Thrive with Cate Stillman Podcast

Cate sits down with Lucia Giovannini, “the Italian Louise Hay,” to discuss identity evolution, firewalking, and finding meaning and purpose in life. Lucia Giovannini is a master of personal evolution: a former Italian supermodel turned motivational speaker, author of 13 books, a Doctor in Psychology and Counselling and a Bachelor in Psycho-Anthropology. Her 25 years of inspiring work through conferences & workshops crafts a synergy between traditional psychological techniques, motivational practices and ancient eastern rituals that turn her seminars into profound experiences for the audiences in Asia + Europe alike.

• Why we need to evolve and investigate the deeper purpose of our lives.
• How to transform fear into action.
• Why women either stagnate or evolve during menopause.

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• Cate and Lucia discuss why we need to leave our comfort zones or “prisons of comfort” and commit to evolve through the stages of our lives.
• Lucia gives us her tips for meeting our fear of leaving our prisons of comfort and transforming fear into action.
• Cate explains how the element of fire relates to transformation.
• Cate and Lucia discuss where women source their power at different stages of their lives.

• “Change is possible anytime. And when I say ‘change,’ I mean transformational change, evolutionary change, positive change.” --- Lucia Giovannini
• “When you do something that you believe impossible, like walking on hot coals, . . . every single cell of your body starts to create a new paradigm.” --- Lucia Giovannini
• “If we can awaken our awareness to the elemental level of understanding, we have superpowers.” --- Cate Stillman

Lucia is a Yoga practitioner, breathwork instructor, She is a firewalk instructor. Lucia Giovannini is a former Italian supermodel turned best-selling author, spiritual teacher, transformational coach, environmental & animal activist, and author of 13 books. Her best-selling book, “A Whole New Life”, was first published in Italian and is now translated into eight languages, including an English version published by Hay House India. Her book has sold thousands of copies around the world and will be debuting in the US in March 2019. Growing up in Africa, Lucia often caused her parents' hearts to skip a beat when she befriended the wildlife, from lizards to crocodiles. Till this day, she remains a passionate animal rights activist. She is a Master Fire-walking Trainer, an NLP and Neuro-Semantics Trainer, and a recognized international Life Coach. Connect with Lucia on her Website and FB page.

She Podcasts is hosting a large-scale learning and networking event this year where women podcasters can learn the core skills of podcasting from other women podcasters. To fund the event, Jessica Kupferman launched a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of raising $25,000. In 40 days, they raised $50,000 without announcing a single speaker or sponsor. In this interview, Cate picks Jessica’s brain about how to effectively use crowdfunding and how to plan a large-scale event.

• How to use crowdfunding to do the things you want to do.
• How to choose the appropriate crowdfunding platform to launch your event.
• How to leverage your strengths and the strengths of people you know to plan a large-scale event.
• Jessica tells us how She Podcasts raised $50,000 in 40 days without announcing a single speaker or sponsor for their live event.
• Jessica tells us how she’s designing the She Podcasts event based on the experience she wants to have at live learning and networking event.
• Cate picks Jessica’s brain about how to plan a huge live event.

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• 00:45 - Cate and Jessica talk about how they met and how Jessica launched the She Podcasts event using Kickstarter.
• 11:13 - Jessica talks about how she’s designing the She Podcasts event based on what she wanted for and from events she has attended.
• 14:40 - Cate asks Jessica for her tips on how to use Kickstarter to launch an event and how to design a larger event.
• 28:08 - Cate and Jessica talk about the value of having a partner or consultant to help plan a large event and how to decide what to outsource and what to do yourself.
• 35:58 - Cate and Jessica discuss the various platforms for fundraising, including Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and Indiegogo.

