Sacred Listening

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    ***   Diaphragmatic breathing is a powerful  tool to connect to our deep core and pelvic floor during the prenatal and postpartum periods...and beyond! Not only does it help strengthen  and relax our deep abdominal muscles, it is a simple practice for managing st...

There is a drastic difference in postpartum care between the Eastern and Western cultures, in which we explore in this episode with Dr Samantha Quezet. In the East, there is an emphasis on nurturing the mother during the month-long postpartum period, whereas in the West, it is more DIY. Dr. Samantha Quezet shares her insights on the significance of prenatal and postnatal care, and personal experie...

They say that motherhood changes your life, and we had expected it to, but we weren't prepared to the extent that the changes brought our lives. As we celebrate our baby girl's 1st birthday, I am reflecting on this whirlwind of a year full of extreme emotions, of being able to love so unconditionally, and on the self-nurture lessons I learned along the way.    LISTEN IN:  The unconventional way of...

Our baby girl is turning one! In celebration of her 1 year birthday, I am sharing a glimpse into my pregnancy journey and birth experience, what I learned about self-nurture (and what it is NOT!) in the process of becoming a mother. To be honest, I struggled with a lot of disappointment and guilt for myself with the outcome of the birth experience, and I did a lot of inner work to turn myself arou...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    In Episode 21, our guest Heather Grzych concluded that if there was one thing she wished everyone could do for their own self-nurture, it would be to spend a few minutes of quiet contemplation or meditation as we watch the sun rise. In this episode, I've included...

Fertility is an issue that usually doesn't cross a birthing person's mind until they are thinking about getting pregnant or having trouble getting pregnant. But fertility actually starts with a good foundation of not only healthy tissues, but also a healthy connection with one's body and oneself. Even though becoming pregnant is a very natural occurrence, the way we live our lives today is anythin...

Elena Velez , the Founder/Director of Community Restorative Training (CRT), brings 18 years of experience as a Certified Medical Interpreter (CHI) to create a bilingual stress reduction wellness program for essential workers. Her insights from community behavioral practices, learned through interpretation, fuel CRT's mission of offering simple stress reduction techniques to prevent workplace injur...

When we think about the term "self-care," images of pampering retreats, luxurious spas, expensive bedsheets, an exclusive gyms flash before our minds. Self-care has become a commodified term and activity, and oftentimes attainable by niched demographic and socioeconomic classes. Because of this, I will be using the term "self-nurture" from here on out, to differentiate between commodified self-car...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    Abhyganga, or Ayurvedic self-massage, applies warmed oil (oftentimes infused with herbs for unique bodily constitutions) to our entire body from head (including scalp) to toes. This ancient and traditional practice helps with regulating the nervous system, nouris...

How often do we feel that we are not in control when it comes to our hormonal health, and that we are unfortunate victims when it comes to menstruation and menopause? In this episode, I speak with Yvette Racines, founder of Vital Living Wellness, an Ayurveda inspired bodycare brand, on simple self-care and self-nurture practices that can aid us throughout our hormonal transitions, especially the t...

Many of us are oblivious to the knowledge and awareness that how we care for our menstrual cycles can greatly impact our energy, mood, sleep, PMS symptoms, and more. Furthermore, when we choose to ignore, alter, and/or suppress the natural rhythms of our menstrual cycles, our entire bodily functions can be thrown off course, resulting in hormonal-related health issues. Listen in to my conversation...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    This short and sweet yoga nidra / guided relaxation practice is suitable for when you are in a pinch with time, yet feel the need to nurture yourself. Embrace rest with these little moments of self-soothing to help regulate your nervous system throughout the day....

In this episode, Elaine explores our relationship with rest and the resistance many of us have towards it. She shares her own journey of learning to embrace rest and the importance of balancing busyness with rest. Elaine encourages listeners to have an honest conversation about their relationship with rest and to reframe the idea of deserving rest. She emphasizes that rest is the foundation for su...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    This guided meditation helps you anchor into yourself, so that you can reconnect to who you are and what you value. This is a perfect accompanying practice with Episode 11: Prioritize Your Days Better With This Simple Trick. Use this meditation to help you with t...

Have you ever sat yourself down on the couch at the end of the day, feeling completely exhausted from a busy day, and yet, you couldn't quite remember exactly what you did? This is because we often fill our days somewhat mindlessly with busy activities that feel urgent (but may not be so important), and by the end of it all, you still didn't complete what you set out to do that day. And forget abo...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    Disclaimer: Do not participate in this exercise if you are currently undergoing emotional distress. Tend to your emotional needs and nurture yourself at this time.    Every event and/or interaction that feels triggering to you can be an opportunity for further se...

Can "setting boundaries" with other people be yet another form of finger-pointing rather than turning the mirror back to ourselves? How do we know whether we are trying to avoid a healing opportunity (which can be messy and painful) by "setting boundaries?" Listen in to this week's {potentially} controversial topic with my very dear sister Irene as my guest. We speak about: How we can miss out on...

The following episode is a guided practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    Why is it so hard for us to fall asleep at night? In the previous episode, sleep coach Lauren Ziegler suggests that it's in those quiet, dark hours of the night when our feelings catch up to us to a point of overwhelming us. In this guided meditation, she guides...

In this episode, I have the honor of having Lauren Ziegler, IAYT-certified yoga therapist and a sleep coach to discuss the importance of sleep, and how it impacts our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Lauren also shares her experience with sleep difficulties and how she overcame them through yoga nidra and meditation. She discusses five ways to know whether your sleep quality is poor, how...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    We are often driven by the insecure need to keep accomplishing and achieving things in this busyness culture. When this need is driven by the feeling that no matter what we do, it never is enough, then success becomes a constantly moving target. This guided medit...

Have you noticed that oftentimes when asked: "how are you?", many reply by saying: "oh, I've been super busy."  Busyness seems to be a badge of honor nowadays. There's this constant need to do, achieve, perform, and succeed. While there is nothing wrong with accomplishing goals in healthy measures, when there's an obsession with it, when the drive to accomplish stems from feeling insecure about ou...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    This meditation practice guides you through a body scan and a inner contemplative experience to discover what truly nourishes your body, mind, and soul. The purpose is to find your own unique self-nurture practice that you look forward to do a few times a day on...

What is self-nurture and how does it differ from self-care? This is the topic we are going to explore in today's episode, and you can say is my crusade in revolutionizing the way we think about self-care, or rather, RECLAIM what self-care is for ourselves rather than being SOLD what self-care is. We will discuss why self-care portrayed by the media is inaccessible and unsustainable, and what you c...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.  This somatic practice takes you through a slow and mindful journey in your body to hone your listening skills for your bodily sensations. By slowing down a simple movement rather than rushing through it mechanically, we get to pick up on so much more about what our...

Welcome to our very first episode of the Sacred Listening podcast! In today's episode, I am laying out the meaning behind Sacred Listening, and how I aim to guide you to "listen IN" to your body with this podcast. Chances are, if you've been living an over-scheduled, over-busy life, you haven't listened to what your body's needs are lately. Tune in to learn more about how to return to your body's...