Living It

Abby Maslin is the bestselling author of Love You Hard: A Memoir of Marriage, Brain Injury, and Reinventing Love, a powerful story of transformation and resilience in the wake of tragedy. Abby is also a special educator with a background in the healing arts, a certified movement therapist and yoga teacher who often writes on the topics of healing and emotional resilience. In this conversation, we talked about: - How her husband suffered traumatic brain injury after a viscious attack - The journey through his recovery, how the experience tested her - How faith is an active practice - How she maintains her faith in herself, her marriage and the world

Mari Andrew is a writer, illustrator, and speaker who shares her work daily on Instagram @bymariandrew. What started out as making one drawing a day for a year as a form of self-expression following a season of grief and loss has inspired over one million devoted fans. Through her art, writing, and speaking, she discusses the powers of uncertainty, sensitivity, setbacks, and finding small joys all around us. Her first book, Am I There Yet?, debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list. Mari is an avid traveler and dancer who calls New York City home. In this episode we talked about: - Using art as a tool for self-reflection - What life seasons are and why they’re important - How to cultivate resilience - How we use self-reflection to recognize our true identity

Kino MacGregor is an international yoga teacher, author of three books, producer of six Ashtanga Yoga DVDs, writer, blogger, world traveler, and cofounder of the Miami Life Center, Yoga Challenge and OmStars. In this conversation, we talk about: - What Tapas means to Kino MacGregor - How yoga asks us to change our lives - What yoga has helped Kino change in her life - How to maintain discipline with social media - How to juggle multiple projects and still maintain a practice.

Mo Gawdat is the author of Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy in which he applied logic and problem-solving to the issue of happiness to create an algorithm to reach a state of uninterrupted happiness regardless of the circumstances of life. In 2014, Mo’s equation for happiness was put to the ultimate test when he lost his son Ali to preventable medical error during a simple surgical procedure. That led Mo to dedicate his life to share his happiness message with one billion people around the world. Solve For Happy is the pillar for this mission, #OneBillionHappy, Mo has committed to as his personal moonshot. In this conversation we talk about: - Mo’s formula for happiness - Why happy emotions are anchored in the present - How to prime the brain for happiness. - Spiritualities role in happiness - Practices to cultivate contentment

Petra Kolber is an author, speaker, podcast host, and a wellness leader who is known throughout the industry as a crusader for change and a beacon of authentic happiness. Her first book, The Perfection Detox: Tame Your Inner Critic, Live Bravely and Unlash Your Joy, a practical program that helps replace destructive perfectionistic mindsets with concrete strategies. As a two-time cancer survivor, Petra is passionate about waking people up to the precious gift of time. Her mission is to inspire people to move more and fear less, so that they can stretch their dreams, strengthen their courage muscle and build an inspired life, full of joy and gratitude. In this episode we talked about: - When a perfectionist mindset is helpful and when it's problematic - What is a perfection detox - The difference between reflection and rumination - Common limiting beliefs - How to clean up our thoughts and inner toxicity

Jennifer Pastiloff spent the first part of her life thinking she was a bad person because of something she told her father before he died when she was just eight. She moved in and out of depression and tried to control what happened in her life with her eating. At the same time, without letting anyone know, she was also losing her hearing. Through her yoga practice and writing she began to face these challenges, redefine her own life and explore what it means to be human. She shared her experiences in a real and vulnerable way publicly on Facebook and in her online magazine The Manifest Station. She began teaching and leading retreats called On Being Human. And she has written a book, also called, On Being Human in which she shares her own triumphantly messy story. In this interview, we talk about: - How to quiet our Inner Asshole - What are the bullshit stories we tell ourselves and how we rewrite them - How our bodies carry our stories - What is listening hard - How we let go of what no longer serves us so we can be where we actually want to be

Susanna Barkataki is a diversity coach, inclusivity trainer and yoga culture advocate and the Founder of Ignite Institute. She is honored to have worked in education, training and social justice for over two decades. She studied with her family and Masters in India and the United States in the Hatha Yoga tradition. Today, she trains yoga teachers, studios, nonprofits and businesses in person and online to become leaders in equity, diversity and yogic values so they can embody thriving yoga leadership with integrity and confidence. She believes we can grow our businesses with integrity and confidence by leading with our hearts and our values. In this interview we discussed: - What is cultural appropriation - When cultural appreciation becomes appropriation - How we can use our energy for the greater good - What teachers can do to educate themselves - How to share that knowledge with students

