Podcast appearances and mentions of Anne Cushman

This week on the podcast, I have a very special conversation with Anne Cushman, a pioneer in the field of mindful yoga. Anne is a senior retreat teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, where she founded the first multi-year Buddhist meditation training for yoga teachers.  Anne Cushman has dedicated her life to the embodied Dharma path, equally exploring the wisdom traditions of yoga and Buddhism, since she started her practice in the 1980s. Her teachings and writings skillfully express the intersections of philosophy, meditation, movement, creativity, and real-world practice. We talk about why it has been important for her to center mindfulness in her yoga practice, and how yoga asana and pranayama allowed her to truly absorb the Dharma teachings beyond a conceptual understanding. You'll hear how she defines mindful yoga, and how cultivating mindful awareness enables us to meet all of the contents of our experience - on the mat and off. She also shares some fascinating history, as someone who had a front row seat to the development of yoga and Buddhist Dharma culture in the West.  You'll hear about Anne's time working as an editor and writer at Yoga Journal (in its early days), including her experience interviewing BKS Iyengar. She also shares what it was like being one of the first teachers to offer yoga practices on Buddhist meditation retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. We touch on issues like balancing tradition and innovation, moving between spiritual communities, drawing from multiple lineages, and the potential of cultural appropriation. Anne emphasizes that yoga and meditation have always gone together and that asana was always intended to be in service of the transformation of heart and mind. Enjoy this inspiring and insightful interview with a true mindful movement trailblazer! -- Guest Bio: Anne Cushman is a pioneer in the integration of mindfulness, embodied meditation, and creative expression. A senior retreat teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, she founded the first multi-year Buddhist meditation training for yoga teachers. She's the author of the memoir The Mama Sutra: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Path of Motherhood; the novel Enlightenment for Idiots (honored by Booklist as one of the top ten first novels of its year); the mindful yoga book Moving Into Meditation; and the India pilgrimage guide From Here to Nirvana; and her essays on spiritual practice in daily life have appeared in the New York Times, Yoga Journal, O: The Oprah Magazine, Lion's Roar, Tricycle, and many other publications. She is a guiding teacher for the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, which has trained thousands of teachers in more than 70 countries. She mentors mindfulness practitioners and writers worldwide and leads retreats and classes both in person and online with a focus on creativity, embodiment, connection with nature, and daily life practice. -- For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast. To learn more about Anne Cushman, visit her website at annecushman.com And, learn more about the Dharma, Yoga, and Mindfulness Training (DYMT) at Spirit Rock Meditation Center Thanks so much for listening! Feel free to reach out through my website with any episode requests, topics you'd like to hear about, or guest interview suggestions. You can also connect with me on Instagram or Threads  at @addie_movedtomeditate.

Today's conversation gave some information about other food pantries in our surrounding area that are doing incredibly important work. First, we talked with Andrea Cosans, Executive Director at Winchester CCAP. She explained the different services they offer to clients that include their food pantry (perishable and non-perishable items), clothing ministry, and financial assistance. They are always in need of food donations as well as cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items and baby products. Andrea mentioned during our conversation that eggs are always popular and she hadn't received those as donations in quite some time. She also expressed a need for meat donations. In the house located next to Winchester CCAP is where clients can find clothing items/sizes from infant to senior citizen. Right now, they are in need of coats (mostly mens) in sizes large, extra large, and extra extra large. They also offer financial assistance for clients to help cover their rent, utility bills, even expired vehicle registrations. You can find more information about making donations, volunteering, or learning more about the good they're doing in our community on their website: https://www.ccapwinchester.org/ and follow them on Facebook. In the second segment, we talked with Anne Cushman from FISH of Clarke County about their food pantry, clothes closet, and financial assistance/counseling. She explained the services they offer to residents across Clarke County and told us about their new mobile food pantry. They were able to purchase a truck through a grant from USDA which they take to Millwood on the last Saturday of each month. This month, because of the holiday, they will be in Millwood at the Shiloh Baptist Church at 1983 Millwood Road. They set up our tables and and offer food tastings, recipes, and all the ingredients for people to take home and create their own meals. They also have plenty of food for people in need to grab and go if they prefer. In addition, they have the Department of Social Services in attendance so that visitors can find out about any benefits they may be entitled to. Beginning in January, they will add an extra Saturday in Pine Grove. To learn more about FISH of Clarke County, visit their website: https://www.fishofclarkecounty.org/ and follow them on Facebook. To find a food pantry or resource in your community, click here to access the Community Resource Directory that's put together by Valley Assistance Network (VAN) as part of United Way NSV.

Today I'm thrilled to welcome Addie deHilster to SelfKind!Addie is a Yoga Therapist, a Yoga teacher trainer, and a MindfulnessMeditation Facilitator who has a wonderful way of bridging the gap between a 'formal' practice and the ways this can inform our everyday lives. In our conversation we talk about:- How Addie's movement and meditation practices were borne from the need to cope with change and stress, and how this has supported Addie to incorporate movement and meditation as constant practices that support her life (rather than another thing that feels like a burden to get done)- The role of silence and silent retreats in Addie's practice, as well my (Erica's) personal discomfort with the idea of extended silence! - Tips for all of us to make meditation a part of daily life with more ease - What Metta meditation is and why it can be so hard to offer ourselves loving kindness- The seeming contradictions that can arise when practicing self-kindness (i.e. it can be both rife with challenges and oh so sweet)- What it means to decompartmentalise meditation and movement- The power of awareness when it comes to change- The importance of starting small and starting where it's possible to start.Connect with Addie:Website: https://www.movedtomeditate.com/Instagram Moved to Meditate PodcastFind Addie on the Insight Timer App. Mentioned in this episode: Moving into Meditation by Anne Cushman (book)More about Addie:Addie deHilster is a C-IAYT Yoga Therapist, a Yoga teacher trainer, and a MindfulnessMeditation Facilitator. She is the founder of the Moved to Meditate Class Library, which offers online classes based on the 4 M's: Meaningful Mindful Movement that Meets you where you are. Now based in Vancouver, Washington (USA), she previously owned and operated a community yoga studio (Spiral Path Yoga Center) in Los Angeles, California for over five years. Her studio was known for its warm and inviting environment, robust teacher training program, and emphasis on adaptive yoga that made the practice more accessible to students who would not have thrived in most mainstream studios.In addition to leading yoga classes and meditation groups for the general public, she also offers private yoga therapy sessions, as well as one-on-one meditation coaching, and Yin Yoga Teacher Trainings (all online). A dedicated practitioner of Buddhist Insight Meditation (aka Vipassana or Mindfulness), she has accumulated over three months of silent retreat practice over the years. Her classes highlight the mindfulness principles within movement practice, helping students find an accessible pathway to self-healing and the heart of what yoga and meditation have to offer.

Anne Cushman tells us how she came to meditation when at university, because this world-religions class was the only class that would allow her to sleep in, as it started at 11 o'clock. Then, of course she found that she loved the class, and all its existential issues. And she ended up getting her major in religion, focusing particularly on Buddhism and Hinduism. However, reading all these books about buddhism and Hinduism, it became clear to her, that this couldn't be just theoretical, that she would have to start practicing meditation and yoga to truly understand the texts. We are compelled to continue practicing meditation because there is pain and suffering in our lives, and in meditation and yoga, we find a way through that pain and hardship - a learning to be with life as it is. The overarching theme of Anne's book, The mama sutra, is the path to awakening through motherhood I ask Anne if having children isn't an impediment to awakening? Anne tells us how the teachings were mostly passed down through monastics, who didn't In any case, practice happens where the intention of our wise heart meets the reality of our lives, and that is so whether you are in a monastery or rocking a baby Motherhood also makes you meet your edges, motherhood can me very hard... Motherhood is so good at showing us where we are stuck, where we need to grow Thich nah Han when asked, said that monastic and lay practice is exactly the same, only that lay practice is harder and more challenging What Anne really wants to do in the mama sutra is depict the reality of motherhood. At how hard it actually is... When things are harmonious, its great to practice, but always knowing, that things will change... The fundamental teaching of mindfulness is, that you always start right where you are, so you can never rely only on your past practice, it is always here and now. Children are unpredictable, immediate and authentic, so they call forth those qualities in us. I ask Anne about how her years of prior practice supported her through the loss of a child, and then a year later the birth of her second child, who was very demanding as a baby. Anne tells us how one of the effects of her meditation practice going through all that was the tremendous softening of her heart and being, instead of a hardening, which is also a possibility when life gets really difficult. We are attached to life as primal as the umbilical cord, thick and coiled and throbbing with blood We talk about words like the observer in mindfulness, or witnessing, or meeting experience... How we can train our capacity to hold our experience with more loving kindness We speak about "who" or "what" this observer or witness in mindfulness is... How you can connect deeper to your life through writing, and how sometimes new wisdom you didn't know you had, can emerge through your fingers. Journaling gives us a place to put things, to put aspects of our lives and our character when we are writing we are always connecting to the larger humanity, to something larger than just ourselves We talk about the sacred feminine, or about how some experiences that women have can be qualitatively different. An honouring of the relational, the intuitive, the embodied, the connection to the earth... Anne tells us how online retreats have been such a blessing for many women with children, and how real life reality can then be held in the support of a retreat. If we are paying attention, one of the things we feel as we become a mother, is this intimate connection to the web of life, this cycle of life that sustains us all. Motherhood as a portal to loving all of life. www.annecushman.com www.duritaholm.com

