Podcast appearances and mentions of stephanie cunningham

Hello, hi and happy holidays It's the most wonderful time of the year… time for the fourth annual Cozy Christmas Reads episode! This episode is special because Jillian and Erin are joined by two additional guests, Stephanie Cunningham and Ali Oppenlaender. The four women come together yearly (previous episodes are linked below), to share each year's picks for a cozy Christmas read.  If you're ready for this year's edition, just hit play wherever you listen to podcasts! In This Episode: As per usual, the ladies begin with a check-in. Mentioned in this episode: Cozy Christmas Reads 2023, 2022, 2021 The ladies rank their reads from scrooge to Christmas on Hallmark Street. It's time to share the books! The women go through and each share one book, and then they go around a second time to share their second book. You MUST listen in to hear Stef's second pick. You won't believe what she chose!

Hello, hi! Today's episode features a returning special guest to Medium Lady, my friend Stephanie Cunningham. Stef can be found on instagram @steffski where she role models real-life living, sharing both the highs and the lows of homeschooling, intergenerational living and breaking the “highlight reel” so that her friends and followers feel like they can share in the chaos of this season of life.   Episode Summary Stephanie's guiding principles about what she shares online are about authenticity and serving her own interest first, which is such a refreshing point of view when we see overly curated or highly produced content online  We discuss how much our attention might be drawn to “online perfection” while we also desire seeing, meeting and building connection with people who are “just like us” A really amazing part of our friendship is that we're both creating content online: Stephanie and I reflect on where we've become more mindful about creating content even when it's hard to resist the pull of “virality” we acknowledge that it's not good for us and it's not good for our communities Through thoughtful exploration time and time again with my audience I have been teasing apart the nuance of guilt experienced by women. What comes up time and time again are the concerns and worries that women have about their motherhood: am I doing enough of the right things for my children? Am I giving them the childhood they deserve? If we all want to give our kids a magical childhood where does that desire come from? How is it affected by curated motherhood content online? Our kids also have their focus drawn to content online and just like us, they have desires to bring that online content into their real lives - this changes the stakes for how we manage their expectations, and ours. Part of our desire for our children to have a magical childhood comes from the emerging conversation about how much our parents' choices affected us, and why we might feel compelled to make sure our kids never have similar experiences. “Cycle Breaking” happens when you're willing to get off the pendulum and acknowledge that your parents did the best that they could and sometimes they made mistakes and those mistakes affected us. The best way I've heard this said was listening to advocate and speaker Prasanna Ranganathan when he said his parents were “always careful to protect me while never limiting my opportunities. Curating childhood as millennial mothers also includes awareness of screen time and how we help our kids interact with screens  Our job as parents is not to make sure our kids are happy 100% of the time…. But what about the holidays? The pressure increases to curate a perfect childhood around the holidays and this can be exacerbated by what you see online. One KEY question to ask yourself around making memories this holiday season is “What do I want our family/my kids' takeaway to be from this season?” and maybe, (probably) that will mean going against the mainstream in some way or another Stef and I also chat about the days that aren't “holiday” and the specialness of Ordinary Time - most of our days are these sacred ordinary days and there are plenty of opportunities to bring mindful celebration and gratitude to those “regular old” days. You don't have to do this on you own! Stephanie and her partner Craig make time to plan and work out their intentions together before they get too deep into the season Other Episodes you might like: Episode 119: 9 Small Things I'm No Longer Feeling Guilty About Episode 117: Medium Effort Advice - “Help! I'm Doing Too Much and None of it Well!” Episode 87: Cultivating your Aspirations with guest Stephanie Cunningham Episode 23: In the Interest of Realness with Stephanie Cunningham Medium Lady Reads Episode 30- Would You Try a DNF Challenge? Connect with Erin: Instagram: @medium.lady Email: mediumladytalks@gmail.com  Explore more book-related content on "Medium Lady Reads." - link to Spotify Instagram: @mediumladyreads  

In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary...A year later their footage was found.This week while Jeff is away, Steve is joined by two special guests, Rachel Hurwitz and Stephanie Cunningham, as they breakdown the movie that brought the found footage technique back into the publics eye and has had a lasting effect on the genre to this day, The Blair Witch Project!TimecodesWe Have Guests: 0:00Some Blair Witch Background: 8:05The Blair Witch Project Discussion: 15:47Blair Trivia Project: 1:02:33Final Thoughts: 1:10:38Sequel Talk (Spoilers): 1:23:46Ratings: 1:29:32Tops & Bottoms: 1:33:58Steve Does His Best: 1:36:58LINKS:Instagram / TikTokJoin the Patreon!Shop MerchUgly CowboyCall the Hot Take Hotline:916-538-4412

Hosted by Laura Sauriat, with guests:Robert Guerrero: Director of the Latino Initiative of City to City in North America and the Caribbean Caleb Campbell: Lead Pastor at Desert Springs Bible Church, Phoenix, AZ“Be in the world but not of it…” In this episode, we confront the oversimplification of this commonly quoted verse and explore the multifaceted nature of cultural engagement. Our guests, Robert and Caleb, shed light on the necessity of examining not only Jesus' teachings but also the entirety of God's narrative, beginning with the Creation in the Old Testament.Robert and Caleb navigate through this complex topic with compassion and confidence, emphasizing the often overlooked aspects of confession, community, and ethnic culture in the conversation on cultural engagement. Together, we aim to paint a more holistic picture of how we might faithfully embody the essence of the Lord's prayer: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”Join us as we seek to embrace and apply these principles in our own unique contexts.This episode includes teaching from Tim Keller that was recorded separately from the conversation between Robert and Caleb. You can watch the full talk from Tim on Cultural Engagement here. To Be Continued… is produced in partnership with Redeemer City to City. Our producers are Stephanie Cunningham and Rebekah Sebastian. Audio engineering was performed by Jon Seale.To learn more, visit redeemercitytocity.com/to-be-continued-podcast. Follow us on social media at RedeemerCTC. 

Hosted by Laura Sauriat, with guests:Dennae Pierre: V.P. Movement Strategic Services Redeemer City to City, Co-director of CTC North America and a Co-director for The Crete Collective and the Surge NetworkAdi: Content and Training Catalyst, location undisclosed for securityCultural movements often emerge when there's a groundswell of unified voices rallying around a cause. From the fervor of Occupy Wall Street to the empowering momentum of #MeToo, numerous movements have left indelible marks on their respective eras.But amidst these broader cultural shifts, is there room for the church to engage? What about movements originating from within the church itself? And how can we, as a community of believers, unify to advance gospel-centered initiatives within our own neighborhoods and beyond?In today's episode, we delve into the hallmarks of gospel movements within the church—exploring their essence, their impact, and how we can actively participate in them. Drawing from their own experiences of catalyzing change, Dennae and Adi identify the key characteristics of a gospel movement and offer insights into how we can contribute. At the heart of their discussion lies the vital role of friendship, both in fostering genuine connection, and in driving collaborative efforts toward meaningful transformation.Tune in to this insightful conversation and discover how you can be part of igniting and sustaining gospel movements within and beyond your community.This episode includes teaching from Tim Keller that was recorded separately from the conversation between Dennae and Adi. You can watch the full talk from Tim on Movements here. To Be Continued… is produced in partnership with Redeemer City to City. Our producers are Stephanie Cunningham and Rebekah Sebastian. Audio engineering was performed by Jon Seale.To learn more, visit https://redeemercitytocity.com/to-be-continued-podcast. Follow us on social media at RedeemerCTC. 

Hosted by Laura Sauriat, with guests:Al Barth, Global Catalyst City to City for North America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.Anand Mahadevan, Training Director Asia Pacific, City to CityIf you've ever wondered about the subtle difference between corporate gospel renewal and revival, you'll want to listen to today's episode. Both are beautiful expressions of God's work in and through the church, but they each require a different approach.Al and Anand share the very real ways they've encountered gospel renewal in their very different church contexts. Each highlights how prayer and an authentic understanding of the gospel can lead to a beautiful renewal in a believer which then flows out into the church. Come ready to embrace these truths and remain open to the reality of corporate gospel renewal and the supernatural possibility of revival in our time. This episode includes teaching from Tim Keller that was recorded separately from the conversation between Al and Anand. You can watch the full talk from Tim on Corporate Gospel Renewal here.  To Be Continued… is produced in partnership with Redeemer City to City. Our producers are Stephanie Cunningham and Rebekah Sebastian. Audio engineering was performed by Jon Seale.To learn more, visit https://redeemercitytocity.com/to-be-continued-podcast. Follow us on social media at RedeemerCTC. 

Episode 3 Personal Gospel Renewal: Grace Like Water Hosted by Laura Sauriat, with guests:Abe Cho, Senior Strategy Director, City to City and Associate Pastor Redeemer East Harlem, Jose Ricardo Escobar, Director, City to City Colombia “Grace, like water, flows to the lowest part.” ― Philip YanceyThe transforming power of the gospel is a turning point for any believer, but today's guests illuminate a holistic view of personal renewal which also relies on the Holy Spirit, the grace of God, and community.Abe and Jose reveal the very tangible ways their own lives have been renewed, and how it is often during times of suffering that God makes himself known to the people around us. Their candor invites us to examine God's presence and people in our lives.Join us as we consider the beauty of vulnerability and the healing that the gospel offers all of us, no matter who or where we are.​​This episode includes teaching from Tim Keller that was recorded separately from the conversation between Abe and Jose. You can watch the full talk from Tim on Personal Gospel Renewal here. To Be Continued… is produced in partnership with Redeemer City to City. Our producers are Stephanie Cunningham and Rebekah Sebastian. Audio engineering was performed by Jon Seale.To learn more, visit https://redeemercitytocity.com/to-be-continued-podcast. Follow us on social media at RedeemerCTC. 

Episode 1 Contextualization: Radical Hospitality Hosted by Laura Sauriat with guests:Dr. Timothy Keller, co-founder of Redeemer City to CityLuiz Santana, Former Program Manager, The London ProjectContextualizing the gospel can be challenging—thankfully, we have the late Dr. Tim Keller and his City to City colleague, Luiz Santana, to offer a gospel-centric understanding of contextualization and its importance in our increasingly globalized world. In this premiere episode, Tim and Luiz share a lively conversation packed with thoughtful discourse and insightful anecdotes. Together, they reveal how contextualization, at its core, embodies a spirit of radical hospitality. Join us as we shed light on this transformative concept, discovering how it transcends mere cultural adaptation to become a powerful instrument for sharing the love of Jesus.This episode includes teaching from Tim Keller that was recorded separately from the conversation between Tim & Luiz. You can watch the full talk from Tim on Contextualization here. To Be Continued… is produced in partnership with Redeemer City to City. Our producers are Stephanie Cunningham and Rebekah Sebastian. Audio engineering was performed by Jon Seale. To learn more, visit redeemercitytocity.com/to-be-continued-podcast. Follow us on social media at RedeemerCTC. 

Episode 2City Theology: In Your City as it is in Heaven Hosted by Laura Sauriat, with guests: Mark Reynolds, Global Strategy, Redeemer City to City, New York, NYBilge (last name and title withheld for security reasons), Istanbul, Turkey Cities stand as beacons of remarkable human achievement. Yet beneath their surface lies a complex landscape marked by injustice, conflict, and competing worldviews. In the midst of this urban mosaic, how should Christians navigate the unique dynamics at play within their own communities?Today's episode calls upon two guests whose personal commitment to their cities is uncontested, but not without challenge. Mark and Bilge live out their calling in two distinct cities; Mark in Manhattan, a decidedly post-Christian city, and Bilge, in Istanbul, which he considers pre-Christian.Listen in as they highlight the notable differences between these Eastern and Western cultural influences, while also identifying what unifies Christians in their endeavor to serve the city while being shaped by the gospel.​​This episode includes teaching from Tim Keller that was recorded separately from the conversation between Mark and Bilge. You can watch the full talk from Tim on City Theology here. To Be Continued… is produced in partnership with Redeemer City to City. Our producers are Stephanie Cunningham and Rebekah Sebastian. Audio engineering was performed by Jon Seale.To learn more, visit redeemercitytocity.com/to-be-continued-podcast. Follow us on social media at RedeemerCTC. 

