Living Your Yoga - embodied wisdom with Shirlee Williams

Hey friends—welcome back to Teacher Style . Tales from the closet continue (yes, that’s still a podcast idea of its own!). Today’s conversation is all about Playing the Edge as a Teacher . Not about pushing our students deeper into poses, but about stretching our own comfort zones so we can grow into the best possible teachers. I share my very first teaching story back in 2004—nervous, over-prepar...

What does it really mean to play the edge ? On our yoga mats, it’s that moment just before we’ve gone too far—the sweet spot between safety and overwhelm. In life, it’s where growth happens: stepping out of our comfort zone, taking risks, and expanding our capacity to live fully. In this episode of Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom , I share: A personal story about pushing too far and the lessons...

Hey friends—welcome back to Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom Teacher Style. Today’s conversation is for the teachers out there—but even if you don’t teach, you’ll still find something valuable here. We’re diving into beginner’s mind —what it looks like not just on your mat, but in your teaching. After two decades of teaching (and at one point 20 classes a week!), I know firsthand what it’s like...

Hey friends—welcome back to Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom. I’ll be honest, this one could have been called Conversations from the Closet —because yes, I’m literally recording from the floor of our closet. But today’s conversation is anything but small. We’re diving into one of the most transformative teachings I know: Beginner’s Mind. Here’s the thing: the more we repeat a practice, pose, or...

Hey yoga teachers—let’s have some real talk. Your worth is not tied to the number of students who show up for your classes. Period. I’ve been there, staring at half-empty rooms, wondering if I was doing enough, sharing enough, or if I was even good enough. And I know so many of you wrestle with the same doubts. This week on Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom (Teacher Style) , I’m giving you six po...

Fear shows up for all of us—on the mat and in life. Sometimes it keeps us safe, other times it keeps us stuck. In this week’s episode of Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom , I  break down why fear shows up, the sneaky stories it tells, and how you can transform that gut-clenching energy into courage. You’ll hear: Why fear is really false evidence appearing real (and sometimes just “fuck everything...

Welcome to the very first episode of Living Your Yoga for Teachers. A  brand-new weekly series inside the Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom podcast. These episodes are crafted with yoga teachers in mind (though anyone is welcome to listen). This week, Shirlee shares her own journey of becoming a yoga teacher and mentor, showing how every twist, turn, pivot, and “failure” along the way was never w...

Welcome back to Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom ! I’m Shirlee, and in this episode I’m reflecting on the ten biggest lessons my yoga practice has gifted me over the last three decades. Yoga has been with me since I was 19 years old, and it has shaped me into the person and teacher I am today. From making me a kinder human to teaching me about compassion, community, discipline, and even the brav...

Hey friends—welcome back to Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom . This week, we complete our 7-part chakra series with the Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) —the gateway to higher wisdom, divine connection, and inner peace. In this episode, I explore:  ✨ What the Crown Chakra represents (pure thought, consciousness, and silence)  ✨ Signs of imbalance—like spiritual bypassing, disconnection, and over-relia...

Hey friends, welcome back to Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom . This week we’re diving into the sixth chakra, Ajna—the Third Eye. Located between the eyebrows, its element is light, its color is indigo, and its bija mantra is Om . The Third Eye governs intuition, clarity, perception, and imagination. When it’s blocked, you might feel disconnected from your inner guidance, overly logical, or unab...

Hey friends, welcome back to Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom . This week, we’re diving into the 5th chakra: Vishuddha, the throat chakra —the seat of your voice, expression, and truth. I wasn’t planning on this story, but life had other plans… including an emergency tooth extraction that reminded me (once again) how deeply our bodies hold what goes unsaid. From years of sore throats to lymph fl...

Welcome back, friends. This week, we’re entering the heart of it all—literally. Episode 4 in our chakra series is all about the fourth energy center, Anahata , the heart chakra. This is the bridge between the physical and the spiritual, where love, compassion, grief, and connection all meet. It’s also where we get really honest—with ourselves and each other. And spoiler alert: this is the chakra t...

Welcome to Episode 3 of our Chakra Series! Today we’re diving into the solar plexus chakra, your inner fire, personal power, and the place where your “no” lives just as boldly as your “yes.” In this episode, I’m talking all about what it means to reclaim your worth, stoke your confidence, and stop outsourcing your authority. We’ll explore the subtle energies of this chakra, physical signs it’s out...

