From the Heart with Rachel Brathen

Latest Episodes:

The New Normal: Love (and Masks?) In A Time of Corona with Dennis Schoneveld Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

Are you feeling like you are perpetually living in a state of not knowing? You are not alone! As the world struggles through this pandemic, nothing is certain, and no one really has any answers. The best we can do is take good care of ourselves, hold each other up, and listen to Rachel and Dennis try to work through it on the Yoga Girl podcast.

This week’s episode features Rachel’s husband, the man that holds her up, Yoga Girl’s very own producer, tech guy, camera man, the hilarious, distinguished gentleman behind the magic, Dennis Schoneveld!

As Aruba faces a new coronavirus outbreak after opening its borders to the US, Rachel and Dennis contemplate - is this the new normal? Are we all getting used to not knowing what will happen? Are we getting comfortable living in this new normal of not knowing if businesses will be allowed to operate, if schools will open, if daycares and restaurants are safe? Are we supposed to wear masks every day? How long will this last? The new normal is unknown, and everything can change so quickly.

Now, Dennis and Rachel contemplate another lockdown, how they made it through the first one, what will happen in the future, parenting, their businesses and more, all through the lens of the new “normal” and the unknown.

This episode would not be complete without answering some of your questions from IG! Will they have another kid, how did they made it through quarantine, will they run off to Costa Rica and create a surfing commune, will it get better or worse in the future? Tune in to find out!

Diversifying The Wellness Industry with Nicole Cardoza Jul 31, 2020

Show notes

As students and teachers we have a responsibility to look at who is missing in our yoga classes, healing circles and retreats. Healing tools should be available to all! Making a change begins with recognizing just how far we are from equity and diversity in the wellness industry - and taking active steps toward change, every day.

This week Rachel is joined by the fantastically fierce Nicole Cardoza (@nicoleacardoza on Instagram). Nicole is a yoga teacher, wellness expert, entrepreneur, investor and more! As a strong voice in the anti-racism movement, Nicole is the visionary behind Yoga Foster and Reclamation Ventures, two organizations that are bridging the gap in the wellness industry and making tools for healing accessible to all.

This episode will guide you on how to diversify your yoga practice, support marginalized voices within the wellness field, and change the face of the wellness industry. Now is a time to shine a light on the spaces we turn toward for healing – and who is missing from them.

Wherever You Go, There You Are Jul 24, 2020

Show notes

Life is full of so much doing. We move quickly through our day, from working to planning to organizing to… more doing. Even as this year forced us all to slow down, we didn’t stop ‘doing’. We cooked, baked, organized our homes, or started new projects. But have you ever stopped ‘doing’ for a moment to ask yourself why? What is the real motive behind your inability to be really, truly still?

In this episode, Rachel shares the traumas in her life that led her to move through life at a pace so fast, her body is having trouble keeping up. In a society that rewards us for success and accomplishments, the concept of slowing down might trigger anxiety, discomfort, or even physical illness! Although Rachel used to pride herself on her ability to do everything and do it well, there is one question she cannot answer – and then what?

At the end of the day, at the end of our lives – what is all this doing for if we are not present in it? If we rush through life, we miss the most important moments. What if we could operate and create from a place where we are totally accepted, loved, and appreciated for just being? This episode will remind you that you do not have to achieve anything in ordered to be accepted and loved. You are good enough the way you are.

Were You Born This Way, Or Did You Learn It? Jul 17, 2020

Show notes

We spend so much time in our armor, protecting ourselves with layers and layers of conditioning. If we do not have our needs met as children, if we are not seen, heard, appreciated or loved, we subconsciously begin to develop a resilience, an armor of protection. We seek to have our needs met elsewhere and develop coping mechanisms to be healed later in life.

In this episode, Rachel reflects on the internal work she is doing, how it is affecting her, her daughter, her husband, and giving her new perspective and presence. Doing this work is not easy. It gets messy, uncomfortable things come up, relationships can be affected, and unfortunately there is not one linear line to healing.

But we owe it to ourselves, future generations, our children, our communities, to become aware of our traumas, to begin the journey of peeling back the layers and getting really present with our core wounds.

This episode will remind you that it is ok to prioritize self-care, to nurture and care for yourself when you are on the sensitive path of healing, and that it’s better to peel back the layers in order to move through the world with vulnerability and truth.

Healing Hurts - How To Take Your Spiritual Practice To The Next Level Jul 10, 2020

Show notes

After everything that has occurred in 2020, there is no going back to the way things were. We have to do better and be better to ourselves. The only way through is to listen to our inner truth and show up for ourselves in a radical way. The world has intensified, so make sure your healing practices align along with it! Perhaps the old, comfortable practices you’ve had before no longer serve your deep longing for peace. How do you know when it’s time to take our practice to the next level? How can we put healing into action?

In this week’s episode, Rachel shares her disciplined practice of dynamic meditation, and all the factors that led up to this new daily practice. In the midst of it now, Rachel is uncovering hidden trauma, emotions, fears – and a deep internal knowing of her own truth within. Now is the time to listen to it.

We can’t yoga our way through all of our traumas and insecurities. Sometimes it takes a radical practice to move through everything stored in our nervous system. As a collective we are going through a radical shift, and we are beginning to heal. This episode will open your eyes and hearts to the opportunity we have for change. We have the chance to create a new world where we come back home to ourselves, listen to our deepest truths and embody our inner knowing.

Radical Honesty with Jessamyn Stanley Jul 03, 2020

Show notes

This is a time in history when we finally acknowledge the problems we have as a society. For as long as we live, we will remember 2020 as a year of huge change. But - is it enough? There are no quick fixes for issues that have been hundreds of years in the making. There is a beautiful collective healing that is beginning right now, but ultimately, it all comes from within each of us. We cannot be whole as a society if even one of us is not. How does the healing the world is in need of relate with the healing you are longing for within yourself?

This week, Rachel is joined on the show by yoga teacher, writer, and body positivity activist Jessamyn Stanley to answer these deep questions. Jessamyn is never anything but her true self, which is obvious as she opens up about her journey of self-acceptance, self-care as her most important practice, cannabis, polyamory and more. This episode will remind you of own your truth and the importance of taking care of yourself first. It all starts with being radically honest with yourself.

Diversifying the Wellness Industry and Using Joy as an Act of Resistance with Latham Thomas Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

The past few months have given us a glimpse of what the world has the potential to be – a world where we work and commute less, where we have more time in our day to take care of ourselves, and most importantly: where justice is for all. In a world that rewards you for putting work and the idea of success above all else, the pursuit of joy and the practice of self-care is a radical tool of resistance and liberation.

These are the words from this week’s very special guest, Latham Thomas (follow @glowmaven and @mamaglow on Instagram!). Latham is a maternal wellness maven, best-selling author of “Own Your Glow”, Birth Doula, and proud mama who is transforming the world of birth and motherhood. Along with supporting women in optimal wellness and spiritual growth, she also finds time to advocate for birth equity and to bridge policy gaps in maternal health.

This episode will provide an eye-opening look into the wellness field (where so much change needs to happen!), show you how racism weaponizes tools of consciousness, and give you steps you can take within your own community to look for joy while dismantling the systemic issues that keep others from finding theirs.

We are Part of the Problem (And How to be Part of the Solution) Jun 19, 2020

Show notes

How many times have you thought that racism was perpetrated by a select group of ‘bad’ people, that you were completely separate from it, or even that racism didn’t exist at all? The truth is, as white people we have inherent biases and prejudices within us and whether we like it or not, we benefit from that privilege every day. Once our eyes are open to our privilege and to the injustice that comes along with it, we can begin to make real change - but along the way, we are going to make mistakes.

