
Spiritual Grit
Welcome to Spiritual Grit, the podcast where we talk real-talk about spirituality through the lens of activism and social justice. What happens when activism and spiritual practices collide? What sparks of change call for the grit we need to create meaningful strides in social justice. I'm your host, Leslieann Hobayan, poet, priestess, activist, professor, hip hop dancer, and bad-ass mama. Join me as we dive in to learn more about our deepest selves so that we can be better ancestors to create a stellar world for our descendants. Grab your dancing shoes and let's get groovy with the grit!
Latest episodes

May 8, 2025 • 31min
Ep 270 - Inspiration and Community
It's a challenge to find inspiration while living in the center of a crumbling émpîre. It's a challenge to remain hopeful while despair pulls us down as the gën/oside in Pal/est/ine continues. But we must continue to dream and imagine - what does the new liberated world look like? How do we keep hope? The short of it is: we need each other more than ever. Tune in to this week's episode to hear more! ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Page of Wands (Reversed)“Migratory Daughter” by Kenji Sy Lu=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Apr 30, 2025 • 33min
Ep 269 - What Feeds You?
With so many blazing fires in the world and the constant upheaval in our daily lives, it's easy to get overwhelmed by what we think needs to get done. What protest do I go to? Do I sit and meditate to help the collective frequency? Do I do both? How? What if nothing I do actually affects any kind of change? But the real question is: how can we focus on what feeds and nourishes us? Yes, we must continue to fight for collective liberation. And yes, we have to tend to the daily responsibilities of caring for ourselves and our families, but can we do them in ways that allow us to feel fed by them? Can we reframe washing dishes into a kind of meditation, for example? When it comes to being a human in the world, are we choosing actions that help to create the life that we envision for ourselves? Or are we doing things out of obligation, things that feel like we *should* do? These are questions I'm asking all of us in this week's episode. Tune in to hear more! ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Nine of Wands (reversed)“Counting Moles” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Apr 23, 2025 • 30min
Ep 268 - Caring for Yourself and the Collective
How do you tune into your intuition and allow yourself to be guided by the Divine if you are too tired? How do you stay steady during these upheavals as émpîre crumbles? In this week's episode, the Hierophant comes to reflect the current time and invites us to examine our limiting beliefs. And in this examination, I am calling for true care of ourselves and of each other. What does this look like? And does it help the fight for lîbérätîon? Tune in!Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Hierophant (reversed)“Meeting a Mirror” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Apr 16, 2025 • 41min
Ep 267 - Best of Spiritual Grit - How to manage overwhelm when everything is crumbling
As émpïré continues to tumble down, it's hard to avoid feeling overwhelmed and helpless. This distracts us from our work towards liberation AND from living our lives. How do we stay sane amidst it all? How do we balance between being fully present in our daily lives and fighting for collective liberation? How do we manage the range of feelings and emotions while staying grounded? Tune into to learn a few tools that can help you stay grounded, clear and focused while also creating joy. ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: The Knight of Swords “This Sky” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini

Apr 9, 2025 • 30min
Ep 266 - Surrender to the Sweetness
With so much upheaval going on and so many fires to put out, it's easy for us to get wrapped up in despair or hopelessness. It's easy for us to get fixated on our activist work and forget about joy. In this week's episode, I talk about how essential it is for us to be present in the now while also looking and imagining a liberated future. We need the sweetness of our lives in order to remember why we're doing this work at all. Tune in to hear some ways to enjoy our lives now, especially as a mode of resistance in the face of oppression.Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Surrender to the Sweetness “Imagination Does Not Exist” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Apr 2, 2025 • 30min
Ep 265 - Best of Spiritual Grit - How Softness Can Help Create Connection
I hate to state the obvious, but we live in a divisive time. Everyone is quick to pick a fight or react with sharpness, even harm. Everyone is in hyper-survival mode. So how are we supposed to create communities of care when we're too busy cutting each other down? How can softness help us remember our common humanity?In this week's episode, I share some insights I learned while laid up in bed for two weeks with the worst case of the flu I'd ever seen, including how we might connect with the simple kindness of a smile. Tune in! ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: Tarot/Oracle Card: The Four of Pentacles “All the Hemispheres” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos” Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter:leslieann.substack.com Instagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRy Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini

Mar 26, 2025 • 34min
Ep 264 - Get somatic with me!
As each day passes and émpïré claws for desperate gasps for life by inflicting more and more harm, it's becoming more and more crucial for us to speak out, to speak truth, to take aligned action. But it can be scary and uncomfortable, activating our sympathetic nervous systems to alert mode. In order for our fight for lîbérätîon to be sustainable, we must listen to our bodies, root down into the Earth, and support ourselves with somatic practices. Tune into this week's episode where I give you some simple practices, which will help ground you and that you can do anywhere.And if you are looking for even more support in grounding yourself during this time of intense upheaval, sign up for my next 4-week Kundalini Yoga series happening on Wednesdays, 9-10:15am ET. We start April 2nd. $100. More info here: https://suryagian.com/anchor-and-amplify ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Major Arcana Card: Judgement“Wow” by Hafiz Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini

Mar 19, 2025 • 32min
Ep 263 - Sharing truth and wisdom to build community
In this week's episode, I'm talking about the importance of sharing our individual gifts and wisdom so that we can co-create a world of liberation. How speaking our truth is crucial to this work. And if we are to build communities of care, we need to remember that communication is a two-way street. It's not just about being clear in what you have to say; it's also about deep listening. When we can consciously collaborate, there is no limit to what we can build. Tune in to hear more! ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Three of Pentacles“Tired of Speaking Sweetly” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Mar 12, 2025 • 41min
Ep 262 - How to manage overwhelm when everything is crumbling
As émpïré continues to tumble down, it's hard to avoid feeling overwhelmed and helpless. This distracts us from our work towards liberation AND from living our lives. How do we stay sane amidst it all? How do we balance between being fully present in our daily lives and fighting for collective liberation? How do we manage the range of feelings and emotions while staying grounded? Tune into to learn a few tools that can help you stay grounded, clear and focused while also creating joy. ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: The Knight of Swords “This Sky” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini

Mar 6, 2025 • 23min
Ep 261 - Best of Spiritual Grit - Listening For Your Soul’s Purpose
How can we navigate in this very noisy world according to our purpose if we can't hear ourselves? How do we know what our soul's purpose is? Do we even need to know what it is?In this week's episode, I give you tips on how to listen deeply to your heart. I also talk about dreams and your heart’s desires. How they are a compass for you. How your purpose plays a role in the collective imagination during a time of disintegration.Tune in to find your way, your path amidst the chaos ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Knight of Wands“I Vote For You For God” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini