Awake Athlete Podcast

In this episode, I take you through a breathwork practice that many athletes have said saved their race day performance. I give a few universal tips on meditation and meditative posture to assist in stillness practice.These are a series of tried and true, time-tested, practical breath exercises to physically prep the muscles of breathing for performance, balance the nervous system, and soothe feelings of anxiety while grounding us in the present moment.You will feel calm, connected, and powerful after practicing this meditation, which is the perfect state for walking back into your day.

In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it's essential to remember the value of taking a mental vacation. Just as we need physical rest, our minds crave moments of escape.A mental vacation is a planned break devoid of the distractions of everyday life. It can look many ways, but it is a powerful technique to be at your best and to know when you're at your best. In this episode, I share a profound experience from the past when I was moving very fast from the energy of anger and how I terrified someone because of my actions. Combined with other things that I was learning at the time, this moment woke me to a commitment to slow down. Everything uses bandwidth, even the joyful days, so mental vacations are not just for hectic times; they are for every time you remember to give to yourself.

Life can get hectic, and we all deserve a break. Join me on a journey to serenity through this soothing guided meditation.No experience is necessary for this brief respite from life; find a quiet space (closets and cars are perfect for this type of break if nothing else avails itself) and get ready to be transported to your happy place.

I love riding my bike. And I am not afraid, but that is not how it's always been for me. I used to be scared, and in this episode, I share about a time when I felt fearful every time I got into the car and how I overcame that fear.I share a technique to heal fear and to make things right because the safety we desire comes from within first. And don't be afraid to look within; we have to let the trauma shake out, and when we do this, we shift our point of attraction and take control of the energy we are living and creating from. Be sure to stick around for the next episode, a guided meditation using this healing technique.

Get comfortable and ready for deep relaxation with this 15-minute guided meditation using the Ho'oponopono mantra.Ho'oponopono is a Hawaiian meditation and forgiveness practice. It involves repeating four phrases: "I'm sorry," "Please forgive me," "Thank you," and "I love you" to promote healing and reconciliation, both within oneself and with others.This meditation is a powerful tool to use anytime you are feeling off center with yourself, or within a circumstance in your life or a relationship with another. This sacred mantra has assisted me countless times over the years, and I am grateful to now share it with you.All dis-ease begins in the mind; when it is not healed or fully processed, it will realize itself in the body. 

In this episode, I offer an expanded perspective on the roots of disease and injury as learned through many years of studying the body and mind and training and racing as an endurance athlete. I share about my struggles with slowing down and how difficult it was for me to "chill" when injury or sickness showed up. For many years, I pushed through, and that only brought me more of the same. But in 2004, it all began to change when I embarked on an educational journey that led me to an undeniable understanding of the inherent power of the body to heal itself and the influence that our minds have over our healing.So come with me along this episode and open your mind to a new perspective on injury and disease as healing.

Yoga Nidra, often referred to as "yogic sleep," is a deep relaxation and meditation practice that promotes profound physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. It's typically done in a comfortable, lying-down position, and the aim of Yoga Nidra is to reach a state of conscious awareness between wakefulness and sleep, where you can access deep inner peace, reduce stress, and unlock your subconscious potential. It's a powerful tool for relaxation, self-discovery, and healing. Enjoy the healing benefits of this 20-minute practice. 

Since the last time I fired up the mic, I published Awake Athlete: When Mastery Is Your Only Option, and in this episode, I let the book decide the teaching, so tune in and let's learn together. As we dive in, we find that the work is always the same; it's zooming out and seeing that there are limitless solutions for every problem and that every turn in life gives us opportunities to grow. And that dedication trumps motivation as it lends longevity to our experiences.The overarching message is that in a world where most will support you going back to sleep, I urge you to stay awake and lean into robust neutrality that allows for more ease in life.  

Welcome to season four of the Awake Athlete podcast. I am thrilled to be traversing this life with you, and I am grateful for your attention as we dive into another season of mind training. This season will be more experiential as I have weaved in corresponding meditations and yoga nidra practices to assist you in deepening the messages of the episodes ahead. In this season opener, I dive into the contrast of life, precisely the contrast of racing Ironman 70.3 Oceanside and the following Saturday sitting for an eight-hour meditation. The confirmation that I pulled away from these two very different experiences is that the inner work required to make these endeavors successful was the same. I also share about my healing journey and what I think about my ayahuasca experience in 2010.I go into the most advantageous time to train the mind and cultivate calm as a spacious anchor for life. I hope you enjoy this kick-off episode and that you put at least one nugget into action in your life today.