Welcome back to Medium Lady Talks! In part two we're continuing with the second half of 12 powerful questions to help you break free from self-limiting beliefs and pave the way for personal growth in 2024. Reflecting on inspiring interviews from previous episodes, I'll discuss questions 7-12 that will spark introspection and guide you toward a more intentional and fulfilling life. PART TWO - Questions 7-12 Gradual Progress and Realistic Spaces: In what small, gradual ways can you move towards a more realistic and purposeful space? Sharing Your Story and Facing Sacrifices: What beliefs do you hold about sharing your story, and have you  Radical Acceptance and Self-Celebration: How can you practice radical acceptance and take pride in who you are without wishing for life to be different? Shifting From Permanent to Experimental Mindset: How can you shift from seeing things as permanent decisions to embracing life as an experiment? Asking the Right Questions: Can you recall a situation where asking the right questions helped you gain clarity or led to positive change? Validating Yourself Without Shame: How can you validate yourself without relying on shame as a motivator?  

Welcome to the first half of episode 94! In this episode, we're exploring the first 6 of 12 powerful questions to help you break free from self-limiting beliefs and pave the way for personal growth in 2024. Reflecting on inspiring interviews from previous episodes, I've crafted questions that will spark introspection and guide you toward a more intentional and fulfilling life. PART ONE - Questions 1-6 Reflect on Your Shoulds vs. Wants: What 'shoulds' are holding you back, and how can you align your goals with what you truly want? Taking Small, Intentional Steps: What small, intentional steps can you take today that align with your bigger aspirations? Navigating Perfectionism and Growth: How does perfectionism serve others more than you, and how can you shift to a healthier approach to performance? Infusing Joy and Calm: How can you incorporate moments of joy and calm into your routine, especially when trying something new? Celebrating Wins and Combatting Imposter Syndrome: What weekly ritual can you create to acknowledge and celebrate your wins, combatting imposter syndrome? Defining Purpose Amidst Distractions: How do you define your purpose clearly amidst distractions and external expectations?

Hello! Seeing as Cozy Christmas Reads has become an annual tradition for Medium Lady Talks I wanted to make sure those of you tuned in to this feed have a chance to enjoy the THIRD annual Cozy Christmas Reads Episode! Happy Holidays and Merry Reading!!! xo   Hello, hi, and welcome to Medium Lady Reads this is episode 12, Cozy Christmas Reads 2023; Featuring Ali Oppenlaender and Stephanie Cunningham. This week's episode is extra special, because not only do you have Erin and Jillian, but you have the other two members of their Buddy Read Group, Ali and Stef. Together they're going to be discussing their favorite cozy books that would be perfect to read this holiday season. This episode was recorded in separate locations, but it is just as full of love and fun! In This Episode: All four ladies check in and share how they're reading is going. If you'd like to go back and listen to the previous episodes of Cozy Christmas Reads, you can listen to 2021's episode here and 2022's episode here. Each woman shares their definition of what a Cozy Christmas Read is to them. The women go round-robin through their recommendations. Prepare for 8 new cozy reads! Next up are hot takes, listen to the episode to hear what the ladies are sharing their thoughts on. Parnassus Books on IG: https://www.instagram.com/parnassusbooks/?hl=en Supposedly Fun on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/supposedlyfun, especially his episode reviewing the NYT Top 100 books of 2023: https://youtu.be/84IoxwSjAyo?si=4C7IwUI46L9QTuhC  Best of Goodreads 2023 List To end the show the ladies share their holds list.    Books Mentioned In This Episode: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow The Princess and The Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood  Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune Legends & Lattes by Travis Balder Beyond the Four Kingdoms Series by Melanie Cellier The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett A Family for St. Nick: A Heartwarming Holiday Romance by Barbara Meyers The Maid by Nita Prose A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros The Woman in Me by Britney Spears Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin & Marissa Stapley All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone Foster by Claire Keegan If you enjoyed this episode we would love it if you recommended us to a friend or loved one!  Be sure to take a screenshot and share on Instagram stories, and tag both Jillian (@jillianfindinghappy) and Erin (@medium.lady), or the podcast @mediumladyreads, so that they can reshare the love! Thanks for listening and if you enjoyed what you heard, please leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts! Tune in on December 27th for the next episode of the Medium Lady Reads Podcast.  

Hello, Hi! In this episode, we revisit Erin's "40 for 40" list, which she created when she turned 40 in April. With six months passed, she takes a closer look at the items on her list, reflecting on why she made those choices and whether they still resonate with her. What has she accomplished? What remains? What has changed? Episode Highlights: Revisiting the "40 for 40" List - Erin delves into the story behind her "40 for 40" list and the motivations driving her choices. Crossed Off the List - Erin discusses the items she's successfully checked off and the experiences she's gained. Kept for the Future - She explores the items she plans to continue working on and why they're still important. Adaptations and Insights - Erin shares her evolving perspective on certain list items, emphasizing the value of introspection and self-growth. References to Previous Episodes: MLT Ep 65: "Should You Make a 40 for 40 List? My Birthday Milestone" - In this episode, Erin discussed the concept of creating a "40 for 40" list and shared the experience with her BFFs, Emily and Sarah. MLT Ep 74: "How to Be a Human With A Voice with guest Jam Gamble" - Erin and her guest, Jam Gamble, explored the importance of finding your voice and expressing yourself. MLT Ep 87: "Cultivating your Aspirations: The Power of the To Do List with Stephanie Cunningham" - In this episode, Stephanie Cunningham joined Erin to discuss the potential of aspirational to-do lists. Medium Lady Reads Episode 10: "Crush your Reading Goals with a Killer Holds List" - This podcast episode was dedicated to tips on achieving your reading goals with an efficient holds list. Recommended Resources: Hobart New York - the NYT Article on this Book Village "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work" by John Gottman - A resource for building and maintaining strong relationships. "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman - A book on understanding love languages and enhancing relationships. "We All Want Impossible Things" by Catherine Newman - A book exploring human desires and ambitions. Hannah Louise Poston - Erin recommends Hannah Louise Poston, a beauty YouTuber, for her engaging content on YouTube.  Connect with Erin: Instagram: @medium.lady Email: mediumladytalks@gmail.com  Explore more book-related content on "Medium Lady Reads." - link to Spotify Instagram: @mediumladyreads Key Terms 40 for 40 list Birthday milestone Personal growth Reflection and introspection Aspirational goals Accomplishments and goals Self-discovery Relationship advice The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work The Five Love Languages We All Want Impossible Things Hannah Louise Poston Overcoming obstacles Prioritizing aspirations Revisiting goals Self-growth journey

Hello, hi! In this episode, we are joined by a special guest, Stephanie Cunningham, who's known for living real life and inviting us to come along for the journey on her Instagram (@steffski). Stephanie is a wife, mom, and business owner who brings humor, moderation, and authenticity to her online presence. Topics Covered: What is an Aspirational To-Do List? We dive into what an aspirational to-do list is and why we find it valuable to have this space to cultivate and curate things that make us feel like we can aspire to something in the future. The "To-Do" Dilemma We explore the challenges and pitfalls associated with labeling this list as a "to-do." While it's not your typical task list, we discuss why the term is often used. Joyful Aspirations Learn how to ensure your aspirational to-do list remains filled with joyous items, and making sure those aren't conditional to your future happiness. Experimentation and Exploration Discover how an aspirational to-do list can be a place to experiment with what might matter in the future. It's all about exploring possibilities. Fear and Regret We discuss choosing the possibility of fear over the possibility of regret when it comes to these aspirational goals. Freedom Within Boundaries How can your aspirational to-do list help you find freedom within the boundaries of what's possible? We explore how this list can empower you. Pivotal Moments Stephanie shares a pivotal moment that set the stage for her confidence and wisdom beyond her years. Other Episodes with Stef: Medium Lady Talks about Internet Realness with Stephanie Cunningham Cozy Christmas Reads 2022 Other Resources Mentioned: We touch on the work of Jonathan Meritt. For more, you can visit his website at Jonathan Meritt or follow him on Instagram @jonathan-merritt  Connect with Erin: Instagram: @medium.lady Email: mediumladytalks@gmail.com  Explore more book-related content on "Medium Lady Reads." - link to Spotify Instagram: @mediumladyreads Key Terms: Aspirational to-do list Aspiration and goals Navigating future aspirations Curating your dream list Managing future desires Fear vs. regret in goal setting Living real life with intention Experimentation with aspirations Joyful goal setting Balancing freedom and possibilities

Welcome to the Real Estate Scripts Podcast, where today we're practicing the "Full Listing Presentation" - your comprehensive guide to mastering the art of securing listings and selling homes like a pro.In this episode, we're taking you through the pivotal moment when you have a scheduled appointment with a homeowner and the decision-maker. This is the make-or-break juncture where your skills and preparation will truly shine.Just imagine: You've meticulously sent the listing presentation to the homeowner beforehand, showcasing your dedication to their property. You've got your trusty Prepared Seller Presentation Folder in hand, filled with essential documents like the Letter to Seller, Seller Presentation, and Sellers Interview Form. These items aren't just recommended; they are absolute must-haves in your arsenal.But that's not all; you're armed with even more supporting documents to fortify your case. You've got the Net Sheet from Escrow, the Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), and a Lender Valuation Report (like HouseCanary) to reinforce your pricing strategy. Plus, you've got the Residential Listing Agreement and the Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure to ensure all legalities are covered.What's your intention? It's crystal clear: to deliver a top-notch presentation that leaves no doubt in the homeowner's mind that you are the absolute best choice to sell their home. Your Join us on this exciting journey through the world of Real Estate Scripts. We're all about embracing the learning process and growing together. If you've enjoyed our podcast, consider leaving a five-star review to support us in reaching even more listeners. Interested in practicing with us and being part of the show? Explore a 30-day free trial at realestatescriptspractice.com and become a contributor to our community. Thanks for being a part of this fantastic journey!Real Estate Education with The CE Shop The CE Shop offers online real estate licensing and continuing education for real estate agents.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showJoin Us Online Website: https://realestatescriptspractice.com/ Join Free on Slack: https://realestatescriptspractice.com/slack Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestatescriptspodcast/ Apple: https://realestatescriptspractice.com/apple-podcast Spotify: https://realestatescriptspractice.com/spotify Licensing and Continued Education The CE Shop: https://realestatescriptspractice.com/ceshop ------------This podcast is for the purpose of education only and it does not make any guarantees. We suggest you seek the help and/or advise from your broker, coach, mentor, office manager, attorney and/or financial advisor. Brought to you by Darren Tunstall, a licensed real estate agent , DRE #01853445. This podcast is independent of Darrens affiliation with Keller Williams Realty and any REALTOR® associations. The goal is to provide you with valuable information, insights and practical tools.Music by ...

Hello, hi! Today's episode is with my friend Stephanie Cunningham @steffski on Instagram. Steph's internet handle is “Wellness+Realness” and what I love about following her is that's exactly what you get. She's often posting inspiring and aspirational content, followed by her openness about raising small kids, finding balance, and showing up in the challenge to make the next best decision. Steph and I also talk about an IGTV live that we did a year ago to talk about goal setting, prioritization and putting things in motion for three months. Spoiler alert - we barely did the things we chose to do! But instead we talk about what we might have done if we could go back in time! Also mentioned in this episode: THIS C.S. Lewis quote My Monthly Experiments - the most recent of which can always be found in my IG highlights @medium.lady Pamela Pumpkin - Stephanie's now annual reel tradition You can always help out the podcast by providing a rating or review, and sharing it with another Medium Lady in your life! And with the bi-weekly episode release schedule make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss when the new episodes drop. I love to connect with listeners, you can swing by to say hi on Instagram, @medium.lady   Music is Climb by The Ghost in Your Piano. I'm grateful for its use via creative commons license.

