Skillful Means Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Text me your feedback.

While the world may feel increasingly more fraught, we can't sustain ourselves on anger and fear alone. We must remember what we're fighting for and, as Tennessee Williams asks of us, save the love.

This latest episode kicks off a series of episodes on Awakening the Heart - theories, teachings, and practices that will better sustain us in the months and years to come. 

This month, we take a look at why shouldn't feel guilty for taking time out of resisting to foreground what brings us joy and happiness. In fact, making sure we build in positive moments in our lives is going to set up our brains to be more creative and energetic warriors. 

Some highlights include: 

- Dr. Barbara Fredrickson's theories on  "micro-moments of connection" and Broaden & Build

- The Mahayana Buddhist concept of bodhicitta (open-heartedness)

- Dr. Rick Hanson's "Taking in the Good" practice.

Resources Mentioned on the Show

Love 2.0 ~ Dr. Barbara Frederickson

Bodhicitta ~ Tricycle Magazine

Taking in the Good - Dr. Rick Hanson

*** Jen's got space on her coaching roster. If you'd like to work 1:1, go here for more info: https://www.sati.yoga/ifs-coaching/index.html

And you might also like Jen's newsletter: https://www.sati.yoga/letter/index.html

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

This month's practice features an embodied mediation to help you stay present with life's challenges without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down. 

Inspired by Roshi Joan Halifax's teachings, you'll cultivate a foundation of stability to underpin your capacity for openness and compassion.

This meditation includes several periods of silence of around 3-6 minutes. The guidance assumes you're sitting (chair or cushion are fine) so that you can experience the support of the spine. 

The practice starts at 2:43 after a brief talk. If your player supports chapter markers, you can skip ahead.

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

This preview pod explores the concept of upaya (skillful means) and its relevance in today's polarized world + how this focus will be reflected in the next iteration of the show.

Jen emphasizes the importance of developing presence and awareness in order to meet life's challenges with courage and heart.

Highlights include:
• Cultivating what Roshi Joan Halifax calls a strong back and soft front
• What kind of awareness is needed for this moment
• Recognizing "lab time" on the mat as preparation for real-life challenges
• Building a diverse toolkit of practices for various situations

Listener feedback and support is essential to the evolution of the how, so don't forget to fill out the survey form: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

In Episode 17, Sarah Jane and Jen spoke with their teacher Sarah Powers about the wisdom and opportunity for awakening amidst the suffering of the coronavirus pandemic.

During the recording of that episode, Sarah generously led an inquiry meditation for holding and healing wounded and distressed parts of ourselves with maitri, loving friendship to ourselves. We decided to release this meditation separately so that you can return to it again and again as need.

The meditation begins at 00:27 and is approximately 15 minutes long.

Following the meditation is a dialogue where Sarah Jane and Jen share about what arose for them during the practice. Sarah skillfully unpacks their experiences within the wider context of "parts work" according to the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. This is a teaching unto itself, and it is our greatest hope that it will be of benefit.

The dialog begins at 16:00.

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

You can find more audio recording from Sarah Powers on her website.

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

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

Our primary teacher Sarah Powers has spent decades studying, living, and teaching from the Wisdom traditions--Buddhism, Yoga, Taoism, and contemporary western psychology. As the new coronavirus pandemic spread, Sarah joined us via Zoom from London to talk about the wisdom and opportunity for awakening amidst this suffering.

From how to be sick, to parenting, to lifestyle medicine, in this episode we hear about aspects of the harmonious approach to living Sarah developed well before our current circumstances. We examine the question, "how do we foreground what is most important and bring meaning to this precious, impermanent life?" In repsonse, Sarah discusses developing an inner life, taking risks, and healing ourselves as well as supporting others.

Sarah illuminates our 21st-century predicament – violence, environmental crisis, the harm caused by industrialized food – and shares her vision of the gifts in this global pause. May we look back on this five years from now and see, as Sarah envisions, that this is “the moment we kicked over into something totally renewed.”

During the recording of this episode, Sarah generously led an inquiry meditation for holding and healing wounded and distressed parts of ourselves with compassion. We decided to release this meditation separately as a bonus along with a very potent dialogue about Internal Family Systems (IFS) parts work.

Find out more about Sarah Powers and in the Insight Yoga Institute.

Inspiring books mentioned by Sarah Powers in this episode:

The Legacy of Luna by Julia Hill Butterfly

Lessons from the Light by Kenneth Ring, PhD, and Evelyn Elsaesser Valarino

The Light Between Us by Laura Lynne Jackson

The Overstory by Richard Powers

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Unattended Sorrow by Stephen Levine

Intimacy from the Inside Out by Toni Herbine-Blank, Donna M. Kerpelman, Martha Sweezy

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

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

Mudita, or sympathetic joy, is the third in the series of the four most highly regarded qualities, or “sublime states,” in Buddhism: metta (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy) and upeksa (equanimity). 

Mudita is a potent practice that helps us experience joy even when life feels difficult and warm feelings are hard to access. 