In this episode, I reflect upon a trail run and the importance of staying awake in the valleys of life. I received a reminder that day of how so much can shift in just a moment and that when we are in the valleys of life, we should not forget to plant seeds for the future. The valleys of life are fertile ground for growing what we desire. If we stay conditioned to repulse bad and cling to good, we'll never reach our potential. We must learn to shift our mindset around life's valleys and get curious about the thoughts driving these preferences.

The power of breath is a remarkable and often overlooked force in our lives. Although the world of athletics is steadily discovering its power for physical and mental performance, I believe the masses are merely scratching the surface of its true power. Each inhale fills us with life-giving oxygen, while each exhale releases not just carbon dioxide but also stress and tension. Breath is the bridge between the mind and body, capable of calming a racing heart or energizing a tired spirit. It's the perfect tool for mindfulness, helping us stay present and find inner peace. By harnessing the simple act of breathing, we can unlock profound physical and mental benefits, making it a fundamental key to well-being and self-awareness. And it may, as it has with others, just save your race day performance!

So happy to be back for another season and to hear and feel the shifts and changes I have experienced since recording episode one of season one. I hope you find the same as you continue expanding your mind through the 10,000-foot view of life. In this season opener, I address the very thing that keeps us from what we desire and the performances we know that we can execute. I talk about the base muscle for better performance in sport, and the remedy for all that holds us back, which may be simpler than you think. I hope you enjoy this season opener. If you are interested in joining us in the Awake Athlete community that I talk about in this episode please check out: patreon.com/yogitriathlete (awake athlete tier)

Everything is constantly changing, and if there is something in your life that is not changing, know that it is changing. It is just changing to be the same. Ugh!It's essential for us to know our stories and the things we carry, especially when they are sucking our joy. And in changing our stories, positive talk alone doesn't work very well. So I offer some practical techniques that you can apply to make changes to recurring patterns that are no longer serving you. In this episode, I reflect on a relationship I discovered around swimming, a story that I think many athletes can relate to, and the circumstances that taught me that my unhelpful relationship with the pool was no longer worthy. So, I changed it. 

I love being competitive, and meditation has been the thing that allows me to push my body harder while my awareness stays anchored into something I never expected.At first, you may need to compel yourself into your meditation practice. Still, with consistent practice, you will realize the elements and benefits I discuss in this episode, especially regarding our relationship to pain.All things are possible when we tap into the Awake Athlete within, but first, we need to know how to tap in. In this episode, I give recommendations for developing and deepening your practice. Also, I touch upon the misunderstanding that quieting the mind is a prerequisite to meditation.I share the misery that brought me to my meditation cushion, the recipe I use for my daily practice, and how that looks over the course of a year. 

Being aware that our thoughts are packets of potential is critical to succeeding in realizing our goals because how we water those seeds of potential weighs heavily on how our reality plays out. The truth is that most people in our modern society are fighting for their limitations which comes from a deep fear that they may be a great success. And although that seems contradictory to an athlete's character, self-sabotage fueled by fear of success is commonplace these days.In this episode, I share a story of how I recognized fear of success within my own story and the signs and symptoms that parallel fear of success. Also, I touch upon how changes in the racing environment are not helping us let our yes be yes. Fear of success manifests in ways that we are not conscious of, behaviors and patterns that are sure signs of self-sabotage and fear of success. Typically it occurs when we are stepping into the unknown, but it is essential to remember that although the unknown can be scary, this realm is where the potential for our success exists.The study referenced in this episode: Science has shown that mindfulness is linked to present moment focus which is the essence of the psychology of peak performance in sport (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999; Ravizza, 2002).Interested in joining other like-minded athletes on the path to mastery? Please check out YogiTriathlete's Patreon community:  www.patreon.com/yogitriathlete

I recorded this podcast during an acute back injury which I feel is the perfect time to talk about sustaining an injury from an Awake Athlete's viewpoint. I share the story of how this injury happened and the subtle voice that warned me not to do what I did which caused the damage. This injury was timed just days before my 50th birthday, which threw all my plans up in the air and asked me to let go. It was an experience that showed me attachment to training and another opportunity to focus on what I can do.

We are masters of creating habits. The question we want to entertain is if we are actively feeding the patterns that move us towards the life we desire.In this episode, I share some practical guidance on how to break habits that you have identified that do not serve you anymore so you can feed the ones that benefit your dreams.I share my story of how I changed a habit around alcohol which happened during a time in my life when the drive to be clear each morning outweighed the practice of drinking wine each night. And what I have discovered about habit shifting is that it all comes down to being strong enough not to choose the temporary relief so you can experience long-term freedom. I hope this episode gives you what you need to begin shifting the energy of your life towards the one you desire to live most. 

