Awareness Offerings Podcast

For the final Awareness Offering of 2023, a reflection on what gives me hope. We close with a guided meditation to help us listen for the conditions of hope within ourselves. // 3:03: yoga philosophy discussion, 23:31: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

A reflection on the ways in which the world, in its current violence, has held a mirror up to me and invited me to renegotiate my relationship to vengeance. We close with a practice and invitation for doing things differently than we have before and making a different choice, starting on the level of the breath. // Posts mentioned in this episode: Tangle News https://www.instagram.com/p/CyOyx4mt_sX/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Cindy Milstein https://www.instagram.com/p/CybcnAOucMI/ // 2:58: yoga philosophy discussion, 29:11: guided meditation

On this the 100th episode of the Awareness Offerings Podcast, a check-in. A moment to de-pressurize and make space for all that we feel, complete with a guided breath meditation for assisting us in settling into the feeling body. // 3:28: yoga philosophy discussion, 23:23: guided breath meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

What is trust, really? This week, we're exploring that question through the lenses of yoga philosophy, therapy and more. Together, we practice a guided meditation for cultivating and reinforcing authentic trust within ourselves. // 3:19: yoga philosophy discussion, 28:05: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

A reflection on the way that any kind of growth often involves grief and gratitude walking together, side by side. Guided meditation for embracing this dance of expansion and contraction included. // 4:29: yoga philosophy discussion, 20:47: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

This week, we're breaking down the oft-used spiritual phrase, "As above, so below." This ancient expression is typically used to mean, "What you think, you create," but what if it's simply meant to remind us that we're connected to the broader cycles of the world and universe around us? We discuss, then practice this cyclical connection through breath meditation. // 3:50: yoga philosophy discussion, 16:52: guided breath meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

When we talk about getting to the "next level" in our healing, transformation or spiritual growth, what are we really saying? What are we reinforcing? We explore together, then practice a meditation for relaxing into the wild, non-linear, present moment experience of authentic healing. // 4:41: yoga philosophy discussion, 22:09: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

What happens when someone puts space between us and them? It's ok. This week, we're discussing the fact that it's ok for people to make that choice, we are still ok when they do, and it's ok if we don't tie our self-worth into knots trying to figure out why. We close with a guided meditation for allowing things to exist in their own way, including ourselves and others. // 3:48: yoga philosophy discussion, 27:29: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

You've probably heard about toxic positivity; for those of us doing spiritual work, it's also important to consider toxic spirituality. Together, we explore the risks around this phenomenon; namely, the risk of shame. We practice meditation to center our empowerment, which can be the opposite of shame. // 3:09: yoga philosophy discussion, 29:41: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

Together, we're exploring the idea that seeking guidance to do a particular thing does not make our efforts less than. In fact, it's not about the amount of effort we put into something, but the experience we have. We close with a guided meditation for receiving a sense of support in the present moment. // 3:01: yoga philosophy discussion, 26:48: guided mediation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

A personal reflection on my current experience of being in my body, which includes having just gone to the doctor a been asked to step on a scale for an issue that, I believe, had nothing to do with my weight. Together, we explore a trauma-informed perspective on the ways our bodies change, and an invitation to soften around our softness. I offer a mini breath practice to explore this softening from an embodied place. // 3:48: discussion, 26:22: guided breath practice // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and the web: https://lauratara.com/

This week, I'm reflecting on the process of taking a podcast episode down, the friction that process entailed and how it ultimately rooted me more deeply into my values. The experience culminated in a lesson on "how we make our dreams," which we explore together. Then, we practice a guided breath meditation for expanding our capacity to be with friction in order to propel ourselves toward value-centered transformation. // 3:27 yoga philosophy discussion, 30:27: guided breath meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

This week, I'm offering a perspective on the spiritual concept of past lives that is rooted in the teachings of my yoga lineage and centers presence, grace and trust. Guided meditation for breathing our way toward presence included! // 5:17: yoga philosophy discussion, 26:31: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

On a week when themes of freedom are at the cultural forefront, we explore the dissonance between our social ideals of freedom and our societal reality in which rights and protections are consistently being taken away from marginalized groups. We discuss how yoga philosophy approaches this concept, the difference between power and authentic freedom, and practice a guided meditation to use our true power to ignite more love. // 4:21: yoga philosophy discussion, 30:23: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

There's been a lot going on, and a lot of need and inspiration to connect with the body. This week, we explore how grounding into our physical bodies, then our "feeling" bodies, can help us process the intense experiences of our times, complete with a guided, body scan meditation to put it into practice. // 4:20: yoga philosophy discussion, 27:23: guided body scan meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

I'm sharing a personal reflection on authenticity, on saying the hard or real thing out loud. We explore the way this can have impacts from creating compassion to affecting change in the world, complete with a guided, step-by-step meditation for acknowledging and working with hard emotions. // 4:40: yoga philosophy discussion, 30:29: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

