Summary
Overview
This Feedback Friday episode features an extended discussion about religious and biblical counseling, sparked by previous listener responses. Gabe broadcasts from Rio while sharing yoga mishap stories, then the hosts tackle three detailed letters examining different perspectives on faith-based counseling versus traditional therapy. The episode concludes with a deeply concerning letter from a woman in a relationship with an unstable, verbally abusive partner with bipolar disorder and a troubled past.
Opening Banter and Gabe's Rio Adventures
Gabe checks in from Rio de Janeiro, where he's been working on his Portuguese and practicing yoga. He shares a disturbing incident from a recent yoga class where another student broke their leg mid-session, leading to an awkward situation where class eventually continued. The conversation touches on safety concerns in Rio, language learning challenges, and the unusual perks of yoga studios in other countries, including post-class refreshments that would never happen in the United States.
- Gabe is still in Rio and heading to Florianopolis next, where he's found a yoga teacher and an Airbnb with a cat
- A man broke his leg (tibia or femur) during a heated yoga class in Rio - it made a loud snapping sound
- Gabe has learned more Portuguese in 10 days in Rio than a month in Portugal due to clearer accent and more non-English speakers
- European and Brazilian yoga studios serve tea after class and sometimes breakfast, unlike American studios that charge for water
" I don't at all. I can't tell if I'm being naive or the danger is overstated or the danger is real, but people just don't mess with me. I really have no idea. Maybe they see the yoga mat sticking out of my backpack and they're like, eh, better leave that one alone. "
" I was sitting there and I think we were like in a twisting lunge or something. And I was like, do we sit down? Do you stay in the pose and wait? Is that weird? "
Religious Counseling Letter #1: Breaking Free from the Fold
A woman shares her experience seeking counseling from a pastor and his wife after questioning her marriage and faith in her late 20s following a change in birth control. The pastoral counseling proved unhelpful, offering trite responses like praying and eating chocolate rather than addressing her deep concerns. She ultimately divorced, was excommunicated from her church, and lost most of her friends, but eventually rebuilt her life with a new husband and children while repairing her relationship with her parents.
- Woman had a crisis of faith and questioned her marriage after going off hormonal birth control in her late 20s
- Pastoral counseling responses included suggesting she 'pray and maybe have some chocolate' for her marriage doubts
- The pastor and his wife claimed they had 'absolutely never' had any misgivings about their own marriage
- She was formally excommunicated by her church after dissolving her marriage
- Seven years later, her relationship with her parents is stronger than ever, and she has two kids with her new husband
" The response was that I should pray and maybe have some chocolate, because it's probably just my hormones taking over my emotions. "
" It was liberating to finally express doubt in the face of extreme communal pressure, and then to step out onto my own path. "
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