This episode is inspired by a question often asked to Ava: ‘Should I go on a Silent Retreat?’

Listen in to hear Ava discuss the main challenges for attending a Silent Retreat as she explains the steps to build a self reflective capacity and increase the chances for a successful Silent Retreat. Ava also mentions the different types of retreat and what separates a Spanda Silent Retreat from other retreats.

Whether you think a Silent Retreat is your next step or not, we are always happy to hear from you and and assist you in building your spiritual practice. 

Relevant links: 

• What is the difference between Silent Retreat and a Vipassana Retreat?

Chapter markers: 

00:00 Introduction to the topic. 

2:30 Different types of retreat

5:20 Should I go on a Silent Retreat? 

8:00 Steps to make before attending to a Silent Retreat 

9:30 What makes a retreat challenging for a beginner?

13:05 What we do at Spanda Silent Retreat to support beginners with these challenges

15:40 Thank you for listening

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness:

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign-up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.

Community meditation:

Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.

Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:

A free workshop on how to optimize your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.

Connect on Socials

Where you can hear from us in daily life

Personal account: @avairani_  

Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality 

Studio: @spandaschool

Welcome to this 35 minute meditation with Ava. In this meditation Ava begins with some body stretches and gently guides you into a state of relaxation and peace.

This meditation will help you relax the tensions of the body and connect to the sweetness of your middle, the heart space. 

If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your Spotify so you have access to this practice with one click.

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.

Community meditation:

Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.

Free workshop: The new paradigm of healing:

A free workshop that replaces the old, dogmatic, unsustainable paradigm of healing that burns out our community. Explore how to deepen your presence in both personal and professional spheres. 

Connect on Socials

Where you can hear from us in daily life

Personal account: @avairani_  

Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality 

Studio: @spandaschool 

In this episode Ava shares her recent experiences as a parent and openly discusses the difficulties that have played out over the last 13 months.

Ava also talks about what it really means to set boundaries and the journey of applying boundaries in her life, relationship and as a parent. 

Whether you are a parent or not, this podcast is for you if you are interested in applying healthy boundaries in your life. 

Relevant links: 

Healthy vs Rigid Boundaries

Click here to read our latest newsletter 

Chapter markers: 

00:00 Intro 

01:45 Ava’s most painful and challenging experience as a parent 

2:40 What’s been happening over the last month in her life

4:30 Ava’s experience as ‘the working parent’ 

5:26 Having resources and choices to navigate the challenges of life vs experiencing hardship with little choices

8:15 Ava shares about a conflict that she’s experienced internally 

12:42 The challenges about their current arrangement of caring for Jasmine 50/50

19:20 There can be many layers of our experience that prevent us from sensing exactly what we need 

21:19 Boundaries are so important but also complicated 

24:34 Steps to create boundaries and the highest value of Functional Spirituality Podcast 

29.15 Thanks for listening 

Join Ava and settle in, away from the mind and towards the body.

This is a body scan meditation with soothing background music to nourish, soften, let go and connect to stillness.

If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your Spotify so you have access to this practice with one click.

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.

Community meditation:

Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.

Free workshop: The new paradigm of healing:

A free workshop that replaces the old, dogmatic, unsustainable paradigm of healing that burns out our community. Explore how to deepen your presence in both personal and professional spheres. 

Connect on Socials

Where you can hear from us in daily life

Personal account: @avairani_  

Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality 

Studio: @spandaschool 

Regardless of the type of relationship we're in, our interactions with others can sometimes bring out some of the darkest emotions. We can sometimes feel immense pain, and often experience the feeling of being trapped. We tend to label these relationships as ‘toxic’.

In this episode, Ava unpacks this ‘toxic’ label, reframing what it means to experience being trapped in a ‘toxic relationship’.

Join the discussion in our Facebook group. 

Relevant links: 

• Free Resources Page 

Chapter markers: 

00:00 Warning: Honey may be snoring in the background 🙂

01:05 Introduction to the topic 

04:00 What happens in our brains when something hurts? 

05:35 What is a toxic relationship?

8:50 How do I know that I am in a toxic relationship?

11:10 Ingredients to healing 

12:00 Some relationships trigger our deepest wounds 

15:00 Ava shares about her experience 

16:26 What do we do now? 

19:30 Let us know what you think of this episode 

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness:

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign-up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.

Community meditation:

Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.

Free workshop: The new paradigm of healing:

A free workshop that replaces the old, dogmatic, unsustainable paradigm of healing that burns out our community. Explore how to deepen your presence in both personal and professional spheres.

