You judge your body every time you step onto the mat. The wobble in tree pose. The foot that will not reach behind your head. This week on Beyond the Diet, we unpack ahimsa, the first of the yamas in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and why non-violence starts with the thoughts you have about yourself before it ever reaches anyone else. We talk about the difference between intention and action, why self-criticism and gossip count as violence too, and the research showing happiness is genuinely contagious (you are 25% more likely to feel happy when someone close to you does). We close with a loving-kindness meditation you can practise right where you are sitting. In this episode: What ahimsa means in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and why it is the most important of the yamas How ahimsa shows up in thought, word and deed, not just physical action Why judging your practice on the mat is a form of self-harm The science behind why happiness, and negative thinking, both spread The Anusara three A's, attitude, alignment, action, and how they connect to ahimsa A closing loving-kindness meditation for someone who is currently challenging you If this lands, come find us on the mat at Yoga to Transform in Christchurch. Follow Beyond the Diet for real talk on weight, wellness and womanhood, at the intersection of yoga philosophy, Ayurveda and modern science. yogatotransform.com

We've just started the Niyamas in our Yamas and Niyamas series, and this episode is on the second one: Santosha, contentment. We open with a couple of favourite teachings on contentment, Lao Tzu and the Bhagavad Gita, before getting into the real question underneath Santosha. Why do so many of us live by the "I'll be happy when" mindset, and what does it actually cost us to keep pausing our peace until the next goal arrives? In this episode, we explore: Why desire and goals aren't the problem, but making your peace conditional on them is The nervous system wiring behind why we struggle to rest until an urge is satisfied Why anchoring contentment in temporary things (a house, a relationship, a body) keeps happiness out of reach Gratitude as the most direct path back into contentment The Anusara philosophy principle of "look for the good" A guided sensory reflection through breath, sound, sight, smell and touch to close the episode Underneath all of it is a simple, hard practice: learning to stay content with what is, even while you keep moving towards what's next.

You have done the work. The therapy. The books. The self-development. You understand, intellectually, where your patterns come from. And some of them are still there. In this episode I talk about why that happens, and what shifts when healing goes below the level of conscious understanding into the body, the subconscious, and the deeper layers where patterns actually live. In this episode we explore: How chronic fatigue in my early twenties became the doorway into yoga, Ayurveda and a 30-year healing path Why cardio and gym training gave me fitness but not a relationship with my body, and what changed that The Anusara yoga method and why the philosophical dimension matters as much as the physical What personal training, Ayurveda and Core Energetics body psychotherapy have in common Why the subconscious cannot be changed by intellectual understanding alone What hypnotherapy actually feels like, and how it connects dots the conscious mind never could Samskara, the visor, and the Ayurvedic idea that you are already whole Ancestral and generational patterns, and the science behind why we carry them What enlightenment actually means when you take it out of the spiritual abstract and into a real woman's week The difference between trying to fix something broken and removing what is obscuring what was always there Underneath all of it is one question: what becomes possible when you stop working against your body and start listening to what it already knows? Connect with Kristina at yogatotransform.com Follow on Instagram: @yogatotransform Listen to the Beyond the Diet podcast: yogatotransform.com/podcast Yoga to Transform is a women's wellness studio based in Christchurch, New Zealand, offering yoga, personal training and Ayurveda wellness coaching for women who are ready to come home to their bodies.

If you've been living with back pain and nothing seems to stick, this episode is for you. Kristina walks you through the exact four-week framework from the Yoga to Transform Back Pain course, sharing the real reasons why so many women over 45 stay stuck in pain cycles, and what to do instead. This is not about pushing harder. It's about learning to soften first. In this episode: Why 50% of people with herniated discs feel no pain at all, and what that tells us about where back pain really comes from The magnesium deficiency most New Zealanders don't know they have, and how it connects to chronic muscle tension How to use a muscle release ball (or a rolled towel) to release the psoas and sacrum at home The four muscle groups that make up your real core, and the two exercises you can do lying on your back today Why the legs are the governors of the lower back, and the seated adjustment you can do at your desk right now How to bring joy back into movement when pain has made you stop Kristina also shares her own experience healing from sciatica developed after years of carrying her children on one hip, and the practices she still returns to today. Practical, grounded, and gentle. Tune in wherever you are and move through it with us. Resources mentioned: Yoga to Transform Back Pain Course: www.yogatotransform.co.nz Muscle Release Ball: www.mymrball.com Connect with us: Instagram, Facebook and YouTube: Yoga to Transform

Hello lover. Come in.

If you've found your way to this episode, something in you is ready to look at the wall. The one between you and the love you came here for. Audrie and I are so glad you're here.

You're three months into something new and the same conversation has just shown up. The one you remember from the last one. And the one before that.

This week we're talking about love. The kind that doesn't come from someone else completing you. The kind Rumi was pointing at when he wrote that your work is not to seek love, but to remove the barriers within you that keep love out.

In this episode we explore:

Underneath all of it is one quiet thing. Love isn't something you find. Love is something you stop blocking.

In this deeply nourishing satsang, we explore one of the most powerful — and often most challenging — spiritual practices:

forgiveness.

Forgiveness can feel tender.
Complicated.
Even impossible.

And if this is a topic that brings something big to the surface for you, we gently encourage you to seek personalised support alongside this conversation.

Because forgiveness is not about pretending something didn’t hurt.

It’s about freeing yourself from continuing to carry it.

In this episode, we explore:

We also guide you through gentle meditation practices to help soften emotional charge and create space for healing.

At Yoga to Transform, forgiveness is not about condoning harm.

It is about reclaiming your energy.
Returning to the present moment.
And remembering who you are beneath the stories.

In this episode of Beyond the Diet, we explore something many people believe they don’t have enough of: flexibility.

Often, flexibility is misunderstood.
We think it means touching our toes… or achieving advanced poses.

But true flexibility is much deeper than that.

It’s about how you move through your life.
How your body supports you.
How your mind responds to change.

In this episode, we explore flexibility not as a goal — but as a way of living well.

We talk about:

This conversation is a gentle reminder:

You don’t need to force your body to become flexible.
You simply need to begin moving, breathing, and living in a way that supports it.

At Yoga to Transform, flexibility isn’t about performing.
It’s about freedom.

In this Thankful Thursday conversation, we explore something many of us experience at some point in our lives: back pain.

It might not seem like an obvious topic for gratitude…
and yet, when we look more deeply, it becomes an invitation.

An invitation to listen.
To soften.
To reconnect with the body in a new way.

In this episode, we explore the physical, emotional, and lifestyle factors that contribute to back pain — and how yoga offers a more compassionate and sustainable path to healing.

We share:

This conversation is a reminder that your body is not working against you.

It is communicating with you.

At Yoga to Transform, we believe healing begins when you stop forcing your body…
and start working with it.

On this week’s episode of the Beyond the Diet Podcast, the conversation is simple… and yet will really change your life:

Love yourself.

It sounds obvious. Maybe even a cliché.
And yet, for many of us, love is the very thing we’ve spent a lifetime searching for outside of ourselves.

In this episode, we unravel what it really means to cultivate self-love — beyond affirmations, beyond surface-level positivity — and into something much deeper, more honest, and more self-affirming.

We explore how, from a young age, we begin forming stories about who we are — often based on misunderstandings, family dynamics, and memories that may not even be true.

And from there… we carry those stories like a heavy suitcase through life.

Until we don’t have to anymore.

Inside this conversation:

This is a conversation about letting go.
About being kind with yourself.
About remembering something you’ve always known:

You are already whole. You are already worthy. You are already enough.

And from that place… everything changes.

In this conversation, we explore one of the values at the heart of Yoga to Transform:
Commit, then be disciplined.

For many women, the word discipline can feel heavy.
It can bring up memories of perfectionism, pressure, expectations, or feeling like we have to do things the “right” way.

But what if discipline wasn’t about force…
What if it was about devotion?

In this episode, we talk about the difference between being interested in something and being truly committed to it, and how discipline becomes natural when your actions are aligned with a vision that really matters to you.

We share personal stories about:

This conversation is an invitation to reflect on your own life.

What are you committed to?
What are you only interested in?
And what might change if you chose to work towards to your own vision?

At Yoga to Transform, we believe when your heart is aligned with your direction, finding the sttrength to move becomes simple.
And sometimes… even joyful.