Stephanie Cunningham is the director of Museum Hue which supports people of color within the museum field and works to situate and promote culturally informed museum exhibitions and experiences across the nation.  Here are some of the resources she mentions in this episode: Museum Hue Mounting Frustration: Art Museums in the Age of Black Power by Susan E. Cahan EyeMinded: Living and Writing Contemporary Art by Kellie Jones Museums are Not Neutral Museum Detox MuseumNext How to Be an Antiracist Solvable is produced by Jocelyn Frank, David Zha and Sachar Mathias. Booking by Lisa Dunn. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

00:01                                     Hello and welcome to change the face of yoga teaching toddlers through golden oldies. I'm very excited to be talking to lots of yoga teachers who will explain their passion for teaching yoga to students with different ages, physical fitness levels, wellness levels and different goals. They will explain the benefits of yoga for these students and we'll be including teacher tips and pose modifications. I am Stephanie Cunningham of yoga lightness and I've been teaching over 50s for 10 years. So this area is my passion and the passion of many other yoga teachers that you will be listening to in this series. Thank you so much for listening and let's get started. 00:49                                     This is episode 129 of Changing the Face of Yoga and this is the last podcast of the year. As in previous years I am developing a meditation as a thank you to the listeners and to the guests. There would be no Changing the Face of Yoga without either one of you. So the topic of this particular meditation is cultivating authenticity. I have in all areas of my life the concept of authenticity coming up a lot in the past two months and as I work my way through my particular ideas of authenticity, I thought it might be helpful if this meditation also addresses that issue. 02:05                                     If you listened to the podcasts in November of this year that were about supporting yoga teachers and yoga therapists in their yoga business, all of the guests talk about authenticity in some way or another. And how our business must reflect what is authentically us. It was quite an interesting set of podcasts and I realized how much that was true. We have to reflect what we truly are to the outside world, whether it's through our business or through our connections or relationships. 03:01                                     This particular meditation has the following structure. It is based on Yoga Nidra. It will then have a breathing session. Then I will give you some prompts to start you on your way about thinking about how authentic yoga is in your life. Then relax again and then slowly come out of the meditation. So the first thing to do is to get very comfortable. This will probably take about 20 minutes or so. So you want to be in a comfortable position. If the body is uncomfortable, sometimes that can interfere with your meditative state. So you want to be as comfortable as possible. You can be lying down, you can be sitting, whichever is best for you. 04:08                                     So get into a position that you can hold for a while and is comfortable. I want you to set your intention for this meditation. What do you want to achieve? What do you want to get out of it?                                                 I want you to concentrate on a part of the body that I am going to give you in a minute and release it and relax it after you review it. 05:14                                     We'll start with the top of the left foot. Left toes, the sole of the left foot, the left heel, the left ankle, the left shin, the left calf, the left knee, the front of the left thigh (the quadriceps) back of the left thigh (the hamstring), the left hip. The left side of the waist. The left ribs, the left shoulder joint, left upper arm, left elbow, left forearm, left wrist, back of the left hand. Left fingers, left Palm, left thumb. Top of the right foot. Right toes, right. So, right teal, right ankle, right shin, right calf, right knee, top of the right thigh, back of the right thigh. Right hip, right side of the waist, right ribs, right shoulder joint, right upper arm, right elbow, right forearm, right wrist, back of the right hand, right fingers, right palm, right thumb. Groin, abdomen, lower chest, upper chest, buttocks, lower back, mid back, upper back, shoulders. Neck, throat jaw, lips, eyes. Eyebrows, space between the eyebrows, forehead, scalp, head, torso, Arms, Legs. Your whole body. 15:43                                     Now let's move to the breath. Long, slow inhalations with a pause long. slow exhalations and pause long slow inhalation, pause and long. slow exhalation pause. Just continue that rhythm or two or three more breaths.                                                 Just be aware of how your body feels and consider this to be a baseline. So when I give you these prompts about authenticity, you will probably have an intellectual reaction, but you also might have a physical reaction and just be aware that that's a possibility. 17:55                                     The first prompt is: I was attracted to yoga because, 18:25                                     the second prompt is: I've continued with yoga because. 18:57                                     the third prompt, is there anything connected with yoga in my life that seems out of alignment? 19:37                                     And the final prompt, is there anything I can do say that will allow yoga to reflect my inner truth?                                                 NOTE: the last two prompts come from the Authenticity Meditation by Kat Kansansis-Semel, NYU's mindfulness Chaplin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0yFTleM7Mo. Thank you Kat. 20:23                                     Now release all the reactions, whether mental or physical, to these prompts and relax and release again so that your body and your breath are without strain or tension. Start the breathing again and just take some time to fully appreciate this relaxed state. 25:45                                     Slowly become aware of your surroundings and the sound of my voice. If you are lying down, when you're ready, roll over to your right side. Everyone slowly open your eyes, try to maintain your sense of ease and relaxation. Those that are lying down come to a seated position. 27:09                                     Thank you all for being a part of changing the face of yoga. 27:25                                     Thank you for that wonderful interview. If you would like to be a guest on changing the face of yoga, please go to my website, www.yoga lightness.com. au under the Changing the Face of Yoga tab. You can complete Be our guest form and after reviewing the form and finding it applicable to this podcast, we will send you a link to schedule an interview.                                                 Please download, review, and tell your friends of any podcasts that are of interest to you and to them. If you would like to contact me, email to info@yogalightness.com.au and thank you for listening to Changing the Face of Yoga.

