Skillful Means Podcast

In the First Foundation of Mindfulness, the Buddha shared several practices that were intended to help practitioners release their attachments to the body. Whether we are concerned about it's size and shape, the body's age, specific parts... we're encouraged to experience the body as it simple is: comprised of hard and soft tissues... organs... parts.

In this month's guided practice, Jen shares a variation on the contemplation of the anatomy of the body.

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

We...

We are thrilled to welcome Sarah Powers, author and co-founder of the Insight Yoga Institute, onto the show to talk about embodying the qualities of love and compassion. This is the "finale" episode our series on the 12 Embodiments of Yoga.

Sarah was the perfect guest for this topic as compassion is such a central theme in her teachings. Throughout the sweeping conversation, Sarah helps trace the line between practicing on a mat and love and compassion as an orientation towards living life.

Notable touchpoints include:
~ why starting a practice with self-compassion sets...

While we may train up mindfulness in formal settings, our true aim is to become present and aware all the time. So, at some point, we must take the practice off the cushion or mat and point it towards the everyday things that we usually take for granted.... washing our hands, preparing a meal, folding laundry.

In this guided practice, Jen guides you to mindfully eat an orange. Even if you don't particularly like oranges, this is still a surprisingly potent practice because it helps us to separate the experience of mindfulness from what we prefer, enjoy...

In their continuing exploration of Annie's 12 Embodiments of Yoga, in this episode, Annie and Jen discuss the nuances of Kindness and Generosity.

While this may seem like a breezy topic, these qualities (and their corresponding actions) ask of us a certain amount of magnanimity that has to be cultivated and applied intentionally.  Jen & Annie look at how to do that and how their own orientation has changed over their decades as practitioners. 

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We love to hear from you! Reach out to us on  Facebook and Instagram. We also welcome your messages at feedback@ski...

Jen continues her series on Mindfulness of the Body variations with an exploration of standing, one of the four traditional meditation postures.

Standing practice can be a respite for many who find sitting for long stretches uncomfortable. And standing can quickly become uncomfortable itself, which his why it is a potent posture to practice with.

But mostly, this is one of Jen's favorite meditation postures because you can practice it almost anywhere you happen to be standing in line.

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into...

We're back from an unplanned hiatus with our continuing series on Annie's Twelve Embodiments of Yoga. This month, Jen and Annie are chatting about the role of wonder and whimsy in practice. Jen is a little skeptical, especially with whimsy, having generally approached her practice as a serious endeavor. Listen in to see if Annie can bring her around.

Mentioned on the Show:
"Yoga and the Quest for the True Self" by Stephen Cope
"Wonder – is not precisely Knowing" by Emily Dickinson

What We're Reading:
"Let the Great Wo...

Jen's back with a series new series of guided practices exploring different ways of working with the body to establish mindful awareness. Pulled from teachings in the Buddha's Four Foundations of Mindfulness, our hope is that cultivating mindfulness through the body will help you to find grounded stability and continuity in your connection to the present moment. 

In this first of five practices, you'll explore Mindfulness of Body Posture, a teaching that can be transferred to any shape whether you're standing, sitting, lying on the beach, or even in a yoga posture. Jen uses Half Butterfly, a s...

Unlike all other biological organisms who have built-in mechanisms to maintain homeostasis, human minds are at the mercy of themselves. They gallivant around, unchecked, until we choose to rein our own thoughts in.

In this guided practice, Annie offers a method for helping those galloping thoughts to gently return to a centered place in the body that can orient the mind around gentle peace.   

Meditation starts at 2:03.

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

We welcome your comments. Follow us...

Continuing with our exploration of Annie's 12 Embodiments of yoga, Jen and Annie chat about sacrifice and spaciousness. With Jen feeling like sacrifice is a loaded term, they spend some time unpacking what is really expected of us when it comes to spiritual growth. In particular, they explore how sacrifice is a necessary natural process and creates the conditions for the spaciousness that promotes the ease and wellbeing we want our practice to foster. 
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We love to hear from you! Reach out to us on  Facebook and Instagram. We also welcome your messages at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com or...

In this guided practice, Annie shares inspiration from recent scientific breakthroughs in nuclear fusion.

She suggests that we can turn simple inward focus into bright, shining energetic presence to generate our own little sunbursts of kindness, patience, and compassion.

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

We welcome your comments. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, send us a note at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com, or leave us a voicemail at https://www.speakpipe.com/skillfulmeanspodcast.

You can find  Annie a...

In this meditation, Annie guides you through a practice of making space for others, especially those who share different philosophical or political beliefs or who we find emotionally activating. Instead of trying to find common ground, Annie offers the option of rooting yourself in the present moment while inviting spacious, peaceful presence to guide you.

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

We welcome your comments. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, send us a note at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com, or leave us...

Continuing our exploration of embodied qualities of Yoga, Jen & Annie discuss the nuances of Courage and how it's a necessary ingredient for our Practice.

They also share how they're getting ready for the Winter season. 

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Reach out to us on  Facebook and Instagram. We also welcome your messages at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com or in our voicemail box on SpeakPipe.

You can get in touch with Jen through her website (http://www.sati.yoga).

Find Annie at  Sun & Moon Yoga Studio (https://www.sunandmoonstudio.com) on Wednesday nights (in person or...

Dovetailing on our conversations on embodiment, Annie's back with a guided practice that reframes distracting thoughts by laying a simple and straightforward path an easy breath. In this practice, Annie share's the mindfulness technique of noting, which draws compassionate attention to rumination while giving you the option of choosing not to stay there.

We hope this will be of benefit.

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

We welcome your comments. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, send us a note...

In this episode, Jen and Annie take a look at two of Annie's 12 Embodiments: quiet and attention. The sweeping conversation covers a lot of ground from inner spaciousness, meeting emotions with compassion, quietude in relationship, beginners mind, quality of attention, and is it creepy to do nothing at a coffee shop?

They also share a few "hacks" that are saving their lives right now.

Mentioned in this episode:
Alter Eco Chocolate Bars
Hungry Lady Salads by Kathleen Ashmore
Pets + Oxytocin

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Reach out to us on  Facebook a...

Join Annie Moyer as she guides you through an exploration of embodied listening, connecting you to the subtle vibrations of sound that can be felt throughout the body.

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

We welcome your comments. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, send us a note at feedback@skillfulmeanspodcast.com, or leave us a voicemail at https://www.speakpipe.com/skillfulmeanspodcast.

You can find  Annie at https://www.sunandmoonstudio.com where she offers dharma talks and meditation on W...

The word embodiment is becoming as ubiquitous as mindfulness these days. Wondering if the word is drifting in meaning, Annie and Jen look at what embodiment is through several lens including spirituality, philosophy and psychology. They also point out ways in which something may appear to be embodied but not. 

And this is all a lead up to a series of upcoming explorations in what Annie has dubbed "The 12 Embodiments of Yoga." 

Mentioned in this episode:
"Years and Years" on HBO
"Upload" on Amazon Prime
"Futurama"
Bo Forbes
Jo...

In our fifth and final Short Yin Yoga Practice Snack, Jen shares offers some relief for the upper back, a common area of tension for a lot of people. 

Throughout the practice, she'll also help you mindfully attend to your breath as a way of gathering and calming the mind. 

Postures in this practice: 

Props you might need:

Visit our Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/skillfulmeanspodcast/) for a time lapse video of this practice if you aren't familiar with the...

In this month's conversation, Annie and Jen are exploring the question: who's the real teacher in the yoga room? To put another way, how do we balance listening to our own inner guidance with that of the person standing at the front of the room? 

The discussion spans a range or themes around agency, autonomy and what's the purpose of the teacher in spiritual life and practice. 

Mentioned on the Show
Sarah Powers
Stephen Bachelor
adrienne maree brown

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Reach out to us on  Facebook and Instagram. We...

In our fourth Short Yin Yoga Practice Snack, Jen skillfully and tenderly guides you through a sequence of postures for the thighs and back. Because the thighs, in particular, can be a challenging target area, she also offers nervous system support with gentle breath work and visualization.

Postures in this practice: 

Props you might need:

Visit our Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/skillfulmeanspodcast/) for a time lapse video of this practice if you aren't familiar with the postures.

We're continuing our exploration of opposites in the way that yoga is practiced and taught with a look at the debate over form and function when it comes to asana. How do we stay safe in the yoga room? Should we focus on how the postures look and try to work towards alignment paradigms? Or should we focus on the why? We also dive into deeper questions around the overall purpose of asana in the broader context of yoga practice and how Instagram Yogis are impacting how we think about asana.

Mentioned on the Show<...

In the third  Short Yin Yoga Practice Snack, Jen guides three postures for the upper chest and arms. This little practice is a nice antidote to desk posture. 

She also shares encourages to become more familiar with the feelings that arise when we practice, holding whatever arises in a compassionate container. 

Postures in this practice: 

Props you might need:

Visit our Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/skillfulmeanspodcast/) for a time lapse video of this practice if you aren...

In this month's discussion, Annie and Jen unpack sutra 2.33 from "The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali." When negative thoughts arise, this sutra advises that we cultivate the opposite.

Is Patanjali advocating for spiritual bypassing? Or is this an early form of cognitive behavior therapy?

And how might more modern interpretations of this sutra be used to inadvertently cause harm?

Mentioned in this episode:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali translation and commentary by Alistair Shearer
Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga by Georg Feuerstein
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong<...

In this second  Short Yin Yoga Practice Snack, Jen shares three postures that target the inner and outer thighs to help promote gracefulness and mobility in areas that are often stiff. 

Jen also sprinkles in a dash of mindfulness of body sensation while encouraging you to also notice the way your mind reacts to being in the postures. 

Postures in this practice: 

Props you might need:

Visit our Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/skillfulmeanspodcast/) for a tim...

In the next few discussion episodes, Annie and Jen will explore some of the common opposites that show up in our practices spaces and in conversations among practitioners and teachers.

They start things off with the friction between purusha (unbounded consciousness) and prakriti (form/matter), which are outlined in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as the framework for understanding our existence in the universe. How does one balance the needs of the form body with the spiritual aims of practice? Are we too enamored with the physical aims of practice or too pre-occupied with transcending form? 

M...