Practice You with Elena Brower (Elena Brower)

On unraveling blocks in the body, the healing that wants to come through you, and the merits of staying curious.

Andi Keh is an artist and natural fabric dyer in Brooklyn, NY. She is the illustrator of The Moon Deck.

Born and raised in Southern Indiana, her love for creating began as early as she can remember. Painting murals on her bedroom walls and drawing after school was her favorite pastime. At 20, she traveled and worked in fashion abroad in Italy and France, then followed her heart to NYC, where she received a degree in Textile/Surface Design in 2005.

She married her love, William Keh, and became a full time mama of Ruby and West. She worked from home while also pursuing spiritual practices and yoga studies. She was certified as a Vinyasa yoga teacher through Yogamaya NYC, and taught family and private yoga classes.

Divine timing led her to co-create The Moon Deck in 2014 — a world renowned oracle set of 44 illustrated cards + guidebook. Graphite drawing, watercolor painting and natural fabric dyeing with flowers and plant extracts are her mediums and techniques of choice.

With the ebbs and flows of life and recently healing beyond breast cancer, her greatest intention is to use art as a means to share love, awakening and healing.

Length: 44:16

• Andi's healing from Breast Cancer [2:15]
• The stress we have held since childhood. The wisdom of seeking help [6:33]
• The healers that Andi worked with [9:14]
• Andi's family [16:15]
• Words for those who are healing [19:03]
• Illustrating The Moondeck [20:24]
• Working with silks [26:38]
• What needs healing [32:09]
• Favourite view [33:07]
• Prayer [34:35]
• Reading from Pixie Lighthorse [35:22]
• Reading from Tanya Markul [37:24]

RESOURCES

https://www.andikeh.com/shop
https://themoondeck.com/
https://instagram.com/the_moondeck
Glo.com
Ben Brown
Louise Amar
https://cloudcateringny.com/
Benard Creative
Ramit's Money Rules
Pixie Lighthorse, Prayers of Honoring
Tanya Markul, The She Book

On the women who've designated themselves as voices for the Earth and prioritizing joy amidst the truths of our times. 

• (0:00) - Introduction to Mallory McDuff and the Podcast
• (1:52) - Hannah Herman's Connection to Mallory McDuff
• (4:49) - The Power of Climate Storytelling
• (6:20) - Colette Pichon Battle's Story
• (12:03) - Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson's Focus on Ocean Justice
• (24:50) - Mari Copeny's Activism in Flint, Michigan
• (36:11) - Kendra Pinto's Fight Against Fracking in New Mexico
• (44:55) - Conclusion and Call to Action

On bringing joy to justice; learning how to bear witness to our oppressive patterns and tendencies; fierce compassion as a quality of mind, heart, body and spirit.

• (2:41) - Engagement with Music and Nature
• (4:23) - Application of Enlightened Mind
• (9:06) - Oppression and Human Revolution
• (17:41) - Emergent Strategies and Joyful Just Action
• (28:38) - Fierce Compassion and Self-Care
• (37:54) - Language and Terminology
• (46:32) - Conclusion and Resources

Dr. Kamilah Majied is a mental health therapist, clinical educator, researcher, and consultant on advancing equity and inclusion using meditative practices. Drawing from her decades of contemplative practice and leadership, Dr. Majied engages people in experiencing wonder, humor, and insight through transforming oppressive patterns and deepening relationships toward ever-improving individual, familial, organizational, and communal wellness.

Author of Joyfully Just: Black Wisdom and Buddhist Insights for Liberated Living

On the life-changing conversations of race, the majestic presence of lineage, and the vital, daily work of loving yourself.

• The birth of The Jacy Method [2:15]
• On feeling alone in a community [7:01]
• The importance of expressing joy and showing up as yourself [9:39]
• Jacy’s morning marriage practice [16:42]
• On living multiple lives as a Black person [24:52]
• The opportunity to have conversations about racism [32:57]
• Eye gazing [39:01]
• Whiteness in the wellness space [41:50]
• Knowing what came before. Restoring your relationship with your ancestors [46:33]

Jacy Cunningham, Creator of The Jacy Method, is a dynamic Movement Therapist, Group Fitness Instructor, and Motivational Speaker. As a former Collegiate football player and performance athlete, Jacy has trained with some of best performance coaches in the world. When his own football journey ended in 2012, Jacy moved to Eden, Utah and became the In-House fitness instructor for the famed entrepreneurial conference & start-up Summit Series. After serving their community for 4 years, Jacy left Summit to travel and create a new movement focused on harnessing self-love through dynamic and therapeutic movements. From the fall of 2016 to the summer of 2018 Jacy traveled with numerous touring musicians (Mike Posner, GRiZ, DJ Jazzy Jeff), launched his personal brand and class The Jacy Method and signed to Wanderlust Festival as a featured Instructor. Now as a Nomad, Jacy continues to travel, teach, and host at a variety of music and wellness festivals across the world.

RESOURCES

http://www.thejacymethod.com
Metu Neter, Ra Un Nefer
The End of White World Supremacy, Malcolm X
Black Skin, White Masks, Frantz Fanon

On studentship, using your art to heal, and becoming heavy enough to hold it all.

Kiese Laymon is the author of three books, most recently the NY Times bestselling memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir. He is a Professor of English born and raised in Jackson Mississippi.

• The places we stay [3:26]
• What inspired Kiese to write Heavy to his mother [5:05]
• The consequences of masking pain [7:18]
• How learning requires failure [11:31]
• Parenting and secrets [14:25]
• The importance of tender touch [18:25]
• What does it mean to repair damage done? [21:43]
• The overlapping problems with police [25:19]
• Gambling addiction and recovery [29:50]
• Kiese's Grandmother. Embodying love. Heavy enough [36:03]

Resources

Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Kiese Laymon on Dani Shapiro's podcast Family Secrets

On Nature as healing modality and connecting force. On the magical mycelium all around us, and the greatest natural solution for climate change.

An award-winning cinematographer, director and producer whose notable career spans more than four decades providing breathtaking imagery using his time-lapse, high-speed and macro cinematography techniques. Schwartzberg is a visual artist who breaks barriers, connects with audiences, and tells stories that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people, and places.

Louie’s theatrical releases include the 3D IMAX film Mysteries of the Unseen World with National Geographic, narrated by Forest Whitaker; the documentary, Wings of Life for Disneynature, narrated by Meryl Streep, and America’s Heart and Soul for Walt Disney Studios.

His latest feature film, Fantastic Fungi, which explores the world of mushrooms and mycelium and illustrates how this fascinating organism can provide sustainable solutions to some of the world’s greatest problems, from curing diseases, to saving the bees, and cleaning the atmosphere will be released in theaters fall, 2019.

Louie has also directed the Soarin’ Around the World; a motion simulator ride film, one of the most popular attractions at Disney Theme Parks worldwide.

His Netflix series, Moving Art, was renewed for a third season and will be premiering in September, 2019. Designed to inspire, educate and evolve our perspective on the world, each episode immerses viewers in the natural world, taking them on a journey through time and scale.

Louie’s TED talks have gone viral with over 54 million combined views. His Gratitude Revealed series of shorts were launched on Oprah.com. Supported by the Templeton Foundation, with science and analytics by the Greater Good Center at UC Berkeley, the series explores the multifaceted virtues of gratitude.

Louie is the only filmmaker to be inducted into the Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Lemelson Foundation’s Invention Ambassadors Program.

For Schwartzberg, the greatest satisfaction is creating works that can have a positive effect on the future of the planet. “I hope my films inspire and open people’s hearts. Beauty is nature’s tool for survival – we protect what we love. That is the shift in consciousness we need to sustain and celebrate life.”

Louie is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, Directors Guild of America and on the board of Earth Day Network.

• Time-lapse photography of decomposition [2:58]
• The role of mushrooms. Recycling [3:58]
• Mycelium network [7:38]
• Greatest natural solution for Climate Change [10:25]
• How everything is connected [14:19]
• Magic Mushrooms [16:58]
• Mushrooms as immune boosters for bees [25:55]
• Penicillin [29:19]
• The beauty of nature as a healing modality. Mahameru flower [31:01]
• What needs healing [37:34]
• Favorite view [39:40]
• Prayer [40:40]

Resources

Fantastic Fungi
https://movingart.com
Wings of Life
Paul Stamets' Ted Talk oil 6 Ways Mushrooms can save the world.
The Master Game by Robert S. De Ropp

On hospicing modernity, an invitation to hold many paradoxical layers of complexity, to stretch your heart, to know vulnerability as your strength.

• (1:00) - Colonialism, identity, and family history.
• (7:10) - Modernity, its definition, and its impact on society, culture, and the environment.
• (16:53) - Modernity, colonialism, and their impact on humanity's mental health and well-being.
• (26:20) - Education, storytelling, and connection to nature.
• (32:50) - Indigenous perspectives on psychology, including the concept of the "bus" representing the multiplicity within the self.
• (39:08) - Modern society's disconnection from nature and self, with a focus on indigenous knowledge and practices for healing and growth.
  
  

Dr. Vanessa Machado de Oliveira Andreotti has served as a Latinx professor at the University of British Columbia, now Dean of the Faculty of Education of the University of Victoria. 

Dr. Andreotti is a former Canada Research Chair in Race, Inequalities and Global Change and a former David Lam Chair in Multicultural Education. She is the author of Hospicing Modernity: Facing humanity’s wrongs and the implications for social activism (2021) and one of the co-founders of the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures (GTDF) Arts/Research Collective. Most of her published articles and OpEds are available at academia.edu.

She began her career as a teacher in Brazil in 1994 and has since led educational and research programs in countries including the UK, Finland, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Brazil, and Canada.

Andreotti works across sectors in international and comparative education, particularly focusing on global justice and citizenship, Indigenous and community engagement, sustainability, and social and ecological responsibility. Her research examines relationships between historical, systemic, and on-going forms of violence, and the inherent unsustainability of modernity. Andreotti is one of the founding members of Gesturing Decolonial Futures Collective (decolonialfutures.net) and Teia das 5 Curas, an international network of Indigenous communities mostly in Canada and Latin America. She currently collaborates with these groups to direct research projects and learning initiatives related to global healing and wellbeing in times of unprecedented challenges.

On the true history of "woke" culture, dismantling toxicity and meditation as a recipe for freedom.

Justin Michael Williams is an author, speaker, and top 20 recording artist who is using music and meditation to wake up the world. By working at the intersection of music, mindfulness, and social justice, Justin has become a pioneering voice for diversity and inclusion in wellness. He has been featured by Billboard.com and Yoga Journal, shared the stage with Deepak Chopra, and presented at events such as Wanderlust and SXSW®. His new book, Stay Woke, gives people of all genders, identities, colors, religions, ages, and economic backgrounds the tools to stop wasting time, overcome self-doubt, and wake up to the lives we were really born to live. For more information, visit justinmichaelwilliams.com.

• Choosing your focus vs. operating from default mode [2:25]
• The meaning of the word “Woke” [8:58]
• Creating a vision from the center of your heart [12:19]
• Justin’s journey out of self-sabotage [16:11]
• Why Justin wanted to create a workshop feel in his book [24:11]
• Allowing space for the trauma and the joy [26:42]
• The practice of creating your own mantra [31:04]
• Creating habits with compassion [34:04]
• Social activism [39:40]
• What needs healing [44:41]
• Justin’s favourite view [48:01]
• Prayer [49:09]
• Stay Woke, Give Back [50:44]

Resources

Stay Woke by Justin Michael Williams
Justin Michael Williams
Stay Woke, Give Back
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

On social media as a teaching space; vulnerability as a bridge, and the possibility that virtual connections can bring about deepening relationships in real life.

• 0:42 Introducing Michell Clark; Empowering entrepreneurs and leaders; The Creative Summer Company – @thecreative.summer
• 3:05 Speaking from the heart, wrestling with complex feelings and giving grace to ourselves leading to connecting more deeply.
• 6:00 Writing at the intersection of all of our passions and experiences. Finding the commonalities between all different types of people.
• 8:40 Hip Hop – Tapping into emotions. Curiosity and eagerness to find commonality despite social standing.
• 10:40 Uncovering and understanding the stories in hip hop lyrics. Jeff Burroughs https://elenabrower.com/episode-63-jeff-burroughs/
• 12:45 The Creative Summer Company – Building a strong foundation, understanding values, learning while being playful. Webby Nomination
• 16:09 Social Media Specialist for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Smithsonian) https://nmaahc.si.edu/
• 19:20 Taking a step back; Inspiring black artists – Kendrick Lamar – Stepping back from the pursuit of perfection.
• 22:00 Alex Elle – How We Heal – https://www.alexelle.com/ – The process of going back and seeing different versions of yourself as a means to understanding yourself in the present.
• 23:40 Understanding our own emotions. As parents, things we do not heal, we pass on to our kids.
• 25:58 Intentionally slowing down, deepening an awareness of self. Seeing new breakthroughs, opportunities, and new aligned relationships.
• 27:40 Give yourself half a day to do nothing. Shifting the narrative away from stay busy toward listening, learning and reveling in the self.
• 30:05 Expanding reach; having confidence in speaking, hopeful writing and choosing optimism. Offering depth in social media.
• 33:00 Tik Tok – An opportunity to be what you make it. The most aggressive ‘choose your own adventure’ social media platform of all time. Establishing guardrails for our social media/app usage.