• “One of the things I feel like I’ve learned over the years, as I’m becoming a little more savvy . . . , is I’ve stopped thinking that some people have something I don’t have. Instead, it’s like ‘Who knows how to do this? Who already knows how to do this?’ Because chances are it has nothing to do with what I know or what I have or don’t have. It just has to do with ‘Who already is pro at this?’” --- Cate Stillman
• “I do not want to have too many lessons learned. I really don’t. I want to leverage someone else’s lessons learned.” --- Cate Stillman
• “I’m much more interested in what we would do together than what I can figure out alone.” --- Cate Stillman
• “Kickstarter, I’ve learned, is, I think, very specific to funding a product or service that has never been created before. . . . I only did Kickstarter because Podcast Movement did Kickstarter. I don’t know that it was necessarily the right vehicle.” --- Jessica Kupferman

Jessica Kupferman is the co-host and co-founder of the She Podcasts brand, which currently supports over 12,000 female podcasters and has a digital marketing reach of over 50,000 content creators. She Podcasts LIVE, the live event created for the She Podcasts community, was funded spring 2019 via Kickstarter for double the goal and sold 200 tickets with 30 days.

Jessica specializes in marketing and monetizing within the podcasting industry, and has been featured in magazines and websites such as Entrepreneur, Forbes, Business Insider, Social Media Examiner, and Yahoo Finance. She has also been a featured guest on podcasts such as Entrepreneur On Fire, Peter Shankman’s Faster Than Normal and the New Media Show. She has has been honored to speak at The NAB Show, blogHer, Social Media Marketing World, Podcast Movement, and many other blog and podcasting conferences. Connect with Jessica on her facebook.

In the first of Cate’s “local” podcast interviews, she sits down with Dr. Emily Johnston: ER doctor, international mountain guide, ski patroller, river guide. Cate and Emily met one week prior to this conversation on an airplane. They ended up in a conversation about inclusivity their respective fields and decided to continue the conversation here on the Yogahealer podcast.

• Why inclusivity is so important in building dynamic groups.
• What role fear plays in the practice of exclusivity.
• How learning to receive feedback can lead to more inclusivity.
• Cate and Emily discuss adaptability, creative problem solving, and staying in flow.
• Cate and Emily discuss the importance of inclusivity in evolving dynamic groups and how to engage others in the inclusivity conversation and the roles that stereotypes, culture, and intergenerational communication play in that.
• Emily imparts her tips for how to form a dynamic group from a diverse group of people. Spoiler alert: laughter is key!

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• 5:18 - Cate and Emily discuss adaptability, creative problem solving, and staying in flow.
• 12:30 - Cate explains how we can bend time with breathwork and meditation and asks Emily if those are tools that guides and doctors are taught.
• 19:36 - Cate and Emily discuss the importance of inclusivity in evolving dynamic groups.
• 28:28 - Cate and Emily discuss how to engage others in the inclusivity conversation and the roles that stereotypes, culture, and intergenerational communication play in that.
• 34:40 - Cate asks Emily for her tips on how to form a cohesive dynamic group from a diverse group of people.
• 38:18 - Cate and Emily discuss the role that fear plays in the practice of exclusivity.
• 44:25 - Emily challenges us to be more consciously inclusive.

• “Laughter breaks down barriers: language barriers, cultural barriers, and ego barriers.” --- Emily Johnston
• “Somehow people feel inadequate, and that’s where that exclusivity shield comes from.” --- Emily Johnston
• “I have concerns that our species is inherently too exclusive and not inclusive enough. So my challenge is for people to just try to be more inclusive and see if we can change the status quo.” --- Emily Johnston

Dr. Emily Johnston hadn't always planned to be a doctor. She graduated from Middlebury with a BA in biology, but was "too busy playing rugby to focus on grades." The year after she graduated she worked as a river guide on the Snake, then quickly started working for Outward Bound. In 1987, she started ski patrolling in Idaho, and by 1989 she was guiding on Mount Rainier. She guesses that she was the fourth or fifth woman hired on the mountain, and soon she was guiding big mountains in Mexico and Alaska, too.

