larry outlines ground rules for productive negotiation, the critical role of a neutral facilitator that everyone trusts, and how to ensure agreements don’t fall apart after the deal is signed. We discuss the importance of cross-cultural communication, power dynamics in global negotiations, and why trauma-sensitive mediation is essential when communities carry historical and lived harm into the room.

Larry Susskind is Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. He currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at MIT, including Cybersecurity for Critical Urban Infrastructure, Renewable Energy Facility Siting, Theory and Practice of Environmental Planning, Negotiation and Dispute Resolution in the Public Sector and Entrepreneurial Negotiation. He co-founded the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School with Roger Fisher 40 years go and is Vice-Chair for Pedagogy and Head of the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center. He is founder of the Consensus Building Institute, a not-for-profit that provides mediation services in resource management disputes around the world.

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What happens when politics begins to tear families—and communities—apart?

In the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk, I spoke with Bill Doherty—family therapist, author, and co-founder of Braver Angels—about how political polarization is straining relationships and what it takes to begin repair. Drawing on family and couples therapy, Bill explores how the dynamics of divided households mirror our national divide, and how structured dialogue can help people see beyond labels and into one another’s humanity.

Bill shares what actually happens inside Braver Angels workshops, how this work has changed him personally, and what each of us can do—right now—to ease political tension in our own families and communities.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why political conflict so often breaks families apart
• How therapy principles apply to healing political divides
• What makes Braver Angels conversations work
• How to lower defensiveness without giving up your values
• Practical steps for bridging political tension in everyday life

Bill Doherty is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota, where he taught marriage and family therapy for 38 years. Following the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, he cofounded Braver Angels, a citizen initiative bringing conservatives and liberals together to counteract political polarization and restore the fraying social fabric in American society. Braver Angels now has volunteers working in all 50 states. Among his awards is the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Family Therapy Academy.

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In this re-aired episode, I’m joined by Greg Nardi (E-RYT 500, C-IAYT) for a nuanced conversation about what trauma-informed yoga actually means — particularly when viewed through the lens of yoga therapy.

Greg shares how yoga supported his own healing from childhood illness, anxiety, and depression, and how decades of study — including extensive training in yoga therapy, long-term study in Mysore, India, and leadership within trauma-informed programs — shaped his commitment to consent-driven, person-centered, and trauma-responsive practice.

Together, we explore:

• How trauma-informed yoga differs from — and overlaps with — yoga therapy
• Why choice, agency, and nervous system awareness are central to healing
• What ethical, trauma-responsive teaching actually looks like in real classrooms
• How yoga therapy supports both individual healing and broader social change
• Why trauma-informed approaches matter not only for survivors, but for all students

Greg brings clarity to common misconceptions about trauma-informed yoga, offering grounded insight for yoga teachers, therapists, educators, and practitioners seeking approaches that are clinically informed, accessible, and rooted in respect for lived experience.

✨ This episode is being re-released in anticipation of our upcoming Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training on January 24–25, where Greg and I will be teaching together. This training is designed for yoga teachers, therapists, and educators who want to deepen their understanding of trauma-responsive practice, consent, and embodied safety.

Yoga teachers shape experiences that can either support healing or inadvertently cause harm—yet most yoga teacher trainings still leave graduates profoundly unprepared. In this episode, Certified by Unprepared: The Dangerous Gaps in Yoga Teacher Trainings, I sit down with my friend and colleague Michelle Lehrman to pull back the curtain on why so many YTT programs miss the mark.

Despite teaching yoga for more than 25 years, I’m asked almost daily to recommend a solid teacher training—and the truth is complicated. Programs vary dramatically, evolve constantly, and too often reinforce outdated, unsafe, or shame-based approaches. Michelle and I explore some of the most troubling patterns, including:

• Forced hands-on adjustments and the pressure to accept physical touch
• Shaming or silencing students and teachers who think or move differently
• Rigid, one-way interpretations of an ancient and inherently adaptable practice
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Michelle is a certified 200-hour and trauma-informed yoga instructor who has taught in New York City since 2016, currently at Crunch (yoga and spin), Sacred Space Astoria, Lionheart Health, and with private clients. I first met her through the Three and a Half Acres Yoga Trauma-Informed Teacher Training, where she began to unlearn harmful norms and rebuild her teaching from a place of choice, agency, and compassion.

If you’ve ever left a YTT feeling unprepared, overwhelmed, or unsure how to support students with real-world bodies and histories, you’re not alone—and there is a better way. Join my Trauma-Informed YTT this January 24th-25th. Details HERE!

