Meditative practice starts with the breath. We first recognize the neutrality and awareness of the touch of our breath, the way it feels in the nostrils and on our lips, and when our mind wanders we always bring it right back here. But as your practice evolves, you become aware of sensations. These sensations are two-fold: those of the conscious mind and those of the unconscious mind. The conscious mind is aware of what it’s feeling. These are the pains we feel in our thighs from sitting for an ...
Aug 12, 2021•47 min
If you’ve ever been at the center of an emotional storm, or a storm of thoughts we can call it, then you know how real these sensations can get. Those raw feelings of pain, hurt, anger, even embarrassment are all very real emotions...but they are impermanent. As you sit here now for this meditative practice, I invite you to pay attention to your thoughts about and the way you respond to these sensations. It’s hard to put yourself in danger when you’re in a comfortable, seated position on the flo...
Aug 05, 2021•33 min
Is yoga just a physical thing? Is our value and our skill only limited to our physical frame? Or are we practicing to be a part of something greater than ourselves? To answer these questions and more, I invited fellow yoga teacher Shanna Small back to the show to share her perspective on our role as yogis and as yoga instructors. If you follow Shanna on social media, then you know the work she is putting in to deconstruct the use of hierarchical language in the yoga classroom. She breaks down th...
Jul 29, 2021•53 min
There’s this common misconception that yoga is supposed to feel good. And it does. The practice is known to help us heal our injuries, relieve stress, and foster inner peace, but every yogi would be lying if they said yoga feels great all of the time. To be completely honest, yoga practice trains us how to become equanimous with our pain. That serene and peaceful look you see on our faces comes with years of asana practice and meditation that teaches us how to sit and truly experience our pain. ...
Jul 22, 2021•1 hr 15 min
This interview is something special because Holly Fiske is a yogi like no other. She is a yoga teacher, movement teacher, headstand master, super mom, extreme athlete, and yoga entrepreneur. You may have seen some of her classes at OmStars, and I invite you to take advantage of her headstand lessons during the challenge this month (hint hint!). But first — I invited Holly onto the Yoga Inspiration Podcast to share her story and inspire us with the different perspectives she brings to the yoga ma...
Jul 15, 2021•51 min
Each of us is drawn to the practice of yoga for different reasons, and our paths may not always be so linear. Marie Belle took her first yoga class in college as a sort of exploratory experience, but it wasn’t until graduate school that she sought out the yoga mat for a different reason. In April 2007, a shooter took the campus of Virginia Tech hostage, killing 32 people before taking his own life. Marie Belle survived that event but was left to pick up the pieces of what came next. Although she...
Jul 08, 2021•51 min
Our experiences make us who we are. The joys, the hardships, and the people we welcome into our lives along the way influence our identities and who we become. For the queer community, these experiences are an integral piece of identity. In honor of Pride Month, I invited M Camellia of Found Space Yoga to guide us through a special meditation based in identity reflection. They share their own trans experience and what it means to be non-binary in the yoga community, and I encourage you to follow...
Jul 01, 2021•38 min
Today I am going to ask you to step outside the edges of your comfort zone. This is something yoga asks us to do all the time. Some of us call it “moving into the fire”, and I’m sure you recognize that sore, burning sensation that comes from the stretching and strength-building we do on the mat. In this way, yoga is very confrontational. The practice asks us to face that which we are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with and ultimately come out on the other side a little bit stronger for it. And if w...
Jun 24, 2021•39 min
Welcome to Meditations for Manifesting with Kino MacGregor. This is your daily reminder to practice meditation. We will begin with a few minutes of mindfulness, focusing on the reality of our breath, and then bring our attention to a state of being beyond our breath, body, and mind. I will lead us through today’s meditation on healing and happiness, bringing your mind into a contemplative state. From here, you can start cultivating a space to process your emotions, taking the first steps toward ...
Jun 17, 2021•26 min
Yoga is an ancient practice, passed on from teacher to student over the millennia, and the tradition of yoga is kept alive by the students, people like you and me taking time to get on the mat and practice every day. The culture of yoga is essential to the student’s journey, and everyone who practices yoga is in debt of sorts to the practice itself. We owe it to ourselves and the future generation of yogis to protect and honor the culture and teachings, but while we’re practicing today in the mo...
