The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
191: Self-Care Tips to Fuel Your Business with Shunta Grant
Description:
With everything that’s been going on this year, life can feel quite overwhelming. It can be easy to fall into the trap of feeling like you need to “do it all” or you may be wondering "How can I ever get all of this done?". You may be setting some unrealistic expectations and put additional (unnecessary) pressure on yourself. This is exactly when you need to be taking time for self-care, just when it seems to be at the bottom of the priority list. Shunta Grant, an expert in helping women live life (and build businesses) on the OTHER side of busy, is on the podcast to explain why.
Shunta Grant is the Creator of the Best Today™ Brand, owner of Because of Zoe Designs, and host of the Business, Life & Joy podcast. She helps women clarify their needs and desires, and guides them toward their vision for the future with simple, actionable steps. Her unique frameworks have transformed hundreds of women from busy and overworked, to proactive, focused and intentional business owners, leaders and team members.
Having a routine for self-care and your business, can help to deal with some of the overwhelm, stress and tension you may be experiencing in these times. Shunta talks to us about why it’s so important to prioritize self-care especially when it feels like things are out of control, and shares some of her tips, tricks and strategies to create and stick to realistic routines that will help you achieve the life you want to live.
Key Takeaways:
[7:47] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Shunta Grant.
[9:53] What does Shunta do and who does she do it for?
[10:42] Shunta runs multiple businesses in addition to managing her two children at home, all in 3 days of work a week.
[11:48] Where should people start if they're feeling like something in their routine needs to change?
[13:43] What can we do when something goes wrong and throws our entire routine off?
[16:11] Shunta and Shannon talk through an example of a hypothetical situation where someone feels their mornings are crazy and that throws off their whole day.
[18:40] How does Shunta take time for herself even when she has young children?
[19:55] Set an intention for your morning and for the day ahead.
[20:40] How does Shunta deal with things happening unexpectedly?
[22:27] How does Shunta set up routines with her business, work and other commitments?
[24:25] How often does Shunta set goals for her business and personal life?
[25:53] What does Shunta hear from her audience in terms of how the Best Today Guide and Right Now Routine have helped them?
[30:43] What are some of Shunta's tips to trim some of the extra things out of her business?
[32:28] Shunta shares some strategies on how you can stick to your routines.
[35:38] Sundays are a good day to preview the week and get ready for things that are upcoming.
[39:22] What are some of the routines that Shunta maintains in her personal life?
[42:03] How important is a daily routine and what helps us to stick to those routines?
[44:29] Shunta has some tips and tricks for setting a routine that works.
[47:21] Find out more about the Right Now Routine and the Best Today Guide at the website.
[48:05] Shannon shares some of her key takeaways.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity and Pelvic Health Professionals
.
Quotes from this episode:
"There's a reason why you are experiencing everything you are experiencing, both good and the not-good." - Shunta Grant
"Let's identify the stuff that you don't like and let's cut out the thing that keeps causing it to continuously happen." - Shunta Grant
"Creativity comes from rest and play." - Shunta Grant
"Everybody needs routine and structure. It's not just for people with children, it's not just for married people, it's not just for people in the city, it's not just for people in the suburbs. It's for everyone who desires to have this peace and calm in their lives." - Shunta Grant
"A little bit of proactivity will add the peace and the time you're looking for." - Shunta Grant
"It's really training your brain to think about what you actually need to get done, and get out of the habit of just doing stuff." - Shunta Grant
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
190: How to Create Guided Meditations with Kelly Smith
Description:
In most typical or mainstream yoga class settings, an aspect of yoga that doesn’t get too much attention is meditation. Many of us have encountered students complaining that they don't have time to meditate, or people who really struggle with laying still and quieting their minds - perhaps that’s even something you have struggled with. There’s where guided meditations can be helpful, and Kelly Smith has some tips and insights for us on the topic.
Kelly Smith is a meditation teacher, yoga teacher trainer, and the founder of Yoga For You, a location independent yoga and meditation school. She also hosts the Mindful in Minutes podcast, where she shares her personal guided meditations. By focusing on the less physical yoga practices like meditation, yoga nidra, restorative yoga and mindful flows, Kelly helps people find their true selves and begin living the joyful life they deserve through mentorship, private sessions, teacher trainings and online courses.
Kelly shares some of the benefits of meditation, and highlights some of the differences between guided imagery, guided meditations and Savasana. She has tips on how to write guided meditations, and the nitty gritty details of how to record a meditation and share it online. Kelly also tackles some of the common misconceptions around meditation, and why it’s so important to meet your students where they are in their meditation journey.
If you’ve been wondering how to get students interested in meditation, how to create your own guided meditation practice, or how to get those meditations online, this interview with Kelly is a great starting point.
Key Takeaways:
[8:07] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Kelly Smith.
[9:33] Where did Kelly's journey with yoga begin?
