Shownotes
What is the nature of yoga?
Have you ever wondered what the purpose of yoga is? Or what the relationship between yoga and meditation is? In this episode, I discuss the transformative nature of yoga practice with Lily Allen-Duenes, including some common myths and problems people run into when first starting.
We also discuss the global yoga movement as Lily is also passionate about shining a light on the global yoga ecosystem and providing a glimpse into yoga practices worldwide through her Wild Yoga Tribe community.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- What do to about monkey mind or spaghetti brain
- Why yoga helps meditation
- The importance of flexibility and what to do if you’re not
About Lily:
Lily Allen-Duenas is an international yoga teacher, meditation guide, and holistic health and wellness coach. She helps overwhelmed individuals reduce their emotional overload, and find balance, breath, and space for self-care. Lily is the founder of the Wild Yoga Tribe and is the host of the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast. She has taught yoga classes and wellness workshops all over the world. Her journey has led her to a life of flexibility, fluidity, and has fostered a vast reservoir of compassion, curiosity, and creativity. She endeavors to guide others on their path to living a life centered on whole-hearted well-being.
Website: https://wildyogatribe.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildyogatribe/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wildyogatribe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildyogatribe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wildyogatribe
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WildYogaTribe
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wild-yoga-tribe/id1571374779
Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oqRa3tFNTmCh6tBwxRt6Z
Insight Timer: https://insig.ht/6gFTaXHlogb
I really hope to connect with you personally so please send me a message here or join me in my Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectednesswithrevkaren. And in the meantime, enjoy the show!
Transcripts
So if you feel like you can't meditate, one, you're not alone.
rev karen:Two, yes, you can.
rev karen:And three, meditation isn't about.
rev karen:Clearing the mind completely blank, you know?
rev karen:Oh wow.
rev karen:They must be thinking about nothing for an hour.
rev karen:Right.
rev karen:You know, they're definitely, their mind is swinging around it
rev karen:like it's usually described as a monkey from branch to branch.
rev karen:Just swing to swing, to swing to from thought to thought to thought.
rev karen:Hello and welcome to the Connectedness Podcast.
rev karen:Just as you might have guessed, I talk about connection and connectedness
rev karen:on this podcast, our connection with everything in the world around us.
rev karen:Whether you see it or not, we're all connected, and it doesn't matter if it's
rev karen:our dog, our cat, our God, our body.
rev karen:And I'll also talk about some more.
rev karen:Abstract connections like our career or our land, our community, our emotions,
rev karen:your body life is all about connection.
rev karen:So the sooner we recognize that, the sooner we can have an
rev karen:easier, more meaningful life.
rev karen:I will talk about these connections through different lenses.
rev karen:Things like synchronicities and coincidences are just.
rev karen:Everyday little bits of magic and miracles that we, we usually dismiss.
rev karen:It's really important that we pay attention to all of this so we can
rev karen:live an easier, more meaningful life.
rev karen:So welcome to the show.
rev karen:I'm your host, Karen Cleveland.
rev karen:today.
rev karen:I have a really special treat, someone that is very international,
rev karen:has a very fascinating podcast, and let me just go ahead and introduce
rev karen:her and let's get into the show.
rev karen:Lilly Aue is a an international yoga teacher, meditation guide, and
rev karen:holistic health and wellness coach.
rev karen:She helps overwhelmed individuals reduce their emotional overload and find
rev karen:balance, breath, and space for self.
rev karen:Lily is the founder of the Wild Yoga Tribe and is the host of
rev karen:the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast.
rev karen:She has taught yoga classes and wellness workshops all over the world.
rev karen:Her journey has led her to a life of flexibility, fluidity, and
rev karen:has fostered a vast reservoir of compassion, curiosity, and creativity.
rev karen:She endeavors to guide others on their path to a loving to living, a
rev karen:life centered un wholehearted well.
rev karen:So pleased to have you.
rev karen:Welcome Lily.
rev karen:Thank you so much, Karen.
rev karen:It's a joy to be with you.
rev karen:Yes.
rev karen:Thank you.
rev karen:So the very first thing I wanna ask you about is, um, uh, Part of your, uh,
rev karen:website says that the Wild yoga tribe is for the adventurous yogi, the worldwide
rev karen:traveler, and all students and teachers on the path of wellness and wholeness.
rev karen:But the part that really grabbed me was the worldwide traveler,
rev karen:because as someone, so I take people on trips, safaris, and
rev karen:different international, uh, trips.