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr 6 min
It’s time to celebrate! Celebrate the fact that you made time for yoga practice today! With so many distractions, it’s more important than ever to carve out time for meditation and metta practice, too. Take this moment now to acknowledge and celebrate not only the work you’ve put in but the work of all the yogis before us. None of us would be here today without our yoga teachers, mentors, and friends who helped us on this path toward spiritual awakening. And it’s our job as students to honor the...
Jun 03, 2021•34 min
Come to a comfortable seated position, and join me for a traditional Anapanasati meditation. Let your mind, body, and breath settle into this moment. You have to bring your attention inwards to start the practice of Anapanasati, and the easiest place to begin is by focusing on your breath. Pay attention to the ingoing and outgoing breath, its texture and its rhythm. No matter how it feels, sounds, tastes, or smells, simply acknowledge that your breath is moving in and out, in and out, in and out...
Jun 03, 2021•37 min
I truly love being a yoga teacher, but my most favorite space to be in is that of a yoga student. Harmony Slater is a fellow yoga teacher and forever student who continues to inspire me to learn in new and something ways. We are both practicing Ashtanga students who became yoga teachers, but that unique space where the student becomes the teacher can really change your perspective of the practice. When Harmony first discovered yoga in her 20s, it was the first time she felt good inside of her ow...
May 27, 2021•51 min
How many of you have felt uninspired to practice yoga during this pandemic? Without a class to go to or a teacher to talk with, it can be hard to get motivated to do just about anything, let alone exercise. I invited Scott to this special episode of Yoga Inspiration so we could share our experiences as yoga studio owners and teachers during the lockdown. I was lucky enough to already have an online channel when lockdown orders were issued, but Scott went from teaching morning Mysore classes in a...
May 20, 2021•1 hr
Join me for a deep and powerful conversation with Melanie Klein. She is a mentor of mine and one of the founders of The Yoga and Body Image Coalition. She’s run the marathon of social justice work time and time again, and she has inspired me to grow as a person and as a social intellectual. The real work of social awakening goes well beyond the yoga mat. For Melanie, she started out at the intersection between social work, gender studies, and media literacy before ever taking her first Kundalini...
May 13, 2021•59 min
The lineage of yoga is a sacred key to our practice. Unfortunately, the way yoga is packaged up and delivered today - especially in the Western hemisphere - can have an impact on our personal and individual connections to the lineage. My guest today grew up in a Hindu household where yoga was and is an integral part of her faith. Anusha arranges her home in such a way that brings attention to the divine consciousness, and she begins every day with yoga. But she isn’t practicing asanas first thin...
May 06, 2021•56 min
I want to thank each and every one of you for showing up and getting on your mats. Whether it’s for meditation or yoga practice, it is inspiring to see so many of my fellow yogis sticking with the practice. The tiny steps we all take during meditation practice can have a huge impact on the world around us. I know we can’t change the world overnight, but we can start making the positive changes within ourselves and carry them with us into the world. Working on yourself is working on the world bec...
Apr 29, 2021•17 min
Get comfortable, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Take in the presence of this moment and join me for a traditional Anapanasati meditation. The awareness of the inflowing and outflowing breath that we focus on in this meditative practice is meant to teach your mind to relax and achieve a state of equanimity. Pure awareness doesn’t come easily, but you can make the practice easier on yourself by focusing on a tiny part of your body, such as your nostrils, your lips, or any spot where the ...
Apr 29, 2021•35 min
It’s always an honor to share this space with you. You show up every day to practice and it really is an inspiration to me. I always feel better after a yoga practice, and you should, too. Regardless of what asanas you do (or not) on the mat shouldn’t impact the way you feel about your practice. We all need a lesson in being a little bit nicer to ourselves. We can’t judge our success by our asana - you can succeed at yoga even if you mess up some of the poses! Failing at a pose or two doesn’t me...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Many of us take up the path of yoga to heal, both physically and emotionally, and each of us should pursue the practice of seated meditation for the same reason. Because the benefits from each meditation will be immediately noticeable. You should feel better, lighter, freer, regardless of whether you were able to keep your mind focused and neutral the whole time. It’s not about each little moment. The benefits of meditation come from the accumulation of all your time spent in the practice. Each ...
