Yoga Inspiration

Each of us is drawn to the practice of yoga for different reasons, and our paths may not always be so linear. Marie Belle took her first yoga class in college as a sort of exploratory experience, but it wasn't until graduate school that she sought out the yoga mat for a different reason.

In April 2007, a shooter took the campus of Virginia Tech hostage, killing 32 people before taking his own life. Marie Belle survived that event but was left to pick up the pieces of what came next. Although she was studying for a doctorate in psychology, there is no way to predict or prepare oneself for trauma or for the healing that comes after. Trauma can manifest in many ways, and Marie shares her experience with post-traumatic stress and the mentors who guided her along her yoga path.

Taking a trauma-informed perspective to yoga practice can enhance not only the way you personally practice yoga but also in how you teach it. Marie never had any intention of becoming a yoga teacher when she took her first teaching classes. She initially took these classes to build her own practice and ultimately rebuild her relationship with herself and her body. Trauma can pull us out of our bodies, and yoga creates a safe space to bring all the pieces of yourself back together.

Marie takes a positive psychology approach when she discusses her own trauma, and she shares how that perspective continues to influence her yoga practice and how she teaches yoga today. Yoga showed her a different path, one of growth, acceptance, and peace. There is a way to integrate your experiences into your whole authentic self. It takes time, as all healing does, but Marie reminds us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Listen now to hear more from Marie Belle, and join Marie Belle's Handstand, Flexibility, and Recovery clinic LIVE on Omstars on July 18th at 12 pm EST. Not a member yet? Sign up now and get your free 30-day membership with code: PODCAST.

Remember - this month I'm challenging each of you to get upside-down! Join the Handstands for Everyone challenge from July 1st thru 31st and start practicing. And don't forget to share your stories with me at [email protected]. You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

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Our experiences make us who we are. The joys, the hardships, and the people we welcome into our lives along the way influence our identities and who we become. For the queer community, these experiences are an integral piece of identity.

In honor of Pride Month, I invited M Camellia of Found Space Yoga to guide us through a special meditation based in identity reflection. They share their own trans experience and what it means to be non-binary in the yoga community, and I encourage you to follow this practice and come face-to-face with your own identity.

Some of us may have never asked ourselves these fundamental questions M asks us here. We are taught the norms and expectations of our society, but these norms stem from systems of oppression that have been in place for millennia. And while Pride is a time of celebration where we remember the lengths the queer community has taken to earn their visibility, we sometimes forget how isolating being different can be.

Diversity is key to human existence. No two of us are the same, and these differences are what make our society. But that doesn't make it any easier to face a personal identity that is different from the norms we were taught as children. Not having role models can make it even harder.

If this sounds similar to your experience, you are not alone. It's important to reflect on the experiences that shaped you, and meditation can create the safe space you need to reflect on memories without judgment.

Join this meditation practice now and pay attention to your breath. Note how deeply you're breathing, the duration of each inhale and exhale, and where that breath goes when you take it into your body. Think of the identities you hold, whether they be familial or personal, and consider what they would mean if not for your relationships with other people.

It can take time to think on this. Let M Camellia guide you on this journey in recognizing the dualities and diversities that exist not only within us, but within our communities.

How has yoga impacted your identity and how you see yourself? Send an email at [email protected] and share your story with me. You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

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Today I am going to ask you to step outside the edges of your comfort zone. This is something yoga asks us to do all the time. Some of us call it "moving into the fire", and I'm sure you recognize that sore, burning sensation that comes from the stretching and strength-building we do on the mat.

In this way, yoga is very confrontational. The practice asks us to face that which we are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with and ultimately come out on the other side a little bit stronger for it. And if we're practicing yoga regularly, many of us face this confrontation on a daily basis.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is the only way to grow, both physically and emotionally. Yoga practice gives us the tools we need to step off the edge of familiarity, and I myself am still trying to learn my way around divergent points of view and opinions.

Ultimately, as yoga teachers, our job is to create a safe space for all members of our community, a space that breeds respect and the opportunity to communicate. At the time of this podcast, I am opening a new yoga space with gender-neutral bathrooms. Considering the new Florida state laws regarding the transgender community, I want to take this opportunity to help my fellow yoga teachers and practitioners understand how they can become more inclusive.

