Skillful Means Podcast

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We are pleased to kick off our virtual retreat with this Yoga & RAIN Meditation practice with Sarah Jane. 

In this guided practice, Sarah Jane invites you to spend a few moments warming the body and enhancing chi circulation with simple movements undertaken in concert with a slow and steady breath. We then settle in and progress through the steps of RAIN meditation--Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture--with the opportunity to rest in various yin yoga postures through their unfolding. 

Poses include: child's pose, shoelace, dragonfly, recalled butterfly, and savasana. You may need a blanket or two and a pillow or cushion for support in the yin postures. 

Developed by Vipassana teacher Michele McDonald and championed by psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach, RAIN is a mindfulness-based, self-compassion practice that can be used in a moment or over a lengthy meditation sit, and anywhere in between. 

Our intention in offering this practice at the outset of the retreat is to fortify you and provide a useful tool you can bring forth when emotional discomfort arises, presenting the opportunity for an accelerated cultivation of loving awareness. 

Disclaimer
The information and postures shared in this episode are not a substitute for proper medical care. If you are ill or injured, please consult your physician.

Practicing asana comes with inherent risk. It is up to you to assess whether the postures shared in this practice are appropriate for you. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise or movement program.

You assume responsibility for any injuries suffered while practicing these techniques.

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Skillful Means Podcast is offering this virtual retreat to help you recommit to your yoga and mindfulness practice even - especially - during this difficult time.

We welcome your comments and questions. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at [email protected]. You can get in touch with Sarah Jane directly at https://www.sarahjaneshangraw.com where she offers offers weekly classes, monthly workshops, meditation groups, and mentoring.

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SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

This is just a quick reminder about the upcoming virtual retreat here on the podcast.

Join us on Nov 20-22 for twice daily practices to help you strengthen your connection both to yourself and to those around you. Episodes will appear here in the podcast feed at midnight and noon EST.

You can also join for optional live Zoom calls and receive email tips. Sign up at: http://bit.ly/tiro2020

We hope this offering is off benefit to you and the wider world.

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You can find Skillful Means Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, or send us your comments at [email protected]. 

You can also get in touch with Jen and Sarah Jane directly. 

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

As a companion to episode 29 on Internal Family Systems (IFS therapy), we invite you to enjoy this guided parts meditation.

Jen will help you locate and get to know one or more parts during this experience. IFS is an embodied practice, so the doorway into your inner environment is through body sensations. After a few minutes of guided relaxation, you'll start to track your somatic experience as a way of foregrounding what needs the most attention right now.

It's helpful to engage in IFS parts work at a quiet time where you are neither rushed nor distracted. Many people find this to be a fruitful addition to their daily practice.

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

We welcome your comments. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at [email protected]. You can get in touch with Jen directly at https://sati.yoga where she offers yoga and mindfulness classes, workshops, and trainings. She also offers group and 1:1 IFS coaching sessions. 

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

In this episode, Jen and Sarah Jane finally and excitedly get around to talking about Internal Family Systems. 

IFS is having a moment lately, and is being brought into yoga and Buddhist communities by some prominent teachers, including Sarah Jane and Jen’s primary teacher, Sarah Powers.

Since Jen has completed Level II IFS training, Sarah Jane asks her to describe the core proposition of IFS – that our mind is composed of sub personalities that have their own perspectives and motivations – and the benefits of bringing this model into spiritual life.

Ever concerned about the spiritual bypassing, appropriation, and dilution they see in many parts of yogaland, particularly in the U.S., Sarah Jane and Jen speak specifically about what IFS can do for yoga practitioners who seek to heal the wounds that prevent them from fully showing up.

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Resources Mentioned

Sarah & Ty Powers’ Insight Yoga Institute
Amy Weintraub’s Lifeforce Yoga
“Introduction to Internal Family Systems” by Dr. Richard Schwartz
“Self Therapy” by Jay Earley
Jen’s All Parts Are Welcome 4-week IFS Support Circle

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Join us for our first live Virtual Retreat, November 20-22: Tuning In and Reaching Out

We believe in taking the opportunity we have here now, in our ephemeral existence and in uncertain times, to strengthen the web of interconnectedness, in which our freedom is found. 