Michelle C. Johnson is a social justice activist, anti-racism trainer, yoga teacher and author Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World. With over 20 years of experience leading dismantling racism work and working with clients as a licensed clinical social worker, Michelle has a deep understanding of how trauma impacts the mind, body, spirit, and heart. Michelle leads Dismantling Racism Trainings with large corporations, small non-profits, and community groups. She teach workshops in yoga studios and community spaces nationwide. And she gives talks and interviews to address the heartbreak dominant culture causes and to inspire change that allows people to stand in their humanity and wholeness. In this interview we talk about: - Michelle's yoga journey - How dominant culture harms the collective good, not just the oppressed - What is skill in action - How yoga guides Michelle off the mat - How yoga can guide us in facing social injustices - How racism steals from the wholeness of our experience

Dianne Bondy is a social justice activist, author, accessible yoga teacher, and the leader of the Yoga For All movement. Her inclusive approach to yoga empowers anyone to practice - regardless of their shape, size, ethnicity, or level of ability. Dianne is revolutionizing yoga by educating yoga instructors around the world on how to make their classes welcoming and safe for all kinds of practitioners. In this interview we talk about : - Dianne's yoga journey - How a body-shaming father led to an eating disorder - How yoga helped in her recovery - How diet culture keeps us from knowing our true selves - Why we lie to ourselves - How we can live our truth

From living in a group home for at-risk youth to becoming a renowned yoga teacher and musical innovator, MC Yogi is on a mission to bring good music and good energy into the world. Having grown up immersed in hip hop culture before finding yoga in his teens, he naturally began to integrate the two, setting yogic wisdom to hip hop beats. In this episode, we talk about: - MC Yogi’s turbulent childhood and how he changed his own self-destructive behavior - MC Yogi’s journey to become a yogi, musician and artist - The role grace played - Using discipline, discernment and devotion as guides - Preconceived ideas about what hip hop is and how MC Yogi is using it for inspiration

In the Season two preview we look at the first and second limbs of the ashtanga yoga system, the yamas and niyamas. This is yoga's moral code, our guidelines for how we treat others and ourselves. For the rest of the season, we talk to ten different guests about these practices and how they are living them in their off-the-mat life.

Season 2 of the Living It podcast will launch in September. Until then, we’ll bring you a minisode each month. Today, we thought we’d do a throwback and share how this podcast came to be. When Living the Sutras first came out, Rosie Acosta interviewed us for her podcast Radically Loved. It was at Rosie's prompting that we started Living It. So today, Rosie has generously shared her interview with us so you can listen in and hear what and who inspired the Living It podcast. For those of you who want to find out about Rosie, her podcast Radically Loved or where she’s speaking visit RadicallyLoved.com. To send us your yoga questions by the end of July you can record a voice memo on your phone and emailing it to us at kelly AT livingitpodcast DOT com or by calling 202-525-6653 and leaving a voicemail. As always you can message us on Instagram @kellydinardo and @amypearcehayden and email us through our website livingitpodcast.com.

In this bonus episode, Sharon Salzberg guides us through a short, five-minute LovingKindness meditation.

Sharon Salzberg is a pioneer in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She has played a crucial role in bringing meditation and mindfulness to the West and into mainstream culture since 1974, when she first began teaching. Sharon is the co-founder of the first western meditation center in the US: The Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, MA. She has authored ten books, including The New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, her seminal work, Lovingkindness and her 2017 release, Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection. Acclaimed for her down-to-earth teaching style, Sharon offers a secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings, making them instantly accessible. She is a regular columnist for On Being, a contributor to Huffington Post, and the host of her own podcast, The Metta Hour, with 90+ episodes. In this episode, we discussed: - Sharon’s meditation journey - What LovingKindness meditation is - What gets in the way of a regular meditation practice - How we know if meditation is working

