Everyday Sublime Podcast | Body, Mind + Beyond

The Buddha once said: “Nothing whatsoever should be clung to as ‘I’ or ‘mine’.” In this talk, analyze this statement as an important signpost on the map of practice.  As Georg Feuerstein put it: “The sense that ‘I’ can go beyond where ‘I’ am right now is the place from which to start your practice.” Free Practice Etude | Just Savasana Practicing Yin : Join our newsletter,  Practicing Yin , and get...

In this talk, Josh continues to unpack the experience of waking up, exploring how consciousness often awakens to being entangled with some part of experience (usually thoughts), and to explore what it’s like when consciousness relaxes into itself, embracing the entire field of perception. A free guided meditation accompanies this talk here: Practice Etude – Meditation Without Grasping Practicing Y...

In this dharma talk, I reflect on a teaching from my dharma mentor Jack Engler: “the entirety of the spiritual path is a path of mourning.” This talk is an attempt to explore that reflection in light of the practice and experiential dynamics that occur when we let go of grasping at views, perceptions, orientations and practices, etc.  Jack Engler’s article: Practicing for Awakening (part 2) Practi...

In this episode, I welcome Donna Brooks back to the podcast to talk through the experience of grief and how embodiment practices support our capacity to navigate this challenging emotional landscape.  Donna Brooks’ website: www.originalbodywisdom.com 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 tw...

In this talk, I explore some common views about meditation and thinking, and I encourage bringing inquiry to the views of practice that we may be clinging to. Releasing views is somewhat like voluntarily jumping into free fall. The self will grasp, but in releasing the grasping, we align with the Buddha’s famous teaching: “Nothing whatsoever should be clung to as ‘I’ or ‘mine’.” Practicing Yin : J...

In this week’s practice story, I continue to explore the famous Buddhist parable about the tiger and the snake, and I suggest how the core images of this story symbolize the central dharma themes of our practice and life. 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 two Free weeks of Yin Yoga, Fluid...

In this old Buddhist parable, we are presented with a description of the human predicament. In the face of being caught between death and something worse, how does our practice serve us to live, as Munindra put it, “the life fully?” 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 two Free weeks of Yin Y...

In this episode, I share Jung’s famous story of the Rainmaker. I suggest ways in which this story offers insight into the direction of the spiritual path. But when there was a prolonged drought in China, and the Rainmaker was fetched, this is what happened… 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...

In this talk, I reflect on the heart-rending story of a mother who lost her young son, experienced inconsolable grief, and what happened when she met the Buddha. Kisagotami’s story is nearly identical to my teacher’s teacher’s story, that teacher being the great Buddhist master, Dipa Ma. Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master May the grief of loss crack open our hearts into immeasurable...

In this episode, I offer a few reflections on the passing of my dear companion, Ozzie. On February 15, 2023, Ozzie died peacefully in our arms, in front of his hearth, and as I try to convey in this short talk, the dharma of his life continues to open and deepen for me. Fluid Yin Yoga and Meditation : Join our newsletter, Practicing Yin, and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook, The What, Why an...

In this episode, I try to speak to the implacable heaviness many are feeling in the face of the overwhelming number of ongoing disasters in the world. What, if at all, does the Dharma have to offer? Fluid Yin Yoga and Meditation : 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 two Free weeks of Yin Yoga, Fluid Yin Yoga...

In this episode, I reflect on the roots of anger in my own conflicts and share the tools I’ve learned from mindfulness-based modalities to de-escalate tensions and nurture harmony. I share from my own challenges and difficulties with practicing wise speech, and how Active Reflective Communication is my go-to model for any generative and important conversations. Fluid Yin Yoga and Meditation : Join...

In this episode, I republish a conversation I had with Robert Wright on his Nonzero Podcast . Bob and I discuss my struggles with cognitive empathy in everyday life. Not my struggle with the concept, mind you. I know that the ability to imagine another person’s perspective is enormously important in communication and relationships. We explore my struggles with practicing cognitive empathy – especi...