In this episode, I share my philosophy regarding eating, which focuses on healthy digestion. I steer this episode towards not so much why we eat or what we eat or when we eat but how we eat. If you are an athlete who counts calories, fat, macros, etc., this episode will be of particular interest to you as you seek the right balance for your body. I offer a few topics for your consideration that I believe influence the body's ability to metabolize a perfectly calculated meal. And I provide a two-fold practice that benefits the nutrition you receive and doubles as a mind-training technique.I give a bit of insight into a time when I lived with a distorted relationship with food and guidance to move away from that if you are currently experiencing a similar struggle.

I am on the other side of my back injury and here to reflect on how it all unfolded. I share what I garnered from this experience and how my birthday intentions played out.Coming out of injury with more strength and clarity is one of the most empowering experiences we can have as athletes. But ultimately, that is a choice. I give insight into how we can extract the greatest wisdom from our challenges in this episode and how I kept physical and mental momentum moving forward throughout my healing.

Set up for this meditation by sitting comfortably in a chair or on your meditation cushion. Comfort is critical because it will be easier for us to return to the practice if we are comfortable. So don't sweat crossed legs if that is uncomfortable; the only thing I don't suggest is lying down. When we lie down, our minds are apt to remember sleep and thus become lazy. Make sure that you are warm but not too warm. Pull on your favorite socks for an added dose of coziness. Use my voice as your point of concentration, allow the words to wash over you, and notice what resonates for you. The message of this meditation invites us to trust our intuition and see the opportunity in all situations. Everything is for us, and life will unfold in a way where we will always get experiences to teach us what we need to learn. I sincerely hope that you find value in this short yet mighty meditation.

Have you ever caught yourself fighting to feel sub-par? I have, most certainly.And have you ever considered how emotions might be getting in the way or, at the least, causing drama on the path to fulfilling your commitments?When we commit to something, it's essential to feel that commitment which leads us to be more skillful at saying yes or no to opportunities that come our way. I give an example of a recent commitment I made and how I had to self-regulate repeatedly to stay devoted to my pledge. This episode is about feeling putting our devotion to ourselves, our dreams, and our goals first. Because when it all boils down to it, the commitments that we make are not concerned with what we do or do not feel like doing.

The inspiration for this episode comes from my husband BJ and a story from Dr. Wayne Dyer. It speaks to our conditioning to look outside ourselves for answers because we were never taught to look within.I share the message not about renouncing the world but using it to your greatest advantage. When we dial in too close to the drama of the world, we will lose our perspective, and the world gets its grips on us.  As we turn inward, we gain wisdom about who we truly are, and the voice of the false self, although still present, will lose its power. I share a story about that negative voice in my head that tried to get my attention after a recent run and how I used my connection within to override that voice.

Season two is here and the work remains the same. Present moment awareness is the key to it all; lifting limits, detaching, identifying when the ego is living our life, figuring out who we are and never holding back. I’m so excited for this season, thank you for your support and feedback for season one.If you haven’t heard, a powerful community was formed through our Patreon.com/yogitriathlete community after season one launched. Check it out, it’s the Awake Athlete tier. Patreon members support the podcast, get awesome givebacks and make sure that this podcast remains commercial-free. 

Have you ever considered that trying is an invitation for failure? I never did until I heard a friend of mine say it one day, and then it all made sense.Contemplate this, if we're always trying, then we never really have to do anything.In this episode, I give insight into why this inquiry may ring true and how to begin to examine what may be holding you back from doing the very thing you are trying to do.

What is your first reaction when you hear the word injury? How do you respond when your own body shows signs of damage? Have you ever considered that it could be a time to expand gratitude, increase mind training, and continue the momentum towards your dreams? At the time of recording this episode, I am on the upside of a tasty injury, and I believe I crested the peak so much quicker because of my mindset. Our focus is the invitation, and there is no better time to clean up our mindset than when injury graces our experience. Contrary to the collective belief, injury can be a time for celebration AND continued training. We can do so much when our bodies are injured if we are willing to stay in solution energy. I share some personal history with injury, when my body perspective shifted, and how I kept my fitness chart on the rise through my latest body opportunity. 

