PowerPivot

"Find the small tasks that are actually the tasks, and then just do one of them. And then do a different one. And honor your limits."

Getting unstuck, figuring out where to start... sometimes there is so much to do, so much even that we want to do and find pleasure in doing, that choosing where to start becomes overwhelming.

Let's look at a few different strategies for finding our starting point, including (in no particular order, because what works will alway be individual to the person and their circumstances):

-start with the easiest thing, the low-hanging fruit.

-start with the thing you're passionate about, following your intensiveness.

-start with the thing that causes you anxiety, because once you have done it you will be free of that anxiety, which has been haunting you every time you think about that task anyway.

-start with the thing what will bring you pleasure. You do not have to put off your own pleasure.

-start with something that you will feel good about doing for someone else.

We're sure there are more, but this is a place to start.

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/captivate-podcast/the-fine-art-of-picking-something

Recorded 23 January 2024.

"Adrenaline and cortisol are there to help us run away from tigers. Literally. Now we have all of this adrenaline built up. We have all this cortisol built up. And we don't know what to do with it. Neither does our body. And so how do we blow it off? And then how do we take care of ourselves after we've blown it off?"

In the previous episode, we talk about creating intensity in order to release stress and strain. But once we have done that, or after we've done anything emotionally intense, we need care. This is where we can figure out how to hold ourselves, and make sure we're held, in the ways that we need, in order to recover after the pressure is released. And to make this a first priority.

The book by Peter Levine that is mentioned is called "Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma." Visit https://www.somaticexperiencing.com/se-books to learn more.

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/captivate-podcast/aftercare-for-intensive-release

Recorded 15 January 2024.

"what do we do with with that... fizz? The fizz in the bottle that's been shaken that is going to explode? What do we do with it? ... what I needed, was to let off steam. I needed abandon. I needed to stop being careful, I needed to stop being cautious. I needed to stop placing so many fences around what was okay."

Continuing our theme of making space- how do we make space by releasing the pressure that builds up in ourselves? How do we release the tension when the need to do, and the need to not do, press or pull against each other in our selves?

"Blow the Carbon Out," a song by LJ Booth:

https://youtu.be/ETM-Zc6o7jA?si=NpJYN3Eorhm6vvhe

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/captivate-podcast/releasing-the-pressure

Recorded 15 January 2024

"What we still don't have is the proverbial clear desk. That "clear mind-clear desk" thing actually puts me into a state of panic."

Thinking about making space- and how 'making space' does not mean 'making emptiness.' Also- the full Saga of the Sit-Stand Desk.

Here is the photo of Leela's desk:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t7VadexhtFNb3Rj_z1d4yyMg-PnamuIf/view?usp=sharing

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/captivate-podcast/making-but-not-emptying-a-space

Recorded 8 January 2024.

"We all need to maybe finish a couple things that have been with us for so long, that we can't remember not having them. So that we can have space. Not even so we can add something new to the list. Just to have space."

We all, each of us, have a lot of balls in the air. How do we create the space for ourselves to know which ones to keep and which ones to let fall? Sometimes, picking a project to finish can help create that space. Especially when we don't put pressure ourselves to finish, and just take it one step at a time. Leela Sinha talks about picking up a project that has been in "time out" for a year, and finding spaciousness in completion.

Links:

Learn more about membership in the Intensives Institute:

https://intensivesinstitute.com/membership/

The Bernadette Banner video that launched a thousand pirate shirts:

https://youtu.be/Ql9r8UKIvZs?si=CWOCRMvHF4yENspj

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/captivate-podcast/making-space-for-making-mannequins-and-brains

Recorded 7 January 2024.

"I coach folks on tapping into wonder and play so that they can experience more pleasure and joy in their lives, in alignment with who they are authentically and unapologetically. And knowing who you are, unapologetically, translates into improvements in your more meaningful relationships and how you run your business."

cw: this episode of PowerPivot contains some discussion of sexual abuse.