We're exploring the concept of Spiritual Bypass; specifically, the ways that we often bypass what it really means for the collective in favor of an easier, individualistic lens. I offer reflections and, in leu of meditation, some self-inquiry and calls to action to reflect the way that this practice is a little more about the external than the internal . // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

In honor of pride month, I explore what it means to be queer and queer-affirming, especially in my roles as caregiver. We reflect and meditate on the concept that queerness is reality and it expands our capacity to connect to the sacred. // 4:50: yoga philosophy discussion, 25:55: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

This week, I'm taking a look at influencer culture, and the capitalism that produced it, through the lenses of yoga philosophy and my own experience as a yoga practitioner and teacher with a social media presence. // 3:28: yoga philosophy discussion, 32:59: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

An exploration of the spiritual practice of "feeling through" our feelings and experiences, especially the intense and challenging ones, complete with a guided meditation to put it into embodied action. // 4:13: yoga philosophy discussion, 29:20: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

We're reflecting on the reality that "safety is the most fundamental human need." We look at this concept from the lenses of psychology, spirituality, the intersections of the 2, and even personal stories. We sit with the lesson that trying to create safety is ultimately about being able to give ourselves grace, and we do guided, somatic practice with tools for doing just that. // 3:20: yoga philosophy discussion, 44:52: guided practice // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

This week, we're exploring the fire of anger as both a righteous reflection of our connection to the divine and something that must be tended to with compassion and care lest it become a fire of destruction. Together, we engage in contemplative practice for directing our inner fire toward transformation. // 3:13: yoga philosophy discussion, 42:17: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/ // Listen to "Savage Daughter" by Ekaterina Shelehova: https://youtu.be/tegev08KyHY

This week, I'm sharing a teaching and reflection-style episode on a choice I make as a yoga teacher, one that pertains to rest and receiving. I share my process around why I do it, how I got here and how I believe it connects to our experience off the mat, closing with an invitation for you to try it in your own life. // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

What if being alive is enough? Both as an invitation to presence and a reminder of the inherent worth of every human being. What if it allows us to experience true beauty and calls us to our responsibility to ensure that others are also free enough to experience full aliveness? This week, we explore and meditate on this concept together. // 3:13: yoga philosophy discussion, 23:23: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: https://lauratara.com/

In my return to the pod after a brief hiatus, I'm exploring my curiosity and experience around the idea that we don't always have to know "why." We don't always need to know where our pain, trauma or nervous system dysregulation is coming from, what caused it. Instead, healing is available to us in the present, and in the body, no matter what. We put this curiosity into practice through guided meditation. || 4:36: yoga philosophy discussion, 27:04: guided meditation || Stay connected - on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/ and on the web: lauratara.com

An exploration of the way that certain language can help us cultivate curiosity in the mind, be creative in how we relate to each other and our situations, and even envision a better world. Together, we do a meditative practice to build these skills in an embodied way. // 3:45: yoga philosophy discussion, 24:24: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

This week's episode is a ritual honoring of the 3rd anniversary of the start of the pandemic, with intentional reflection, resilience practice and awareness. Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

An exploration of how the simple, fundamental shift from external to internal awareness can plant the seeds for all the other kinds of transformation we might want or need, complete with a guided meditation to put it into practice. // 4:35: yoga philosophy discussion, 29:56: guided meditation

Together, we explore the self-inquiry question "What's here?" as an access point for centering, compassion, curiosity and space. // 4:25: yoga philosophy discussion, 16:56: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/

On a week that has a heavy cultural association with love, and many complexities for that reason, I offer reflections on what it means to have a yogic relationship to love. We talk about the dance of attachment, aversion and awareness, what different spiritual traditions teach about these concepts and my own growth in these areas. Together, we practice a meditation for non-attachment and heart awareness. // 6:13: yoga philosophy discussion, 30:34: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/

Together, we explore the healing and therapeutic effects of being held, energetically and emotionally. We practice a breath technique for tending deeply to the nervous system and holding ourselves in kind presence. // 3:39: yoga philosophy discussion, 15:12: guided breath meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara

This week, we lean into some mental health talk, discussing the risks, benefits and effects of the ever-increasing mental health discourse on social media. Then, we go into contemplative practice together, one of the tools I offer clients in my role as a mental health professional. // 4:06: discussion, 41:46: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

A uniquely-formatted check-in episode to remind us all to take refuge in the heart. // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kashiatlanta/

We're moving through a lot right now, based on what's happening with our seasons and our planets. I'm offering some validation and affirmation around this, as I've developed the skills to do through therapeutic training, then offering the only prediction I'll ever make: newness is coming. New cycles are on the way. I explain why, then we practice a guided meditation for settling in enough to receive the newness on the horizon. // 3:29: yoga philosophy discussion, 28:39: guided mediation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

To celebrate episode 69 of the Awareness Offerings Podcast, we're talking about the ways that sexuality intersects with spirituality. We unpack what the yoga tradition tells us about sexual energy and get curious about ways to be on the spiritual path without shame, then practice a guided meditation for embodiment - the antidote to any shame that tells us our bodies are impure. // 3:46: yoga philosophy discussion, 49:08: guided embodiment mediation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