It's important to create a space for everyone to safely explore the unfamiliar, and I share some advice that has helped me to be more welcoming and inclusive. From the language we use to the way we approach hands-on adjustments, there are opportunities everywhere. The key is communication - moving out of a space of complacency and into one of action.

Asking questions is important, but so is inclusive language. For example, introducing yourself to the class and including your preferred pronouns opens the door for everyone else to feel comfortable sharing their preferred pronouns. Small steps into the unknown are sometimes all it takes to inspire others to take that step out of their own comfort zone.

I share more ways yoga teachers can integrate inclusivity into their studios, with advice on consent-based adjustments, human anatomy, and making mistakes. You're going to make a lot of mistakes as you navigate the edge of society's comfort zone, so it's important to remain humble.

Yoga is a spiritual practice, a historically safe space that represents equity and justice for all that encourages people to become their higher selves. I am always encouraging you to take what you learn on the mat out into your world, and it's important for yoga teachers and students alike to show up for their community and accurately represent what yoga means to us. If we aren't using that goodness we learn in yoga, then what is the point of the practice?

Tell me - what inspires you to practice yoga? Send an email at [email protected]. You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

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Welcome to Meditations for Manifesting with Kino MacGregor. This is your daily reminder to practice meditation. We will begin with a few minutes of mindfulness, focusing on the reality of our breath, and then bring our attention to a state of being beyond our breath, body, and mind.

I will lead us through today's meditation on healing and happiness, bringing your mind into a contemplative state. From here, you can start cultivating a space to process your emotions, taking the first steps toward healing.

It starts by focusing on the simple reality of your breath, right down to the simplest sensation of air going in and out of your nostrils. Focusing on this minute detail brings your mind inward and creates an anchor for your mind to latch onto the next time the reality of your emotions gets the better of you.

This kind of focus only gets easier with practice, so be kind to yourself during our practice. The steady pace of your breath is meant to bring your mind inward and below the frequency of your thoughts, so keep those thoughts from passing judgment on what you feel. Remember that you are not your thoughts, nor are you your emotions, and the more you practice cultivating this contemplative state of mind, the easier it will be to observe these thoughts and emotions as separate from yourself.

Don't hide from any negative thoughts you may have. Be brave and accept them for what they are, but recognize that your emotional reaction to them is temporary. Whatever obstacle you are facing now, you can handle it. This space we are cultivating here, the space beyond the breath, the body, and the mind, is a space of infinite possibility.

What does it feel like to be free of this personal challenge? How would it feel to solve the bigger problems in your community? Take a breath and imagine it. Breathe out. Notice how it feels to be liberated from your suffering. Hold onto it for a moment, and let that sensation plant the seeds of peace and love in your mind.

All it takes is five minutes of meditative practice to change the frequency of your thoughts. After a few minutes of meditation, you will notice a shift in your mind and your body. All it takes to start is a breath. Start your practice today with a meditation toward healing and happiness.

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Yoga is an ancient practice, passed on from teacher to student over the millennia, and the tradition of yoga is kept alive by the students, people like you and me taking time to get on the mat and practice every day.

The culture of yoga is essential to the student's journey, and everyone who practices yoga is in debt of sorts to the practice itself. We owe it to ourselves and the future generation of yogis to protect and honor the culture and teachings, but while we're practicing today in the modern world, we must do our best to respect the ancient culture of yoga and acknowledge the cultural appropriation that is happening within yoga.

I talk today of the most obvious cultural appropriation I've seen - that of namaste. This word has been appropriated across the West on t-shirts, wine glasses, used as catcalls, and to sell mimosas at brunch. This appropriation completely leaves its true meaning behind, which is dangerous for the incoming generation of yoga practitioners who may not know any better.

To clarify: cultural appropriation is when the dominant group of society takes pieces from minority cultures for their own use and ultimately profits from it in some way. With this in mind, I discuss the true meaning of namaste, its etymology, and how appropriation can dilute its impact on our yoga journey.

