Spiritual Grit

In this episode, I talked about Being vs Doing. // It's hard to stay vigilant about BEING versus DOING because DOING is very much part of the machine that we are in. // Society puts expectations on us to keep DOING in order to feel like we’re contributing, that we’re doing our part of participate as a member of this construct. With awareness, we can pay attention to the decisions we make on autopi...

“I have to be realistic in the way things are presented and how things are going to be seen” - Rahnee Haskins In this special episode of Vinyasa in Verse, I have the amazing Rahnee Haskins. He began practicing yoga in 2015 after a work injury that did not allow him to participate in his favorite physical hobbies such as running, hiking, and biking.  Before practicing yoga, Rahnee practiced me...

Another Asian elder has been attacked in NYC. In this episode, I talk a little bit about the invisible systems in place that uphold white supremacy with regard to this latest attack on the AAPI community. I also invite folks to take a look at our relationship with our elders, the respect and reverence that is missing. // There are a lot of ways to take action to fight racism and other social issue...

How are you going to be intentional in your life? // Everyone is meant to be their whole selves. Most of the time, we shift and adjust ourselves to be a version that we think is going to be accepted and to be loved so we can feel like we belong. This is where less obvious trauma sets in. How to address these traumas? Build resilience. // All bodies are different. All souls are different. Every act...

In this special “Best of” series of Vinyasa in Verse, I’m highlighting some episodes that recap a crazy year full of shifts, growth and healing. In this one, I talk about healing as a journey. It doesn’t happen overnight -- it’s a continuous evolution. This is only a starting point // If we can build resilience around trauma in ways that help us stop being overwhelmed by past experiences, we can f...

What we experience in this human body is designed to help us evolve, to help us move our souls into growth and to help us get closer to that divine existence. // How do you connect your day-to-day life to what’s happening in your culture, your society or your life? // With the recent media coverage on violence against Asian American Pacific Islander bodies, how does this true-to-life violence rela...

In this episode, I talk with Filipina writer, comic maker, and fellow parent, Isabel Garcia-Gonzales. A week after the Atlanta shootings, we sit down to share how we’ve been processing and responding to these killings and how we’ve been talking with our children about it. We noticed that people in the AAPI community had different responses to what was happening - some were outspoken and some were...

The gloves are coming off for this episode. // Spirituality and activism are not mutually exclusive. One can exist without the other, but you don't have to choose one over the other. // Spirituality is your grounding place to help you understand who you are in this world as a spirit soul having a human experience. Activism is the act of standing up to do what we are called to do in order to create...

You are more than who you're being right now, more than your physical or cultural identity, and more than the roles that you play in this life. // Let's understand who we are in this physical moment so we can learn how to expand. // The idea of identity and naming your stories give us a starting point for healing. // Before you can get where you want to be in the future, you need to know where you...

Everyone is discovering the intimate universe in their own way - don't worry about what others are doing or thinking or even what their opinions are of you. They are on their own path. // It's important to think about how you can best serve others by being your most authentic self// The nectar of this life is a every divine moment, even when you're sleeping. Every moment is taking you to grow. Eve...

In this episode, I talk with Luisa about how poetry writing and spiritual practices overlap and intersect. Both are a kind of meandering, a kind of exploration. // Our human minds always want to be linear - a ‘feeling’ is not a straight line nor a destination, but it is a moment or an experience. // This episode brings the idea of mapping the patterns according to what we see in nature rather than...

Monotony is an illusion. // Compassion and dignity are the antidotes to Anger. It helps us thrive in this human experience.// We have choices as far as how we interact, how we see those interactions. We have intentions that we're in charge of. We have power over how we respond to things.// The physical body needs human connection. Sharing of the everyday actions/tasks reminds us of our humanness....

Omg. I’m so freaking excited about this episode! You don’t even know. I get to talk with one of my favorite people and oldest friends, Ross Gay, award-winner poet, professor at Indiana University, baller, gardener, and all-around big-hearted human. We were poetry babies together in college with Lee Upton, poet and professor extraordinaire, as our poetry mama (Ross mentions her here). We talk about...

