Changing The Face Of Yoga Podcast

00:47                                     This is Stephanie Cunningham and Changing the Face of Yoga. And I have a great guest today. This is Kistine Kaoverri Weber. Christine has agreed to be part of the subtle aspects theme to talk about more of the subtle aspects of yoga. And Christine will be talking about Chakras and what chakras are, what system she uses and how you might use it when you're teaching. Welcome Christine and Cristine is  committed to the widespread adoption of yoga as a population health strategy. She has been studying yoga and holistic healing for nearly 30 years advocating, speaking and teaching about yoga since 1995 and training educators since 2003. Her organization Subtle Yoga provides holistic mind and body trainings, education and clinical services with the mission of enhancing community health infrastructure. She is the director of the Subtle Yoga teacher training for behavioral health professionals program at Mahec at Asheville North Carolina, presents workshops and trains intern

    00:46                                     This is the 108th episode of changing the face of yoga and I have a great guest today. Her name is Kelly Di Nardo. Kelly is part of my subtle yoga themed month and she's going to talk about yoga philosophy, which is something I've always had trouble getting into a class. 01:06                                     So let's learn about Kelly. Kelly is a freelance journalist and the author of several books, including Living the Sutras a guide to yoga wisdom beyond the mat. It gives readers a modern, accessible and personal look at ancient yoga philosophy and the wisdom found within, she is also the producer editor and cohost of the living at podcast and owner of past tense Yoga Studio in Washington DC. As a freelance journalist. She specializes in exploration, whether it is internally through yoga and meditation, physically through health and fitness, culturally and socially through profiles or the myriad other ways travel brings all that together. She has written f

                                                Hello, this is changing the face of yoga. I have a great guest today. Her name is Beth Spindler. Beth has over four decades of experience in utilizing yoga as a healing modality plus the highest certification in her field. Her book -Yoga therapy for fear, treating anxiety, depression and rage with the Vegas nerve and other techniques - is recognized in the yoga therapy community as a text for those studying in the field. She is frequently a featured writer and presenter for Yoga International and leads retreats worldwide. And this is the thing I didn't know. Beth also has a long history of using sound as a healing modality and was a professional jazz vocalist for 35 years. Welcome Beth. And I'm very excited that you are a jazz vocalist. That sounds so interesting. 01:40                                     Thank you, Stephanie. I'm glad to be here. Yeah. I'm not performing a lot of late. I do get to jump back in occasionally now. 01:56                         

                                                I have an incredible guest today, Indu Arora. She is an expert in many areas. She is an yoga and Ayurveda therapist and her philosophy is nothing has the greatest power to heal but self. She has written several books and we will talk about Mudras: The Sacred Secret. She has taught and been insprired by Kriya yoga, Himalayan yoga, Kashmiri yoga, Shivaism and Sivananda yoga. Welcome Indu and thank you for joining us on the podcast. Let's start at the basics: What is a Mudra? 01:32                                     Well, please accept my Namaste Stephanie to you as well as my greetings and Namaste to all the listeners. So yeah, what is Mudra? You know, when we talk about a subject, there are three basic ways to understand what it is. One is we can simply understand the meaning of the word. Second, if we go more on linguistics, we can understand what is the root of this word. And the third is actually left for exploration, which means your own experience and rea

(0:50) This is changing the face of yoga and this is episode 105 and I have a really exciting guest today. This is our first yoga student on changing the face of yoga. Her name is Diane Randall and Diane is energized, committed, and passionate about leading wellness conversations around life balance, self-care, plant based nutrition and whole life wellness. Her joy is seeing individuals adapt health and wellness methods that reduce stress and bring harmonious balance to their lives. She excels at equipping business professionals with workable wellness advice and strategies that meet their demanding lifestyle. And she's been a yoga student for 12 years. Welcome Diane. And I'm really glad to have you on the podcast. I think the way you're going to look at it as very different from most of my guests and I'm really excited to talk to you about it. So can you just tell us how you started in Yoga? (02:00 ) I started in yoga many years ago. Probably 15 years ago. I went to a class, I won't say I started, I'll s

