Podcasts about subtle yoga

For our 666th episode (who knew I had that much to say?), we turned the mic back to you with a special listener Q&A. You asked – I listened, I answered. My work auntie and absolute angel, Helen Machen-Pearce, helped me wrangle your questions from social media and email. I tackled them head-on with my usual mix of straight talk, humour, and practical advice. A rare chance to speak directly with the people who bring this podcast to life – and I loved it. If you think there's a question we didn't answer, email veesh@embodimentunlimited.com titled "Podcast Q&A" with your burning desires and we'll save it for another episode. Join us for the FREE Embodiment Festival mentioned in this episode - it's running until Thursday 16th January with free replays. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a 25-year career as a doctor in the National Health Service, Helen retired as a consultant psychiatrist in 2017 due to health challenges. Initially, she struggled with pain, fatigue, and a sense of uncertainty about how to help herself. With a lifelong interest in yoga, she deepened her practice, completing various teacher trainings, including with Swami Vidyanand, Kristine Weber of Subtle Yoga, and additional courses in Spiritual Coaching and Embodiment Coaching. Since retiring, Helen has channeled her passion into holistic wellness, focusing on yoga, embodiment, and building resilience. She specializes in working with people experiencing persistent health issues, pain, fatigue, and burnout, offering a blend of yoga, meditation, education, and embodiment practices. Her sessions are designed to promote nervous system resilience and are accessible for both beginners and experienced practitioners. Through her work, Helen fosters a supportive community and deep, mindful connection. Find out more about Helen's incredible work here: About YogaRogueUK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could take a moment to leave a review. We're not sponsored, and we don't make money from the show – we rely on you, our listeners, to help us grow and reach more people who can benefit from these conversations. Every review and share means the world and helps us keep bringing you valuable content, straight from the heart. Thanks for being part of this embodiment ride. Check out our YouTube channel for more coaching tips and our Podcast channel for full episode videos. Uplevel your coaching with a free copy of my latest eBook, The Top 12 Embodiment Coaching Techniques. Join me for those juicy in-person workshops and events. Fancy some free coaching demo sessions with me?  Connect with me on Instagram. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a thanks for being a loyal listener, we're sharing a cheeky discount code for $100 OFF our most popular Certification of Embodiment Coaching course:  CEC100PODCAST More info here: https://embodimentunlimited.com/cec/

This episode is sponsored by Alma. Alma is on a mission to simplify access to high-quality, affordable mental health care by giving providers the tools they need to build thriving in-network private practices. When providers join Alma, they gain access to insurance support, teletherapy software, client referrals, automated billing and scheduling tools, and a vibrant community of clinicians who come together for education, training, and events.Sign up today at https://helloalma.comWhat are some of the scientifically proven benefits of yoga? Why is it important to find the correct yoga instructor for you and your mental health needs? Can you practice yoga in session with your client?MEET Kristine WeberKristine Weber, MA, C-IAYT, eRYT500 is a leading world authority on the neuroscientific benefits of slow, mindful yoga and an advocate for the use of these practices as an integral part of the solution to the healthcare crisis.She is leading the charge to get slow, mindful practices to people who desperately need them through her Subtle® Yoga Revolution series of online courses and training for yoga teachers – which have been praised by thousands all over the world. She has been training mental health professionals to use yoga in their clinical practices for over a decade at the Mountain Area Health Education Center which is associated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Find out more at Subtle Yoga and connect with Kristine on, Instagram, and FacebookDo You Want To Flourish in 2024? Join Visioning a Bright New YearIN THIS PODCAST:Benefits of yoga for anxiety and depressionYoga as a whole is not defined by one teacherBenefits of clinician self-care with yoga for clientsBenefits Of Yoga For Anxiety & DepressionThe German researcher Holger Kramer has conducted numerous meta-analyses and reviews of the benefits of yoga through a scientific lens to prove its effectiveness to the Western world.[Holger Kramer conducted] systematic reviews on looking at yoga for depression, for anxiety, for mental health in general, for addiction recovery … one of the things he says in one study is the best yoga is the kind of yoga that you'll do. (Kristine Weber)It has been concluded that slow, mindful yoga is one of the best treatments for depression.The world is beginning to move towards an evidence-informed practice of proving the efficiency of new treatments, which is necessary, but the yoga world does need to push more for more research credibility.There are still many people who discredit the benefits of yoga, but that is simply because science needs to find the correct tools on how to prove yoga's benefits.Yoga As A Whole Is Not Defined By One TeacherMany people have been put off by yoga or discredit the entire practice of yoga when they encounter a misinformed or brash instructor. It takes many hours of teaching a certain kind of person to lead a yoga class with patience and calmness.One cannot bring aggression or tension into the yoga space. The yoga space is the place where those things are worked out of the body, and it is not possible to relieve tension with even more tension.First of all, there is tons of good yoga going on out there, even if the teacher hasn't...

