The Flow Artists Podcast by Garden of Yoga

We are extremely excited about our guest for today’s episode - Her name is Celeste Liddle.

Celeste is a writer, a trade unionist, a proud Arrente feminist, and the Greens Candidate for the Cooper electorate, right here in Melbourne. She’s also responsible for one of my favourite twitter feeds as you’ll hear later on! As I’ve already mentioned, we were very keen to speak with Celeste and especially grateful that she spoke with us from her home in isolation with Covid!

In this conversation we talk about Celeste's experiences being the only Aboriginal student at her high school in Melbourne. She shares how she used writing and poetry to process and share her perspective, and how this is something that she still does today. We also talk about her experiences writing in published media and online. We also discuss some of the issues that inspired her to run for the Greens party!

Links

Campaign Website: http://liddle.greens.org.au/

Celeste's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/celesteliddlegreens

Celeste's Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/Utopiana

Celeste's Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/celesteliddlegreens/

No more Boomerang by Oodgeroo Noonuccal: http://www.staff.vu.edu.au/syson/1002/oodgeroo.html

In this episode we speak with Bee Mohamed, head of patient advocacy at Astrid Dispensary.

Astrid is a specialty pharmacy, pioneering in cannabinoid medicine and plant-based therapies, located at the heart of South Yarra in Melbourne.

With a focus on patient centred care, Astrid is the first female-led dispensary in Australia, founded by a clinical pharmacist with extensive experience in the medicinal cannabis industry.

Bee was also the first CEO of ScriptWise, a non-profit patient advocacy organisation dedicated to prevent the harms associated with prescription medication overdose and addiction, so she has a long history in the field of harm minimisation.

Please be advised that we do talk about mental health and addiction in our conversation, so just wanted to give you a content warning for those topics.

As a couple who genuinely believe in the benefits of plant medicine, and reducing the stigma that is sometimes attached to it, Jo and I were super excited to speak with Bee for this episode.

Links

Astrid Dispensary Website: https://astrid.health/

Astrid Dispensary Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astrid.dispensary/

Scriptwise website: https://www.scriptwise.org.au/

Bee’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beebeegun85/

The endocannabinoid system explained: https://honahlee.com.au/articles/endocannabinoid-system-explained/

The Australian Greens Party: https://greens.org.au/

The Makarlu: https://gardenofyoga.com.au/learn/makarlu-stretch-strengthen-and-massage/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flowartistspodcast

When you need to talk to someone right now.

Lifeline: https://www.lifeline.org.au/ or 13 11 14 (24/7)

Trained counsellors offering crisis support and suicide prevention.

Beyond Blue Coronavirus Mental Health Support: https://coronavirus.beyondblue or 1800 512 348 (24/7)

In this episode we speak to Melanie Gnau - a small living expert. Melanie teaches about creating a sustainable and beautiful home through DIY, shopping second hand, gardening and living mindfully. Her blog A Small Life and social media sharing highlight how to make small, but life altering changes to how we live - that can benefit us as individuals, but also the planet as a whole. We also talk about her Isleta Pueblo heritage, how neurodiversity can be a consideration of functional design and even how cleaning can create compelling content. We talk about the different aspects of minimalism - beyond the aesthetic.

Melanie also shares how she balances the different aspects of her business and how the personal and political aspects of sustainability can intertwine, creating a meaningful life that benefits ourselves, our community and our planet.

We recorded this conversation before the devastating floods in Australia and the invasion of Ukraine. Seeing horrific events like these and knowing that there are other global events receiving less media attention really shines a light on what a privilege it is to have a safe, comfortable home - even though it is a human right, it is not something we can take for granted.

We hope that this conversation can both help us all create a functional and nurturing environment within your own home, and enhance our capacity to help others - maybe through volunteering, contributing to grassroots fundraising, political lobbying or making ethical purchasing choices. One of the huge benefits of ‘living small’ is that it can free up energetic and financial resources that enable us to have a bigger positive impact.

Links

Melanie's Website: asmalllife.com

Coaching: https://asmalllife.com/coaching/

Instagram: instagram.com/asmalllife

Trans Handy Ma'am: https://www.tiktok.com/@mercurystardust

Indigenous people as conservators: https://report.territoriesoflife.org/

Shavonda Gardner on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgardnerstyle/

Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/flowartistspodcast

Receive a 10% discount when you use the discount code MAKFLOW at https://makarlu.com

We promised a Rane & Jo episode at the end of 2021 and it's finally here!

We had a few things we wanted to talk about, so join us for a wide ranging and potentially random discussion.

Amongst other things, we discuss medical marijuana, re-opening the studio post lockdown, pop culture and more! We also talked about Greens candidate Celeste Liddle, local gallery and art therapy centre Sensorium.

Finally, we ask the question - what is a yoga teacher personality?

This episode was recorded 2 weeks ago, and just a note that a lot has changed in the world since then.

Links

Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/flowartists

In this episode we are speaking with Christa Fairbrother.

Christa is an active member of the accessible yoga community and she is also a dedicated teacher of aqua yoga.

Christa deals with chronic pain from multiple auto-immune conditions and found that aqua yoga to be a joyful and supportive practice that doesn’t aggravate her pain, cause excess fatigue or overwhelm her.

Christa has recently written a book: Water Yoga: a teachers guide, which will be released July 2022.

In this wonderful conversation we talk about how she brings yoga philosophy to the pool, the types of props she uses in her classes, alternative options for people who don't feel comfortable in a swimsuit, and some of the other differences in approach between yoga in the pool and yoga on a mat.

Links:

Christa's Website: https://www.christafairbrother.com/

Free tutorials: https://www.christafairbrother.com/water-yoga-pose-tutorials/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aquacontentyogi/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristaFairbrotherYoga

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChristaFairbrotherYoga

Receive a 10% discount when you use the discount code MAKFLOW at https://makarlu.com

In this week’s episode we speak to Paul Denniston, the founder of Grief Yoga.

Paul is certified in Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Kundalini Yoga, Laughter Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and Let Your Yoga Dance. Paul’s intention with Grief Yoga is to combine wisdom from many different forms of yoga in order to help heal and navigate grief.

Paul volunteered for years at one of the largest Los Angeles hospices, where he offered Heart Touch massage to the dying. He teaches Grief Yoga to bereavement groups; cancer support centers; groups whose loved ones died by suicide; Alzheimer’s groups; healing after a breakup, divorce, or betrayal; and addiction groups.

After the turmoil of the past couple of years we were grateful to talk to Paul, as these practices feel more necessary than ever. We also wanted to speak with him about his new book “HEALING THROUGH YOGA: Transform Loss into Empowerment''. It’s a great read that contains some simple yet powerful practices. We hope you enjoy our conversation.

Links

Website: https://griefyoga.com/

Healing Through Yoga - the book: https://www.pauldennistontraining.com/healing-through-yoga

Offering Tree: https://www.offeringtree.com/flowartists

In this episode we speak with kiwi Jenny Gibbons about her work with H.E.A.R.T.S. Charitable Trust: Human~Equine Alliance Resilience Trauma Support.

Jenny works with horses to help people with trauma histories cultivate resilience, peace and mindfulness. She also incorporates aspects of mindfulness, Maori philosophy and a deep love and connection to nature.

We wish to to provide a content warning for this episode as Jenny does discuss the family, sexual violence and child abuse histories of her clients to give context to the therapeutic process.

Trauma Informed yoga teachers and mindfulness practitioners will find many parallels as Jenny shares about this important and innovative work.

Links

H.E.A.R.T.S. Charitable Trust website: https://www.horsesense.org.nz/

Use our discount code MAKFLOW at https://makarlu.com receive a 10% from your next makarlu purchase

Find a whole lot more information about the makarlu here: https://gardenofyoga.com.au/learn/makarlu-stretch-strengthen-and-massage/

Alex Haley is a meditation teacher and co-founder of Offering Tree. Offering Tree is an all in one package for yoga teachers and small business owners combining a website, booking system, email marketing and basically everything you need to get started running your own business.

When Offering Tree reached out to us to become ambassadors, we took a deep dive into how their site worked and their values as a company. We were impressed!

We wanted to talk to Alex here on the podcast, especially at this time of change and challenge within the yoga industry and world in general. Offering tree ended up being a fairly small part of this conversation, as we delved into topics around ethics, intentionality and a lot of the questions that have been on our minds lately. It’s a really great conversation!

