The Mark Groves Podcast

Dr. Caroline Leaf is a neuroscientist specializing in cognitive and metacognitive neuropsychology. Since the early 1980s, she has researched the mind-brain connection, the nature of mental health, and the formation of memory. She was one of the first in her field to study how the brain can change (neuroplasticity) with directed mind input. This week we chat about what is actually happening in the brain with relation to memories, relationships, and life experiences, and how to use mind-directed techniques to help relieve intrusive thoughts.

~ Discover:

The brain, mind and the difference between them

Suppression is a reinforcement process

Positive thinking is a band-aid to the wound

Make the process work for you, discover wisdom and responsibility

Depression is not an illness, it's a signal

Conscious and non-conscious mind

How to create the shift

Awareness brings autonomy

How to dismantle "The toxic tree"

The connection to suppressing emotions and disease

The "switch" technique

Going beyond mindfulness

Find Dr. Leaf online at www.drleaf.com or on Instagram @drcarolineleaf.

 

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Stand-up Comedians Corinne Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson are the hosts of the popular podcast "Guys We F****d." This podcast is most known for changing the way society thinks about female sexuality through a merging of humor and expansion. This week I am so delighted to have these two ladies on to lead us through their experience hosting a podcast with such controversial topics, and their own personal journeys of self discovery, boundary setting, and challenging the stigmas related to female sexuality. Buckle in for a no bullsh*t, straight to the truth episode. Find Kystyna and Corinne's podcast on the Luminary App and on instagram @sorryaboutlastnight.

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Discover:

Why do we fear sexual freedom and sexual exploration?

The beliefs and systems we grew up learning that go against our human design

Why we should get curious about our shitty qualities

Cancel culture and why we push our pain onto others

Learning what to keep to yourself

The difference between oversharing and vulnerability

The pain of self-actualization and breakups

The best advice in relationships

What self-confidence feels like

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In an ever-changing and unpredictable world, it is so easy to get swept up in the chaos and anxiety that come with it. This week, the incredible Manoj Dias talks us through how we can find pause, compassion and solitude through mindfulness and meditation. We discuss what is involved in a meditation practice, how it informs how we show up in the world, and what happens when we allow our minds to be calm. Manoj is the co-founder of Open, a modern meditation studio based in California and EVRYMAN, a men's emotional intelligence movement. Whether he’s teaching through words or the silence between them, Manoj’s great love for Buddhist wisdom and contemporary science is present in every encounter.

Discover:

The three jewels of liberation

The healing power of community

"If you don't have 10 minutes to mediate you need 2 hours"

How mediation helps us see clearly, stay calm, and hold space

Mediation and reactivity

Why are we afraid to be present and just be?

What 10 days of meditation can do to your life

Find Manoj on Instagram @manojdias_ and check out some classes at www.o-p-e-n.com

 

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This week I welcome Embodiment Coach and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Tami Amanda to the podcast. Tami walks us through her own experience with therapy and the ways she still felt stuck in her shame after therapy. This led Tami to the realization that something deeper may have been missing. After working with immigrant and refugee children in somatic therapy, she saw children heal deep childhood trauma without ever talking about what happened. This led Tami to ask the question, how do we look inside for our healing? This week, we dive into the complexities and benefits of somatic therapy and we get curious about some of the limits of talk therapy.

Discover:

How to move through triggers and activation

How to embody and integrate the work

How to actually change and be a self healer

Follow your own breadcrumbs

Thoughts, mistakes, instagram and victim blaming

The greatest source of pain from childhood

You cannot trauma your way out of trauma

Why it's about the small steps and little moments first

The magic sauce: It's all about the 5 senses

The mirrors to our own "check list"

Find Tami on Instagram @tamisasson_ or on her website at www.tamiamandawellness.com.

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I am so thrilled to have one of my best friends Christine Chang join me this week. Christine is a Celebrity and Lifestyle photographer, and best-selling author of the book "SHOW UP: Finding Love for Independent Women." In this episode we discuss some of the themes in Christine's book, and her own personal journey navigating the dating world as a strong and successful woman. We dive into the complexities of different relationship dynamics, and the importance of cultivating and nurturing a strong sense of self outside of a relationship. For Christine, the ideal relationship came out of showing up as her authentic true self and getting to the core of her own emotional needs.

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Discover: 

What is the definition of a strong woman?

What is underneath an independent woman?

The top qualities woman want in recent studies

Where we think our worth lies

The shadow side of independence

The reality of reality

The feeling of home vs. butterflies

How to have a functioning, healthy, sexy relationship

 

You can find Christines book here and follow her on instagram at @cchangandco or find her on her website at www.christinechang.com.