This week's guest, Chris McDonald, is a breath of fresh air in a world beset by false dichotomies between "traditional" and "holistic" approaches to mental health. Chris is a holistic therapist, yogi, meditation teacher, author, and host of The Holistic Counseling Podcast. She owns a group online practice called Path to Hope Counseling. Chris is a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher, is certified in brainspotting and offers gentle yoga to clients in session, and offers private yoga sessions. She specializes in treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma and grief in young adults. As the author of Self-Care for the Counselor, she has helped many therapists prioritize their own mental health and wellness. She is a Meditation Teacher on the Aura app and Insight Timer. On this week's episode, host Nikhil Torsekar and Chris cover myriad areas, including: The state of mental health among mental health practitioners, especially after COVID. How self-service mindfulness techniques like three part breathing can help combat burnout and compassion fatigue. How holistic modalities like yoga, breathwork, and guided meditation can be beneficial in getting to the root of the issue vs. superficially addressing symptoms Brainspotting, a modality developed by Dr. David Grand as an offshoot of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). How therapists can leverage the basic, yet powerful adage that "where you look affects how you feel" to help their clients effectively process trauma - sometimes moreso than with traditional talk therapy Subtle yoga, which can help ground us, strengthen our connection with the present, find the "window of tolerance" and strike a balance between our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The importance of finding community - whether through Facebook groups, virtual / in person happy hours, hosting a podcast, or yoga circles - in navigating the sometimes overwhelming "rabbit hole" of holistic modalities The wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh (known as the "father of mindfulness"), Kristine Weber (the founder of subtle yoga) and other figures who have influenced Chris in her holistic counseling journey Interested in learning more about subtle yoga, brainspotting, or the other modalities discussed on this episode? Check out The Holistic Counseling Podcast or join the Facebook group. Additionally, click here to claim your 30 day Aura app guest pass from Chris McDonald; find peace and get restful sleep with Chris today! Therapists can check out her book entitled Self-Care For the Counselor at Amazon. Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Untether Your Life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and other projects: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sometimes you get to meet people whom you admire, and they surprise you by being as cool as you hoped they were.That has always been the case with Kristine Kaoverii Weber.Kristine and I met last year at a yoga event and I am not kidding when I say she took the house down with some of her comments on a panel discussion. She is just as insightful here on this podcast as she discusses her history as a yoga pro, how she shifted online before most of the rest of us, and how self-care in a non-negotiable for her.KEY TAKEAWAYS*Please for the love of all that is holy, make your marketing about the people you are talking to. People want to hear your stories, yes, but they really want you to connect with them and speak to their lives and needs. It truly isn't all about you, and for most of us, it makes us uncomfortable when we market that way. *There is a weird and uncomfortable part of yoga teaching, where you are in the middle of learning to be excellent. And it is uncomfortable, tough, repetitive, and makes you feel like a fraud. But this is part of the up-level of your skills, so let me encourage you to stop fighting the discomfort and settle into it. *Get on video over and over again. It will become easier. *Our own self-care is something that is non-negotiable, and it has so much less to do with time and much more to do with your priorities. *As a gentle reminder, your teaching is not your practice. You need to prioritize yourself and your practice as a yoga teacher. This is not to shame, but to encourage you to rethink and re prioritize yourself as an equal to others--including your students.RESOURCESWorking In YogaWebsiteInstagramProfessional Development ChallengeKristine Kaoverii WeberWebsiteFacebookOur SponsorSunlight Streams BlogVirtual Retreat

