Podcast - The Yoga of Susannah

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” -Willie Nelson. Did you know that the act of searching for things to be grateful for can train your mind to be on the lookout for joyful things? Just like down and lets practice gratitude!

If your heart is in need of nurturance and support, you might like to lie down and practice expanding the space around your heart. In this eleven minute podcast, we’ll explore breathing into and focusing our awareness into our hearts. Just lie down and we’ll begin!

Did you know you can breath through the soles of your feet? Yes, you can and it feels ever so delightful! Lets try it in this 11 minute podcast - just lie down!

It has been said that The Mind screams, but The Heart whispers. In this eleven minute podcast, we’ll find out what your heart whispering to you and then make ourselves a “sankalpa” - an affirmation based on your heart’s deepest longing. Just lie down and we’ll begin!

In this eleven minute podcast we will let the earth hold us as we connect to prana, the life-force that is in our breath. Our breath affects our emotions and our movements and our perception of the world. Just lie down and we’ll begin!

In this eleven minute podcast, we will take time to sense our Koshas.  What are Koshas? The ancient yogis believed that we are made up of sheaths, or layers of experience. We are much more than our physical bodies, and more than our emotions and thoughts. You are not who you think you are! Just lie down and lets begin exploring!

In this podcast, we will breathe into our heart-space in a delightfully new way. Using our awareness and the breath, when we connect with our hearts, we are more able to be warmly present with whatever is going on. Just lie down and lets begin!

In this eleven minute podcast, we’ll check out and check in. Suspending judgment, we’ll notice what is going on inside.  When we  know where we are at, its easier to respond with an open awareness that helps us make good choices. Just lie down to begin!

In this ten minute podcast, we’ll relax and explore the simple concept of self-compassion. How do you treat yourself when you are suffering? Most of us turn to self-criticism, but that only makes things worse. Lets explore an easy way to build self-compassion, using your breath and hands. Just like down and we’ll begin!

The Holidays = Craziness, but you don't have to be!!

Our nervous system cannot rev up and slow down at the same time. After a brief explanation In this twelve minute podcast, of how the autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympathetic system, which is often identified as the fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic, which is often called the relaxation response, we'll explore five very easy things that you can use to initiate the process that turns the fight-or-flight system off and the relaxation response on. Want to find out? If so, just lie down and lets begin!!

<figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Nothing is separate. You probably already know that the exhale is how we release what our body can’t use anymore. Our out-breath contains carbon dioxide, a waste product which is what plants need to survive, our exhale is literally, plant food. Similarly, the waste product of plants is oxygen, which is cell food for us. In this eleven minute podcast we will practice visualizing trees and flowers moving with our breathing. So, just lie down and we’ll begin!!

If you've been stressed, it's time to rest! Try Yoga Nidra! Yoga Nidra means "sleep with awareness" - although we will not be sleeping in this practice, using our attention, our body and our breath, we will be deeeeeeeeply relaxing. It has been said that a single hour of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to many hours of quality sleep and is much more restorative and rejuvenating. This podcast was recorded live in a recent class I instructed and is a longer podcast than usual.This session was compiled from the work of Richard Miller, Kellie Dearman, Jennifer Reis, Dr. Rita Khanna. Interested? Just lie down and we'll begin!

In this eleven minute podcast, we’ll directly sense the breath and concentrate our attention on this simple breath pattern can relax the body mind. This is a good one to practice if you are suffering with insomnia, too. Lets begin! Inhale through nose, Exhale through nose Inhale through mouth, Exhale through mouth Inhale through nose, Exhale through mouth Inhale through mouth, Exhale through nose

There is so much energy inside Mother Earth. In this ten minute podcast we’ll practice breathing in the renewing forces available to us. Love grounds us, gratitude grounds us, and the breath can ground us, too. Just lie down and lets begin

When we get stressed out, we feel constricted and tight. In this eleven minute podcast we’ll practice sensing the spaciousness all around ourselves. It can be very relaxing to put our awareness on space. Curious? Try it! Just lie down!

In this eleven minute podcast, we will put our awareness into our hearts. Breathing in and out of the heart relieves tightness and pressure that so many of us carry in the chest and upper back. We’ll also practice two heart-focused breath mantras. Ready? Just lie down!

Lets play with our imaginations. When we bring our attention inside the body, we can create a sense of wholeness and calm. In this ten minute podcast, once we are settled into Savasana, we'll use our imaginations to sense energy in areas of our body.

In this ten minute podcast, we'll place our hands and our attention on our gravity center, our emotional center: the belly. We'll practice softening the belly as we breathe while inquiring if there is a correlation between the belly and our emotional state. Get yourself set up in Shavasana or some other comfortable supine position and lets begin...

In this ten minute podcast, once we settle into the ground, we’ll experience the felt-sense of gratitude in the body. Gratefulness is the path to freedom and studies show that grateful people on average give 20% more time and money to things they care about and are more bonded to the community. We need grateful people! Enjoy!

For the next ten minutes in this podcast, we’ll practice a fun way of breathing that can provide a bit more spaciousness and ease to your day. Set yourself up in a supine position and let yourself relax.

Conscious breathing can calm us down. In this 10 minute podcast, we’ll take a Tour of the Breath. Take a mini-shavasana, get super comfy - just lie down!

LovingKindness is a method of developing compassion and cultivating love. Research is showing that LovingKindness increases emotional intelligence, social connection, generosity, empathy and increase grey matter in the brain. LovingKindness decreases self-judgment, migraines, PTSD and chronic pain. Try it and see how you feel.

In this ten minute podcast, we’ll use smiling to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. It’s a simple, calming and relaxing practice. Try it!

In this ten minute podcast, we’ll use our hands as organs of perception as we meditate on the breath. How does tension in the hands change our breathing and sense of self? Let’s find out!

Step out of your thoughts and come into your breath. In this podcast, drawing a center line down the body, we’ll explore what it feels like to breathe into one side of your body and then the other. You may notice that one side is much easier to breathe into. After that, we’ll switch back and forth.

Using the ancient pranayama (breathing) practice known as Ujjayi or Victorious Breathing, we'll breathe all over the body - it's fun!

In today’s podcast, we’ll practice tensing and softening the body. Tension is the body’s response to the past. Sometimes repeatedly squeezing and softening our muscles can help release that tension, giving you space and peace in the body. Ready to try? Just lie down and we'll begin.

As you develop awareness of who is actually experiencing the world inside you and outside of you, you might experience greater freedom. Take this 10 minute mini-shavasana and become aware to who is noticing.

“Coherent Breathing” describes a breath practice where we take five full breaths per minute. The inhalation and exhalation are paced to be six seconds each. This breath cycle has been found to be very helpful to reduce blood pressure, increase heart-rate variability and promote a balance between the adverse reactions from Sympathetic Nervous System (fight/flight/freak/freeze) and the beneficial aspects of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (rest + digest/tend+befriend). Studies agree that a six second inhale followed by a six second exhale is the optimal pace to cultivate stress resilience. Instead of using your mind for counting, just listen to and breathe with my beloved harmonium. Just lie down and try this!

Sometimes having a problem or problems can really wreak our peace of mind. With this podcast, we’ll practice a soothing pranayama (breathing exercise) and a silent mantra which might help you experience your problem in a way that is not as large and sticky as you thought.

There are two aspects of the mind: the thinking self and the observing self. Place a small pillow or your cellphone on your belly and place your observing mind on the movement of the belly as you just simply breathe. The breath is the anchor for your attention as you shift from Thinking Mind to Observing Mind.

If you’ve been experiencing lots of distraction lately, you might enjoy this is a very simple breath practice that can help you focus your attention. We will also practice a simple mantra on gratitude. Just lie down!

There is a whole world of wisdom inside the body. How do we access that wisdom? When we slow down we can register sensation - which allows for wisdom. Take a 10 minute mini-shavasana and let your attention tune into your body without judgment.

Starting off with La La La’s, we’ll practice inhaling in three parts. This is a very soothing breath practice - it can help you drop away from the world of thoughts, comparisons, judgments and into the world of your true peaceful nature.

Freedom comes when we breathe mindfully. Sometimes it it easier to keep our attention on the breath by Hands On Breathing. We’ll put our hands on our belly and feel the breath coming in and out, and then we’ll try putting our hands on our lungs and direct the breath into different parts of our ribcage, feeling the sensations of breathing.

When we get anxious, we are out of touch with what is actually happening in this moment. The stories that you are telling yourself are probably not true. Return to your body, notice your thoughts and soften into what is real. This is a very calming practice that can ease anxious thinking.

Many of us have lots of tension around the eyes, so these simple movements can help soothe and release tension. Open up your inner vision by widening and softening your gaze.

Release the Past, the Future will arrive on its own - for now, just be Present. Bring yourself to the Present by using your awareness to sense what is actually happening in and around your body. First, we’ll establish an Anchor and then we’ll journey into the Six Senses.

Let your mind go on vacation while you gently focus your attention on the movement of the ribcage as it moves with your breath. When we breathe mindfully, we bring our mind home to our body and there is an opportunity for reunification of body/mind and with that comes peace.

In Portland, Maine we are blessed every Valentine’s Day by the Valentine Bandit - a person (?) who covers our town with paper valentines - thousands of them! Nobody knows who the Valentine Bandit is because he or she secretly strikes in the middle of the night. This breathing practice asks you to imagine that you have one of those delightful valentine’s stuck on top of your torso and as you breathe the valentine lengthens and widens. To begin, Just Lie Down in Shavasana and fire up your imagination.

Your imagination is as big as you imagine it to be - use your imagination and your breath to go on a joyous ride on your Inner Swingset. Just lie down and get comfy!

If you’ve been having Monkey Mind a lot lately, try to let things just be. Surrender your body weight into the earth. Come into Shavana and let your body get heavy and soft and direct your attention away from rumination and into feeling the pulse points in your body.

Here in Maine the darkest days are upon us - the sun set at 4:04 pm today. Yike! It’s dark out there! You might want to snuggle in, get comfy and learn the Inner Sunshine Pranayama breathing practice. In this, you’ll be guided to find your Inner Sunshine and once you feel it glowing, you might even radiate and expand the warmth and glow...try it! It may be dark, cold and dreary outside, but the sun shines steady in our souls.

In this nine minute recording, you are invited to feel the touch of breath on and in your body, focusing on energy centers. This is a simple practice is an experience that can bring you back to your true self. This practice was inspired by this delightful quote by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche: “When relaxation develops in us, through letting go of neurosis and experiencing a sense of space that is cool fresh air around us, we begin to feel good about ourselves. We feel that we are not cheating anybody; we are not making anything up on the spot. We begin to feel that we are fully genuine.”

The Body is always present, the Mind is often not. In this 10 minute recording, we will use the breath to get into the body and return to the presence we seek. Releasing the past and letting go of the future leads to a direct experience of your true home - the here and now. This practice is inspired by Nido Qubein who wrote: "Your present circumstances don't determine where you go; they merely determine where you start."

In this eleven minute recording, you are invited to feel how heavy and warm your body really is - and as you sense that - your mind follows suit. This helps slow down the anxious brain and quell body tension. This practice was inspired by the words of Fritz Perls, who said: “Fear is excitement without the breath.”

The opportunity to go deep inside the real you - the you that is more than your body - is inside this ten minute recording. As you sense the light inside of you, your tension, troubles and concerns can be transformed into a new awareness. This practice was inspired by the Sanskrit word, “Namaste,” which means: “The light in me greets the light in you.”

On this seven minute recording, your feelings of overwhelm are invited to come out, be heard and then contained, leaving you with a clear mind, centered body and a sense of true direction. The idea for this was inspired by the work of psychologist Margaret Wehrenberg and also by the words of Natalie Goldberg, who wrote in her fabulous book, Writing Down The Bones, “Stress is basically a disconnection from the earth, a forgetting of the breath. Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Not is that important. Just lie down.” Ahhhhh! Lets do it. Get into Shavasana!!

When you can’t control the mind, you can lightly control the breath....and with that comes so much freedom...because you’ll find yourself rooted in the Here and Now....feeling the breath...not fused with your thoughts/beliefs/stories. You can hang out with The Judger in the mind or you can be with the breath. So take a break, get comfy, lie down, savor gravity and experience this simple pranayama exercise: Inhale through your nostrils, and exhale through your nose. Inhale through your mouth, and exhale through your mouth. Inhale through your nostrils, and exhale through your mouth Inhale through your mouth, and exhale through your nose.