The Discomfort Practice

In this Discomfort Running Buddies chat with Betsy's IRL friend, voiceover artist Jen Carr (who's also a mindful eating coach), they talk about stepping into their gifts, what it took to give themselves permission to use their voices and speak up in the world, and how following what's easy has taken them amazing places. They shoot the shit on vocal technique, the value of breathing, power poses an...

Marilise de Villier's book 'Roar' is an inspirational story about dealing with the bully in her life, finding her voice and having the courage to ROAR! As a writer and coach, she's passionate about giving vulnerable people a voice and helping people to get over their biggest obstacles to live their best lives. Betsy & Marilise talk about lessons in submissive & dominant power via pro dominatrix Ka...

Chitra Nadarajah leads the climate emergency work at England's largest county council. In her native Malaysia she worked in environmental issues before moving to the UK, establishing her career & starting a family. Betsy & Chitra discuss Chitra's experience as an Asian female leader in a largely white male environment and as a single mother to a mixed-race teenage daughter. They chat about the joy...

In this episode, Betsy shares the edges of her own comfort zone just now. She talks about quitting things and leaving space, the freedom of shaking off fear of disappointing others and how fear of 'being difficult' is a massive energy suck. She also invites listeners to contribute to the planning of Season 3, launching in September and focused on the discomfort and inspiration of 'stepping into th...

In the second 'Discomfort Running Buddies' episode, Betsy talks to one of her IRL friends about trauma. Betsy talks to her friend Luis Amaro, an art director & professional wrestler from Venezuela who experienced significant violence due to the ongoing instability in his home country. Betsy talks about childhood trauma and abuse, & both discuss how trauma has shaped them, how they've healed & how...

Flaviano Bianchini is a scientist, the Founder of Source International & a Fellow of the Ashoka Foundation. ‍His work on the extractive industry's impact on local environments & communities has led to the modification of mining laws and practices in Latin America. Betsy & Flaviano chat about what's in our smartphones, how the scientific approach can help us navigate fake news & what it's like to l...

María Scharrón-del Río, Ph. D. is Associate Dean of the School of Education & Professor of the School Counseling Graduate Program at Brooklyn College. They're a leader in GLARE (GLBTQ Advocacy in Research & Education), committed to the development of multicultural competencies in counselors, psychologists, & educators.  Betsy & Maria chat about the role of education in making space for all people...

Jean Callanan's international corporate career spans well-known names like Unilever, Waterford Crystal & Guinness. She runs 'strategic thinking consultancy' Momenta Hub & is Chair of the Irish Hospice Foundation, which promotes discussion of death, dying & bereavement. Betsy & Jean chat about burnout, leaving corporate life, hiking the Camino de Santiago alone & the need to have uncomfortable but...

Hannah Vaughan Jones is an Emmy-nominated journalist & broadcaster for CNN International and Sky News. She & her husband, fellow newsreader Lewis Vaughn Jones, publicly documented their struggles with infertility in a widely-watched YouTube series ' Our IVF Diary .' Betsy & Hannah talk about how experiencing failure has been freeing, how to support those going through IVF & what Han has learned th...

Christina Bradley is a creative coach, author, former actress & founder of The Creativity Campus. Betsy & Christina talk about how everyone is creative but often need to give ourselves permission to connect with & nurture it. Betsy shares how she reconnected with playing her cello after having had to leave her instrument behind when moving to another country. This is a juicy, joyful episode. Enjoy...

Scott Robinson is a Senior Lecturer at The Academy of Applied Movement Neurology who brings his background in competitive sports to his work helping people to rewire their nervous systems to live the lives they truly want to live. Betsy & Scott chat about how our nervous systems and subconscious programmes determine our wellbeing, and can hinder or help us to live our best lives. Find Scott on IG...

After a tech shitshow of a week, Betsy gave up on salvaging the interview she had wanted to post and recorded a solo episode on how uncomfortable it is to fail. On some of the neuroscience of failing and discomfort. And on how important it is to ask for help, say no or let yourself rest if you are also a recovering control freak overachiever like she is. Enjoy. Relate. Get in touch. Find Betsy on...