Episode 125: How to make a change in your business with Laura Kupperman Major Points:                     1) Making a change in your business is needed if the business is not providing the level of satisfaction that you want.                                                 2) It can be scary to change because it is hard to learn new things, fear of scarcity is common, and/or giving up something that you have invested a lot of time, money, etc. can feel like failing.                                                 3) Following others can be satisfactory or not; it is important to explore what is important for you, what are looking to achieve, and what are your goals. 00:00                                     Hello and welcome to Changing the Face of Yoga - teaching toddlers through golden oldies and very excited to be talking to lots of yoga teachers who will explain their passion for teaching yoga to students with different ages, physical fitness levels, wellness levels, and different goals. They will explain the benefits of yoga for these students and we'll be including teacher tips and pose modifications. I am Stephanie Cunningham of Yoga lightness and I've been teaching over 50s for 10 years. So this area is my passion and the passion of many other yoga teachers that you will be listening to in this series. Thank you so much for listening and let's get started. 00:45                                     This is episode 125 of Changing the Face of Yoga and my guest today is Laura Kupperman. Laura is a long-time career and business coach as well as a certified yoga therapist and she is on the Faculty of Inner Peace Yoga Therapy. Through her coaching, she helps yoga, health and wellness professionals make a bigger impact and grow their income. Laura also runs the popular yoga therapy Facebook group and lives in Boulder, Colorado, where I grew up, where she enjoys just about any outdoor activity. Welcome, Laura. I'm really glad that you were able to come on. To make everything very transparent, Laura was my business coach for a long time. She's really spectacularly good at it. 01:39                                     Oh, thank you. Stephanie. Thank you for having me on your show. I'm really, really happy to be here in talking with you today.                                                 Oh, great. Thanks. Is there anything you want to add to that particular introduction? 01:54                                     Oh, that was just fine. Yeah, thanks. 01:59                                     Laura has agreed to be part of the Yogi support month theme and it is kind of in the businessy arena. But basically it's also just about how you are supporting yourself in life. And the thing I want to talk to Laura about today is, as I said, Laura was my business coach and then she started the Impact group, which was a kind of a mastermind on Facebook and it was for a Yogis, and others who, wanted more in depth discussion and community around making our businesses, financially and personally rewarding. However, Laura decided not to go forward with that, after about a year or so. Laura and I just want to talk about that because I have done that too, where I took a total different view of things. And how do you come to that point where you think, hmm, I think this is not what I should be doing. So if you could start off Laura with your own experience about the Impact Circle or anything else really. I just happened to know about that one just to talk people through how you make a change. 03:27                                     Sure., I'm really glad that this is something you wanted to talk about today because I don't think we talk about it enough. How we course correct or how we change course completely or even leap onto another path when we've invested a certain amount of our energy and resources, you know, our time or blood or sweat or tears or money. so let's see. So the impact circle, right? I had it for about a year and it was a membership community, which I really was excited about and I put a lot of effort into it.                                                 It's still kind of trickling out, so there's still some people in there, but basically there were a few different components. There was a really super supportive small Facebook community. There was a bunch of online resources that people had access to. And then people could reach out to me by email if they had a business question and I would respond to them. And I put a lot of energy into thinking this through on the front end, making sure that you know, the interface looked great and everything was really user friendly on my website and I even experimented with not having the community group in Facebook with using a different platform. I played around with it and I got some Beta testers in there. You may have been one of those early Beta testers, I think too Steph. I put a lot of energy into this and it was really interesting because I was super excited about it.                                                 By the time I launched I almost felt like I had some fatigue because that pre- launch phase was significant. And so you know that that's one thing for people who are listening to kind of think about. So many of us when we put something out into the world wanting it to be perfect, we want it to be of the highest quality and sometimes that's merited and it's justified and you really want everything to reflect really highly. You want it to be at a certain quality and so you wait, you wait until you feel like it's perfected. But more often it makes more sense to put it out there before you're comfortable, before you feel like it's perfected so that you can start to get feedback.                                                  And I did go ahead and get some Beta testers in there to get feedback on it. However I should have put it out even sooner. Yeah. If you're putting out an online course program, you need to imagine like you're a software company where you know you're going to be putting it out there with some bugs and you just know that, you know, on the fly you will adapt and you'll upgrade and you'll refine. So that was, that was the first part. Like by the time I got to the starting line, it felt like it had been a year. It wasn't quite that long, but it was a long time sort of germinating in my head. It was a long time trying to figure out the best way to do it.                                                 And I had been putting out so much energy without getting anything in return. And I don't even just mean financially, but the reward of seeing the people in the group, I'm benefiting from it. It was kind of working in isolation. That was one piece of it. and the other piece that goes along with that is that this whole perfection thing is like what is the price point. If someone is spending $10,000 on something, you do want the quality to be insanely high, right? Like if someone is buying something that's a really big investment, you want it to be an amazing experience for them. The Impact Circle lesson, that thing in terms of the price point, the price point, depending on whether or not you're doing a six month membership or a year membership, like the most someone would have paid was between 450 and $500. 08:17                                     That would have been for a full year. 08:19                                     For a full year. Yep. And so, you know, in order for me to, to justify the amount of energy and work I was putting into it, I probably should have charged more. That was all the front loading that I did and then the group started. And the group was really lovely. I mean, there were super supportive people in the Facebook group. There were people reaching out to me with business questions by email, which is what I had envisioned.                                                 At a certain point. I came to this huge realization, which was people were not getting the type of results and benefits that I wanted and they may have gotten the type of results and benefits that they wanted. A really interesting conundrum because it's like, you know what, if you're doing some good in the world but you have a bigger vision for yourself or a different scope or level of impact that you want to be making . While there were people who were engaged and who were benefiting. I think especially from the one-on-one email coaching conversations, I wanted to see people making huge leaps in their business. I know because I do work with people one on one, I know that when I work with someone one on one, that's the kind of experience someone typically gets and people just weren't getting it in this structure hardly. I think it's because they weren't as invested. You know, my one on one coaching is definitely a higher price point and if you're paying a couple hundred dollars for something, your level of commitment is not the same as if you're paying thousands of dollars for something. 10:31                                     Correct. 10:33                                     And that's related to everyone who's listening. I hope people remember that as they evaluate how much they're charging for something. If you're not charging enough, people aren't going to be as committed. I think many of us have this, soft spot in our hearts. Like I want to serve everybody, so therefore I should make the price low. So it's accessible to everybody. And then what you get are people who are totally fine missing a session with you or missing a group class or never even watching your online program because there's no pain associated with not participating. They lost $100, not $1,000 or $10,000. Right?                                                 So that was the other piece of it for me. I know from experience I can help people, transform their business, have a different relationship with it, reach more people, reach people more deeply, refine their business model. All these things that people weren't getting, even though there was great camaraderie, and I think they were grateful for the support I could give them. It just wasn't going to happen in this structure. Those were, I think the two big factors that ultimately made this less of an appealing offering for me. I already felt a little drained by the time I started and then I wasn't getting the kind of upside I needed in terms of the impact I wanted to make and in terms of the financial gain for me.                                                 What my business mentor said: he's like, you really need like 500 people in a membership site that's sort of your minimum that you want to shoot for. And I think I had, I don't even remember - 50 something. It was a very sweet group of people in there. Everyone in there was just phenomenal, really sort of lovely, high calibre, bright, engaged, supportive person. But it wasn't doing what I had imagined in my mind and I wasn't prepared to do what it would take to get 500 people in there. 13:11                                     Yeah, that's a lot. It's a lot to manage. I mean that's a huge undertaking. I would just add my own, experience. I was a yoga teacher (I still am a yoga teacher, but I'm not teaching) for about 10 years and I was in the over 50s arena. And although I love yoga and I loved working with the students, I never felt very good at it. And I'm probably am an okay Yoga teacher, I'm not horrid and I'm very well trained in safety and that kind of thing for that age group. I did the thing where I had an online course and Dah, Dah, Dah, Dah. So I did the whole thing, but I never felt personally successful.                                                 And this is probably when I came to Laura and talked about a business coach. I don't think that she really knew she was supposed to make me feel successful. I'd been with her, I don't know, eight, nine, 10 months and all of a sudden she said why don't you do podcasts because what you want is more people to know about you. Tthat's interesting. And so I did and I just got this tremendous, in comparison to my yoga classes, response to what I was trying to do.                                                  And that's when I knew that given my kind of background and outlook on life, I need to be working on a more general basis instead of a very specific basis with individual students. And I miss my students. I really do. I still am in contact with some of them, but I can't tell you how much the podcast is different to me and how I feel about it. And that's why I changed because quite frankly, the finances are not on the side of the podcast. I made a lot more money teaching and I know that other people don't have that opportunity. But I can do that because I have other sources of income. But I just wanted to say sometimes, even if you really love what you think you should be doing, but it just simply isn't giving you what you need, that's maybe another reason to change. 15:58                                     I loved that you brought that up. And it's funny because right before we spoke I was working on some copy for an email I'm sending out and I was using this metaphor about how when our business model doesn't suit us anymore. It's like wearing a pair of shoes that are a size too small and they might be gorgeous shoes and maybe you paid a lot of money for those shoes so you feel very invested. No, I couldn't possibly get rid of them. But ultimately it feels like we're forcing it. Eventually it can literally cause pain and distress. You know, minimally we start to feel a little burnt out or we're not as enthusiastic about meeting our clients or whatever the endeavour is. and it can even lead to, depending on how deep you are into this, like it can lead to physical disease or illness.                                                 And what is so lovely about the courage that you showed in making a really big course correction with your business Stephanie, is that faith that the well is infinite. It's not like we live in a world where we are allocated a really small amount of resources and we have to hold onto them for dear life because we fear that if we don't hold onto this opportunity, there will never be more opportunities for us. 17:44                                     I think that's subconsciously where some of us can come from. I know I certainly been in that place where you feel like I've worked so hard to (whatever it might be) get this teacher training up and running, get this course up and running at the hospital. I'm being really well compensated for doing certain endeavours. We all need to have faith that if something doesn't suit us anymore, if it's like the shoes we have outgrown. Then you know, we need to just trust in our own capacity and skills and know that there's going to be more opportunities than the opportunities we're letting go of. There's probably someone much better suited in our community or in the world to pick up the mantle and that we will find a whole new way to serve, to be happy to prosper if we really just trust that there's more available for us out there. 18:52                                     I think that's important because it's scary I think to change. I did this for 10 years and I can't tell you the money I've spent on training to do it. But it just wasn't right for me. I think that so many of us love yoga for what it does for ourselves and what we've seen in other people. I'm not sure that we all should go into the yoga teaching, yoga therapy road and that there may be other ways that you can serve the Yoga community. And I feel that I am serving a niche of the yoga community in a way. It seems like we just kind of follow the crowd and maybe you just aren't (you in the generic, not you, Laura) maybe you just need to think about what am I like, what do I love, how can I take my skills, my passion, my purpose into this arena? What is the best way for me? To be a little creative about that, I think 20:12                                     I mean, you know, there are enough people in the world, you know, teaching the five-thirty power Vinyasa class at the most popular studio in town. I no longer teach group classes and feel like my focus within the world of yoga therapy is for people who've been diagnosed with cancer. And after I had trained a certain number of people, I felt like, great, they can teach those classes in my community or in other cities.                                                 And really what I noticed, because part of my teacher training, there was a business mentoring component. So people wouldn't just learn how to safely work with people who had cancer, but they knew how to go talk to people at their cancer center and get a class started. They knew how to market the class. And what I realized was, oh, this is what people need even more than the yoga skills is the business skills. And I had already been coaching for so long that I just decided, you know what, I'm just going to go all in with helping other health and wellness professionals with their business and narrow down the scope of my coaching practice. A lot of times we might feel like when we narrow down, we're going to be closing off opportunities or shutting down that funnel of potential income. And I think if you follow your heart, like what you are saying and get focus, usually the opposite is true. We get more opportunities and we're so much happier. 22:04                                     Yes. I think that's important too. 22:07                                     It is the most important. It is. I've changed my tune on this too over the years. Life is too short to finish reading a book you don't love. So there's like two kinds of people in the world, those who finish what they started no matter what. I used to be one of those, and in fact there'll be people out there who will not agree with what I'm saying. But my husband and I went to go see the movie, called Captain Marvel along with Brie Larson that had gotten great reviews and so many people are raving about, and you know, we have some younger nieces who live in Boulder and they were raving about it. We went to see this movie. In literally 10 minutes in, we both looked at each other- you want to leave now. Because I mean life isn't a dress rehearsal. We all know this, but like our life is now, your businesses is now. If you're not feeling it anymore, it is a relief to shed whatever's no longer serving you and bringing you joy. 23:24                                     I was very torn about not teaching anymore, but there was such a tremendous relief because I felt like such a failure. I didn't feel successful doing it. And it was just a relief not to put that mantle on me any longer. And to then go to the podcast and have people saying, Oh, you know, this, I really love hearing about this and it made me feel connected and all kinds of really, really positive things. And I thought, Whoa, this is where I need to be. 24:04                                     I love that. Also it can become a big part of our identity. I had coaching clients who really have spent years ruminating over should I give up this particular class, or should I stop working with this particular student or let go of this opportunity because there's such a heart connection with our students. And that's a totally a real reason why we might drag our feet. and it also can be a really big part of our identity.                                                 I know for me, for a really long time here in Boulder, I was the yoga for cancer person. I also specialize in yoga for fertility enhancement and just got and had a really great partnership with our local fertility center, which is like an offshoot of a huge fertility center in Denver and south of Denver. That's really the number one fertility center in the country, if not the world. And that can be kind of an ego boost, not necessarily in a positive way, but like all these people contacting you and seeking you out and you're helping them and it becomes a part of your identity. That's hard to let go of. It feels like, oh, I belong. People trust me. They come to me as a reliable resource.                                                 There might be other things that I'm not too proud to say like, oh, people like me. It's something like that that seems really silly. That can be just below the surface of who would I be if I wasn't doing this anymore? Which can be heavy sometimes and it can take you months to make peace with that. Like, who am I if I'm not doing my yoga for seniors training anymore and who you are is this amazing podcast host. 26:15                                     I was lucky that way because I was doing both. And it was a very stark comparison about, and I'm not saying that my students didn't say, Gee, thanks. That was a great class. I really loved it. They were, they were saying that, but it was inside me not thinking that I was doing a good job. Actually, you know what, I wasn't, because with all of my podcasts and people talking about what they do, I realized that I had some serious deficits looking back on my teaching. And so I was right to think I wasn't. I'm probably not as successful at podcasting as I think I am. But it certainly is more satisfying to me to do that. And that I think maybe that's the key. Are you really satisfied with it? And if you're not, what do you do with that? 27:19                                     Yes. And that's something I always encourage my coaching clients to have. And maybe we even did this when we worked together,? Like what is your litmus test for saying yes to an opportunity and you know, satisfaction is sort of, that's like an intuitive feeling. Like yes, I know I'm totally satisfied, but sometimes when you're evaluating opportunities in advance, you're not sure if you'll be satisfied . And we each have to know - is there an opportunity here for me too?                                                 Whatever it might be, to learn something, to have fun, to make some good connections, to make some good money, whatever those things are for you. Just know what they are. And a lot of times I think people will be shocked once they have this litmus test in place. If you go back and review some of the things you've said yes to that you wish you had said no to, it'll be so clear , oh my gosh, why in the world would I have said yes to that? That was such a clear no, or why did I hang onto it for so long? It was such a clear no. 28:36                                     I think really the purpose of this podcast is to say it's okay to change. It is scary. It is hard, I can't tell you how the technology has defeated me on many occasions. But if there's just a basic unease there for whatever reason, I think that needs to be delved into. 29:14                                     I agree. Absolutely. And if, you know, and if you resist that, that needs to be dealt with too. My experience is that a lot of times it is coming from a place of scarcity. Like I can't even entertain the possibility of making a change because, you know, I have something now. If I let go of this, I might have nothing. 29:45                                     I'm so glad you wanted to talk about this stuff. I think, I hope it gives people that sense of permission or at least permission to explore and evaluate if they're satisfied, if they're happy and are they making the best contribution, the contribution they want to be making, whatever that means to them. and if not to just really trust that there's someone else out there to pick up the mantle and make that contribution while you step into the next chapter. 30:25                                     And I'd like to say it's not going to be easy and it's going to be hard. Anything new is hard because you don't know the rules yet. You don't know where your boundaries. But, yeah, I think though that it is important and I think some ways the yoga industry, not the individual yoga person, but the yoga industry is very much about churning out lots and lots of yoga teachers and having them all do pretty much the same thing. And that might be fine. That might be something you really love 30:25                                     Sorry, we had technical difficulties at the very end of this podcast. So added a clip thanking Laura for her contribution to this podcast. Laura gave some very valuable information for making changes and I am very grateful for her participation in this podcast. Hope you enjoyed it. Contact details: Website: www.laurakupperman.com Email: laura@laurakupperman.com FB: Yoga Therapy Group, HealthyBusinessAndLifeMastermind, LauraKuppermanLLC Insta: laurakupperman Linkedin: laurakupperman  