00:47                                     This is Changing the Face of Yoga and this is the hundred and fourth episode. I'm very excited to welcome Stephanie Spence to the podcast and she has a really interesting topic. We're going to talk about how to be environmentally aware as a Yogi. 01:03                                     Thanks so much for having me. 01:05                                     Oh, you're welcome. I think this is a great topic. Stephanie has been practicing yoga for almost 40 years, which is pretty incredible in and of its self, she's a yoga educator and author, an inspirational speaker and activist and a creative leader. She's based in Coronado, California, and she's a trail blazer with an inspiring and empowering approach to self inquiry and personal development. Her book, Yoga wisdom: Warrior Tales Inspiring you on an off your Mat is available wherever books are sold. She's committed to helping ignite the desire for others to create a life of health and joy for themselves through a

00:47                                     Welcome Sierra. I asked you on, because I saw that you had a post on Facebook about your online course Yoga for aging gracefully system and I'd like to talk about that because, of all the podcasts out of over a hundred, only two of them have been about yoga for mature adults and they're very, very popular ones. I ask you some questions about your online course and we'll start with why did you decide to do an online course? 03:30                                     Well, I wanted to reach people who weren't going to be coming to in- person class or were not going to yoga studios and weren't in my area. I have also seen that there's not a lot of conversation in the media about yoga for aging gracefully. I went and did my own research looking for online programs and really had a hard time finding anything. since that was a population I'd already spent years and years working with, I felt like I could really contribute, being of service not only as I have been for years

  Introduction 2:26 Ann offers one on one yoga therapy to clients: telehealth yoga therapy. Which is location independent and offered worldwide. 3:30 Science nerd and heart-based nerd. Has a masters of science in yoga therapy: research based course on yoga therapy. Rich in yoga philosophy as well. Yoga research does not have to be cold, clinical but also has a rich tradition of yoga philosophy. Research is now looking at the outcomes of a well-rounded yoga class, including practices like chanting, yamas and niyamas. Science and spiritual are not incompatible. 5:55 Dr. Stephany Moonas conducted a 7 year clinical trial at John Hopkins University on yoga for people with arthritis. Studied the outcomes of a well-rounded yoga practice for those with both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Measured quality of life (psycho/social/physical well-being) as well as more specific measures (e.g., does yoga increase swelling in arthritic joints).  Drs want to know this kind of information. Results: yoga as a practice

  Introduction 2:30 Putting part of yourself on a pedestal and ignoring the less appealing aspects stops you from integrating yourself as yoga requires. Nikki’s Y12SR program helps people re-align and re-integrate parts of themselves. All parts of ourselves is important. 6:15 Y12SR is the melding of yoga and 12 step programs and helps primarily in giving tools for preventing relapses.. If a person has recognised a need to change, they may go into rehab and then go to Y12SR meetings. Others may start one of the 12 step programs and find it not helpful for them and then come to Y12SR programs as an alternative. Y12SR could be the first step if they are in the investigating what they want to change in their life that is causing a problem. 9:19 Populations in Y12SR: community-based place after rehab or other programs. See people who have not stayed with 12 step programs and addiction has ramped up. People with a yoga practice but recognise that some part of their life is hampering their goals in yoga. 11:45 Adjun

  Introduction 3:36 Does yoga serve people well today? Yoga maintains relevance to the mores of the times, while maintaining its traditions. Beauty of yoga is it is relevant at any time, even when it looks quite different. Yoga is combination of Hatha Yoga and Raj yoga. Has to adapt and evolve with times. How does yoga suit our time? What was yoga like at the beginning of the 21st century? We don’t know the answer to that as it will be judged in the future. Am I really understanding that what I am doing is in accord with the tradition of yoga and leads to the outcome of yoga and in a way that is relevant to me now. The majority of written information is talking about doing certain practices that lead to the state of yoga. Patanjali writes  that we can reduce aberrant/fluctuating mind taking us away from our true nature through certain practices – lifestyle, meditation, pranyama. When we say we are practicing yoga, are we practicing something that leads to the state of yoga which could be stillness in action,

