Sounds True: Insights at the Edge - Podcast Rankings and reviews

First let me say that what Tami Simon has created with Sounds True is extraordinary. Every product is held to a high standard, and I appreciate that. As an interviewer, she drives me nuts, but I listen to the podcast religiously because of the guests. I always know that I will find leading spiritual voices and life-changing wisdom.

Am listening to Andrea Gibson interview second time- wow. Just knew what came their way wasn't against them. It was not their enemy. That deciding- that surrender- that transcendent realization- said so stunningly beautifully! I really appreciated their insight and the language- reflected my own experience in a way I hadn't articulated before.

Grateful
Naomi

While I don’t love all episodes, some more than others, many are excellent. I enjoy Tami’s commitment to quality guests and perspectives, her grounded , wise presence and calming voice.
Gabor Mate’s episode sure rattled me at the start. Ouch.
However, it is a rich episode and he reflects on his own challenges, defensiveness and growth at last. Good thing we are all still growing and healing, hopefully.

In his book “Bliss Brain”, Mr Dawson claims that when you “relax your tongue on the floor of the mouth, [it] sends a signal to your vagus nerve which wanders all over your body, connecting all the major organ systems. It’s the key signaling component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which governs relaxation” (Church, page 31).

He is right about vagus nerve but wrong about the position of the tongue. He has misread his source.

On page 307, he listed a study by Schmidht, J.E. et al on the “Effects tongue position on mandibular muscle activity and heart rate function” (Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology, 108(6), 881-888).

What does this study say?

“Results indicated significantly more activity in the temporalis and suprahyoid muscle regions as well as a significant reduction in heart rate variability when THE TONGUE was positioned on the PALATE compared with TONGUE position on the FLOOR of the mouth.” Not on the floor of the mouth!

The authors of this study conclude that “[i]nstructions to place the tongue on the roof of the mouth are not instructions that will promote reduced physiological functioning (i.e., relaxation) but rather promote small, but potentially important increases in overall activity as indexed by muscle tone and cardiac function.”