As students of yoga, we must strive to find a balance, educate ourselves and those around us to respect culture without appropriating it for ulterior gains. We must move into a space of knowledge and not just practice. Yoga gives us the spiritual tools to move away from ignorance and into the truth, and it is through our practice that we can not only educate ourselves by help teach others the true roots of the culture and the practice.

My advice to those of you listening and practicing now is to keep it up. Keep it up but remain humble in your practice. We are all indebted to those who practiced before us and shared their knowledge. Honor them by studying the history of yoga and meditation. Immerse yourself in the culture and learn as much as you can. It will only enhance your experience on the mat.

Send an email to [email protected] and share what you've learned on the yoga mat. You could be invited to a guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast!

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It's time to celebrate! Celebrate the fact that you made time for yoga practice today! With so many distractions, it's more important than ever to carve out time for meditation and metta practice, too. Take this moment now to acknowledge and celebrate not only the work you've put in but the work of all the yogis before us.

None of us would be here today without our yoga teachers, mentors, and friends who helped us on this path toward spiritual awakening. And it's our job as students to honor their memory. We must take care of the lineage of yoga that has been passed down to us.

Do you remember your first yoga teacher? What about your first yoga class? The specifics of these first practices aren't as important as recognizing where your path started and with who. Because we are all on this path together. Teachers and students are two pieces of the whole, and the practice of teaching and the practice of learning is a cycle we all share.

These aren't brand new spiritual teachings, and yoga is not something we can colonize. The foundational elements of this practice must be respected and cared for. I'm sharing ways all of us, as students of yoga, can honor the practice of yoga and meditation.

Of course, it starts with us continuing our practice, but there are many things we can do on and off the yoga mat to honor our lineage and humbly celebrate the practitioners who have come before. We are only on this earth for a short time, and we are better off spending that time cultivating kindness towards ourselves and others, including the ancient teachings of yoga.

Seize this moment now to celebrate the history of yoga - and its future! What we practice today needs to be protected for the upcoming generation of yogis. Send an email at [email protected] and share the ways you are celebrating yoga. You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

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Come to a comfortable seated position, and join me for a traditional Anapanasati meditation. Let your mind, body, and breath settle into this moment. You have to bring your attention inwards to start the practice of Anapanasati, and the easiest place to begin is by focusing on your breath.

Pay attention to the ingoing and outgoing breath, its texture and its rhythm. No matter how it feels, sounds, tastes, or smells, simply acknowledge that your breath is moving in and out, in and out, in and out…Challenge yourself and see if you can stay with the breath for the entire length of inhalation until it falls back into exhalation.

If you notice your breath changes, remember it's only natural, and try not to judge yourself. Change is the only constant thing in this universe, and even if you remain absolutely perfectly still during this meditation, your breath is still going to fluctuate. So don't pass judgment, just acknowledge the change and bring your attention back to the breath.

This is the truth of the universe - we are always changing. Meditation teaches us both how to recognize this change and attempt to achieve a state of changelessness. It may take a lifetime of practice to get there, but every step on the path of yoga is a path forward. We are never perfect, only perfect students, practicing our craft and learning new things.

Only with continued practice can we ever hope to reach true mindfulness and break the old habits of the mind. Take this episode of Yoga Inspiration as your sign to practice today.Tell me - what inspires you to practice yoga? Send an email at [email protected]. You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

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I truly love being a yoga teacher, but my most favorite space to be in is that of a yoga student. Harmony Slater is a fellow yoga teacher and forever student who continues to inspire me to learn in new and something ways.

We are both practicing Ashtanga students who became yoga teachers, but that unique space where the student becomes the teacher can really change your perspective of the practice.

When Harmony first discovered yoga in her 20s, it was the first time she felt good inside of her own body. Many of us came to yoga to heal, whether it be physically or emotionally, and we discuss what it's like to grow up struggling with body image and mental health. Yoga is an opportunity to feel at peace, and Harmony shares how using the practice as a spiritual tool helped her healing process.

Harmony's spiritual journey also stimulated her intellect, and she had opportunities to study in China and India. The more she learned about the intersection of philosophy and practice, the more her own perspectives were challenged.

