I am beyond delighted to share this beautiful conversation with Diana May, the yoga teacher who first taught me how to teach yoga. 

If you’ve ever practiced yoga with me, you, too, have been touched by Diana’s powerful, nurturing teachings. 

In this rich and heartfelt episode, we explore how both of us and the practice of yoga itself have evolved over the years. 

Our conversation is a journey through yoga, chronic pain, trauma, somatics, and the profound wisdom of the nervous system.

Diana is a yoga teacher, somatic experiencing practitioner, applied neurology educator, and expert retreat facilitator. She brings a deeply compassionate and science-informed approach to healing through movement. 

We share a gentle approach to reclaiming vitality, safety, and ease in your body. 

We reflect on what it means to reconnect to your body, especially in midlife, after trauma, in menopause, or perimenopause, or when living with chronic pain.

Pearls of Wisdom:

• Yoga is so much more than movement. Yoga is a pathway to remembering who you are beneath all the layers of expectation, perfectionism, and societal “shoulds.”

• Trauma-informed yoga is about agency, choice, and offering people the safety to meet themselves exactly where they are with compassion, not judgment.

• Chronic pain and trauma often live in the nervous system, not just the body. Healing occurs through slow, intentional movement informed by the rhythms of the nervous system.

• Pleasure is not optional. It’s a necessary part of nervous system regulation and healing. Practices that orient you toward ease, rest, and joy are essential especially during menopause or transitions.

• Retreats offer profound co-regulation, nature-based healing, and space to be your full, human self that is tender, real, and whole.

If this episode resonates with you, consider joining me for an upcoming Pause & Presence retreat. A space to soften, reconnect, and listen deeply to what your nervous system truly needs. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats

If you’d like support as you navigate chronic pain, midlife transitions, or healing from burnout, I offer mindful coaching to help you reclaim vitality and peace. Learn more at: https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching

If you’d like to bring a conversation like this to your team, institution, or conference, I offer speaking and workshop facilitation on healing through mindfulness and movement: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking

To learn more about Diana May’s work, including her yoga classes, retreats, and somatic coaching, visit her at https://www.dianamay.com/

Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.