What if the most powerful changes in leadership begin not with a new strategy, but with a better conversation?
The Healthy Rhythms Podcast is for leaders, coaches and changemakers navigating complexity without losing their humanity. Hosted by Dr Mark Dunwoody, global leadership coach and author of The Imaginal Coach, each episode blends personal stories, practical insights and deep empathy to explore resilience, adaptive change and human flourishing.
Connect with Mark:
https://healthyrhythms.org/
Instagram: @markdunwoody
Between Land and Sea: The Sacred Rhythms of Lindisfarne
Between Land and Sea: The Sacred Rhythms of Lindisfarne
What can a tidal island and a group of ancient Celtic monks teach us about leading through uncertainty today?
In this episode, based on Chapter Seven of The Imaginal Coach, I travel to Lindisfarne, a place shaped by the daily rhythm of land and sea, retreat and return, stillness and movement.
I explore how Celtic Christian communities responded when their world seemed to have lost its instructions. Rather than waiting for certainty to return, they created faithful rhythms of prayer, learning, hospitality, work and rest.
We also consider Aidan’s gentle approach to leadership, the importance of meeting people where they are, and why good coaching does not remove uncertainty but helps people navigate it faithfully.
Questions to reflect on:
• Where is your thin place—the space where heaven feels close, and your soul can breathe again?
• How might you build a healthier rhythm of retreat and return into your week?
• What would it mean for you to lead or coach from stillness rather than striving?
Lindisfarne reminds us that renewal often begins with rhythm: inward to renew and outward to serve.
This episode is based on Chapter Seven of The Imaginal Coach: How Leaders Unlock Human Potential One Conversation at a Time.
Read The Imaginal Coach: https://a.co/d/03Rx02nZ (https://a.co/d/03Rx02nZ)
21 Sept 2026
Soul Work: The Hidden Engine of Coaching and Leadership
What if the most important work you do for your leadership is not another strategy, meeting or task, but the work of tending your own soul?
In this episode, based on Chapter Six of The Imaginal Coach, I explore why formation must come before mission. When leaders neglect their inner lives, busyness can replace purpose, exhaustion can dull creativity, and people can remain in their roles while quietly checking out.
I share how creating three hours of intentional space each day during the 2020 lockdowns transformed my physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. We also explore the rhythm of rest and renewal, what fasting taught me about attentiveness, and why taking time to “sharpen the axe” is not time away from leadership—it is part of the work.
Questions to reflect on:
• What is your tiredness trying to tell you?
• Where has constant activity begun to replace genuine aliveness?
• What one rhythm could you protect this week to strengthen the inner life from which you lead?
Perhaps the most courageous thing you do this week will not be adding something new. It may be stopping long enough to hear what your life has been trying to say.
This episode is based on Chapter Six of The Imaginal Coach: How Leaders Unlock Human Potential One Conversation at a Time.
Read The Imaginal Coach: https://a.co/d/03Rx02nZ (https://a.co/d/03Rx02nZ)
17 Sept 2026
The Three Disciplines of Healthy Rhythms Coaching
What helps a coaching conversation remain spiritually attentive, thoughtfully grounded and genuinely relevant to the person in front of us?
In this episode, based on Chapter Five of The Imaginal Coach, I explore the three disciplines at the heart of Healthy Rhythms Coaching:
Spiritual direction: presence that discerns
Practical theology: meaning that guides action
Contextualization: wisdom in place
These are not three techniques to work through in sequence. They are three ways of paying attention. Together, they help us listen for what is happening beneath the surface, recognise the beliefs shaping a person’s choices and honour the cultural and personal context in which change must take place.
I also share a simple practice you can carry into one conversation this week. As you listen, ask yourself:
What seems to be stirring beneath the surface?
What belief, value or story is shaping this situation?
What needs to be understood about this person’s context before any response will be wise?
Healthy coaching is not about having the quickest answer or being the wisest person in the room. It is about listening deeply enough for wisdom to emerge within the conversation.
This episode is based on Chapter Five of my book, The Imaginal Coach (https://a.co/d/03Rx02nZ).
Until next time, grace and peace.
Connect with me: Instagram @markdunwoody (https://www.instagram.com/markdunwoody/)
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