Writer, mentor, creative leader, Michell empowers entrepreneurs and leaders to release self-limiting beliefs and actualize their full potential. Clark has built a community of over 600,000 human beings across Instagram and Twitter. He is deeply invested in leveraging his platforms, access, and skillset to build community.

In summer 2020, he and his wife, Duanecia Clark, founded their agency, The Creative Summer Co., which leverages strategy, content, design, and research to empower mission-consistent, Black-owned and Black-facing brands and businesses.

He resides in Brooklyn, New York with his wife, Duanecia, and their daughter, Ada.

Michell's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellcclark/?hl=en

The Creative Summer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecreative.summer/?hl=en

In this short episode, Jonah and I touch upon:

- his experience of what we did well in our separation (we minimized fighting, always apologized, and shared stories of the trajectory in a loving way)

- advice to parents for how to handle separation and divorce (no fighting, always apologize, and be kind)

- not requiring eye contact with your kid - allowing the kid to open up more freely

- our shared appreciation of Sex Education on Netflix

- on sources of stress in his life

- a friendly meditation challenge

- Better Apart

On growing up at fifty, practice as a modern-day chaplain and cultivating a domestic monastery.

• (1:48) - Parenting Practices and Transitions
• (3:51) - Addiction Recovery and Personal Experience
• (5:33) - Talking to Children About Addiction
• (10:02) - Living in a Domestic Monastery
• (15:24) - Marriage and Personal Growth
• (23:50) - Chaplaincy and Palliative Care
• (26:13) - End-of-Life Celebrations and Legacy
• (29:07) - Connecting with the Community and Future Plans

Melissa Berry Appleton is a Buddhist Chaplain, lay ordained in the Soto Zen Prajna Mountain Order, by Roshi Joan Halifax of Upaya Zen Center.

Currently serving as a Chaplain with the University of British Columbia Okanagan, British Columbia Interior Health Physicians and the clinical counselling and social work graduate intern practicum program, Melissa has worked as a front-line worker in geriatric cognitive impairments, palliative care, and residential treatment centers for addiction.

Almost complete with her Masters of Clinical Counselling in Psychology she's practiced and taught yoga, somatics and meditation for more than 20 years.

Melissa is mama to three incredible humans now launching as young adults; her deep commitment to practice in the Domestic Monastery is her greatest source.

On scarcity in schools, committing to our edification, wealth as activism, and standing back to back as we heal.

Jesse Johnson is a master sales and success coach, specializing in helping spiritual entrepreneurs build 7-figure businesses. An artist, activist, and educator, Jesse's career began with 12 years teaching math in NYC public schools. Frustrated by the limits of both bureaucracy and poverty, she founded her own personal development company and blew her own mind taking it to 7 figures in just 2 years. Jesse now teaches coaches, spiritual leaders, and healers to experience sales as a spiritual practice and match their income with their personal mastery - no compromise, no self-sacrifice, no mediocrity.

• Jesse’s experience of teaching in NYC public schools [0:45]
• How Jesse came to start her own business [10:19]
• Wealth as activism [14:03]
• Lifting others up from a place of alignment [19:07]
• What needs healing [21:48]
• Favourite view [23:32]
• Prayer [26:03]
• Money and liberation [28:02]
• Integrating physical identity with spiritual truth. Conversations about race [29:55]

RESOURCES

http://jessejohnsoncoaching.com/
Jesse's YouTube channel
Mastering Sales eBook
Kate LaBrosse
This is Me, Bipolar-Free, Kate LaBrosse
Erika Matos
SriKala

 On shifting the way we perceive our capacities as humans and as parents, focusing on relational connection and possibility.

• (4:14) – Mindset shift for work-parent conflict.
• (13:28) – Work-parenting challenges and unhelpful labels.
• (18:50) – Embracing challenges and finding opportunities in life.
• (26:50) – Managing stress and finding resilience through self-compassion.
• (33:18) – Nonviolent communication and parenting.

In Work, Parent, Thrive, Yael shares practical strategies from clinical psychology and social science to better manage the conflict and enhance enrichment in work, parenting, and the balance of these meaningful roles. While these strategies won’t create more hours in the day, they can shift how we label our experiences, revise the stories we tell ourselves about working and parenting, and recognize the value we get from each role on its own, and in combination with one another.

Yael Schonbrun, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, assistant professor at Brown University, co-host of Psychologists Off the Clock: A podcast about the science and practice of living well, and mother of three. Yael’s academic research explores the interaction between relationship problems and mental health conditions. She has authored chapters in several books and has written dozens of scientific articles. In her private practice, writing, and podcasting, Yael uses evidence-based science to help individuals and couples learn to manage work, parenting, and marriage in more effective and fulfilling ways. She draws upon treatments that integrate ancient Eastern philosophy with scientifically backed practices. Yael’s writing on work, parenting, and relationships has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Greater Good Science Center, Behavioral Scientist, Kveller, Lilith Magazine, The Wise Brain Bulletin, Psychology Today, and Motherly. Her new book is Work, Parent, Thrive: 12 Science-Backed Strategies to Ditch Guilt, Manage Overwhelm, and Grow Connection (When Everything Feels Like too Much).

Yael lives outside of Boston with her husband and their three small comedians.

https://yaelschonbrun.com/

On the life-giving, natural practice of listening well, the core of poetry and the inextricable ties between Buddhism and true shamanism.

On The Shamanic Bones of Zen and the practice of zazen as a portal for wisdom. A conversation addressing the importance of ritual and ceremony in connection with our self and ancestors.

• 6:15 – The Naked Nothing – Joy in just sitting. Being awake to life.
• 8:10 – Discovering poetry. Being a conduit, writing the essence of something, and finding a voice in writing poetry.
• 12:05 – Letting go and finding new words. “Explaining magic strips the ocean of its waves.”
• 14:45 – Who will show up in an inner monastery for poetic solitude? Rituals and Ceremonies are to be lived.
• 17:00 – Recognizing the parallels and merging of the shamanism and zen. The power of ritual and ceremony.
• 19:25 – The daily devotion to things unseen. ‘Zazen is good for nothing.’ Not looking to gain anything, but seeing deep into life.
• 24:45 – Becoming completely intimate with yourself. Through this intimacy, the possibility of intimacy with another arises.
• 27:00 – Chanting spells – In transporting the breath the inhalation must be full…
• 29:20 – The practice and purpose of zazen. Zazen is a portal for wisdom. Chanting gives you the rhythm that goes along with the stillness and silence. The indigenous bone is the voice of the drum.
• 32:15 – Celebration and initiation rituals; speaking to the ancestors is part of many earth based traditions. The ancestors are inside of us, we are them.
• 36:20 – Taking the vows; standing at the gateway of freedom; making the vow to live a particular way; receiving a new dharma name.
• 40:40 – The Gate of Sweet Dew; To engage the body and mind in ritual and ceremony will reveal the soul and spirit of your own life.
• 51:10 – You cannot achieve Buddhist teachings. There’s nothing to show that you have become accomplished, but there is a way of seeing how life is experienced through each other.

Inward

On meditation and the merits we carry as a result of our practice, engaging inward connections,  and cultivating heart community, with Diego Perez, the writer known as Yung Pueblo.

Diego perez is the writer behind the pen name yung pueblo. The name yung pueblo means "young people." It serves to remind him of his ecuadorian roots, his experiences in activism, and that the collective of humanity is in the midst of important growth. His favorite word, liberation, took on a deeper meaning once he started meditating vipassana, as taught by s.n. goenka. Through writing and speaking, he aims to support the healing of the individual, realizing that when we release our personal burdens, we contribute to a global peace.

Length: 49:17
Timecodes:

2:00
How Diego sees his work as being a part of helping the collective to grow up.

2:51
Influence of meditation and Vipassana retreats on Diego’s writing.

6:30
Diego's morning routine.

7:20
Letting go. It’s about unhinging and making peace with the past.

8:47
Remaining connected to Source. Focusing on impermanence, rather than the soul.

10:30
Hafiz's poetry . I have learned so much.

11:30
On expressing impermanence.

13:20
How to get loved ones to begin their journey inwards. All you can do is be a role model.

15:05
The finest results of a good practice: showing more kindness, more respect and less judgment.

16:35
On just wanting to be a gentle person.

17:20
Reading from Inward: Self-love. Social Media as a medium for humanity to talk to itself.

19:35
Luke Storey and 5G. On humans creating the atomic bomb. Instagram timers. Airplane mode.

24:00
The privilege of serving someone who is working on their liberation.

26:05
Time away from phone.

26:33
Diego's favorite view from within.

28:32
Diego and his wife on hanging out with their eyes closed.

29:13
What it's like to go on a Vipassana meditation retreat.

33:38
What prayer means to Diego. Metta.

34:40
The merits of the practice. On wanting to give up, right before the next layer dissolves.

37:20
Reading of Repeat Daily from Inward.

38:05
Making movies in your head vs: letting the tensions go.

39:25
Parenting and the bravery of letting children have their own experience.

42:58
Reading from Inward. "Happiness and gratitude are attractive forces."

45: 03
Working towards a goal vs. the tension of cravings.

47:10
Finding a practice that helps you reach your subconscious so you can release deeply rooted patterns.

Resources

The Gift by Hafiz

Luke Storey’s The Life Stylist Podcast episode 191 with Dr Jack Kruse

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/23/business/cell-phone-addiction.html

On generations of chronic injustice; the conversation that needs to be had regarding the First Nations people of Canada, and the healing needed in our time.

On ritualizing your practice, developing your interior world, and measuring up for joy, with Abbie Galvin, author of 'Home Practice' and founder of The Studio.

Abbie Galvin is the owner of The Studio, a NYC based yoga studio, teaching Katonah Yoga. She has been honing this practice for the past 25 years and has a strong student-base from all around the world. Abbie's instruction is informed by her own creative process as a filmmaker and from her exploration of the therapeutic process as a psychoanalyst. She has learned over and over that truly participating in any formal process of self-exploration leads to transformation whether it be physical, psychological or intellectual. Her goal is to engage students of yoga in the dialogue between their conscious and their unconscious selves because it is through that effort that we potentiate ourselves. It is her intention as a teacher to cajole each student in that most rigorous effort to be grounded, to grow upwards, and to participate in the creation of their best self.

Length: 45:44
Timecodes:

0:45
Home Practice Book. Ritualizing your home practice, gaining insight.

4:40
Abbie’s home practice and time management.

6:05
Longevity practice. As you get older, your interior life expands.

8:38
The interior shift of mind to the body’s intelligence.

9:08
Cocooning yourself in your own breath. Being kind to yourself and using ritual to elevate your experience.

10:02
Grounded being practice as an antidote to the doing culture.

11:20
Ties between the interior organs and the peripheral.

13:07
Kidneys as battery.

14:24
Practical details for setting up a home practice.

16:52
Creating a community of shared public space, with mats facing each other.

18:35
Why there is no Shavasana at the end of a Katonah class.

20:40
Middle of the practice.

23:15
Readings from the Home Practice book.

24:43
Time knows everything. It is through time that you become yourself.

27:45
What you’re doing in the silence of the postures to heal yourself.

30:31
Fluency practice.

31:45
Longevity practice.

33:27
Staying with yourself.

34:05
Magic Square on the palm of the hand.

37:10
Nature’s intelligence is seen through its’ patterns. There is a technique for joy.

38:34
What needs healing right now.

39:45
Favorite view.

42:50
Prayer as a capacity to be with yourself.

Resources

The Studio
Come of age by Stephen Jenkinson
Katonah Yoga Home Practice Book

A home practice addresses the vision and virtue of personal health, wellbeing and long life. A home practice is a commitment to self-care, a ritualized modus operandi for one’s participation in a technical integration of mind, body and breath. Engaging in a home practice is a way of addressing the manner in which one personally organizes one’s self; developing a determined life, setting goals and following through. Our home practice book will guide you through developing your own home practice.