In 2002, Emily Johnston was a mountain guide, ski patroller, and 39 years old. And she started her first year of medical school. After she graduated from medical school (at age 44), Johnston completed her residency at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland. During her residency, she did medical work in Nepal and the Republic of the Congo. She also designed and conducted a research project on Denali, where she measured the effects of carbon monoxide in tents where people were cooking. She finished her residency at age 47. Now in her 50s, Emily guides and serves as medical director for International Mountain Guides. She teaches courses on international mountain medicine and advanced wilderness life support, and she consults with the Mount Rainier National Park to streamline their rescue protocol. Within the community, she is affectionately known as the "dirtbag doctor."

Listen in to Cate as she sits down with Charlotte Nussle, a certified international yoga therapist and gerontologist, as they discuss the nuances of aging and how our trauma and experiences inform our intergenerational relationships. They discuss the necessity of having a structure that is strong enough to hold a container for the process of the deep healing work you would like to do.

• 5:20 How to deal when the first response is frustration instead of compassion
• 5:27 The gift of this time is the ability to join with each other and there is so much wisdom coming in
• 6:08 Beyond Mortal - one of the pitfalls (area of growth in the western medical model) - we are trying to keep people safe from challenges
• 9:10 ‘we have to just keep following our heart - you’re not perfect, I’m not perfect - but we keep loving each other and that’s all that matters
• 13:17 We have these experiences of how things could be and then we go back to ‘in real life’
• 14:09 It is so important to recognize the need to heal the healer around Trauma
• 16:12 When do we need a healer to help us process and digest
• 20:10 How do I offer my healing from a safe place?
• 24:30 Charlotte’s ashram story and the stages of aging
• 29:30 The necessity of a deeply connected community and how the group’s resiliency is directly tied to your resilience

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• ‘There is so much learning in life - and in death’’ - Cate
• ‘We just get to experience the massive learning curve around the whole life process cycles - or we can become contracted - and both happen’ - Charlotte
• ‘Step back from any sense of blame, and honoring that we got what we got, and if we feel we didn’t get enough, it is important that we are tender towards ourselves and realize that is a part of the foundation’ Charlotte
• ‘Our over efforting aids in our undermining our own resilience.’ - Cate  

Charlotte's a life coach, certified international yoga therapist, gerontologist. She brings 26 years experience in adapting body-based and meditative practices that reshape your nervous system, rewire your brain to be more receptive to the good, and support your development toward what has value for you in life. Connect with Charlotte on her website and facebook page.

Cate sits down with Ellen Grace O’Brien, author of The Jewel of Abundance, to discuss artha - one of the four aims of human life. We all innately want to thrive and to prosper, but there’s often conflict about how to do that in a way that feels dharmic - in harmony with the spiritual truth of our being. To further complicate matters, we can get in our own way when it comes to artha. Sometimes the first step is simply to be willing to let our lives be bigger and more expansive. And then to practice being fearless.

Yogacharya O’Brian makes yogic philosophy accessible and inspiring for the modern mind, helping people from all backgrounds lead deeply fulfilling and spiritually awakened lives.

• What questions you need to ask yourself if you truly want to thrive and prosper in alignment with your dharma.
• How to get out of your own way and be willing let bigger things work through you.
• Why meditation is key to artha.
• Ellen describes her own personal experience with artha and dharma.
• Cate and Ellen discuss the connection between meditation and artha.
• Cate and Ellen discuss the importance of authenticity and the role of technology and social media on a dharmic path.  

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• 9:55-20:00 Ellen describes her own personal experience with artha and dharma.
• 23:35-29:44 Cate and Ellen discuss the connection between meditation and artha.
• 31:42-39:10 Cate and Ellen discuss the importance of authenticity and the role of technology and social media on a dharmic path.   

• “Knowing that truth of what we are as spiritual beings is the key to really thriving and prospering.” --- Ellen Grace O’Brian
• “If you’re going to be in this field, you have to be willing to make yourself an instrument.” --- Ellen Grace O’Brian
• “To me, that whole path of dharma is really one of that surrender to ‘Who do I need to become next?’” --- Cate Stillman

Ellen Grace O'Brian (Yogacharya O’Brian) is an acclaimed teacher, author, and minister who has served seekers of spiritual enlightenment from all walks of life for over thirty years. She has published several books and audio programs about meditation, mindfulness and spiritual living, offering a refreshing and authentic voice that makes timeless wisdom accessible to the modern mind.

A teacher in the tradition of Kriya Yoga, Yogacharya O’Brian serves people from all faith backgrounds who are seeking what is known as Self- or God-realization, or awakening. She is the spiritual director of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, a meditation center in San Jose, CA.

Through her teaching and publications, Yogacharya O’Brian helps people learn to live from the inside out with practices and insights for developing life-transforming skills to cultivate a spiritually awakened, fulfilled life.

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with spiritual guru and Founder of the Wise Earth School of Ayurveda, Maya Tiwari. Our conversation takes us into the realm of cyclical wisdom vs. linear thought. How do we allow our intuition to move us back into a place of deep awareness, connecting us to our Shakti, our creative selves, and our consciousness once again. In order to reclaim this wholesome, cyclical nature of ourselves we need to simplify our lives and look to nature to source our energy and power. Tune in today and for a truly unique and grounding podcast and learn about the importance of life cycles and rebirthing your creativity.

• Why is reclaiming our cyclical wisdom so important to our physiology, our consciousness, our awareness
• How to we move back towards the knowledge of nature and what serves us
• Cutting out stressors we’ve acquired and simplifying our lives

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• 1:30- Maya Tiwari tells us a bit about her life and how she arrived to where she presently resides, physically, mentally, and spiritually. We discuss the importance of phases and cycles of life and how to allow a cyclicial wisdom back into our consciousness and our physiology.
• 23:00 - The medicine of Mother Nature and its relation to simplifying our lives. To be simply creative again by delayering ourselves, we sometimes have to take a step to clarify who we are now and continue to grow.
• 38:00- The meaning and significance of the moon and its’ connection to women’s monthly cycle; there are certain activities that are in the dark phase of the moon that allow us, as women, to recreate the sanctity that we need within ourselves. We should ask ourselves, ‘what can we orient towards’ instead of ‘what do we have to give up’?
• 55:40- I ask Mother Maya about her experience in writing books and how her own creative cycle matures; how does she know when it is time to write and when it is time to edit?

• “It’s not about going out and getting something new; it’s more about reawakening what is already within us.” - Cate Stillman
• “We can’t create without calling upon our Shakti. And when we create we enlarge her, we grow her, we mature her. “ - Maya Tiwari
• “There has always been an amazing universal truth to everything we do. There is a time and a place for everything. And that is what we ignore in a linear culture.”  - Maya Tiwari

Maya established the Wise Earth School of Ayurveda in 1981, with the vision of restoring the long lost Inner Medicine® principles and practices of Ayurveda. Wise Earth is the first school for Ayurveda education in North America, through which Maya has personally trained hundreds of practitioners from a vast geographical area. Maya is also the founder of both the Mother Om Mission and the Living Ahimsa Foundation.

Maya served for two decades as a Vedic monk, belonging to India's prestigious Veda Vyasa lineage. In 2010, Maya made the radical decision to renounce her monastic title and spiritual moniker-Her Holiness, Sri Swami Mayatitananda. This decision was made to, as she puts it, "walk a simpler and more accessible life in service of the populations in need," which she continues to do to this day. Connect with Maya on her website and facebook page.

Cate sits down with Lissa Sandler, a web design and development strategist who specializes in working with wellness pros. Lissa loves being able to simplify web design for people who don’t consider themselves very tech savvy. When Lissa builds a website or teaches her clients to build a website, it’s about so much more than creating a website. It’s about helping them authentically connect with their ideal clients so they can convert website visitors to clients. It’s about helping them serve their clients in the way they have been dreaming about while creating limitless potential for themselves and their families.

• Why good web design begins with self-awareness.
• Why connecting with ideal clients is more important than visual branding.
• How to establish authority and differentiate yourself online.

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• “Less is more. Think of your website as your first date with somebody. . . . They don’t need to know everything about you at the beginning.” --- Lissa Sandler
• “Every page needs to have a clear call-to-action. When you know the purpose of the page, you can lead them to that call-to-action.” --- Lissa Sandler

Lissa Sandler creates beautifully simple and stress-free websites for business owners turning over a new leaf. Lissa is an online strategist, mentor, and website design & development specialist, and her methods are carefully designed to remove every seed of doubt, overwhelm, and stress from the reinvention process for you.

Lissa has helped over 150 passionate coaches, health practitioners and yoga teachers stay calm and create branded websites that perfectly express what’s unique about them and their offerings. Her mission is to meet you where you are in your business - with 3 ways to work together, one for each stage of your business.

Before starting lissasandler.com, Lissa built, managed, and marketed YogaKids’ online teacher training school, serving 300+ yoga teachers globally. And she was honored to be featured as a web presence expert for Chopra University.

Listen in with Master teacher and lineage holder of Vedic, Yogic and Ayurvedic wisdom from India, Acharya Shunya. We dive deep into Ayurveda and discuss our connection to a deeper spiritual reality, a deeper you, and how important it is to see the bigger picture. We are in a realm of impermanence where change is a constant and shedding old layers is necessary in order to expand, grow, and evolve. Sometimes a breakdown occurs before we have a break through, but this is all part of the healing process, and this will eventually reconnect us back to wholeness and back to our true nature as spirit.

Ask yourself, ‘who am I becoming next?’ Then allow change to happen in order to unwind, unfurl, and realign with the rhythm of nature. Tune in to hear more Ayurvedic insights and ancient wisdom on how to heal yourself by letting go of old and embracing new.

• How do we become truly healthy on all levels once again?
• Awaken the inner guru in you! Ask yourself, who am I becoming next?
• How does a breakdown in life serve us and how can we can breakthrough with compassion and ease?

• Acharya’s website
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• 7:30- The healing crisis that many of us are dealing with currently provokes action because people are in pain. They start to seek healing methods outside of themselves and in doing so, they learn to be more open to a deeper truth and a deeper spiritual reality; the energy of healing, the energy of Shakti, and the energy of awakening.
• 23:00- In everything in our world, there is a cycle, a rhythm, a movement from birth into death. We see this everywhere, from our cells to anabolism, metabolism, and catabolism to the Kapha, Pitta, and Vata stages of life. Each part of the cycle serves a purpose whether it is dark or light, known or unknown.
• 29:15- We naturally tend to have resistance to what isn’t working for us, but there is generally a break down before we experience a breakthrough. How do we trust the process, trust what isn’t working, and use compassion and relaxation during the break down to move through it with care.

• “Awakening is our birthright.” -Acharya Shunya
• “The deeper and deeper we go into the koshas, the deeper and deeper you are coming into touch with that invisible self, Shakti.” -Acharya Shunya
• “Change is the law of life. And sometimes you have to be a caterpillar before you become a butterfly.” -Acharya Shunya
• “What you have been lamenting has actually been guiding you towards your greater growth.” -Acharya Shunya
• “Have discipline to the rhythm within and how your physiology needs you to operate.” -Cate Stillman

Acharya Shunya is a master teacher and lineage holder of Vedic, Yogic and Ayurvedic wisdom from India, and an award‐winning author. She transmits the non‐dual wisdom of the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita with ease along with the deeper spiritual philosophy and lifestyle teachings contained in the Ayurveda source texts.

