Everyday Sublime Podcast | Body, Mind + Beyond

Recorded on December 18, 2023, Josh shares a Christmas story that weaves the humor of family dysfunction with the spirit of healing, repairing and caring for all valuable relationships in our life.  This is the final episode of 2023. Thank you so much for listening and for your support. We look forward to sharing more Everyday Sublime with you in 2024. Happy Holidays to all!! *********************...

Winter's Essence | Talk + Workshop Recorded live on December 4, 2023, Josh reflects on the spiritual essence of winter as manifest in nature and within his family of origin, and how the season of winter offers a crucible of transformation, surrendering to harsh realities, cultivating gratitude for life at all and embodying a creative expression of compassion.  Winter’s Essence Workshop | 2.5hr...

Oren Jay Sofer | Your Heart Was Made for This I welcome Insight Meditation and communication teacher, Oren Jay Sofer, back to Everyday Sublime, to discuss his new book: Your Heart Was Made For This – Contemplative Practices for Meeting a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity and Love. In the face of overlapping multiple crises – from personal, to collective, to environmental – it is very easy to...

In this talk, recorded on November 13, 2023, I share a small collection of personal vignettes in which my senses deceive me, creating emotional convictions that are ultimately inaccurate. I raise the question: What do these experiences suggest about the nature of self, the nature of truth and the nature of conviction? ******************************************************************** Practicing...

In this episode, I speak with Insight Meditation teacher and communication coach, Miles Sherts, about his approach to “conscious communication.” This is one of the most elegant approaches to generative communication that I have found. We discuss how many people, and especially couples, get into arguments about “what happened” or about “truth.” Putting the “truth trap” aside, Miles explains why he...

In this episode, I am joined by psychotherapist and author Nancy Van Dyken whose book, Everyday Narcissism – Yours, Mine, and Ours, sheds some fascinating light on this ubiquitous condition of the psyche. EN, or everyday narcissism, isn’t clinical Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It’s a fragile psychology that is conditioned by the way so many of us were raised by family and by culture.  If you’...

In this special episode, I am honored to be joined by my first – and most significant – dharma teacher, Rodney Smith. Rodney spent several years as a Buddhist monk in Burma and Thailand, working notably with Ajahn Buddhadasa, Krishnamurti and Nisargattada Maharaj. He disrobed as a monk in 1983 and, after returning to the West, started working in hospice care and teaching vipassana meditation throu...

We’re sharing the first talk of our new training: Refining Metal | The Wisdom of Qi Cultivation. Josh reflects on the question: How do we cultivate wisdom in our practice? What is the relationship between refining our awareness and our ability to express compassion and wisdom in our lives? NEW TRAINING: The Chinese word for spirit is “shen.” In Chinese Medicine our spirit resides in our heart. Wit...

Like sharpening a knife, training awareness to see clearly involves a number of skills that refine over the course of practice. In this talk, I share some of my favorite ways of cultivating a calm and open state of embodied presence. Included: Short Guided Meditation. NEW TRAINING: The Chinese word for spirit is “shen.” In Chinese Medicine our spirit resides in our heart. With practice, we gather,...

In this episode, I am excited to share an introductory talk about our second module in our Yin Yoga + Qi Cultivation training: Refining Metal | The Wisdom of Qi Cultivation . In October, we’ll be teaching this module LIVE, exploring the energetic and meditative dimensions of Qi Cultivation. The Chinese word for spirit is “shen.” In Chinese Medicine our spirit resides in our heart. With practice, w...

Elisa Malinverni returns to the podcast to talk about her book, Yoga For Recovering Addicts . In this episode we explore some common manifestations of the “grasping mind.” We discuss the dynamics of perfectionism, impostor syndrome, screen addiction and more. Elisa’s book available on Amazon: Yoga for Recovering Addicts – Stories of Hope and Ways of Self-Healing . *********************************...

Recorded on August 14, 2023, I give an upcoming preview of new Yin Yoga classes and training Terry and I will be offering in Fall ‘23.  Yin Yoga + Qi Cultivation Trainings:  NEW THIS FALL: Refining Metal | The Wisdom of Qi Cultivation (20hr Yin Yoga Training) NOW On-Demand: Gathering Earth | The Foundations of Qi Cultivation (20hr Yin Yoga Training) ************************************************...

