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In this mini-series episode, I revisit number three in the top ten most listened-to episodes: my conversation with Deb Dana, clinician, consultant, author, and the world’s leading translator of Polyvagal Theory — on loss, the nervous system, and what it means to trust your body through grief.

Deb brings both her professional expertise and something deeply personal to this conversation: the recent death of her husband Bob, and her own experience of navigating grief through the Polyvagal lens she has spent years teaching. We explore what the autonomic nervous system actually does in grief, why grief is a physiological experience and not only a psychological one, and how glimmers — micro-moments of safety and connection — can serve as anchors even in the heaviest loss.

This is one of the most honest and grounded conversations in the podcast’s history.

Listen to the original episode: Episode 85 — Deb Dana | Loss Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory

If this podcast is helping you, please consider leaving a 5-star review — it helps more people find this content when they need it most.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome
00:49 Today's episode
01:27 Welcome to the Mini Series
02:50 Top 10 - Number 3
03:24 About Deb Dana
04:58 Polyvagal Theory and grief
06:16 Glimmers and grief
06:57 What resonated with me
07:55 Why it resonated with listeners

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Stay Connected

• 🌐 Visit nathaliehimmelrich.com
• 💌 Subscribe to the newsletter for resources and updates
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Find Support Resources

• 💜 For Grievers – Resources
  https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/grief-trauma-support/
• 💜 For Supporters – Supporting someone https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/supporters-resources/
• 💜 Books – Explore books on grief and healing https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/books/
• 💜 Support – Offers - free and paid
  https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hub/

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In this mini series episode, I revisit number four in the top ten most listened-to episodes: my third conversation with Meghan Riordan Jarvis — psychotherapist, podcast host, TEDx speaker, and author — on the essential questions about grief, loss and trauma.

Meghan joins me for the third time, and this conversation goes deepest. We explore the intersection of grief and trauma, what neuroscience and bioscience tell us about what grief actually does to the body and brain, and the questions that every griever asks but rarely finds answered clearly. Meghan’s book Can Anyone Tell Me? Essential Questions About Grief and Loss is the springboard — and it is the resource I wish every griever had access to.

Two professionals, one conversation, and the questions that matter most.

Listen to the original episode: Episode 95 — Meghan Riordan Jarvis | The Essential Questions About Grief, Loss and Trauma

Also listen to: E41 — How a Therapist Deals With Grief and Trauma | E49 — Review of Trauma and Grief Modalities

If this podcast is helping you, please consider leaving a 5-star review — it helps more people find this content when they need it most.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome
00:49 Today's episode
01:27 Welcome to the Mini Series
02:50 Top 10 - Number 4
03:45 About Meghan Riordan Jarvis
04:27 Can anyone tell me?
06:06 Essential questions about grief
06:47 What resonated with me
07:35 Why it resonated with listeners

Support the show

💡 If today’s episode touched you, please share it with someone who might need it.

🤝 Become a supporter of the show! Starting at $3/month & leave a review.

Stay Connected

• 🌐 Visit nathaliehimmelrich.com
• 💌 Subscribe to the newsletter for resources and updates
• 🎧 Never miss an episode—follow the podcast!
• 💛 Socials Instagram Facebook

Find Support Resources

• 💜 For Grievers – Resources
  https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/grief-trauma-support/
• 💜 For Supporters – Supporting someone https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/supporters-resources/
• 💜 Books – Explore books on grief and healing https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/books/
• 💜 Support – Offers - free and paid
  https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hub/

Send us Fan Mail

In this mini-series episode, I revisit number five in the top ten most listened-to episodes: my double-episode conversation with James Fish Gill — heart coach, yoga teacher, and transformational facilitator from Australia — on bringing loving awareness to pain, grief, and longing.

Fish introduces the concept of conscious communication and applies it to grief: rather than dismissing, fixing, or minimising pain, what if we simply witnessed it — with honesty, with love, and without the need for it to be different? In Episodes 51 and 52, he walks through his own grief journey using this approach, moving through acknowledgement, emotional experience, and the field of yearning at the heart of loss.

This is one of the most tender and practically transformative conversations in the podcast’s history. Listen to both parts together.

Part 1: Episode 51 — James Fish Gill | Bringing Loving Awareness to Your Pain (Part 1)

Part 2: Episode 52 — James Fish Gill | Bringing Loving Awareness to Your Pain (Part 2)

If this podcast is helping you, please consider leaving a 5-star review — it helps more people find this content when they need it most.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome
00:49 Today's episode
01:27 Welcome to the Mini Series
02:50 Top 10 - Number 5
03:16 About James Fish Gill
04:07 How to fall in Love with Humanity
04:38 Bringing loving awareness to our pain
05:56 Permission to feel anything
06:16 What resonated with me
06:52 Why it resonated with listeners

Support the show

💡 If today’s episode touched you, please share it with someone who might need it.

🤝 Become a supporter of the show! Starting at $3/month & leave a review.

Stay Connected

• 🌐 Visit nathaliehimmelrich.com
• 💌 Subscribe to the newsletter for resources and updates
• 🎧 Never miss an episode—follow the podcast!
• 💛 Socials Instagram Facebook

Find Support Resources

• 💜 For Grievers – Resources
  https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/grief-trauma-support/
• 💜 For Supporters – Supporting someone https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/supporters-resources/
• 💜 Books – Explore books on grief and healing https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/books/
• 💜 Support – Offers - free and paid
  https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hub/