Co-host Diana Hill shares her story of stillbirth and how she grappled with applying the processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to her own loss. Alexis Bachik, a professor of positive psychology, shares how hard it was to stay positive in the face of years of exhausting and devastating infertility treatments. Anne Cushman reads from her powerful memoir about love and loss in motherhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's right here? What's actually right here? In today's episode we dig into this and how it's showing up both in these challenging times and on our yoga mats. Links for you : Anne Cushman's book Moving into Meditation : Daily practice recommendations in the Studio : Not a member of Curvy Yoga Studio yet? Join us! Use the code CURVY to save 50% off your first month. : Questions, comments, ideas? Get in touch: podcast@curvyyoga.com. Transcript You can find the full episode transcript right here.

Anne Cushman tells a poignant story of the rawness and beauty of life. Her daughter’s tragic still-birth, the joyful birth of her son, the “home retreat” of early motherhood, the challenges of parenthood, the falling of her marriage, the diagnosis and gifts of her son’s developmental differences and finding peace and joy.   Other episodes you may enjoy:  The Mindful Mother’s Way: From Burnout to Self-Care The Mindful Mother’s Way: From Burnout to Self-Care Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids Becoming Your True Authentic Self In Search of The True Self   FULL SHOW NOTES www.authenticparenting.com/podcast    ***Want to get most out of your listening experience? Download the Easy Start Guide PDF with clickable links to past podcast episodes (over 160) grouped by category. East Start Guide>>>http://eepurl.com/ggtWk1   ABOUT ME I help overwhelmed, frustrated parents who want to parent differently than their parents, make sense of their early childhood experiences, connect to their authentic self and their children on a deeper level, reduce stress, bring more ease, calm and joy into their lives by yelling less, and practicing non-punitive discipline.   WORK WITH ME Listeners of the podcast get 10% on my coaching services.  I would be thrilled to support you in your parenting journey! Click here to get started with my Introductory (3 Sessions) Package or REAL Change Package - 6 Private Coaching Sessions-worldwide! :) Court-Ordered Parenting Classes (in person NJ, NY,and PA residents only)    YOUR FEEDBACK IS VALUABLE! Do you have a comment, question, or a takeaway about this episode or the podcast in general?   USA listeners call 732-763-2576 right now and leave a voicemail. International listeners use the FREE Speak Pipe tool on my website. Add your voice. It matters! Email: info@authenticparenting.com     RATE & WRITE REVIEW FOR THE SHOW Watch this quick video tutorial on YouTube to how rate and write a review for the podcast on Apple Podcasts.   SUBMIT YOUR PARENTING QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED IN THE SHOW: Voicemail: 732-763-2576 Speak Pipe for sending audio messages Email: info@authenticparenting.com   CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA Authentic Parenting on Facebook Instagram   NEED PARENTING SUPPORT? Join the Authentic Parenting FREE online community   BECOME A SUPPORTER OF THE SHOW With your support we can continue the production of the podcast uninterruptedly. You can choose a level of support on Patreon.com by becoming a patron.   One time donations are also deeply appreciated. Give from the heart now.   Thanks for listening!   With gratitude, Anna Seewald, M.Ed, M.Psy Parent Educator, Keynote Speaker, Author www.authenticparenting.com  