Today's conversation is with Kristine Weber, the founder of Subtle Yoga. Kristine is a leading world authority on the neuroscientific benefits of slow, mindful movement and an advocate for the use of these practices as a solution to the healthcare crisis.  Recently, the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control) put out new guidelines for the medical profession about chronic pain and the use of opioids, and they mentioned yoga in their report. I talk to Kristine about how significant it is that yoga was included as a potential intervention in the pain crisis, and how she's been involved in representing the yoga therapy field in this national discussion. You'll hear about: Kristine's practice background and yoga training in India the profound benefits of a slow, mindful yoga practice (and how that might not be the same thing as "gentle" or "beginner" yoga) what the medical community tends to misunderstand about chronic pain what the Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual (BPSS) Model is and how it relates to yoga philosophy and practice We covered a lot of ground in this fascinating conversation, including the question of whether yoga therapy will one day be covered by health insurance (in the US), and what it will take for government and healthcare institutions to embrace yoga as part of the public health strategy. -- To connect further with Kristine, visit her website at https://subtleyoga.com/ or follow her on Instagram at @subtleyoga. For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast. To connect further with me (Addie), check out my Class Library at  movedtomeditate.com. And, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitten, Mustache).

Amy and Kristine Kaoverii-Weber, creator of Subtle Yoga talk about the future of healthcare and how yoga therapy fits into what is emerging because of the Covid19 crisis. While Amy and Kristine had originally set out to talk about how to work with clients who are experiencing Covid long-haulers syndrome, they never really got to that point and Amy will be bringing in a world-renown expert very soon to address working with clients. This discussion centered on “What does yoga therapy bring to the healthcare table that is not being addressed by other modalities?” And how is the current healthcare system struggling, allowing for an opening for yoga therapy to emerge as a viable field of Allied Healthcare.·        Kristine's prediction of what is happening in healthcare today·        What is the essence of yoga therapy and how it is different?·        Creating more joy in life as a revolutionary act·        Being OK with being a disruptor·        Being willing to see things how they are, and moving forward into difficult places·        The mental health status of our youth today and how we can help·        How Kristine's background as a writer about neuroscience has helped her succeed·        Where are we going in 2022 and beyondKristine's website to learn about her offerings: https://subtleyoga.comCheck out Amy's websiteVisit Amy's training section on her website to check out the courses belowOptimal-state-community days professional development courseYoga therapy training courses865-certified-yoga-therapist-program

How can therapists combine mindfulness with equity? Can mindfulness be made more accessible? What are your most effective mindfulness techniques as a therapist? MEET YUNIESKA KRUGYunieska Krug and has a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work from Boston University. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Yunieska is also licensed as a Masters Level Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor in New Hampshire. She has extensive experience working in various settings with diverse populations. Yunieska holds certifications in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectal Behavioral Therapy, and Mental Health with aging populations. Yunieska's clinical specialties include treating Trauma, Anxiety disorders, Depression, Adjustment issues, Life coaching, Interpersonal conflict resolution, Relationship loss, Multi-cultural issues, Dual-diagnosis, and Substance use disorders. Her treatment approach is empathic, empowering, and patient-centered. Additionally, she is able to speak Spanish fluently. Visit her https://www.dmcounselingservices.com/ (website). IN THIS PODCAST:Mindfulness strategies for therapists Equity and mindfulness Mindfulness advice MINDFULNESS STRATEGIES FOR THERAPISTSWe really have to take care of ourselves and our bodies so that we can be present for our clients because … we're constantly exposed to vicarious trauma. (Yunieska Krug)Guided mediation Subtle yoga course Aromatherapy Reiki Having a daily mindfulness practice that is dedicated to yourself and your wellbeing will enable you to give great therapy while maintaining your peace at the same time as you guide people through their treatment. EQUITY AND MINDFULNESSMindfulness should not be exclusionary or be kept away from people who cannot afford to pay for full services. Teaching people mindfulness tactics and techniques in their counseling, especially people who do not have the time or financial resources to pay for a full course, is a good way to make sure that mindfulness is accessible for everyone. Making sure that we are updating and letting … our clients know that [there are] mindfulness strategies that don't have to be a large expense. (Yunieska Krug)If you have the capacity and the resources at your practice, consider offering free sessions or videos to people who could greatly benefit from valuable mindfulness information. MINDFULNESS ADVICEDo not be hyper-focused on the journey and trying to control outcomes. Embrace contrast in your life to give yourself the emotional freedom to move forward with intention. Connect With MeInstagram https://www.instagram.com/holisticcounselingpodcast/ (@holisticcounselingpodcast) https://www.facebook.com/The-Holistic-Counseling-Podcast-345738889889873 (Facebook) Join the https://www.facebook.com/groups/227234677747980 (private Facebook group) Sign up for my free email course: http://www.holisticcounselingpodcast.com/ (www.holisticcounselingpodcast.com) Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-holistic-counseling-podcast/id1560859961 (Apple Podcasts), https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-holistic-counseling-podcast (Stitcher), https://tunein.com/podcasts/Health--Wellness-Podcasts/The-Holistic-Counseling-Podcast-p1420697/ (TuneIn), https://open.spotify.com/show/3hEmF2DyEKm49I2tqXDX0k?si=Xlq6uvasQb2MWVfvUbfBvQ&nd=1 (Spotify), and https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vaG9saXN0aWMtY291bnNlbGluZy8 (Google Podcasts). Resources Mentioned And Useful Links:https://www.holisticcounselingpodcast.com/episode/25 (Holistic Treatment of Eating Disorders, Interview with Rebecca Capps) https://www.facebook.com/subtleyoga/live/ (Subtle Yoga) http://www.practiceofthepractice.com/network (Practice of the Practice Podcast Network)