Knowing which race to sign up for, what coach to work with, honestly, any decision in life never needs to be the paralyzing process of deliberation that it is for many. As we wake up and flex our muscle to be present in life, we wake up to the intuitive voice that always knows the correct answer for us. It has a different tone than what we’re used to; it’s more subtle and never begs for recognition. It is unlike the whirlpool of thoughts that vie for our attention and confuse the daylights out of us. A skill attained on the Awake Athlete path is the discernment between intuition and mind-stuff. In this episode, I share experiences from Ironman Lake Placid, how I got there and what I learned from following my intuition. I also talk about the mind virus of doubt and share techniques to develop your intuitive voice during training and in your meditation practice.

The ego needs to be seen as a separate autonomous being and, at the same time, makes everything about itself. When we act from this separation mechanism, we operate from the lower self and are in no way at our best to perform in sport or life. We become self-absorbed in the way we see the world and how the world sees us. The ego is going nowhere, so we can fight it, we let it rule us, or we can be the master of it. If the latter is your choice, you must stay on high alert for the egoic impulses set to derail us from our focus and sabotage our success. In this episode, I share a story of catching myself being a servant to my ego. After further investigation in which I discovered the thought behind the thought, I uncovered the perpetuation of an old story that I am not enough. I tell how I got back on track, why Strava is my guru, and the truth about who is looking at you in a yoga class. 

Awakening begins when we realize there is more to this life than what we see, taste, smell, touch, and hear. If we are dissatisfied with our reality, we can tune ourselves towards a new reality just like a musician tunes an instrument. If we are ready, we can let go of the Old World way of seeing to believing and open to the New World way of believing it to see it.It is our essence to expand. Look at science; there are discoveries every day, all of which are born in the imagination first. We are co-creators in our reality, we have a say in how our life unfolds, and it has everything to do with our energy's resonance which governs our response to life. Awakening is about owning our impact globally, being a deliberate creator alongside the energy that holds planetary alignment, and constantly tuning ourselves. All it takes is unwavering dedication and utter detachment, which is the good news because, for athletes, this is what we do best. Set a goal, stay focused, achieve the goal. Rinse and repeat.

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. " - Lao TzuIt wouldn't be a season without an embarrassing story, and this one is around a time in my life when results stalking was a regular part of my race prep—a strategy I considered a necessary piece for my race day success.Telling this story to a bunch of triathletes, especially back in my hay day of swimming with fists, would have been entirely acceptable. But, this story unfolded during my yoga teacher training, where the ego was under fire, and mine was acting up.In response to my foolish tactics and defensiveness around them, my yoga teacher replied with a dismissive remark about how that part of me would fall away. This sent me over the edge and threatened my identity as an athlete striving to be better.Years later, I can tell you that he was right, and I"m so grateful.At points along the Awake Athlete path, we will face moments when we question our identity; we will see characteristics fall away, and we will realize that they are the parts we have outgrown. We never lose the essential components that make us great.

Ahimsa is doing the least amount of harm in any given situation. If we look at our world today, I think we can all agree that practicing ahimsa would benefit the whole, and don’t forget the whole includes you. When we bring awareness into our life as a way of life, we wake up to how we move through the world. When we see how we move through the world, we get a clear picture of where we stand in position to how we desire to stand in the world.We shine a light on mental preferences that may create limitations in our experience and expose the truth around our relationships, including food. This is not a heavy episode because our connection to food is not emotional when we see things in truth. Enlightenment is seeing things as they are. There is nothing fancy about an enlightened viewpoint, but there is something quite powerful about seeing ourselves as we are right now without judgment. In this episode, I share a bit about my story of shifting to a plant-based diet and the fear that I faced leading into my first Ironman as a vegan athlete. The clarity I attained kicked up intense emotion for me as I identified disconnection in my life, and it allowed me to steady myself on the path to being the person I desire to be in this life.You are perfect where you are now. The question is, are you awake to where you are now? Because that information is key to where you are going and who you desire to be.

“I should be running faster,” “my family should get along better,” “he shouldn’t work so hard,” “I should be more fit” - sound familiar?We should on ourselves and others, all the time. Our society is full of people shoulding on each other, and it’s time we shine a light on this strain of resistance that fuels feelings of anxiety, depression, and separation.When we stop shoulding, we stop fighting the way things are, and we open space for positive change. Life is a boomerang game. What we throw out, we get back. If we are throwing out resistance, we are going to receive resistance. If we throw out acceptance, we will see more reasons to accept.I share a technique I used with my family that we can apply to anyone or anything in our lives. My experience is that when we alleviate shoulding, we welcome ease and flow.

