Innermost Garden

We talk about what performance art teaches about deeply transformative experiences. Plus, creating the guiding principles of Innermost Garden, specifically: I will focus on the solution, not massage the problem.If you're curious about more of what I create, check out innermostgarden.com

1 in 5 American youth aged 12 to 17 had a major depressive episode in 2023, and 9% reported attempting suicide that year. (More stats)I share one young woman's experience and how she learned to listen to wholeness within...after years of trying to tune it out.Learn more about hypnotherapy at innermostgarden.com

Go on, be cliche. Don't wait for the storm to pass your one precious life; learn to dance in the rain. This saying feels almost corny until you actually feel it.You know it when you feel it deep in your body as water streams down your face and you stand in a growing puddle, laughter bubbling up inside. But how many times have you complained about the weather...? Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available for free) or try it on its own. If you’d like to go deeper, try hypnotherapy to let go of suppressed emotions and trauma to start your year fresh. Details at innermostgarden.com

Reconnect to your root chakra to feel more grounded, safe, and energized in your body with this quick guided meditation.After staying indoors much of winter, spring is the time to ground to the earth. Your root chakra, muladhara, is the energy center located at the base of the spine associated with feeling grounded, safe, and energized. Connecting with this chakra can enliven your awareness of your connection with the earth.Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice or try it on its own. Sadhana for the Sunset of WinterFind more free sadhanas and 5-minute meditations attuned to the season at ⁠InnermostGarden.com. If you’d like to go deeper into grounding and relaxation, consider hypnotherapy.

Experience deep calm, centered focus, and equanimity with this quick guided breathwork meditation.This Kundalini yoga meditation invites spiritual, mental, and physical balance. Spiritual balance aligns your inner self with your outer life, integrating introspection and awareness with your daily tasks of living. It involves aligning to your higher purpose, even while engaged in seemingly mundane tasks (because truly anything can become your sadhana, or daily spiritual practice).Mental balance refers to an equanimous mind — maintaining a sense of peace and stability that isn’t disturbed by the outside world or distracted by internal sensations.Physical balance is a resilient stability of the body. It’s the ability to move like the trees: steady and flexible, able to bend and not break while remaining strong. Balance also relies on having a steady breath that can quicken and deepen as needed, and easily return back to calm.Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at ⁠innermostgarden.com⁠) or try it on its own. If you’re curious about ⁠hypnotherapy⁠, learn more about how it can help you break through long-held patterns.

When resistance creates more of what you're trying to avoid, the choice may be to lean in.Find free seasonal sadhana practices and meditations (plus hypnotherapy to let go of repressed emotions and stored trauma) at innermostgarden.com

Relax into stillness, become aware of your intent before you speak, and invite satya (truthfulness) into your life with this hypnotherapy-inspired meditation.Satya is the ethical restraint in yogic philosophy of truthfulness. It’s not simply about blurting out whatever honest truth comes to mind. Instead, it encourages you to align thoughts, words, and actions with truth and kindness. Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at innermostgarden.com) or try it on its own. If you’re curious about hypnotherapy, learn more about how it can help you break through long-held patterns.

Connect with your throat chakra to allow your inner world to express itself outwardly with clarity, compassion, and self-acceptance.Your throat chakra, vishuddha, is the energy center that bridges your inner experience with the outer world. Deep winter was a time of turning inwards and reflecting. As we reemerge in spring, you begin to open gently to the outer world. Vishuddha symbolizes purification, communication, and self-expression. In the chakra system, the throat energy center lies between your heart and third eye chakras — literally a bridge between your heart and mind. Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at innermostgarden.com) or try it on its own. If you’re experiencing deeper anxiety or unhelpful communication patterns, consider trying hypnotherapy to let go of what’s holding you back.

Learning from the least likely teachers about the power of our shared fragility and foundational Buddhist reflections on the Five Rememberances.Find more musings, free seasonal sadhanas, and meditations (plus hypnotherapy to connect with and clear out your subconscious) at innermostgarden.com

Connect with your deeper wisdom and the natural cycles of life in this Kundalini yoga meditation for ahimsa (non-violence). Ahimsa (the first of the ethical principles of yoga, the yamas) goes far beyond simply not using physical force. It reminds you to consider your actions, words, and even your thoughts from the place of non-harming. This Kundalini yoga meditation for compassion works at a subtle level. The practice encourages you to cultivate kindness, compassion, and acceptance for all beings, including yourself, realizing your shared inner essence.Try this meditation to give you the courage and resolution to live with ahimsa. Pair it after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available free at innermostgarden.com) or try it on its own. If you’d like to go deeper, try hypnotherapy to let go of suppressed emotions and trauma to start your year fresh. Details at innermostgarden.com

This gratitude meditation helps cultivate this quality in your life, overtime building many benefits:Mind: Decreases anxiety and depression while boosting dopamine (reward chemical) and serotonin (feel-good chemical), creating a more content mindsetEmotions: Increases emotional resilience, a more positive perspective, and the ability to recover from stressful situations, plus cultivates empathyBody: Lowers blood pressure, improves sleep quality, strengthens your immune system, reduces stress hormones, and reduces the severity and frequency of painsThis year, late winter happens to line up with the Catholic holiday of Lent and the Islamic holiday of Ramadan (which is aligned to a lunar calendar, so it begins on a different date each year). Both practices symbolize spiritual purification and self-discipline, which align with the season on Imbolc in the Year of the Wheel. In both Ramadan and Lent, adherents abstain from worldly pleasures with the goal of building empathy for the poor, increasing gratitude, and focusing on devotion and community. Regardless of your religion, let the season of late winter just before spring inspire cultivating these universal virtues.Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at innermostgarden.com/category/sadhana) or try it on its own. If you’d like to go deeper, try hypnotherapy to let go of suppressed emotions and trauma to start your year fresh. Details at innermostgarden.com

Start your day with intention as winter sunsets into early spring. Today, we chat about the 7 themes for this season.--> Try the deep winter sadhana practice yourself at: https://youtu.be/dx7mV1frZpkIt's a quick flow that blends:Segmented belly breath to expand your lung capacityBreath-led movement to detox and awaken the bodyGentle twisting to lubricate your spine and improve circulation Guided lymphatic massage to support your body’s natural cleaning processFind all the 5-minute meditations mentioned in this episode and more free morning sadhanas (plus hypnotherapy to let go of any subconscious funk) at innermostgarden.com

Center on the present moment, deeply tune into my surroundings, and connect with my intuition. This episode inspires gratitude for fear, the emotion connected with winter.Find free seasonal sadhana practices and meditations (plus hypnotherapy to comfortably explore your emotions) at ⁠innermostgarden.comCheck out Kerri's wilderness school, Sacred Cedars, and Karla McLaren's work on emotions.

Connect with your heart center in this Valentine's season with this guided meditation.This Valentine’s Day, go beyond romantic love and connect with anahata, your heart center. It’s the home of your compassion, connection, and unconditional love. The love of your heart is best described by “agape” – a selfless and deep love that never waivers. Love is not a feeling or emotion, but a conviction on how to live life, guided by your heart.Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at ⁠⁠⁠innermostgarden.com/category/sadhana⁠⁠⁠) or try it on its own.Connect more deeply within with hypnotherapy at ⁠⁠⁠⁠innermostgarden.com

Connect with your soul body, your connection with Spirit, in this guided meditation.The soul body is the first of our ten bodies in Kundalini yoga. It’s your eternal inner light and connection with the natural world and Spirit. It is at once part of the greater whole and an expression of the greater whole complete within you.Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at ⁠⁠innermostgarden.com/category/sadhana⁠⁠) or try it on its own.Connect more deeply within with hypnotherapy at ⁠⁠⁠innermostgarden.com

Learning to let go and return to the present by tuning into the felt experiences of the body.Find free seasonal sadhana practices and meditations (plus hypnotherapy to let go of repressed emotions and stored trauma) at innermostgarden.com

Boost your energy, increase your lung capacity, and clear away anything you no longer need with this breath work paired with a candle gazing meditation.Midway between winter solstice and the spring equinox, this time in the Wheel of the Year of Imbolc symbolizes purification and rebirth with the first signs of coming spring. This is the time to get rid of everything that’s no longer useful to you (both externally and internally) and reconnect with your inner light. This meditation pairs the Breath of Fire (agni pranayam) with a traditional Trataka meditation (candle gazing) to help you boost your energy, increase your lung capacity, and clear away anything that no longer serves you.During Breath of Fire, strongly pump your navel to really suck in the air and forcefully push it out. This will help clear your airways (commonly congested during this time of year) and detoxify your cells, lungs, and blood.Note: If you’re currently menstruating, skip Breath of Fire and instead do long, slow, deep breathing. Breath of Fire floods the blood with oxygen and will increase your flow. (I didn’t believe it either, until I did it anyway during my period…. Live and learn.)Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at innermostgarden.com/category/sadhana) or try it on its own. If you’d like to go deeper, try hypnotherapy to let go of suppressed emotions and trauma to start your year fresh. Details at InnermostGarden.com

Improve mental clarity, cleanse your sinuses, and invite warmth into your body with this guided meditation and kapalbhati pranayam (skull-shining breath).Deep winter is peak time for cold and dryness. It’s the season of Shishira Ritu in Ayurvedic medicine, when dryness, stiffness, sluggishness, and congestion can reign in the body. To warm your body and open up your airways, this week pairs a guided meditation rooted in the powerful solar plexus with kapalbhati (skull-shining breath), which pumps the air in and out of the lungs, detoxifying. You’ll experience more energy and and better digestion to help balance your body.Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at ⁠innermostgarden.com/category/sadhana⁠) or try it on its own.Learn more about how to connect and work with your subconscious mind with hypnotherapy at ⁠⁠innermostgarden.com

Intuition can sound a little magical or out-of-reach for us mere mortals. We chat about how you can identify and encourage the deeper knowing you already have. Find more stories, free seasonal sadhanas, and meditations (plus hypnotherapy to connect with and clear out your subconscious) at InnermostGarden.com

Deeply relax, calm your nervous system, and release any stress and anxiety with this guided meditation inspired by Yoga Nidra.Deep winter is the time of yin, inviting a turning inward and rest. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it’s also the season of the water element, which represents stillness, flow, and the subconscious. With the buzz of the holidays and new year behind you, it’s the perfect time for deep relaxation. This meditation guides you to relax and reset your nervous system, lowering the stress hormone cortisol while improving your sleep quality, focus, and emotional regulation. It’s inspired by Yoga Nidra (yogic sleep).Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at innermostgarden.com/category/sadhana) or try it on its own.Learn more about how to connect and work with your subconscious mind with hypnotherapy (and Yoga Nidra) at ⁠innermostgarden.com

How to align the tone of your day with your highest self with a daily sadhana practice, plus life lessons gleaned from perfecting a temperamental sauce.Find free seasonal sadhanas and meditations (plus hypnotherapy to let go of any subconscious funk) at innermostgarden.com/blog

Start your day with intention with a deep winter sadhana for this first cycle of the year. Today, we chat about the 6 themes for this season.--> Try the deep winter sadhana practice yourself at https://youtu.be/gMdexpuWuvU?si=FwTRkttvKk8-wCH4 It's a quick flow that blends:- Alternate nostril breathing to center the mind- Breath-led movement to awaken the spine- Qi gong practices to balance the water element - knocking on the door of life and the fountain- Invigorating sun salutation yoga series to warm and enliven the bodyFind all the 5-minute meditations mentioned in this episode and more free morning sadhanas (plus hypnotherapy to let go of any subconscious funk) at innermostgarden.com/blog

Cleanse your mind of distractions and connect to your inner wisdom and intuition with this guided meditation on a candle light (trataka meditation). Deep winter is a time for inner focus and reflection.With the inward pull of winter comes a natural connection with your third eye, ajna chakra. This energy center is the center of your connection to the subconscious and superconscious: both the gateway to your inner world and to your connection with the Divine. Pair this meditation after this season’s Sadhana practice (all 22-min videos are available at innermostgarden.com/category/sadhana) or try it on its own. Find more free resources for connecting with yourself and something greater than yourself (plus hypnotherapy for clearing our subconscious funk) at innermostgarden.com