rev karen:And so that part really grabbed me.
rev karen:It's like the worldwide traveler.
rev karen:And I wanna get into your history in a minute.
rev karen:But first I'm curious, can you speak to that just for a minute?
rev karen:How is it for the worldwide traveler?
rev karen:Yeah, so, um, my community is called the Wild Yoga Tribe and the podcast
rev karen:is called the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast.
rev karen:So each week I interview one yoga teacher from a different country around the world.
rev karen:So, so far 80 yoga teachers, 80 conversations, 80 countries.
rev karen:And so I love that it's just very international based in terms of the
rev karen:community and so, Also, of course, shining this light on this G global yoga ecosystem
rev karen:kind of keeps things interesting for the travelers, the worldwide travelers.
rev karen:If you wanted to go on a yoga retreat in Guatemala, listening to the Yoga and
rev karen:Guatemala episode would be amazing for you because you'd get a good glimpse
rev karen:in what yoga is like in the country.
rev karen:Kind of the philosophy, methodology, methodology behind.
rev karen:As well as there is a huge focus on the podcast on what is the country like,
rev karen:you know, what is there to do there?
rev karen:What's the culture and customs like?
rev karen:What would it be like if you went there?
rev karen:So I think that's beautiful.
rev karen:And of course one of my huge missions here in 2023 is I'm feeling so-called
rev karen:to lead international retreats and to have people connect with the people that
rev karen:I have met on my path and my journey and just building those connections.
rev karen:And so if you're interested in travel, it's a great source for inform.
rev karen:Mm-hmm.
rev karen:Also, the community itself, you know, online and, and all the spaces that
rev karen:I've created, they're international.
rev karen:So if you have questions, if you are wanting to plan something, these are
rev karen:just down to earth good humans who are happy to kind of give you some tips
rev karen:or tricks or help even meet you in this country and, you know, help guide
rev karen:you to whatever you're looking for.
rev karen:So it's just very, You know, empathetic, compassionate, but travel focused
rev karen:for sure, because we're always going around the world, whether it's
rev karen:on the podcast or me traveling to different countries to teach different
rev karen:things, or hopefully here in the future, soon organizing more of these
rev karen:international destination type retreats.
rev karen:Is there a difference in the styles of yoga?
rev karen:You know, from one country to the next.
rev karen:It's a, a wonderful question because yes and no, because there is this root
rev karen:of yoga that goes back thousands of years and, you know, honoring that
rev karen:and having that kind of imbued in, in all the practices around the world.
rev karen:Like there's some of that, those threads that are similar.
rev karen:But when it comes to truly.
rev karen:Are the, are the yoga classes identical or are the energies in
rev karen:there, or are the philosophies?
rev karen:No, and I usually say that if you go to, let's just say you go to one
rev karen:yoga class one time, maybe it's in New York, maybe it's in, uh, Paris.
rev karen:Who knows?
rev karen:But you go to one class one time and you go, oh, I don't like yoga.
rev karen:For me, that's like walking into a grocery store and eat, and you've never.
rev karen:Any fruit before in your life and you just try one banana and you say,
rev karen:oh, I don't like any fruit, right?
rev karen:Like, oh man, that that blueberry tastes so different from that banana.
rev karen:And it's true in the yoga tradition.
rev karen:Okay?
rev karen:Because while yoga, the overarching name of yoga, that tradition is, Is there,
rev karen:there's haa yoga, Vinyasa yoga, Iyengar yoga, hot yoga, um, an asura yoga.
rev karen:Like there's just all of these branches and they all are different.
rev karen:And then on top of that, what a, who a teacher is, what their personality
rev karen:is like, and what their energy is calling them to transmit and translate.
rev karen:That's so different.
rev karen:So every teacher teaches differently, um, every style of yoga is different, and
rev karen:I do think every yoga in every country also has to change and adapt and shift a
rev karen:little to be respectful of that culture's customs or of the religious practices
rev karen:or what the community is calling for.
rev karen:Uh, I just, I think it's fascinating and it's amazing and yes, it definitely is
rev karen:different, but also there's honoring, so there's the same thread that goes.
rev karen:That's fantastic.
rev karen:And I didn't mean to get so deep so fast, but I, it's fascinating to me.
rev karen:. But let's start back at the beginning a little bit.