Kristine Kaoverii Weber, founder of Subtle® Yoga, talks with J about the subtle nuances of embracing a practice and life of yoga. They discuss Kristine's early years on "walkabout," yoga becoming a profession and going against the vinyasa flow grain, neuroscience as a lens, implicate order and the crisis of misperception, moving to New Zealand and back, mystical realms, listening for divine messages, and bridging the seeming chasms that keep us bound and resistant to the birthright that is love. Listeners can take a free class with Kristine.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.  

In today's episode of Peace and Love Amplifiers, I'm joined by Wellness Expert, Yoga Instructor, and personal colleague of mine, Kelly Andrews! Kelly has been a devoted advocate and public figure within the holistic health industry for over thirty years and has now shifted her efforts towards the practice of heart-centered living. We'll be discussing a few of the techniques Kelly has applied in her own life through the work she's carried out at HeartMath, why this year has felt like a personal touchstone for change, as well as the importance of regular grounding and mindfulness work. Tune in to Episode 8 to hear more!Some Questions I Ask:Have you been working on anything throughout lockdown? (2:30)How has using the HeartMath tools helped you this year? (7:39)What does a perfect world look like in your eyes? (23:09)What is the one thing you practice with your clients to help them move through a hard day? (31:43)In This Episode You Will Learn:A brief background on Subtle Yoga and its benefits (12:18)What Dirk Terpstra's ‘coherence hotspot' refers to (14:24)Why Kelly believes in awareness accompanied by action (17:57)How approaching our emotions mindfully benefits our nervous system (25:43)Information on Kelly's upcoming program — Live and Lead with Heart (34:20)Let's Connect!LinkedInEmbodying Peace Online ClassPeace and Love Amplifiers Facebook PagePeacebuilders United Facebook Group@PeaceandLoveAmplifiers on InstagramFind guided meditations on the Peace and Love Amplifiers YouTube PageConnect With Kelly Andrews:WebsiteFacebook Page Facebook Group - HeartMath® with Kelly AndrewsInstagramLinkedInEmail: kellyandrewstoday@gmail.comPhone Number: 863-670-1717Resources:Website: Subtle Yoga - Kristine Kaoverii Weber BioHeartMathHeartMath ResearchCoherence Hotspot / Dirk Terpstra See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On today's episode, we meet with Kristine Kaoverii Weber, who created the program "Yoga Ethics for Transforming Racism" with Kiesha Battles. Kristine is an internationally recognized Yoga Therapist and Yoga Teacher trainer who has presented internationally and founder of the Subtle Yoga, the first training for behavioral health professionals in the country. Kristine has trained thousands of people around the world since 2003. Her journey with Yoga began in middle school when she joined the "Yoga Club" that one of her teacher's provided. She remembers the transformational experience she had. Yoga continued to be a constant in her life when she moved to Washington, D.C to San Francisco, and on to Japan to teach English. From there, she was drawn to explore Yoga even more and decided to tour India for 2 years. After her experiences in Ashrams and with her teachers, she knew she had to share what she learned to those struggling with mental health upon returning to the States. Subtle Yoga was born in 2006 and in 2009, she began presenting at the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville. Kristine is married to a Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist so many of their conversations have centered around the intersection of Yoga and Mental Health. Back then, Yoga wasn't as trauma-informed as it is today and she found a niche in training Mental Health professional Yoga to bring to their clients. In 2012, she started her first 200-hour training that was also supported by a major continuing education provider. She continued to find how powerful it was to put Yoga training in the hands of professionals who were already trauma-informed and had strong ethics. It has been her mission to bring more professionalism to Yoga. She began offering courses online 2 years ago and her reach continues to broaden. Kristine's Subtle Yoga is accessible, person-centered, low-risk, and low-cost as an intervention. It can be applied in a therapy space, Yoga studio, gym, etc. One of her teacher's, Gary Kraftsow(Viniyoga), has influenced her development of Subtle Yoga. There are lots of repeated poses and moving with the breath. Kristine thinks about sequencing poses in regards to the nervous system. "I think about my sequencing in terms of where do we want to take the nervous system; do we want to go in the direction of energy and nourishment, do we need to stimulate the system a little bit, do we need to go in the direction of letting go and lightening or helping folx to feel more relaxed." Fast forward to 2016, Kristine was asked to speak at an Integrative Health Conference in Charlotte, NC right after Keith Lamont Scott was murdered. She found that no one was talking about the protests and what was happening right outside the conference. She decided to speak to social, economic, and environmental determinants of health that account for the majority of health outcomes. "I've felt very passionate about social justice for a long time and I see it as intimately connected to the Yoga process." Earlier in 2020 when the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, Kristine reached out to Kiesha Battles, a former student of hers, and asked if she would be willing to collaborate on a course regarding racism as viewed from the lens of the Yamas and Niyamas, the yoga ethical principles. "Where they really shine is when you operationalize them and you think about them in terms of a particular problem, in this case racism, and then really how do I use these ethics to take right action in the world?" In her career, Kristine has been influenced by Gary Kraftsow, the founder of Viniyoga, Susan Andrews, a Yoga teacher in Brazil, Gabor Mate's book "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts," Bessel Van Der Kolk's book, "The Body Keeps the Score," Barbara Frederickson's book, "Love 2.0," and her husband Brett Sculthorp. In Charlotte, Kristine is inspired by Kiesha Battles, a Yoga Instructor, Samantha Leonard of Davidson Yoga Therapy, Sherry Lyerly Tarner, of Pure Wellness and Healing, all of the owners of Yoga Studios navigating COVID-19, and Dr. Lisette Holland, a Physical Therapist. Kristine wants to help others heal because she has received so much from Yoga and for her, there is no other choice but to give it back. Her advice to those seeking healing is to find a good therapist and trust yourself. Find more about her program, "Yoga Ethics for Transforming Racism."

