Skillful Means Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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Skillful Means Podcast

Jennifer O'Sullivan

Religion & Spirituality

Society & Culture

Health & Fitness

Frequency: 1 episode/18d. Total Eps: 135

Skillful Means Podcast offers practical wisdom for everyday life. Host Jennifer O'Sullivan explores navigating life's challenges through the lenses of Buddhist mindfulness, yoga, Internal Family Systems, and positive psychology.

Each month, episodes feature grounded guidance and accessible practices for meeting whatever arises with greater ease.

Jennifer is a Certified IFS Practitioner with over 20 years of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness.

Find out more: https://www.skillfulmeanspodcast.com and https://www.sati.yoga

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https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form
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https://www.sati.yoga
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https://www.sati.yoga/
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https://www.instagram.com/skillfulmeanspodcast
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#122 Being with Big Feelings Guided Practice

Wednesday, January 28, 2026 • Duration 23:44

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The constant barrage of terrible news can be overwhelming and exhausting. While big feelings are normal responses to what we're seeing our feeds, we also need to metabolize those feelings so they don't take up residence in our hearts and minds and prevent us from finding pathways forward.

In this guided practice, Jen takes you through an embodied and grounded practiced called Felt Sensing. Part of a broader therapeutic practice called Focusing, Felt Sensing helps you be with feelings with grounded presence so they don't overwhelm and take you out.

If you want to skip the intro, jump to 2:53 or use the chapter marker if it's supported by your app.

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

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#121 Beginning Anew

Wednesday, January 14, 2026 • Duration 26:56

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We're kicking off the new year with an exploration of the ways in which we can capture the energy and freshness of a new calendar year to every day moments, creating new beginnings whenever we need them. Topics include:

how temporal landmarks, like a new year, pull us out of the ordinary
how walking meditation teaches us how to start over in the present moment
and we can train up the capacity to let go in order to embrace a fresh moment in mindfulness of breathing meditation

We'll also go through ways to reaffirm your values, not only as a ritual way of starting over, but also because following your values will capacitate you for the challenges head.

Resources mentioned on the show:

Sign up for the newsletter: https://www.sati.yoga/letter/index.html
VIA Virtues and Strengths: https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths
Schwartz's Values Wheel: http://theschwartzmodel.com/

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

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#112: Mindfulness Meditation Guided Practice

Tuesday, August 19, 2025 • Duration 30:07

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In order to be an open-hearted, compassionate person, we first have to notice the things things that need our support. This is where mindfulness — the practice of presence — comes in. It teaches how to engage directly with what's real, rather than what we wish were true.

This month we're back to mindfulness basics with a guided practice that starts with concentration practice (samata) and then follows with insight (vipassana). The practice starts right away (no intro) and includes periods of silence (nothing wrong with your player).

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

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Tuning in, Reaching Out Virtual Retreat Day 1: Yoga & RAIN Meditation

Friday, November 20, 2020 • Duration 58:38

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We are pleased to kick off our virtual retreat with this Yoga & RAIN Meditation practice with Sarah Jane.

In this guided practice, Sarah Jane invites you to spend a few moments warming the body and enhancing chi circulation with simple movements undertaken in concert with a slow and steady breath. We then settle in and progress through the steps of RAIN meditation--Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture--with the opportunity to rest in various yin yoga postures through their unfolding.

Poses include: child's pose, shoelace, dragonfly, recalled butterfly, and savasana. You may need a blanket or two and a pillow or cushion for support in the yin postures.

Developed by Vipassana teacher Michele McDonald and championed by psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach, RAIN is a mindfulness-based, self-compassion practice that can be used in a moment or over a lengthy meditation sit, and anywhere in between.

Our intention in offering this practice at the outset of the retreat is to fortify you and provide a useful tool you can bring forth when emotional discomfort arises, presenting the opportunity for an accelerated cultivation of loving awareness.

Disclaimer
The information and postures shared in this episode are not a substitute for proper medical care. If you are ill or injured, please consult your physician.

Practicing asana comes with inherent risk. It is up to you to assess whether the postures shared in this practice are appropriate for you. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise or movement program.

You assume responsibility for any injuries suffered while practicing these techniques.

~

Skillful Means Podcast is offering this virtual retreat to help you recommit to your yoga and mindfulness practice even - especially - during this difficult time.

We welcome your comments and questions. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at . You can get in touch with Sarah Jane directly at where she offers offers weekly classes, monthly workshops, meditation groups, and mentoring.

You're Invited to Tune In and Reach Out with us on Nov 20-22

Tuesday, November 10, 2020 • Duration 03:15

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This is just a quick reminder about the upcoming virtual retreat here on the podcast.

Join us on Nov 20-22 for twice daily practices to help you strengthen your connection both to yourself and to those around you. Episodes will appear here in the podcast feed at midnight and noon EST.

You can also join for optional live Zoom calls and receive email tips. Sign up at: http://bit.ly/tiro2020

We hope this offering is off benefit to you and the wider world.

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You can find Skillful Means Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, or send us your comments at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com.

You can also get in touch with Jen and Sarah Jane directly.

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

#30 Get To Know Your Parts IFS Guided Practice

Thursday, November 5, 2020 • Duration 20:35

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As a companion to episode 29 on Internal Family Systems (IFS therapy), we invite you to enjoy this guided parts meditation.

Jen will help you locate and get to know one or more parts during this experience. IFS is an embodied practice, so the doorway into your inner environment is through body sensations. After a few minutes of guided relaxation, you'll start to track your somatic experience as a way of foregrounding what needs the most attention right now.

It's helpful to engage in IFS parts work at a quiet time where you are neither rushed nor distracted. Many people find this to be a fruitful addition to their daily practice.