In this solo episode of Beyond Trauma, I guide you through the creative visualization and journaling practices from My Bliss Book to help you intentionally “map” the year you want—across all the categories that make a life feel whole: spirituality & personal growth, education, professional goals & wealth, romantic partnership, friendships & family, health, and travel & recreation.

You’ll be walked step-by-step through guided meditations and prompted journaling, plus I break down some of the biggest reasons people abandon resolutions (hello: perfectionism, all-or-nothing thinking, unrealistic pacing, and motivation that isn’t values-based) and what to do instead—so your vision becomes something you can actually live.

Bring a notebook, your Bliss Book if you have it, and a few quiet minutes to come home to yourself. By the end, you’ll have a clearer picture of what you’re calling in—and the mindset shifts to help you follow through gently, consistently, and sustainably.

In this episode:

• A guided visualization to connect with your desired year
• Journaling prompts for each life category (love, money, health, growth, community, play)
• Why resolutions fail—and how to set goals you’ll keep
• Practical ways to stay consistent without shame, rigidity, or burnout

Best enjoyed with: journal + pen, a cozy seat, and an open heart.

COMING UP: Don't miss my trauma-informed yoga teacher training LIVE online January 24th & 25th. More information and registration HERE.

This episode dives deep into the often-overlooked intersection of money, identity, and emotional well-being with financial trauma expert and empowerment speaker Rahkim Sabree. Together, we explore how financial trauma shapes our behaviors, relationships, and sense of freedom—and how these patterns can be passed down through families, communities, and systems.

Rahkim shares powerful insights on:

• How financial trauma shows up in daily choices and conflicts.
• Regulating the nervous system when money stress arises.
• The psychology of scarcity, survival states, and why “just knowing” financial facts isn’t always enough for change.
• Money’s connection to status, safety-seeking, and identity across race, class, and culture.
• The hidden role of advertising, PR, and childhood financial socialization in shaping lifelong beliefs.
• Practical tools for setting financial boundaries, aligning values with goals, and creating intentional family cultures around money.

We also discuss how to break out of the time-for-money binary, balance present needs with future goals, and rethink spending habits without shame or blame. Rahkim reminds us that “a deregulated person is a profitable one”—and that true financial empowerment begins with awareness, healing, and choice.

Tune in for a conversation that will shift the way you see money, yourself, and what’s possible for your financial future.

Follow Rahkim: Website/Instagram

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Join my next trauma informed yoga teacher training!

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Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik

In this first of a two-part series, Lara Land sits down with Ron Souers—ADHD advocate, podcast host of Don’t Mind Me, I’m Different, and author of The Self Discovery—to explore the lived experience of ADHD and the unexpected strengths that come with it. Ron shares his personal journey with ADHD and depression, from the challenges of racing thoughts and emotional dysregulation to the harmful impact of being told “you’re not good enough” at a young age. He breaks down the three types of ADHD, common misconceptions, and how sensitivity often fuels both overreactions and deep empathy. This episode highlights how ADHD is not a deficit but an overload of information, and how reframing that difference can unlock creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Ron also offers practical strategies—mindfulness adaptations, projecting into your future self, and nature-based practices—that help him stay grounded and focused.

Together, Lara and Ron discuss:

What ADHD feels like from the inside

How friends, family, and colleagues can better support those who are neurodivergent

The dangers of forced conformity and the power of self-acceptance

Why mindfulness is Ron’s go-to tool for balance, resilience, and presence

This conversation is full of wisdom, honesty, and encouragement—whether you’re living with ADHD or simply want to understand it better.

Stay tuned for Part Two of this conversation on Ron’s podcast: Don’t Mind Me, I Just Have ADHD.

Website | Instagram

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Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik

In this powerful episode of Beyond Trauma, I sit down with therapist and CMI™ practitioner Estefana Johnson to explore why we get stuck in loops, triggered by small things, and repeating the same patterns—despite our best efforts to change.

Together, we dive into:

• The three tiers of trauma memory and why self-talk or breathing techniques don’t always work
• How culture and past experiences shape present reactions
• Why focusing on whether an event was “traumatic” can miss the point—and how looking at critical memories and congruence offers a path forward
• The essential difference between managing symptoms and addressing root causes
• How the CMI™ method protects clinicians from burnout while helping clients access lasting healing
• Why letting clients lead—making their own connections and discoveries—creates sustainable transformation

Estefana shares how trauma is less about the event itself and more about how the body reacts without our consent in moments of survival. If you’ve ever felt “stuck,” overresponsive, or weighed down by the past, this conversation will show you why deep healing means going beyond symptom relief—and how finding and transforming the root of our hampering beliefs can free us to live fully, authentically, and with congruence.

Website

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Your support keeps this podcast going! Please consider donating if you found this episode helpful.

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Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik