Seeing Within

Seeing Within is a podcast hosted by Dawn Blezard, a Jivamukti-trained yoga teacher living with Stargardt’s disease — a progressive condition that is gradually taking her sight. Each episode, Dawn talks with guests who are navigating life, movement, and identity at the edges of what they can see.Aly Slaughter is a yoga teacher based in St Louis, Missouri, who has been visually impaired since birth. Diagnosed in adulthood with achromatopsia — a rare inherited retinal condition — Aly lives with severely reduced distance vision, nystagmus, and extreme light sensitivity. She also has ADHD, anxiety, and a seizure disorder, and has built a teaching life that spans senior centres, CrossFit gyms, and online classes across multiple time zones.In this conversation, Aly and Dawn explore what it means to navigate the world when you exist somewhere between the blind and sighted worlds — and why that in-between space is both the hardest and the most interesting place to be.They talk about how Aly came to yoga through weightlifting and why she used to dread Shavasana; the practical and psychological reality of solo travel with a visual impairment; why she uses a white cane primarily for other people’s benefit — and the complicated feelings that come with putting it away; the “you don’t look blind” experience and what it costs to keep explaining yourself; how achromatopsia progresses differently from conditions like Stargardt’s; and why asking for help is a form of advocacy, not weakness.“Imagine if I didn’t practice yoga — how much worse this would be.”To contact Aly about classes, email [email protected] or find her on Instagram at @alyslaughteryoga.This is not a podcast to rush through. There is no right way to listen. Produced by Anne Gould. Music via Epidemic Sound. With thanks to Sarah Place Accountants, Bury St Edmunds, for supporting the production. To hear more, visit pathwayyoga.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pathwayyoga.substack.com/subscribe

Six months ago, I sat down with Helen Kane - a member of my yoga community and one of the few people in my life who truly knows what it's like to live with Stargardt’s disease.We'd only recently discovered we shared the same diagnosis. She'd walked into my class, told me about her condition, and I said: no way -that's the same as me.In this conversation, we talk honestly about what the journey has actually looked like. The overwhelming first visits to Moorfields. The guilt of telling family. The moment you freeze in a coffee shop because you can't see anything and you're too proud to ask for help. The strange, particular grief of handing over your driving licence. And the unexpected gifts that have come from all of it.Helen has been navigating Stargardt for over a decade. I've been living with it for five years. Together we're both now registered severely visually impaired - and both still on the mat.Since this conversation was recorded, Helen has attended classes and retreats, tried different styles of yoga, and our community has continued to grow. This episode is proof of what happens when you stop hiding and start sharing.If you're living with vision loss - or loving someone who is - this one is for you.In this episode:— The moment each of us found out, and what no one tells you in that waiting room— What Moorfields Eye Hospital feels like when you're not prepared for it— Why the hardest part isn't the diagnosis — it's telling the people you love— The invisible condition problem: we look okay— Asking for help when you've always been the one everyone else leans on— Audio description, family dinners, and negotiating the TV remote— What happened when Helen walked into yoga class for the first time— Why Stargardt’s, in the end, turned out to be a giftThis is not a podcast to rush through. There is no right way to listen.Produced by Anne GouldMusic via Epidemic SoundWith thanks to Sarah Place Accountants, Bury St Edmunds, for supporting the production.To hear more, visit pathwayyoga.substack.comWatch the full conversation on YouTube: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pathwayyoga.substack.com/subscribe

Seeing Within is an audio-led space for listening quietly and without pressure.In this opening episode, Dawn introduces the intention behind the podcast and why it has been created as a listening-first space. After being diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease and living with sight loss, she reflects on sound, attention, and presence .That inspired her to create something shaped for people who are visually impaired.It is also open to anyone drawn to slower, more attentive listening.This is not a podcast to rush through.There is no right way to listen.CreditsProduced by Anne GouldMusic via Epidemic SoundWith thanks to Sarah Place Accountants, Bury St Edmunds, for supporting the production. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pathwayyoga.substack.com/subscribe

Here are two new videos that I’d love to share, one to start your day with presence, and the other to help you end it with peace.The first is a gentle evening meditation — a way to wind down, breathe deeply, and rest well. It’s a soft, grounding practice to support you as the day ends.The second is a short reflection on Yoga Sutra 1.12: abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyām tan-nirodhah — which speaks to the importance of regular practice and non-attachment. Click here to listenThis teaching has shaped the way I approach my own practice. I often think of it like planting seeds: roots come before fruit, and it all takes time, care, and trust. Both are now available on my YouTube channel. I’d love for you to listen and use them.Namaste. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pathwayyoga.substack.com/subscribe

As I prepare to walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks — to raise money for the Macular Society — I was inspired by the dandelions beside Constable’s River Stour and the water meadows close to my home.And these two audio pieces emerged.I have Stargardt’s disease and am losing my vision so these humble flowers seem to shine more brightly right now.The first (above) is a morning meditation — simple, gentle, and grounding ideal for starting your day.The second (below) is a short reflection I recorded spontaneously about the lessons we can learn from nature.These are for anyone who finds connection through listening and for those like me with vision issues. Thank you for listening. 🌼For more details about my Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge here’s a link to my Just Giving Page. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pathwayyoga.substack.com/subscribe

Contentment isn’t about having everything—it’s about being present with what is. This short meditation from Dawn’s Contentment workshop is a simple way to bring a little more ease into your day. Take a breath, press play, and see where it takes you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pathwayyoga.substack.com/subscribe

I knew what the doctor was going to say. I’ve felt the changes, seen—well, not seen—the smudges, the signs of decline. I told myself I was ready to hear it. But when the words came, they still hit hard.Today’s hospital visit confirmed what I already suspected—my vision has deteriorated again. The pressure in my eyes, the constant feeling of a smudge on my glasses that isn’t really there… it’s not my imagination. It’s my reality.This is the thing about vision loss—it’s not just about seeing less. It’s about constant adaptation, about grieving each stage while learning to work with what’s left. It’s about knowing the facts but still feeling the weight of them.But I refuse to stay in this feeling for long. Yes, today I feel down. But tomorrow, I’ll pick myself up. New glasses, new adjustments, and a renewed commitment to moving forward.Because acceptance is a process. And I’m still on the journey. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pathwayyoga.substack.com/subscribe