Meet Dr. Christina Helou (they/them), pleasure and play expert, private coach, thought leader, speaker and doctor of physical therapy. Join Leela and Dr. Christina as they discuss pleasure and joy; finding one's own power; pelvic exams and body sovereignty; why FOSTA/SESTA is terrible and harmful; false scarcity; and the serious importance of fun.

Connect with Dr. Christina at:

https://www.christinahelou.com/

Transcript and show notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/episode/interview-dr-christina-helou

Recorded 30 June, 2023.

"The demand avoidance means that I can neither rest nor do something that I want to do. And so I end up doing the things that I do not want to do."

Pathological Demand Avoidance, or, as we here at the Intensives Institute prefer to call it: Persistent Demand for Autonomy. That bone-deep pressure to say 'no', no matter how much pressure the world and we ourselves place on our selves to be productive, to do the thing, to complete the task. Even when it's something we want to do. Even when it is something we take satisfaction from. It's a puzzle- this pressure to avoid the demands, which can out-push even the demand for rest.

What if we can solve that puzzle by breaking the rules; by dismantling the puzzle itself? What if we approach the puzzle with a sword, like the Gordian knot of antiquity? What then?

Let's find out, together.

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/captivate-podcast/a-gordian-knot-approach-to-demand-avoidance

Recorded 7 January 2024.

"Shame is a paradigm that distances us from our power. It's a paradigm within ourselves that, when internalized, it keeps us from recognizing our own experience in a variety of ways, and also recognizing our own experience as valuable....

There's this whole culture that tells us to love ourselves, right? And, well, have you even gotten to know yourself? It's like self love just kind of happens when you really get to know yourself."

Listen in on a fascinating conversation between Leela Sinha and Sara Rhiannon (she/her), a hypnotist who uses somatic work and other interventions designed to un-shame the psyche. Sara has a particular specialty in helping people remove their cravings for sugar. Sara and Leela discuss the intersections of shame and anti-oppression work; kindness and redemption; creating safety and honesty in working groups; and that mushy feeling in your brain when you're learning something and seeing how your brain can be different than it was. Which, naturally, some people love, and others... well, not so much.

Links!

Find Sara on

Facebook by name, or as quit_sugar_coach on Instagram or TikTok.

For more on David Bedrick, visit https://www.davidbedrick.com/

For more on Kimberly Shepherd, check out: https://www.kimberlyshepherd.com/

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/episode/interview-sara-rhiannon-the-quit-sugar-coach

Recorded 9 June 2023.

"...and this is the important part for us as intensives. As soon as we figure out what's happening, we can begin to prepare mentally and sometimes systemically and sometimes structurally, for whatever comes next. And now I need to know that I borrowed all of that energy and all of the spoons from the next month. And act like it."

Leela reflects on thriving in busy times, planning a retreat that is accessible from the ground up, the way that Go Mode can sneak up on us, and how to prepare ourselves and those around us for the crash when we shift from Go Mode to Intensive Stop.

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/captivate-podcast/case-study-planning-an-accessible-retreat

Recorded 25 November 2023.

"This is where we shift from critical to curious. Isn't it worth asking the question, what would drive a kid to lose control that way? It's so easy to be critical. But you're gonna get a lot better return on your investment for being curious."

Meet Dr. Matt Zareski (he/him), clinical psychologist, international speaker, and advocate for all things neurodivergence, specifically within the LGBTQ+ community. Join Leela and Dr. Matt for an engaging discussion about bringing equity to our workplaces and schools, accommodations for all, the cognitive biases that maintain power structures, Taylor Swift, Shaquille O'Neal, and planning an Eighteenth Century themed costume party.

Links!

The Neurodiversity Collective:

https://www.theneurodiversitycollective.com/

Dr. Matt Zakreski's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/drmattzakreski

To learn more about CB Beal's Preemptive Radical Inclusion, visit:

https://justiceandpeaceconsulting.com/preemptive-radical-inclusion/

Transcript and notes:

https://dev.intensivesinstitute.com/episode/interview-dr-matt-zakreski

Recorded 4 December 2023.