[12:53] What are three things Kelly would highlight to people that want to skip out on Savasana?
[15:09] Shannon and Kelly discuss why it's so important to meet students where they're at when it comes to meditation.
[17:38] How long do you need to meditate to get the benefits of meditation?
[20:11] What does Kelly offer now in terms of meditation?
[21:37] What is the difference between some of the common forms of mediation like guided meditation, guided imagery and Savasana?
[26:19] Where can we start if we decide to write our own guided meditations? What are some steps to follow?
[27:55] Kelly walks through an example of what writing your own guided meditation could look like.
[33:44] What has Kelly learned along the way in creating and writing meditations?
[39:48] Kelly recommends keeping a big document as your Idea Parking Lot, and a separate document to record descriptive words and images.
[42:09] How can you record and share guided meditations or guided Savasanas for your students to take home?
[44:20] Find out more about Kelly's work at her website.
[46:13] Shannon shares her key takeaways for this episode.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity and Pelvic Health Professionals
.
Quotes from this episode:
"No one ever educated me on the benefits or why we do Savasana." - Kelly
"There's this common misconception that meditation is kind of like doing nothing. If that's what people think, then we haven't done our job in educating our students." - Kelly
"The science shows us that anywhere from 8 to 12 minutes a day is enough to get the neurological and physiological benefits of meditation." - Kelly
"We start by writing the guided meditation by thinking about how the story that we're telling is going to end." - Kelly
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
189: Your Movement Science is Racist with Jesal Parikh
Description:
Racism, cultural appropriation, inclusivity and privilege - these are topics that may make us uncomfortable, but these are conversations that are all the more important to have. Jesal Parikh recently hosted a workshop entitled “Your Movement Science is Racist”, and in this episode, she explains how racism, appropriation and privilege shows up in movement science and other areas of the yoga and wellness industry.
Jesal Parikh is a yoga teacher, movement educator, author and co-host of the Yoga is Dead podcast. As an Indian-American yoga teacher who has experienced racism and discrimination in the yoga industry, Jesal strives to disrupt the current oppressive systems in yoga to make way for new paradigms and for diverse leadership in the industry. Through her personal brand, Yogawalla NYC, Jesal provides individual and group yoga as well as movement education and mentorship while working on creative solutions for equity in yoga. She also recently launched Yoga Teachers of Color, a grassroots movement that celebrates the diversity of the BIPOC community and advocates for more inclusivity, equity, and representation.
We often think of the data behind science as objective and unbiased, but as Jesal highlights in this interview, that is not the case. She shares her own experiences as a person from a marginalized community in the yoga industry, and explains why the benchmark or ideals may not reflect reality nor be relevant or applicable to people of different genetic or environmental backgrounds. Jesal also provides insights about creating safe and inclusive yoga spaces and how best to hold the yoga industry to a higher standard when it comes to representation and diversity.
This is a great discussion for anyone who is interested in inclusivity, equity, and representation within the yoga and wellness space, and for those who want to learn more and challenge their assumptions.
Key Takeaways:
[6:43] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Jesal Parikh.
[8:52] What does Jesal do and who does she do it for?
[10:53] What inspired Jesal to start her work in this space?
[14:00] Why is the yoga industry so "messed up"?
[15:23] Jesal and Shannon discuss how they receive hate mail for the work that they do.
[17:55] What were some of the key areas of discussion in the workshop that Jesal led titled "Your Movement Science is Racist"?
[20:03] Jesal highlights some examples of health standards that do not take into account diversity across genetics, environment and other factors.
[24:04] Shannon and Jesal discuss how even anatomy can be different among different populations.
[27:07] We need to question what is unsafe about certain movements and our own biases in saying certain things, instead of making assumptions about all bodies.
[00:29:23] Jesal emphasizes the point of asking for feedback.
[30:51] Jesal explains how yoga is curated has a big impact on who feels welcome and who doesn't.
[33:04] How do we make sure that our spaces are safe and welcoming for everyone?
[37:30] We need to begin asking the questions about who is centered in the workshops or trainings or panels we attend to ensure that marginalized and underestimated populations are included.
[41:50] Shannon reflects on how willing we are to take a stand in a way that is going to upset a lot of people and take away opportunities from ourselves.
[46:06] There are some yoga teachers who are really reluctant to talk about these uncomfortable issues surrounding yoga. Jesal urges us to consider what it means to have "positive and constructive" conversations and who they are positive and constructive for.
[49:46] Jesal shares why bringing science into yoga and rebranding it into something new and amazing can be so harmful.
[52:45] What is Jesal's stance on incorporating other elements into yoga vs teaching the "pure" form of yoga?
[55:55] In many fields, from science to medicine to fashion, the data does not reflect the general population and cannot be used as a standard for everybody.
[58:59] When we think about creating safe spaces, we need to be honest about what we don't have the capacity to cater to.