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This topic is so important and yet so rarely discussed. That’s why I’m so appreciative that Holly Grigg-Spall has joined me this week to discuss the contraceptive pill. The Pill has long been associated with sexual freedom and liberation, but Holly talks us through her journey of discovering the impact that it had upon her mental and physical health. In doing so, Holly walks us through the research that is often overlooked and the various reasons we avoid having these conversations. I’m so honoured to have this discussion because I know it is so important that this topic is brought to light. You can find out more about Holly and her book at http://sweeteningthepill.com

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Discover:

The side effects of birth control you many not know about

Alternatives to the birth control pill

Why do women feel like they have to hide their periods?

Patriarchy, pharmaceuticals, and sexual liberation

How birth control can disconnect you from yourself

Ways to track fertility naturally

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This week is a big one, so I want to start with a note that this conversation is deep, complex and not for the faint of heart. Dr. Zach Bush is a triple board certified physician who specialises in internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice care but who is also incredibly passionate about the ecological health of the Earth. We cover it all this week — birth, death, disease, the human microbiome, the genome, immunity, and the health of the Earth’s ecosystems. Dr Bush has been outspoken about some of the ways the medical system is failing with Covid-19 but this episode is so much more than that, our discussion goes beyond controversy and into the depth of how health and illness relate to spirituality, psychology and philosophy. Dr. Zach Bush presents a model of health that is regenerative and centres the health of humans within the health of the Earth. 

You can find out more about Dr Zach Bush at https://zachbushmd.com/

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One of the most popular videos I’ve ever recorded was ‘why do men follow Instagram models?’ So I wanted to dive deeper into a topic that is so complex and often controversial. This week I introduce my good friend Dr. Laura McNally who is a psychologist that has been writing on this topic for some years. We discuss the entire life cycle — how children are socialized and shaped by their environments, how this impacts young adults and their ideas about beauty and sex, how sexual arousal changes the way we think and how monitoring our body image shifts our cognitive function. Why is it that sex and porn addiction most often impact men, while body image and eating disorders almost exclusively impact women? It turns out this isn't a coincidence. Importantly, this is not a discussion that aims to tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t do with their Instagram or social media, it is an exploration of the research that will hopefully leave you feeling better informed about what works for you.

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Discover:

You can't change anything you don't take responsibility for

The root of the problem

Porn, triggers and responses

Dissecting the questions that come up around IG models

Where does it all start?

Growing up on the apps and the issues they create for children

Anti-sex vs. anti-women

Sexuality and religion

How we cheat ourselves out of connection

How we buy into "you'll never be hot enough"

You can find Laura’s work on Instagram @actualpsychology https://www.instagram.com/actualpsychology/

 

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This is our 100th episode together, so to celebrate this special episode I want to offer my gratitude and more insights about myself. Hosting this podcast has been such a learning journey. I have been able to witness myself soften, open and grow throughout these episodes. My solo episodes are always met with so much grace from you all, so I want to humbly thank you all for witnessing my evolution and allowing me the space to do this. I look forward to what the next 100 episodes will bring us.

~ 

Discover:

A very special 100th episode!

What Mark has learned in 100 podcasts

Heartbreak is the gateway and the lessons are in the pain

Why we repeat our patterns

What is abandoning me?

The beautiful invitations inside expansion

Falling in love vs. being in love vs. rising in love

How we change the world within ourselves

What would it feel like to welcome all the parts of you

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My dear friend Mikaela Reuben joins me this week and I am so excited to introduce you to this celebrity chef and all-around superstar human. Mikaela takes us through a journey that many of us can relate to — building a life with *no* boundaries. For Mikaela, this meant giving up everything for her career including her own health. For Mikaela, being a chef meant constantly nourishing and caring for other people with nutritious meals, while sacrificing her own needs — skipping her own meals and feeding everyone except herself. Mikaela talks us through the terrifying process of beginning to set boundaries, the fear that washes over us when we try to say ‘no’ to someone else’s request for the first time. For Mikaela, resetting her boundaries meant starting to nourish herself first. Mikaela explains that the opportunity to nourish yourself is both a gift and a responsibility. I invite you to learn the gift of nourishing yourself by joining us this week. Learn more about Mikaela’s work and her weekly scoops at https://www.instagram.com/mikaelareuben/

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Discover:

Our relationship to food is directly connected to the relationship with ourselves

Why we lose ourselves in the service of others

How we do one thing is how we do everything

Food and the connection to worthiness, boundaries and self-love

The power of slowness

What is the real nutrition that truly feeds us?

How cooking for yourself is healing (beyond the kitchen)

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