Being Different Together

Nyssa Hanger
  • 5.0 (15)
  • Self-Improvement

Being Different Together explores the realms of relationship, entrepreneurship, and personal development through the lens of Real Dialogue, a set of principles, practices, and methods for healthy conflict as a means for growth.  In other words, just because we disagree, doesn’t mean we can’t get along.  Through this series, Nyssa and Kelly will bring their combined experience as holistic health practitioners to the table to share what they’ve learned through the process of integrating these skills in their lives.  This podcast is for all the people who want to make the world a better place and feel a little less alone doing it.

  1. 5d ago

    #44 - The Pelvis as a Bowl: Emotions, Boundaries, and Letting Go

    The pelvis is more than a place where the legs meet the body: it’s a center of movement, creation, sensation, and letting go. From the pelvic floor and hip tension to the mind-body connection, Kelly and Nyssa explore the pelvis as both a physical structure and a rich metaphor for how we contain—and release—what we carry. They discuss the pelvis through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the lower jiao, alongside ideas about embodiment, emotional “armoring,” stress, creativity, and the body’s capacity to receive.  The conversation also wanders through the sacrum, Kundalini and Qigong practices, the hara and lower dantian, and the challenge of bringing our ideals into material life. What might change when we stop living only in our heads and listen to the wisdom of the body? Main Topics Covered: Why the pelvis is a physical and symbolic meeting pointThe pelvis as a bowl: what we hold, contain, and releaseThe lower jiao in Traditional Chinese MedicinePelvic tension, emotional armoring, and the stress responseThe connection between jaw awareness and pelvic-floor awarenessThe pelvis, desire, intimacy, boundaries, and agencyThe sacrum, Kundalini, and Qigong’s microcosmic orbitThe hara, lower dantian, and bringing attention into the bodyShadow, shame, and parts of ourselves we may disownEmbodiment as a bridge between ideals and material realityStay in Touch: Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady

  2. Oct 15

    #43 - The Trickster, the Unconscious, and Why Stress Makes Us Forget

    What if forgetting something isn’t always a failure—but sometimes a signal that you’ve reached your limit? After a stressful week of home construction, Kelly and Nyssa realize they’ve forgotten to record their podcast—and find themselves laughing instead of feeling ashamed.  Their conversation explores stress, burnout, psychological defense mechanisms, and the unconscious mind’s possible need for rest, drawing on Jungian ideas, fairy tales, and stories of sleep and awakening.  They also reflect on work-life boundaries, the idea of an “inner ally,” and synchronicity, including a timely encounter with the word pronoia—the belief that the world may be conspiring in your favor. Could forgetting sometimes be a pause that helps us come back to what matters? Main Topics Covered: What happens when stress leaves you feeling “flatlined”Forgetting as a possible response to overwhelmThe unconscious mind, repression, and psychological defense mechanismsThe ego’s urge to push through versus the need for restThe trickster archetype and unexpected interruptionsReframing forgetting—and laughing instead of feeling ashamedWork-life boundaries and the “good night, Doctor Brady” ritualPronoia, synchronicity, and noticing signs of supportFairy tales, sleep, and stories of awakeningLinks: Episode #33 - Why The Odyssey Still Hits So Hard: Archetypes, War, and the Search for HomeEpisode #42 - How Physics Explains Traditional Chinese Medicine with Becky Rubright, APStay in Touch: Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady

  3. Oct 8

    #42 - How Physics Explains Traditional Chinese Medicine with Becky Rubright, AP

    Could a law of physics help explain why acupuncture works—and what the body does with the information it receives? Becky Rubright joins Kelly and Nyssa to explore the Constructal Law—the idea that systems evolve to make flow easier—and its surprising connections to acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. They talk about how flow might help us think about the body, fascia, the interstitium, and the way cells process information, including the biogenic principle and cellular cognition.  Along the way, the conversation wanders through synchronicity, creativity, emotional flow, medical knowledge, and the unexpected paths that lead us toward new ideas. Becky also shares how she came to write a paper on acupuncture and the Constructal Law, and why she’s taking that work to a conference in Paris. Main Topics Covered: What the Constructal Law says about flow and how systems evolveWhere physics and traditional Chinese medicine meetBecky’s path from brain surgery to researching acupuncture and flowThe biogenic principle and the idea of cellular cognitionAcupuncture, fascia, and the interstitium as possible pieces of a bigger pictureHow a needle might act as information for the bodySynchronicity, the unconscious, and being receptive to new ideasCreativity, constraints, and the conditions that make room for ideasGreater access to useful medical knowledge—and what can get in its wayAI, information flow, and the need for human thinkingLinks: Find Becky at Living Harmony Healing CenterBOOK: The Physics of Life by Adrian BejanBOOK: Cognition-Based Evolution by Wiliam B Miller, Jr. BOOK: Energy Wellness Blueprint by Kimberly KingsleyStay in Touch: Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady

  4. Oct 1

    #41 - What Your Legs Can Teach You

    What are your legs moving you toward—and what might they be helping you move away from?  Dr. Kelly Brady and Nyssa Hanger explore the surprising connections between legs, relationships, emotional well-being, and agency. Drawing on bioenergetics and traditional Chinese medicine, they talk about leg meridians, flexibility, the effects of locking your knees and sitting for too long, and how movement can shift how we feel.  They also get curious about beauty standards, disability, and the stories we tell about legs—from The Little Mermaid to myths of wounds and transformation. Along the way, they invite listeners to notice how they inhabit their bodies, appreciate what their legs do for them, and consider where they want to go next. Main Topics Covered: What does it mean when an idea “has legs”—and how does leg language shape the way we think?How do legs help us invite someone closer or create distance?What do traditional Chinese medicine’s leg meridians connect to nourishment, fear, and anger?Could flexible knees be a source of strength?How does prolonged sitting affect the way we inhabit our bodies?Why do beauty standards around legs change—and who do they serve?What does The Little Mermaid suggest about movement, agency, and having a voice?How can injury or disability change the way we move through life?What can stories of Jacob, Achilles, and Hephaestus teach us about wounds and transformation?What are you moving toward, and are your legs ready to take you there?Links: Episode #40 - Why We Squeeze Ourselves to Fit In, Starting With Our FeetStay in Touch: Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady

  5. Sep 24

    #40 - Why We Squeeze Ourselves to Fit In, Starting With Our Feet

    Have you ever thought about what your feet say about how you stand in the world? Kelly and Nyssa kick off their head-to-toe body series with the feet, and there's a lot to explore. They talk about common foot pain like plantar fasciitis, achy morning feet, and neuropathy. They get into why narrow toe boxes and tight shoes may be doing more harm than good, and how minimal footwear, toe spreading, and a little curiosity can improve foot health at any age. (Kelly's feet are better at 57 than they were at 47!)  From there, they wander into the mind-body connection: grounding and the Kidney 1 "Bubbling Spring" point in Chinese medicine, how posture and gait mirror our personality, and the history of shoes as symbols of class, beauty, and control, from foot binding to high heels.  Kelly also tells Hans Christian Andersen's haunting fairy tale The Red Shoes, which opens up a Jungian conversation about desire, vanity, and what we're willing to change about our bodies to fit in. The big question: does the shoe fit the foot, or are you changing the foot to fit the shoe? Main Topics Covered: "My dogs are barking": why we treat our feet like they're separate and dirtyThe toe box talk every client eventually gets, plus the paper-tracing trick that proves your shoes are too smallWhat if you'd worn mittens since age two? The case against "foot coffins"Kidney 1, the "Bubbling Spring": where your life force meets the earthFoot binding, high heels, and shoes as symbols of class, beauty, and controlHigh arches and a head in the clouds: how your feet mirror your psychologyIt's never too late: how Kelly healed her feet and walking gait in her 50sThe Red Shoes: Hans Christian Andersen's darkest story, told in fullCinderella's stepsisters and the question of fitting in"Best foot forward," "can't stand them": what foot phrases say about your bodyStay in Touch: Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady

  6. Sep 17

    #39 - Is Trauma Really "Stored" in the Body?

    The armor is on, but the battle's long over.  That old line is the heart of this conversation about body armor — Alexander Lowen's Bioenergetics, Wilhelm Reich's lineage, and how the tightening we learned in infancy quietly shapes the way we move, breathe, and meet the world decades later. Nyssa explains how she encountered this work through Structural Energetic Therapy and Emotional Release Breathwork, why muscles are "the most loyal Labrador," and what's really happening when a bodyworker finds a so-called knot.  Kelly brings 30 years of clinical practice and a healthy skepticism toward the idea that trauma is stored in the body — suggesting remembered might be the truer verb — while both dig into traditional Chinese medicine's view of emotions as energy moving through channels, why stagnation matters, and what happens when a beloved mentor answers "when will this be over?" with a simple, kind "it's not."  Warm, curious, and unhurried, this one sits with the idea that healing isn't linear, that trauma may be the gateway to individuation, and that the goal was never winning. Why holding back a cough makes you want to cough more — and what that reveals about armoring Main Topics Covered: Alexander Lowen, Wilhelm Reich, and the lineage behind the idea of body armorWhat actually happens in emotional release breathwork — and why you don't need to know which memory it wasMuscles as "the most loyal Labrador": how repetition turns a reaction into a permanent posture"A pain in my neck," "get it off my chest," "bite my tongue" — the language clues bodyworkers listen forStored vs. remembered: the one-word swap that changes how you think about traumaWhy The Body Keeps the Score is great marketing — and why van der Kolk is currently under scrutinyThe knot that isn't a knot: what's really under a bodyworker's handsTraditional Chinese medicine, emotions as energy in channels, and the problem of stagnationThe kindest thing a mentor ever said: "When will this be over?" "It's not."Stay in Touch: Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady

  7. Sep 9

    #38 - Why You Can’t Control Getting Sick

    What if your next cold, flu, or full-on crash isn’t a failure of your wellness routine, but an invitation for change? Kelly and Nyssa get real about getting sick as solopreneurs and healthcare providers—from the shame of calling in sick with clients, to the financial hit, to the deep ego bruise of admitting “I’m human.”  They explore how illness can become an unexpected spiritual teacher, weaving together Jungian psychology, Buddhist perspectives on impermanence (including the Five Remembrances), and the alchemy of illness as a catalyst for life change, mental health reset, and reevaluating priorities.  Along the way, they unpack the pressure of toxic wellness culture, the myth that we can completely control our health with perfect routines and metrics, and the strange clarity that comes when sickness forces you to stop, reflect, and ask: If all this fell away, what do I really want? Main Topics Covered: Why calling in sick as a therapist or healer can feel so shameful—and what’s really underneath that.The double cost of solopreneur sick days: no income and clients not getting seen.How illness can act as an unexpected life review: “What am I doing with my life?”Jung’s view of illness as archetype and how the body “says” what the mouth can’t.The alchemy of illness: using stages of distillation as a metaphor for transformation and loss.Buddhism’s Five Remembrances and how remembering illness, aging, and death can clarify priorities.Surviving serious illness (Hodgkin’s disease) and caring for sick loved ones: how that reshapes compassion.The mental health side of getting sick: breakdowns, resets, and questioning old patterns.The problem with toxic wellness culture and the illusion that perfect habits can control your health.Why we need structure and routines—but not rigidity—if we want to live well in a mortal body.Links: BOOK: Alchemy of Illness by Kat DuffStay in Touch: Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady

  8. Sep 3

    #37 - Dolly Parton and the Trickster Archetype: A Jungian Analysis of Her Life and Legacy

    What if the blonde “hillbilly” in full drag, with big hair and bigger humor, was actually one of our culture’s wisest spiritual teachers? In this heartfelt conversation from Cocoa Beach, Kelly and Nyssa remember Dolly Parton’s life and legacy through the lenses of Jungian archetypes, the trickster figure, Buddhist “skillful means,” and real dialog. They explore how Dolly’s campy, hyper-feminine persona functioned like a sacred disguise—smuggling queer-inclusive, compassionate, deeply Christian-in-the-best-way values into country music and mainstream American culture.  Along the way, they share personal stories of dancing to Dolly’s version of “Peace Train,” reflect on what makes Dolly a queer icon and a bridge-builder in polarized times, and unpack why her exaggerated “drag” femininity somehow made her feel more authentic, not less. If you’re curious about Dolly Parton’s death, her impact on grief and healing, or how archetypes like the trickster can help us hold paradox without needing a winner and a loser, this episode offers a tender, thoughtful tribute. Main Topics Covered: How the news of Dolly Parton’s death landed in the middle of puzzles, peace, and vacation at Cocoa BeachThe Sunday “Peace Train” ritual that turned Dolly’s cover into a family anthemWhy Dolly’s campy, over-the-top femininity feels strangely more authentic, not lessThe trickster archetype (Jungian-style) and how Dolly quietly smuggled healing into American cultureDolly as a bridge: from Appalachia to queer icon, evangelical roots to progressive heroThe Imagination Library and transforming a family wound about illiteracy into massive philanthropyHow humor and “crazy wisdom” help us hold paradox instead of picking sidesThe tension between feminism and “I’m not a feminist”—and why Dolly might be more of a humanistWhat it means to have a fiercely guarded private life in an oversharing ageA late-night game of spades, the need to win, and what it reveals about trickster energy in everyday lifeLinks: Episode #20 - Intentionality, Part 5: It’s Useful to View the Past in a Friendly WayPodcast Series: Dolly Parton’s AmericaWMNF - Tampa’s Community Radio Station: www.wmnf.orgSONG: Peace Train by Dolly Parton BOOK: The Essential Crazy Wisdom by Wes NiskerStay in Touch: Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady

See All (45)

Trailer

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Being Different Together explores the realms of relationship, entrepreneurship, and personal development through the lens of Real Dialogue, a set of principles, practices, and methods for healthy conflict as a means for growth.  In other words, just because we disagree, doesn’t mean we can’t get along.  Through this series, Nyssa and Kelly will bring their combined experience as holistic health practitioners to the table to share what they’ve learned through the process of integrating these skills in their lives.  This podcast is for all the people who want to make the world a better place and feel a little less alone doing it.

Information

  • Creator
    Nyssa Hanger
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Being Different Together
  • Show Website
    Being Different Together

You Might Also Like