Leadership and Yoga

Part two of the episode from last week! After going deep in the yoga, we find that yoga is so much more than poses, identity, or surface-level spiritual aesthetics. In this episode, I share part two of 10 lessons I have learned from going deep with yoga: let’s talk how yoga helps us feel our humanity, accessing true presence through yoga, respecting yoga and cultural appreciation vs cultural appropriation, why yoga takes time and patience, and the what the Bhagavad Gita’s definition of yoga is. Keywords: yoga philosophy, yoga teacher podcast, authentic yoga, yoga spirituality, yoga beyond asana, modern yoga, yoga wisdom, yoga for creators, spiritual growth, conscious livingIf you missed part one, find it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6GRtl8C7o1NFhm4eVzKhaC?si=H1EWz0wqSrObMxT_46wByQ  Patreon: Leadership and Yoga CLUB. To support my work on this podcast, to meet fellow listeners, and more… Join below. https://www.patreon.com/cw/shawnakru Find 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 intro06:00 inside my 2020 dreamboard08:00 why i’m in honolulu 10:15 patreon: Leadership and Yoga Club13:00 what “deep” in yoga really means16:00 tip for yoga teachers20:00 storytime sponsor picnic24:59 part 6: yoga helps us feel our own humanity 28:20 musical poem: feel for all humanity  31:07 part 7: presence once seen, can never be forgotten 35:35 one year of meditating38:00 leaning in closer40:00 part 8: respect not just spread yoga45:39 musical poem: yoga doesn’t come from a brand48:00 part 9: yoga takes time52:00 part 10: yoga is spiritual integration53:30 divine crystal theory58:20 musical poem: today i didn’t meditate1:00:00 review of all 10

Today on the Leadership and Yoga podcast, I talk with Poranguí about the power of music to heal, awaken, and reconnect us to ourselves. In this episode, Poranguí shares what it feels like to improvise music in front of thousands of people with no set plan, trusting whatever wants to come through in the moment. We talk ritual, creativity, flow states, consciousness, ancestors, collective human connection, nervous system regulation, coherence as leaders, and music as medicine. Poranguí reminds us that interbeing is how we find meaning in life, and he leads by example. This is what the yoga of sound really means. If music has ever made you feel something beyond words, this episode is for you.Music in intro credit to Poranguí, "Amanecer" Find Poranguí on instagram:@porangui Poranguí events, tour, retreats:https://www.porangui.com/ Poranguí on YouTubePoranguí on SpotifyTechnology fail at Envision festival we mentioned:https://youtu.be/otkbFvz8Fy4?si=yV5o1OQGib-SbWLH&t=4758 Patreon: Leadership and Yoga CLUB. To support my work on this podcast, to meet fellow listeners, and more… Join below. https://www.patreon.com/cw/shawnakru Find Shawna on instagram:@shawnakru Time stamps:00:00 intro01:00 who is Poranguí? 03:00 context & backstory07:30 the body, Poranguí’s “favorite” instrument 11:00 improvising and not planning shows14:30 capoeira, playing & dancing with the “now”17:45 it helps us face the uncertainty of life20:45 “worst nightmare” technology fail in performance25:00 the prayer is too potent, energy28:50 what it feels like after performing29:30 how to stay present while performing: widening awareness and tracking all30:10 Schrödinger's cat, observer effect, parallel universes32:30 intricacy, care vs perfectionism 35:00 birth story how Poranguí’s parents met41:30 serpent medicine: chased by snakes44:30 trust46:30 ancestors “anceStars” 49:00 non-linear time and roots of trees51:50 why are we here? scrap of paper54:00 nervous system & our function 55:00 consumerism culture 56:15 keepers of fire: technology and AI. tending 58:30 impacting the world as healers: heart song1:00:30 heart 1:02:00 the voice is the fingerprint of the soul1:04:00 Poranguí’s rituals: getting into state1:06:30 change and successes after retreat 1:08:15 music expresses the inexpressible1:11:30 why music touches us1:12:30 the original pulse1:14:00 billboard message, tour & learn from Poranguí 

After going deep in the yoga, we find that yoga is so much more than poses, identity, or surface-level spiritual aesthetics. In this episode, I share part one of 10 lessons I have learned from going deep with yoga: let’s talk spiritual materialism, devotion, creativity, stress, self-awareness, and what it really means to live yoga beyond the mat. We talk about why yoga practice is the boat, not the destination and how practice can become prayer, why discomfort creates freedom, and how real yoga changes the way we relate to every moment of life.Keywords: yoga philosophy, yoga teacher podcast, authentic yoga, yoga spirituality, yoga beyond asana, modern yoga, yoga wisdom, yoga for creators, spiritual growth, conscious livingPatreon: Leadership and Yoga CLUB. To support my work on this podcast, to meet fellow listeners, and more… Join below. https://www.patreon.com/cw/shawnakru Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠⁠Shawna’s website⁠⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠Join 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 intro01:00 toe dipping04:00 cartoon09:00 Yoga Trade10:30 part 1: yoga is a boat16:42 part 2: practice is prayer20:40 part 3: not everything is yoga, but yoga is in everything24:30 something i say during yoga class often27:00 part 4: asana is a language 29:00 healing and yoga: stagnation to flow33:00 part 5: yoga makes you creative 34:15 yoga reverses the flow of input to output36:40 why ideas arrive in the shower38:28 why winding tight makes us sick39:30 creating from stress vs real energy42:00 holding a basketball underwater46:00 club on Patreon! 