00:01                                     Hello and welcome to change the face of yoga teaching toddlers through golden oldies. I'm very excited to be talking to lots of yoga teachers who will explain their passion for teaching yoga to students with different ages, physical fitness levels, wellness levels, and different goals. They will explain the benefits of yoga for these students and we'll be including teacher tips and pose modifications. I am Stephanie Cunningham of yoga lightness and I've been teaching over 50s for 10 years. So this area is my passion and the passion of many other yoga teachers that you will be listening to in this series. Thank you so much for listening and let's get started. 00:48                                     This is episode 122 of changing the face of yoga and today we're going to do a very short, fun podcast. When I produce my podcast for release, one of the first things I do is a transcript and it is usually quite good. But I've had several guests this year that have been talking about some of the more subtle aspects of yoga and so it doesn't quite know how to translate Sanskrit and some of the things that comes up with are quite funny. I'm going to give you just a short look at this. If you are interested in looking at some more, just go to the show notes of this particular podcast and I'll add some more in, but just to give you a taste of how very, very confused the artificial intelligence transscription service gets by Sanskrit.                                                 Let's start at the very basic, which is what does it think Sanskrit is?Well, it came up with sunscreen, which I rather liked. Hatha is hot tea and yoga is yells. I don't know where that came from, but anyway, Asana is assets, which I think we'd all agree with, don't you? Ujaii breath is with GI breath. One of my favorites was when we were talking about chanting and my guest said that her students would come up to her and say, I really liked that happy, puffy breath and this is in pure English, so I don't know just why it happened, but then it came back with happy puffy breast, which kind of reminded me of a self-inflating breast implant. I just thought it was kind of cute. I really liked that when we get into some of the terms of yoga in the yoga philosophy, it really did confuse it greatly. 03:17                                     Vritti: apparently it thinks of people when you say vritti so we have Christine, Ruthie, I don't know where that came from and for Richie. It took me quite a while to figure out what we were talking about when I was editing the transcript. Namaste is numbers stay and  Upanishads, which I really do love is called funny shots (or open. A shoddy). Don't ask me, I don't know. Shakti is champion, which actually isn't far off. Shiva is Shavon and Jalandhara is jolly turban. I think I might always, always remember it as jolly turban from now on. Moolahdhara is Moodles. Moodles sounds nice, doesn't it? Kind of, I don't know. Something to do with poodles. 04:19                                     I had several guests this year about, like I said, the subtle aspects of yoga and so we talked about chakras and we talked about mudras and we talked about yoga Ninja, sorry, now it's got me saying it. We talked about yoga Nidra and they came up with some really, really funny kinds of translations. As you might've guessed, yoga Nidra is often written in the transcription as Yoga Ninja. Chakras are several things and it was interesting because Kristine Kaoverii Weber taught me how to say chakras and it is that hard cha instead of Shah. And so if I was saying it correctly, and she of course was always saying it correctly, was chockers or chuckers or choppers or chocolate and if I wasn't saying it correctly, it was called shockers. Chakras are definitely confusing to transcription. Mudras are the same. I have quite a few on Mudras. I'll just give you a few. A mood Rose. That's kind of a lovely thought, isn't it? Metrology. I'm not sure where that came from. Motors and my favorite - Madeira. Tantric was contract and I think my absolute favorite is Gomaghasana and it came out as cammo cousins. 06:10                                     It's always good just to laugh. There's also laughter yoga. Haven't ever taken that but I'm sure it was a really good, experience. All this is, it's just a little bit of a laughter to have us remember that laughing is also important in life. This is just a little bit of self care just to get you laughing and thinking about some of the ridiculous things that this transcription service came up with. So thank you so much. Like I said, very short, very sweet and to the point. Hope you enjoyed these bloopers. It was fun for me to gather them together and get some lists going. And just actually be kind of in awe of the creativity of the transcription service of all the different things they came up with for words that were obviously very normal to us and not at all familiar to it. Thank you so much for listening and this is Stephanie Cunningham.   07:37                                     If you would like to be a guest on changing the face of yoga, please go to my website, www.yoga lightness.com.au under the changing the face of yoga tab. You can complete the be our guest form after reviewing the form and finding it applicable to this podcast, and we will send you a link to schedule an interview.                                                 Please download, review, and tell your friends of any podcasts that are of interest to you and to them. If you would like to contact me, email to info@yogalightness.com guiding you and thank you for listening to changing the face of yoga. Additional Transcriptions: Chakras: child, chapter, charter, truckers, tracker, chuck rose, shoppers, shock grows, shocker is Mudras: Mujeres, blue dresses, blue dress, motors, motorised, motive, Missouri, Woodrow(?), withdraws Kriya: Korea Gamoghasana: goa goose center, gomo us. Agni: agony Ayurveda: are yours I

Stephanie Cunningham and her husband took a bike tour around the world in 2000. Her husband fell in love with Australia once they reached there for the summer Olympics so they decided to move there permanently. She needed some work to do so she found a way to proceed with an online business. Listen to how she overcame obstacles and found the path that was best for her.

Stephanie Cunningham found herself in Australia after completing a round-the-world push bike tour in 2000. Previously she had developed policy and legislation in the US. Taking early retirement for the push bike ride, she was unable to work in Australia because of visa restrictions. She started yoga classes. She found yoga to be very beneficial but not modified correctly for older bodies. She started yoga teacher training and is the owner of Yoga Lightness. She completed additional training including 500 level. She taught yoga for over 50’s for 10 years. Stephanie sequed into producing a myth busting podcast about expanding the perception of yoga.  She interviews yogis about their experiences guiding students who have differing levels of wellness and fitness. Changing the Face of Yoga  http://bit.ly/CTFOY  began in March 2017 and over a hundred podcasts have been released to date. Stephanie is passionate about making her retirement fulfilling with service to others, learning new things, her personal yoga practice and living her purpose. She has recently become serious about her painting and has just completed an intense 12 week course and is happily  painting using her new found knowledge. Creativity seems to be the major theme of this period of her life.   Link to podcast on Itunes: http://bitly./CTFOY Website: www.yogalightness.com.au FB: https://www.facebook.com/yogalightnessoz/   SHOWNOTES Stephanie took an early retirement after spending her career with politicians and legislators. She decided to go on a bike tour over 130 countries over a year. The bike tour led them to stay in Australia and relocate. This is where Stephanie learnt about yoga in her spare time and her first experience was in Iyengar yoga. This is where she learnt that practices like these required modifications to help the older generation. Her learning took her to further teacher training overseas to USA to do an eight day workshop on teaching older people Carla and Stephanie discuss some of the benefits of yoga. Stephanie’s definition of happiness is fulfilment Her morning routine is two coffees followed by a bit of meditation and plan her day Stephanie’s things that bring her joy are conducting her own interviews for her own podcasts and producing a paintings and spending time with family Stephanie’s favourite food is Japanese The best thing we can do for our health is to keep moving according to Stephanie Barack Obama, Toni Morrison and Albert Einstein would be her fantasy dinner guests The things that make Stephanie laugh are her cat and dog     BOOKS Beloved – Toni Morrison The war of art – Steven Pressfield THINGS DISCUSSED Yoga Lightness Changing the Face of Yoga

