Wrapping Up Season 7 (Season 7, Episode 26)

This podcast is taking a break for the summer! Before we do, I have a check-in and update on my process with this podcast. I also share some resources, including a Best Of list if you want to listen back through some old podcast episodes!

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Transcript

(00:07):
Welcome to Love, Curvy Yoga, the podcast where we’re taking some time off and hope you do too. Now let’s get into it.

(00:14):
[MUSIC]

(00:20):
Hi, Anna here. Okay. Let’s do our check in, how are you feeling and what do you need in your body?

(00:38):
With everything going on in the country and world, and in my own life personally, I’ve been slowly realizing how tense my body has been lately. My right hip has actually been more than tense; it has been painful, which is unusual for me. So I have, I was going to say, had to, I don’t know, got to, I’ve been able to spend time every day, rolling it out and stretching it. And I’ve been, a little bit begrudgingly, but mostly grateful for the forced time to connect with my body, even though I wish it didn’t have to come from an injury or whatever this is.

(01:21):
So I’m reading a book right now. I want to share a little bit of it with you, um, because it’s kind of relevant. So the book is called “How to talk so little kids will listen.” And in it, there’s a list of the conditions under which the tools in the book, so various kinds of communication tips, will not work. So here is the list of conditions. If these things are happening, these tools are not going to work: lack of food, lack of sleep, need for recovery time (so after doing something needing some time to just kind of process and chill), feeling overwhelmed and then lack of developmental or experiential readiness. And, Oh my gosh, how true is this for adults, too?!

(02:10):
I wanted to mention it while we’re talking about checking in, because sometimes we need these kinds of things to be in place in order to check in. And other times we check in and we’re like, huh, I really don’t feel that good. But then we forget to check out these basics before jumping into a bunch of assumptions or judgments about why it’s happening, why we don’t have our stuff together, more et cetera. So I just wanted to mention it as you’re thinking about connecting more with your body as thinking about what conditions you benefit from having in place yourself. Okay. So up next, in our main segment, I am going to take a summer break from the podcast and I have recommendations for resources you might find useful in the interim.

(03:03):
[MUSIC]

(03:07):
Did you know that the 10 year anniversary of Curvy Yoga is this year? I know it’s kind of hard to believe, it both feels so much longer and so much shorter than that, which I guess is true of so many things in life. So it actually happened officially quote unquote in April, but with everyone in the thick of the pandemic and stay home, I didn’t mention it.

(03:32):
One thing I have been sitting with as someone who has created content (big time air quotes around that, I really hate that phrase) on the internet for a decade now is: how do you keep doing that in a way that is not only sustainable, but I think even more importantly, useful. Sometimes I really feel like I’ve said all I have to say. And other times I feel excited about the work of deepening the conversation here.

(04:04):
So in the spirit of transparency, I usually find this to be a pretty tricky needle to thread. And honestly, I don’t know if anyone really knows how to do it. It feels like content on the internet has been around forever, but that’s really not true in any way. And over the years, I have tried to hire people to help me figure this out. And it’s not that what they suggested wasn’t helpful. It was in some ways, but what I’ve really realized is that it’s something only I have the answer to. And that I can’t find those answers when it’s always onto the next thing, onto the next thing. And I have a fear (maybe you will find it irrational, I don’t know, but it’s a real fear to me) of wasting people’s time and of contributing to all of the noise out there in the world.

(04:55):
You know, when I first started Curvy Yoga, what I had was a blog and that was pretty much how people interacted. I didn’t have social media. And then over time, you know, of course social media started to blow up. I had that, a podcast, the newsletter, so many different ways to communicate. And I know that I personally, as a receiver of other people’s content, sometimes feel like, Whoa, we don’t have to have a fire hose. Like I can just hear from you from time to time and that will be great. So it’s kind of balancing that with all of the internet business recommendations, which I don’t go by, but that are like, you need to be in people’s faces 24 seven. I mean, how annoying is that? So that’s kind of my fear and what I’m always trying to figure out is walking a line between those two things and doing it in such a way that resonates and feels like it is in integrity for me. So I don’t want to just say, Oh, okay. Today’s Friday. So this is the day that I say things on the podcast and I’m just going to keep doing that for the rest of all time, because I should quote unquote.

(06:12):
So all of this is preamble just to let you know kind of where I am and why I’m taking a summer break. I wouldn’t say I’m burnt out exactly, but I just need a little space to let some new ideas percolate to the surface and to do that in a way that is hopefully meaningful for you as a listener because I really value your time. I really appreciate that you give it to me. I know that, like I said, there’s just so much competing for our attention all of the time. So I’m very grateful.

(06:49):
Now, if you are a member of Curvy Yoga Studio, all of that is ongoing. So I’m not taking a break there. You’ll still get your weekly emails, weekly videos, all of the great things we have going on there. I’m really just taking a break from this podcast. And I’m also already on an inadvertent one from social media that I may continue. It wasn’t planned. It just sort of happened because I was a little bit fried and then it just kept happening. So we’ll see.

(07:20):
So this is going to be my last episode until after labor day. So if you would like some Curvy Yoga resources to support you in the meantime, I have some suggestions. Like I said, if you’re a member of the studio, you’ll still be getting all of our resources there. And if you are not a member, you can get your first two weeks free by using the code curvy C U R V Y. And you can join us at curvyyoga.studio, or just find the link in the show notes. And then the second thing that I have for you is I put together a best of list from our podcast archives. It’s kind of hard to believe I haven’t done this before, but there is a lot there! We have close to 200 episodes. So there are 10 episodes in the best of list, and you can find that in the show notes for this episode. So I hope you enjoy it if you check it out. Okay. Up next, a few reminders.

(08:16):
[MUSIC]

(08:21):
All right. Logistical reminders. So we are still in the midst of the podcast survey for the next season. And thank you so much to those of you who’ve already filled it out. I really appreciate it. And if you haven’t, it’s not too late. So you can check out the link in the show notes. It should just take a few minutes and it will give me more of a sense of where it might be good for us to take this podcast next based on what you’re interested in, what you’d like to learn more about.

(08:54):
The other thing: July is in just a few days. And I did a different survey of our members and the overwhelming favorite theme for the month was daily practice to build a consistent yoga practice. So that is what we’re going to be doing in the studio in July. And you know me so, you know, I have some things to say about creating a consistent yoga practice.

(09:20):
And I think it has a lot less to do with willpower. So many air quotes in this episode, but here’s another one and a lot more to do with fitting yoga into your actual life, not the other way around. So here are some common misconceptions about a consistent, which doesn’t mean every single day without fail or else you might as well have never started, yoga practice. So you have to practice for at least an hour. Your practice has to contain many challenging physical aspects every time you get on the mat. You need to practice at the same time every day. You can’t have interruptions. I don’t know about you, but none of that is relevant to my life.

(10:04):
And here is, um, myth-busting: doing even a few minutes of yoga on any given day can really have powerful effects. It’s not that longer practices can’t be enjoyable. They definitely can be, but they’re absolutely not required to have a consistent practice. The concept of what is challenging is highly subjective. So for some people, the most challenging pose is Savasana, or the final resting pose in yoga. For other people, it might be down dog, a balance pose or something else entirely. In other words, it is personal. And it also changes over time as something that used to be more challenging for you may now be less so and vice versa. So if you focus on a varied practice over time, instead of what happens on one specific day, then you’ll get many different types and kinds of challenges in over time.

(11:05):
If practicing at the same time every day is useful for you, then I think that’s great. Go for it! But it’s definitely not required. Some days you might have time in the morning, others in the evening, others still, when a meeting got abruptly canceled and have a little spare time. The best time to practice is whatever works best for you today. And then the last one is when you practice at home, your roommate, pet, kid, partner, mail carrier, all of the above may interrupt. That is life. Oh, I didn’t mention your phone. That’s another one. If you haven’t put it on silent, which I recommend unless you can’t for some reason. So you can look at those things as ruining your practice, which is easy to do. I’ve done it many times. Or can see it as your practice. In other words, it’s just another chance to come back to center after change, which is a great skill to have both on and off the yoga mat.

(12:07):
So this month we’re going to work with different kinds of practice varieties to see what resonates with you when and why to help you find the consistent practice that works for you. And to know how to adapt that as you, yourself are changing, as we always are. So every week has a different area of focus, though a little bit of each focus area shows up each week cause they all kind of speak to each other. So there’s time variety, style variety, body part, focus, pace, and energy. So if this is of interest, we would definitely love to have you join us! Like I mentioned, you can go to curvyyoga.studio to join, and I hope you have a great summer (or winter depending on where you live!) And I will see you around in our emails and the studio.

(12:58):
If you have questions, comments, or ideas, you can send them my way at podcast@curvyyoga.com and let’s close with one breath together. We’re going to inhale and exhale the light in me honors the light in you. Namaste.

(13:23):
[MUSIC]