Join Rachel in this week’s episode of the Yoga Girl Podcast where she humbly shares mistakes she has made as a western, Swedish, white yoga influencer, what she has learned from those mistakes, how the process opened her eyes to the global system of racism and how she is doing the work on a daily basis in order to listen, share resources, and use her platform to amplify BIPOC.

This episode will remind you to create daily habits that help you to understand the far-reaching effects of systemic racism, listen, share resources, make mistakes, but keep the flame of change burning. Keep listening, re-learning and integrating your education on anti-racism in your day to day life. No problem can ever be solved by sweeping it under the rug.

How Do You Feel When Everything is Still? Jun 12, 2020

Show notes

With the current climate of the world, many of us may be noticing little things that we have never realized before. Little things that are actually big things, from the voices we elevate in the media to the color of bandaids. In this episode, Rachel starts by touching on the Black Lives Matter movement from the place of a learner, an observer, and a listener - as all white people should be doing right now. We have a responsibly to do daily reality checks with ourselves to uncover our hidden biases and prejudices. Eventually, our thoughts and actions will align.

But how can we make a difference in the world while we are moving through our own trauma? As is true with individual trauma, whatever wounds we have inside of us will keep coming to the surface until they are healed. The same can be said with the suffering of the Black community - humanity is uncovering a deep wound right now that’s been kept in the shadows far too long. We need to shed light on this constantly until a great shift and unlearning takes place. Our own traumas can be used to fuel our fire and spark us into action. Ultimately, the majority of the change will happen inside of us.

Tune in to acknowledge the pain in the world, and to use your own pain to peel away the layers, dive deep into your healing, and become who you are at your core. To heal the world, you have to start with yourself.

Resources

Instagram Accounts to Follow:

Layla F. Saad @laylafsaad

Rachel Cargle @rachel.cargle

Jessica Wilson @jessicawilson.msrd

Latasha Morrison @latashamorrison

Munroe Bergdorf @munroebergdorf

Austin Channing Brown @austinchanning

Ericka Hart @ihartericka

Ibram X Kendi @ibramxk

Books:

I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

White Rage by Carol Anderson

Raising White Kids by Jennifer Harvey

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Black Lives Matter Jun 05, 2020

Show notes

Today’s episode features three guest hosts, Dianne Bondy, Maite Onochie, and Rocky Heron, all guides on the yogagirl.com platform and voices from the Black community. Coming from different global perspectives, they share their views on how they see the world right now - and how the world has seen them. Offering up their deep wisdom on everything from white supremacy, complacency and allyship, this episode will help you question your own attachments to race, and align your inner values with your outwardly behavior.

Dianne is a Canadian yoga teacher who focuses on inclusivity, diversity and accessibility on and off the mat. She is the author of the book, ‘Yoga for Everyone’ and offers online courses and workshops at diannebondyyoga.com. She also has two sons, and shares on this show her fears for them, the pushback she receives when she affirms that her life matters - that Black lives matter - and how we can all show up, as spiritual guides and as good human beings.

Maite was born in Nigeria, grew up in Spain, and is now living in Costa Rica. She has a background in social anthropology and a specialization in international development which led her to work for different organizations around the world, including the United Nations. She is now about to birth her first daughter, and shares in this show the world she envisions her daughter growing up in - a world where she can be her authentic self, feel safe in her own skin, and see no limitations to her dreams. Maite speaks on growing up in a predominantly white society where she was left not feeling represented, beautiful or enough. To continue the conversation with Maite and learn about her current work as a yoga teacher and doula, follow her on Instagram at @maite_yoga.

Rocky Heron is a musician and yoga teacher. He grew up in California with his mother, and shares his unique view of being a person of color raised in a white culture and how that forged his identity and allowed him to see multiple perspectives. With a passion to always continue learning, Rocky expresses the need for Americans to educate themselves on the history of their country, and demand more from leadership. You can find Rocky on Instagram at @rockyheron.

Tune in to listen from the heart to voices that need to be heard, now, and always.

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