I compare living under this administration to being rubbed raw by a giant cheese grater. We double down on our tagline - self care in the age of resistance - and try not to get lost in a sea of despair. We talk about moving toward action when besieged on all sides by fascism. And I remind you to follow John Lewis on Twitter.
We go from micro to macro, talk about ego as a helpful parasite, and get into the murky waters of what exactly it is that choose to worship.
Here's some additional reading on Ishvara Pranidhana from Ekhart Yoga and Yoga Journal.
Also, we're going on a break. Here are some links to all the Yamas and Niyamas Episodes to fill your time.
Yamas: Ahimsa and Satya, Asteya, Bramacharya, Aparigraha
Niyamas: Saucha, Santosha, Tapas, Svadhyaya
We dive into self-study, svadhyaya, and the difference between navel-gazing non-judgmental self-observation. We call for compassion study of our country and, for a moment, discuss turn of the century dystopian ex-patriot fiction and why we all have a chubby, little guy inside our brains and hearts who stops in the middle of the road to look at pebbles.
Ask your Senators to use Congress' oversight authority to stop separating families at the U.S. border. The ACLU helps you do just that.
The Mighty Ya Ya Priestesses: There's really a lot to unpack here, but perhaps another time.
And oh, what the heck, here's this too.
Tapas is at the heart of the Niyamas. It's described as self-discipline or a fiery passion that burns off ego and impurities. So how do we keep from self-immolating?
A few notes from the top of the show - if you choose to participate in some self-discipline for the greater good please consider a kind of engaged tapas to keep pressure on our government to do something about gun access and gun violence. And please vote.
Also, Dr. Jeff Migdow on tapas at yogaglo.com.
And the entire Lois Nesbit article that I love so much is here.
We explore the niyama Santosha, contentment, and take lessons from Chogyam Trungpa, Teddy Roosevelt and Beyoncé as we try to avoid striving, hiding and spiritual bypassing.
Once again I get down on social media. I talk about anger-phobia and the search for purity. And in the end I follow a patch of light around the room like a cat.
Here is some further reading on the subject of spiritual bypassing.
And a snippet from Chogyam Trungpa about Basic Goodness.
Part two of a thought provoking conversation with writer, educator and activist Carol Horton, PhD wherein we discuss the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, The Rolling Stones and whether or not context is really enough. Carol expresses her concern for the future of our country and somehow still manages to remain positive.
Once again, you can find the documentary Netlfix.
Visit Carol Horton's website and learn more about the mission and actions of the Yoga Service Council who are working to make yoga and mindfulness truly accessible to all.
Part one of a wide ranging conversation with writer, educator and activist Carol Horton, PhD. We kick off talking about the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country and travel down a winding road of thought provoking inquiry and commentary about perception, context and consciousness.
You can see the documentary on Netlfix.
Please also visit Carol Horton's website and learn more about the mission and actions of the Yoga Service Council who are working to make yoga and mindfulness truly accessible to all.
Who says you can’t go OM again? We talk to House of OM founder and yoga teacher Olivia Montiel about moving cities, changing habits and how Ayurveda works in every day life. She also shares her a trick for spice infused tea and her newfound harmonium skills.
Let’s talk about how to practice purity in an impure world. Because the world is full of negativity and we can’t avoid it because it’s the world. And we live here. Luckily the niyama saucha (purity or cleanliness) gives us some direction. Also, stay tuned for a cleansing breath practice at the end of the episode.
I talk with Kaila Tova, a fellow podcaster, former health coach, and student of life, about marketing and feminism and what happens when people become the product, instead of being people. There’s also a brief but important note that fit bits are evil.
Kaila and I met as she researched her latest project, Your Body, Your Brand, which you can read all about here.
And just in case you're not a link-clicker, here's something from Your Body, Your Brand:
The Your Body, Your Brand podcast brings experts in sales, marketing, branding, feminism, and coaching into conversation with coaches, entrepreneurs, and diet consumers to ask:
Why do women keep dropping out of the workforce to sell diet/fitness/body image coaching?
