00:00 — Intro
01:20 — Spiky balls & rubber bands: today’s body connection practice
04:30 — Sensory tools that keep you present without overwhelm
07:30 — From numbing to feeling: finding what actually helps
09:50 — Steph’s story of reactivity and preparing for charged conversations
13:50 — Parenting through sensory behaviors with curiosity instead of shame
16:30 — What’s your current inner work — and who helps you practice it?
18:30 — Taking advantage of easy relationships to grow new skills
23:00 — Receiving someone’s gentle presence — and not pushing it away
26:00 — Practicing preference-setting in low-stakes relationships
30:00 — Challenging assumptions about who can hold your truth
35:00 — Projecting vs. reality: who actually wants to support you
38:00 — Letting people inspire possibility and identity
48:00 — Showing up in your identity can liberate others, too
51:45 — Subtle spine play: today’s closing embodiment practice

In this episode of Wholehearted Loving, Georgianna and Steph explore how to use the people around you as gentle catalysts for your inner work.

Steph shares how she learned to prepare for difficult conversations by practicing honesty with people who feel emotionally safe — and how, even in easeful relationships, reactivity can still show up. Georgianna tells stories of parenting her son through sensory regulation, processing cultural identity, and letting her friends model what’s possible — from professional change to playful expression.

Together, they reflect on how curiosity and presence help turn everyday relationships into spaces for experimentation, skill-building, and healing.

Discover how:

• Practicing skills in safe relationships builds confidence for harder ones

• Sensory tools like spiky balls or rubber bands can help you stay regulated

• Real-life people offer more opportunities than you think for embodied growth

"Like finding gold." – Alma W."The best therapy I've ever done for myself." – Sanjeev B.

Join our monthly membership for LIVE calls & practice:
http://bit.ly/4eF86re

Get our Self-Compassionate Body-Based Toolkit:
https://bit.ly/40Vnz3b

Every episode begins and ends with a body-based self-connection practice, so you can grow your capacity to be with all that life brings. We also include self-reflection and journaling prompts each week, posted on our Instagram @wholeheartedloving. New episodes every Sunday at 10am PT.

Learn more about us and how you can practice with us LIVE at wholeheartedloving.com

With love,

Georgianna & Steph

00:00 — Intro

00:41 — Silly arms & pigeons: today’s body connection practice

04:30 — Letting movement interrupt the mental spiral

07:00 — How someone else’s self-care revealed a hidden need

09:00 — Why some people panic when asked “what do you need?”

12:00 — Copycatting as survival vs. self-discovery

15:00 — Georgianna’s parenting overwhelm & how she found her way

19:00 — “Shopping” for traits in group work — trying on new ways of being

22:00 — Procrastination, perfectionism & putting the plate in the kitchen

25:30 — Steph’s story of learning that ideas don’t always mean action

28:00 — How we learn each other and build more spacious friendships

30:00 — Consciousness in a mountain: creative closing embodiment

In this episode of Wholehearted Loving, Georgianna and Steph explore how we discover more of ourselves by observing others — not to perform or conform, but to get curious.

Steph tells the story of a simple jaw massage on a group call that became a catalyst for someone else’s self-awareness; Georgianna opens up about the early overwhelm of parenting and how "trying on" traits from others helped her build a way of being that actually worked for her; together, they reflect on their own friendship and the many micro-habits they’ve picked up from each other — from putting dishes away to softening into self-expression.

With play, story, and body-based insight, they share how imitation can become a tool of self-discovery — especially when done with gentleness, choice, and a sense of humor.

Discover how:

• Copycatting can be healing — when it’s done with curiosity

• Trying things on can help you figure out what’s actually yours

• Friendships become richer when we stop comparing and start co-regulating

"Like finding gold." – Alma W."The best therapy I've ever done for myself." – Sanjeev B.

Join our monthly membership for LIVE calls & practice:
http://bit.ly/4eF86re

Get our Self-Compassionate Body-Based Toolkit:
https://bit.ly/40Vnz3b

Every episode begins and ends with a body-based self-connection practice, so you can grow your capacity to be with all that life brings. We also include self-reflection and journaling prompts each week, posted on our Instagram @wholeheartedloving. New episodes every Sunday at 10am PT.

Learn more about us and how you can practice with us LIVE at wholeheartedloving.com

With love,
Georgianna & Steph

00:00 — Body-based arrival practice: noticing the signals your body is sending
04:30 — Recognizing reactivity: when your body’s already loaded
09:10 — The “trigger” isn’t always what you think
13:45 — Steph’s story: when an innocent question lights a fuse
17:50 — Georgianna on preparing for rupture that hasn’t happened
22:40 — What’s yours, what’s theirs: how to tell the difference
27:20 — Physical cues of old pain showing up in the now
31:05 — Regulating before reacting: what to do instead of spiraling
36:50 — Real-life tools for relational repair and nervous system care
42:00 — Why awareness matters more than perfection
45:20 — Closing practice: softening the activation loop

In this episode of Wholehearted Loving, Georgianna and Steph unpack the real nature of triggers — and how owning what we bring into a moment can shift everything.

Steph shares a story about catching herself mid-spiral during a conversation with a friend, while Georgianna opens up about a subtle moment in a therapy session that helped her realize how often her body was bracing for impact before anyone even said a word. Together, they explore how unspoken tension, unfinished emotion, and even the way we sit in a chair can shape the outcomes of our conversations.

Drawing inspiration from Dr. Gabor Maté’s “loaded weapon” analogy, they break down the difference between blame and embodied ownership — and why nervous system awareness is the path to more honest, healing interactions.

Discover how:
- To separate what’s yours from what’s theirs in conflict

- Triggers can be invitations, not accusations

- Real body-based awareness changes how you show up

"Like finding gold." – Alma W."The best therapy I've ever done for myself." – Sanjeev B.

Join our monthly membership for LIVE calls & practice:
http://bit.ly/4eF86re

Get our Self-Compassionate Body-Based Toolkit:
https://bit.ly/40Vnz3b

Every episode begins and ends with a body-based self-connection practice, so you can grow your capacity to be with all that life brings. We also include self-reflection and journaling prompts each week, posted on our Instagram @wholeheartedloving. New episodes every Sunday at 10am PT.

Learn more about us and how you can practice with us LIVE at wholeheartedloving.com

With love,
Georgianna & Steph