In this episode (#207), Josh reflects on the four foundations of practicing Yin Yoga, and how the first two foundations – safety and relaxation – inform the development of the meditation process. This dharma theme closes with a prompt from Josh: What does it mean to practice non-grasping in meditation? Further reflection: “Great genial power, one would almost say, consists in not being original at...

In this episode, I am joined by my friends and colleagues Linda Modaro and Nelly Kaufer to talk about their new book, Reflective Meditation - Cultivating Kindness and Curiosity in the Buddha’s Company. Order your copy of Reflective Meditation, by Linda Modaro and Nelly Kaufer Linda Modaro’s website: https://satisangha.org/ Nelly Kaufer’s website:   https://pinestreetsangha.org/ What is Reflec...

In this episode, I share voices from the River Bird Sangha on the theme of non-violence in practice and society. Together, in a circle of practice, I suggest ways we can all feel empowered by a connection with common ground. Free When You Subscribe : Join our newsletter and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook, The What, Why and How of Yin Yoga along with two Free weeks of Yin Yoga, Qi Gong and...

In this talk, I reflect on a passage from Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail , and how practice, itself, generates an internal creative tension that is necessary for growth and transformation. Free When You Subscribe : Join our newsletter and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook, The What, Why and How of Yin Yoga along with two Free weeks of Yin Yoga, Qi Gong and Yin Meditation...

In this episode, I talk with the Swiss yoga teacher Elisa Malinverni about her wonderful new book, Yoga for Recovering Addicts, Stories of Hope and Ways of Self-Healing . Elisa’s clear and nuanced writing explores an integral path to recovery for all manner of addiction. “In my book, we’re all addicts. The only difference is, some of us have addictions that society labels as strengths and advantag...

In the first dharma talk of 2023, Josh offers a meditative reflection on the relationship between reflective listening and the development of skillful intentions in practice. He offers some key meditative prompts that explore the initial stages of tuning into the conditions of your life that may deserve some focused intention. On January 14th, you’re invited to a special 3hr Winter’s Yin Practice...

This solstice season, let us give you the gift of practice. In this episode, I describe our portfolio of practices and how they integrate into the process of awakening body, energy, heart and mind. To receive this gift of practice, please sign up for our Sublime Winter Solstice Celebration – 10 practices of Yin Yoga, Qi Gong and meditation. Until 12/31/22, register for FREE here: A Sublime Winter...

In this talk, I reflect on some of the parallels between tending the fire of a woodstove and tending the conditions of a meditation and yoga practice. In gratitude for your support, Terry and I would like to give you a special series of Yin Yoga, Qi Gong and meditation practices . Each day, from December 12th to December 21st (the Winter Solstice), we will share one specially curated practice from...

Celebrate the Winter Solstice with Practices from Josh and Terry Summers In gratitude for your support, Terry and I would like to give you a special series of Yin Yoga, Qi Gong and meditation practices. Each day, from December 12th to December 21st (the Winter Solstice), we will share one specially curated practice from our 2022 year of teaching – just like a Yin Solstice advent calendar. To recei...

The Zen teacher Charlotte Joko Beck said that when “nothing is special, everything can be.” In this talk, Josh reflects on how everything that arises in our practice can be received as a perfect learning opportunity. Free When You Subscribe: Join our newsletter and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook, The What, Why and How of Yin Yoga along with two Free weeks of Yin Yoga, Qi Gong and Yin Medit...

In preparation for the winter holiday season, Josh reflects on the Buddha’s insight of conditionality, or karma, and how this helps release ourselves and others from vicious cycles of blame. Learning to listen to the nature of conditionality is at the core of the Buddha’s path of liberation. Free When You Subscribe: Join our newsletter and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook, The What, Why and...

Morning practice is often recommended as the foundation of a contemplative path. In this talk, Josh offers reflections on the importance of practicing in the morning. Free When You Subscribe: Join our newsletter and get your copy of Josh’s new FREE ebook, The What, Why and How of Yin Yoga along with two Free weeks of Yin Yoga, Qi Gong and Yin Meditation classes with Josh and Terry. www.joshsummers...