Acharya Shunya's newest book, 'Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom' (SoundsTrue, 2017), is a bestseller, translated into 6 languages in its first year of publication and acclaimed as one of the top‐10 books in alternative medicine in 2017 by Health Line‐USA, the world’s fastest growing health information site, with over 85 million monthly users. Connect with Acharya on her website and facebook page.

A sattvic state of mind is one that is naturally calm, clear, and at peace. But when the world tugs at our minds and our egos, it makes them anxious, wild, and scattered making  it difficult to feel peace and stability within. In her Ayurvedic Cookbooks, Kate O’Donnell uses food preparation as a way to harness this undisturbed, sattvic state of mind that we desire to cultivate. Today, Kate and I chat about the importance of our daily habits in terms of sukha sadhana and how to bring about a clear, calm internal and external environment with a daily spiritual practice. This practice of becoming more aware of ourselves, more in tune, and more present to each moment can be done using many techniques, from meditation to cooking!

Kate O’Donnell and I talk about how to sooth our out of whack doshic energies and how to bring ourselves back into balance, whether we are predominately Vata, Pitta or Kapha. As humans we tend to create less space and more business for ourselves in our day to day lives; it is important to learn to take a step back and invoke slow, steady, healing energy. It’s from this place of grounding that we make good choices, good relationships and create good products.

Sattva- natural state of the mind- calm and clear naturally but then it’s pulled on by the universe. The law of the mind is that it is naturally. Her cookbook- the use of food to harness that undisturbed state of mind.  

Sukha- good space-- within us, around us. Internal and external environments, relationships we cultivate.

Sadhana- spiritual practice done daily to cultivate a sattvic state of mind.

Our state of mind is cultivated by our daily habits!  The mind itself is driving all the activities that are happening in the physical world--like the wizard of Oz! Take concept of mind and mental realm and understand it and how its affecting us- we will have a better grasp on our day to day lifestyle.

Sukha Sadhana- process of becoming more aware of ourselves-- creates good space as we go. We are paying attention to LIFE rather than being imbalanced/ running around like chicken with head cut off or like a sloth.

-Vata dosha- fall- vata season. Feeling very airy and chaotic, anxiety, overwhelm, depletion, collapse

Need to balance go-go energy with Slow energy in order to maintain that go energy. Otherwise will burn out. Food preparation as a way to slow down! When you slow down, the body slowly comes back into right relationship with itself...because mind starts to slow down.

Whether we are cutting carrots or doing yoga asana, we are able to slow down in mind and body and they we can experience ourselves in line with nature--

--Pushing the Vata envelope- suppressing the urges to pee, poop, fart, burp--its teh go go go tendency. Conversations of evolution. Root before extending.

Pitta pushing envelope- workaholism--lots of vision- we want to make happen. But at end of day--jut business instead of efficiency.

Kapha-complacency,  resistance to change, lack of creation and lack of fire. Pushing envelope-not moving, no exercise, improper eating. Need the get up and move energy

Under-complicate everything- eat one thing all day.

• What do Sattva, sukha and sadhana mean and why are they important?
• How to under-complicate your life by keeping cooking simple.
• Why is it important to connect with your food?

• Kate O’Donnell Website - About Me - 
• Kate O’Donnell’s “The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well”  - Amazon 
• Yoga Health Coaching
• Join Spring Yogidetox

• 1:15- Sattva, Sadhana, and Sukha. What do these sanskrit words mean and why are they so important?
• 9:40- What does a slower, more mindful pace and practice look like in our lives? Kate talks about food preparation as a way for us to slow down and feel nourished!
• 16:00- What does it look like to push the envelope from a Vata, a Pitta, and a Kapha point of view? What causes and leads to imbalances in our dosha types?
• 25:30- Food preparation in an efficient way, as a yoga practice or a meditation.  Find love for slower, grounding practices, such as cooking. Cooking should be a peaceful, enjoyable practice done with friends or family, as opposed to having a “get it done” mentality. If this isn’t how you feel when you cook, take a class and learn new techniques to enjoy the practice of cooking nourishing foods!

