The Sivana Podcast

Positioned along the spinal axis, from the tailbone to the crown of the head, the seven main energy centers of the body are called chakras. In today’s episode, author Michelle Fondin explores and explains each one, demystifying their role in facilitating healing, balance, personal power, and everyday well-being. We discuss what it means to have a chakra that is “blocked,” and how to bring it back into balance. We discuss Ayurveda and each dosha as it relates to the chakra system.

Mark Walsh tells us more about how the transformative practice of “Embodied Yoga” with concrete examples of EYP poses you can try now at-home. This way of practicing yoga can be emotionally intense (and he describes that this looks like). Bringing this additional layer of observation to the practice is a powerful tool for looking at your personal patterns and changing your life for the better. Mark also discusses the role of meditation.

What are you choosing to embody when you come to your yoga mat? Are you using the yoga postures to gain awareness of your subconscious patterning? These are the questions Mark Walsh, founder of Embodied Yoga Principals, poses in this powerful episode. EYP blends yoga asana, partner-work, body therapy, and martial arts to create a unique system of yoga for people who want to achieve real-world success.

Enhance your life by tuning into the natural rhythm of lunar ebbs and flows. Continuing our conversation with author Ezzie Spencer, PhD, we dive deeper into how we flourish by better understanding the cycles of the moon. Ezzie helps clarify if we need to work with same intention multiple times, or just one per lunar cycle. She also goes through the full 8-phase moon cycle as outlined in her book. Learn what you should (and shouldn’t) focus on in each of these 8 cycles.

Create peace, security and purpose in both your personal and professional life, guided by the phases of the moon. Ezzie Spencer PhD, author of “Lunar Abundance,” tell us how we can flourish by better understanding the lunar cycle. She speaks to us about scheduling: Does you current work and social calendar take into account the yang/yin patterns of the moon? We also discuss “intention setting.” What does setting an intention really mean? What rituals and actions surround this?

Continuing our conversation with author and Poet Laureate, Albert Flynn DeSilver, discover why poetry is the foundation all great writing (and why it couples so well with yoga and meditation). Albert opens up and tells us about his “failed” TedX talk, and why we should allow ourselves to write, even if we think it is “crap.” He shares several breakthrough tips about the editing process, as well as some of his own favorite journaling prompts.

Today, author and Poet Laureate, Albert Flynn DeSilver, shares with us how writing and meditation can be a powerful pair. “To engage in both practices fully is to activate a more complete creative and spiritual self,” states Albert. In this episode, learn about the spiritual nature of language. Albert talks about how we can write ourselves into “radiant beings,” and why he doesn’t believe in writer’s block.

Today we continue our conversation with Beth Weissenberger, master coach to CEOs and professional NFL players. Building on Tuesday’s episode, we shift to tips about how to have “Hard Conversations.” Beth teaches us concrete tools to overcome our fear, ‘frame’ the conversation, own our part in the problem and make a concrete ask for a solution.

Meditation teaches us that we are not our thoughts, yet controlling our never-ending inner dialogue is a massive challenge. Today, executive coach Beth Weissenberger describes how she helps CEOs and professional NFL players achieve their desired results by gaining awareness of their own inner dialogue. Beth provides a framework of how we can ‘name’ the voices inside our head for greater awareness and ultimately, elevate our consciousness.

Yoginis often feel a tremendous amount of pressure to go for a “natural” birth. Today, we’re joined Izzy Adair, a Certified Birth Doula and Postpartum Doula and 500 hr certified Yoga Instructor specializing in pre and post-natal yoga. Learn why we want to use the term “unmediated birth” instead of “natural.” Izzy walks us through how the best birth preparation involves tuning in to our own body awareness, with tips on how to do exactly that.

What foods are pitta aggravating? Vata provoking? Good for balancing kapha? Today we review Ayurvedic wisdom with Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor, Izzy Adair. We also learn: Should we eliminate coffee? Ditch smoothies? Do we need to be vegan, vegetarian or neither to practice Ayurevda? We cover the difference between a “yogic” diet and “Ayurvedic” diet. Izzy also explains mono-eating: What is it? What’s the benefit? Walk away from this episode with tons of actionable Ayurvedic tips.

Today we continue our conversation with Yogi Aaron, author of “Autobiography of a Naked Yogi.” After sharing how he developed his very first naked yoga class (and what it entailed), Aaron walks us through how this practice grew into a flourishing studio in New York City offering 15+ classes a week. We talk about stripping away clothing as a way of accessing the deepest layers of ourselves. We discuss potency of emotional release in yoga (and naked yoga in particular!).

Learn about the world of nude yoga – a practice that is much deeper than you may think. Our guest, Yogi Aaron, author of “Autobiography of a Naked Yogi” shares how he pioneered the practice of naked yoga for men in 2000. Learn from Aaron’s fascinating personal journey as he developed and grew this practice from a small experimental class, to a large nude yoga studio offering 15+ classes a week.

We continue to celebrate menstruation through an Ayurvedic lens with expert Ayurvedic Consultant, Akshata Sheelvant. Building on Tuesday’s episode, we cover: Ayurvedic remedies for headaches, bloating and cramps. We learn what various menstrual side effects mean according to Ayurveda, and how they tie back to our digestive health. We also discuss common questions around birth control, hyperthyroidism, whether to exercise or practice yoga during your cycle and more!

You’ll never think about your period the same way again after this week’s fascinating interview with Ayurvedic Consultant, Akshata Sheelvant. Understand why a woman’s health is directly related to her period. Learn how to identify a Vata, Pitta and Kapha period, as well as the 5 different types of Vata and how they affect menstrual flow. Discover how your period relates to your Second Chakra and the cycles of the moon.