It feels like we're in a season of emptiness with winter in full swing, but fullness, too, as we navigate the restart and renewal that our culture often pushes for in the month of January. In this first Awareness Offering of 2023, I explore my relationship to fullness and a remembrance that The Emptiness, spiritual spaciousness, is always contained there, too. Together, we practice a guided meditation for finding moments of refuge in The Emptiness. // 4:02: yoga philosophy discussion, 24:07: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

In my final Offering of 2022, I turn toward empowerment by detailing my process as a yoga teacher deciding that I do not, generally, want to give any kind of adjustments in my yoga classes. I talk about the foundations of this decision, from hands-on adjustments and bodily autonomy to verbal adjustments and affirming choice, then we practice a guided empowerment meditation to affirm choice for ourselves. // 6:35: yoga philosophy discussion, 39:00: guided empowerment meditation // stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

This week's episode is a personal reflection as I prepare to graduate with my Master's in Social Work. I name my intentions and vision, honor my own resilience through this process, then take some time to name the more complex layers of getting an MSW and entering the mental health field. It is its own practice of awareness. // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

I recently heard teacher Jessamyn Stanley give an incredible definition of yoga practice in which she reminded us that it's a space to "let that shit breathe." As in, to make room for the complexities mind rather than expecting it to be calm. This inspired an interesting and supportive visualization in my own meditation practice, and offered me a lot of helpful teachings around shifting my relationship to my mind and myself. This week, I'm sharing them with you, and we practice that visualization meditation together. // 5:46: yoga philosophy discussion, 22:30: guided visualization meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

As part of my recent work sharing "Spiritual Social Media," I've had some insights around the parallels between our current social media landscape and colonization. This week, we talk about it, and about how creativity is the antidote. We close with a mantra practice for sacred creativity. // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

As a post-midterm election comedown, I'm reflecting on the concept of power through the lenses of yoga and spirituality. We talk about what authentic power means in these traditions, how that intersects with social and political movements, and we practice empowerment through breath and meditation. // 3:52: yoga philosophy discussion, 29:29: guided breath meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of sexual violence. This week, I find myself reflecting on my experience of sexual violence, what they say about entitlement, and how they relate to historical structures and our current cultural landscape. Together, we explore embodiment as an antidote to entitlement and practice a guided embodiment meditation. // 3:07: discussion, 25:08: guided embodiment meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

This week, my teacher said something affirming: "We are in a joy deficit." This helped put words to the sense of disconnection I've been feeling as we process the events of the last 2+ years. I continue to process in this episode, reflect on radical joy, and offer practices for reconnecting to joy. // 3:57: yoga philosophy discussion, 24:41: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

A sequence of events, starting with neck pain and leading me into rabbit pose and teaching several yoga classes about it, has brought me to this point. I am preaching, like it or not, about why we should all be putting our heads on the ground. This week, we talk about the physical, energetic and spiritual benefits, ways to do it, and practice grounding through the crown together. // 3:13: yoga philosophy discussion, 30:48: guided grounding meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

A conscious exploration of the ways good and grief are inherently intertwined throughout the experience of being alive, complete with a deep and spacious guided meditation for witnessing this truth from the compassionate heart. // 3:31: yoga philosophy discussion, 19:13: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/

In this Awareness Offering, we're exploring the concept of longing as a spiritual tool, an expression of connection to the sacred... and a way we give ourselves information. What if experiences like overwhelm, exhaustion and frustration are extreme manifestations of the parts of us that long for a deeper, more nourishing experience? We unpack together, then (rather than an in-the-moment, guided meditation), I offer a take-home spiritual practice for honoring longing. // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/

This week, I'm sitting with the reality that we get to practice. It is a privilege, and we have a responsibility to use our practice to orient us more toward liberation. In a world where revolution is afoot, especially in Iran, this feels more vital than ever. We ask for authentic liberation through a guided mantra meditation. // 4:01: yoga philosophy discussion , 29:02: guided mantra meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laura__tara/

A programming note and blessings on the Autumnal Equinox.

This week, we explore the concept of Person-First Language. Is the product of a grassroots movement, a therapeutic and mental health skill, a tool for living in the world more compassionately and a spiritual practice. We examine all of these facets together, then practice relating to ourselves with a person-first orientation through a guided meditation.

This week, for a very special Awareness Offering, I'm joined by writer, creative and my good friend Kaci Diane. We have a rich discussion on the creative process, how it intersects with spirituality, her new book, "When the Love is Real," love and relationships and more. She closes us out by offering a spiritual writing practice as a unique and impactful style of meditation. Keep up with Kaci's work at @kacidianewrite on social media, and at https://www.kacidiane.com/.

This week, we explore anti-capitalism as a practice of Ahimsa, the yogic principle of doing no harm. We take inspiration from everyone from the Kardashians and the Sounds Like a Cult podcast to Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and we put it into practice with a meditation for remembering our wholeness as the opposite of commodification. // 4:06: yoga philosophy discussion, 25:00: guided meditation // Stay connected on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__tara/