56. Dr. Rachel McLaren: Embracing Conflict & Connection

In today’s episode of the Tend Her Wild podcast we are thrilled to welcome a dear human and friend into the studio. Dr. Rachel McLaren who is an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. She is also a yoga instructor, a mama of three and an eternal optimist.  Her research focuses on how people talk about and understand emotion and conflict in their relationships.   We enjoyed digging into “how do we work with conflict?”.
Some of the thing we discuss:
-Being homeschooled by her mother through fourth grade and the transition to public school
-The gift of honest communication and management of fear within the family
-Navigating success and insecurity as a woman in the modern world, especially as someone that naturally looks younger
-Rachel’s new class “6 Skills for Building Meaningful Relationships”
-How using avoidance strategically can actually be useful 
-The importance of meaningful apologies, empathy and honest connection
-The cultural factors of living in a masculine system and ways to be a wild woman that thrives in the current system



Links:
National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity
https://www.facultydiversity.org

Books mentioned in today’s episode:
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
-Michael Singer

Today’s episode sponsored by:
Kate Moreland coaching

http://www.katemorelandcoaching.com