In this episode, we have the pleasure of talking with Kiesha Battles of I Am Yoga and co-creator of the "Yoga Ethics for Transforming Racism" program with Kristine Kaoverii Weber of Subtle Yoga. "It's the conversation that we hope that people are open to having because with this Yoga, you know it's more than doing, it's taking action and what we are trying to do is take that action of just sharing more of the tools and the practices that can benefit us in this world. We both have this understanding that there are many paths to Yoga, and not all of them focus on the ethical principles. So what we want to do is share with people that they are there." Her Yoga journey began when she found a flyer in the hallway of her graduate program in Asian Studies. She started out studying the Iyengar method and after moving to Charlotte, began practicing more Vinyasa and Power Yoga. She's completed two 200-hour Yoga Teacher programs, the first being with Kristine and the second with her mentor Maya Breuer. She's also completed a 300-hour program with Maya and is currently in another with Embodied Philosophy. Presently, she is the Yoga Director at Charlotte Family Yoga and founder of I Am Yoga where she leads Yoga Teacher Training programs and provides Accessible Yoga. Kiesha is a full time Yoga teacher with over 20 years of experience. Before COVID, she was teaching 20 classes a week to over 300 students. During COVID, she found herself with more time on her hands by not driving from class to class. This intersection paired with the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement provided the opportunity to co-create with Kristine. Kiesha's study of Yoga Philosophy began when developing her research paper for Kristine's 200-hour Training Program on "Why Don't African Americans Do Yoga." This research led her to Maya Breuer, her "Grandmother of Yoga." She attended her Yoga Retreat for Women of Color and began private studies with her afterwards on Living Yoga. She studied intimately with Maya for years going deeper and deeper with the Yamas and Niyamas(Ethical Principles of Yoga). She then began practicing with Kelley Palmer in Charlotte who was integrating the Yoga principles more directly. This partnership with Kristine reminds Kiesha of Yin and Yang. Not only by the styles they teach, Kristine teaching more of an active style and Kiesha teaching Yin, but by who they are as women. Each present the Yamas or Niyamas as it relates to racism, humanities, and ethics, paired with a physical practice. All proceeds go towards scholarship foundations for BIPOC organizations; Black Yoga Teacher Alliance and I Am Yoga. After 1 month of offering the program, they have been able to contribute $3k to each organization. She believes this program gives the participant a path to change and understand racism through the lens of the ethical principles of Yoga. "What are your values? What are the values that you hold true that you would stand your ground for, that you would fight for, that you would be willing to die for. For some people in our path, it could be God, it could be Spirit. For some people it's love and for some people it's country. But what are you holding true as a value outside of who you vote for?" Maya Breuer has been influential in Kiesha's work and from her she found T.K.V Desikachar's book "The Heart of Yoga" which has done the same for her. Candace Jennings, her partner in I Am Yoga was influential in developing her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training. Kiesha enjoys working with everybody as she believes working with everybody provides her an opportunity to learn. She wants to Heal Charlotte because she is a loyalist. She moved to the Carolinas during her adolescent years and is now so embedded in the community here, she wants Charlotte to be well. In Charlotte, she's inspired by Candace Jennings, her business partner and bodyworker, her Mom as she has found healing in the extra time spent with her after surgery, interactions with her friends during COVID, and Key Baldwin, her Reiki Master. Dr. Tony Peters is another bodyworker in Charlotte who Kiesha appreciates. "If you are looking for healing, ask for it, there are so many resources out there and there's no one right way of healing." Learn more about "Yoga Ethics for Transforming Racism."

