Nicole Wild on Facing Death as an Extension of the Yoga Practice

In this episode, yoga teacher Nicole Wild shares what she's learned about life and yoga from confronting death: both in the cadaver lab and through working in hospice, being with people in their last moments. She shares how sitting with grief and impermanence are part of her yoga practice, bringing in a deeper reverence for life. This conversation is about fear, discomfort, embodiment, gratitude, and embracing your life (and teaching) as you are, today."Allowing space for letting go, allowing space for endings, allowing space for deaths in all forms, whether that's actual human lives or just the little things we have to let go of on a day-to-day basis…doing that work is absolutely a part of the yoga practice." - Nicole WildQuote on the fires of the heart mentioned is by Edmund Wilson. View full quote hereDeath as a Surprise Party poem from Make Believe by Victoria Hutchins Nicole’s Website and offerings Nicole’s Instagram: @nicolewildcollectiveBook mentioned: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul GawandeFind Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠⁠Shawna’s website⁠⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠Try OfferingTree for free⁠ ⁠with my link here⁠⁠ (My sponsor) Join YogaTrade Council & take workshops with me (Try it free) And check out jobs on https://yogatrade.com/ (My sponsor)⁠Ayurvedic consultation with Art, TEND ⁠(My sponsor) Time Stamps:00:00 intro08:38 the cadaver lab13:01 fear around discussing death17:30 griefwork19:59 what got you into this work?25:34 hospice work: there is nothing to be afraid of27:26 being with people in their last moments30:07 how does yoga help us approach our fears?32:45 addressing the body and mind as a whole35:35 the therapeutic process38:15 yoga can be both confronting & comforting42:36 yoga and creativity45:38 what you look for you will find48:01 you don't just teach what you know, you teach who you are50:48 how can yoga shape our values?55:20 rapid fire questions59:56 the billboard question