In this guided meditation, Sarah Jane helps you bring forth feelings of joy so they will be more likely to arise spontaneously in daily 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

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

In Chinese Medicine, the immune system is comprised of a protective barrier of energy (Qi), called Wei Qi ( pronounced “way chee”), that circulates through the body while also emanating about an inch around the outside of the body. The Taoists believe that, like a force field, Wei Qi prevents external pathogens, like viruses and bacteria, from making us sick.

In this guided practice, Jennifer shares a gentle Yin Yoga practice that targets the Kidney, Urinary Bladder, Lung, Large Intestine, Spleen, and Stomach meridians to help strengthen Wei Qi.

You’ll need a yoga block or similar substitutes such as a thick book or a firm pillow.

The episode starts with a brief description of Wei Qi. The practice starts at 1:46. If your app supports chapter markers, you can skip ahead and get started right away. You can expect moments of silence so that you can practice the inner methods offered.

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 feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com with your comments. You can get in touch with Jen directly at https://sati.yoga. 

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

Continuing the conversation on how Yin Yoga affects the physical body, Jen and Sarah Jane talk about the physical benefits of the practice, immediately zeroing in on the elephant in the room: the edge.

What is it? Why is it important? Is it safe to spend time there? How might we describe it to students so they can safely encounter it, so they can find their sweet spot?

In the course of this discussion Jen coins a phrase: ujayii bypassing. If you don’t immediately have an idea what that might be, you might be doing it, and missing out on an important aspect of yin yoga asana practice: feeling.

No discussion of yin yoga would be complete without delving into sensation and the practitioner's attitude or relationship to it. And what about pain? Is it possible for a practice to help us redefine or diminish it?

Jen thinks Gate Control Theory may be at play in the way in which yin yoga asana minimizes her back pain. Sarah Jane muses whether yin yoga could have made her stronger. (More likely it improved her proprioception.)

Finally, Jen and Sarah Jane wend their way toward the healing effects of embodiment practices on trauma and body image, and how well suited yin yoga poses are to this work.

Resources

“Not Too Much and Not Too Little,” an article in which Bernie Clark explains the “Goldilocks position” 

“Gate Control Theory and the Brain,” a recent article on Very Well Mind 

The Neurobiology of Pain and Yoga as its Medicine an article on helping students reframe their relationship to painful sensation using internal methods and asana.

Enhancing Proprioception and Interoception in Yoga, Jen offers some practical advice for yin and yang teachers.

Overcome Trauma with Yoga (video) from Bessel van der Kolk on KripaluVideo

“How Yoga Helps Heal Trauma: A Q&A with Bessel van der Kolk” on Kripalu.org

Center for Trauma Embodiment and Trauma of the Justice Resource Institute is the epicenter of trauma-sensitive yoga and yoga teacher training

Paper from David Emerson et al. that codified principles of trauma-sensitive yoga, which Sarah Jane incorporates into her yin yoga instruction

“Yoga, Body Image, and Self-Acceptance: A Review of Yoga & Body Image” in Yoga International by Jennifer Mattson

Body Positive Yoga with Amb

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

Karuna, or compassion, is the second in the series of the four most highly regarded qualities, or “sublime states,” in Buddhism: metta (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy) and upeksa (equanimity). 

Compassion arises when loving-kindness meets suffering and stays loving. It's more of a process than a static quality. In practice, we call upon this natural capacity of the heart and purposefully sustain it through the repetition of phrases. 

In this guided meditation, Sarah Jane encourages you to draw on the natural care that arises when considering a beloved person’s measure of suffering. You'll take that energy and direct it to you both before expanding in all directions to include all beings.

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

~ ~ ~

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.

Text me your feedback.

In this episode of our continuing series on Yin Yoga, Jen and Sarah Jane talk about the physical benefits of the practice. Many of us practice Yin Yoga, at least in part, to give ourselves the chance to experience “just being,” an antidote to the stresses produced by our busy lives. But even as we enjoy the emotional and mental effects of slowing down in Yin poses, all sorts of wonderful things are happening on the physical level.

As we unpack the benefits of Yin Yoga, including better mobility, Jen addresses common misunderstandings about the impacts of the practice on various tissues in the body. The result is a mini-primer on contemporary and emerging understanding of topics such as “stretching”--what is it?--to the longevity of the effects of practice, topics every yin yoga teacher should be at least somewhat familiar with.

And we didn’t even get to embodiment and body image, topics in the realm of the physical that are inextricably linked to Yin for so many practitioners! Stay tuned for those discussions in part 2, episode 14, next month. (Interceding odd-numbered episodes are guided practices.)

Resources
Facebook Group: The Art and Science of Teaching Yin Yoga

Jen’s Online Fascia Course: Fascia 101

Jules Mitchell’s new book: Yoga Biomechanics: Stretching Redefined

Paul Grilley’s book: Yin Yoga: Principles and Practice

~ ~ ~

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.