Latest Insight yoga Podcast Episodes
#97 Delighting In Joy Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - September 15, 2023 05:00 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsJen wraps up her partial series on the Brahma Viharas with Mudita, commonly translated as "sympathetic joy." With Mudita, we're asked to rejoice in the good fortune of others, admittedly not easy. This is why Jen likes to think of Mudita as "delight," specifically delighting in joy itself wheth...
#96 Portals of Mindfulness Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - September 01, 2023 05:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsHave you ever caught yourself (or been caught by someone else) with your head buried in your smartphone while doing something mundane like brushing your teeth or walking through your home? If so, you can probably relate to the lure of distraction when certain moments don't seem worth our full a...
#95 Tonglen Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - August 18, 2023 05:00 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsContinuing her mini-series on the Brahma Viharas, the Four Immeasurables, Jen shares the Tibetan practice of Tonglen. This training in compassion is an inner alchemy where the practitioner seeks to transmute the suffering of others. Tonglen teaches us how to grow our hearts beyond the boundari...
#94 Drawing A Line Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - August 04, 2023 05:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIt’s counterintuitive but essentially true: all phenomena itself is neutral, including people and events, and they have equal capacity to provoke suffering or ease alike – it all depends on how we meet the moment. As we continues our series of practice this summer, Annie offers a contemplation ...
#93 Loving-Kindness Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - July 21, 2023 05:00 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsSome of the most treasured and widely-practiced Buddhist Teachings are the Brahma Viharas (The Four Immeasurables). They also appear in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as one of the many practices that settle mind. Sometimes referred to as "The Four Faces of Love," these teachings help us to foregroun...
#92 Mundane Ecstacy Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - July 07, 2023 05:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsThe old Zen proverb that says “before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water” is a gentle reminder that chasing the ecstatic will ultimately let us down. Instead, if we can stay close to the ordinary matters of each moment, we may be much better positi...
#91 Mindfulness of Four Elements of the Body Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - June 23, 2023 05:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn the last of our series on the less common practices of the First Foundation of Mindfulness (Mindfulness of the Body), Jen shares a practice of contemplating the four elements of the body: earth, water, fire, and air. Because everything in the manifest world contains these elements, this pra...
#90 Yoga Beyond Asana
Skillful Means Podcast - June 09, 2023 18:00 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsCould you imagine a yoga class without postures? In fact, millions of dedicated yoga practitioners don't practice asana at all. In this episode, Annie and Jen discuss ways to engage with the teachings separate from asana, drawing on guidance from the "Bhagavad Gita" and their own experiences....
#89 Mindfulness of Skin, Flesh, & Bones Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - May 26, 2023 21:00 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn the First Foundation of Mindfulness, the Buddha shared several practices that were intended to help practitioners release their attachments to the body. Whether we are concerned about it's size and shape, the body's age, specific parts... we're encouraged to experience the body as it simple i...
#88: A Conversation with Sarah Powers on Embodying Love & Compassion
Skillful Means Podcast - May 12, 2023 05:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsWe are thrilled to welcome Sarah Powers, author and co-founder of the Insight Yoga Institute, onto the show to talk about embodying the qualities of love and compassion. This is the "finale" episode our series on the 12 Embodiments of Yoga. Sarah was the perfect guest for this topic as compass...
#87 Mindfully Eating an Orange Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - April 28, 2023 05:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsWhile we may train up mindfulness in formal settings, our true aim is to become present and aware all the time. So, at some point, we must take the practice off the cushion or mat and point it towards the everyday things that we usually take for granted.... washing our hands, preparing a meal, f...
#86 Embodying Kindness & Generosity
Skillful Means Podcast - April 17, 2023 21:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn their continuing exploration of Annie's 12 Embodiments of Yoga, in this episode, Annie and Jen discuss the nuances of Kindness and Generosity. While this may seem like a breezy topic, these qualities (and their corresponding actions) ask of us a certain amount of magnanimity that has to be ...
#85 Mindfulness of Standing Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - March 31, 2023 05:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsJen continues her series on Mindfulness of the Body variations with an exploration of standing, one of the four traditional meditation postures. Standing practice can be a respite for many who find sitting for long stretches uncomfortable. And standing can quickly become uncomfortable itself, ...
#84 Embodying Wonder & Whimsy
Skillful Means Podcast - March 17, 2023 22:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsWe're back from an unplanned hiatus with our continuing series on Annie's Twelve Embodiments of Yoga. This month, Jen and Annie are chatting about the role of wonder and whimsy in practice. Jen is a little skeptical, especially with whimsy, having generally approached her practice as a serious e...
#83 Mindfulness of Body Posture Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - March 03, 2023 06:00 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsJen's back with a series new series of guided practices exploring different ways of working with the body to establish mindful awareness. Pulled from teachings in the Buddha's Four Foundations of Mindfulness, our hope is that cultivating mindfulness through the body will help you to find grounde...
#82 Restoring Balance Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - February 03, 2023 19:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsUnlike all other biological organisms who have built-in mechanisms to maintain homeostasis, human minds are at the mercy of themselves. They gallivant around, unchecked, until we choose to rein our own thoughts in. In this guided practice, Annie offers a method for helping those galloping thou...
#81: Embodying Sacrifice & Spaciousness
Skillful Means Podcast - January 19, 2023 16:00 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsContinuing with our exploration of Annie's 12 Embodiments of yoga, Jen and Annie chat about sacrifice and spaciousness. With Jen feeling like sacrifice is a loaded term, they spend some time unpacking what is really expected of us when it comes to spiritual growth. In particular, they explore ho...
#80 Laser Focus & Bright Light Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - January 05, 2023 19:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn this guided practice, Annie shares inspiration from recent scientific breakthroughs in nuclear fusion. She suggests that we can turn simple inward focus into bright, shining energetic presence to generate our own little sunbursts of kindness, patience, and compassion. ~ Skillful Means Podc...
#79 Making Room for Other Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - November 23, 2022 06:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn this meditation, Annie guides you through a practice of making space for others, especially those who share different philosophical or political beliefs or who we find emotionally activating. Instead of trying to find common ground, Annie offers the option of rooting yourself in the present m...
#78 Embodying Courage & Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - November 07, 2022 21:00 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsContinuing our exploration of embodied qualities of Yoga, Jen & Annie discuss the nuances of Courage and how it's a necessary ingredient for our Practice. They also share how they're getting ready for the Winter season. ~ ~ ~ Reach out to us on Facebook and Instagram. We also welcome your ...
#77 Embodied Simplicity Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - October 14, 2022 05:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsDovetailing on our conversations on embodiment, Annie's back with a guided practice that reframes distracting thoughts by laying a simple and straightforward path an easy breath. In this practice, Annie share's the mindfulness technique of noting, which draws compassionate attention to ruminatio...
#76 Embodying Quiet & Attention
Skillful Means Podcast - October 13, 2022 05:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn this episode, Jen and Annie take a look at two of Annie's 12 Embodiments: quiet and attention. The sweeping conversation covers a lot of ground from inner spaciousness, meeting emotions with compassion, quietude in relationship, beginners mind, quality of attention, and is it creepy to do not...
#75 Embodied Listening Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - September 15, 2022 05:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsJoin Annie Moyer as she guides you through an exploration of embodied listening, connecting you to the subtle vibrations of sound that can be felt throughout the body. ~ Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey. We welcom...
#74 What do we mean by "embodiment?"
Skillful Means Podcast - September 01, 2022 05:00 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsThe word embodiment is becoming as ubiquitous as mindfulness these days. Wondering if the word is drifting in meaning, Annie and Jen look at what embodiment is through several lens including spirituality, philosophy and psychology. They also point out ways in which something may appear to be emb...
#73 Yin Short for the Upper Back Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - August 18, 2022 05:00 - 18 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn our fifth and final Short Yin Yoga Practice Snack, Jen shares offers some relief for the upper back, a common area of tension for a lot of people. Throughout the practice, she'll also help you mindfully attend to your breath as a way of gathering and calming the mind. Postures in this pra...
#72 Who's the Real Teacher in the Yoga Room?
Skillful Means Podcast - August 04, 2022 05:00 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn this month's conversation, Annie and Jen are exploring the question: who's the real teacher in the yoga room? To put another way, how do we balance listening to our own inner guidance with that of the person standing at the front of the room? The discussion spans a range or themes around ag...
#71 Yin Short for the Thighs & Back Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - July 21, 2022 05:00 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn our fourth Short Yin Yoga Practice Snack, Jen skillfully and tenderly guides you through a sequence of postures for the thighs and back. Because the thighs, in particular, can be a challenging target area, she also offers nervous system support with gentle breath work and visualization. Post...
#70 Form vs Function
Skillful Means Podcast - July 07, 2022 18:00 - 59 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsWe're continuing our exploration of opposites in the way that yoga is practiced and taught with a look at the debate over form and function when it comes to asana. How do we stay safe in the yoga room? Should we focus on how the postures look and try to work towards alignment paradigms? Or shoul...
#69 Yin Short for the Upper Chest & Arms Guided Practice
Skillful Means Podcast - June 23, 2022 05:00 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn the third Short Yin Yoga Practice Snack, Jen guides three postures for the upper chest and arms. This little practice is a nice antidote to desk posture. She also shares encourages to become more familiar with the feelings that arise when we practice, holding whatever arises in a compassio...
#68 Can Sutra 2.33 help us overcome negativity? Or not?
Skillful Means Podcast - June 09, 2022 05:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsIn this month's discussion, Annie and Jen unpack sutra 2.33 from "The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali." When negative thoughts arise, this sutra advises that we cultivate the opposite. Is Patanjali advocating for spiritual bypassing? Or is this an early form of cognitive behavior therapy? And how m...
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