Messy, Luminous, Being Podcast
Sarah Beth Hunt
How can we incorporate meditation and spiritual wisdom into the messy realities of our lives? How can we think of spiritual practice as something that happens within life, rather than in retreat?
Hi I'm Sarah, and for years I trained in yoga and a form of Tibetan Buddhist meditation, but found it incredibly difficult with two young children to train in traditional ways which required me to step out of my life to sit on my own. What I have discovered over these many years is that many of us need an adapted form of spiritual practice that fits in with our lives. Especially for women whose approach to spiritual practice may be different.
This podcast is a continuing conversation about how spiritual wisdom can illuminate our messy real lives as women. Sometimes you'll get me with some stuff I've been thinking about. Sometimes you'll get me in conversation with another woman about the realities of their spiritual practice — what it's actually like, how it helps the in practical real-life situations and what inspires them most.
We are Messy. We are Luminous. And just Being.
Hi I'm Sarah, and for years I trained in yoga and a form of Tibetan Buddhist meditation, but found it incredibly difficult with two young children to train in traditional ways which required me to step out of my life to sit on my own. What I have discovered over these many years is that many of us need an adapted form of spiritual practice that fits in with our lives. Especially for women whose approach to spiritual practice may be different.
This podcast is a continuing conversation about how spiritual wisdom can illuminate our messy real lives as women. Sometimes you'll get me with some stuff I've been thinking about. Sometimes you'll get me in conversation with another woman about the realities of their spiritual practice — what it's actually like, how it helps the in practical real-life situations and what inspires them most.
We are Messy. We are Luminous. And just Being.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 13, 2020 • 60min
Episode 034 Your own process & moving through it w/Catherine Annis
Sometimes connecting to yourself is possible, and sometimes it's not. Sometimes all we can do is get through it. But we can find a place...a yoga mat, or whatever your place is. And in that place we can find time and space to sit with how we're really feeling & what's really going on inside of us. These are some of the beautiful insights from my conversation with Catherine Annis in this episode. You can find Catherine's classes, retreats & yoga teacher training at www.catherineannisyoga.co.uk. To get a free printable copy of the Messy Luminous Moments calendar & audio breathing practices head to: https://mailchi.mp/sarahbhunt/calendar And if you'd like to start up a morning practice but would like some motivation, accountability & someone to hold space for you, I'm running free Let's Sit Together sessions every morning M-F at 7am BST on zoom via this link: https://zoom.us/j/129251072 (for those not in the UK, these sessions get uploaded to the Messy Luminous Being Facebook Group which is free to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/416245352437981/
Apr 6, 2020 • 38min
Episode 033 This is a marathon for our minds
The place we really live is in our minds. Any frustrations we have, any fears, loneliness and longings for things we miss...all of it happens within our minds. So now, while we are being challenged with this huge upheaval in our external lives, we can also think about how to support ourselves inside. Marathon runners need the right fuel and training practices to build up stamina. And maybe that's how we can think of this time of social isolation. In this episode I talk about how we can work within ourselves to create inner lives that feel good. To what extent can we soften our resistance to the changes and things we can't control? If there was ever a time to use tools and strategies to support our mindset & inner-wellbeing, it's now.
Mar 30, 2020 • 1h 11min
Episode 032 Finding honesty in your practice w/Fiona Hayhoe-Weiland
As our life changes, our spiritual practice must also change. Our body ages, different times bring different challenges. And allowing ourselves space to acknowledge what's present for us at a particular point in our lives, or even on a particular day, brings a beautiful new level of honesty to our spiritual practice. In this episode, I talk to the lovely Fiona Hayhoe-Weiland about breathing practices she loves and ways she has adapted her practice after having children. We also talk about ageing, how yoga helps us soft into the impermanence of our lives and what she has learned from working with women with cancer in her yoga class.
