Accessible Yoga Podcast

The information on this Podcast does not constitute medical or other professional advice and should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your physician, psychotherapist, or other health care provider.  Please note, the views, information, or opinions expressed during this program are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Accessible Yoga Association, its Board of Directors, and its employees. Robin Rothenberg, C-IAYT is a long time yoga therapist and yoga researcher. She serves as Chair of the Accreditation Committee for the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) as well as the Advisory Council. She has presented on lower back pain at SYTAR (Symposium for Yoga Therapy and Research) and is considered one of the foremost experts in the area of yoga therapy for lower back pain. Her ability to speak articulately to the way in which yoga impacts the nervous system, mind and emotions has led to her presenting at both NAMA (National Ayurvedic & Medical Association) and SYTAR on the subjects of anxiety and stress. For the past three years, Robin has immersed herself in a personal study of the breath, of the ancient teachings on pranayama, and the science of respiratory physiology. The result of this inquiry has her calling for a “Breath Revolution” in the yoga community. Her new book, released in 2020, Restoring Prana: A Guide to Pranayama and Healing Through the Breath, suggests a serious re-evulation of the ‘big breathing’ habit, and a scientifically supported return to the roots of yoga which teach us to retain prana, by minimizing breath while increasing breath suspensions. She is currently researching yoga for long COVID.  In this episode they discuss: Robin’s interest in prana and pranayama  Common misconceptions and mistakes that yoga teachers make in the area of teaching and practicing pranayama  Importance of CO2 levels in the body Breathing through the nose Keeping the breath slow and close to the body She leads Jivana through a short pranayama practice Connect with Robin on her website: Essential Yoga Therapy Robin's books:  Restoring Prana: A Guide to Pranayama and Healing Through the Breath  The Svadhyaya Breath Journal

In episode 49,  Amber and Jivana reflect on how constantly changing circumstances surrounding COVID are shaping their personal and professional lives. We’ll discuss how we are each navigating the burnout and hopelessness that many of us are feeling, as well as ways we are responding. We discuss strengthening community bonds, practical tools for navigating anxiety and uncertainty, and Jivana leads us in a simple breath awareness meditation that can be done while wearing a mask.  In this episode: Amber & Jivana check in and catch up We discuss the parallels Jivana is noticing between the government’s response to the current pandemic and the AIDS epidemic  We explore our current thoughts around individual responsibility and collective care, including how we are interpreting the yoga teachings in this moment We discuss how ableism is continuing to show up in the pandemic and how that connects to yoga How we are navigating constantly changing circumstances with our work How we are coping with our own anxiety in this moment How mask wearing brings awareness to breath Jivana leads us in a short breath awareness meditation that you can do while wearing a mask   Resources: Quotes from this episode: Desmond Tutu “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” “I am often struck by the dangerous narcissism fostered by spiritual rhetoric that pays so much attention to individual self-improvement and so little to the practice of love within the context of community.” - bell hooks Elie Wiesel,”We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Links Wolf Terry yoga journal article, “Getting Vaxed Was My Act of Ahimsa”: https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/philosophy/covid-vaccine/ Jivana’s new book, Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage & Compassion

Jacoby Ballard is a social justice educator and yoga teacher in Salt Lake City, Utah known for his playfulness, heart-opening, and commitment to change from the inside out. As a yoga teacher with 20 years of experience, he leads workshops, retreats, teacher trainings, teaches at conferences, and runs the Resonance mentorship program for certified yoga teachers to find their niche and calling. In 2008, Jacoby co-founded Third Root Community Health Center in Brooklyn, to work at the nexus of healing and social justice. Since 2006, Jacoby has taught Queer and Trans Yoga, a space for queer folks to unfurl and cultivate resilience. Jacoby received Yoga Journal’s Game Changer Award in 2014 and Good Karma Award in 2016. Jacoby has taught in schools, hospitals, non profit and business offices, a maximum security prison, a recovery center, a cancer center, LGBT centers, gyms, a veteran’s center, and yoga studios. He leads workshops and trainings around the country on diversity, equity, and inclusion and consults on DEI for yoga and meditation organizations. He is the author of A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation, released in 2021.  In this episode, Jivana and Jacoby discuss: Jacoby’s book: A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation   What do queer spaces look like in yoga and spirituality? How did Jaocby find his voice in writing this book? What is the role of anger in spiritual practice? How can you release the energy of anger safely? What is the relationship between yoga/dharma and social justice? How do you find equanimity while still fighting for change? How does he feel about having his book out in the world?    

