Moved To Meditate Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Yin Yoga Therapy and Mental Health with Dr. Tracey Meyers Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, I speak with Dr. Tracey Meyers about her new book Yin Yoga Therapy and Mental Health. We discuss how Yin Yoga can be a particularly useful - and even transformative - practice for supporting different kinds of mental health challenges, from anxiety and depression to PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

Tracey describes how Yin Yoga became her go-to practice for supporting clients with mental health challenges, and how it differs from other forms of yoga. She gives examples of Yin Yoga Therapy practices for depression, anxiety, and trauma recovery.

She speaks about Yin Yoga in a very practical, but nuanced way, which will be helpful for anyone looking into Yin Yoga Therapy as a part of their mental wellness, and also for Yin teachers who wish to be more mental health informed.

Yin Yoga Therapy Topics in this Conversation:

We talk about using Mindfulness Meditation practices within the Yin poses, and how that makes meditation more accessible for many people, while also making the Yin poses safer and more therapeutic.
Tracey shares her analogy of Yin Yoga being like tofu, because it's simple and adaptable for many different individual needs.
And, we discuss how to skillfully expand your stress resilience by exploring sensations along the comfort/discomfort edge in Yin poses.

If you've mainly thought of Yin Yoga in terms of stretching or its physical effect on the body, this conversation will offer you a different perspective! Listen and learn about the potential of Yin Yoga Therapy as a support for mental health and wellbeing.

- Check out the book Yin Yoga Therapy and Mental Health by Tracey Meyers, Psy.D.

- Or, connect with Tracey via her website traceymeyerspsyd.com.

- For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

- And, you can find lots of Mindful Yin Yoga classes to explore in the Moved To Meditate Class Library at movedtomeditate.yoga/classlibrary!

- Lastly, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).

Slow Mindful Yoga: 6 Ways to Be More Present Nov 10, 2022

Show notes

Today's podcast episode is about how slow mindful yoga can help us be more present for our lives. By learning the art of slowing down in a variety of ways through mindful movement, we can develop tools that serve us far beyond the mat – where it really counts.

While busy-ness and activity are praised by our culture, many of us actually harbor a deep longing to slow down. Life can feel so full, with all of the things we want to do and the things we have to do. We do our best to balance all of our responsibilities and all of our roles, but it often seems to require a pretty demanding pace.

Even when we squeeze in time for the things we enjoy, it can be hard to actually savor them. If we haven't shifted out of auto-pilot, distraction, and speed, how can we be present?

Truly slowing down is a process, and it's extremely helpful to have tools that teach us how to do that. Otherwise, slowing down remains an unfulfilled wish – it doesn't happen because we don't know how to bridge that gap from our daily life momentum into a quieter way.

In this episode, you'll hear my six suggestions for slow mindful yoga practice:

1) Do a mindful check-in at the beginning, middle, and end of your practice. 2) Slow down your breath. 3) Try styles of yoga that are generally slower. 4) Play with the pacing of your movements. 5) Have moments of improv (intuitive, responsive, unplanned movements). 6) Incorporate a Mindfulness Meditation technique like the Body Scan within your poses.

Your mindful yoga or mindful movement practice can be the ideal place to get familiar with how to slow down, what slowing down actually feels like, and to understand which tools and techniques work best for you personally. And, many of these can also be used during the day as quick "movement snacks" or mini-mindfulness sessions.

Listen in for details – the how and why – for these six ways to slow things down.

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

And, you can find lots of slow mindful yoga classes to explore in the Moved To Meditate Class Library!

I'm also on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).

Yin Yoga with Props: Is this even controversial anymore? Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

In today's podcast episode, I talk about something that used to be quite controversial in the yoga world: Yin Yoga props.

While it's (hopefully) not the hot debate it once was, the misconception is still out there that we don't use props in Yin Yoga. In my continuing effort to dispel the myth, I'll talk about all of the ways I think props fit in to the Yin Yoga practice, why it's important, and why we should keep making sure that students and Yin Yoga teachers know that props are welcome here.

You'll hear about:

My experiences leading Yin Yoga trainings and encountering resistance there about the use of props
An awkward conversation with a studio owner in the past who assumed I wouldn't use props in Yin Yoga class
How a Yin Yoga Teacher Training was (ironically!) where I first learned to use blankets, bolsters, and other props in my poses
And my Top 9 reasons why props are essential to a safe and effective Yin Yoga practice.

I hope this episode will leave you feeling empowered to use the support you need in your practice. You'll have all the talking points you need to explain the benefits Yin Yoga props can have for promoting safety, healthy tissues, a calmer nervous system, and a meditative state during the pose.

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

You can find my Yin Yoga Poses + Props course, an 8-hour on-demand training, at movedtomeditate.yoga/onlinecourses.

Or, for accessible guided practices that align with these podcast topics, check out my Moved To Meditate Class Library at movedtomeditate.com.

And, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).

Learning to Meditate: Apps and Beyond Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

Today's podcast episode is about learning to meditate, and the pros and cons of using meditation apps. I'll talk about how I think the apps are best used, and what else you might want to look for to support your growing meditation practice.