00:47                                     This is Stephanie Cunningham and Changing the Face of Yoga. And I have a great guest today. This is Kistine Kaoverri Weber. Christine has agreed to be part of the subtle aspects theme to talk about more of the subtle aspects of yoga. And Christine will be talking about Chakras and what chakras are, what system she uses and how you might use it when you're teaching. Welcome Christine and Cristine is  committed to the widespread adoption of yoga as a population health strategy. She has been studying yoga and holistic healing for nearly 30 years advocating, speaking and teaching about yoga since 1995 and training educators since 2003. Her organization Subtle Yoga provides holistic mind and body trainings, education and clinical services with the mission of enhancing community health infrastructure. She is the director of the Subtle Yoga teacher training for behavioral health professionals program at Mahec at Asheville North Carolina, presents workshops and trains internationally and is frequently invited to talk about yoga at health conferences. And is there anything else you'd like to add to that introduction? 02:27                                     Oh, thank you. It's so nice to be here, Stephanie and no, I mean I've got a lot of stuff going on. One of the things that I'm doing right now is called, I call it the subtle yoga revolution. And I'm really trying to help empower teachers who love teaching slow mindful practices to feel really not like second class citizens because we don't necessarily want to do the sweaty fitness stuff, and are more kind of committed to the internal practices. And what I see is that there's a lot of science behind the validity of these practices that has begun to emerge in the past 10 years or so. And that's something that I'm really passionate about right now. So I have some online programs about the subtle yoga revolution. I'm happy to share some of that information if your listeners are interested later. 03:26                                     We'll be sure to get into the contact details so that people can explore that. So let's start really basic and to explain the Chakras, and I believe in an earlier conversation we talked about that there's the traditional look at Chakras. And there may be another version of it. So first of all, define and contrast those two things. 03:55                                     So first of all, I would request, my Sanskrit teacher would be very happy, if we would use the word Chuck Gra Not Chalk Gra. And that's a really common pronunciation issue. Just remember it's like chocolate chip cookies that'll help you remember. And also it's not French, it's Sanskrit. It's not like charkra^] it's a Sanskrit word. So the Sanskrit, the c sound is always the hard cha and if you spell it properly with the International Sanskrit spelling, it would be c, a, k, r a , believe it or not C h, but it has really become a western word really like over the past hundred, 100 years or so.  Because it is the hundredth anniversary when Chakras, became known in the West which was 1919. So let's pronounce it Chuck Gra. And because we know we have sh sounds in Sanskrit? We have Shiva, Shakti, and Shavasana. And so we have a lot of sh sounds, but it's the ch sound is Chakra.                                                 And then the second part of the question was like, define Chakras. Oh my gosh, that's going to take me a couple of days. So I'm going to give you a really simple; that Chakras are basically these energy centers that in the subtle body that have a physical ontological correlates. I would suggest, I know that there are certain people in this tradition who say they don't have ontological correlates. There are Buddhists who say that they do. What that means is like they really exist. That's all that means. Like they really are there. I believe they're really there. I think the tools of science are not quite subtle enough to measure them a yet, although there have been some attempts at measuring these centers by different people, I don't want to get into that too much, but there have been some sciencey , quasi-sciencey attempts at measuring these energy centers in the body. Even if you don't believe that, one of the things that I think almost every human being can agree upon is that on the midline of the body from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. And typically in the center of the chest, typically in the center of the belly, most of us experience some kind of emotional experiences there. Whether it's we say I have butterflies in my stomach, or I loved him with all of my heart, or I was so upset I was choked up or that really gives me a headache trying to think about it. So we have emotional reactions that often happen along the mid-line. And so if we can't agree on the models, and by the way, the Yogis tended to not agree on them either. They had many different systems. So if we can't agree on them, that's okay. But one thing we can agree on is that there are these emotional expressions and science hasn't necessarily explained them adequately yet. But the subtle body does give us a frame of reference that maybe is a little more subtle and more explicit. And the Yogis left us these beautiful maps of the system that I think are worth looking into more deeply. 07:54                                     So what are Chakras? There are energetic centers in the body where we tend to process some kind of mental, emotional tendencies. You know, we tend to have mental, emotional tendency processes happening in those centers. And the other piece is that many of the Hatha yoga practices that emerged within the past six to 800 years, many of them were actually originally intended to help create a better control over these centers. And that was the original purpose of Asana. So why not work with them? You know, why not continue with that tradition and see what we can do with Asana? You know, the other thing I always like to say is people come to yoga class a lot of times because we live in the 21st crazy century. People come to yoga class and they're like, I don't feel good and I'm going to go to yoga. And then at the end of Yoga class, pretty much, most of the time, people tend to feel more balanced. And often that's mental, emotional or mood shifts that happens. Why is that happening? You know, it's, yes, it's happening because of parasympathetic activation for sure. It's happening because of shifts that are made via the vagus nerve, of changes in Acetylcholine and all that stuff is happening. I would suggest that tha happens because of breathing and movement practices and these things I don't think are just random. I think that Asana is as they've been delivered to us and yes, some of them were developed very recently and others are much older. Asana is a way that we create more balance in the mental, emotional parts of ourselves or the mental, emotional body if you like, or the subtle body. Therefore we can be more intentional about how we use the practices to create better psychological balance. 10:05                                     Chakras, how many are you working with? There's seems to be different numbers of them. 10:20                                     Yes, there are different systems., I would call it the traditional seven chakras system, which comes from the Bengali tantrics. A lot of my teachers were from Bengali, so I work with that Bengali system. There are systems that predate that system. And of course there are systems that postdate that system because everything basically that happened after 1977 is a whole different ball of wax. I mean there was a whole movement, a new age Chakra movement that happened in the '70s. Largely from writers in California and other places that defined a whole new system. I don't want to say a whole new system, I would say a revamping of the system. So let me back up. I hope this is okay to go into the history because without it it's very difficult for me to talk about the system and what I do.                                                 So a brief history of the Chakras. We have to look at texts in a scholarly way. What do the texts say? What were the texts showing us? And, and you do have mention of this system as far back as the Bhagavad Gita so it goes, it goes pretty far, 2,500 years or so. You have some mentions of these points in the body and the Charak Samhita, which is the original book of Ayurveda. You have some mentions of the system that go into antiquity but then you really don't have the definition of the system as we know it today, until a book that was written in 1544 called the such Ṣaṭ-chakra-nirūpaṇa . And that was a Bengali text. It's from the Shiva worshippers in that part of India, that northeast part of India. That text gets translated in 1919 into English. And really that's the introduction of the Chakra system to the west.                                                 I always tell people that you have to go back a hundred years and think about what was happening socio-politically in India, what was happening in the world at that time. We're still in the middle of the occupation of India by the British, of the 300 plus year occupation. You still have a tremendous amount of both superiority complex of the west over the Indians, and then inferiority complex of the Indians towards the West because they'd been dominated, politically dominated, and there's all the racism and all that stuff that goes with it.                                                 So what you have at this time in 1919 is sort of the revelation by Sir John Woodruff, who was very well regarded by both the Indians as well as by Westerners. He was a judge in Kolkata. And he started studying Tantra. And, and by the way, the Chakras come from the Tantric system of yoga. He's studying about the chakra system. He translates this text with the help of some Indian Sanskrit scholars, and then he presents the subtle body to the west. What happens from there is you have people like Alister Crawley and people like Charles Leadbeater from the theosophy society and many others who pick up on this notion of the Chakras and without immersing themselves in Indian culture and Indian history and Indian philosophy, which is as you know extremely complex and, and varied. It's an incredibly sophisticated system. So without immersing themselves in that they pluck the subtle body out of it and they plop it into their own worldview. This is going to necessarily render that system different than what the Indians understood and so Leadbeater comes out in 1927 with a book called the Chakras. And it remains to this day, one of the most widely read and the most widely sold book of the Theosophical Society by far. So that book, the Chakras, is the first place where someone suggests Oh, you can see somebody else's Chakras. You can manipulate somebody else's Chakras. There's colors in the Chakras. Leadbeater says anybody with a modicum of intuitive capacity can see somebody else's Chakras, so you get all this sort of new-agey, proto new-age stuff. That's not what the Indians were talking to.                                                 John Woodruff writes his book, his second edition of his book, which was that first translation of the system. He says, as much in that book, and he says, look, there are people that are talking about Chakras but that's not really what the Indians were talking about. You have the west with its biases against the east and it's orientalism and it's racism plucking this very sublime system out and saying, I can interpret it better than the Indians can.                                                 And from that, then we have to fast forward to the 70s and the Esalen Institute in California where they start putting together all these charts about Chakras and stuff. Again, very little reference to the Indian system. It's still kind of carrying forth this orientalism or this bias against the east. And then you get that in the 70s. And then the 80s is when all of the books come out. Like Anodea Judith, the Wheels of Life. And um, Hiroshima Motoyama's book comes out. If you go to Amazon, you will see hundreds of books about the Chakras based on an amalgamated system that's primarily from new age thinkers. That really doesn't go deep. It doesn't have any scholarly, deep or, experiential deep look into the yoga system. Anodea Judith, bless her heart, she did a service by bringing Chakras to the world, but she's not a yoga practitioner and wasn't writing as a yoga practitioner. She was writing as sort of an intuitive person or you know, a new age person. And that's the Chakra system that we get taught frequently in yoga teacher trainings. You get these laminated charts and that stuff comes from the Esalen Institute in California. It's not coming from the traditional system. 17:38                                     I didn't know that. And that's a bit scary, isn't it? Because we're learning something different. It's certainly not the Indian tradition. I think that bothers me. 17:52                                     Yes, definitely. I totally relate. And in my humble opinion, Carl Jung said it best. He said, we, we've done such a tremendous of violence against the East. He was talking about the world wars. You can also talk about colonialism. Tremendous violence has been done against the east and he said, we owe it to those cultures to look deeply into them and try to understand them. And I'm paraphrasing, but you know what I mean? l I'm so grateful for this tradition that has helped me so much personally and that I've dedicated my life to, and that I teach about. It's my life and, and I feel like it's a tremendous affront to not go deep into these topics. It's an affront to the system and it's a manifestation of that colonialist mentality and a basically a racist mentality to not look into it and to really see the deeper value beyond the color coded charts. I remember walking into Barnes and noble a bookstore here about, it was like 20 years ago. I walked in, I was like really getting into Chakras and I walked into Barnes and Nobel and I saw this little kit on the table and it said, Chakra Balancing Kit, $12.99 on sale. I've been studying the Chakras and I was like, really? So I could just get like a color card thing to meditate on and a little essential oil in a gemstone and I'm going to balance my chakras. That's a really good deal for $12.99 considering that from what I understood, it's really hard to balance your chakras. It's pretty much a life's journey to do this?                                                 I think we have taken it too lightly and I think there's a lot more to it. And the other piece is that a lot of people won't listen to this podcast and the reason they won't is because they're going to see the word Chakra and go, oh yeah, that's that fluffy garbage. They're going to be like, yeah, whatever. There's no science behind it. It's not real. It's just a laugh, essential oils and some kind of a gemstone thing or, I swear a rainbow, that whole thing. The rainbow, by the way is not traditional. That just comes from the human tendency to want to see things in seven and put them all together. There's no reality in the rainbow according to the Indian system. Maybe some new age intuitive people have seen rainbows with the Chakras I don't know, but I'm a yoga teacher and I wanted to know what the yoga tradition said about the Chakras and that's where I operate from and that's what I teach from. 20:57                                     It's been trivialized. 21:01                                     I think so. I think it's been trivialised. It doesn't mean that we can't be creative . I'm not a rigid person and not a rigid yoga teacher. I'm all about innovation and creativity and I mean, that's what Tantra has always been about The Tantrics were really innovative. I think it's okay to be creative and innovative, but I also think it's really important to not just make stuff up, but to really situate it in the tradition and what the Indians were talking about and why it's important and how it's different. if I can do one thing that may be helpful here because I don't want to belittle the new age system, a lot of people benefit from it. That's not my point.                                                 I've always thought this is so useful, is to look at western versus eastern worldviews. You know, so if you look at the West, the eastern Worldview, it tends to at least traditionally that worldview tends to be like inner technology. Like what is inside of me. Some of my history teachers have talked about how the ancient name for India is Mahabharata - the land that feeds everyone. Mahabharata. In India you have the development of civilization and lots of food and people had time to sort of contemplate the meaning of life and the mysteries of the universe. And that's why you have this development of such a sublime philosophy, Such sublime philosophies emerging from the subcontinent. In the west, what we have really dominated and focused on is like mastering the external so in India there's this focus on mastering the internal, the internal technology, and the word technology in, in Sanskrit is Tantra, by the way. And then you have the west with the external technology you just go to yoga class and you're like, okay, so we're going to do some meditation. And most of you who are yoga teachers have heard this comment before. Like, I've got an APP for that. 23:21                                     There's an APP for that because that's our western worldview. We're focused on the external. So when the Chakras came west, what happened was they became the technology of personal development and self-actualization, like the transpersonal psychology stuff. They were about individual achievement in the external world. Then you get that whole thing of the first Chakra is about survival. The second Chakra is creativity and the third Chakra is about power. I'm not suggesting that that's completely erroneous. I think there's a lot of power in that map but the eastern map doesn't do that. The eastern map is, these are the powers of the elements. These are the powers of the universe, and you're going to internalize them and then you're going to become one with the universe? "Sanskrit saying" which means everything that exists outside of you exists within you. And you're going to discover that through this process of working with your Chakras, you're going to become the universe - a totally different goal than like self. It's a totally different goal. I think those worldviews are related and so my approach has been like I'm a westerner. I liked that self actualization stuff and I'm going to really give lots of value and lots of time to the study of the Indian system so that I can use the best of both of those paradigms in my personal work and also in my teaching. I do combine some things.                                                 I think Carl Jung's teachings on the Chakras have been super helpful. Some people diminish them, but he was the one who helped me to understand what do the gods and goddesses and the traditional Chakras mean and how are they relevant to a western person. Carl Young said, don't practice yoga as a Westerner because you're going to fail. He's an interesting dude for sure. By the time he gets to the throat Chakra, he's just not interested anymore cause it's not psychology, It's not as psychological as the lower chakras.                                                 That's something interesting that we can break down and is practical. I'm been talking about all this theory stuff, so maybe practical for your listeners. We kind of have to fight through some of our animal tendencies like tendencies to get distracted and our tendencies to be jealous and our tendencies to just kind of be lazy. All sorts of stuff that we move through on the way to the heart Chakra, where we start to become really a lot more human, we start to kind of have a sense of ourselves, our individualization and how we're different and what is important to us and what's not important to us. We start to get boundaries in the heart Chakra. The lower chakras are really useful for us in understanding where we've come from in terms of our evolutionary tendencies.                                                 And then as we start moving into the upper Chakras, the heart, the throat, and then the third eye and the Crown Chakra, we really start to become more of our potential. Like the potential for being a spiritually connected and expanded human being; that's what those Chakras were used for. You meditate on your third eye or you meditate on the crown. Those are typical meditations or you meditate on the heart center. Those are typical meditation places. What that means is fixing your awareness interoceptively at those points. You're typically repeating some kind of mantra. Those are traditional practices that can be very valuable to modern people.                                                  I had some clients going through really difficult surgery, heart surgery a few weeks ago and asked me for a meditation and they were Christian. I said meditate on Jesus with his hands, how he does that Mudra where he holds two fingers up and then he opens his heart, the sacred heart. So meditate on that image of Jesus, say your prayer in the heart Chakra and let that be a way to help you feel more centered before going in for the surgery. And they loved that. That kind of creativity with the practices I think is I think is super useful for people, particularly if you're basing them on the traditional tantra practices. I'm basing it on what I've learned from, from my teachers that can be really useful and that's a way to create balance in the heart. That's a way to really harness the power of the heart Chakra. 28:54                                     Let's talk a bit about, now you've got me very nervous, chakras and the individual ones that you're using. Like you said, the lower ones are kind of understanding where we came from. The upper ones are our potential, which is really nice way to think about it I think. How have you developed what you either train other teachers in or that you teach in your classes? 29:30                                     How have you developed it; which is a very eastern tradition that is not fitting well on top of the western tradition in our minds because we don't quite think that way. How do you use it so that it becomes very, you obviously like the example that you just gave about the heart Chakra. You've obviously worked it around so that it can fit into both systems. 30:01                                     I think it's fair to say that these tantric practices have always been adapted to the belief system. You have tantra that's showing up in Buddhism a couple thousand years ago and Tantra that comes in the form of Shivaism. It started really with Shivaism I would suggest. But history scholars may have some different opinions about that and then Tantra, by the way, gets adapted through the trade routes into alchemy. I mean, what do you think Harry Potter is? That's Tantra. That's external esoteric Tantra. So making things happen in the external world. Esoteric Tantra - alchemy came through the trade routes. So that's why you see so much similarities. You know, Hermione Granger with her wand saying Wingardium Leviosa you know, the mantra in Latin, but it's a mantra. The stick is the Donata, Gurus often had a stick and they would do stuff with it. 31:29                                     The stuff is deep and it was coming through the trade routes probably before the Middle Ages. It goes out into Persia and becomes Persian alchemy. It goes into China and becomes Chinese alchemy, you see roots of it in African shamanism, perhaps African shamanism is proto-tantra, becomes the Tantra in the south, south India. This is not exclusive to India. In fact, I would suggest that it's simply the Indians who really got into it and refined it. But we find it in all cultures. I do think these practices are largely universal.                                                 When I'm working with a client one on one, which is a lot easier to help develop the Chakra practices, I will be using mantras and the mantras often are not just Indian or Sanskrit mantras. They may be something that's more appropriate for somebodys belief system. I'm going to use Asana because Asana we have four places that we get into with Asanas? So we get into the lower abdomen with forward bends, we get into the abdomen. And so the second Chakra with forward bends and then the third Chakra, which by the way the position is traditionally at the navel, not the solar plexus. A lot of people peg it at the solar plexus , which is the new age thing. And I don't think it's not the solar plexus, it's just that the root of it is typically the navel. So we get forward bends, we get twists that get into those Chakras and get the back bend. And that also will work those Chakras, but also really get into the heart center. And then we get inversions, like Shoulder Stand, but where we get some activation in the throat center.                                                  And I do think that there is something happening regionally, like when you do an Asana and there's something like this, just say Cobra, there's something happening at the location of the Chakra, but there's also things that are happening globally in the autonomic nervous system that have to do with parasympathetic activation, That have to do with a vagal tone, that have to do with the release of neurochemicals. All sorts of things are going on that I think we're just beginning to understand. There are things that are not happening at the location. And there's also things that happen in the whole body that create a greater neuroendocrine, Neuro - immune response to the practice. And there's a body of research that's emerging that's validating that.                                                 Now I'm not saying there's a body of research emerging, validating existence of the subtle body that is still really nascent. There's a couple of studies, but we still don't really have subtle enough tools, I don't think, to measure the subtle body. But I think when we do have those tools, I think we'll start to see a seven brain model emerge that there are seven sub brains. They're talking about the gut brain now and they're talking about the heart brain. But I think there probably will come up with something like five, six, seven areas that are remarkably similar to the subtle body. so I use Asana as focus on the area.                                                  I also want to say one thing for your listeners because I think it's great to be creative and, and spend time on this, but don't get hung up on feelings of like, I have a second Chakra imbalance so I'm just going to focus all my time and energy on my second Chakra and do poses for the second Chakra. The yogis didn't prescribe that necessarily. I think it's great to spend time there, particularly if you've had sexual trauma or c-section or something where you're feeling cut off from that area. I think great to spend interoceptive time there and build the maps in your brain by spending time there. However, what the yogis would say is don't doubt the healing potential, the healing possibilities of the heart Chakra, that bringing your awareness to that center after whatever other work you're doing is a really simple and powerful way to bring a sense of peace to the nervous system and a sense of completion to whatever work you're doing. So I like to bring attention back to the heart. Not everybody practices like that. That was one of the things that I find tends to be really helpful. And you know, most of my students are women. I don't want to make any kind of generalizations, but there sometimes is this stereotype of the ascetic Yogi male focusing on the third eye. And third eye is . powerful stuff for sure. But it's not the whole of who we are as human beings. And I think coming back to the heart really can provide a very powerful healing center focus for many people, not just women, but for many people. 36:55                                     You would do probably asanas for all seven Chakras and then bring it back to the heart? Is that what you're saying? 37:09                                     Well, it kinda depends on what you're working on. Plenty of times I do classes that we're just going to get into the third Chakra today., Because so many Asanas are really great for your third Chakra. And the third Chakra is the place where so many of us have problems - digestive problems, but also the problems that the yogis outline. You know, the yogis actually gave a a whole map of the system. The word that the Yogis, the tantrics used is vritti. The Yogis gave a map of the subtle body and in that map what they did was they showed where different mental-emotional tendencies reside in the body. I think it's a fascinating thing to look at that somehow through these deep interoceptive practices where they were spending hours and hours and weeks and months focusing on these centers of the body for meditation They came up with a map essentially that said there are different emotions that are located in different parts of the system. You find this map in some of the Upanishads. It's sort of a later addition to the system.                                                 Some of the tendencies in the Third Chakra are challenging. For example shame is in the third Chakra and jealousy and some depression. There's actually two different depressions one's in the heart Chakra, one's in the third Chakra. Irritability infatuation, fear, hatred. Those are all third Chakra Vritti according to the tradition. I think it's very useful to do Asana with the intent, holding that intention. I'm working through this jealousy vritti or whatever it is, and I'm working through this fear vritti and then to do a practice that's really third Chakra focused. And then as you said, maybe at the end of the practice, bring your awareness back to the heart with the idea of the heart is the center and I'm practicing for the highest good, and I let go of my whatever vritti, my jealousy vritti or whatever it is. Then spend some time doing that practice over some weeks and months and notice if there's a shift that happens for you. That can be really powerful. I've worked with many people like that in that way over the years. I think there's some beauty in looking at what the tradition offered and then working with the mental, emotional tendencies in a way that can create a better sense of self regulation and mental balance.                                                 But just to finish up what I was talking about with the Chakras and the practice and stuff, I would suggest that if you're working with the Chakras, if you want to work with the Chakras, would want to know more about the Chakra. It's totally lovely to experiment because yoga is an experiential practice. Doing postures and noticing how that feels in your body and noticing, is there an effect on my mood? Is there a shift in certain tendencies when I do certain practices, like my original Indian teachers would say, you should be the scientist and be the experiment. Go for it in yourself. I think it's great. And I also think it's great to read and learn more about the traditional system. And as Carl Jung said: it's respect for the culture that's quite different than western culture. That the culture that this information comes from and, and making the attempt to understand a little more deeply. 41:30                                     So thank you so much for having me. It's been really nice to be here. 42:24                                     Thank you, Christine. That was a really interesting and cohesive description of what chakras are and how you use them. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. I really appreciate your expertise and time, so it was great to hear from you.                                                 Resources:                                                 The Rainbow Body by Kurt Leland and it's a history of the western Chakra system. That's a really interesting read to kind of see the difference between the western and the eastern system. So I recommend that.                                                 Chakra and Subtle Yoga Courses: I do have some online chakra courses where I talk more about the I talk more about the um, system from the Indian perspective and then some of the work of Carl Young and other psychologists I think have been helpful. And um, and I also have practices that go with them. So those are on yoga. U Subtle Yoga also has other courses about teaching Subtle yoga and other topics from Kristine.                                                 Contacts:                                                 Email: subtleyoga@gmail.com                                                 Website: www.subtleyoga.com                                                 FB and Insta: subtleyoga  

