Breaking down the path of Yoga Therapy with Jennifer Kreatsoulas founder of Yoga for Eating Disorders

Today's episode provides you with a breakdown of Season 6 reviewing the exciting guests we have had on the show along with a series of engaging solo episodes.

Inviting you to tune back in to any of the episodes that you missed.

We will be taking a short break and will be returning with Season 7 in March, until then I invite you to stay connected.

Join the Self Awareness Collective ~ Next Call happening on February 21st at 7EST! 

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

In today's episode I sit down with Tejal Patel (she/they)  a first-generation Indian American yoga teacher, writer, podcaster, and community organizer. Tejal’s aim is to educate and empower individuals and groups around the world to practice yoga holistically and through a social justice equity lens.

We explore: 

• Tejal's background Story & beginning Yoga Teacher training in 2012
• Seeking community through South Asian Teachers
• Practicing Yoga through a lens of advocacy, belonging and equity
• Integrating Social Justice into the Yoga Practices
• Understanding the barriers to the yoga practice for people
• Exploring accessible and pricing 
• Integrating authenticity and capitalism 
• How to find a balance with keeping integrity in the practices and making a living
• Using strategic planning and flexibility to forecast what is possible and the power in exploring your numbers 
• Inviting in the idea of Mutual Aid for people that have more to give
• Exploring the overwhelm that can come from bringing social justice into the yoga practices 
• Inviting in the uncomfortable and owning your own self awareness
• Finding a process system when you feel like you have done enough and how to find resources to move yourself forward 
• Starting to broaden your scope and expand your perspective
• The power in continuing to try, learn and grow
• “Both” and “and” can exist together  - expanding your network of receiving information 
• Asking the question of what you think the practice of yoga is?
• Exploring where you get information and if diversity exists
• Untapped power of connecting and being a connector to increase our sense of belonging 

Tejal can be found decolonizing wellness with the revolutionary Tejal Yoga Online, a primarily South Asian teacher-led yoga space, with the abcdyogi interactive community, an online hub for healing and learning, and through the Yoga is Dead podcast, e-book, and signature cultural appropriation training.

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

Welcome to 2024!

Today's episode focuses on the two ingredients to setting successful intentions in the New Year: Perseverance + Will. 

Breaking down: 

• Thoughts, Feelings, perseverance and Will
• How strong is your will to stay on track?
• What is your level of discipline?
• Practices for evaluating your own level of consistency and discipline
• Relationship to Time and Timing 

Sharing some Intention setting practices on the Blog this month ~ Inviting you to Check it out! 

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

Jenn Greenhut Tollin, actress turned singer-songwriter turned yoga teacher in Los Angeles, having 20 years plus teaching in yoga studios and private clients in Los Angeles.  After meeting her husband, Larry, she was on a path to have the family she always wanted. A year and a half after marriage, her dreams were shattered by a stage IV triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis. Immediately, instead of wanting children, all she wanted was to stay alive. Her yoga practice and strong belief that "everything happens for a reason" led her to allowing stage IV breast cancer to become an inspiring, uplifting story.

Together in this episode we share:  

• Journey into yoga through acting and the difference from gymnastics vs Yoga
• Coming from a place of doing and being validated by what you do 
• Journey from the outside to the inside and being present on the yoga mat.
• Practicing ongoing awareness in day to day activities
• Stepping into the role of teacher and facing reoccurring thoughts 
• Journey into teaching yoga starting with studios and transitioning quickly to private sessions
• Moved from acting into singer songwriting
• Challenges with being an entrepreneur and financially supporting herself 
• Organic growth vs. having a vision forward
• Next step in Jenn’s story of meeting her husband and desire to start a family and her diagnosis of IV Breast Cancer 
• A range of emotions that were present during the diagnosis and looking at what we do have vs. what we don’t have
• Using her own energy to move through the treatment process
• Started her own company ZeroNegative to help others
• Tips for going through cancer treatment and prayer for going through chemo therapy
• Vision for non profit of creating retreats and coming back into self love practices
• Living a life of trusting 
• Untapped Power:  Being a healer and inspiring healing as well as each one of us tapping into this for ourselves

Jennifer can be found on instagram @lovezeronegative and on facebook @lovezeronegative.

New Book:  Everyone needs a Larry - Available Now! 

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

In today's episode we walk through the practices of having greater acceptance and appreciation to taking a pause and slowing down. 

Some highlights include:  

• Learning to find pause during a time when the world feels overwhelmingly busy
• The myth of slowing down being equal to laziness 
• Slowing down can be reflective and be creative
• Certain times in our lives require a pause or a slowing down out of our control 
• Discovering our own personal relationship to slowing down and being honest with ourselves. 

Wishing you a season filled with stillness, pause and intentional slowing down. 

Interested in joining the Self Awareness Collective?

Learn More 

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

Joy Bartholomew is the founder of The Divorce Confidante. She is a retired police officer, after serving 30 years, and she decided to create a new life for herself after her divorce. She is currently a divorce coach for women helping them work through the divorce process and reclaim their lives as independent women.  Joy is also a yoga teacher and meditation facilitator, bringing these additional modes of healing into her coaching practice.

Together in this episode we breakdown: 

• Joy’s personal journey into Yoga and Yoga Teaching and the transition into coaching and working as a divorce coach
• Joy’s approach to change and her ability to ride the waves of transition
• Reminders for knowing you are on the right path
• Initial challenges when teaching yoga 
• Eb and flow of creativity through yoga and life 
• Joy’s journey through divorce and personal challenge
• Identifying one thing to do today to build momentum in your life
• How to deal with financial stability during divorce and the importance of seeing options to reduce the fear
• Working through a scarcity mindset vs an abundance mindset as well as maintaining a budget day to day
• Re-defining lonely and alone through self awareness practices
• Top challenges for divorce: finances, loneliness, shame, kids
• Reminder that you are not going to be moving forward every day
• How to build self confidence one step at a time and practicing curiosity when working with people versus fixing
• Joy’s continuous evolution in her business and the importance of trying new things, failing and starting again
• Untapped Power: unlocking our own confidence and overcoming imposter syndrome 

Connect with Joy on Social Media @divorce_confidante and receive her free sleep Resource Below:
Free Resource on Sleep 

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

As we move into the holiday season today's episode breaks down self awareness tools for approaching holiday spending. 

Highlights:

• Understanding your own relationship to gift giving
• Understanding your relationships to important people in your life
• Past beliefs around gift giving
• Learning to trust yourself along the way
• Gifts in other forms

Interested in Joining our call on December 13th call in the Self Awareness Collective ~ Talking all about uncovering the beautiful gifts that exist within you.

Let's connect!

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

In today's episode we will be looking at our greatest teachers which can come in the form of simplicity, patience and compassion through the teachings of Lao Tzu

Breaking down:

• How these three teachers open our path to gratitude
• Practices for simplicity, patience and compassion
• How to access these practices during challenging times 
• Giving yourself more access to gratitude 

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

Today's episode breaks down the gift of distractions and how they can be used as a gateway into our fears. 

Breaking down: 

• How you distract yourself
• Why you distract yourself
• Awareness to your distractions 
• Taking Inventory of your distractions as part of your healing journey
• Shifting away from fixing into healing 

Interested in learning more about this topic and other topics connected to your own self awareness, join us monthly in the Self Awareness Collective! 

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.

Lauren Leduc is a visionary, teacher, intuitive, mentor, and mama. With the special gift of cultivating community and creating accessible experiences, Lauren has taught thousands of students with her approachable and intelligent methodology. She is compassionate, thoughtful, and deeply invested in creating opportunities for others to grow and shine.

In this episode we break down:

• Lauren's background story and introduction to yoga at age 17 which led to pursuing a career as a yoga teacher. 
• Challenges as a new teacher teaching in different environment and learning to translate the practice into different settings
• Started teaching 24 classes a week and still doing two other jobs for financial stability
• Journey into opening her own yoga studio and tips for teaching full time 
• Having a sense of stability so you are not coming into the business with a sense of lack 
• Breaking down studio payment structure 
• Different pricing models for Yoga Studios 
• How things shifted during COVID and what was learned
• Adapting and learning to meet people where they are at 
• Created Yoga teacher training program that is a combination of online and in person learning 
• Multiple methods for accountability during Yoga Teacher training
• Yoga alliance and what role it plays 
• Incorporating trauma informed and anti racism training 
• Having kind inquiry with others
• Moving into more online coaching and the introduction of a new book
• Untapped Power:   Inner Goddess or sacred feminine within each of us 

Lauren’s greatest current spiritual passion is harnessing the Sacred Feminine and guiding women and femmes to love themselves and embrace wholeness. She believes awakening feminine folks to their power will be the catalyst for creating a more peaceful and loving world. Lauren has channeled her life experience, expertise, and passion into her first book, Embody Your Inner Goddess: A Guided Path to Radical Wholeness, which will be published November 24, 2023.

Pre- order book! 

Connect with Lauren on Instagram @Iamlaurenleduc or check out her podcast Your Spiritual Besties

Leave a review and let us know your thoughts on this episode so we can continue to share this podcast with others or follow along on Instagram.