And so, our first virtual retreat will feature talks and practices that encourage inner investigation as well as interconnectedness.

Get all the details and register for live Zoom calls and email support

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You can find Skillful Means Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, or send us your comments at [email protected]. 

You can also get in touch with Jen and Sarah Jane directly. 

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

In this meditation drawn from Taosit practices, Sarah Jane guides you through a breath-based visualization for replenishing and balancing inner energy. 

We are both individually whole and inextricably interconnected with each other and the natural world. We can view everything--even human beings--as composed of elements and infused with energies that, when in balance, create harmony and health. 

By drawing grounding earth chi, or earth energy, from below to fill the dantian or hara, the body’s energetic center in the lower abdomen, we capacitate stability. Similarly, by drawing energizing heaven chi, or sky energy, from above to fill the heart center, we capacitate liveliness.

In this meditation we spend time doing both, using long, slow, smooth breaths as guides. After filling the hara and heart, we start to intermingle these two energies for a sense of balance, harmony, and health. 

Well rooted and in touch with our depth, as well as filled with activating energy, we will not need to leave our inner ground in order to navigate the shifting course of life. 

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Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at [email protected] with your comments.

You can also get in touch with Sarah Jane directly where she offers weekly classes, monthly workshops, meditation groups, and mentoring.

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

In this episode, Jen and Sarah Jane address the human predicament: We are wired to avoid unfamiliarity, uncertainty, and unpredictability in life, even while these very forces are ever-present realities. This simple paradox is the source of much of the stress in our complicated lives.  

Acknowledging the particular challenges of navigating life in the midst of a global pandemic, the US election, and seasonal changes, Jen and Sarah Jane share the methods they use to soothe the nervous system in times of distress. But what about building long-term resilience so that we may engage with life as it is, no matter how it is? Back and forth, they share what they’ve learned for, drop by drop, “filling the pot with good.”

Ultimately, they talk about how understanding and accepting the nature of change can ease passage through life that will naturally be filled with obstacles. Like water running downhill and around obstacles, aligning ourselves with the way things work is foundational to living a life free of, at least, the unnecessary sufferings we place upon ourselves.

Related Resources

Sarah Powers Insight Yoga and online practices to fill your water pot, drop by drop.

Adyashanti’s The End of Your World, for spiritual clarity on the nature of the world.

Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright, on how Buddhism addresses the human condition. 

Coming in November on the show!
We’ll be offering a virtual retreat in November, with live Zoom check-ins to start and end, two practices a day via the podcast feed for three days, and two Q&As tucked in between for support. Make sure you're subscribed to receive it all.

In the meantime, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us your comments at [email protected].

You can also get in touch with Jen and Sarah Jane directly. 

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

In this guided Yin Yoga practice, Jennifer guides you through a short series of postures designed to nourish the spleen and stomach.

According to Taoist Energetic Medicine, the spleen and stomach work together to perform the important function of extracting vital life force energy from the food we eat. When the spleen and stomach experience disharmony, it affects our entire organ system.

These organs are also associated with important emotional and mental faculties including feelings of groundedness, connectedness, understanding, insight, and mental clarity.

During times of transition or great uncertainty, we tend to feel the opposite, including anxiety or a sense of being like a boat adrift on a rough sea. Mentally, we tend to lose focus and our ability to stay on task. 

In this practice, we fortify the organs most affected by these emotions. During the poses, Jennifer unpacks a centering technique called The Three Grounds of Support. The meditative aspect of this practice will help you to tap inner resources to help you meet the challenges of these uncertain times.

You’ll find it helpful to have a bolster or firm cushion on hand for one of the postures.

Disclaimer
The information and postures shared in this episode are not a substitute for proper medical care. If you are ill or injured, please consult your physician.