Hey friends, welcome back to Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom ! In this week's episode, I'm recording from the floor of my closet (no joke)... and diving into the messy magic of the Sacral Chakra . This is chakra two in our seven-part series, and it's all about creativity, sensuality, and emotion —the stuff we often suppress because it feels "too much." But guess what? F...

Hey friends—welcome to Episode 1 of the Chakra Series on Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom . We’re starting at the root. Because let’s be honest… when life feels like it’s spinning, what we’re often craving is safety, stillness, and a sense of home . In this episode, I dive into the Root Chakra —your energetic foundation—and unpack what it actually feels like when it’s out of balance (hello, anxi...

Are you living your healing—or just collecting spiritual gold stars? This episode dives into the embodiment gap: the space between what we know and how we actually live it. No fluff, no bypassing—just real talk, a little sass, and deep reflection. Welcome back, friends, to Living Your Yoga – Embodied Wisdom. In this honest and soul-stirring solo episode, Shirlee cracks open a conversation many are...

In this episode of 'Living Your Yoga Embodied Wisdom, I dive into the distinctions between knowledge and wisdom. Through personal stories and reflections, I  explain how wisdom is shaped by lived experiences, while knowledge is accumulated through learning. Today we chat about the importance of embodying wisdom in teaching and life.  This episode also highlights the significance of imperfecti...

Moving to Costa Rica sounded like the dream. Beaches. Sunshine. A barefoot, breezy free-spirited life. But what no one tells you is just how much it will stretch you—mentally, emotionally, spiritually. In this episode, I’m sharing the real story behind our third move in seven months (yes, third ). It’s been humbling, heartbreaking, and honestly, one of the most powerful practices of yoga I’ve ever...

In this episode of 'Living Your Yoga Embodied Wisdom,' I  reflect on the frustrations and struggles of life when things seem not to be working out, despite having a full toolkit of spiritual practices.  I chat about  the importance of pausing, stepping back, and giving oneself permission to take a break.  It's ok to let your spiritual tools collect dust temporarily and to find spaci...

Welcome to the very first episode of Living Your Yoga ! I am so friggen excited you’re here. In this episode, I ditch the need for a perfect origin story and instead invite you into what this podcast is really about—real life, real practice, and the magic (and mess) that happens off the mat. We’ll talk about how yoga isn’t just the poses or the playlists—it’s how we show up when life feels hard, c...

We do not spend enough time pausing... myself included! We spend way too much time hustling, needing to be productive and fast-forwarding through life. This is your reminder that there is very little in life that is actually urgent. And on that note, I will be taking the Summer off from recording. I can't wait to come back in the Fall with a new, fresh feeling on Becoming You. In the meantime...

My guest today is Kendra Toothill. Kendra is an Athletic Therapist who's evolved into the field of Holistic Women's Health. She draws from a decade of clinical experience and a variety of therapeutic modalities to guide women through the process of finding out why they are stuck and how to heal on a deeper level so they can be at ease in their bodies by building inner intelligence. Origi...

My guest today is Sex Coach Sofia Ashley. Sofia Ashley is the founder of the Happy Vagina Project. She is a certified sexuality coach and sex educator, mother, stepmother, feminist and entrepreneur. She is passionate about supporting mothers to reclaim their sex lives and themselves to become the parents, partners and people they want to be. In today's episode, we're talking all about wa...

My guest today is Holly Bertone.  Holly Bertone is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Motivational Speaker, #1 Amazon bestselling author, and Host of Your Comeback Story Podcast. Holly’s expertise is as a Midlife Comeback Coach for professional women over 40. With her back to Y.O.U. Method, she helps them recover from burnout by ditching the habits and beliefs holding them back so they can have co...

My guest today embodies "it's never too late," April Goff Brown.  April Goff Brown is a Connecticut native who has always loved to write. Her first book, I Hug You in My Heart, is a deeply personal story about the love between a grandparent and grandchild. Released in 2021, it has received several awards.  April is not just a writer, she's a level 4 certified Quantum Human Desi...