rev karen:Um, what was your first step into this whole foray of the, you know,
rev karen:mindfulness or yoga and spirituality?
rev karen:What, um, tell us a little bit about your story.
rev karen:So I grew up in California and my parents, um, weren't Buddhist.
rev karen:They, you know, they weren't, didn't do yoga.
rev karen:It wasn't anything like that.
rev karen:But I actually started meditating when I was about 10 or 11 years old.
rev karen:There was a Y M C a, um, summer camp actually located where my grandma.
rev karen:Lives in Iowa.
rev karen:And so there's this summer camp that I went to and they offered morning
rev karen:meditation classes, um, when I was young.
rev karen:And I went back year after year to camp and they never offered it again.
rev karen:But that one year they did.
rev karen:And um, I immediately connected with it.
rev karen:I could just feel Karen.
rev karen:How much I was supposed to do this, like how I just could connect to it.
rev karen:My mind always felt so busy, even as a little, little child, I felt like my
rev karen:mind was moving in a million directions.
rev karen:I like to call it spaghetti brain when everything's just all this,
rev karen:always messy and connecting though, and it all makes sense, but kind
rev karen:of still a mess in there sometimes.
rev karen:So I felt like yoga was, or meditation I could just connect with and feel
rev karen:like, okay, it's helping me untangle.
rev karen:That and then drop out of that into something more quiet.
rev karen:And I don't, I didn't really know how to explain it back
rev karen:then, but that's when I started.
rev karen:I had my, my dad order, or I think we went to the store, but I know he for sure on
rev karen:eBay ordered me a couple meditation books.
rev karen:This was before Amazon, everyone.
rev karen:Wow.
rev karen:This was before smartphones.
rev karen:This that's, you know, before all that.
rev karen:And I didn't have YouTube, I didn't have any resources.
rev karen:I, at this time, we'd just gotten like a Windows 97 big old computer and.
rev karen:Um, there wasn't a way really to even figure out what is
rev karen:meditation and what could that look like and how do I learn it?
rev karen:And so I just try learned, learned from some books.
rev karen:And then when I was 16, I came to yoga.
rev karen:When, um, a soccer teammate asked me, oh, there's this new thing at the gym.
rev karen:Do you wanna try it?
rev karen:It's called yoga.
rev karen:We were both like, what on earth is yoga?
rev karen:We've never heard of it Again, we weren't really Googling it, we weren't tubing it.
rev karen:Like, we were just like, oh, what is that?
rev karen:Let's try it.
rev karen:Uh, and so then I immediately, again, you know, a couple minutes
rev karen:into the practice just felt.
rev karen:Mm.
rev karen:Oh, it felt like I was remembering something I'd forgotten.
rev karen:Mm.
rev karen:And so then I, you know, went about my life and kept practicing
rev karen:and I found studios and teachers and, um, different spaces.
rev karen:And in university I got into practicing five times a week and started teaching in
rev karen:the summer here and there a little bit.
rev karen:And then I became a certified yoga teacher, though once I hit burnout, after
rev karen:seven years of marketing management, I was just so burned out and unfulfilled.
rev karen:And I knew.
rev karen:I was supposed to help others on their path of wellness and homeless.
rev karen:Yeah, that's fantastic.
rev karen:And starting at so young at the Y M C A and I mean, I think that would be really
rev karen:good feedback because look at you now , a real testimony to childhood programs
rev karen:for meditation so that's, I love that.
rev karen:Thank you.
rev karen:So what would you say is the point of yoga?
rev karen:Why, um, why do it?
rev karen:Why teach it?
rev karen:I love it.
rev karen:I love that.
rev karen:Um, because the point of yoga I feel like is.
rev karen:Well, we can go back to the sutures and we can go back to like the ancient
rev karen:texts and the word yoga means to yolk.
rev karen:So union bringing things together, and that's often translated here
rev karen:as the mind, the body, and the spirit bringing these together.
rev karen:Mm.
rev karen:But in yoga tradition, it actually goes a little bit.
rev karen:Farther saying it's uniting the individual soul with the divine or
rev karen:with the consciousness, the, so you know, this ultimate consciousness.
rev karen:So merging the individual with this larger.
rev karen:Divine or universal source or whatever word anyone feels comfortable
rev karen:with, you're welcome to use it.
rev karen:But that is just the, the union of that and the point of the
rev karen:physical yoga practice, cuz when people think of yoga, they think
rev karen:of warrior two and people bending.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:So yoga actually isn't that it?