The fight for racial diversity in museums and other cultural institutions is not new: people of color have been fighting for inclusion in white mainstream museums for over 50 years (https://amzn.to/2udBIYZ). Dispose these efforts, change has been limited. A 2018 survey by the Mellon Foundation (https://mellon.org/media/filer_public/e5/a3/e5a373f3-697e-41e3-8f17-051587468755/sr-mellon-report-art-museum-staff-demographic-survey-01282019.pdf) found that 88% of people in museum leadership positions are white. Stephanie Cunningham (https://twitter.com/stephacunning) has a clear answer for why these white institutions aren’t changing: “When you’ve been practicing exclusion for so long, you can’t change overnight.” That’s one of the reasons why she co-founded Museum Hue (https://www.museumhue.com) with Monica Montgomery in 2015. In this episode, Cunningham traces Museum Hue (https://twitter.com/MuseumHue)’s trajectory from a small collective to a national membership-based organization (https://www.museumhue.com/join), and spells out why being a well-meaning institution is necessary but not sufficient for equity in the field. Museum Archipelago is a tiny show guiding you through the rocky landscape of museums. Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/museum-archipelago/id1182755184), Google Podcasts (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubXVzZXVtYXJjaGlwZWxhZ28uY29tL3Jzcw==), Overcast (https://overcast.fm/itunes1182755184/museum-archipelago), or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5ImpDQJqEypxGNslnImXZE) to never miss an epsiode. Club Archipelago

Stephanie Cunningham is a yoga teacher who specializes in teaching seniors. Stephanie also hosts her own podcast called Changing the Face of Yoga where she showcases yogis who teach yoga to students with varying levels of fitness to counteract this public perception that yoga is only for young flexible and fit people. https://www.yogalightness.com.au https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/changing-the-face-of-yoga-podcast/id1217079516

.yogalightness.com.au/Osteoporosis SN   Introduction to Osteoporosis: bones become fragile which leads to increased risk of fractures. May be due to bone mineral decreases or the failure of the microarchitecture.   2:54 Causes: At menopause, the cells that destroy bone become more active than the cells that build bone. These are both natural processes but the balance is disturbed as the sex hormones decrease In the later years of life 80+ the muscles and the bones become more fragile. Without the muscles pulling on the bones (and as they lose strength, this happens naturally), the bones also become weaker Illness and drugs can also affect the bone density. 5:30  No symptoms there is a test called the DEXA test that measures bone density (but not bone microarchitecture) It tests three sites on the body: hip, vertebrae and wrist. Each site receives it’s own score. Normal Score; men and women naturally lose bone density in their fifties but the loss is not enough to increase the risk of fracture Osteopenia: there is bone loss in excess of normal bone loss and the risk of fracture is increased Osteoporosis: there is significant bone loss and the risk of fracture is high. Vertebral fractures can also lead to kyphosis which is 1) a risk factor for more vertebral fractures, it impacts breathing and balance. 9:59 Exercise, especially weight-bearing exercise, is recommended to move the muscles that then pull on the bones to signal the need for increased density. Axial Skeleton – skull, vertebrae, ribs. Protects the core organs and gives structure to the trunk. Women lose more bone (as a percentage) from the axial skeleton than men do so they have an increased risk of vertebral fractures. Need strong core muscles to protect the bones and to help with holding up the trunk. 11:35 Dr. Mersheed Sinaki, has done several studies on osteoporosis at the Mayo Clinic in the US. She recommends more than just weight-bearing exercise but also need to improve a) flexibility, b) core strength, c) cardiovascular fitness, d) axial strength, and e) gait steadiness (to prevent falls from loss of balance). 13:00 Yoga poses to strengthen the axial skeleton (primarily the vertebrae). Laying down: Gentle locust; laying on the stomach, lift the head (in line with the spine) and then release. After building strength with the previous pose, can then transition to clasping the hands behind the back, lifting the head and chest and pulling with the hands towards the feet. Another gentle pose would be to lay on back and lift head and then release,   Standing: With one arm on a chair if needed, lift one arm above the head with the inhale and let it come down with the exhale. Do the other arm. With sufficient strength, can use weights or lift both arms up at the same time (with or without weights).   Sitting: Bring arms to shoulder height; bend elbows so hand are pointing towards the ceiling and try to press the elbows together and then release. If the student cannot bring the arms to shoulder height, then place the arms along the side and bend the elbows and then press the elbows and release.   16:45 Appendicular Skeleton: limbs, hip and shoulder girdles. Breaks in hip are often at the neck of the femur which causes a fall. Hip fractures are highly correlated with death in older individuals so a hip fracture is quite dangerous. Wrist fractures often occur when trying to stop a fall. And falls increase fracture risk.             Yoga poses: most standing poses (not Warrior I), Downward dog (can be modified with chair or wall), and balance poses. 19:34 Contraindicated poses Inversions seated twists, forward bends, bridge Warrior I 24:30 With kyphosis, yoga can provide tools to help breathing. Need more space in the chest to allow the lungs to fully inflate. 25:25 New study correlates disturbed sleep with osteoporosis. Yoga Nidra is good for showing students how to relax and can be a tool to help them sleep at night. Or any relaxation tool used in savasana. Research: Yoga Vetebral Fractures & Osteoporosis: Research and Recommendations, Norlyk, E., Boses, A., International Journal of Yoga Therapy, No. 23 (1) 2013 Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation in Patients with Osteoporosis: Rehabilitation of Osteoporosis Program (ROPE), Sinaki, M., Journal für Mineralstoffwechsel & Muskuloskelettale Erkrankungen 2010 Yoga Spinal Flexion Positions an Vertebral Compression Fracture in Ostepenia and Osteoporosis of the Spine: Case Series Sinaki, M., MD, MS Clinical Report https://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pubmed 22449949 Impact of Sleep on Osteoporosis: Sleep quality is associated with bone stiffness index, Sasaki, N., Fujiwara, S., Yamashita, H., Ozono, R., Teramen, K., Kihara, Y. Sleep Medicine 2016 Sept: 25: 73-77 Comments: www.yogalightness.com.au/podcasts/

After touring around the world on the pushbike tour in 2000 which Stephanie Cunningham and her husband did for months, they arrived in Australia and ultimately decided to stay, only to be confronted with visa work restrictions. Unable to work, what do you do? It’s time to reinvent retirement and find another way to be productive and be involved in a venture that is extremely fulfilling in numerous ways. Before embarking on the pushbike tour Stephanie was a policy analyst, drafting legislation and policy at the state level but in another country. As the visa work restrictions eased, this energetic mature preneur decided to be a yoga teacher, because she wanted to change the public perception of Yoga, which is that yoga is for the young, who is flexible, and it’s very difficult, all of which is extremely misleading.  How to achieve her goal, Stephanie chose a different approach, podcasting, where she talks to yoga teachers around the world, which she feels the medium shows that yoga is for everybody, as a result this innovative yoga teacher has a growing worldwide sangha (community). To know that people at the grassroots are doing these wonderful things for others offsets the terrible things that occur in society today. A book that Stephanie recommends is ‘They Ask, You Answer,’ by Marcus Sheridan.  You can learn more about Stephanie and her work at her website yogalightness.com.au In addition to her Yoga Podcast Stephanie is working on another project Day To Day Retirement that deals with how to continue to be a contributing, vital member of society even when retired.