On how we heal; trusting that you know what you need to heal, to thrive, to rest and to rewrite your story.

• 4:00 Journaling journey; Writing to heal, writing to get clear, writing to get kind and writing to get to know myself.
• 7:00 Giving young people the tools to to grow in emotional awareness. Healing by example.
• 9:00 Starting from scratch; Peach cobbler story – The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
• 12:10 Some people just are who they are and can’t necessarily show up as we expect them to; Allow the adversity in your life to show you just how much you are learning.
• 15:00 Beginning to journal about trauma and baby steps to get started; It’s never easy, but it’s always worth it.
• 18:55 Writing about people in a potentially negative way with grace; Holding grudges keeping us from being free; Blaming our younger selves for the actions of our parents.
• 23:10 Pain Can Feel Like…, Healing Can Feel Like…, Both Can Feel Like…; Reclaiming your power
• 26:00 Finding therapy sessions, prayers, meditations, etc. not enough to sustain the healing work, and needing more support; Learning to trust I know what I need; Faith without works is dead.
• 29:00 Our healing is an act of community service. It is not just for us, but for everyone we come in contact with. The healed version of me recognizes the unhealed version of you.
• 31:15 Rewriting your narrative: Taking ownership over who you are and what you want to be; Making space for joy.
• 34:00 Nurturing your inner child. Pain that relates to pain from the past. Beginning to think new thoughts of joy and thriving. I am releasing to receive and I am open to what is for me.
• 37:00 Compassion and connection are essential to this work. Practicing and exercising our compassion, grace, joy, etc.
• 39:20 Healing is an active process; Choosing to walk away from titles as a reclamation of self. Writing the book I want to write, not the book people want to see from me.
• 43:05 Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity’s Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism by Vanessa Machada de Oliveira
• 45:10 Things that bring me joy help me heal. We know that physically in our bodies there are endorphins and other things signaled when we laugh and smile.

Writing came into her life by way of therapy and the exploration of healing through journaling and mindfulness. The intention behind Alex’s work is to build community & healing practices through literature & language.

Alex teaches workshops, courses, and retreats to assist others in finding their voices and create clarity in their lives & relationships. 

alexelle.com

On ceasing the pursuit of our hierarchical notions of success; turning the light inward for true connection and care.

Emilio Diez Barroso is a light, a teacher and a collaborator on this planet.

In his bio, he says he's perfected the art of appearing very successful: managing two family offices, a venture investment firm, sitting on the board of over a dozen companies... but as he saw that none of that was actually nourishing him, he turned his attention inward.

With a mission of transforming our shared sense of unworthiness, he now mentors individuals and groups, considering everyone with whom he works to be his teacher. Dedicated to alleviating suffering in the world, he's the author of The Mystery of You, a dive into his process and findings.

On resolving victimhood, transforming fear, freedom from resentment, curiosity as hope, and delivering deep love to yourself, no matter what.

• The listening that is required to help others heal [4:21]
• Empowerment in the face of life’s deepest hardships [8.31]
• Creating family constitutions [15:35]
• Forgiving yourself [17:09]
• Nobody heals in a straight line [20:39]
• Practicing your low frustration tolerance level [27:36]
• The calamity theory of growth [30:52]
• Living to enrich the present. How we speak to ourselves [35:17]
• On never giving up [44:40]
• Forgiveness [50:57]

A native of Hungary, Edith Eva Eger was just 16 years old in 1944 when she experienced one of the worst evils the human race has ever known. As a Jew living in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, she and her family were sent to Auschwitz, the heinous death camp. Her parents lost their lives there. She and her sister survived even though they were subjected to horrible treatment by Dr. Josef Mengele and survived the Death March in Austria. In 1949 she and her young family moved to the United States. In 1969 she received her degree in Psychology from the University of Texas, El Paso. She then pursued her doctoral internship at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, Texas. She has spent much of her professional time working with members of the military helping them to recover from, and cope with, the ongoing effects of PTSD. Dr. Eger has always found ways to use her personal experiences to inspire, educate and help others. Dr. Eger has a clinical practice in La Jolla, California where she uses her past as a powerful analogy to inspire people to reach their potential and shape their destinies. In the fall of 2017 at the age of 90, her memoir The Choice, Embrace the Possible was published. In her book, she details how the synergy of working with, and learning from, her patient’s perspectives has enriched her life experiences and outlook. The book focuses on moving forward in-light-of hardship, has received excellent reviews, was a New York Times Bestseller, is Internationally acclaimed, and has been translated into more than thirty languages. The New York Times Book Review wrote: “Eger’s book is a triumph and should be read by all who care about both their inner freedom and the future of humanity.” Oprah said of the book “I will be forever changed by Edith Eger’s story.” As of March 2018, the book has received two book awards, one being from the national organization of the Jewish Book Council; the other The Christopher Award. Her second book, The Gift, Twelve Lessons to Save your Life was released in September 2020 and immediately became a best seller in the UK and Ireland. In this book she gives actionable advice to assist every person facing life’s difficulties in a positive and healthy manner. The Gift is being translated into more than thirty languages.

Resources

https://dreditheger.com/

The Choice, Dr. Edith Eger
The Gift, Dr. Edith Eger
On Death & Dying, Dr. Kübler-Ross
Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Love in the Void, Simone Weil
Management of the Absurd, Richard Farson,
Roshi Joan Halifax
Albert Ellis

On the transformations, challenges and potential healings of parenthood.

On healing in all its forms; muscle-centric medicine, gut healing, evidence-based healing modalities and the importance of soul family.

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon is a Washington University fellowship trained physician in Nutritional Science and Geriatrics and is board certified in Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulation. Dr. Lyon works closely with the Special Operations Military as a part of the Task Force Dagger Foundation. In addition, her practice services, innovators, mavericks, executives, and anyone looking to level up their health. Dr. Lyon brings unparalleled results to her patients with personalized advanced nutritional interventions, metabolic and genetic testing, and behavioral action implementation.
She leverages evidence-based medicine with emerging cutting-edge science to restore metabolism, balance hormones and optimizes body composition with the goal of a lifetime of vitality.

Resources

Free Lyon protocol - https://drgabriellelyon.com/subscribe/
Weekly Newsletter - https://drgabriellelyon.com/weekly-email/

On the true definition of intimacy, the openings that come from tragedy, and the tenderness that brings us together.

On evolving and resolving generational patterns and misunderstandings. On loving ourselves enough to be a safe space for others; on great communication.

• Inner.U LOVE. Writing dreams for love, relationship to self and body [6:07]
• Looking to yourself rather than blaming others [7:53]
• Noticing when we’re trying to make our partners more like us [10:32]
• Identifying the relationship sports you’ve been playing [12:42]
• How outing our issues can help others [15:16]
• Sex and relationships. Making a game out of liking our partner [24:11]
• Evolving our lineage and finding humour in the process [29:04]
• Recognising when we want something but don’t want to admit it [34:04]
• Parenting [38:32]

Humor, compassion, and candor are the driving forces in Marnie Nir's work. Co-author with Lauren Zander of Maybe It’s You, Marnie is SVP of Content & Development with Handel Group, and an Expert Coach in The Handel Method. She has also continued her creative work, namely as co-creator of the animated series Mother Up!, which aired 13 episodes on Hulu and starred Eva Longoria. She serves as an expert at Campowerment, blogs for the Huffington Post, and writes her own blog, "The Sour MILF."

Characterized by joyful honesty, Marnie's aim is to build the muscle of Personal Integrity, where what comes out of your mouth is what shall be. “In this way, you can really go from ‘I will go to the gym,’ to ‘I will win an Emmy. And not just say it, but believe it, and cause it.” Married for more than 25 years, Marnie enjoys working with wives, mothers, and singles, because she is well-acquainted with the challenges they face and speaks b*#ch, martyr, and chicken fluently. She lives in Pound Ridge, NY with her husband and Facetimes often with her two children. She even likes them.

Resouces

W(h)ine Down with Marnie
Brene Brown interviewing Drs. John and Julie Gottman
What We Say Matters, Judith Hanson Lasater and Ike K Lasater
Practice You episode 44 with Lauren Zander

How’s your love life? Find out with the Love, Sex & Dating Quiz from Marnie Nir at Handel Group. Answer the questions honestly, and the “LSD Quiz” will give you a good idea of exactly what kind of trip (fun, colorful, or long strange) you’ve actually been on when it comes to relationships. This quiz is the first step in truly designing the love life of your dreams.

Get started at: https://my.inneru.coach/crq/love

Handel Group

On the core of communication, and some myths we can release.

• Approaching yoga poses with questions rather than rules [1:50]
• Non-violent communication. Connecting with ourselves. Recognizing mutuality [8:33]
• Communicating as a parent [17:36]
• Trust. Telling the truth with empathy. Saying no while staying in connection [22:37]
• Self-empathy practice [27:24]
• A common yoga myth about the pelvis in seated twists [32:44]
• Body leading, mind following [40:36]
• Sweet Body poem reading [43:22]

Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., PT, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500, YACEP®, has taught yoga around the world since 1971. She is a founder of the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco, CA, as well as the Yoga Journal magazine which is published in a number of countries. Ms. Lasater frequently trains teachers in virtually every state of the union and is often an invited guest at international yoga conventions. She is president emeritus of the California Yoga Teachers' Association as well as the author of numerous articles on yoga and health for nationally recognized magazines.

She was featured in Self Magazine in1998 as one of the outstanding yoga teachers in the U.S. In 2000, she was selected by Yoga Journal Magazine as one of the outstanding yoga teachers shaping yoga practice in America today. She was selected by Natural Health magazine, on the occasion of their 40th anniversary, as one of the five people in the USA who has had the most influence on natural health in America during those 40 years. In 2015, Yoga Journal Magazine selected her as "Editor's Choice for the most influential yoga teacher in the USA in the last 40 years.

She is the author of ten books, including: Yoga Myths: What You Need to Learn and Unlearn to Stay Safe and Happy on Your Yoga Mat (2020) Restore and Rebalance: Yoga for Deep Relaxation (2017, What We Say Matters: Practicing Nonviolent Communication (2009),YogaBody: Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Asana (2009), A Year of Living Your Yoga (2006), Yoga Abs (2005), Yoga for Pregnancy: What Every Mom-to-Be Needs to Know (2004), 30 Essential Yoga Poses: for beginning students and their teachers (2003), Living Your Yoga: finding the spiritual in everyday life (2000), and Relax and Renew: restful yoga for stressful times (1995), and Living Your Yoga: finding the spiritual in everyday life (2000).

RESOURCES

https://www.judithhansonlasater.com/
Poems by Judith
Yoga Myths, Judith Hanson Lasater
What We Say Matters, Judith Hanson Lasater and Ike K Lasater
Restore and Rebalance, Judith Hanson Lasater
Nonviolent Communication, Marshall B. Rosenberg
Lying, Sam Harris

On the elemental forces carrying across times, heartaches, understandings and losses. The questions and gifts in the liminal spaces, and the importance of honoring grief in all its forms.

On the smallest kindnesses, the biggest teachings, and the life that happens in between.

On our interconnectedness, releasing paradigms, and receiving the work that needs to pass through us.