• “The law of the mind is naturally calm and clear and undisturbed.” -Kate O’Donnell
• “The mind itself is driving all the activities that are happening in the physical world.” -Kate O’Donnell
• “For all the go-go-go in our days, we need some slow-slow-slow!” -Kate O’Donnell

Kate O’Donnell is an author, lecturer, and senior yoga teacher. She wrote two popular cookbooks, The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook and Everyday Ayurvedic Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind. A nationally recognized Ayurvedic Practitioner and Ashtanga yoga teacher, Kate is a founding member of the Boston Ayurveda School and adjunct faculty for Kripalu School of Ayurveda. She continues her travels to India annually for study and teaches internationally. Connect with Kate on her website and facebook page.

On today’s show, Rod Stryker and I continue our conversation on the deeply healing and transformative practice of Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra essentially translates to the ‘end of all thoughts’ because it is a process in which we learn to let go, to relax and restore, to diffuse our awareness, and to just BE.

We’ve created a world where we are always doing something; with our Iphones and tablets constantly by our sides and work or life stressors always on our minds, we are continually thinking, working, or moving. We are hardly ever still, and we are never bored anymore! With a lack of daydreaming or boredom, we are unable to fully process and digest our emotions or experiences, and in turn we unable to know our true selves. If we don’t allow ourselves the time and space to dissolve, to daydream and to relax, even the simplest of tasks will become very difficult for us to accomplish.

Life isn’t about learning to cope, to mitigate, or to be only partly insane….it’s about Thriving.

Listen in and learn how to live a life of Thrive with this timeless practice of Yoga Nidra.  

• Why are Deep Rejuvenation, boredom and daydreaming so important?
• How do we avoid going to sleep while we’re awake?
• What is America’s number one health crisis and why is this cause for serious concern?

• Rod’s website
• Rod’s facebook page
• Yoga Nidra Meditation app- Sanctuary with Rod Stryker
• Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal
• Yoga Health Coaching
• Have a conversation

• 1:08- Rod talks about the final of the 4 stages of Yoga Nidra. Spirituality, as well as the 4 fundamental stages of Nidra.
• 6:00- What does a lack of daydreaming and boredom do to us physiologically? If we don’t get bored, we don’t process who we are in time and space. Who am I? What do I stand for? What do I want to do on this planet in this life? In our fast-paced, technological world, we do not allow space for boredom and we are therefore unable to answer these important questions.
• 13:30- The state of expanded awareness that comes from Yoga Nidra, ie. Flow state, biohacking, and maximizing cognitive function. How do we avoid habitual thinking and how to we avoid going to sleep while we’re awake?
• 20:50- We can no longer afford to not be passionate about finding what is true, what is real, and what is truly important. Learn to tune into yourself with Yoga Nidra, to learn to not push against what the body and mind desires, to drop into yourself and allow. Insomnia is currently the biggest health crisis. If you continue to push your nervous system too much for too long, there will be repercussions.

• “It’s about allowing these awareness breaks, instead of coffee breaks.” -Cate Stillman  
• “You are the presence that exists in your own heart.” -Rod Stryker
• “We need times with no-thing.” -Cate Stillman
• “You’ve got to root to rise, you’ve got to get down to get up.” -Cate Stillman
• “Our problems have now gotten bigger. There is a bigger price to pay for the misalignment with the authentic self.” -Rod Stryker

Yogarupa Rod Stryker is a world-renowned yoga and meditation teacher, guiding and sharing his wisdom for 40 years. He is the founder of ParaYoga®, the author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom and the creator of the app Sanctuary, a vital resource for the practices of meditation and yoga nidra (also called Enlightened Sleep––the ultimate science of deep relaxation). Rod has dedicated his life to improving lives through his lectures, writing, practice, teaching, leadership, service and family life. Contact him on his website and facebook page.