Let's get one thing straight; the mind is a thought-producing machine. The meditation assignment is not stopping thoughts, so if your excuse for not meditating is your mind is too busy, excuse no more. To even know that we have a quiet mind is a thought. The truth is, the moments of quiet in the mind are unnoticeable. I share a few stories in this episode; the first was about my meditation teacher when he studied the effects of meditation on the brain at the university level. The results of one meditator's experience may surprise you. In the least, I believe it will make sense.The second story is about an experience I had in meditation when I got tested. Armed to float in a pond of peace, I met feelings of anger and frustration instead. The Awake Athlete path grows narrow as we walk it, and the challenges get bigger, so if you know one thing, know this, you will be tested.

What we hold onto, holds onto us. Life is a passing show; when we attach to any of it, we will feel tension. Attachment breeds suffering, so it’s best to learn how to jive with the ever-changing tides of this ocean of motion called life.When we are unwilling to leave the past in the past, we hold ourselves captive from the future possibilities. When we judge others on their behavior, cling too tightly to material things, and constrict around how things need to unfold, we are not free. In this season finale, I share how they catch monkeys in India and why the monkeys are not victims to their captives but captives to themselves. We can learn a lot from this story, and the intent as an awake athlete is to inquire often about our grip on life. 

What to do when we shine the light on an unhelpful cycle in our life? How do we navigate the change we desire, and when is the appropriate time to dismantle what no longer serves us? In this episode, I share how I broke a cycle in my life and became the loving story.

We’ve all woken up in the middle of the night with the weight of the world on our chests. We’ve all laid there for hours trying to get back to sleep while our mind catastrophes our future and our nervous systems hold steady in survival mode. We know that none of this is helpful to getting stronger, faster or more durable as an athlete yet we all have suffered at the hands of a restless night. Being an Awake Athlete doesn’t mean we will be immune to these storms but it does mean that we’ll have a big toolbox within our grips to ease our suffering, allow our bodies the rest they require and become the masters of our minds along the way.

Are you ready to go deep? Because that’s where this 15-minute Yoga Nidra practice takes you, into a deep yogic sleep. It’s a practice that I’ve been incorporating into my training since I first heard about its restorative effects years ago. I’m excited to share with you my first-ever yoga nidra class.

A little about me, a little about this podcast and my biggest observance that brought this all to life. Plus the non-negotiable of mental training and the signs to know that the mind is in control of the athlete and not the other way around.

We are always creating in this life but most of us are creating by default and living a life that is built on a record of the past. Replaying, replaying and replaying until we wake up and get in the gap, that’s when all the good stuff happens. The gap is where we take our power back and create our lives on purpose.

As athletes, we have this incredible blessing of moving the body often and we know that this leaves us feeling better than before the workout. Let’s face it, many times, our training is our outlet to process life. It’s the space where our problems fall away. In this episode, I discuss the difference between clearing our head in problem energy and clearing our head in solution energy.

It’s a simple recipe and one that stands the test of time, like thousands of years of time. A recipe that is best put together before the momentum of the day begins and the one that is so simple, we make it hard and give up.

This process and its outcome may be different than what you think, perhaps the very opposite of what you’ve been doing thus far. Listen in with an open mind, try out one of the techniques in this episode and commit to living in freedom with new understanding.

Believing that the ego is the enemy is a mechanism of the ego. Being mad at the ego is a mechanism of the ego. Feeling alone, victimized, angry and unsettled are mechanisms of the ego. Learn to shine a light on this little bugger of love by knowing its qualities and classic moves.

What does a sensation-filled run look like for an Awake Athlete? I dive into the relationship with pain and different techniques that have served me well from mantras to belief systems. In this episode I share a recent experience when I finished a 15-mile run with a 5-mile tempo and my feet hurt real dang bad.

For an Awake Athlete, mastery is the only option. As we all head in that direction, it’s key to understand the qualities of a master and what mindset is at the base of living with such impeccability.

Hey listen, we can get a meal-plan, we can count calories and we can hire a nutritionist but if we’re not getting to the belief system that is keeping us from a joyful relationship with food then we are walking the road to nowhere. A short episode to lay some basics around the transformative power of food.

There’s a lot to chew on in this episode as I go deeply into the discernment of the mind and the brain. What are these two things? Are they the same? Does one follow the other and how do they assist us in the purification process of awakening? Yup, all that.

What is the loving story and what is the feeling of ignorance? Wrapping up season one with this thought provoking finale that includes a challenge to take with you. Until next time…..