rev karen:It has eight length branches, eight limbs.
rev karen:Meditation is a part of yoga Pranayama, which is.
rev karen:Breath work.
rev karen:The, the control of the energy moving through your body, through the breath
rev karen:and the channels, that's part of it.
rev karen:Concentration is part of it.
rev karen:Self-study.
rev karen:So there's all these branches of yoga that people don't think, oh, studying
rev karen:myself, like reflection and mm-hmm.
rev karen:Time and silence.
rev karen:That's yoga.
rev karen:Absolutely.
rev karen:That is a hundred percent yoga.
rev karen:That is a huge dimension of it.
rev karen:So this physical yoga practice, asana that we practice the purpose of that.
rev karen:Is to sit longer in meditation.
rev karen:That's why it was kind of formulated by, you know, the, the gurus and the
rev karen:sages and the Rishi back in the back, you know, thousands of years ago was
rev karen:so that the body could not be so stiff.
rev karen:So you could sit in meditation to hopefully reach somebody or reach
rev karen:enlightenment and break yourself free of suffering and, and all that.
rev karen:So, But I think in the kind of modern world when thousands and
rev karen:thousands and millions of people are practicing yoga all around the
rev karen:world, what's the purpose of yoga?
rev karen:What's the point?
rev karen:If your point is to reach enlightenment, that's beautiful and I celebrate that.
rev karen:But if your point is to sleep better at night, if your point is to find a
rev karen:community, if your point is to become a little less stiff in your body, relieve
rev karen:your back pain, that's wonderful.
rev karen:These are all great and valid points and I think that your, your meaning why you.
rev karen:Also can change.
rev karen:It will change.
rev karen:It's, it absolutely will.
rev karen:You know, when you come to the practice, maybe you're looking for an
rev karen:exercise and then you're looking for a way to calm down, and then you're
rev karen:looking for a way for community.
rev karen:You know, it just will grow and evolve.
rev karen:So I love that.
rev karen:Why you practice will change, and I think that it usually grows and
rev karen:transforms in a way that is so beautiful.
rev karen:It's like flowering, right?
rev karen:Like this bud just slowly comes up.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:That's beautiful.
rev karen:I never realized the physical part was to enhance, being able to meditate.
rev karen:So would it , would it help if someone's not flexible, well, yeah, it's, it's a
rev karen:very common, I think every yoga teacher I interview practically, they says, they
rev karen:always will say that everyone says, I can't do yoga because I'm not flexible.
rev karen:That's like the number one reason people don't want to do
rev karen:it, but why we practice yoga.
rev karen:Um, You, you will g gain physical flexibility, but also you'll
rev karen:gain this mental flexibility and this emotional flexibility.
rev karen:So I think that, I love the word flexibility, but I love it in the context
rev karen:of not the physical body, but it is true that, let's say if you're trying
rev karen:to sit cross-legged in meditation for.
rev karen:15 minutes or 30 minutes or an hour, you know, your legs
rev karen:will start to really hurt you.
rev karen:Your lower back might hurt, your ankles might feel sore, your spine might start to
rev karen:scream at you, whatever it's gonna happen.
rev karen:It's usually a little uncomfortable for people.
rev karen:And even if, I mean, I've done yoga for half of my life over half, and I
rev karen:still find it hard to sit perfectly in perfect meditation position for one hour.
rev karen:That's like, oh, that's hard.
rev karen:You know, I, my body usually, A half hour, 45 minutes is like, please move.
rev karen:So it's okay.
rev karen:I'm, it's always a journey and.
rev karen:Uh, it will, your body will slowly soften and release and it's so
rev karen:often not about flexibility in the term of how you think of it.
rev karen:Also, like, oh, I can't touch my toes.
rev karen:Oh, I can't get my feet behind my head.
rev karen:I can't get my feet behind my head either.
rev karen:That's fine.
rev karen:No worries everyone.
rev karen:You do not have to do that.
rev karen:Um, but with this flexibility of not touching your toes, that's okay.
rev karen:You know, we are.
rev karen:It is a lot of it mental too.
rev karen:You maybe feel like you are stiff and maybe you are stiff Also in kind
rev karen:of your perception of your body.
rev karen:You feel like I can't do it.
rev karen:But then you find that through slow breath work, maybe slow, uh, yin
rev karen:practice to a really stretching those connective tissues around the joints
rev karen:and maybe with more of that practice of.