  100th episode released next week Introduction: Linda Stern Lang 2:43 Teaching soft skills to medical students, to change their professional identity from medical technician to healer. 3:36 Teaching two populations now: women in their 30’s and people 55-85. Introduce the koshas – become aware of anatomy, pranic energies. Observe the body, feel breathing, heart beating, intellectual thought, mind and emotion and the bliss body (vibrational, luminous, radiant). In the practice, what do you feel not what you think. Inquiry – pause, breathe, and really notice what you are feeling – don’t attach a label to it. Our identities are wrapped up in explaining, describing, doing, thinking. Jack Cornfield, Buddhist teacher, says that sitting in your safe and sacred space allows you to be who are truly are. 8:30 Invite people to sit to notice what their body/mind needs. If your identity says that you are very active, busy, productive it may hard to accept that what your body/mind needs is to relax and restore. Allowing st

Introduction 2:30 Have a new caregivers retreat scheduled in Santa Fe in 2020 3:33 Received the support of Alzheimer’s Organisation to access caregivers, but wanted to offer something very different from the many resources of the Alzheimers’s Organisation. The retreat is similar to going to a yoga class – greeted at the door, checking in how they feel. Many caregivers come year after year.  Most have no experience with yoga, nutrition, or self-care, massage, etc. Many don’t have access to these things either time or financially. 10:00 A free retreat for the caregivers funded by donations and volunteer work. No volunteers are compensated. Might turn this into a non-profit in the future. 80% of the volunteers have some link to dementia/Alzheimers. 11:58 A one day retreat:  Volunteers come in and set up and prep. As caregivers arrive, a volunteer acts as a caregiver for them. Shows them around, helps them with the schedule, and check back in during the day. Start with gentle or chair yoga Welcome Brunch, Array o

Introduction 2:13 What is Himalayan Institute  trained - Longest, unbroken tradition of philosophy. Combines yoga, Ayurveda, tantra in one approach. Nikki is an ayurvedic yoga specialist, currently studying to be an ayurvedic yoga therapist. She designs practise from the context of Ayurveda. For example, time of day, season, students’ unique needs. Her goal is to have students develop and follow their own daily practice. (Many consider Ayurveda and yoga to be sister sciences. Nikki considers yoga to be within the context of Ayurveda.) Ayurveda postulates that all matter has 5 elements i.e., light and dark, dense, airy, etc. So early evening classes are when most people have least endurance and is probably not a good time for a power yoga class.  Evening has natural rhythms that prepare us for sleep. 11:50 Nikki works with survivors of domestic violence. Everyone expresses their trauma differently according to their innate constitution. So have to design classes based on students’ constitutions.  Cultures worl

Introduction 1:41 Practicing yoga for 10 years, started in sports medicine and then moved into feminine health. Balancing the masculine/feminine energies. Energy is along a spectrum; pull the type of energy needed for the context. May be more masculine/feminine depending on what’s needed. 6:24 How do we manifest our gender First is genetics: all of us have at least one X (female chromosome), the genes will makes up more prone to certain tendencies but presence of genes does not mean they are expressing. So there is a spectrum of expression in  gender. The genetics of being female mean there is more connection between the halves of the brain, have a cycle that affects the body and mind, often more intuitive. 11:22 Feminine has both feminine/masculine energies and can be explored through the koshas, chakras. The world gives permission for each gender to approach experiences differently. Recent research – polyvagal theory, neuroplasticity are really modern terms for what gurus have been saying – self-awareness,

Introduction 4:05 Specialises in yoga/yoga therapy for low back pain/sciatica. She has experienced these for a long time. Developed back issues as an adult. Researched for solutions. In Canada in 2003/04 she began to find  yoga intensives for specific conditions. Found Feldenkreis and took trainings because it helped her back pain. Yoga was  too generalised for the senior classes she was teaching. 7:34 Pulled together different modalities to help with back pain. She found PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) to be helpful which stretches and strengthens, tones and relaxes muscles. Applied to her senior’s classes. Found Viniyoga with Robin Rothenburg – yoga for low back pain course. Also interested in what Dr. McGill could add to the problem. Put all of these modalities together to develop a workshop and classes. 12:36 Major causes of low back pain a) the L5-S1 area very vulnerable to wear and tear, b) bulging disk (not herniated discs)  which usually results in mild or moderate pain, c) breakdown o