I've talked a lot on the podcast about how motherhood has changed my yoga practice. I know first-hand how easy it can be to fall into the trap of mom guilt and feeling like you just can't keep up with your practice and the demands of your family life.So, I'm so excited to share this episode with Anne Cushman with you. Anne writes beautifully about motherhood as a spiritual practice in her new book, The Mama Sutra: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Path of Motherhood.Anne shares:* The creative process of writing a book, why it took her until her son went off to college to finish her latest book, and how her yoga and meditation practice helped her to be kind to herself through the whole process* How, in many ways, motherhood is such a good way to experience spirituality. Plus, how it differs from the types of spirituality practices that have been traditionally passed down by men.* Anne shares some profound insights for people who feel that they "should" be spending more time on their yoga mats or meditation cushions* Her retelling of the birth of Siddhartha, the Buddha, from his mother's perspective* How she coped with experiencing a full-term stillbirth and the anxieties that come with getting pregnant again after a tragic lossShow notes: http://www.jasonyoga.com/podcast/episode157 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hunter talks to Anne Cushman about Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice. Parenthood tests us in ways that we never anticipated, making it like a spiritual practice for unprecedented growth and change. Today’s guest, author and meditation teacher Anne Cushman experienced love and loss that deepened her experience of motherhood, teaching her to be fully present for all of it. She tells us that we don’t get to pick and choose what we’re present for. If we want to be present for those precious, joyful moments, we have to take in the difficulties too. Some big takeaways from this episode include: 1. We never know what is going to happen. Loving someone is an inherently risky thing to do. 2. Spiritual practices ask you to test yourself in extreme situations. 3. Don’t make any assumptions about your child. Fan of the Mindful Mama Podcast? Support it by leaving a quick review -----> Apple Podcasts or on Stitcher (or wherever you listen!) ABOUT HUNTER CLARKE-FIELDS: Hunter Clarke-Fields is a mindful mama mentor. She coaches overstressed moms on how to cultivate mindfulness in their daily lives. Hunter has over 20 years of experience in yoga & mindfulness practices. She has taught thousands worldwide, and is the creator of the Mindful Parenting course. Download the audio training, Mindfulness For Moms (The Superpower You Need) for free! It's at mindfulmomguide.com. Find more podcasts, blog posts, free resources, and how to work with Hunter at MindfulMamaMentor.com.

How are the messy moments of being a parent grounds for spiritual awakening? Join cohost Dr. Laurel Trujillo and her special guest Anne Cushman, author of The Mama Sutra, as they discuss how the joys and sorrows of parenthood are not separate from the spiritual path, but are the path itself. 