Links:

Offering Tree: https://offeringtree.com/flowartists

Rhonda Magee - https://www.rhondavmagee.com/

Tuere Sala (episode from 10% happier) - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-h-29179/episodes/the-opposite-of-schadenfreude-76904262

Ven Analayo - https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/en/personen/analayo.html

Phillip Moffitt - https://dharmawisdom.org/

Dr Kathryn Schmitz is a clinical exercise oncology researcher and has also had personal experience supporting her wife Sara through cancer, including multiple surgeries and failed reconstructive surgeries on her nose. Her latest book draws on both her professional and personal experiences to create an invaluable resource!

Moving through Cancer gives very clear, evidence based guidance, but also heartfelt support for people living with cancer and their caregivers.

As long time listeners of the podcast may know, in 2015 Rane was diagnosed with Stomach cancer, and later that year my stomach was removed. Yoga and other exercise played a huge roll in his recovery and even though he had a wonderful medical team, we were actually surprised at how hard it was to find out information on the right type of movement and exercise to help with his recovery.

Our guest this episode, Dr Kathryn Schmitz has just published a fantastic book called ‘Moving through Cancer’ which is going to really help people feel as well as possible, for before, during and after treatment.

Links:

Moving Through Cancer: https://www.movingthroughcancer.com/

Receive a 10% discount when using the code MAKFLOW at https://makarlu.com

Chris Cheers is a psychologist and educator who is passionate about creating accessible, accepting and safe spaces where people become empowered to reach their life goals. He is also dedicated to increasing community education around mental health, specialising in the arts and LGBTQI+ communities.

We discovered Chris through instagram - he is able to distill some deep and helpful insights into a succinct message that is easy for people to access. We were grateful to expand on these and ask our own questions.

So much happened in the week between recording and releasing this episode - complicated feelings about the roadmap release, riots and even an earthquake.

We’ve personally found Chris’s insights in these challenging times, and we hope that you do too.

LINKS AND RESOURCES

Offering Tree: https://www.offeringtree.com/flowartists

Chris's Website: https://www.chrischeers.com/

Chris's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrischeerspsychology/

Finding a therapist or psychologist:

Find a Psychologist - https://psychology.org.au/find-a-psychologist

Psychology Today - https://www.psychologytoday.com/au

Victorian Inclusive Practitioners Therapist Directory a list of therapists and health practitioners in Victoria, Australia, who have expertise, training, and/or lived experience in various marginalised social groups. This includes LGBTQIA+, neurodiversity, sex work, kink and BDSM, non-monogamy, immigrant and/or asylum seeker, disability, specific ethnicity and/or religion, and other elements of identity or practice. https://www.vicinclusivepractitioners.com/

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) Equity Health Database: https://www.meaa.org/download/the-equity-health-database/

This therapist directory from Pola Psychology: https://polapsychology.com/therapist-directory/

Books and Podcasts mentioned:

The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Master, by Dr Sarah Lewis (also featured on this podcast with Brene Brown)

Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski (also featured on Brene Brown's podcast)

Emotional Agility by Dr Susan David.

Ted Talk on Shame by Brene Brown

Chris Cheers Psychology Resources I’ve got a few resources on my website that might be helpful to check out. I’d suggest starting with Mental Health Guide for the Arts Community, my introduction to Mindfulness, an article on adjusting to the new (COVID) normal, and the Wellbeing Guide I put together for Melbourne Fringe. https://www.chrischeers.com/resources

Finding a psychologist or therapist is not the only way to do therapy. A range of online programs are now available that offer free, effective and evidence-based programs for stress, anxiety and depression. Head to Health is great place to start searching. Some programs I’d suggest checking out include MindSpot https://mindspot.org.au/ This Way Up https://thiswayup.org.au/ MyCompass https://www.mycompass.org.au/ MoodMission https://moodmission.com/and MoodGYM https://moodgym.com.au/

When you need to talk to someone right now.

Lifeline: https://www.lifeline.org.au/ or 13 11 14 (24/7)

Trained counsellors offering crisis support and suicide prevention.

Beyond Blue Coronavirus Mental Health Support: https://coronavirus.beyondblue or 1800 512 348 (24/7)

Trained counsellors available and online resources.

Rainbow Door/Switchboard Victoria: https://www.switchboard.org.au/rain or 1800 729 367. QLife: https://www.switchboard.org.au/qlife 1800 184 527

provide peer-driven support services, counselling and referral for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) people, their families, allies and communities.

The Support Act Wellbeing Helpline (1800 959 500)

a free, confidential phone counselling service, available 24/7 to anyone anywhere in Australia who works in music, the performing arts or other creative industries.