• 0:42 – Introducing Matthew Quick; Bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook and We Are The Light; https://matthewquickwriter.com/
• 3:00 – We Are The Light – A series of letters written by a mass shooting survivor from protagonist to analyst over the course of a couple years. These letters are about interacting with the little brother of the shooter.
• 5:30 – Inspiration for the story – Movie theater shooting in Aurora, Co – writing a novel about a tragedy in a movie house and the people in the community come together to resanctify this space.
• 8:04 – Getting sober in 2018; experiencing writers block for 3 years; entering Jungian analysis; having paranoid thoughts and taking that into the creative writing wrestling ring. After 7 years of trying to sit down to write this novel, it was written in 6 weeks.
• 11:00 – This Jungian Life Podcast; The protagonist, Lucas, talking about Eli, the brother of the shooter. Tiny injections of reality from your analyst.
• 14:00 – Lucas is tapping into these sacred places of radical love. He accesses a divine wisdom, possessed by the archetype of love in finding this reconciliation and healing of the community.
• 17:05 – Conversations about power – as we elevate these conversations of power, are we relegating conversations of love? Lucas take the stance of radical love. Owning the potential of darkness within all of us through shadow work and learning to love the totality of our humanity.
• 19:05 – How can we treat the shadow in others with more respect and bring dignity. Having the conversations as a community for acknowledging the personal responsibility for those unseen. Slowing down and taking the time to have human interactions.
• 21:42 – The work is to see the people that make us the most angry are the people most like us. These things that make us uncomfortable are manifestations of things that are going on inside of us. Bringing it back to within and doing the work.
• 24:11 – Seeing the humanity within all. Every single human is a part of this interconnected whole. Dropping opinions and assumptions and allowing vulnerability.
• 26:45 – Teach the kids to think, not what to think. Give them the tools to make up their own minds about things. We don’t have much dialogue and nuanced conversation in public spaces based on our affiliations.
• 29:15 – Our extroverted society demands quick answers and voicing of opinion, but complicated problems require a lot of pondering and meditation, especially in the wake of a tragedy.
• 31:50 – Ego is always going to want to take responsibility for everything. How little control we actually have can be terrifying at first, but also creates a pathway to access better ways. The analyst says to get out of the way, let what comes through you come through you.
• 34:15 – Having the humility to serve and let go afterwards is the trick. Life circumstances shift, but it comes back to service, humility and getting out of the way.
• 36:45 – A message to those struggling to get sober; finding people who can support you and you can talk to.
• 39:00 – Getting the benefit of talking about your sobriety. Admitting the need for allies.

Matthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of  The Silver Linings Playbook—which was made into an Oscar-winning film—and eight other novels, including We Are the Light, a #1 Indie Next Pick and a Book of the Month selection. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, a Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis 2016 (German Youth Literature Prize) nominee, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. The Hollywood Reporter has named him one of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors. Matthew lives with his wife, the novelist Alicia Bessette, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

https://matthewquickwriter.com/

On creating connections of tangible service, giving voice to marginalized humans, loss and legacies of healing.

On the relevance of ancient science to our modern bodies; daily practices to help us align with vibrant health.

On the vitality of simplicity, the practice of making art, and the drawings that have become beacons of kindness for our time.

On being an architect of community, social entrepreneurship and creating businesses straight from your heart.

• Permission to be creative [3:12]
• Confidence. Creating products that are taboo [6:28]
• Miki’s experience of being sexually assaulted [9:41]
• Lessons learned from professional hurdles [18:30]
• Launching Tushy. Three questions Miki asks herself before starting any business [31:21]
• Conceiving and letting go [44:33]

RESOURCES

Miki Agrawal
Thinx
Tushy
Do Cool Sh*t, Miki Agrawal Disrupt-Her, Miki Agrawal Lauren Zander, Handel Group
Tribute.co
Wild

On the edge states of altruism, empathy, integrity, respect and engagement; the key elements of compassion, and the confluence of activism and stillness.

On aromatherapy as a path to activating our innate balance, understanding tissue states, and the study of Aromatic Medicine.

• Jade's first experience with essential oils.[2:21]
• Aromatherapy and massage in the UK. Marguerite Maury’s holistic approach. The oils’ potential to reduce the impact of stress on the body. [6:07]
• The Framework: Shifting the Paradigm, beginning with the heart: https://aromaticstudies.com/aromatic-studies-method/ [7:23]
• Acute intervention with the oils. Fennel and Digestion. [12:00]
• The body's innate ability to heal. Helping the body through the use of essential oils, to help the body do what it wants to do. [15:08]
• Essential oils and pharmaceuticals. [18:41]
• Reawakening our relationship with aromatic plants. Altering perception. Reconnecting to nature. [20:15]
• [How herbs and oils can co-exist. [26:15]
• Respect for the potency of the essential oils. [29:13]
• Our intuition as a valuable resource. [32:07]
• Western Herbal Energetics. Six tissue states: dry/moist, tension/laxity, heat/cold. Using essential oils to support the body in returning to homeostasis. New language beyond treating pathology. [34:18]
• What needs healing right now. 40:45]
• Favorite view. [42:42]
• Prayer. [44:30]
• Aromatic Medicine Certificate Course [45:24]

Resources

Foundations of Aromatherapy Course
Aromatic Medicine Certificate Course.
Marguerite Maury's guide to Aromatherapy.
Shifting the Paradigm:
Thomas Easley of the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine.
If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie

SPECIAL PODCAST OFFER

Save 25% off of Aromatic Medicine with code ebrower

On clean beauty, super-sustainable packaging and the glory of organic plant ingredients; a real education awaits you.

On the perpetual revolution of the soul, with the one and only Seane Corn.

• Becoming an elder [3:06]
• What Seane’s friend Billy taught her [8:12]
• The role of therapy in processing trauma, speaking out against injustice [15:33]
• Grief [29:50]
• Dismantling the systems within, creating social change [40:29]
• Seane's main mentors and guides [50:48]
• What Seane would say to a young yoga teacher [53:52]

Resources

https://www.seanecorn.com/
Revolution of the Soul: Awaken to Love Through Raw Truth, Radical Healing, and Conscious Action

On the gift of childlike faith, guarding your mind and the crucial connection between your well-being and your success.

• (0:00) - Introduction
• (2:50) - Chaz's Journey to Writing the Book
• (5:40) - Guard Your Mind and Meditation
• (12:09) - Self-Talk and Affirmations
• (16:13) - Work toward ascension and childlike faith
• (21:58) - Success and Self-Care
• (26:33) - Conclusion and Call to Action

Chazz Scott is an author, speaker, mindset and resilience coach. He is the founder of Supra Mentem, a consulting firm specializing in training leaders in peak performance, well-being, and sustainable success. His clients include the D.C. Hospital Association, the Maryland Association of Election Officials, and the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce.

Chazz is the Executive Director of Positively Caviar, Inc., a nonprofit focused on using optimism to build resilience and disrupt youth mental health stigmas. He lives with his wife in the Washington D.C. area.

Chazz is the author of his latest book, Success Starts Within: Achieve Your Potential Through Radical Self-Care, which seeks to bridge the gap between wellness and accomplishment by illuminating a simple principle: our outward success is only as viable as our inner well-being.

On Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TpQvvY

On the signals transmitted across generations, the evolution of secrets, and the resonances felt through timelines and dimensions.

Answering your questions on topics from scheduling to sobriety, parenting to prioritizing steadiness, Elena and her collaborator Michelle Martello of Minima Designs celebrate the 100th episode of Practice You. 

 On the intentional integration of psychedelic experiences; supporting and educating for responsible engagement in our healing and creative expansion.

• 0:42 – Introducing Daniel Shankin; Psychedelic Integration Coach; Director and Founder of Tam Integration; https://tamintegration.com
• 2:45 – Microdosing psychedelics as a way of treating addiction and engrained behavioral patterns. “Be Here Now” by Ram Das was the first ‘Integration Manual.’
• 4:40 – Yoga practice as a tool for liberation and grounding in this body/lifetime. Naturally approaching psychedelics with coaching clients.
• 6:00 – https://2023.integrationjam.com; Finding community spirit and gathering online. Talking about cool and interesting topics with cool and interesting people.
• 8:10 – Keystone species, biodiversity and ecosystems. Wrapping our head around everything being connected. The tree shades the water protecting the fish.
• 10:30 – Where to begin with psychedelics — microdosing and macrodosing. Integrating in specific ways. *This is not medical/legal advice. This is not legal in many places, and there is an element of risk. https://www.youtube.com/@TamIntegration
• 12:55 – Take time to educate ourselves, making good decisions with the information we have, and responding to feedback from body and mind, maybe journaling around it and tracking it. Psychedelics are a nonspecific amplifier. They bring up what is already underneath our layer of awareness. The psychedelic is not making you anything, but revealing what is there. It’s an orange juice squeezer.
• 15:00 – We all have these very specific needs, and when the needs are met, there is a happy day. Understanding of a need becomes a transformation.
• 17:25 – Understanding psychedelics from the perspective of its more practical benefits. True psychedelics don’t stand for addictive patterns. They become irritating.
• 19:00 – Macrodosing experiences; Tam Integration – Pre and Post Integration; Long term Integration.
• 21:05 – Training Integration Coaches; creating an experience that is respectful of our consciousness, respectful of the molecules. There’s no reason not to approach an intense experience with a certain amount of reverence.
• 23:20 – Compounds in psilocybin associated with the self and persona. Compounds that scientifically decrease circulation to certain parts of the brain, increase circulation to certain parts of the brain, and it’s in promise for personal growth. Going in with a meditation practice.
• 25:20 – Meditators have more of the positive effects and fewer of the negative effects. Meditators are often used to putting the persona aside.
• 27:25 – https://2023.integrationjam.com; Save 10% with Coupon code: Elena.
• 30:15 – Moral Trauma; https://www.moralinjuriesofwar.org; connoisseurship of certain mushrooms.

As the founder and director of Tam Integration, Daniel is committed to offering radically accessible and inclusive support and education for people who are wanting to transform, heal, and grow. Tam’s integration circles and online conferences enjoy a world wide audience and much critical acclaim. Daniel also leads the yearlong Mt. Tam Psychedelic Integration Coaching Program, training emerging leaders in the facilitation of transformational engagement.

As a psychedelic integration coach, Daniel serves people in weaving their new-found truths into their lives and practices sustainably, harmoniously, compassionately and wisely. His methods are fiercely practical while maintaining space for mystery and magic to emerge. He offers time tested and scientifically backed tools so clients can create a life for themselves that is aligned with their deeper values and manifests measurable results that matter.

He and his wife live in a tiny town in New England where they forage for mushrooms and throw rocks into creeks with their two young boys.

On transcending our instincts, practicing what scares us, seeing where we coincide, and choosing our state.

After spending a year as a Bartley fellow at the Wall Street Journal, Chloé Valdary developed The Theory of Enchantment, an innovative framework for social emotional learning (SEL), character development, and interpersonal growth that uses pop culture as an educational tool in the classroom and beyond.

Chloé has trained around the world, including in South Africa, The Netherlands, Germany, and Israel. Her clients have included high school and college students, government agencies, business teams, + many more.

She has also lectured in universities across America, including Harvard and Georgetown. Her work has been covered in Psychology Today Magazine and her writings have appeared in the New York Times and the Wall St Journal.

• Chloé’s earliest teachers [3:05]
• Theory of Enchantment’s guiding principles [5:12]
• Timshel, Thou Mayest. East of Eden. Stoicism [13:03]
• Non-violent protest. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Agape Love [22:00]
• Meditating on your mortality. Practicing what you fear [28:44]
• Criticism and care. Maya Angelou and Tupac story [31:18]
• The Lion King and stoicism [37:40]
• Contemplating the villain. Ways to practice [40:22]
• What needs healing [49:47]
• Favourite view [50:49]
• Prayer [52:39]

RESOURCES

Theory of Enchantment Courses
Theory of Enchantment website
Chloé Valdary on Twitter:
Why I Refuse to Avoid White People article
Harriet Tubman, Eloise Greenfield
Still I Rise, Maya Angelou
East of Eden, John Steinbeck https://amzn.to/35WwpB1
Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl
The Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday
Timshel, Mumford & Sons

On the confluence of creativity and empowerment, influential women in music, and consistent transformation.

On recalibrating your nervous system, dancing with fear, and the smallest acts of forgiveness.

Sah D’Simone is a spiritual guide, meditation teacher, international transformational speaker, and best-selling author who has dedicated his life to helping others to live in alignment and achieve their highest potential. He is pioneering a Spiritually Sassy, heart-based healing movement rooted in science-backed, tried-and-true techniques, in which joy and authenticity illuminate the path to enlightenment.

His infectious enthusiasm for healing is grounded in a masterful and revolutionary synthesis of ancient Tantric Buddhism, modern contemplative psychotherapy, meditation, breathwork, and integrative nutrition... all delivered in his own radiant, approachable, and playful style.

Resources

myhealingally.com

On preparedness, resilience and listening for what's needed next.

On managing reactions, creating structural compassion and walking the middle path.

On the history of black maternal health, how we can change the story, and parenting our kids as actualized beings.

• The Black Maternal Health crisis [1:58]
• Gynecology and its origins in slavery [6:09]
• The need for a reckoning. Reenvisioning a holistic view and a service model [10:17]
• Ways to be involved [14:51]
• Mama Glow Doula professional training program scholarship fund [30:19]
• Learning and unlearning [34:07]
• Parenting teenagers. Leaning into resilience and using our tools [36:13]

Named one of Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul 100, Celebrity Doula and Maternity Wellness Expert Latham Thomas supports women in embracing optimal wellness and spiritual growth as a pathway to empowerment. Latham is leading a revolution in radical self-care, guiding women everywhere to “mother themselves first.” Latham is the founder of Mama Glow a global women’s health and education brand serving women along the childbearing continuum. Mama Glow supports women and families during the fertility period, pregnancy, birth as well as during postpartum offering hand-holding through their bespoke doula services. Her book, Own Your Glow: A Soulful Guide to Luminous Living and Crowning the Queen (Hay House) released on paperback on June 16, 2020.

Resources

http://www.mamaglow.com
Own Your Glow, Latham Thomas
The 1619 Project podcast
Black Maternal Momnibus
Irth App
Anti-racism daily

 On radical self-responsibility and reprocessing our childhood shame to empowerment and creativity.

• (2:42) – Sophie’s Personal Journey and Research on Highly Sensitive Children
• (5:17) – Understanding Rooted Rhythm Therapy and Parent Coaching
• (8:19) – The Nature of “Big Feelings” and Their Impact on Children
• (10:08) – Practical Tips for Parents of Highly Sensitive Children
• (15:36) – The Role of Authenticity and Congruency in Parenting
• (20:55) – The Role of EMDR in Therapy and Parenting

Sophie Schauermann, LCSW is a licensed therapist and parent coach based in Denver, CO. Her passion and expertise lie in supporting highly sensitive children (and their parents) in harnessing their sensitivities into their superpowers. She is the founder of Rooted Rhythm Therapy and Parent Coaching, which was born out of the belief that children must get to know the beat of their own drum in order to confidently reach their potential…and that the best kind of parent is one that is Rooted in their own Rhythm.

Sophie supports her clients with Synergetic Play Therapy, EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing) Therapy, and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. She has over 10 years of experience working closely with children and families in many settings, including the Harvard Medical School’s laboratory for youth mental health, the public school system, community based mental health programs, and now in private practice. Her greatest learning, however, lies in her personal story of healing and growth into the person that she is today. Sophie is the proud wife to another therapist and bonus mama to two amazing kiddos that she couldn’t imagine life without.

On activating compassion through our simplest offerings of forgiveness, care, gratitude and respect.

• (0:30) - Japanese rituals for beauty, harmony, and love.
• (10:00) - Cleaning and its connection to healing and mindfulness.
• (16:36) - Organizing and decluttering, with a focus on the importance of forgiveness and creating more space in life.
• (24:49) - Healing, self-care, and relationships.
• (31:48) - Buddhist teachings, suffering, and healing through interconnectedness and self-reflection.

Paula Ara was raised in Detroit by a Japanese mother, and did Zen training in Japan. She obtained her Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Harvard University in 1993 and is now the Eshinni & Kakushinni Professor of Women and Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California. She is the author of Bringing Zen Home: The Healing Heart of Japanese Women’s Rituals, Women Living Zen: Japanese Soto Buddhist Nuns, and Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra. Her work has been a tremendous force in my own spiritual formation.

On the vital ways in which we approach practice for mental health.

Julie Wald is the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller, Inner Wealth: How Wellness Heals, Nurtures, and Optimizes Ultra-Successful People, and the founder of Namaste Wellness. Julie has over twenty-five years of experience as a clinical social worker, yoga and meditation teacher. She’s committed to serving not only Namaste’s elite clientele of high performing companies and families, but also to delivering complimentary wellness services to under served schools, hospitals, and community organizations.

Resources

https://www.namasteny.com/live-online-corporate-wellness

On steady practices of self-awareness to redefine yourself as often as you wish, and trusting yourself in any situation to make strong choices that serve.

Claudia Chan is a recognized leadership expert and social entrepreneur dedicated to activating individuals and organizations to lead culture change and accelerate equality.

Claudia founded the award-winning global leadership conference, S.H.E. Summit, making the advancement of women’s leadership and inclusive culture change accessible and actionable. Year after year, the event connects, educates and activates change agents and champions of equality; speakers have included Deepak Chopra, Kelly Clarkson, Carla Harris of Morgan Stanley, Sallie Krawcheck, Gabrielle Bernstein, Soledad O’Brien, and UN Ambassador Samantha Power, among others.

Claudia also leads S.H.E. Globl Media, a corporate platform helping Fortune 1000 companies by providing strategic and operational tools to empower and activate ALL employees in creating permanent culture change. A sought-after speaker on how empowered talent can and should create a world of true equity, Claudia was called the “Richard Branson of Women’s Empowerment” by Fast Company and named one of 2017’s “20 Most Influential Moms” by Family Circle. In 2015, Claudia became an official U.S. State Department Speaker and has visited countries like South Korea for countrywide speaking tours to educate women on how to empower themselves and others in their communities. She was the 2015 global spokesperson for Gillette Venus #UseYourAnd empowerment campaign, a movement encouraging women to celebrate their multi-dimensionality.

Prior to launching S.H.E. Globl Media, Claudia was President & Co-Owner of the popular women’s entertainment company Shecky’s for 10 years. Claudia is a lifelong New Yorker, proud alumnae of Smith College, Mom of two and an equal partner with her husband, John.

1:11
How Claudia began. Watching her powerful, entrepreneurial Chinese Mother do it all.

2:16
Sex and the City. 2000s. Power of the media to influence Women’s values.

3.26
Half the Sky: https://amzn.to/2BuJqSk learning about the state of women and girls in the Third world, developing countries, maternal mortality and sex trafficking. In the US: the pay gap and gender inequality.

4:25
First SHE Summit. Showing women that they can become leaders and change agents.

5:35
Innovation means seeing the invisible. When you see the invisible, you can do the impossible.

6.24
Living in the discomfort. It’s where you make the most change.

7.02
Spiritual growth has to precede personal growth. Personal Growth has to precede Leadership development. Leadership Development leads to Social Change.

7.50
Leadership Development means being really clear on your purpose. Being a Visionary, leading teams.

8:46
We’re always going to bump into new challenges that will trigger things from our childhood. For Claudia, this often shows up as money issues.

9:43
You need spiritual growth in order to be rooted in something bigger than you, because it takes so much to move our destiny forward.

12.01
Claudia’s mission to inspire leaders to take action, to create a more equal world.
Identity of boys and men is also in transition.

13.54
How traditional institutions were built on masculine traits. Feminine traits are now starting to permeate the culture.

15.43- 17:41
For several years, women have created movements around particular topics e.g: Christy Turlington’s Every Mother Counts: https://everymothercounts.org/, but we also need more Men creating groups that mobilise around particular causes and topics. EVRYMAN is a great example: https://evryman.com/

15:57-18:43
More gender diverse workplaces are more successful.

18:43
The Thirteen Pillars: Purpose, Vision, Faith, Resilience, Energy, Productivity, Humility Gratitude, Grace, Community, Self-love, Courage and Mindfulness.

19:34
On identifying purpose. What are you meant to do and what are you leaving behind? Start where you struggle.

26:15
On Resilience. A gem can not be polished without friction.

32.48
On Energy. To be intentional about it.
Neville Goddard The Power of imagination https://amzn.to/2Vm8VwW

35: 58
How the 13 pillars intertwine. Use as a check-list for growth. Humility. We stop learning when we think we know it all.

38:20
Treat your whole life as the organization you are leading. Whole-life leadership.

41:42
See yourself as a leader. Start to develop and create your vision.

42:46
Outside-in thinking. Your destiny is greatness.
Pastor: Your schedule is less about what you need to get done and more about who you need to become.

45.38
Elena reads Honoring Community poem from Pixie Lighthorse’s book Prayers of Honoring https://amzn.to/2FVFOge.

48:13-54: 53
Claudia's Relationship with Money. Be aware, and forgive yourself for thinking a certain way.

RESOURCES

The Abundance Price by John Randolph Price
https://evryman.com/
This is How We Rise
Prayers of Honoring
Money, A Love Story

In this episode, on the occasion of Mary Oliver's passing, I took time to read my favourite passages and poems. Her work has informed mine since 1998, and reading her words brings me back to the earliest days in my teaching and learning to lead.

Readings from:

Thirst
A Thousand Mornings
Felicity
Devotions
A Poetry Handbook

On the intelligence and teachings of the flowers; on observing, living and aging elegantly.

On the intelligence of risk, radical independence, and decoding the real conversation that happens in relationship. 

On the subtlety and majesty of the flowers, and their capacity to bring our human bodies back to Nature.

Katie Hess is an expert of flower alchemy - using the healing power of flowers to awaken our true potential. She is the author of Flowerevolution and founder of LOTUSWEI, the world’s leading flower elixir apothecary. She travels in search of rare flowers with the healing qualities most needed by today’s world, from the forests of British Columbia, to sacred sites in India, rainforests in Costa Rica, hot springs in Iceland and the jungles of Taiwan.

• Using the subtle energies of the flowers to bring ourselves back to harmony [03:00]
• What brought Katie to this work [8:14]
• Building community [9:35]
• There is a flower for everyone. Formulating the elixirs [13:10]
• Developing self-awareness of what we need [17:51]
• Acupuncture and flower essences [20:32]
• Elena’s favorite flower essences [24:05]
• Reconnecting with your own wisdom [29:33]
• Allowing yourself the luxury of following what brings you joy [31:14]
• Activating our potential [32:52]

Resources

https://www.lotuswei.com/

Flowerevolution collective
Flowerevolution book and deck
Infinite Love Quiet Mind
Wild Abundance
Full Bloom
Inner Peace
Meditations
Erin Borbet https://www.lotuswei.com/blogs/blog/erinborbetRobin Sandomirsky

On the key longevity molecule that's been validated by science, revered by ancients and now shown to inhibit hallmarks of ageing.

On the importance of self-trust, repression v. suppression, the vitality of solitude for development of our intuition, and the prioritization of feeling over discursive thinking.

• (1:00) – Intuitive healing and spiritual gifts with Ebony Banks.
• (4:49) – Nonprofit work, plant-based eating, and community service.
• (11:32) – Plant-based diets, spirituality, and entrepreneurship.
• (15:43) – Trauma, healing, and self-trust.
• (22:24) – Healing from trauma and rape through self-awareness and spiritual practices.
• (28:33) – Forgiveness and healing after trauma.
• (37:04) – Intuition, self-trust, and body awareness.

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, Eboni Banks is an Intuitive Healer and Author who has been aware of her intuition since childhood. She is from a lineage of healers and wellness practitioners on both sides of her family. Eboni’s maternal great-grandmother read palms for a living in the 1940s. Her late father was a social worker and hypnotherapist who owned and operated a private practice mental health clinic. Eboni's inspiration to serve others began as a child while spending time in her dad's office and observing his healing work.

As a trauma survivor, Eboni has learned to use her wealth of inner spiritual resources to thrive on her own healing journey and is now inspired to teach people how to do the same. To access their intuition to heal the stuck parts of their lives that prevent them from living their desired life.

Eboni's main spiritual gift is Clairtangency, which means clear touch and is the ability to receive information and impressions through touch.

She is passionate about charitable work and has worked with nonprofit charities for the past 13 years as a development consultant, targeting social justice, pediatric healthcare, and equitable education. In 2016 Eboni received the Osborn Elliott Award for Outstanding Community Service for a volunteer-led organization she founded, which taught people living in Brownsville, Brooklyn, about the importance of incorporating plant-based eating into their diet.

Eboni considers herself a mystic and enjoys exploring the balance of physical and non-physical life. She practices yoga, meditates, and listens to mantras in her spare time. Eboni currently lives in New York City, where she shares her thriving spiritual practices with clients.

On resilience through harrowing childhood assault, sharing pain as a service to others and the medicine of the story.

On owning our anxiety as a sacred cue to wake up and remember ourselves. On becoming our own eternal support system. Practical tools to soothe and serve--yourself and others.

Length: 56.10
Timecodes:

• Breathing. [2:38]
• Teachers and singing. [4:00]
• Using discernment to reduce anxiety.[4:45]
• Power of playing.[6:45]
• Planning your meals. [9:00]
• Surface level anxiety. Simple choices that can help. [9:45]
• Body as a gateway to the mind. Anxiety as a helpful sign to let you know something is out of alignment. [10:44]
• Watching for the after effects of toxicity in your life. [14:28]
• Being mindful of the music you choose. Jai-Jagdeesh.[17:49]
• Tiny choices that contribute to anxiety.[19:17]
• Choosing your self-talk.[20:18]
• Becoming your biggest fan. [21:00]
• Visualization. [22:49]
• Creating Art as therapy. [28:10]
• Ending negative relationships. Developing a more positive relationship with yourself. [31:06]
• Wanting to live a better life. [35:00]
• Volunteering. Donating resources.[37:40]
• What needs healing. [0:25]
• Favorite view. [47:31]
• Prayer. [49:03]

Julian Brass is an international keynote speaker, yoga teacher, anxiety coach, and author of the book Own Your Anxiety - 99 simple ways to channel your secret edge.

His personal journey of learning to shift his relationship with anxiety while being the former CEO of the number one media company for millennials in Canada. Prior to the launch of the book, Julian has been featured on NBC, ABC, FOX, Global, and Chedder.com. Now it can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Indigo, Costco, Amazon, and over 100 Hudson’s Airport Booksellers.

Resources

http://julianbrass.com

Own Your Anxiety includes 99 easily digestible tips for shifting your relationship with anxiety. Split mindfully into three sections; own your body, own your mind, own your soul - this book has valuable tips to assist anyone through their healing journey. For a small investment, you can have the tools that can change your life.

The book is now available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Costco, Indigo, and over 100 Hudson's airport sellers.
Follow Julian's journey @julianbrass on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

On the road to sobriety, the questions we need to ask, and the ways we need to listen.

Laura McKowen inspires people to say yes to a bigger life after addiction. She’s the author of the forthcoming memoir, We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life (January 2020), and has been featured on WebMD, The Guardian, The New York Post, Bravo, and the TODAY show. She writes an internationally recognized, award-winning blog, is the host of two Top 100 iTunes podcasts, and leads sold-out retreats and courses focused on sobriety and personal development.

• How Laura's Mom felt about the book [2:58]
• Laura's "last hurrah" before becoming sober [6:57]
• Finding a home inside oneself [12:27]
• Growing up [14:54]
• A different way of looking at anxiety [17:15]
• On not rushing our learning [23:32]
• When there is no "rock bottom" [26:12]
• Boundaries and The Pregnancy Principle [33:36]
• How Laura talks to her child about sobriety [37:13]
• Following the breadcrumbs [43:15]
• Prayer [47:34]

Resources

We Are the Luckiest - Laura McKowen
Drinking: A Love Story - Caroline Knapp
The Great Work of your Life - Stephen Cope

On the education and empowerment of adolescent girls as one of the keys to the future of the world.

Length:43:16
Timecodes:

2:05
How Girls on Fire Leaders was born.

6:24
Girls on Fire Leadership Camps. Samburu. The power of using your voice.

9:36
What drew Eileen to this work. Women and poverty. India. Kiva Fellowship (https://www.kiva.org). Manipur. Microfinance. Leadership potential.

15:40
Work with Shofco https://www.shofco.org/. Access to nature. Karura forest. Mind expansive experiences.
19:09
Partnering with other organisations. Community involvement.

20:56
High numbers of HIV among adolescent girls. How leadership programs decrease these numbers.

21:35
Collaboration.

22:30
doTERRA Healing Hands foundation is matching donations to Girls on Fire Leaders before September 15th 2019.

24:14
Workshops with boys. How do we lead with empathy and love?

26:52
Makesh teaching classes using Practice You book.

27:52
Leadership in community. Girls on Fire Leaders asking important questions.

31:21
Outcomes of Girls on Fire Leaders since 2014. Vision. Design thinking.

36:00
What needs healing. Voice.

Assignment:
Consider how the trauma you endured as a child could become your greatest teaching in your work.

38:44
Favorite view.

39:42
Prayer.

40:28
Ways to be involved.

Resources:
http://www.girlsonfireleaders.com/
The Collaborative Habit by Twyla Tharp.

 On working for ourselves, creating what we love and the science behind clean skincare.

• 0:42 Introducing Lisa Mattam; a thought leader in entrepreneurship and resilience, and the advancement of women and diversity.
• 2:20 The Mattam Group; Traveling with family and connecting with Kerala as a place of home.
• 4:20 “Mom’s the Word: How Organizations can Change the Impact of Motherhood on Career Success”; equipping Fortune 500 companies with tools to keep women in the C-Suite and advance diversity in the workplace.
• 7:10 Reva Seth – “The Mom Shift”; Organizations supporting mothers once they are mothers. Beginning transparent conversations about being a mother in the workplace.
• 9:20 Mixed messages from organizations toward mothers between being flexible and being available. Find relatable role models. Granular reliability.
• 11:20 “If they can do it, I can do it.” Rewriting the narrative of being old. Getting wiser, smarter, better at managing everything in your life, and more beautiful.
• 13:35 Your 40s are when you finally get to know yourself and see what you’re capable of. Braver and softer. Launching Sahajan in 2015.
• 15:30 Sahajan; Cleansing Oil, Balance Toner, Face Serum, Beauty Oil.
• 18:05 Contributing valuable ingredients and providing the opportunity to transform our skin. Using our work for advancing and growing our platforms for service.
• 20:05 sahajan.com/elenabrower; 20% off code: ELENA; Using Moringa in the Cleansing Oil for high vitamin, nutrient and antioxidant, as well as pulling pollution in the skin.
• 22:30 90% of people in the world live in places considered over-polluted. Oils and balms breakdown makeup and SPF. Moringa is considered a Universal oil for its cleansing and nourishing benefit.
• 24:40 Fruit extracts in the Balance Toner – Orange, Lemon and Bilberry; In Ayurveda, fruit extracts have been used to exfoliate. Pulling out dead skin cells so that the skin can be a great canvas to absorb serums and creams.
• 27:35 Using the toner for age spots. Brightening Mask – Turmeric, Holy Basil, Hemp Seed and Fruit Extracts. Face Serum – Triphala, Gotu Kola, and Hyaluronic acid.
• 30:00 Triphala on the skin has adaptogenic and tridoshic characteristics with high levels of vitamin C.
• 32:30 Gotu Kola is considered ‘age defying’ in Vedic texts. Absorbed by the skin it stimulates the production of collagen. Promotes wound healing. Hyaluronic acid is nature’s moisture magnet. Brings water back into the skin.
• 35:10 Why am I not using clean skincare? We buy skincare because we want results. The transition of being a victim of advertising to being an educated consumer is the shift to knowing what you really need.
• 38:10 Ayurveda is the science of life. Beauty Oil – Moringa, Hemp Seed oil, Frankincense. Reverse engineering based on the desired results.
• 40:25 Hemp seed offers a balance to redness. In North America, ~80% of people have sensitive skin and experience a lot of redness. Frankincense is the oil of royalty. Oils lock in and protect with a barrier on the skin.
• 42:45 Cleansing Oil, Toner, Serum, Beauty Oil – Cruelty free. In Ayurveda, honey and beeswax are revered for their ability to strengthen and heal the skin.
• 44:20 Lip Karma working in partnership with Plan International’s Because I Am Girl Initiative. Every Lip Karma purchased provides one day of school for a girl

Lisa Mattam is a proven and passionate entrepreneur. Named by Profit Magazine as one of the Top Ten Emerging Women Entrepreneurs in Canada and recognized by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce as Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Lisa has become a thought leader in entrepreneurship and resilience, and the advancement of women and diversity. She is a frequent commentator on these topics and has been quoted in a variety of media including Fast Company, The Globe and Mail, CBC, and The Toronto Star.

With her first venture The Mattam Group, she grew a consulting firm with clients in Canada, the US, Latin America, and the UAE. More specifically, she equipped Fortune 500 companies like Walmart with the tools to keep women in the C-Suite and advance diversity in the workplace. Notably, she co-authored the report, “Mom’s the Word: How Organizations can Change the Impact of Motherhood on Career Success” and was a contributor to the book, “Five Good Ideas”, published by Coach House Books. Building on that success, Lisa launched Sahajan, an evidence-based natural skincare line based on the Ancient Science of Ayurveda.

With Sahajan, Lisa brings together her entrepreneurial background and her knowledge from over 15 years working in and consulting to the pharmaceutical industry to create a skincare collection that since its launch has been featured in Vogue Paris, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Forbes, and is distributed in Canada and the US in retailers such as Indigo, The Detox Market & The Bay. Lisa was the only Canadian to be selected for Sephora’s Inaugural Beauty Accelerator. In 2021, The Atelier named her Entrepreneur of the Year and BMO offered a grant to Sahajan for her leadership in Beauty x Sustainability.

As a listener of the Practice You Podcast, you have a 20% off code at https://sahajan.com/elenabrower 

 Use code ELENA at checkout for 20% off your purchase.

On our last best act, planning for the end of our lives and aligning our end-of-life choices with our values. Exploring new, sustainable practices such as green burial, aquamation, conservation cemeteries, home funerals and human composting. 

• (0:00) - Introduction and Background of Mallory McDuff
• (2:05) - Defining Green Burials and Their Importance
• (5:47) - Exploring Cremation and Aquamation
• (14:06) - Choosing a Green Burial Site
• (29:53) - Personal Stories and Final Wishes
• (36:28) - Practical Considerations and Resources
• (36:39) - Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

In this second conversation with Mallory McDuff, environmental education professor, we discuss her book, Our Last Best Act. She is the author of four books, with essays featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post and more.

On racism as a curable heart disease, the ever-expanding gift of mindfulness, and what it means to stay awake and responsive in these times with care and wisdom. Ruth offers us an invaluable meditation to close.

Ruth King is an Insight Meditation Teacher and Emotional Wisdom author and consultant. She is on the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and teaches insight meditation retreats nationwide. Recognized as a trainer of trainers and consultant to consultants, King teaches the Mindful of Race Training Program to teams and organizations, supporting an engaged exploration of our racial conditioning, its impact, and our potential through a mindfulness lens. King has a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and is the author of several publications including The Emotional Wisdom Cards, Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible, and more recently Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out. For more information, visit ruthking.net

• Mindfulness as a way to reprogramme our nervous system, as we deconstruct our minds. [3:00]
• How Ruth came to this work. [6:38]
• The gap between our good intentions and what we do. [8:45]
• Cultivating presence so that we can bear witness. [9:40]
• Waking up to white privilege. Helping white people shift from the idea of being a good individual. Making this issue a collective priority. [10:45]
• What it would be like if white people were talking to their children about race. [14:13]
• Connecting the dots between what we read and the subtle shifts we make in our lives. [17:58]
• The six hindrances. [20:35]
• Internalised oppression. Representation and scarcity. [22:01]
• Stars and constellations. Looking through the lenses of individual and collective. [30:00]
• How white people can teach other people about whiteness. Racial affinity group work.
  Understanding our racial conditioning. [32:14]
• Cumulative impact. Generational fatigue. [36:50]
• Prison industrial complex. [39:08]
• Can we mobilize a collective consciousness around our racial conditioning so that we can see what’s happening? [44:46]
• Prioritizing kindness no matter what. [45:33]
• Ruth King leads us in a ten minute guided meditation. [45:55]
• The 5-5-5 rule and Mindfulness practice. 5 mins a day, 5 days a week, 5 weeks.[56:00]
• This work is messy and it's the work of a lifetime. Deep inner work.[56:36]
• Prayers from Mindful of Race. [1:01:36]

Resources

Mindful of Race by Ruth King
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Davis

Mindful of Race Training - The Mindful of Race Training Program supports an engaged exploration of our racial conditioning through a mindful lens. https://ruthking.net/mindful-of-race-training/

The Emotional Wisdom Cards - This 50 card deck is ideal for individuals, couples, communities, work teams, support groups and other relationships seeking understanding, connection and ease. https://ruthking.net/product/emotional-wisdom-cards/

On the real, daily work of falling in love with reality as it is.

The Ritual of Recovery: Elena's first spoken word piece to honour her five years of sobriety.

On true allyship, the names we need to keep repeating, the necessary healings and breaking through

Quddus (Q) is a veteran TV host, acclaimed celebrity interviewer and breakthrough media coach. Q is a former host of MTV’s iconic show Total Request Live (TRL), has produced projects with the likes of AOL, Yahoo, and YouTube, and worked in artist development for Interscope Records. Q has spoken for audiences at the United Nations and Global Citizen Festival but a trip to his father’s homeland, Haiti, inspired him to focus on directly helping others. As the founder of Media Mastery Academy, Q supports entrepreneurs and creatives to own their voice, share their story and master their brand. Q is currently based in Boulder, CO, working on his new podcast and writing his first book.

On the golden moments of quiet and the depths of healing available in silence.

• 2:35 – The origins of Golden; How can we be helpful and effective in making things better? The answers lie in the silence. Writing about silence for Harvard Business Review.
• 5:10 – What’s the deepest silence you have ever known? Not just the absence of noise, but a presence. Notice noise, tune in to silence. 1) Pay attention to the diverse forms of auditory, informational and internal interference. Study how to navigate them. 2) Perceive the small pockets of peace that live amidst all the sounds and stimuli. Seek these spaces. 3) Cultivate spaces of profound silence.
• 7:55- How we can find the most pristine attention possible when is only available for a very short time. Finding presence in silence. Exploring booming and rapturous silence.
• 9:30 – The attention economy and its impact on presence in silence. Is life really louder? Yes, across Europe, an estimated 450 million people (65% of the population) live with noise levels deemed hazardous to our health. Every two days we produce as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization to 2003.
• 12:15 Our pristine attention is measured at 0 according to GDP. It doesn’t have a value unless it’s chopped up and turned to revenue. We often mistake feelings of stress for aliveness. Attention taken to its highest degree is the same thing as prayer.
• 15:35 – Silence is renewal. Silence can reset the nervous system. Silence is Humility. Silence is accepting that it’s ok to not fill the space. Silence is clarity. Silence is expansion. Silence is the essence of life itself when there is nothing making claims on our consciousness.
• 17:35 – The Creative ACT: A Way of Being; Jarvis Jay Masters, writer and Buddhist on death row for 32 years for a crime he did not commit.
• 20:05 – Compassion is a doorway to silence. Experiencing Covid in San Quentin. “It’s not about you right now.”
• 22:10 – The way to quiet the noise in these impossible situations is to quiet the responses to the noise. Silence might interrupt the sadness of never understanding ourselves.
• 24:10 – What helps you stop? A yoga practice, meditation practice, chanting, tea rituals, creating circumstances to be doing what you love all the time.
• 27:25 – Enjoy deeply what you’re doing vs being lost in unwanted distraction. Keeping connection with what animates life. Appreciation that leads to love. Holding the heart. Reconnecting to the heart and body.
• 30:05 – Coming back to the place where nothing is making claims on the consciousness, even in the midst of intense noise, fear and uncertainty.
• 32:50 – Silence and quiet can come just in a moment, and in infinite ways. Facing ourselves in silence means having the courage to become more aware of what’s been hidden.
• 34:50 – Getting a little closer to our intuition. Cyrus Habib – serving from a place of intuition. Turning down the noise of life in order to hear the signals of the heart.
• 37:00 – Getting beyond the noise of other people’s expectations. Becoming a connoisseur of creation. Attention stability and balance.
• 39:20 – Baelyn Neff – @allmattersofspirit – Stay with the Tea. Idea #7 – Presence is having all your energy and attention at your disposal, and not inaccessible because of worry, distraction, anxiety or chronic tension.
• 43:15 – Cynthia Bourgeault – Never do something in a state of internal brace. In the midst of noise, quiet down and keep going.

Silence isn't just the absence of noise. It's a presence that brings us energy, clarity, and deeper connection.

Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz take us on an unlikely journey--from the West Wing of the White House to San Quentin's death row; from Ivy League brain research laboratories to underground psychedelic circles; from the temperate rainforests of Olympic National Park to the main stage at a heavy metal festival--to explore the meaning of silence and the art of finding it in any situation.

Golden reveals how to go beyond the ordinary rules and tools of mindfulness. It's a field guide for navigating the noise of the modern world--not just the noise in our ears but also on our screens and in our heads. Drawing on lessons from neuroscience, business, spirituality, politics, and the arts, Marz and Zorn explore why auditory, informational, and internal silence is essential for physical health, mental clarity, ecological sustainability, and vibrant community.

With vital lessons for individuals, families, workplaces, and whole societies, Golden is an engaging and unexpected rethinking of the meaning of quiet. Marz and Zorn make the bold and convincing argument that we can repair our world by reclaiming the presence of silence in our lives.

Justin Talbot Zorn has served as both a policymaker and a meditation teacher in the U.S. Congress. A Harvard- and Oxford-trained specialist in the economics and psychology of well-being, Justin has written for the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, Foreign Policy, and other publications. He is cofounder of Astrea Strategies, a consultancy that bridges contemplation and action, helping leaders and teams envision and communicate solutions to complex challenges. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife and three children.

Leigh Marz is a collaboration consultant and leadership coach for major universities, corporations, and federal agencies as well as a longtime student of pioneering researchers and practitioners of the ritualized use of psychedelic medicines in the West. In her professional work, she has led diverse initiatives, including a training program to promote an experimental mindset among teams at NASA and a decade-long cross-sector collaboration to reduce toxic chemicals in products, in partnership with Green Science Policy Institute, Harvard University, IKEA, Google, and Kaiser Permanente. She is the cofounder of Astrea Strategies. Leigh lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband and daughter.

On the Way of Tea, the practice of service, the meaning of presence and the medicine of silence.

• (1:46) – Tea, presence, and mindfulness.
• (5:48) – Tea, meditation, and prison reform.
• (11:52) – Buddhist chaplaincy training and tea practices.
• (16:26) – Acting, producing, and healing.
• (22:37) – Meditation, mindfulness, and Zen Buddhism.
• (32:14) – Music, prison reform, and personal growth.

Mia Maestro most recently wrapped Oscar-nominee Jose Rivera’s Castro’s Daughter, directed by Miguel Bardem. She appears in the Apple+ Scott Z. Burns’ climate change anthology Extrapolations starring opposite Ed Norton.

Mia is a citizen of the world, traveling, surfing, scuba diving, and warming her spirit through the practice of Cha Dao, The Way of Tea. She’s passionate about prison reform and serves tea to the incarcerated through Healing Dialogue and Action in the state of California.

https://miamaestro.com

On the changing ecology of the yoga world, the importance of mentorship, and how we mature as teachers.

Amy is a yoga teacher, author, and earth activist. Her caring approach brings ancient wisdom to modern seekers, both on and off the mat. She shares her passion for yoga, health, and earth conservation, through her writings for Yoga Journal, Organic Life, Prevention Magazine and others. She is a featured teacher on Glo.com and a pioneer for advanced yoga education, serving both students as well as fellow yoga teachers. In 2012 she co-founded 90 Monkeys, a professional development school that has enhanced the skills of yoga teachers in 65+ countries internationally. In 2016 she co-authored the book, The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga, which has become a staple in yoga teacher trainings around the globe.

• Yoga in New York in the 1990s. Amy’s desire to help new yoga teachers thrive. [3:14]
• Yoga Teacher Mentorship. Asana and personal coaching off the mat. [6:53]
• Anusura yoga. [10:42]
• The future of yoga. Bringing meaning to each class. [13:30]
• What needs healing right now. [18:16]
• Favorite view. [19:50]
• Prayer. [22:05]
• Amy's future in teaching. Environmental activism.[24:05]

RESOURCES

The Art of Studentship and Yoga Mentorship
Come of Age by Stephen Jenkinson
Stasher Bags
Wild Aid
NRDC
Blue Sphere Foundation
SeaLegacy

http://www.amyippoliti.com

90 Monkeys Teacher Training programs - The mission of 90 Monkeys teacher training programs is simple: To change the world through providing yoga instructors and studios the tools to be the gold standard for yoga in your community.

"The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga" book - This indispensable and inspiring book guides both new and established professionals toward maximizing their impact as teachers and achieving their career goals.

On the past as fuel for the future, the realities of race, and the magic of making records.

• Jeff's earliest musical influences [3:37]
• His first experience of racism [6:40]
• Creating his own blueprint for life [11:10]
• Speaking to his children about what it means to be Black in America [15:16]
• Favorite moments with Bad Boy [22:16]
• The night that Biggie was murdered [26:22]
• Artists Jeff is most excited about now [31:39]
• Favorite view [38:06]
• Prayer [40:01]
• Delivering art to shift culture [42:00]

Resources

Kanye West

Kaash Paige
YG
Bino Rideaux
QUIN
1619 Project
Color of Change
When We All Vote

Jeff Burroughs' leverages pop culture, bridging the gap to cultural relevance for brand initiatives and to build artist brands.

He's had the pleasure of working with some of today's most innovative brands and been fortunate enough to have developed successful brand strategies for award winning-world class artists like YG, P Diddy and 2 Chains, top rated television programs like the XFactor and a host of cpg companies. As Executive Vice President of Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy became one of the highest grossing conglomerates in the entertainment industry and shifted culture.

On Rituals, Practices, and Good Listening

On the occasion of the release of 'Rituals for Every Day' by Nadia Narain and and Katia Narain Phillips, we gathered to chat about our own practices of listening, praying and meaning-making.

Nadia Narain is one of the UK’s best loved and most respected yoga teachers. For more than 20 years, she has taught everyone from professional athletes to, pregnant women to total beginners and yoga sceptics, how to take care of their outer bodies as well as their inner spirit, she has inspired thousands to slow down, be kind and love themselves where they are. Nadia is also co-author with her sister of the international bestselling book “Self Care for the Real World,” and more recently, “Rituals for Every Day,” explaining not just why we have to look after ourselves, but how i simple achievable ways.

Resources

nadianarain.com - Nadia has a range for chemical free candles and perfumes and yoga retreats
Notes and Methods by Hilma Af Klint
Marie Kondo, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up
Belonging by Toko-pa Turner
Luke Storey’s The Life Stylist Podcast episode 191 with Dr Jack Kruse:
ABC carpet and home.
Rituals for Every Day

Length: 40:16

Timecodes:

1:57

Reading from p29 Notes and Methods by Hilma Af Klint https://amzn.to/2LZQZIp

4:31

On trusting the messages that we hear from the other side.

7:24

Remembering that the other benevolent realms are also a part of you. Those forces want our help too. Building friendship. Marie Kondo. On helping being natural.

12:52

Assignment:

• Ask for Help

• Be a good friend. Listen and trust.

• Carry a pair of warm socks in the winter time.

• Remember that you’re not a burden, if you ask for help.

17:27

Nadia and Katia’s experience of rituals growing up.

19:06

Rituals for breaking up.

20:50

Making the mundane special. Pujas. Physicalized prayer for a project, or another person.

25:48

Reading from Toko-pa Turner’s book Belonging https://amzn.to/2YFjRqY

28:00

The lost language of prayer. There are really beautiful, magical things happening despite what gets noisy and loud.

29:20

Spending time on things that are joyful, not necessarily productive.

Assignment: do something, creative or otherwise, where you’re not dealing with the outcome, just doing.

31:30

Hilma af Klint passage, on not being discouraged when you don’t see results. On growing, and being guided.

35:10

Don’t do anything alone. Take a friend by the hand, invisible or otherwise.

36:10

Dr Jack Kruse on The 5G Apocalypse. Stay close to the trees.

On vocalizing the pain of generations, standing up to ensure safe spaces, and crafting the conversations that need to be heard.

On the ultimate mystery, the balm of faith and the touching humanity we all share.

On releasing rage, growing up, and the steady vibration of truth.

On whiteness in wellness, our responsibility, our clumsiness and our commitments.

• Creating Wanderlust [4:41]
• Spirituality and Civic engagement [16:30]
• Acknowledging complicity. The role of the wellness teacher [20:39]
• Black Lives Matter protests. Witnessing glimpses of Oneness [29:21]
• Grace for clumsiness. Taking moral inventory [36:33]
• Reframing the notion of separation [43:39]
• Shaping the world in small moments [47:59]

Jeff attended The Hotchkiss School and received his BA in 1993 from Columbia University. In 2008, Jeff created the concept for Wanderlust, a series of large-scale events combining yoga & wellness with the arts.

In 2018, Jeff founded Commune Media, an online learning platform for personal and societal well-being. As CEO, Jeff focuses on talent relationships, business development and building a stellar team. He also hosts the Commune podcast, interviewing a wide variety of guests from Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson to Brendon Burchard and Russell Brand.

Jeff serves on the board of Pure Edge, a non-profit organization dedicated to integrating yoga and mindfulness curriculum into the public school system. Jeff is a contributor to the Huffington Post and Fast Company. Jeff has written two books, Wanderlust & Find Your True Fork and pens a weekly newsletter called Commusings.

In 2016, he was selected by Oprah Winfrey to be part of the SuperSoul100 as one of the nation’s leading entrepreneurs.

In 1995, Jeff married Schuyler Grant, his college sweetheart. Schuyler, a yoga teacher and director of Kula Yoga Project, served as the inspiration for Wanderlust. Jeff & Schuyler have three beautiful daughters, Phoebe, Lolli and Micah. They currently live in Los Angeles, California.

RESOURCES

http://www.onecommune.com/
http://www.jeffkrasno.com/

Wanderlust
Commune
Pure Edge
Kula Yoga
Heavy - Kiese Laymon
White Fragility - Robin DiAngelo

On fostering spiritual kinship and community, a plea to stay in the fold of love and civility, and recipes to fortify the truth of our interbeing.

• (3:40) - Facing grief and loss as a chaplain.
• (10:21) -Buddhist retreats for intergenerational healing.
• (18:55) -Narcissism and the Buddhist Path to Authenticity.
• (25:11) - Intergenerational wisdom and mindfulness.
• (31:25) - Buddhist teachings and meditation practice.
• (37:03) -Ethics, gratitude, and relationships.

Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde is a pastoral counselor, writer, instructor and speaker. She did her post-doctoral work at Harvard Divinity School, earned a Doctor of Theology in Pastoral Counseling from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, earned her M.A. in Culture and Spirituality from Holy Names University in Oakland, CA, and her law degree from Indiana University of Law. She is a Community Dharma Leader certified by Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. Her articles appear in Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar, Journal of Buddhist-Christian Studies, Religions and Feminist Theology. She is an interfaith pan-Buddhist practitioner. Ayo is the author of three books: Casting Indra’s Net: Fostering Spiritual Kinship and Community (2023, Shambhala Publications). Black and Buddhist: What Buddhism Can Teach Us About Race Resilience, Transformation and Freedom co-edited with Cheryl A. Giles (2020, Shambhala Publications). Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, U.S. Law, and Womanist Theology for Transgender Spiritual Care (2020, Palgrave Macmillan).

On the insidious nature of shame, and the stupefyingly beautiful experience of being human.

A hybrid of laser-like practicality and cutting-edge visionary insight, Scott Schwenk has been catalyzing the inner evolution and leadership development of individuals, relationships, and larger groups and organizations for over 25 years. His work and teaching is a blend of stillness, unexpected expansion, laughter, discovery and potent actionable insights revealing dynamic inner freedom and a thriving outer life.

Resources

http://scottschwenk.com

On growing our love, meeting ourselves with care, and receiving the intelligent tenderness of every moment.

• 2:05 - You Better Be Lightning – winner of the Independent Publisher Book Award, Feathered Quill Book Award, American Library Association Over the Rainbow, Colorado Book Award & Goodreads Choice Finalist.
• 4:30 - Things That Don’t Suck (Substack); Softening since high school, and over the last 10 years. Everything changing with the first buzz cut.
• 6:30 - Anis Mojhani – “My heart was too big for my body, so I had to let it go.”; Discovering spoken word in 1999. Dreaming of having poetry readings in packed rock clubs.
• 8:45 - People coming to the shows because they too were having panic attacks. Being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and almost immediately feeling safer than ever before.
• 10:50 - Remission nutrition and chemotherapy.
• 13:00 - We don’t realize how much we are living in the future until we are confronted with our mortality. Trusting the universe and having a loving relationship with our mortality.
• 15:15 - Favorite medium of art – Music. It transports to an expansive place, so many feelings at once, nostalgic and enlivening. We are every age we have ever been. We are all of the ages.
• 17:20 - In order to offer forgiveness, I don’t have to love myself less, I can love myself more. Self love being the same thing as loving the entire world.
• 20:10 - Choosing compassion over anger when finding out about getting cancer. Gaining this sudden clarity. Continuing to learn.
• 23:35 - Learning tenderness from the places where there was a lack of tenderness. Becoming witness and having compassion for the edges. Seeing that kindness comes from offering kindness to the parts of me that haven’t been kind.
• 25:50 - How much to share publicly vs keeping things quiet. Feeling safety in expression.
• 27:35 - Drawing inspiration from everywhere. All of writing and creating is plagiarizing the beauty that is already here. What made the aspen trees is the same thing that made me.
• 29:40 - Short readings from Andrea – “Instead of Depression”; “Wellness Check”;

Andrea Gibson is one of the most celebrated and influential spoken word poets of our time. Best known for their live performances, Gibson has changed the landscape of what it means to attend a “poetry show” altogether. To hear Gibson is like hearing songwriters play their music, their trademark honesty and vulnerability are on full display. Gibson’s poems center around LGBTQ issues, gender, feminism, mental health and the dismantling of oppressive social systems. The winner of the first Women’s World Poetry Slam, Gibson has gone on to be awarded the LGBTQ Out100 and has been featured on BBC, NPR and CSpan. Gibson is the author of seven award winning books and seven full length albums. Their live shows have become loving and supportive ecosystems for audiences to feel seen, heard, and held through Gibson’s art.

You Better Be Lightning (2021) by Andrea Gibson is a queer, political, and feminist collection guided by self-reflection.The poems range from close examination of the deeply personal to the vastness of the world, exploring the expansiveness of the human experience from love to illness, from space to climate change, and so much more in between. You Better Be Lightning is winner of the Independent Publisher Book Award, Feathered Quill Book Award, American Library Association Over the Rainbow, Colorado Book Award & Goodreads Choice Finalist. https://buttonpoetry.com/product/you-better-be-lightning/

Things That Don't Suck (Substack) - It's common to look around and take inventory of what sucks. This is one poet's quest to uncover what doesn't, and what shifts when we shift our attention. https://andreagibson.substack.com

On the wisdom of trauma, the difference between healthy and unhealthy anger, our issues as our finest teachers, and the coping child within each of us. 

On a new definition of politics, and caring for ourselves through this.

• Sustainability vs growth [3:26]
• Bridging personal transformation and politics [5:22]
• The origins of CTZNWELL [9:31]
• White supremacy and the wellness community [12:20]
• Reckoning. Staying curious. Expanding your practice to include staying informed [14:15]
• Questions to ask about the governance of wellness [20:45]
• Considering wellbeing on a national level [22:48]
• Holding uncertainty [25:05]
• Building communities that include political literacy, action and care [26:17]
• Why healing is political [29:30]

Kerri is the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement to mobilize the wellbeing community into a powerful force for change. Her work was sparked on 9-11, when she lost her step-dad, a fireman, in the towers. She quickly discovered the power of yoga and mindfulness, not just as a tool for personal healing, but as a catalyst for collective change. Since then, Kerri has worked passionately to organize communities around the fight for justice and wellbeing.

A yoga teacher, public speaker and change-agent - Kerri is recognized across communities for her inspired work to bridge transformational practice with social change and politics. She’s been instrumental in translating the tools of wellbeing into practical application and social action in the public sector, working in collaboration with community organizers, spiritual leaders and policy makers. Her leadership has inspired a movement to democratize wellbeing that is actively organizing around issues of economic and racial justice, universal healthcare, civic engagement and more.

You can find Kerri on CTZN Podcast, a courageous conversation that is reimagining a citizenship where everyone belongs. And check out her TED talks for more about her story.

Resources

ctznwell.org
CTZN podcast
Kerri Kelly interviewing Robin DiAngelo
Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth
WELLREAD: FREE weekly toolkit with everything you need to get in the know, take action and stay well along the way.

On using neuroscience to raise caring, compassionate, creative humans.

• Creativity [3:04]
• Empathy and self-control [7:40]
• Stages of brain development [20:14]
• Using brain plasticity to parent better. Experiences as a toolkit [24:03]
• Offering choices to children [30:42]
• Parental scaffolding. Offering a framework to kids for any given scenario [33:45]
• Conflict resolution. Teaching your kids to communicate clearly [41:40]
• Role playing. Learning to set boundaries [44:23]
• Fostering compassion for the bully [46:43]
• Neuroscience of self-control and self-regulation. Drug use [47:11]

Resources

Erin Clabough
Second Nature, Erin Clabough
Neuro for Parents video series
Nonviolent Communication, Marshall B. Rosenberg
Back Talk, Audrey Ricker The Soul of Discipline, Kim John Payne
What We Say Matters, Judith Hanson Lasater

On compassion in the context of activism, building a culture of care, and cultivating enthusiasm to save our democracy.

• Being radically human [2:42]
• Sharing peace in a way that incites action [4:24]
• Our responsibility to each other. Information and discernment [6:21]
• Planting seeds of love and compassion [12:52]
• Changing our opinions over time [18:00]
• Immigration detainment camps. Focusing on human values [22:28]
• Leading with what inspires us [27:13]
• Operating from our humanity when we disagree [31:09]
• What needs healing [40:37]
• Favourite view [43:00]
• Prayer [43:40]

Reggie is a leading activist, strategist, and teacher with experience in fields ranging from global marketing, digital and community organizing, government relations, international education to Presidential campaigning. He currently serves as a senior political strategist for a leading progressive organization, a hybrid of communications, public speaking, strategy, relationship building, issue advocacy, mass mobilizations and electoral campaign work.

Reggie is also a 500 hour certified yoga teacher and author of a thesis entitled, "Yoga and Spiritual Activism: Serving Humanity from a Sense of Devotion and Love." He has studied extensively with leading teachers such as Faith Hunter, Amy Ippolitti, Yogarupa Rod Stryker, Sri Dharma Mittra as well as many amazing teachers along the way. He teaches Members of Congress, Congressional Staff, leading progressive organizations and individuals, sharing techniques for growing peace and ease as a foundation, not an afterthought in his teaching practice, Active Peace Yoga.

In July 2020, Reggie helped launch a grassroots campaign along with David Lipsius, Amy Ippoliti, Jack Kornfeld and Tara Brach called Buddhists and Yogis United. This is an effort to share information and inspire teachers and their respective communities to encourage active civic participation in the upcoming election and beyond. The times require our active engagement in social change - we must move beyond talk toward courageous and inspired action.

He holds a BA in Philosophy from Yale, and an international MBA from the Vlerick Business School in Belgium.

Resources

Reggie Hubbard
Buddhist and Yogins United
MoveOn https://front.moveon.org/Rabbit Hole podcast
Ctznwell
http://www.activepeaceyoga.com
Op-Ed in The Hill about social justice after George Floyd:
Buddhist and Yogis United Initiative
spiritual activism with Ethan Nichtern and Dharma Vote

On racism recovery as psychological, individual and collective healing.

• How April came to her work [2:35]
• Racism from a psychological perspective [11:12]
• Narcissism and codependency [18:43]
• White privilege. Complicity [23:00]
• Treating perpetrators. Defense mechanisms [26:08]
• Co-dependent racist savorism and anti-racist education on Instagram [33:19]
• Racist rejection of whiteness and cultural appropriation [57:51]
• Building trust and being trustworthy [59:50]
• Psychoanalysing racism and evidence-based practices [1:10:55]
• Stages of change [1:33:25]

April is a former medical social worker, where she provided counseling to her patients and their family members to help them cope with the trauma of medical emergencies in the state of Texas. She later moved to Colorado and started her private practice to serve QTPOC patients with a history of racial trauma. After having worked with QTPOC, she decided to help prevent racism in society by working with white clients as a coach using the Racist Signature Theory. Finally, she opened up the Racism Recovery Center to provide psychotherapy for the treatment of racism.

RESOURCES

https://www.racismrecoverycenter.com/
Racism Recovery Center
Developing Self Trust
Disparity in History textbooks
All About Love, Bell Hooks
The Courage to Trust, Cynthia Lynn Wall
My Grandmother’s Hands, Resmaa Menakem
Chloe Valdary, Theory of Enchantment
Dr. Gabor Mate

On the causes of, and possible solutions for, autoimmune struggles. On resolving the trauma signature so many of us carry.

Justin Michael Williams works at the intersection of music, mindfulness, and social justice. With his groundbreaking book, Stay Woke, and over a decade of teaching experience, Justin has become a pioneering voice for diversity and inclusion in wellness.

• Ending Racism Manifesto [1:40]
• The five assumptions we make about why racism persists [8:33]
• Justin’s process of writing the Manifesto [15:40]
• Racism is learned [18:30]
• Questioning the idea that racism can not end [21:29]
• Race is not real, although the effects of racism are [22:51]
• Looking to real stories as evidence that people can change [28:50]
• Widespread change has happened in short periods of time [35:10]
• Solutions exist, but we all need to be ready and willing for them to work [38:35]
• What you can do [48:02]

Resources

justinmichaelwilliams.com
Read the Manifesto and Sign the Pledge
Donate to The Dream Bigger Foundation
Listen The Turning, by Justin Michael Williams

On all the questions you're asking of Elena, from personal to professional; from skincare to reading, teaching to healing, clearing your space, creating your home sanctuary.  

On death, grieving, service, and releasing our fixation on redemption.

On the thresholds of our lives and all the human, tender moments we might otherwise miss.

On the practical science of essential oils to boost your brain and support your body.

On creating safe space online for spirituality to flourish in all its forms.

On the ecology of your business; creating a world of your work that feels like a sanctuary for yourself and others.

On the surprising nature of unconditionality, the meaning and practice of service and taking action in your own neighborhood.