Stephanie Cunningham came on the show to talk about her retirement in a different county. On Today’s Show we discuss: Retirement in a different country Stephanie’s bicycle tour Decrease in social status after retirement Stephanie’s cultural transition in Australia Needing a reason to be on this earth or sacrificing happiness Value of community in Australia […] The post Retirement in a different country: Ep 130 appeared first on Rock Your Retirement.

Stephanie Cunningham came on the show to talk about her retirement in a different county. On Today’s Show we discuss: * Retirement in a different country * Stephanie’s bicycle tour * Decrease in social status after retirement * Stephanie’s cultural transition in Australia * Needing a reason to be on this earth or sacrificing happiness * Value of community in Australia * Money isn’t everything Stephanie was born, raised and worked in Colorado until she took early retirement to join a round the world bicycle tour. While on the tour, she found Australia and decided to move there. Because of visa regulations at that time, she couldn’t work, which forced her into an early retirement. Trying all of the activities that are traditional in retirement left her unfulfilled and wanting more. The Bicycle Tour The bicycle tour was a millennial trip. While it wasn’t an inexpensive trip, it was for a whole year. Stephanie did a lot of physical training for the trip. It was recommended each rider do at least 6,000 miles before the beginning of the tour. Each weekday, Stephanie rode 135K. It was physically challenging but not nearly as difficult as she thought it would be. Stephanie enjoyed the trip because you see things you wouldn’t see on a bus or in a car. New Found Love for Yoga One new activity she tried was yoga and enjoyed it. She decided to become a yoga teacher for over 50’s and then added yoga training to teach over 50’s for yoga teachers. In March of last year, she started the podcast Changing the Face of Yoga to expand the perception of yoga. She will launch the second broadcast in July about finding purpose in retirement as she struggled to find purpose and feels it is very important for a successful retirement. She talks about her initial culture shock and the challenges for retirement in a different country. Why Australia? Australia is a tenth of the US population but as large land wise as the US. It is less crowded and frantic. Stephanie claims it is almost 10 years behind in certain ways. Australia has less commercial ads and consists of a much more laid-back atmosphere. It is also gorgeous. Impact of Not Being Able to Work Stephanie was not planning on retirement when she moved to Australia. She had worked for Colorado and retired for a nominal amount of money. She planned on taking a year off then going back to work in a different way. There were a lot things Stephanie loved about working and it was a hard adjustment at first. She certainly never imagined her retirement in a different country.  Advice for Retirement in a different country Stephanie recommends really planning it and understanding what you are getting into. She recommends going to an expat community when first adjusting. In addition, look at exchange rates and cost of living when considering retirement in a different country. Connect with Stephanie: www.yogalightness.au Stephanie is launching a new podcast in July of 2018 called Changing the Face of Retirement. If you would like to check it out go to https://www.yogalightness.com.au/changing-the-face-of-retirement/ Would you or have you considered retirement in a different country? Let us know in the comments below Image already added

Can yoga really help you navigate the transitions of your life? If you're anything like Stephanie Cunningham, a yoga instructor and podcaster that specializes in working with older adults, the answer is a resounding yes. Stephanie found yoga after retiring and settling down in Australia. With no job and no ability to get a job due to visa constraints, Stephanie struggled to find her place in the world. That is until she found yoga. Not only did yoga help her physically, it helped her emotionally and spiritually as well. But it wasn't until Stephanie saw how profoundly yoga helped her aging mother manage pain and improved her mobility that she knew this was something she needed to dive into more deeply. In this 50-minute interview, Stephanie shares about her own personal journey with yoga, as well as the benefits of yoga and meditation for older adults. It's a fascinating topic and one that I hope you enjoy exploring as much as I have. I’d love to hear from you! What stood out most from Stephanie’s interview? Is yoga something that you would turn to as you were navigating your own transitions in life? Topics Discussed: An introduction to Stephanie and what she does The benefit of yoga for older adults and how it supports the body as it ages Meditation and how that supports seniors as they cope with stress How Stephanie found yoga and decided to make this her focus What Stephanie's life was like prior to finding yoga The mechanics behind why yoga and meditation are such powerful tools for relieving stress How yoga helps you access the deep connection between mind and body Using yoga as a way to work through transitions like retirement, moving, or getting a new job The three parts of yoga — the physical work, the breath work, and meditation How to find the style of yoga that fits your needs and ability Listening to your body and acknowledging your limitations Stephanie’s definition of everyday magic and how it shows up in her life Resource Links: Connect with Stephanie Cunningham online: Podcast | Facebook | Instagram | yogalightness.com.au Donna Farhi Leslie Kaminoff Changing the Face of Yoga Getting on Stephanie's newsletter Hit me up: Twitter: @emilylevenson and #somekindofmagic Instagram: @emilylevenson and #somekindofmagic FB Page: Emily Levenson

Stephanie Cunningham  and her partner visited Australia, fell in love and came back to stay permanently.  A great way to fit into a new country is to start with volunteering and work your way up. Through a love of yoga Stephanie started teaching and found a new purpose of helping seniors. 

On this month’s episode, Stephanie Cunningham shares her efforts to create alignment in her work after ten years of experience in the field. As a speaker, consultant, and educator, Stephanie has been a leading voice on race and equity in museums. After so many conversations, workshops and conferences discussing race and equity in museums, how far are we in achieving our goals? (Spoiler: we need to be reading a lot more!) How have the principles of museum education guided her journey through different roles in cultural institutions and museums? Plus, I ask her to demystify the process of consulting for the rest of us. Stephanie is an arts professional with over ten years in the field. She has written about her work for Curator: The Museum Journal and the Center for the Future of Museums as well as headlined talks about her endeavors at the American Alliance of Museums and Museum Next conferences. Her aptitude aligns with Museum Hue, an organization she cofounded that fosters the social cohesion well-being, and economic impact through the arts for people of color. Reading:  Social Justice & Museums Resource List initiated by La Tanya S. Autry Should I use the adjective "diverse"? by Alex Kapitan   For questions or feedback contact Paula Santos at culturaconscious@gmail.com. 

Betty Haight and Stephanie Cunningham are local collaborative artists who paint separately then mix and match. Sheran James of KX 93.5's The Sharin' Hour gets the fun story of their coming together.

This is 112BK, coming to you from BRIC House in Downtown Brooklyn. On the show today: Andrew S. Vargas is here to tell us more about how Brooklynites from Sunset Park are working to bring relief to Puerto Rico... Stephanie Cunningham sheds some light on the effort to add some color to New York's historically white-dominated arts scene... and 100-plus local vendors show off their stuff at the Brooklyn Holiday Bazaar. Teresa Lagerman is here with all the hand-made details. 112BK is hosted by Ashley Ford (tw

We did another interview! This time we had a quick and dirty chat with Museum Hue. Museum Hue advances the viability and visibility of people of color using arts, culture and museums, as a medium for discussion, creation, and solutions. They creatively engage all people around Culture, Community ---- Careers. Started by Monica O. Montgomery and Stephanie Cunningham, professionals in the world of culture and visual arts, have worked to make Museum Hue a platform to elevate people of color working in and enjoying the world of museums and visual art. You can engage them in conversation on twitter for #Huesdays and find more at www.museumhue.com. This week on The Jawn: Keisha Knight Pullam comes for Amber Rose. 4/20 is this month and Whoopi Goldberg is a medical marijuana line for menstrual cramp relief. It was #BlackPodcastweek and we had a blast! Cocoa Swatches are here to make sure you don't waste money on unflattering eyeshadow and blush. Giggle. Cackle. Roar!Bee giggles about allowing yourself to have fun. Britney ---- Bee cackle at Russel Schiller of #BlackWomenareGorgeous because he is piece of garbage, just like we suspected.Britney roars at the latest incident of the system trying to pull black men down.

I loved speaking to Stephanie Cunningham about yoga from a teacher's perspective. Teaching myself since 2004, I have taught to many different populations. We spoke openly about how yoga can be perceived through social media and how it can deter many people. What a refreshing conversation, to see Stephanie's outlook and how she began teaching to seniors and now is passionate to share her podcast "Changing the Face of Yoga" In her podcast she interviews a variety of yoga teachers that teach special populations. Tweets: "Yoga's just me now, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have yoga" "There's so much more to yoga then Instagram snaps" "My philosophy...you meet them where they are and you try to take them on a little journey" "That's the passion to get everyone to understand how great yoga is" More about Stephanie: I decided to teach yoga to seniors when I helped my Mom with her lower back pain due to arthritis. My mom is a little firecracker who is always in motion and we all have to move fast when she starts walking to keep up with her. However, I noticed that she was walking very slowly and looked uncomfortable. We did some gentle yoga stretches and stretched the lower back muscles. Slowly the back pain faded and she started moving normally again - and once again we are all trying to keep up with her. It was very satisfying to be able to help someone move without discomfort. My qualifications include: 250 hours - Byron Yoga, 500 level - Yoga Coach, and for my training in senior yoga - Completed workshop, special project, online courses and was a conference presenter to become a Certified Senior Yoga Teacher. My training was at Duke Integrative Medical Centre in the US.   I have a strong personal desire to support all people who wish to maintain their quality of life. For that reason, I especially enjoyed my time at Duke Medical Centre where medical experts discussed common conditions, diseases, and medications associated with aging. Armed with medical information provided by medical experts, I learned to develop yoga poses that stabilize and augment the physical, emotional and spiritual life of my students. I then developed a training for yoga teachers and yoga therapists that want to teach seniors. This training can be as simple as 12 videos online for an overview of how to develop safe but challenging senior yoga class which deals mostly with the physical challenges senior students may present. There are more advanced online modules to help with the emotional issues of aging as well as establishing a niche business in teaching senior yoga. I have just started a podcast: Changing the Face of Yoga where I talk to a variety of yoga teachers and yoga therapists that have developed special programs to help special populations that may be uncomfortable in general yoga classes info@yogalightness.com.au www.yogalightness.com.au FB: yogalightnessoz for teaching senior yoga FB: Changing the Face of yoga for the podcast

What can the business community teach the cultural sector about diversity? Stephanie Cunningham, Curator of Education at the African American Museum in Philadelphia will share her thoughts on this topic and discuss her upcoming projects.