In this sixth roundtable, yoga teachers from across the country and around the world share what teaching yoga means to them, lessons learned on the mat, bits of wisdom they've carried on from their own teachers, and their own “billboard messages.” See the link below if you're a yoga teacher and would like to participate in the next roundtable!⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠Thank you so much to the participating yoga teachers! Links to connect with them:Simone Marie-Elise - @ripplesinthematrix, www.ripplesinthematrix.comGrace Gribble - @gracesgallivant, https://www.youtube.com/@practicegracefullyAshley Simonis - @Ashleysimonisyoga; @homeyogamo, Homeyogamo.com; Substack.com/ashleysimonisyoga.comKatie Farinas - @katie.farinas, https://katiefarinas.com ; https://substack.com/@katiefarinas, Katie’s Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2R3MeaPOtqgBUpngAzxCN0?si=4ae2fc1b329d4ccbMikaela Millington - @mikmill; @evolve.yoga.retreats, evolveyogaretreats.comVeronica Drenth - @veronicasue_, https://www.theyogalensPatreon: Leadership and Yoga CLUB. To support my work on this podcast, to meet fellow listeners, and more… Join below. https://www.patreon.com/cw/shawnakru Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠⁠Shawna’s website⁠Try 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 intro02:00 teaching with humility (Mikaela)05:19 we are always planting seeds (Veronica)07:41 you never know who you'll lead to yoga (Grace)08:54 teaching authentically & honestly (Katie)10:32 yoga doesn’t choose the qualified… (Ashley)12:56 finding your own voice as a teacher (Simone)19:12 Sri Dharma Mittra’s first studio25:23 Grace’s story26:55 Katie’s story29:01 Veronica's story30:52 Simone’s story33:07 Ashley’s story36:49 Mikaela’s story42:11 closing thoughts

It’s time for Leadership and Yoga CLUB. Because your dreams are meant for people like you, and you meet your true friends on the mountain. Founding CLUB member special pricing is available until MAY 31, 2026. To support my work on this podcast, to meet fellow listeners, and more…Join below. See ya on the inside?? :) https://www.patreon.com/cw/shawnakru Time stamps:00:00 intro01:00 find your community3:00 CLUB tour10:40 the time is now 13:00 you meet your true friends on the mountain16:00 my billboard message20:50 yoga can change the world

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

Aren’t we all looking for that feeling of energy of waking up happy to be alive? That’s what it feels like when we learn to flirt with our life, to romanticize things enough to pay attention to the details. Flirting with your life is about patience, rather than convenience and instant gratification. It’s about being ornate, not ikea. And when we do this, we overcome numbness and feeling stuck and replace it with creative flow, and freshness. Flirting is about freshness, about putting flowers on our wall even though we know they will wilt. Freshness reminds us that we must allow for constant evolution and change in our lives. We wish to hold onto our inspired, high on life states once we have them, but they must be constantly refreshed. This episode speaks to the way that presence itself is a sensual thing, it’s what allows us to connect to the natural magnetism that exists in everything. Let’s talk rituals, solo-dates, exploration and reconnecting with the magic of life. Substack I mention: How to flirt with your life by Le Secret Club Poem by Victoria Hutchins from MAKE BELIEVEFind Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠⁠Shawna’s website⁠⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠⁠Ayurvedic consultation with Art, TEND ⁠(My sponsor) Time stamps:00:00 intro 01:00 romantic. 03:50 substack: flirt with life. 07:00 dating myself changed my creative outlet 08:00 ornate vs ikea12:30 newness vs freshness14:15 pain is caused by a lack of love15:15 the grass is already under your feet16:30 presence is a sensual thing18:30 it’s either gorgeous or devastating - Victoria Hutchins20:50 moods are internal weather patterns22:00 entropy, Gene Keys 24:00 vacuum state: black hole to white hole 26:30 list of ways to flirt with life29:30 my inspiration bath ritual32:00 change lighting & levels of energy34:30 eating slower & savoring 37:00 TEND - ayurvedic guidance 39:30 other ways to flirt with your life42:00 musical poetry on creative urge