Apr 15, 2021•24 min
Get situated and take a comfortable position for this meditation. Do your best to keep your posture to avoid as many distractions as possible. Without distractions, your mind can focus on your breath and you can start to cultivate the quality of concentration needed to achieve the quiet state of meditation. Remember, your breath is the anchor during meditation. No matter what thoughts you have racing through your mind, acknowledge them once and let them go. Bring your attention back to the breat...
Apr 15, 2021•36 min
It’s such a pleasure to share the yoga practice with you. I appreciate every single time you carve time out of your day to commit to the practice and join me on the yoga mat. We’ve accomplished so much, and I hope you feel this sense of gratitude for one another and this opportunity to practice. Everything you’ve achieved and accomplished so far is a result of all of your efforts and dedication to the practice. Give yourself the props you deserve for coming to the mat every day. It’s your effort...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Sometimes after meditation, you may feel pretty peaceful. This can be a signal to your higher mind that you’re ready for deeper challenges. It may be time to face your shadow self on the yoga mat. When you start this spiritual journey, you’re beginning to work with (or sometimes against) the habit patterns of the mind. We have many good habits, but some of us are battling with destructive habits that we may not even recognize in our conscious, waking lives. When you realize you have these seeds ...
Apr 01, 2021•46 min
Please join me in this meditation with a calm mind. Take a deep breath and come into a comfortable seated position. On your exhale, notice your breath as it moves out. When your awareness is focused on something so specific as the way your breath feels on your upper lip, you will always be able to cultivate peace of mind. That is a goal of meditative practice. When you practice Anapanasati, you are training your mind to focus on a single point of attention: the ingoing and outgoing breath. In or...
Apr 01, 2021•36 min
One of the goals of our spiritual journey of yoga is cultivating peace of mind. Only a disciplined mind can seek this eternal truth, but disciplining your subconscious can take years and years of practice. Unfortunately, we can’t just run away to a cave and meditate without distraction. We have to interact with others and ourselves, and sometimes our own thoughts and feelings can be our biggest distraction. This is where the tool of self-observation comes in. Self-observation is the practice of ...
Mar 25, 2021•42 min
Welcome to the Yoga Inspiration Podcast! Wherever you’re joining me from today, make sure you’re comfortable. You want to change your posture as little as possible during this meditation. Allow the physical structure of your body to settle right now and into this moment. As you get comfortable, close your eyes and direct your physical senses inward. Always begin this journey by focusing on your breath. Focus on the way it sounds coming out of your nose and the way it feels hitting your upper lip...
Mar 25, 2021•39 min
Every yoga student needs is a teacher. The spiritual journey of yoga should never be ventured into alone. Teachers fuel our spiritual growth on his path, but it can be hard to find a balance between learning from and over-idolizing the yoga teacher. Learning needs a balance between a healthy notion of self-worth and humility. Finding this balance is a feat we yoga students have to face more than once. Had it not been for my own yoga teachers I would not be here teaching you today, but I still ha...
Mar 18, 2021•48 min
Through my experience on the yoga mat, I believe that every spiritual student needs to start with the kind of contemplation practices that cultivate stillness of mind. In order to liberate the mind, we need this stillness, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Cultivating mindfulness - or sati - means finding a seat of awareness within you that is without judgment. The stillness breaks all the patterns of your past actions and reactions and creates a space for true growth. But to get there takes prac...
Mar 11, 2021•48 min
Sometimes there are no words to describe the meditative process, and it can get in the way of our awareness and stillness of mind. Traditionally, a meditative series includes the Anapanasati , or the breathing exercises, followed by the calming of the mind, and ending with the metta practice. But if you find yourself at a loss for words, simply come back to the breath. Anapanasati is the key to cultivating the stillness of mind all yoga students seek. Allow your body to settle and relax as you b...
Mar 11, 2021•41 min
When I think about my first ever yoga class, I remember that feeling of finally being back in my body again. More than that, I finally felt comfortable in the body I was in. For Jonathan Ferrucci, his first class inspired him to wonder where his body ends and the rest of the universe begins. Jonathan is a professional pianist sharing his experience at the intersection between yoga and music. For him, these are both languages he used to find his authenticity as not only a musician but as a human ...
Mar 04, 2021•48 min
