Life can start to feel heavy when we’re constantly trying to improve ourselves, stay on top of everything, and force our way into becoming a ‘better’ version of who we are.

In this episode, I reflect on a quieter shift that’s been unfolding in me recently.

A gentler way of relating to myself, other people, and ordinary life.

We explore self-pressure, receptivity, compassion, therapy, interconnectedness, and what can happen when we stop treating life as something to battle through alone.

The episode begins with a short grounding practice. If you'd prefer to jump straight into the reflection, you can skip ahead to around 3 mins 15. 

✧ A Question to Reflect On

Where in your life are you creating unnecessary pressure for yourself right now?What might emerge if you loosened your grip?

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

Is there something in your life that wants to be expressed…
but fear keeps you in your head?

In this episode, we explore a different way of relating to fear.

Not by getting rid of it,
but by allowing it.

So there’s more space.
More clarity.

And the ability to take a step forward. Even when fear is still there.

✧ A Question to Ponder

Who am I becoming by allowing this fear to be felt…and taking a step forward anyway?

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

There’s something in you that responds to life.

A quiet pull… towards what feels meaningful, alive, or true.

But it’s easy to lose sight of that.

To get caught up in the noise… in what’s expected… in the ways we’ve learned to question ourselves.

In this episode, I gently point you back to that inner spark.

✧ A question for you

What lights you up? 

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

When something heavy takes hold in the mind…it can start to feel like our whole world.

In this episode, I explore what it means to step out of that feeling of being consumed, and gently reconnect with the infinite space that’s always here.

✧ We explore

• The shift that can happen when anxieties are met with presence
• A simple way of relating to thoughts and emotions as passing, not permanent
• An experiential practice of resting in a wider sense of awareness

✧ A question for you

What changes when you begin to notice the space that’s always here?

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

We spend so much time trying to figure things out.

Trying to make the right decision.

Pushing ourselves to act, even when it doesn’t quite feel right.

And often, that’s where things start to feel heavy.

In this episode, I explore what happens when we stop trying to force answers, and instead come back to the body.

✧ We explore

• The felt difference between forcing and being tuned in
• How clarity often comes when we stop pushing for it
• Simple ways to come back into the body and reconnect with yourself

✧ A question for you

• What might it be like to let ease guide me, instead of tension?

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

Be guided to meet your experience with gentle acceptance.

This is for those tricky moments when things feel:

•  heavy 
•  unclear 
•  or just a little too much 

✧ We Practice

•  Coming out of the thinking mind and into the body 
•  Allowing sensations and emotions to be as they are 
•  Meeting your experience with warmth instead of resistance 
•  Including even the part of you that wants things to change 
•  Resting in a more spacious awareness 

This meditation is inspired by the teachings of Sustainable Compassion Training, developed by John Makransky and Paul Condon. If you’d like to explore more of their work, visit: sustainablecompassion.org

With warmth and compassion, 

Rachael 

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

If life has been feeling intense… overwhelming… like a LOT is being asked of you right now. Well, this episode is for you!

In this conversation, I explore what it means to move through unsettling moments that feel like a 'baptism of fire' 

Rather than trying to stomp it out, or simply endure it, we explore how to stay grounded within it… and how to work with the transformation that’s unfolding.

This is a gentle, grounded guide for navigating intensity with compassion, steadiness, and quiet inner strength.

✧ We explore

• How to stabilise and support yourself when things feel intense

• Using awareness to create space from thoughts, emotions, and reactions

• Turning toward your inner fire and moving forward with intention

✧ A question for you

If you’re in a moment that feels intense or challenging, you might gently ask:

What would it look like for me to stay grounded here?

And what is one small step forward I can take from where I am right now?

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

Inside each of us, there are many different voices.

In this episode, we focus on two in particular — the loud, protective voice that tries to keep us safe, and the quieter, steadier voice that supports growth.

Through examples from relationships, creative work, and decision-making, we explore how these voices shape our experience — and how recognising them strengthens inner authority.

✧ We explore

– The difference between the loud, protective voice and the quieter, steady one

– How fear can disguise itself as discernment

– How listening to the quieter voice builds self-trust and forward movement

✧ A question for you

Bring to mind a situation that feels testing or unresolved.

What does the louder voice say? How does it feel in your body?

Now notice the quieter voice.

What shifts when you listen to that one instead?

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

Sometimes life just feels like a lot.

In this episode, I reflect on a moment of feeling downtrodden, and share what helps me when the instinct is to push through.

✧ We explore

– Naming and normalising moments when everything feels like a lot

– A short guided practice to help you slow down in real time (6:17–9:38)

– The RAIN framework as a steady way to meet difficult emotions

– Building steadiness through self-compassion

✧ A question for you

What are you carrying right now?

What would it look like to respond to yourself with care?

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking *“That’s just who I am”…*and it didn’t feel good?

In this episode, we explore the identity stories we internalise, and how anxiety, self-doubt, and early experiences can shape the way we see ourselves.

Sometimes what we call personality is actually adaptation. A pattern formed in a particular environment. And when safety shifts, internally and externally, identity can shift too.

We explore:

✨ How early experiences shape the way we see ourselves

✨ The difference between personality and context

✨ How feeling safer can soften rigid identities

✨ How replacing a full stop with an ellipsis opens space for growth

This episode includes a short reflective pause to help you notice the conclusions you may be carrying, and create a bit of breathing room around them.

🌀 A question for you

What’s a defining sentence you’ve been saying about yourself?

Is it truly fixed, or could there be more to the story…?

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

If this episode resonated with you, a quick rating will help more people discover The Soft Way.

How to do it?

⭐ On Apple Podcasts
(iPhone/iPad): open the show page, scroll to the bottom, where it says Ratings & Reviews, and tap the stars.

⭐ On Spotify: open the show page and tap the ⭐ rating under the title.

Thank you for helping the podcast grow! 🌿

OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT
Join my email list: https://rachaelebanksgold.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Listen to my audio tracks on Insight Timer.