Recorded on August 7th, 2023, Josh offers some thoughts on practicing with deliberate slowness. This talk includes reflections on the spirit of improvisation with simple practices like “walking hands” and “half-breath” meditation. ******************************************************************** Practicing Yin : Join our newsletter,  Practicing Yin , and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook, ...

Recorded on July 31st, 2023, Josh offers reflections on the convergence of personal and collective dukkha. In the face of such challenges, our commitment to practice nurtures the resilience and sensitivity of the heart. ******************************************************************** Practicing Yin : Join our newsletter,  Practicing Yin , and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook,  The What,...

In this talk, I share three points of advice for anyone embarking on a silent meditation retreat, either at a center or from home. My advice comes down to: 1) set the schedule and forget time, 2) kiss the moment, and 3) notice the negative. I hope this talk supports your practice. Special thanks to the members of the River Bird Sangha for supporting this free podcast. *****************************...

In this episode, I had the great pleasure of speaking with Don Goewey (Executive Director of the De Mello Spirituality Center). We discuss DeMello’s significance as a spiritual figure of the 20th century, and how he offers a unique view of eastern and western spirituality. Don and I reflect on DeMello’s dharma, the experience of seeing one’s shadow, and the rude awakenings that occur when everythi...

In this talk, I discuss practice as a form of improvisation and suggest ways of working with “forms” of practice as a way of developing one’s skills at improvisation. I conclude with a Sufi story about a duckling, leaving open the question of how improvising in practice reveals our true nature.  ******************************************************************** Practicing Yin : Join our newslett...

In this talk, I reflect how, on a vipassana meditation retreat in Myanmar, I became compulsively obsessed with finding the perfect height for my meditation cushion; I explore what this behavior reveals about the “clinging” mind.” “An attachment is an emotional belief that without a person, thing or experience you can’t be happy.” – Anthony DeMello **************************************************...

In this episode, I speak with my friends and colleagues Linda Modaro and Nelly Kaufer about their wonderful new book, Reflective Meditation . We talk about many themes of their approach to meditation, including: listening, journaling, and improvisation.  Reflective Meditation is now available in print and as an e-book in the United States, and for a limited time the e-book is available for $1.99....

In this talk, I share a patchwork of dharma reflections, exploring some everyday conundrums and synchronicities – appreciating the sublime in the innocence of a niece and a godson. ********************************************************************** Practicing Yin : Join our newsletter,  Practicing Yin , and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook,  The What, Why and How of Yin Yoga  along with t...

The questions that have gripped me for the last twenty or so years of my practice are these: What is the relationship between yoga practices and Buddhist meditation, and what does Qi cultivation, as described within Chinese Medicine, have to do with yoga and meditation?  In the opening talk for our new course, Yin Yoga + Qi Cultivation Training, I share my practice odyssey – as a yogi, as a medita...

In this short practice from our all NEW Yin Yoga and Qi Cultivation Training, Josh introduces the foundational dynamic of Yin Pranayama which optimizes the biochemistry of the blood for better distribution of oxygen to the cells, tissues and organs, gathers the Qi in the lower Dan Tian or Hara, and supports the healthy functioning of the Yin organs (Kidney, Liver, Spleen, Lungs and Heart). If you...

As part of a Mother’s Day reflection, I recount the harrowing story of getting robbed in the middle of the night on a train in India, and how a “spiritual” mother appeared to both save me and subsequently change the course of my life. I conclude with a meditative prompt for honoring and appreciating our spiritual ancestors. Click HERE ===>> for more on Yin Yoga and Qi Cultivation Training 20...

In this dharma reflection, Josh draw’s on his and others’ observations of bird life in the natural world, and weaves these reflections into a broader meditation about the role of images and reflections in the practice of the dharma. NEW – Yin Yoga and Qi Cultivation Training (4 Weeks, June 2023) ********************************************************************************************* Practicin...

The students were discussing the famous statement uttered by Lao Tzu: “Those who know do not say; those who say do not know.” When their teacher arrived he offered some helpful analysis in the form of a simple dialogue.  In this talk, Josh reflects on this wonderful story and its implications for meditation practice.  NEW – Yin Yoga and Qi Cultivation Training (4 Weeks, June 2023) ****************...