The Rev Fred Davie is an openly gay, Black ordained minister who's Executive VP of Union Theological Seminary, Chair of the body providing civilian oversight of the NYC Police Department & a Commissioner for the to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Betsy & Fred chat about the power of just showing up, focusing on the flow rather than the barriers & how to step into the...

Sometimes being someone who practices discomfort means being able to step away and find comfort. Here's a brief meditation recently given live by Betsy that can help you find your way back to your natural state of inner silence. Whether you're sitting, lying down, walking somewhere or driving, tune in and get quiet...

In this solo episode, Betsy talks about recent news that Patrisse Khan-Cullors, co-founder and volunteer Chair of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, has recently bought herself some nice properties and the media and 'activist types' have expressed outrage. Betsy asks, 'What does it say about us that we require our heroes to be martyrs, and we attack them when they aren't? What are we avoiding in ours...

Roopa Mehta is President of the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO), leads the Sasha Association for Craft Producers in India and has been a champion of conscious consumption since the 1970s. Betsy and Roopa talk about whether or not life is actually 80% discomfort, the power of anyone to have a positive impact and whether or not Covid has made people more conscious in their purchasing decisions....

This is the first 'Discomfort Running Buddies' episode, in which Betsy talks to one of her IRL friends who's a companion on the path of inner exploration and challenging and supporting each other to get uncomfortable in order to evolve. She's joined by Catherine Garner, a former medical professional whose deep understanding of comfort and discomfort informs her work as an artist. Each Wednesday at...

* Explicit content alert* There is a healthy amount of swearing in this episode, so if that's an edge of your comfort zone you're happy to keep where it is or you have children around, you might want to skip this one or grab your headphones. Traver Boehm is a former MMA fighter who's also an acupuncturist, TEDx speaker and the founder of #UNcivilized, a movement inspiring millions of men to shift...

In this latest solo episode of Season 2, Betsy talks about how revealing her personal life on this podcast is part of her own discomfort practice, and how to find the balance between stepping into her full powers while not traumatising herself. She talks about her intention in running her 'sex book club' and commits to give the world what it needs from her - holistic, glorious, flawed. Follow Bets...

Maggie Murphy is the General Manager of Lewes Football Club in England. Lewes is a fan-owned club and the first in the world to pay its male and female players equally.  Betsy and Maggie talk about sports as a platform to lead social change and how important great communications are when changing norms. Find out more about Lewes FC (and even become an owner yourself!) at https://www.lewesfc.com/ow...

Maria Beatrice Giovanardi's communications research led her to notice the Oxford English Dictionary (& Google) definition of 'woman' was outdated, largely negative & sexist. She started a Change.org petition to change that & in November 2020, following 34,000 signatures, the OED changed it. Betsy & Beatrice discuss how language is everything & her next focus on changing the Italian dictionary's de...

Robin Sundaram is the son of Sri Lankan immigrants to the UK, a trained economist & a key person leading sustainable sourcing for the world's biggest food company. Betsy & Robin chat about finding allies for positive impact within a big corporate, working with dairy farmers & how to bring your true self to work to be a leader wherever you are. Prepare to be uncomfortable & inspired... Follow Betsy...

Aine Rose Campbell is a model, producer, activist & founder of The Model Mafia, a collective of nearly 400 models supporting each other & making a difference on issues like #MeToo & climate change.   Betsy & Aine talk about the power dynamics in modelling, the negative impact of fashion, the beauty of community & Aine's own discomfort practice. Betsy also reveals far more than she intended to abou...

Ed Gillespie is a keynote speaker, writer, serial entrepreneur & futurist. He's co-founder of the Global Goals Accelerator, a board member of Greenpeace UK & author of 'Only Planet – a flight-free adventure around the world' & a poetry collection, 'Songs of Love in Lockdown.'  Betsy & Ed chat about when optimism is insulting, creativity in lockdown & collective wake-up calls. We ponder the future...

Julia Dujmovits is the first Austrian to win an Olympic gold medal in snowboarding and the founder of RE/Mind company, a tech company using technology to get a billion people breathing together for a minute a day. Julia lives life on the edge of her comfort zone as an elite athlete training for her next gold medal, and as an entrepreneur. Betsy and Julia talk about 'letting go to flow,' crashing a...