These days many people are getting interested in learning mindfulness or other forms of meditation. We've been hearing about the many documented benefits to physical and mental health, and many of us turn to meditation to get to know ourselves better. Lots of new meditators dip their toes in to practice through one of the many popular meditation apps that you can download onto your phone (like Calm, Headspace, or Insight Timer).

Personally, I think these apps have some great features, and I wish I'd had access to them when I first started my practice. On an app, it's easy to find guided meditations, it's not intimidating, and it's available day or night.

That said, there's more to learning mindfulness beyond listening to guided meditation tracks online. To really benefit from your practice, you'll want to learn more about the context. Each meditation technique exists within a bigger picture, and it helps to understand more about that framework, as well as the philosophies and wisdom teachings go along with them.

And, meditation apps cannot provide a clear pathway for progressing your practice. After you've done the same meditation for a while, how will you know what the next steps are?

You'll hear about a few of the roadblocks I've experienced in my practice, and how having a teacher and community helped me move past those moments of confusion and frustration. I'll also talk about the role of guided vs. silent meditations, having a meditation coach or mindfulness mentor, and some resources for expanding your practice.

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

Or, for accessible guided practices that align with these podcast topics, check out my Moved To Meditate Class Library at movedtomeditate.com.

Find more insightful podcast episodes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

And, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).

Do You Crave Intensity in Your Mindful Movement Practice? Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, I talk about intensity and why it might be revealing to take a look at its role in mindfulness and movement practice.

Whether you notice that you tend to crave intensity on the mat, or you tend to avoid it, it's something you can learn to work with skillfully. Of course, life itself is intense sometimes, and we can't really avoid that. But if we see our practice as a kind of laboratory for life, we can actually see how being mindful of strong sensations in a yoga pose might translate to breathing through a challenging moment during the day.

Here we'll explore different expressions of intensity in mindful movement or yoga, like strong physical sensations, faster movements, more dramatic or acrobatic poses, environments like heated rooms, or having powerful emotions come up during practice.

Clearly, not all intensity is bad or even avoidable, but it's possible we have a cultural bias towards intensity. In movement practice, we can easily be drawn to whatever is most obvious (intense = obvious), but going deeper in our practice has more to do with getting curious about what we're NOT seeing already.

You'll hear about:

where this intensity bias may be coming from
why it makes gentle yoga and slower mindful movement practices so challenging for some of us
Yin Yoga as an example of learning to investigate our relationship with intensity

Listen and reflect on what "going deeper" means to you! Perhaps you'll come away from this episode with some new ways of looking at your experiences on the mat.

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

For more information on the Mindful Movement Teacher Training, which explores each of these movement modalities through a lens of mindfulness practice, check out movedtomeditate.yoga/mmtt.

Or, for accessible guided practices that align with these podcast topics, check out my Moved To Meditate Class Library at movedtomeditate.com.

And, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).

Exploring Movement Modalities through a Mindfulness Lens Sep 08, 2022

Show notes

I'm happy to be back today with a new episode about mindful movement! There was an unexpected hiatus, because I had to travel to Alabama and spend 3 weeks helping with some significant family health-related challenges.

A silver lining of that very difficult trip was seeing how much my meditation and movement practices made a difference in my ability to make it through that experience.

And so in this episode, I'm talking about some of the specifics of what I include in my "interdisciplinary" practice and celebrating what I've learned from the different movement modalities that I've benefited from over the years.

In particular, I'm going to talk about how I engage with 3 different movement modalities - yoga, somatics, and qigong - and what I think they each offer to the development of embodied mindfulness.

Understanding the different gifts of these practices helps me choose what tool I might need on a given day, or how I might combine specific elements from multiple modalities to design a mindful movement class sequence.

I talk about how:

yoga has helped me wake up sensation and develop a connection with my body
somatics has offered more focus on subtlety and refined my attention
qigong helps with clearing emotional energy and learning to "drop in" to simple movement flows

And, you'll hear about how all of these practices assist with nervous system regulation and with making meditation more accessible and effective.

I hope this episode will spark your interest to explore a new genre of movement, or to play a bit with the breadth and depth of your practice toolkit!

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

For more information on the Mindful Movement Teacher Training, which explores each of these movement modalities through a lens of mindfulness practice, check out movedtomeditate.yoga/mmtt.

Or, for accessible guided practices that align with these podcast topics, check out my Moved To Meditate Class Library at movedtomeditate.com.

Lastly, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).

Inner Spark: Mindful Yoga and Mental Health with Kristin Vikjord Aug 03, 2022

Show notes

Today we have a warm and inspiring conversation with Kristin Vikjord about her book, Inner Spark. We talk about re-kindling your own light and inner guidance, especially at times in your life when you feel a bit lost or burned out.