~

Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

We welcome your comments. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com. You can get in touch with Jen directly at https://sati.yoga where she offers yoga and mindfulness classes, workshops, and trainings. She also offers group and 1:1 IFS coaching sessions.

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

#29 What is IFS?

Thursday, October 22, 2020 • Duration 57:26

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In this episode, Jen and Sarah Jane finally and excitedly get around to talking about Internal Family Systems.

IFS is having a moment lately, and is being brought into yoga and Buddhist communities by some prominent teachers, including Sarah Jane and Jen’s primary teacher, Sarah Powers.

Since Jen has completed Level II IFS training, Sarah Jane asks her to describe the core proposition of IFS – that our mind is composed of sub personalities that have their own perspectives and motivations – and the benefits of bringing this model into spiritual life.

Ever concerned about the spiritual bypassing, appropriation, and dilution they see in many parts of yogaland, particularly in the U.S., Sarah Jane and Jen speak specifically about what IFS can do for yoga practitioners who seek to heal the wounds that prevent them from fully showing up.

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Resources Mentioned

Sarah & Ty Powers’ Insight Yoga Institute
Amy Weintraub’s Lifeforce Yoga
“Introduction to Internal Family Systems” by Dr. Richard Schwartz
“Self Therapy” by Jay Earley
Jen’s All Parts Are Welcome 4-week IFS Support Circle

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Join us for our first live Virtual Retreat, November 20-22: Tuning In and Reaching Out

We believe in taking the opportunity we have here now, in our ephemeral existence and in uncertain times, to strengthen the web of interconnectedness, in which our freedom is found.

And so, our first virtual retreat will feature talks and practices that encourage inner investigation as well as interconnectedness.

#28 Earth & Sky Guided Practice

Wednesday, October 14, 2020 • Duration 13:52

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In this meditation drawn from Taosit practices, Sarah Jane guides you through a breath-based visualization for replenishing and balancing inner energy.

We are both individually whole and inextricably interconnected with each other and the natural world. We can view everything--even human beings--as composed of elements and infused with energies that, when in balance, create harmony and health.

By drawing grounding earth chi, or earth energy, from below to fill the dantian or hara, the body’s energetic center in the lower abdomen, we capacitate stability. Similarly, by drawing energizing heaven chi, or sky energy, from above to fill the heart center, we capacitate liveliness.

In this meditation we spend time doing both, using long, slow, smooth breaths as guides. After filling the hara and heart, we start to intermingle these two energies for a sense of balance, harmony, and health.

Well rooted and in touch with our depth, as well as filled with activating energy, we will not need to leave our inner ground in order to navigate the shifting course of life.

~~

Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com with your comments.

You can also get in touch with Sarah Jane directly where she offers weekly classes, monthly workshops, meditation groups, and mentoring.

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show:

#27 Meeting Uncertainty & Change

Monday, October 12, 2020 • Duration 43:08

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In this episode, Jen and Sarah Jane address the human predicament: We are wired to avoid unfamiliarity, uncertainty, and unpredictability in life, even while these very forces are ever-present realities. This simple paradox is the source of much of the stress in our complicated lives.

Acknowledging the particular challenges of navigating life in the midst of a global pandemic, the US election, and seasonal changes, Jen and Sarah Jane share the methods they use to soothe the nervous system in times of distress. But what about building long-term resilience so that we may engage with life as it is, no matter how it is? Back and forth, they share what they’ve learned for, drop by drop, “filling the pot with good.”

Ultimately, they talk about how understanding and accepting the nature of change can ease passage through life that will naturally be filled with obstacles. Like water running downhill and around obstacles, aligning ourselves with the way things work is foundational to living a life free of, at least, the unnecessary sufferings we place upon ourselves.

Related Resources

Sarah Powers Insight Yoga and online practices to fill your water pot, drop by drop.

Adyashanti’s The End of Your World, for spiritual clarity on the nature of the world.

Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright, on how Buddhism addresses the human condition.

Coming in November on the show!
We’ll be offering a virtual retreat in November, with live Zoom check-ins to start and end, two practices a day via the podcast feed for three days, and two Q&As tucked in between for support. Make sure you're subscribed to receive it all. In the meantime, you can find us on and , or send us your comments at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com. You can also get in touch with and directly.

#26 Cultivate Resilience in Uncertain Times with Yin Yoga for the Spleen and Stomach Guided Practice

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • Duration 31:45

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In this guided Yin Yoga practice, Jennifer guides you through a short series of postures designed to nourish the spleen and stomach.

According to Taoist Energetic Medicine, the spleen and stomach work together to perform the important function of extracting vital life force energy from the food we eat. When the spleen and stomach experience disharmony, it affects our entire organ system.

These organs are also associated with important emotional and mental faculties including feelings of groundedness, connectedness, understanding, insight, and mental clarity.

During times of transition or great uncertainty, we tend to feel the opposite, including anxiety or a sense of being like a boat adrift on a rough sea. Mentally, we tend to lose focus and our ability to stay on task.

In this practice, we fortify the organs most affected by these emotions. During the poses, Jennifer unpacks a centering technique called The Three Grounds of Support. The meditative aspect of this practice will help you to tap inner resources to help you meet the challenges of these uncertain times.

You’ll find it helpful to have a bolster or firm cushion on hand for one of the postures.

Disclaimer
The information and postures shared in this episode are not a substitute for proper medical care. If you are ill or injured, please consult your physician.

Practicing asana comes with inherent risk. It is up to you to assess whether the postures shared in this practice are appropriate for you. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise or movement program.

You assume responsibility for any injuries suffered while practicing these techniques.

~

Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at with your comments. You can get in touch with Jen directly at where she offers weekly classes, workshops, and trainings.

Skillful Means Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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Skillful Means Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

Buzzsprout1

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RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Buzzsprout1

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