When trauma happens, your neurological pathways get interrupted and new ones get formed. Without healing, these pathways become your way of life - one in which you experience the trauma again and again. // Often, the conversation around healing from traumatic experiences excludes people of color. // By focusing on God, the divine, the Universe --whatever you name the higher power-- we remember tha...

In today’s episode, I am joined by Ruth Forman, an acclaimed poet, writing mentor to many, and author of children’s literature. Her most recent children’s books are Curls and Glow from Simon & Schuster. We talked about ways in which we can connect with ourselves, including saying a prayer in the morning when you wake up, and how the connection with nature is so essential to our nourishment. //...

Our intuitive voice knows that we are worthy, knows that we deserve all the things we want.// Our desires in our hearts were put there for a reason - this is our purpose in life: to go and to seek it out. // We are here to play the game of being a human on this planet and learn lessons in the process. // It takes some work to discern between the desire of the heart and the desire of the ego, but i...

In this episode, I talk with Autumn Saunders, a very special guest who is a soul dancer, a soul doula facilitator, a NIA movement artist, a poet, a singer-songwriter, and a budding herbalist. // Here she shared about how she uses movement in the work of connecting the mind, body, and spirit for healing and encouraged us to find our internal rhythm - Rise, Rest, Rejuvenate. // Find what’s fun for y...

Happy New Year! How was your year so far? In our 50th episode of Vinyasa in Verse, I shared about having fun, celebrating, being present and enjoying the experience of being a human being, even in the challenging parts, even in the pain and the suffering. // Be open when receiving answers to prayers in ways that you may not expect. Be receptive and listen to your intuition, your inner voice. The h...

In this special “Best of” series of Vinyasa in Verse, I’m highlighting some episodes that recap a crazy year full of shifts and growth. In this one, I talk about how we explore finding joy in healing.// Most people think that healing is difficult because subconsciously, we feel comfortable with the pain and suffering of trauma. We tolerate it because it’s familiar.// Hug your trauma. Embrace it. A...

In this special “Best of” series of Vinyasa in Verse, I’m highlighting some episodes that recap a crazy year full of shifts and growth. In this one, I talk with one of my mentors who has made a big impact on me and helped shape my spiritual journey: Mahan Rishi Singh Khalsa. He’s one of the first people to call me by my spiritual name, Surya Gian, which, when I hear it, makes me feel like my true...

In this episode, we will take a look at the experiences we went through that gave us some valuable lessons. Life is unpredictable and each day is not promised, something that most people are really being made aware of now in these pandemic times. // Lessons are all around. Sometimes we learn them right away, other times we don't. But all are made to help us grow. // We all have this divine light w...

Inner work starts with thinking about how pain and sorrow is an opportunity for us to break down our barriers or any other walls. Allow yourself to feel the pain and sorrow. // What if the wound is the place where the light shines forth from you? There is a light within that connects all of us. // We are able to heal ourselves from the inside out. // The work we do on ourselves affects those aroun...

How would you live your life? What would you do differently if you knew that you couldn’t fail? If you knew that every decision was the right one? In this episode, I talk about how trusting yourself and your inner knowing to take the big leap really does work out. // The universe doesn't work according to your plans. The universe works according to what is best to serve your highest good. // We ar...

How do we treat our physical body? In this episode, we will talk about how we give treatment to our bodies and how we navigate it as human beings. //Self-care is taking care of our soul - our innermost selves. It's the idea of honoring who you are and what activities best nourish and nurture you. // Choose to thrive rather than exist. We have the power to choose. // Remember that sometimes, in our...

Today, I’m changing it up a little bit by pulling a tarot card to kick things off! In this episode, I cover a range of topics --from finding beauty to seeking our life’s purpose to meditation’s magic. // What we are seeking is ourselves - seeking our purpose, seeking who we really are. // There's no such thing as failure. Failure is the only disappointment in our expectations not being met. What f...