1:00 Suffers from asthma since a chlld and a dust allergy. Went to yoga, couldn’t do breathing, disliked pranayama; drinking and smoking for to self-medicate. Yoga allowed her to relax, but not stopping drinking.  Had a horrible year of extreme stress; very fragile, realised had serious issues. Decided to become a yoga teacher. 5:20 Started YTT and thought she knew everything but realised shortly that she knew very little. Had to learn pranayama. Gave up dairy, and finally able to breathe and relax. Everything changed, cut down on alcohol and smoking. Could sleep. 7:00 manage emotions better because of breath, instead of reacting to emotional charge, take a couple of deep breaths then responded, developed an overall state of calm. More balanced. 8:16 5-6 months gave up alcohol entirely. Practiced gratitude for better health. Credit sobriety for learning to breathe.  Manages asthma better with breath. Control emotions with breath 11:12 Teaching yoga emphasizes breath. Focus on breath as move through the postur

Introduction 2:31 Understanding the energetic seasons – 3 energetic seasons, vata, kapha, pitta. Vata starts mid-late fall to end of winter. Cold, movement, windy – time to look at creative ideas. When vata is unbalanced, becomes anxious, nervous, wants lots of movement. Yoga practice – slower, focus on long held standing and sitting poses. Kapha – late winter/early spring to early/mid summer. Kapha  moist, heavy, warm. Show up and make progress towards the creative goals birthed during vata. Kapha unbalanced depressed, feeling stuck, not right. Side bending poses, inversions, moderate pace. Early/mid-summer to early/mid-fall, pita is fast paced, fiery, productive, exciting, energetic. Active, getting a lot done. Out of balance= angry, someone else’s  fault. Cooling yoga practice = fun, fast pace, and really long, deep, stretches. 10:57 Cathy has been an educator, now a yoga teacher and an energetic healer. Discovered or acknowledged her ability to work with energy during yoga teacher training. Taught to work

Introduction 2:32 Yoga research occurring for a while, but so many people participating in yoga, it has grown.  Populations are using it for health benefits so researchers are looking at its effects, benefits. Started growing last few decades and will continue expanding in next decades. Patients took yoga for symptom management and told their doctors. Clinical researchers started researching these claims. Research in exercise science, mental health, and occupational therapy contributed to the knowledge. 6:42 Immigration changes brought new ideas to West; people started going to yoga in NYC because of 9/11 and people in Japan started attending more because the tsunami. Japan has the largest growth to date, but China will overtake that rate soon. Why do people gravitate to this method of self-care. 10:15 Youtube has lots of yoga, but people still need connection and study with a teacher. 10 years ago – video markets were lucrative, now its clothing and supplements. 11:54 How is yoga information disseminated and

  Introduction Michael de Manincor and the Yoga Institute 2:55 Why is yoga for mental health becoming more prominent? Yoga makes people feel good, beyond what another type of exercise might produce. People realise yoga has tangible benefits on mood status, stress levels. Word of mouth about benefits. Health professionals go to yoga classes and realise the benefits for themselves. Research is backing up these benefits. 6:00 Increase in medical industry accepting yoga in mental health. Will take some time to be widespread as entrenched, sceptical of change. 7:18 Yoga teacher training not addressing yoga for mental health generally. Short courses are not enough for a basically trained teacher Short courses are good for personal experience. To teach yoga in general must be confident and competent; true for yoga and mental health also. Current 200 hour training is not sufficient for sufficient knowledge on mental health issues in a yoga class. A lot of students in general yoga classes have mental health issues. 11

SN Jivana Introduction 2:02 Awareness of benefits of yoga for everyone has led accessible yoga to become more mainstream. Work to make yoga more accessible has been going on for some time – extending yoga to different populations. 4:50 Yoga media is not reflecting reality. Yoga Journal did not fully commit to putting Jessamyn Stanley (a black, large-bodied yogi) on the cover as they had said they would. But when the most conservative yoga media moves in that direction, there is progress. 6:34 Progress but push back from corporate yoga. Specialized classes are not as profitable. Large yoga chains offer “gym” yoga. There are two different yogas “gym yoga” and everybody yoga. Accessible yoga is getting back to what yoga is. Yoga is 1000’s of years old and started for monastic males but has changed many times. Yoga is the west is more physical but it is changing as the spiritual aspects of yoga become more important. Also, the potential injuries of extreme physical yoga are becoming known as more high profile yog