Mar 23, 2020 • 28min
Episode 031 The cheetah & the most beautiful story of your life
Exercise, spending time in nature, restoring our natural breath and dropping into moments of stillness are essential human experiences. Ones that we seem to have lost in the hubbub of busy life. But as we enter this strange moment where we have been forced to slow down, it might be just the time to remember, these are not bonus extras. These are the essence of the human life. In this episode, I also share a beautiful story of a cheetah who thought she was a lab from Glennon Doyle's new book Untamed, as well as the question she asks that really inspired me.
Mar 16, 2020 • 1h 9min
Episode 030 Finding ease in challenge & stillness in movement w/Lydia Zamorano
Getting out into nature is a beautiful practice, but we all know the saying - wherever you go, there you are. And it can be just as easy to bring our worries with us on our walks. Or feel we can't practice because we're always getting interrupted by our kids. Or maybe feel like we don't know how to unwind from that feeling of push and drive. If this is resonating, you are going to love this episode with Lydia Zamorano. We talk about what it means to establish the mind in stillness, how to practice in the 'construction site' of home life, and why she feels spiritual practice is best experienced in the physical body.
Mar 9, 2020 • 32min
Episode 029: How to stop compartmentalising our inner well-being
When we consider our health & well-being, it's easy to focus on what we eat or how much we exercise. These things feel more tangible and accessible than the more intangible practices we can do to calm our minds or transform destructive thoughts into thoughts that promote joy and inner well-being. But are they so different? In this episode, I get curious about how we sometimes compartmentalise certain practices as "spiritual", which makes them feel mystical & less accessible. Can we start to approach meditation as a very down-to-earth practice integral to our health? And is anything in our lives including how we eat, move, breathe & think NOT spiritual?
Mar 2, 2020 • 1h 9min
Episode 028 Breath Guidance w/Dani Mae
When you feel alone or disconnected remember, the very particles of air you breathe in have come from the trees around you. They are breathing us and we are breathing them. In this episode I talk to Dani Mae about her passion for the ability of the breath to heal us and connect us back with ourselves. We talk about her journey through anxiety, grief and injury as well as the daily challenges of staying centered in this busy world, and how the breath has been the thing to bring her home to herself again and again. Whether you're new to breath work or want to go deeper into the power of breath holds, you're going to love this conversation. To connect with Dani head to @breathguidance on Instagram or www.breathguidance.com
Feb 24, 2020 • 41min
Episode 027 Four unexpected things my meditation practice has given me
Meditation is most commonly known as a practice for calming the mind. And while this is definitely true, there are (at least) four other things my meditation practice has given me over the years that have been really unexpected...and such a joy. In this episode, I talk about what my meditation practice really looks like right now, (not the idealised version, the real messy luminous truth) and how even small doses of stillness each day can lead to profound shifts in our mindset and ability to experience joy.
Feb 17, 2020 • 1h 6min
Episode 026 Connecting to your True North w/Bre Williamson
In this episode I talk with the lovely Bre Williamson about transforming anger & anxiety into a power rather than a hindrance. She shares her favourite meditation practice, the Green Tara sadhana, which connects us to our inner wisdom of compassion through action and the feminine power of creating life. We get real about how parenthood changes our practice and ways we can let go of the "perfect" to reach for the beautiful reality of the journey. You can find Bre on instagram @brecwilliamson and more about her yoga studio True North at www.thecollectiveattruenorth.com
Feb 10, 2020 • 29min
Episode 025 How self-care really works
What do we mean by self-care? And are our acts of self-care genuinely helping us? Or could they sometimes be keeping us stuck in our hectic & overwhelming lifestyles? It feels like the idea of self-care has become ubiquitous for a reason. There is a part of us that genuinely needs care, an aspect of our being that is squeezed out by the busyness of our lives and the demands we are under. But as consumer society co-opts and utilises this idea of self-care to its own ends — to get us to buy stuff — have we lost track of the deeper aim of self-care, which surely is to heal us & bring us back into connection with a life that feels good? Are our go-to self-care practices actually helping us to move towards that life? Or are we relying on imitation practices that act as bandaids and serve only to "keep us coping" and thus stuck in a life that is essentially unhealthy?