Why do people keep getting invested in following "solopreneurs" with fitness/diet/body image brands?
Is becoming a brand based on your body ever a good thing?
The kids are alright, but the grown ups are a mess. In this episode we talk about gun violence, police violence and revisit a conversation about intersectionality. It's time to get uncomfortable and take a closer look at our own role in the system.
Today we talk about how unbalanced the world is and extoll the virtues of Dina Carya, the daily Ayurvedic routine. We run through an optimal morning as prescribed by ancient rishis - and how to adapt your routine for real life. We also talk about poop, but only for a second.
We chat about yoga and, in and of relationships. What tools come in to play and how important is it that your partner is on the path? Want to hear the musings of just some regular lady? Here you go.
In physics, the observer effect is the theory that simply observing a situation or phenomenon necessarily changes that phenomenon. Read more...
And also, here's that book, The Dharma of The Princess Bride, by Ethan Nichtern.
I'm incredibly excited to share this interview with Amy Day of Back Pocket Juju. We discuss what yogic Instagram would really look like, how to stop navel-gazing and put your good work out in the world, and how sharing tea with a stranger can change everything.
Please check out Amy's work at Back Pocket Juju. Learn more about her free monthly full moon call, here. And, for those of you in the creative space, she's currently offering a course specially made for you called Marketing For Mystics. She's very smart and I encourage you to check out her stuff.
In this episode we scratch the surface of Ayurveda’s perspective - not only on what to eat - but when and how. Quick clue: mindfully. We’re talking about how, when, and what to eat to be an efficient human machine whose goal is to attain liberation - not to look good in high waisted pants.
If you like this episode and want to hear more from me about Ayurveda, please check out the following shows.
In this episode we talk about how the body responds to anger, its evolutionary advantages, and systemic disadvantages. Follow a simple breathing technique to help your lower the volume on that hot, hot rage machine stoked by the flames of the GOP.
In this episode we talk about springtime, repeating patterns and being stuck on a loop. We also do a quick Ayurveda review and introduce some balancing breath work that claims to make our skulls all shiny.
This episode we discuss why a bumble bee would make a horrible partner on a teeter totter and somehow I manage to call the human skull an auditorium. Moreover, we talk about vata dosha and practice a breath to bring it all in.
When the season goes from ‘too hot to handle’ to ‘too cold to hold’, we shift our food and lifestyle to accommodate the change. Ayurveda teaches us how - so we'll go over some basic guidelines, I'll say some sanskrit you don't have to remember and we'll go along our merry way.
We talk a little bit about outrage and commitment to action. How do we respond when tragedy strikes? Where does our energy go? And how can we use it to fuel change when everything is on fire around us?
If you have not already discovered it, here is the link to Every Town, committed to ending gun violence.
Sign up for Robert Wright's newsletter, Mindful Resistance.
I'm also currently appreciating this article by Michael Ian Black, The Boys Are Not All Right.
Is The Hustle empowering? Or a distraction? We talk about why Hustle Culture might be so popular, dissect the language we use to glorify busyness and discuss an approach to escape the traps that keep us away from the present moment.
In this article I mentioned a few stats about millennials and side hustles, found here.
Happy One Year Anniversary to Us! We’re here to survive and to fight for the betterment of our own lives and the lives of those around us. In this episode we talk about the stress response and how we can breathe our way through to the other side of the shitty news.
We talk about the dangers of magic escapism in the form of “wellness” and then dive back into the Chakra System. Each chakra has its own personality, like Snow White’s 7 dwarves. They are inherently messy, sometimes fight with each other and cause trouble, but, at the end of the day, they love you very much.
Comparing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to the Chakra system is not unique. Here are just a couple of articles that talk about the same.
And another discussing the third eye center in relation to Christian traditions.
Before Urban Outfitters starts selling meditation cushions to match your swadhistana, let's take a moment to explore a little background on what chakras are and where this ancient system comes from.
This is the first of a two-parter, but I don't end this episode with a cliff-hanger. Spoiler alert.
Also, here's a link to Robert Krulwich talking about bees and hexagons. Yes, it's relevant to this episode.