Luckily, yoga teaches us how to balance the duality of our world. The opposition of light and dark, masculine and feminine, internal and external all play together, and this is the kind of perspective Harmony brings to her practice. She describes it as bringing a kind of softness to the yoga mat that balances the inspirational flame that drives us to practice the asanas.

We talk a lot about finding balance on the Yoga Inspiration Podcast, and Harmony's upcoming workshop on OmStars dives into the goddess energy and how to balance the play of masculine and feminine in the yoga practice. I invite you all to try on a new perspective and practice yoga in a way that you may not have considered before.

If you have an inspiring story to share, please get in touch. Send an email at [email protected] and tell me - what does yoga mean to you? You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

Stay connected: @kinoyoga and @omstarsofficial

View my teaching schedule, blogs, etc on Kinoyoga.com

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How many of you have felt uninspired to practice yoga during this pandemic? Without a class to go to or a teacher to talk with, it can be hard to get motivated to do just about anything, let alone exercise.

I invited Scott to this special episode of Yoga Inspiration so we could share our experiences as yoga studio owners and teachers during the lockdown. I was lucky enough to already have an online channel when lockdown orders were issued, but Scott went from teaching morning Mysore classes in a rental space to figuring out Zoom in 72 hours. Many of us had to hit the ground running in 2020, and we're still learning a lot along the way.

Getting online turned out to be a more creative and collaborative experience than Scott anticipated, and he shares how his yoga teaching style evolved to meet the needs of yoga students who were now trapped at home. With the yoga community feeling uncertain and lonely, Scott found a way to create a new community that included mindfulness, philosophy, and most importantly - togetherness.

Being together is what we've missed most during the pandemic. Teaching yoga online still gives us the opportunity to open up and share our space with our students and our community, but there's nothing like being able to come together and practice yoga. That's why we decided to get vaccinated, and we want to take this opportunity now on my podcast to discuss the COVID vaccine candidly and without judgment.

Not everyone may agree with us, and there is no pressure from either myself or Scott for anyone to get vaccinated. But as yogis practicing ahimsa, we feel that getting vaccinated is the best way we can protect ourselves and our students from getting sick. It's also our best chance at ending this lockdown as quickly and as safely as possible.

Getting and staying healthy is our inspiration to practice yoga, and we discuss what that means to us now as lockdown restrictions are scheduled to be lifted across America and the UK. Scott shares tips for engaging with people online, and I share my experience setting limits and boundaries within a wellness community that may have differing definitions for what wellness means to them.

If you have an inspiring story to share, please get in touch. Send an email at [email protected] and tell me - what does yoga mean to you? You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

Stay connected: @kinoyoga and @omstarsofficial

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Join me for a deep and powerful conversation with Melanie Klein. She is a mentor of mine and one of the founders of The Yoga and Body Image Coalition. She's run the marathon of social justice work time and time again, and she has inspired me to grow as a person and as a social intellectual.

The real work of social awakening goes well beyond the yoga mat. For Melanie, she started out at the intersection between social work, gender studies, and media literacy before ever taking her first Kundalini Yoga class, but that first class was a game-changer. It altered her whole perspective because she realized she wasn't as in touch with her own body as she thought.

Having the intellect to deconstruct the world around you is one strength, but until you have the tools to deconstruct the way these messages live inside yourself, you aren't reaching your full potential. Critical consciousness is key to the awareness we achieve on the yoga mat, but it's also integral to carrying what we've learned on the mat into our waking world.

Within the wellness in the community, we cannot talk about yoga without touching on the uncomfortable things people don't want to talk about. But things like colonization, racism, classism, and sexism occur in this space too, and even though we seek meditation to "disconnect" in a sense, we cannot disconnect these social issues from our practice.

Yoga is our space to make change and take the right action. It is a space where body acceptance can be realized, and it's also a platform for amplifying marginalized voices. Practicing yoga strengthens our hearts so we can put in the real work - what Melanie calls "in-house shifting" - so that we can be the change we wish to see in this industry and in the world around us.

I want to keep inspiring you to continue your practice. Send an email at [email protected] and tell me - what does yoga mean to you? You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

Stay connected: @kinoyoga and @omstarsofficial

View my teaching schedule, blogs, etc on Kinoyoga.com

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