intelligent edge yoga

Looking to change some habits? Pretty much anyone who practices yoga is invested in improving their discernment, discipline, and cultivating healthy ways of living. Following up from last episode on willpower, we talk about the psychology of habits, the yoga philosophy of them, and even touch on a summary of Gretchen Rubin's habits read "Better Than Before". the Amy Schumer skit about a...

Yoga philosophy does not characterize the universe as a glorious place designed to fulfill all your wishes if you ask it nicely. That doesn't mean goal setting is bad - quite the contrary - but this is a cheeky exploration into the difference between new age spirituality pop religion and yoga philosophy. We go into some psychology on willpower and self-control, too! Give that it's the new year, we...

Disagreeing with people can be uncomfortable, but it's a part of life and one that often helps further understandings of other people's experiences and opinions. Culturally, we're getting worse at disagreeing with each other, and the popular perception of yogis often makes disagreeing more difficult. Let's talk about disagreeing in conversation, and then a little bit about disagreements in the yog...

Ayurveda's nourishing practices with Mona Warner! Find her at www.janatiyoga.com . Mona is a yoga teacher and an Ayurvedic practitioner, and she's one of my favourite people on the planet. We talk about different designations in Ayurveda, how you can work with practitioners, approaches to diet and wellness, and Ayurveda's ability to support people going through intensive treatments. The Ayurveda o...

Fear and difficult emotions are often part of the pregnancy experience, and many women turn to yoga - or continue their yoga - through their pregnancy to help with the anxiety of navigating pregnancy and labour. Nicky Poole is an experienced mum, prenatal yoga teacher, and teacher trainer, and we chat about moving from rules-making to contextual reasoning to think our way through what's appropriat...

The intelligent edge yoga podcast was produced by Kathryn Anne Flynn; author of Teach Kind, Clear Yoga: A Guide for Practitioners and Teachers . To learn more about Kathryn, practice online, or find retreats and training opportunities, visit kathrynanneflynn.com Show Notes: Maybe one of the most experienced yogis to ever grace this podcast in past or future, Yoganand Michael Carroll is a treasure...

Why are you talking like that? An exploration into what makes a voice, what is "yoga voice", and why we may do it. Yoga teachers sometimes adopt a breathy voice that sounds like they floated in on a cloud. We turn to psychology, some trends in yoga culture, a wee bit of Ayurveda, and vocal anatomy today to consider... What is a voice, and how unique are our voices exactly? An example of yoga voice...

The intelligent edge yoga podcast was produced by Kathryn Anne Flynn; author of Teach Kind, Clear Yoga: A Guide for Practitioners and Teachers . To learn more about Kathryn, practice online, or find retreats and training opportunities, visit kathrynanneflynn.com Show Notes: A conversation about yoga conversations with Carol Horton, PhD, including the early days of the yoga blogging community, how...

The intelligent edge yoga podcast was produced by Kathryn Anne Flynn; author of Teach Kind, Clear Yoga: A Guide for Practitioners and Teachers . To learn more about Kathryn, practice online, or find retreats and training opportunities, visit kathrynanneflynn.com Show Notes: Let's talk about mental health and yoga teachers, since so many people who turn to yoga are seekers or individuals looking fo...

Interested in plant medicine? This conversation with Amber Westfall of The Wild Garden offers practical advice for integrating plant medicine into your life, and reveals the potency of what we can find in our local environment. Amber Westfall is an herbalist and owner of The Wild Garden, a tiny farm and educational space where she grows local, organic and sustainably harvested wild foods and herbs...

The difference between CBD and THC, what marijuana does to the brain, how we receive it from an Ayurvedic perspective, and what you may want to think about before you host a marijuana and yoga event. What are the different types of marijuana products, and are they more for working with pain symptoms or for achieving a high What are the physiological influences of marijuana on our systems? How does...

Trains of thought on being in the teacher's seat. Inspired by my recent conversations with yoga teacher trainees, we talk about a few questions around facilitating yoga classes - including whether to gently awake sleeping students in Savasana. It's an interesting time at the end of teacher training. Lots of great questions come up, but they're really questions that should be asked and answered onc...

