Spiritual Grit

In this episode, I talk with Ohio-based writer, poet, and editor (and fellow Filipina Catholic-daughter-of-immigrants mama) Lisa Factora-Borchers! Our conversation is rich with explorations about what it means to find ourselves unmasked and what to do with that discovery; how inextricably linked our spirits are with our bodies; and the varied ways in which we can work towards healing our condition...

Today’s conversation is with poet, yoga teacher, writing teacher, and –get this—founder and co-owner of the Pizza Loves Emily restaurant group, Emily Hyland! This one is soooo good! With the many hats she wears, Emily shares how her identity has evolved over time and how she has come to better understand who she is. We get to talking more about identity, especially during this time of dramatic shi...

In this episode, I get to talk with one of my mentors who 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 essence, my Sat Nam. Here, he shares his wisdom and light on how to navigate the new world that is emerging from this pandemic. H...

The Birthday Episode! What does that mean? Only that I recorded this on my birthday. Haha! And that it’s all about me! Hah! I’m half-joking I share my story as an empath and the journey I have taken in the past year to step into my own power and life’s purpose. This journey has involved some deep work in revising the stories and beliefs about myself and about the reality around me that I carried....

Today, Hafiz’s poem opens my talk with Claire Boyles, Colorado-based fiction writer and Hallmark screenwriter, with the idea of care – caring for ourselves, each other, and our planet. And I’ll tell ya: it’s not all high vibes and butterflies. It’s a conversation that takes unexpected turns from taking an honest look at our relationship with the earth to looking at how art functions and reflects t...

Are we fish riding camels, to only realize this now and notice how damn thirsty we are? Hafiz’s poem opens this episode and get us thinking about how this pandemic has stripped us of our distractions and is forcing us to take a real good look at who we are and who we are called to be. Today, I’m in conversation with one of my dear spiritual teachers, Shannon Elliott, owner and director of Onyx Yog...

I go in deep conversation with poet-writer and activist, Suzanne Gardinier, about how this pandemic is shifting and shaping us and how we can ride the surf toward evolution. We talk about how regular practices –yoga, meditation, writing, long term projects—can help keep us grounded during a time of uncertainty, a time of unknowing, *especially* doing it first thing in the morning, which helps set...

Leslieann has so much fun and play in this conversation with Lola Pickett, mentor and coach of empaths and highly sensitive people, talking about how play and self-expression can support us during stressful times. Lola says, “Play is the medicine for resilience to see us through.” During these times of global crisis and visceral change, it’s necessary to create beauty, to create joy – it’s a survi...

In this episode, Leslieann invites us to consider what we might learn from this quarantine experience. How can we grow from this global moment in time? Eckhart Tolle reminds us to be present in the NOW – that the past is a longing for something we used to have and the future is an imagined outcome. There is nothing real but the present moment. So how can we be present in the age of self-isolation...

In this episode, after several takes (haha), Leslieann talks about how our mindset affects our physical health, how we can lean into the fear and get curious about it – what lies there beneath the fear? What can we learn about ourselves when we embrace our fear and ask it questions like we would a new friend? She also invites us to take time to pause, take inventory of what really matters to us, a...

Identity Evolution and Self-Trust In this episode, Leslieann talks about life transitions and evolutionary growth, how self-trust is key, and letting go of old patterns creates space for new things to come in to play in our lives so that we might thrive. “What we focus on we create more of.” What do you want to create in your life? “Dividing God” by Hafiz opens the episode and “Graveyard Shift” by...

Today’s guest is poet and essayist, Camille T. Dungy, author of several books, including the poetry collection Trophic Cascade and the essay collection, The Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History. In this episode, Leslieann speaks with her about the practice of language and how we use it, being open to receive, and the Big Snap. They talk about how the practic...

Let’s celebrate! We’ve got our first guest on the show! In this episode, Leslieann speaks with Veronica Corpuz, Pittsburgh poet and visual artist. They talk about how poetry creates doors into our spirituality, how we can try to see the Buddha in everyone, how meditation can happen anywhere and how it can look like everyday tasks like doing dishes. The conversation ranges from deep engagement with...

In this episode, Leslieann speaks about the recent allegations of sexual abuse against Yogi Bhajan, the man who brought Kundalini Yoga to the West. There are no specific details about sexual abuse mentioned, but rather this is an inquiry to the role of spiritual teachers in our lives. How can we discern who is a good teacher for us? What do we do when our teachers fail us? There are no answers her...

The labels and roles we play are not who we are at our very essence. Awareness and meditation can help differentiate between the roles we play and our true identities, the Sat Nam within us. How can we release attachment to these labels and roles? And how can this help us find our life's purpose? Reference to Hafiz's The Gift (trans. Daniel Landinsky) and Michael Singer's The Untethered Soul. Look...

How can poetry help us dive deep into our inner personal work? What might happen if we saw poetry as a portal into our spiritual selves? Shake off your ambivalence about poetry and see it as a tool for connection. Maybe it'll hit you like the "breaka breaka dawn". Leslieann invites you to find a poem for yourself and share it with her by emailing her at: leslieannyoga@gmail.com You can also get mo...

Welcome to this podcast that uses poetry as a window into ourselves and meditation as a tool to connect with our divine selves so that we might live a life of purpose in service of our highest good. With each new year, we set resolutions, goals and intentions. Unfortunately, many of us give up after the first month. Why does this happen? It's not a matter sheer of willpower. It's deeper than that....