Michelle C. Johnson is an author, yoga teacher, social justice activist, licensed clinical social worker and Dismantling Racism trainer. She approaches her life and work from a place of empowerment, embodiment, and integration. With a deep understanding of trauma and the impact that it has on the mind, body, spirit and heart, much of her work focuses on helping people better understand how power and privilege operate in their life. She explores how privilege, power and oppression affects the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and energy body. In episode 47, Jivana and Michelle discuss: The 2nd edition of Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World The Bhagavad Gita Bringing real world experience into yoga spaces The connection between social justice and yoga Dharma Staying inspired in social justice work Actionable Love Karma Yoga How to take your yoga off the mat Shared humanity How the 2nd edition of Skill in Action offers guidance and tools for what’s happening now Michelle’s next book about healing in community

Marlysa Sullivan is a physiotherapist and yoga therapist with over 15 years of experience working with people suffering with chronic pain conditions. She is the physical therapy coordinator of the empower veterans program which provides an integrative model in working with people with chronic pain at the Veterans Administration. She is an Assistant Professor in Yoga Therapy and Integrative Health Sciences at Maryland University of Integrative Health and holds an adjunct position at Emory University, where she teaches the integration of yoga and mindfulness into physical therapy practice in the DPT program. She is also the author of Understanding Yoga Therapy: Applied Philosophy and Science for Well-being and co-editor of Yoga and Science in Pain Care: Treating the Person in Pain as well as several peer-reviewed articles. Marlysa has been involved in the professionalization of the field of yoga therapy through the educational standards committee of IAYT, which helped to define the competencies for the field, and in characterizing the yoga therapy workforce through research. Her research interests focus on defining the framework and explanatory model for yoga therapy based on philosophical and neurophysiological perspectives. In episode 46, Jivana and Marlysa discuss: Marlysa’s book and the way she connects yoga therapy to traditional yoga philosophy concepts Yoga therapy’s evolution in the West Cultural appropriation vs. making the teachings accessible Her research on Polyvagal Theory and the connection to the yoga concept of the gunas Her work with people with chronic pain at the VA (Veteran’s Administration) How to teach yoga to people with chronic pain Focus on agency and empowerment Connect with Marlysa on her website and purchase her book: Understanding Yoga Therapy: Applied Philosophy and Science for Health and Well-Being. Yoga Therapy and Polyvagal Theory: The Convergence of Traditional Wisdom and Contemporary Neuroscience for Self-Regulation and Resilience Jeremy Engles, The Ethics of Oneness: Emerson, Whitman and the Bhagavad Gita

In episode 45, Amber and Jivana share tips for keeping students safer in yoga classes. In this episode we’ll explore how the methods we use to teach can contribute to an environment of safety for our community. Amber and Jivana will discuss practical tools they use to help students tap into their personal power and listen to their bodies, rather than striving or competing to keep up with the rest of the class. We’ll talk about strategies for empowering students, how to bring in yoga philosophy and subtle practices to help students connect with their bodies, and we’ll give specific examples of language we use to create a culture of permission and agency for our students.  In Episode 45: Amber & Jivana discuss their recent injuries and how they are relating to them Resource: Ann Swanson, Science of Yoga book Research on how props don’t automatically make students safer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6664709/) The way we create the container for a class can help keep students safer We should teach our students what yoga really is (not just advanced asana)  Honoring the wholeness of the yoga practice in our teaching helps people feel included, creates a sense of belonging, avoids cultural appropriation, and more Giving our students agency and personal power helps them find the appropriate place for their practice, rather than encouraging striving or conforming Resource: On agency and personal power - M. Camellia Explicit ways to create safety in class, including what we say out loud, establishing general guidelines & classroom norms How you perceive your role as a teacher, and how to speak on that to redistribute power Examples of specific language cues we can use to create safety and turn students’ attention inward Resource: On language and “verbalize to normalize” - Dianne Bondy What to do when students have conflicting needs Implicit ways of teaching the concept of agency and personal safety include valuing students who practice in a different way Teaching ahimsa and other concepts from yoga philosophy to reinforce this concept Teaching subtle practices, getting the mind involved takes the focus away from physical prowess Learning to listen to the body and cultivate the skill of interoception goes toward giving the student more agency as they understand what’s happening in their bodies How telling students to “stop when you feel pain” is limited when it comes to students with chronic pain or nervous system conditions  Teaching this way is not just about making practices more physically gentle, it’s about getting to a more subtle level of experience by energetically working with the breath Resource: Matthew Sanford's DVD - Beyond Disability We review some techniques we use to help students recognize their “edge” or work with body sensations to find the edge Why identifying and working with our brain’s negative self-talk loop is important to keeping our students’ focus in the most helpful place How encouraging students to observe their thoughts and embody the witness allows for individual experiences This episode's supporting organization is Garden of Yoga. Learn more about becoming an Accessible Yoga Ambassador at the individual level or as a supporting organization at accessibleyoga.org/ambassador-program

In episode 42, Amber Karnes interviews Jivana Heyman about his upcoming book, Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage and Compassion. We discuss what a “yoga revolution” means, the relationship between yoga and social justice, the role of self-care in our work, and much more. This interview invites us to take a look at the “why” behind our personal yoga practice and consider possibilities for expanding how we use our yoga in the world on and off the mat. *Note: Yoga Revolution's publishing date has been pushed back to December 7, 2021. In Episode 42: Why Jivana chose “Yoga Revolution” for the title of his book and what he means by a yoga revolution What does it mean to build a practice of courage and compassion? What is the relationship between yoga and social justice?  How your inner practice affects your actions in the world (activism) and helps us see humanity and honor wholeness The different traditions in yoga on and off the map and a renewed look at the tradition of yoga as a path of service  How Jivana took inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement to fuel his current activism What it means to have a “rainbow mind” or a Queer approach to yoga The role of self care in our service / justice work A question we are sitting with this week: What is the goal or focus of your personal practice (enlightenment, less stress, strength & flexibility, physical healing)? How does that show up in your life? Links from the episode: Learn more and order Yoga Revolution by Jivana Heyman Yoga Revolution free practices Aarti Inamdar Untitled [I talk to my inner lover] by Kabir AY Conference

In episode 43, Jivana interviews Bill Brown from Prison Yoga Project.  In this episode, Jivana and Bill discuss: Bill’s background and personal interests How Bill started his yoga practice How Bill ended up volunteering teaching in prison Childhood trauma How trauma is stored in the body What teaching in prison is like Society failing to care for people COVID disrupting Prison Yoga Project’s work The business back end for people who want to teach yoga in prisons Yoga as shamanistic soul retrieval and relationship building Accessible Yoga Training Prison and disenfranchised people Bill’s experience facilitating classes Supporting students with grounding and emotional release Subtlety in yoga practice Hierarchy and empowerment Neuroscience perspective Letting go of fear and moving into love and connection

In episode 42, we're sharing a recording of Reggie Hubbard's powerful closing keynote from this year's Accessible Yoga Conference online. There are some within the yoga community that think politics and yoga should not mix. That the purpose of yoga is to escape from the pressures of the outside world and find inner peace. But yoga at its essence is the refinement of conscious awareness to meet life circumstances with more clarity, courage and compassion. To find inner peace and then engage with the world more fully - serving from that sense of peace. This talk will explore how to merge yogic practice and civic engagement, as well as why it is important to do so. Reggie will share from his personal experience and teaching practice how yogic practice and civic engagement have become inextricably bound, and how we might better serve our communities, students and society through forming such a union. Connect with Reggie: @oreggieglobal  @activepeaceyoga activepeaceyoga.com Practice Makes Purpose podcast

In episode 41, Amber and Jivana discuss community building and collaboration. As we gear up for the upcoming Accessible Yoga Conference, community is on our mind. In this episode we’ll talk a little bit about our history with community building including Amber’s time in the hardcore punk scene and Jivana’s AIDS activism. We talk about the “how” of collaboration, things to think about when joining a community, and discuss the benefits and challenges of being in community with others. We’ll also talk about why it’s crucial for community builders to unlearn cultural conditioning and examine unconscious bias.  In Episode 41: Amber and Jivana each share about their history with community building, including Amber’s time in the hardcore punk scene and Jivana’s AIDS activism  Jivana talks about how the Accessible Yoga Conference was born What “Jivana’s homework” is and why everyone should do it, even if you’re not at the conference The “how” of collaboration - how to reach out or make a request to someone you’d like to collaborate with Why community is about contribution and mutual support and what questions to ask yourself when you’re trying to fit in Using discernment when joining a community  Challenges of being within community community - normalizing abuse or unhealthy dynamics, requires perspective, discernment, and information gathering How Jivana got started building community with yoga and what keeps students coming back What the Accessible Yoga Ambassador program is and how you can get involved Looking at our unconscious bias as community builders and showing up as an ally in community space How mistakes are actually an opportunity for growth Links: Cheri Clampett’s Therapeutic Yoga Training