Connect on Socials

Where you can hear from us in daily life

Personal account: @avairani_  

Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality 

Studio: @spandaschool

Join Anaid in this effortless guided cacao ceremony meditation to relax your body, heal and connect with your true essence. 

Take your time to prepare a cup of cacao or any ritual drink or food you'd like to connect with. Come back to this audio when you are in a comfortable space and ready to start the meditation.

If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your Spotify so you have access to this practice with one click.

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.

Community meditation:

Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.

Free workshop: The new paradigm of healing:

A free workshop that replaces the old, dogmatic, unsustainable paradigm of healing that burns out our community. Explore how to deepen your presence in both personal and professional spheres. 

Connect on Socials

Where you can hear from us in daily life

Personal account: @avairani_  

Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality 

Studio: @spandaschool

This week we are repurposing one of our favourite episodes from the Functional Spirituality archive. 

'Boundaries' is a common topic in personal development and spirituality, but do we really know what healthy boundaries are? It is a skill that needs to be cultivated and ultimately becomes an art form in how we relate to our health, our happiness and each other. 

Healthy boundaries help regulate our nervous system in a sustainable way.

What are the main ingredients of having Healthy Boundaries?

How can we develop this skill so our requests are not either too rigid or too loose?

Listen to this podcast to answer these questions.

If you want to receive the longer training on boundaries please click here. 

Relevant episodes:

Two ways healing tools work 

Chapter markers:

00:00 The importance of internal awareness and reflection in spirituality 

2:45 Boundaries vs Spiritual Values

5:00 Relational dynamics and how they contribute to our health 

7:00 What are healthy boundaries?

8:50 How do we build this skill? 

12:55 Self awareness 

14:15 Communication  

19:00 Flexibility

20:30 Rigid boundaries vs Healthy Boundaries

24:58 We invite you to take some space to reflect on this topic.

26:00 Join our facebook group and subscribe to the Functional Spirituality podcast.

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness:

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign-up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.

Community meditation:

Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.

Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:

A free workshop on how to optimize your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.

Connect on Socials

Where you can hear from us in daily life

Personal account: @avairani_  

Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality 

Studio: @spandaschool

Ready to start the new year with intention?

Struggling to pick a word? No worries, this guided meditation is here to help you!

This isn’t about crossing another goal off your list, it’s about creating an intention to help guide your daily actions and cultivate the qualities you want more of this year.

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.

Community meditation:

Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.

Free workshop: The new paradigm of healing:

A free workshop that replaces the old, dogmatic, unsustainable paradigm of healing that burns out our community. Explore how to deepen your presence in both personal and professional spheres.

Connect on Socials

Where you can hear from us in daily life

Personal account: @avairani_  

Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality 

Studio: @spandaschool 

Welcome to the first episode of the year. There is a collective energy directed towards setting new goals, dreaming big, re-inventing ourselves, having a fresh start. In this episode Ava shares with you some tips about how to create a morning routine. Is there a behavior change, a new routine, a practice, a new habit that you want to implement? 

Listen in to hear Ava share her insights that will support you with habit forming.

Relevant links:

Anchoring a word for the year

How to create a self suggestion tape

Dreaming exercise:

Click here to see the journal prompts. 

Chapter markers: 

00:00 Intro 

01:33 Habit forming is a practice and a skill that we can develop 

4:46 Talking about an outcome is not enough, we need planning and consideration

9:47 Journal prompts

11:04 Telling someone about it

13:00 Thank you for listening, we hope you have a beautiful start to the year

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness:

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign-up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.

Community meditation:

Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.

Free workshop: The new paradigm of healing:

A free workshop that replaces the old, dogmatic, unsustainable paradigm of healing that burns out our community. Explore how to deepen your presence in both personal and professional spheres. 

Connect on Socials

Where you can hear from us in daily life

Personal account: @avairani_  

Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality 

Studio: @spandaschool

Start your day with energy and positivity with this 15 minute guided meditation by Ava.  

Breathe and connect with the space in which the thoughts arise and explore the sensations of the smiling energy at the heart space.

The perfect opportunity to enquire how you are feeling and offering a loving and caring space for yourself. 

If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your Spotify so you have access to this practice with one click"

To join our free weekly group meditations message us or visit  @functionalspirituality 

Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.

www.functionalspirituality.com

Free resources:

Newsletter sign up: 

A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.