[1:03:24] Check out the resources Jesal has curated (link below) to learn more about this topic.
[1:07:07] Find out more about Jesal and the work that she does via her Instagram page and website.
[1:07:40] Join the conversation - how is racism showing up in your movement science and in yoga and wellness spaces?
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity and 2021 Planning Party.
Quotes from this episode:
"We have no accountability in this industry." - Jesal
"Oftentimes, we like to assume in the science realm that the data itself is somehow objective, but it's not." - Jesal
"If you were to look at those 'common ground' things, we bring more of the other limbs of yoga into the practice." - Jesal
"For most things, in fitness and in yoga, the target audience is white folk. That's the target audience, that's who's in mind when people are creating these products." - Jesal
"There is a double standard when we do the same thing we are seen differently, and yet again the profit potential for white folk is exponential, vs being a person of color or being South Asian." - Jesal
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
188: Effective Yoga Cues with Libby Hinsley
Description:
Something that almost every yoga teacher has to do when leading a class is give cues to guide our students in the movements, breath practices and meditations. These cues can be both visual and verbal, and either online or in person. But how effective are our cues, and what are the cues that are really not helpful for our students? Libby Hinsley sheds some light on how to cue effectively in a yoga class.
Libby Hinsley is a licensed Physical Therapist and a Certified Yoga Therapist who currently runs a private PT practice which integrates Yoga and Manual Therapy. Libby is also passionate about educating yoga teachers about anatomy, and is developing a new project called Anatomy Bites! with Mado Hesselink under the umbrella of Yoga Teacher Resource. Through this platform, Libby aims to give yoga teachers clarity, guidance and support for learning anatomy in a monthly membership format.
Giving yoga cues effectively really comes down to thinking about the intention behind our cues. Libby explains how understanding the reason for each movement and the intended effect can help you give the right cues. Shannon and Libby also discuss cueing for safety, the importance of cueing for beginners or those who are new to yoga, and how anatomy can inform your cueing. Libby shares her insights about “right and wrong” in cueing, and what can happen when you use cues that you do not understand.
If you’ve ever struggled with how to give your students cues in class, or have cued something that produced a completely different effect and want to know how to avoid that in the future, this episode is for you.
Key Takeaways:
[6:05] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Libby Hinsley.
[7:48] What does Libby do and who does she do it for?
[9:21] What excites Libby about talking about cueing for yoga teachers?
[13:01] The assumption in giving cues is often that this is the cue to ensure students' safety. Libby unpacks this assumption and how it translates into the cues we give.
[15:19] A common cue in a yoga class is not letting the knee go past the ankle. Libby explains why that's not necessarily a cue for safety.
[18:29] Libby shares why she prefers movement to static postures and how that helps to build strength in different parts of the body.
[20:29] Shannon and Libby discuss tree pose and the positioning of the foot in relation to the knee.
[21:35] Libby brings up the cueing of the shoulders that may not necessarily be useful in ensuring safety.
[24:10] How should we cue the shoulders when moving into poses? Libby explains how understanding anatomy can help address underlying issues that may be present.
[27:15] How helpful is it to understand different conditions that may be present (e.g. kyphosis or lordosis) as yoga teachers and where do we draw the line in suggesting things that may be helpful vs. giving a diagnosis?
[31:56] Shannon and Libby explore why yoga teachers need to release the pressure on themselves to know everything in every other discipline related to yoga.
[35:05] What are some cues Libby wishes didn't exist?
[36:13] For new practitioners of yoga, they need some guidance about what shape they should be in, and cues can be a good starting point for that. However, we should not throw out the freedom to have some exploration of different approaches.
[38:48] Libby highlights some of the things to take note of when cueing shoulder position.
[41:44] Using simple cues and saying less (not over-cueing) is better!
[44:21] What are some helpful things to think about when planning cueing for new teachers?
[48:38] Libby shares one of the cues she likes to use, particularly in response to the question "where am I supposed to feel this?".
[50:37] Libby has a second download about safety - be sure to get it from the links below.
[51:02] What is Anatomy Bites?
[52:38] Libby leaves us with some final thoughts and advice about cueing.
[53:59] Shannon and Libby discuss safety and frailty in yoga.
[55:05] What are the cues you love and which have not served you well? Join the conversation!
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity and Planning Party with Amanda McKinney.
Quotes from this episode:
"A lot of people are just stuck in a habitual, verbal cue pattern and they don't actually have an understanding about what is underneath that cue." - Libby
"It's really, really important that we understand why we're saying the things that we say, especially when they're more prescriptive." - Libby
"We're not really trying to get everything in a certain correct way, we're trying to get it correct for our particular body." - Libby
"Cues that are most effective are very, very simple." - Libby
"Yoga wants us to know ourselves, so that we can be our best selves." - Libby