Expansive Intimacy with Jim Young

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   "If nothing else in this show, if this has helped anybody create a deeper connection with someone in their lives, whether a child, a friend, another family member, a coworker, a stranger, by letting themselves be known to each other and accepting each other for who they really are, I'd be psyched." - Jim Young   The c...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   "We talk about some really vulnerable shit. We get all the way down to the nitty gritty." - Jim Young   In a world where traditional notions of masculinity often discourage open expression and vulnerability, the latest episode of "Expansive Intimacy with Jim Young" brings a refreshing perspective on the transformative...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Amazon Music   "I had to be the one to stand the ground in being that cycle breaker, not only for myself, but for the foundation of my marriage and my family and for the betterment of our relationships going forward." - Christine Anastasia   On this week’s episode, I’m excited to share my conversation with Christine Anastasia. Christine is a Master C...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   "If we are not actually sure how we operate when we are triggered or we are stressed, then we're going to struggle to really intimately connect with someone because we're going to be clearly seeing that other person and how they're behaving, but we're not seeing our dimension." - Kimberly Hill   Today we are diving de...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   "It's a privilege to be in a relationship. It should be two independent individuals who choose each other, who compliment each other and support and uplift each other." - Alec Wons   In the latest episode of Expansive Intimacy with Jim Young, guest Alec Wons shows an old dog (Jim, the GenX-er) that younger dogs (GenZ-...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   "Just like you brush your teeth probably twice a day, maybe more. You shower, you take care of your clothes, you take care of your hair. You need to take care of your nervous system in the same way with daily hygiene and daily maintenance of your neural systems so that they're able to receive and integrate all of thes...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   "With my definition of intimacy right at the beginning of the year in particular, I really sought deeper relationships for myself, with myself, deeper relationships at work, deeper relationships at home, while I'm playing … everything. I wanted more. I wanted more connection. We're all hardwired for connection. And if...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   "What we talk about with liberating masculinity is can we come to a deeper sense of our self worth that isn't dependent on besting others, that actually sees connection and compassion as central to our identities." - Ed Frauenheim   In the latest episode of "Expansive Intimacy with Jim Young," we delve into the critic...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   “We talk about artificial intelligence all the time, right? What about natural intelligence, that intelligence that's in us when we slow ourselves down and allow ourselves to pay attention to that wisdom that we're carrying around all the time.” - Chris Gaither   One of the foundational ideas behind this podcast is th...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music   "I do think that men often feel loved through sex. I think a lot of us do. But there's a particular dynamic where I think men give themselves permission sometimes to feel loved in that way, that it's not out in the world, it's more private, it's more intimate." - Shana James   Shana James is a guide for men at the cro...

"Everything in my life to validate myself and validate some kind of sense of self worth was external. I got all my worth through sports and accomplishing and being better than you and or being useful to you in terms of work." - Ross Leppala   Ross shares his long journey of self-discovery and all of the scars from being marginalized as a first-generation outsider, along with the mental health chal...

“That is probably the most intimate conversation I've ever had with a stranger and possibly ever will.”    Al Elliott, co-host of the podcast Truth, Lies and Workplace Culture, the UK’s number one podcast about workplace culture, shares an absolutely unforgettable story about his time spent as a Samaritan, wherein he spoke to people who were considering-or even in the midst of–taking their own liv...

“We’re created for this,” says Doug Kelley, PhD and author of the book “Intimate Spaces” about our natural inclination toward intimacy. At its core, he says, intimacy is about being fully present with another person, feeling safe enough to be who you truly are, free from judgment, and sharing close feelings whether they be positive or negative. As humans, we are built to be social, close and tacti...

“I felt like I couldn’t log off for fear of something bad happening when I did.”    Five years into his corporate career, Grant Gurewitz found himself experiencing burnout, being constantly needed by his company and sacrificing more and more of his peace and personal life to be at the company’s beck and call. The usual lifestyle hacks such as journaling, diet and exercise and other changes only ad...

“These guys, we'd be there for each other at any time of the day or night.”    Carl Ficks is a founding member of the Dead End Kids, his group of friends from childhood who have maintained their friendships collectively and individually over the last 40 years. This means helping each other through major life events like death and divorce as well as making sure to check in with simple texts when th...

“While the wheel may have 30 spokes, the empty hub is its usefulness.” On today’s solo episode of Expansive Intimacy, Jim reads from the ancient Chinese philosophical text the Tao Te Ching, which he was introduced to by the leader of the first men’s group he ever attended. Today Jim draws from a passage in the book which explains that much like a house has four walls but its usefulness lies in the...

“I think we delude ourselves, especially as men, when we think we can heal on our own,” says Sean Harvey, Chief Compassion Officer and Master Facilitator at the Warrior Compassion Men’s Studio. ”Community is where we see each other in our full humanity.” In a world where men are bombarded with countless messages about how best to be and which path to take, Sean’s work offers not a solution to a pr...

“We all walk into the room together, performers and audience alike,” says Scott Braidman, Jim’s improv coach at the Happier Valley, a nonprofit improv comedy theater and training center in Hadley, Mass. “We don't know what's going to happen next. And then we discover it together.” This type of intimacy and mutual exchange with the audience that sets improv apart from so many other types of live pe...

"We have to shed this idea that we are this definitive thing of a good person or a good man. We are flawed and vulnerable and we are trying."  This is the advice Eric Fitzmedrud PhD, a therapist specializing in relationships and sexual issues, brings to today’s show.    The winding road to intimacy, especially in long term relationships, is not easy or glamorous. Even the most well-intentioned par...

"I just cried and grieved as openly and nakedly as you possibly can. And I think that helped me in a lot of ways, actually."   Talking about sports is often a way for men, who aren’t socialized for intimacy the way women are, to avoid going emotionally deep within their relationships.   On today’s episode of Expansive Intimacy, Jim and ESPN SportsCenter anchor David Lloyd use the topic of sports t...

“How do our gifts match up with the needs of the world?” On this solo episode of Expansive Intimacy, Jim is celebrating his birthday with gifts – not the kind that you unwrap but the natural abilities, skills, passions that we all possess inside of us, but are not always given the opportunity to fully express or utilize. When we are given that chance, everyone wins. We light up inside while meetin...

“Your body is polite, so it starts with a whisper. Then if you’re not listening, it gets a little louder.” For, Dr. Neha Sangwan, author of “Powered by Me: From Burnout to Fully Charged at Work and Life,” when her body began whispering that it was overloaded with stress, she was encouraged by her colleagues in the medical community to override those signals in order to address the needs of patient...

“We can be close without being intimate,” says Elizabeth Solomon, certified emotional intelligence coach, and nowhere is this more evident than in the workplace where colleagues can share physical space for years and not ever know each other. Elizabeth shares a moving story from a team building session she led recently, whereby one woman developed a newfound and fierce loyalty to her CEO of over a...

“Being able to go deeper as a man and a husband, connected on that level is such great richness for those of us that get there and commit.” Brian Anderson is the co-founder and board president of Fathering Together and he's got a passion for helping dads translate their professional skills into home life strategies, so they can connect with their kids, spouses and more.   As Jim and Brian dive int...

“Stresses and  tension that have accumulated over the years live in our bodies,” explains Jim on this solo episode of Expansive Intimacy. As a teenager, Jim’s method of dealing with stress was to overeat, resulting in a body that he wasn’t proud of. He recalls a story in which he was made to feel embarrassed in front of his teammates during a baseball practice in high school. That shame would ling...