In this heartfelt episode of Playful Subversions, psychotherapist and yoga teacher Taylor Young joins the conversation to explore how caring for her two rescue dogs, Jasmine and Stanley, became a mirror for her own healing and a practice of defiant joy. From serenading her elderly chihuahua mix with improvised “poop songs” to literally tumbling down hills while chasing squirrels, Taylor describes how play, patience, and embodied presence transformed her relationship with her anxious, reactive dog—and with herself.
Together, we unpack how dog training parallels psychotherapy, what it means to create “trauma-informed joy,” and how care that refuses to demand productivity can be quietly anti-fascist. Along the way, Taylor and I talk about awe, flow states, and the radical power of tending to life’s small, joyful particulars even amid global despair.
Featured nonprofit: Small Dog Rescue of New England — helping little dogs find safety and home.