Michelle Gielan has spent the past decade researching the link between happiness and success. She is the bestselling author of Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Change and was named one of the Top 10 authors on resilience by the Harvard Business Review. Michelle is an Executive Producer of “The Happiness Advantage” on PBS and a featured professor in Oprah’s Happiness course. She formerly served as anchor of The CBS Morning News, and her research has received attention from dozens of media outlets including The Washington Post, FORBES, and The New York Times. In this episode, we discuss: - What is positive psychology and happiness research - Why exercise is a powerful tool for happiness - How gratitude trains your brain for happiness - The small habits that boost happiness - When unhappiness can be good - The difference between happiness, contentment and optimism

Mama, author, yoga teacher and speaker, Elena Brower is influenced by several yoga traditions and recognized internationally for her expertise in offering practices to approach our world with realistic reverence. She is the author of Art of Attention, a yoga workbook that has been translated into six languages, and her second book, Practice You, is now a bestseller and beloved in dozens of countries, in yoga trainings and courses as well as educational and healing settings for all ages. In this episode we talk about: - The five pillars of a graceful divorce - Parenting through divorce - The importance of giving children a voice in the family - The sacred transition from life to death - Collaborating with other women - Listening as a critical off-the-mat practice This week's giveaway comes from BirdandFish. For more details visit www.livingitpodcast.com

A regular yoga practice fortified Bibi McGill‘s courage, stamina and devotion as internationally renowned lead guitarist and band leader for Beyonce. She has found great sustenance and healing in yoga, and her joy in teaching is making yoga accessible to anyone who seeks it. Her down-to-earth, vibrant nature empowers students to claim their own authentic gifts as they deepen their relationship with themselves on the mat. Bibi leads classes and workshops around the world. Through her work with organizations like Street Yoga, Peace in Schools, Wolf Connection and her artist residency with Open Middle School, Bibi spreads the message of healing and wellness to youth. A rocker on a mission to help the world vibrate higher, Bibi has graced the covers of Yoga Journal, About Face, Edge Magazine and Om Times. When she’s not on the mat or stage, Bibi is often connecting with n ature in her garden, on a kayak or in the forest with a cup of tea. In this episode, we discussed: - Bibi’s journey from guitarist to yogi - Establishing boundaries and practicing your values - How yoga keeps us emotionally balanced - The importance of alone time as a spiritual discipline - Making time to be quiet, alone and in nature - Ditching dogma and creating your own rules And our partner Yoga Journal's Live Be Yoga Tour is giving away a yoga mat and online course. Visit www.livingitpodcast.com/bibi-mcgill for detials.

Growing up in inner-city LA, gangs, drug-use and violence was a pervasive part of Rosie Acosta‘s childhood. She grew into a troubled teen battling depression, struggling with overeating, hanging with the wrong crowd, and plummeting in a downward spiral. With prison on the periphery, Rosie made a choice. Yoga and meditation offered her a ladder and she began to climb. Today, Rosie Acosta is a world-renowned Yoga and Meditation Teacher, Yoga Teacher Trainer and Holistic Health Coach. She is also the founder of Radically Loved: Yoga, Health + Wellness and host of the top-rated podcast, Radically Loved. In this episode we talk about: - Rosie’s journey from troubled child to yogi and motivational speaker - Calling out self-limiting beliefs and leaving victimhood behind - How having a purpose helped Rosie turn her life around - Getting responsible and taking agency over one’s life - How your values play into what you create

Rod Stryker is a world-renowned yoga and meditation teacher, guiding and sharing his wisdom for 40 years. He is the founder of ParaYoga®, the author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom and creator of the app Sanctuary, a premier destination for all levels of those wanting to experience the life-changing practices of meditation and yoga nidra, also known as enlightened sleep. A living link to a venerable lineage of sages and teachers, Rod is distinguished for his ability to make ancient wisdom and practices accessible to modern audiences. A thought-leader for how best to live with meaning, creativity, responsibility and freedom, he guides experienced students and teachers of yoga and meditation seeking to deepen and share their understanding of the ancient wisdom and timeless practices. In this episode we discuss: - Knowing we are already innately whole - Stilling the mind gives us the opportunity to understand our true nature and purpose - Discerning the difference between non-constructive and constructive purpose - Working with the desires in our life - Understanding our happiness is an expression of how close we are to living our purpose