Kristin is a clinical psychologist, based in Bodø, Norway, and since she's also a yoga and mindfulness meditation teacher, we met several years ago when we were in training together at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

You'll hear how Kristin's grandmother inspired the concept of the "inner spark," and how that memory helped her navigate the challenges of early motherhood. The majestic Norwegian landscape, where Kristin lives (just north of the Arctic Circle) is also a major source of wisdom for her, and we talk about how nature can be a resource for strength, and even hope, in the midst of our struggles.

We also discuss:

how time in nature helps stimulate the Vagus Nerve (thus promoting well-being)
stages of re-kindling the inner spark that include normalizing, clarifying, and gaining agency
why mindful movement practices are so important in her therapy sessions with clients, rather than sitting meditation alone.

Enjoy this conversation and let us know how you are tending to your own inner spark!

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

To connect further with Kristin, visit her website at kristinvikjord.com, or follow her on Instagram at @kristinvikjord.

To connect further with me (Addie), check out my Class Library at movedtomeditate.com

or take a look at the upcoming Mindful Movement Teacher Training that I mentioned in this episode!

And, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitten, Mustache).

Deeper Dive - Grounding Jul 27, 2022

Show notes

In this week's episode, we're exploring a new Deeper Dive theme - grounding. For the month of August, we'll be emphasizing practices that help us find steady ground in the present moment.

Many of us have an intuitive sense of what we mean by "grounding." I'll unpack several factors here that I consider part of grounding - from present moment awareness, to connection with external surroundings, paying attention to our contact with the literal ground, and embodiment.

When we feel really grounded on these different levels, there's a sense of wholeness, steadiness, and clarity. And yet, there are many, many factors in our modern daily lives that pull us away from that sense of groundedness.

You'll hear:

why being more grounded is probably a better goal than feeling calm
how grounding relates to equanimity
why it's important to practice grounding pro-actively, even when we don't feel un-grounded.

Lastly, I give an extensive (and hopefully fun) list of grounding practices you can try. These suggestions include specific ways of breathing, focal points in the body, activities in nature, and recommendations for home and daily routines.

Listen in, and let me know what your favorite grounding practices are!

As mentioned at the beginning of the episode, to receive the Deeper Dive worksheets on this month's theme of Grounding, you can sign up for the MTM email newsletter here.

P.S. If you missed the newsletter because you're listening to this later, you can still get the worksheet. All you need to do is email me at mail@movedtomeditate.com and ask. :)

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

For guided practices that align with these podcast topics, check out my Moved To Meditate Class Library at movedtomeditate.com.

And, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitten, Mustache).

Qigong and the Energy of the Natural World with Mimi Kuo-Deemer Jul 20, 2022

Show notes

This episode is a conversation with the wonderful Qigong teacher, Mimi Kuo-Deemer. We discuss this beautiful mindful movement and energy practice from China, and how it invites us to harmonize with the elements of the natural world.

You'll hear Mimi's fascinating description of Qigong's history, including her insights from analyzing the Chinese characters for Qi (energy) and Gong (work/skill). We also talk about her experiences living in the US and in China, and how she got started with Yoga and Qigong when she needed embodiment practices to remedy her burnout and health challenges.

We cover:

Overlaps and differences between Yoga and Qigong
How the emphasis on roundness and spherical movements within Qigong can be a great complement to Yoga
How embodiment practices support meditation
Why the body is more like a garden than a machine

Lastly, I asked Mimi about working with the emotional energy of anger, given the intensity of current events. You'll hear how Chinese Medicine defines "good anger" and what trees can teach us about growing through this natural (if challenging) emotion.

Enjoy this conversation!

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

To connect further with Mimi, visit her website at mkdeemer.com, or follow her on Instagram at @mimikuodeemer.

To connect further with me (Addie), check out my Class Library at movedtomeditate.com

or sign up for information on the upcoming Mindful Movement Teacher Training that I mentioned in this episode!

And, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitten, Mustache).

Awareness and Movement for Life - Physiyoga with Diana Zotos Florio Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

Today we have a really interesting conversation with Diana Zotos Florio, one of the founders of Threes Physiyoga. We talked about awareness and embodiment, yoga and physical therapy, and how all these practices can support us to live life fully.

Diana talks about re-thinking the paradigm where we go to physical therapy episodically to "fix" injuries, rather than engaging in smart movement practices to prevent pain and maintain health. We also explore what yoga and mindfulness may contribute to physical therapy treatment, and what she learned about pain from treating stressed out New York City investment bankers earlier in her career.

You'll hear about:

how embodiment helps us break up the layers of limiting beliefs that contribute to our pain experience
how alignment does and doesn't help us find safety during a yoga or movement practice
why your hips feel "tight," and how you might think differently about finding relief there!

You'll feel inspired to connect the dots between your yoga and physical self-care practices, and all the activities you do throughout the day. There are is so much useful information in this conversation - listen in and let us know what your favorite take-aways are.

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

To connect further with Diana, visit the Threes Physiyoga website, or follow her on Instagram at @threesphysiyoga.

To connect further with me (Addie), check out my Class Library at movedtomeditate.com

or the upcoming live online classes I mentioned at movedtomeditate.yoga/livestream-classes.

And, I'm on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitten, Mustache).

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