Sutra is the Sanskrit name for a short spiritual teaching, and it comes from the same root as the English word suture, or stitch. This story of motherhood as a path to awakening is, says yoga and meditation teacher Anne Cushman, “an homage to the long threads that run through all human lives, stitching up what’s shredded in our hearts.” In this interview, Anne Cushman, a longtime yoga and dharma teacher, talks about her new book The Mama Sutra: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Path of Motherhood(Shambala, 2019).  This thoughtful book spans an eighteen-year journey through motherhood as a spiritual practice, chronicling Cushman’s first pregnancy, her daughter's tragic stillbirth, the joyful birth of her son, the “home retreat” of early motherhood, the challenges of parenthood, the diagnosis and gifts of her son’s developmental differences, the meltdown of her nuclear family and its reconfiguration into a new and joyful form, and more. This is a powerful story of the rawness and beauty of life. Anne Cushman is a creative writer and mindfulness meditation teacher whose work focuses on the intersection between spiritual practice and the wild, messy, heartbreaking, and hilarious details of ordinary life.  She is the author of Enlightenment for Idiots, From Here to Nirvana, and the meditative yoga program Moving Into Meditation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sutra is the Sanskrit name for a short spiritual teaching, and it comes from the same root as the English word suture, or stitch. This story of motherhood as a path to awakening is, says yoga and meditation teacher Anne Cushman, “an homage to the long threads that run through all human lives, stitching up what’s shredded in our hearts.” In this interview, Anne Cushman, a longtime yoga and dharma teacher, talks about her new book The Mama Sutra: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Path of Motherhood(Shambala, 2019).  This thoughtful book spans an eighteen-year journey through motherhood as a spiritual practice, chronicling Cushman’s first pregnancy, her daughter's tragic stillbirth, the joyful birth of her son, the “home retreat” of early motherhood, the challenges of parenthood, the diagnosis and gifts of her son’s developmental differences, the meltdown of her nuclear family and its reconfiguration into a new and joyful form, and more. This is a powerful story of the rawness and beauty of life. Anne Cushman is a creative writer and mindfulness meditation teacher whose work focuses on the intersection between spiritual practice and the wild, messy, heartbreaking, and hilarious details of ordinary life.  She is the author of Enlightenment for Idiots, From Here to Nirvana, and the meditative yoga program Moving Into Meditation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sutra is the Sanskrit name for a short spiritual teaching, and it comes from the same root as the English word suture, or stitch. This story of motherhood as a path to awakening is, says yoga and meditation teacher Anne Cushman, “an homage to the long threads that run through all human lives, stitching up what’s shredded in our hearts.” In this interview, Anne Cushman, a longtime yoga and dharma teacher, talks about her new book The Mama Sutra: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Path of Motherhood(Shambala, 2019).  This thoughtful book spans an eighteen-year journey through motherhood as a spiritual practice, chronicling Cushman’s first pregnancy, her daughter's tragic stillbirth, the joyful birth of her son, the “home retreat” of early motherhood, the challenges of parenthood, the diagnosis and gifts of her son’s developmental differences, the meltdown of her nuclear family and its reconfiguration into a new and joyful form, and more. This is a powerful story of the rawness and beauty of life. Anne Cushman is a creative writer and mindfulness meditation teacher whose work focuses on the intersection between spiritual practice and the wild, messy, heartbreaking, and hilarious details of ordinary life.  She is the author of Enlightenment for Idiots, From Here to Nirvana, and the meditative yoga program Moving Into Meditation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sutra is the Sanskrit name for a short spiritual teaching, and it comes from the same root as the English word suture, or stitch. This story of motherhood as a path to awakening is, says yoga and meditation teacher Anne Cushman, “an homage to the long threads that run through all human lives, stitching up what’s shredded in our hearts.” In this interview, Anne Cushman, a longtime yoga and dharma teacher, talks about her new book The Mama Sutra: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Path of Motherhood(Shambala, 2019).  This thoughtful book spans an eighteen-year journey through motherhood as a spiritual practice, chronicling Cushman’s first pregnancy, her daughter's tragic stillbirth, the joyful birth of her son, the “home retreat” of early motherhood, the challenges of parenthood, the diagnosis and gifts of her son’s developmental differences, the meltdown of her nuclear family and its reconfiguration into a new and joyful form, and more. This is a powerful story of the rawness and beauty of life. Anne Cushman is a creative writer and mindfulness meditation teacher whose work focuses on the intersection between spiritual practice and the wild, messy, heartbreaking, and hilarious details of ordinary life.  She is the author of Enlightenment for Idiots, From Here to Nirvana, and the meditative yoga program Moving Into Meditation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sutra is the Sanskrit name for a short spiritual teaching, and it comes from the same root as the English word suture, or stitch. This story of motherhood as a path to awakening is, says yoga and meditation teacher Anne Cushman, “an homage to the long threads that run through all human lives, stitching up what’s shredded in our hearts.” In this interview, Anne Cushman, a longtime yoga and dharma teacher, talks about her new book The Mama Sutra: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Path of Motherhood(Shambala, 2019).  This thoughtful book spans an eighteen-year journey through motherhood as a spiritual practice, chronicling Cushman’s first pregnancy, her daughter's tragic stillbirth, the joyful birth of her son, the “home retreat” of early motherhood, the challenges of parenthood, the diagnosis and gifts of her son’s developmental differences, the meltdown of her nuclear family and its reconfiguration into a new and joyful form, and more. This is a powerful story of the rawness and beauty of life. Anne Cushman is a creative writer and mindfulness meditation teacher whose work focuses on the intersection between spiritual practice and the wild, messy, heartbreaking, and hilarious details of ordinary life.  She is the author of Enlightenment for Idiots, From Here to Nirvana, and the meditative yoga program Moving Into Meditation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices