Four Gardens Podcast Four Gardens Podcast

In this conversation, we reflect on the 50 episodes of this show that we have created in collaboration with so many incredible guests. We revisit our intentions behind making this podcast, and discuss a handful of our favorite episodes. We identify the key lessons we have learned and track the huge impacts this project has had on both of our lives. Whether you are brand new to the podcast, or you have been with us from the beginning, this will be a great place to start, or restart, your Four Gardens journey.   

Learn more about Jake Ifshin and the Four Gardens: https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

For people new to the show, we recommend watching the short reels on our instagram page to find guests and episodes that inspire them. https://www.instagram.com/fourgardenspodcast/

Connect with Ari Rubens at https://www.arirubens.com/ https://www.instagram.com/arirubensfitness/

Episodes we discuss in this conversation: 

Sarah Miller https://youtu.be/1ioQ6SmQnvs

Becca Salky https://youtu.be/h0ZpvvfCA88

Sonia Zilberman ep. 39: https://youtu.be/AkVexFX6UDM      ep. 50: https://youtu.be/rpw93ya63wU

Omar Aena  ep. 13: https://youtu.be/itL0wxwWUfYep. 38: https://youtu.be/iCOGg2f59YM

Mallory Combemale https://youtu.be/7vjR6eTkt8s

Lexi Mondot https://youtu.be/kUijmvYt1V8

Lyrra Magda https://youtu.be/vtSUoZF8O7Q 

Lunar and Solar Creativity with Zach Townesmith: https://youtu.be/3jByauolGDM  

Follow the Gold-Mining Men's Circle YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gold-miningcircle15

Sonia Zilberman is somatic therapy practitioner, relationship coach, and sacred medicine facilitator helping people cultivate authentic self-expression, intimate relationships, and ease in their lives. She joins the podcast to share about emotional health. I currently work with Sonia as one of her coaching and therapy clients, and have felt the transformative effects of her work. In our conversation, Sonia begins by sharing about the nature of emotions, and what they teach us. We discuss escaping the trap of victimhood, and what it means to take ownership of our feelings. We also consider how setting boundaries and how they can bring us closer in relationships Sonia talks about why we check out in the hardest emotional moments. She shares useful practices for people experiencing emotional collapse. Sonia ends by introducing her new group coaching program focused on intimate relationships.

Link to our first episode with Sonia: https://youtu.be/AkVexFX6UDM

Find out more about Sonia: https://www.therisingjourney.com 

Follow Sonia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonia_rising_journey/ 

Her flagship four week Conscious Relationships course: https://mailchi.mp/494c326b59f9/afj7c03pg7 

Get in touch regarding her unique 1:1 somatic therapy container: https://www.therisingjourney.com/work-with-me 

For information on her breakthrough 1:1 somatic micro-dosing container: https://mailchi.mp/5366b2ce74b2/psilocybin-transformation-journey 

Schedule a Free Clarity Call to see if this work is right for you: https://calendly.com/sonia-devi/30min?month=2022-09

Learn more about Jake Ifshin and the Four Gardens at https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

Follow Ari Rubens at https://www.arirubens.com/

Sonia’s Full Bio

Sonia Zilberman is somatic therapy practitioner, relationship coach, and sacred medicine facilitator helping people cultivate authentic self-expression, intimate relationships, and ease in their lives.

She works with 1:1 clients, couples, and groups to break through old patterns, stories, and defense mechanisms within the mind-body construct in order to build a life of deep connection, empowerment, and abundance.

Sonia’s brilliance lies in her ability to connect to her clients in ways that feel safe and easeful to each individual. She is an empathetic listener, and enjoys bringing light hearted humor into her practice. Her integrated approach to working with the mind, body, and spirit works on both conscious and unconscious levels to facilitate powerful, lasting change. She employs body based techniques that allow for a deeper and quicker healing then regular talk-therapy.

She is trained in in somatic therapy at the Core Energetics Institute, in sacred sexuality with the International School for the Temple Arts, and with numerous teachers in Shamanic modalities of healing and empowerment. Sonia has been practicing Vipassana meditation for over 20 years, is a Certified Yoga Teacher, and feels deeply connected to Nature.

Nil Akselioglu is a Sex, Love, and Relationships Coach who supports people to “reclaim their joy, pleasure, love and safety.” Nil how having healthy, rooted sexuality can be incredibly supportive to overall health and feeling truly alive. Shame can often block our sexual expression, and Nil shares how practices of embodiment, witnessing, and affirmation allows us to bring those parts into light and integrate them into our being. She talks about how slowing down while being intimate can create a deeper experience of pleasure and connection. We explore the challenge of body image issues and how practices such as mirror work can be healing.

Follow Nil on Instagram: @kyssmyblyss

Listen to our first episode together: https://tinyurl.com/mry8vpw5

Learn more about Jake Ifshin and the Four Gardens at https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

Follow Ari Rubens at https://www.arirubens.com/

Nil’s Bio: "I believe that our greatest power is LOVE, and that joy and pleasure are our birthright. I guide my clients to get out of their heads and into their bodies to awaken their innate joy, pleasure and aliveness within.  We take a journey together to uncover deeply rooted conditioning, programming, and limiting belief systems that have been holding them back from living in their fullest expression.

I am a Sex, Love and Empowerment Coach trained in the VITA Methodology which combines modern science and somatic work with the ancient teachings of Tantra and Taoism.

I hold a strong, grounded container rooted in radical self love, compassion and honoring.  Through embodiment practices, we create space for the integration of trauma, shame, and lived experiences to better access love, joy and pleasure within.

I  look forward to sharing these powerful practices with my beloved community and 1:1 coaching clients as a pathway to empower, reclaim and live in our full aliveness around love and sexuality."

Victoria Wolfgang is passionate about studying and teaching the ancient insight practice of yoga and helping other neurodivergent people find self-acceptance and holistic wellness. In our conversation, she shares about the bullying and isolation she experienced growing up with undiagnosed autism and ADHD, as well as the unique strengths that her different neurology gives her. She shares essential information about autism, as well as helpful ways to supportively relate to neurodivergent people. Victoria talks about how yoga changed her life, and how it can particularly be helpful for ADHDers and people on the spectrum.  We dive deep into what yoga means to both of us and the lessons we've learned from practicing. Victoria shares how her commitment to creative expression has helped her feel healthy and connected.

Stay to the end for a health tip from Ari Rubens on proprioception.  

Victoria's Links: Website: VictoriaWolfgang.com Ig: @Diary.of.a.yogi  

Learn more about Jake Ifshin and the Four Gardens at https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

Follow Ari Rubens at https://www.arirubens.com/ 

Resources: Dr. Tony Attwood's Website https://tonyattwood.com.au/what-is-high-functioning-autism/ 

Books: Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn't Designed for You by Jenara Nerenberg 

Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum by Jennifer Cook  

Victoria's Full Bio: Victoria Wolfgang is a yoga teacher (ERYT-200, Functional Ashtanga 500-hr, Rocket Vinyasa 100-hr) ipec certified wellness coach (CPC) artist, and writer. She has bachelor's degrees in both biology and psychology and has always been fascinated by the mind-body connection. Her passion for movement practices such as martial arts began as a child and in 2015 she discovered that yoga helped her find relief from chronic social anxiety and sensorimotor challenges related to childhood trauma and undiscovered autism/ADHD. Today, Victoria is passionate about continuing to devote herself to studying and teaching the ancient insight practice of yoga and helping other neurodivergent people find self-acceptance and holistic wellness.

Shirin Biswas's mission is to co-create a community where people practice Self-Care, daily. He shares his knowledge of Engineering Design tools to help people discover Self-Care activities that are meaningful to them and he empowers them to apply these practices in their daily routine. 

In our conversation, Shirin shares about his own healing journey and his practical approach to Self-Love and Self-Care. He sees his daily focus on Self-Care as a powerful preventative practice and essential to him thriving and enjoying his life. Shirin talks about his playful and creative approach to his routines, which include a wide variety of activities including singing karaoke in the bath (my personal favorite). I enjoy the way he brings his systematic, engineer mind to this topic while also keeping a consistently joyful attitude. He also shares about his new gender-neutral Self-Care community circle in Charlotte, NC.

Stick around to the end of the episode for health tip on Metta Meditation from Ari Rubens that will help you cultivate self-love. For a video of a guided Metta Meditation led by Ari click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrSgF8ILzWA

Shirin Biswas IG: @5hirinbiswas 

Healing Panda IG: @healing.panda 

Gender-Neutral Community in Charlotte: Applied Self-Care Community (ASC) https://meetu.ps/c/4YhFl/G8j3b/d on Meetup 

Upcoming in-person workshop in Charlotte on 9/25:

https://solharmonyfest.com/schedule#section-tgCyUhpGY

Learn more about Jake Ifshin and the Four Gardens at https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

Follow Ari Rubens at https://www.arirubens.com/

Shirin's Full Bio: 

Shirin is a Mechanical Design Engineer who graduated with a Masters Degree from Duke University. Besides Engineering, Shirin is fluent in the field of Martial Arts and Mental Arts, and he practices these philosophies in his work with Men’s circles. He is associated with The ManKind Project where he works with the Gold Mining Men’s Circle and the Gold Mining King Building Circle to co-create a world of purpose and peace. 

Shirin embodies the spirit of a Healing Panda and his mission is to co-create a community where people practice Self-Care, daily. He shares his knowledge of Engineering Design tools to help people discover Self-Care activities that are meaningful to them and he empowers them to apply these practices in their daily routine. Shirin also hosts a gender-neutral circle called Applied Self-Care Community in Charlotte, NC where he brings a calming and playful energy to this mission work to co-create a space where people can embark on their own Self-Care journeys together.

Lyrra Magda is a folk botanist, hide tanner, and teacher based in the Southeast & Mid-Atlantic regions. She studies the plants and animals of these landscapes through the simple immersion of living close to them— cutting wood, carrying water, living in simple structures like tents and cabins, cultivating wild and domestic plants into a blur that erases their distinctions, raising animals, and processing roadkill.

She has taught nature based classes since 2014, and has facilitated plant walks since 2009. She mainly teaches adults, in both public & private classes, both indoors & outdoors. Lyrra’s special focuses include resilient, bio-regionally sensible plant foods, an animistic approach to animal dismemberment that involves using nearly all the parts of the body, bioregional hide tanning, and fiber crafts.

Lyrra is also a spinner, writer, primitive tattooer, occasional goatherd, herbalist, and lover of walking. She is driven by a bottomless love for the plants and creatures of the Southeast, as well as a profound urgency to help human communities to reweave relationships with the land—in order to envision village life, and to act in resistance to systems of exploitation.

I met Lyrra a number of years ago when I attended my first ever plant walk which she led, and I was blown away by the depth of knowledge and connection Lyrra clearly had with plants. In our conversation Lyrra shares how her intimacy with plants, animals, and the land is essential to her survival and well-being. An important part of that intimacy for Lyrra is processing wild animals for food and other products. This involves working with all the parts of the animal including the ones most humans today may find revolting. We also reflect on the shadows and limitations of many spiritual and land based communities we have encountered, and how we can learn from these experiences.


Link to Lyrra’s fall class schedule: https://www.stormsofdaylight.com/fall-fiber-series
Follow Lyrra on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/heymagdamagda/
Learn more about Jake Ifshin and the Four Gardens at https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/
Follow Ari Rubens at https://www.arirubens.com/
Stick around to the end for a health tip from Ari