Practicing asana comes with inherent risk. It is up to you to assess whether the postures shared in this practice are appropriate for you. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise or movement program.

You assume responsibility for any injuries suffered while practicing these techniques.

~

Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at [email protected]with your comments. You can get in touch with Jen directly at https://sati.yoga where she offers weekly classes, workshops, and trainings.

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

The landscape of yoga studios is not what it once was. With some studios closed permanently and others open only temporarily or in limbo, practitioners who relied on guided classes may be more motivated than ever to develop a self-led practice.

In order to have a regular self-led yoga asana practice, you need one thing: some form of inquiry practice. Whether it’s a regular mindfulness practice, a journaling practice, or another method of self-examination, you need to be able to assess your current state of being so that you can select methods that address your present needs. 

After all, what is a yoga practice if not the opportunity to attune and attend? 

In this episode, Jen and Sarah Jane introduce the body-heart-mind check-in, a three-part inquiry practice that allows a practitioners to investigate: 

• How does my physical body feel today? 
• What is present for me emotionally?
• Where is my mind and is my mental body cluttered, free, or something else?

And once we know how we are, we can proceed from there. Jen and Sarah Jane share tips and examples from their own practices and teaching.  

Resources Mentioned

3-Part Check-in Meditation Guided Practice
Loving Kindness Guided Practice
Compassion Guided Practice
Sympathetic Joy Guided Practice
Equanimity for Balanced Action Guided Practice
Mindfulness of Breathing Guided Practice

Jen & Sarah Jane’s Weekly Yin Yoga & Mindfulness Classes via Zoom

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram, or email [email protected]. 

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

Wrapping up our series on the Four Immeasurables, in this guided practice, Sarah Jane Shangraw unpacks the fourth “sublime state,” upeksa (equanimity). Upeksa is a state of non-preferencing that can arise in meditation when we feel into and accept the uncontrollable flow and tonality of experience, and leave it at that.

Not a cool and distant quality, equanimity combines the wisdom of understanding together with compassionate inclusivity. Under its influence, we are balanced and open, able to “be with” rather than give in to the compulsion to “react to.” More broadly, it helps us accept our joys and sorrows equally, and engage skillfully in the wider world, despite its many challenges.

Skillful Means Podcast offers these guided practices to help you deepen into your yoga and mindfulness journey.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us a note at [email protected] with your comments.

You can also get in touch with Sarah Jane directly and sign up to attend her ongoing twice weekly live meditation drop-in, Mindful Morning Sangha.

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Text me your feedback.

In this episode, Jen and Sarah Jane take a look through the Buddhist lens at the mind. 

Specifically, they explore using mindfulness, being with discomfort, and taking responsibility as foundations for the necessary and ongoing work of recognizing and undoing our conditioning, including unconscious bias.

Though this conversation is inevitably incomplete, it touches on several concepts that can serve as jumping off points to further our contemplation and engagement in a world where the dominant racial identity group must reckon with and right deeply rooted, systemic wrongs. Conversation includes:

• What mindfulness is and isn’t
• Internally and externally focused mindfulness
• Not scratching the itch (being with discomfort)
• We are not our minds after all (thank goodness)
• The sausage-making effect of conditioning
• How much control do we actually have?
• The almost inevitable “affective push” of feelings
• Practices for seeing and slowing automatic mind
• Questions we should not stop asking ourselves

Related Links & Resources Mentioned

Implicit Social Attitudes Test from Project Implicit, Harvard University

“The Buddha’s Original Teachings on Mindfulness” a Tricycle.com article containing Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation of the Satipatthana Sutta, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

Metta Hour Podcast, Episode 87, where Sharon Slazberg interviews Ruth King on her work encouraging mindfulness to meet unconscious bias and more.

Sarah Jane’s Introduction to Mindfulness & Compassion Online Course

You can find us on Facebook and Instagram, or send us your comments at [email protected]. 

You can also get in touch with Jen and Sarah Jane directly. 

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.