Heart and Bones is the result of Brea Johnson's heart work and a long relationship with yoga and inquiry, particularly into anatomy and movement as it applies to teaching asana. She joins me to wander through a bit of her history as a faciliator and studio owner, her yoga existential crisis and resulting content, and what it's like to move online. We also discuss... What it's like to focus your yo...

A yogi mama with a diversity of experience in the yoga-Ayurveda world, Jennifer Hardy-Berthiaume (Jenny Bee), recently published her first book on using Ayurveda to parent with greater ease and for greater health and harmony in the household. We talk about how we know each other, just a little nostalgia, before getting into conversation about the challenges of parenting, and how critical yoga and...

This week I talk about what it means to have healthy bowel movements by modern healthcare's definition, as well as Ayurveda. We learn all about what's reasonable to expect, some interesting facts about feces, the anatomy of defecation, and some practical advice for pooping well. After devoting a couple of yoga classes to eliminating well, I decided to bring it online to the intelligent edge yoga p...

Part 2 of a conversation with the poetic Ayurvedic practitioner Balaram Chandra das, where we dig into some of the challenges of being a responsible teacher, models of education and how they work (or don't) in yoga and Ayurveda, as well as multiple Ayurvedic concepts, including springtime Ayurvedic concepts and care. • Balaram’s familial history of curanderos (healers), and how he’s stepping into...

Meet Balarama Chandra das, one of my teachers from Ayurveda school, who is a fascinating person wonderfully capable of expanding on philosophical and Ayurvedic concepts with poetic commentary. Balarama has many places in his beginning, and many places in his continuing story. Born Boaz Ramos in Arizona, he was driven by inquiry to study with his teacher in an ashram in San Diego, and ultimately fo...

Exploring Sun Salutations and their mythology, we talk about how when we know something well, it brings certain good qualities and other challenges. I offer some thoughts on evolving our approach to Sun Salutations, including different approaches to cues, sequencing, and how to approach plank, wrist stability and spinal articulation in cobra. The story of Hanuman the monkey-faced god eating Surya,...

Raised in Montreal by the original yogi-mama seeker, Hali Schwartz lives and teaches in Toronto, Canada and visits India annually. Devoted to living and sharing yoga through philosophy, chant and mantra, Hali is a dedicated practitioner who helps yogis add the philosophical framework of yoga to their path. We talk about her unusual upbringing and how her mother met her guru, and then continue thro...

A Q&A on sequencing recorded from the Toronto Yoga Conference! I share quite a bit about my thoughts on abdominal strengthening (core) exercises in yoga classes, as well as when and how to teach pranayama in asana classes. The episode concludes with advice on how to integrate the things you learn in your yoga education into your teaching - especially when you feel like it's different from what...

Western Insight Meditation and yoga teacher Dawn Mauricio brings her light, introspective approach to sincere meditation. We chat about personal practice and teaching, cultural appropriation in spiritual communities and spiritual bypassing. We talk about the limitations of social media for authentic shares, and how/when to share your personal processes with your community. Dawn talks about her his...

Hands-on assists are a source of fear for a number of teachers who want to do the right thing for their students. I invited my friend dallas delahunt to come back and have a conversation with me about teaching hands-on. We are both known for doing hands-on enhancements when we teach, and so we talk about why and how, and some strategies for moving forward with hands-on teaching. www.intelligentedg...

The brilliant and indefatigable Joanne Sarah Avison, Certified Yoga Therapist, Structural Integration practitioner, and author of Yoga: Fascia, Anatomy and Movement joins me for a conversation. Joanne weaves together anatomy, history, architecture, motherhood, teaching, reconceptualizing how we talk about movement needs, sacred geometry - the list goes on! You have to listen to believe it. Joanne...

A yoga primer for new students. This episode is for you to share with people you think would benefit from a yoga practice, but maybe need to hear it from someone else. It might also be of interest for yoga teachers to hear how you can speak to the benefits of yoga to people who aren't on the yoga train yet. Do you remember how difficult it was to walk into your first yoga studio? The landscape of...

In this week's episode, I answer a lot of the questions that come my way from students in class and teacher training. I explore certain cues, alternatives and engagement approaches to the poses Happy Baby, Bridge, standing balances, gate pose variation, and Shoulderstand poses. For more information on Kathryn's work, where to find her, and more podcasts, visit www.intelligentedge.yoga For online p...