Kristine Weber is a leading world authority on the neuroscientific benefits of slow, mindful yoga and an advocate for the use of these practices as an integral part of the solution to the healthcare crisis. She is leading the charge to get slow, mindful practices to people who desperately need them through her Subtle® Yoga Revolution series of online courses and trainings for yoga teachers, which have been praised by thousands all over the world. She has been training mental health professionals to use yoga in their clinical practices for over a decade at the Mountain Area Health Education Center, which is associated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In March 2019, Kristine was invited to speak to staff and members of the U.S. Congress at Capitol Hill about the potential benefits of yoga therapy in the Healthcare System. Kristine has been studying yoga and holistic healing for more than thirty years, teaching yoga since 1995 and training teachers since 2003 or organization provides holistic mind-body trainings and clinical services with the mission of enhancing community health infrastructure. Kristine presents workshops and trainings internationally and is frequently invited to speak about yoga at Health Care conferences and on podcasts. She has published a book in many articles written book chapters and is currently conducting research on subtle yoga for addiction recovery. She lives in Asheville North Carolina with her New Zealander husband Brett, son Bhaerava and neuroprotective cat, Jerry. Find out more at subtleyoga.com.

Waves that break on the shore do not take birth at the shore. Their source is far and deep in the unknown of the ocean depths. The same is with our minds. In order to abolish the miseries of life, we have to go back to their source deep in us. In this session, we take a journey backward from gross to subtle, from mind to heart to being. Join me in a 30 min meditation session every day at 7 AM CET on my website: https://www.dhyanse.com/live/ Each session is unique, starts with a 5-10 min discourse, followed by 20 min Guided Meditation.   If you have any questions, please write to me on hello@dhyanse.com   Be Well, Dhyanse.   ======   WHO AM I:   I am Dhyanse, a Meditation Master with a contemporary approach to Yoga, Zen and Tantra. I live in Switzerland/Germany area since 2008 and bring the authentic art of meditation from India to the western world.   My work on Meditative Wisdom is a tribute as well as a succession to the contributions by Osho, Krishnamurti, Gurdjieff, Alan Watts, Aldous Huxley, Shivananda, Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Maharishi Ramana, Papaji and many more...who transformed my life in the first place.   More on my website: https://www.dhyanse.com/

They say that the subtle aspects of yoga are the most powerful and transformative. Our guest this week knows all about this… and more. Chara and Maria talk with Kristine Kaoverri Weber, a dear friend of Maria’s who knew her as a fledgling self-care evangelist back in graduate school. It was a wonderful and very wide-ranging conversation about everything from self care and social justice, to marketing and weight loss with a touch of neuroscience and generous sprinkling of yogic wisdom for good measure!Highlights from our chat include:How Kristine has been coping with these strange timesThe importance of creating safe communities online - “watch parties”The reason Kristine teaches yoga to behavioural health professionalsHow subtle yoga can address the crisis of self loathing in the worldHow the systems of racism are toxically intertwined with the systems of trauma.How self care for clinicians will create a foundation for offering trauma informed careSelf care beyond Netflix, wine and a mani-pedi.What is the actual work of yoga?How subtle is different from gentle.Why active relaxation is more effective for losing weight than exerciseHow do we make yoga more accessible?Kristine defines the challenge of public health.

Laura is a certified Hatha yoga teacher with additional training in Yoga Nidra, Somayog and Subtle Yoga. These practices support brain function by using research-based neuroscience blended with traditional yoga. When she is not teaching yoga Laura can be found in the college classroom where she teaches child development and play-based learning theory. Laura is an Early Childhood Educator with a BA in Psychology and a M.Ed in college teaching. Laura is the creator and lead trainer of Calm Kids Yoga Teacher Training. She holds certifications in Radiant Child Children's Yoga and is also an Infant Massage Instructor. Laura is also an amateur photographer. Click here to look at her photographs. www.yellowhousephotography.ca Laura is offering 10% off her private yoga package combo of 4 sessions. Just mention Yogacises when you reach out to her. www.yogachelsea.ca www.calmkidsyoga.ca The podcast version of this interview is available on yogacises.com Yogacises Monthly Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2rWPUaZ Linkedin: https://bit.ly/2YlgYMU Join yogacises free group for yoga, meditation, fitness and nutrition tips https://bit.ly/2rkm2Fg Twitter: https://bit.ly/2E00v7T Pinterest www.pinterest.com/yogacises

This week on the podcast I am joined by Kristine Weber from Subtle Yoga. Kristine has been teaching yoga for 25 years, training yoga teachers since 2009, and has begun training health professionals on the importance of a yoga practice for healing.  When Kristine started teaching yoga, she immediately feel in love with the slower, more subtle aspects of the practice. Over the years, she has brought the more subtle, slower aspects of yoga into her teaching.  On this episode, Kristine and I talk about the importance of the subtle practice, why we need to learn more about the nervous system and how yoga impacts that, the importance of slowing down, and all of the business lessons that Kristine has learned throughout her career!  Enjoy!  I am very excited to announce to be partnered with Punchpass! Punchpass is a booking software that lets you effortlessly manage your customers, the passes they purchase, and the classes they attend. It's the simplest, most flexible tool you'll find, and you get exactly what you need without the headache. They offer three plans so you don't have to pay for features you don't use, and on top of that, they have top notch customer service -- go ahead & give their free trial a try to see for yourself! With Punchpass, you can focus on the business you enjoy, and let them take the hassle off your hands. One of the things that I love most about Punchpass is that they are a small business just like you, and they are made for you. Head on over to https://punchpass.com/mbom to start your free trial today! The FavYogis app is back with new features for teachers that let you create and manage your own private classes while making payment and registration a breeze. Do you have regular private clients? Make life easier with AUTO-PAY. Forget about remembering to Venmo. Use auto-pay to enable repeat payments and keep calendars in sync with classes. Google Calendar integration automatically updates teacher and student classes when you make changes It's STILL just your yoga; teachers add classes, students add teachers, and teachers and students stay connected. Find FavYogis on your app store and use code MBOM. Has your yoga studio’s growth become stagnant? If you’re like many studio owners I talk to, you’ve tried every marketing tactic under the sun. You started a blog, you’re posting regularly on all the social media sites, running challenges, sending out newsletters blah blah blah. Long story short, you’re doing a TON of work… and barely paying the bills. What if there was an easier way? A way to get new students regularly coming through your door without having do work so darn hard to get them there? A Proven system that will consistently bring in 20+ new paying students to your studio each and every month? Well there is…. Ron Medlin and his team at www.getyogastudents.com have developed a 3-step system that will help you quickly grow your yoga studio to 6-figure profits and beyond without being shackled to your business. This episode is brought to you in part by OfferingTree. When you’re a yoga teacher and you’re trying to build your digital presence it can be daunting.  First you might need a website. There are a lot of great tools for building websites like wordpress, wix and squarespace.  Then you need a way to email your students.  Again there are tools for that like mail chimp and constant contact.  But that’s another account to pay for and a password to remember.  Then you need a way to schedule and register your students.  Again there are tools for that, but it’s another account to create and pay for and another password to remember.  Oh wait, how do I integrate my scheduling tool with my website… Arghhhh! Instead of putting all of this stuff off for another day because it’s too daunting, let me tell you about a better way.  OfferingTree set out to make creating your digital presence fun, easy and affordable. With one account you can create a website in minutes that has your schedule built right in.  They also have email marketing tools to collect email addresses, send newsletters and automated emails to your subscribers. It all works seamlessly together with one account and one subscription.  To learn more about what OfferingTree can do for your digital presence visit offeringtree.com/mbom.  OfferingTree has been supporting MBOM for close to a year now and I not only love the product, but I also love the people! OfferingTree is providing special pricing for MBOM listeners so be sure to visit offeringtree.com/mbom to receive the discount.

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  

In this episode I had the opportunity to interview the founder and director of Subtle Yoga, Kristine Kaoverii Weber. We spoke about the methodology of SubtleYoga and SubtleHealth, more broadly about the importance of the subtle body in yoga therapy, the differences in terms of physiology and neurobiology between slow and fast yoga, and why she believes yoga should be integrated into our health care system.Support the show (https://innerpeaceyogatherapy.com)

In this recording I briefly discuss Prana, Chakras and Nadis all components of our subtle yoga anatomy.

In this recording we take a brief look at the 7 chakras and the corresponding physical associations in the body.

Download the podcast here Yoga Teacher Training Part 4 - Reflection 1:54 Introduction of series guests: Maria Kirsten of Yoga for Grownups, Flo Fenton of In Touch Yoga Byron Bay, and Kristine Koverii Weber of Subtle Yoga. 2:40 All guests thought that the basic yoga training was inadequate as a stand alone system for producing yoga teachers. Maria Kirsten believes that to fully understand a subject one needs  to acquire the knowledge, apply that knowledge and then reflect on the application to know what additional knowledge is needed. This is a lifelong requirement as knowledge changes often and new ways of thinking and doing are always available. Flo is concerned by the business model used by many teacher training courses, the lack of time to practice teaching the public, and the little face-to-face time with experienced teachers. Kristine talked about her experience of being a mentor and mentee and the benefits of both. 6:55 Flo discussed Yoga Australia's proposed policy on auditing certified teacher training courses. Most will have a desk audit (responding to a set of questions developed by Yoga Australia) and one will have a site audit by Yoga Australia personnel. Although a good start on policy, it needs to have more thought into the implementation of policy. 11:00 Kristine suggests that the 200 level become a lifestyle course while the 500 level become the basic teacher training course. 16:53 How to choose a 200 level course: Flo Fenton suggests that potential students of a yoga teacher training course (after finding some courses that meet their personal goals) ask these questions: Does the course require that trainees have experience taking yoga classes and if so for how long? Is the content up-to-date? Do students have the opportunity for ongoing support after graduation? Are graduates confident in their ability to teach – have they had the opportunity to practice teaching the public several times during the course? What is the teacher/student ratio? She also suggests that the perfect teacher training course have the following elements or results which is another way that a potential teacher could choose a training: More time Requires commitment and discipline Minimum of one year of contact Lots of time for students to practice and practice teaching. Know how to differentiate themselves from other teachers Must have attended yoga classes for at least a year. How to maintain student clientele and conduct a business Kristine has provided a PDF  on how to choose a basic training course which includes first deciding what is the person's goals for training and then researching and asking questions of potential training courses. 21:00 Perception of the professionalism of yoga teachers. Yoga research shows more and more benefits of yoga for people's wellness levels. Yoga teachers and therapists could become part of a team of wellness professionals to assist those with certain issues. To be considered for that kind of collaboration, yoga teachers and yoga therapists have to be considered professionals. Does the basic 200 hour training provide that professionalism? Resourses: Maria Kirsten: www.yogaforgrownups.com Flo Fenton: www.intouchyogabyronbay.com Kristine Koverii Weber: www.subtleyoga.com PDF on how to choose a basic yoga teacher training: Go to www.subtleyoga.com, sign up for Kristine's newsletter and they will send you the PDF.

Guest: Kristine Kaoverii Weber Kristine Kaoverii Weber, the founder of Subtle Yoga, has trained extensively in a wide variety of yoga styles and in Asian bodywork and homeopathy. She is the director of Subtle Health, LLC, which provides holistic yoga based trainings, education and services to enhance community health infrastructure. Kaoverii's web site: http://www.subtleyoga.com/ Check out our Inspir-Edu-taining Upcoming Shows! Listen to our Past Shows on Podcast/itunes Integrated Health 4 You: http://www.ih4y.com/