rev karen:Breathing and dropping into the body, you will find more space for
rev karen:flexibility, which is not, um, of course the goal of it, but the goal is to sit
rev karen:in meditative practice longer, so to make the body more comfortable for it.
rev karen:So I hesitate to say the point is to make the body more flexible.
rev karen:I think it's to make mind and the emotions more flexible,
rev karen:and then the body will just.
rev karen:Open slowly.
rev karen:Like a flower.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:And you mentioned about sitting in meditation for an hour sitting still.
rev karen:Is it important to sit still and to not move?
rev karen:Yes and no.
rev karen:Um, so whenever the body starts to get, um, We will say it starts to scream
rev karen:at you or it'll start to whisper at you that there's discomfort that is
rev karen:a huge distraction from the breath or your singular point of focus.
rev karen:Gotcha.
rev karen:And also moving.
rev karen:Usually you can't just, um, You know, shift from one slight, uh, glute to the
rev karen:other glute, and that will fix everything.
rev karen:Usually you have to completely unwind your legs, right?
rev karen:Take a minute and then wind back.
rev karen:So you have kind of broken your concentration.
rev karen:You've broken that singular point of fo focus.
rev karen:So the longer that you can stay, it's usually the deeper
rev karen:you can go in meditation.
rev karen:So I've done a few vi pasts and a Vipassana is a 10 day
rev karen:silent meditation retreat.
rev karen:And it's usually under the Sen Goenka tradition who's kind
rev karen:of the father of the pasta.
rev karen:And he passed away in 19 90, 19 91.
rev karen:But there are these VPAA centers that are open all around the world, and they
rev karen:are amazing centers for meditation.
rev karen:And they're also donation-based.
rev karen:You don't have to pay $5,000 to go meditate.
rev karen:Right.
rev karen:Right, and, and you get housing and you get meals.
rev karen:You don't have to pay for that, that, that is a donation.
rev karen:Whatever you can pay, you offer that so that the next person can come after you.
rev karen:It's a wonderful institution, and if anyone wants to find links or
rev karen:know more, please send me a message.
rev karen:Reach out to me at Wild Yoga Tribe, anywhere you are.
rev karen:I'm there too.
rev karen:So, um, I, I'm happy to talk about that more, Karen, but I'm not sure
rev karen:if that's the direction you want.
rev karen:Well, the, the pasta, I know several people that have gone on retreat and
rev karen:I've always found it very interesting and I've always kind of wanted to go,
rev karen:but it does kind of scare me because I think sitting for how many hours
rev karen:a day, and of course the silent part of it, the whole thing is appealing.
rev karen:And on the other hand, a little frightening.
rev karen:Although everyone says it's an experience like no other.
rev karen:So something I should look into some.
rev karen:Yeah, but I think you're also right to be a little intimidated by it
rev karen:because the imagining 10 hours of meditation a day for 10 days, so
rev karen:that's a hundred hours of meditation.
rev karen:It's you.
rev karen:You can't walk, you can't do yoga.
rev karen:You can't run, you can't speak, you can't make eye contact.
rev karen:You wake up at four, you start meditating four 30 to six 30.
rev karen:Your first meal is six 30 and then you get a a little gap to brush
rev karen:your teeth and shower and eat.
rev karen:So we'll say you start meditating again at 8:00 AM meditate until 1130 and.
rev karen:You have to stop eating food by noon, so, oh.
rev karen:Anyway, it's just, that's your only two meals of the whole day.
rev karen:Two meals, and then you're done eating, continuing meditation until
rev karen:about 10:00 PM and then repeat.
rev karen:So it's, it is a very intense process.
rev karen:And while it is an experience like no other, it is kind of like
rev karen:a crucible or pressure cooker.
rev karen:You know, like you, it's a lot.
rev karen:It is a lot and a lot happens.
rev karen:A lot goes on.
rev karen:But it also is an amazing.
rev karen:Way to kind of cook things fast.
rev karen:You know, if you really look into get to know your mind better, your, your habits,
rev karen:your mental formations, uh, your patterns, and what are you grasping for when you're
rev karen:uncomfortable, what are you pushing away and you really learn so much about your.
rev karen:Your habits and patterns and while people can say Yeah.
rev karen:And you get better at meditating faster, sure.
rev karen:You know, you with a hundred hours, that sure adds up a lot more practice.
rev karen:Right.
rev karen:Um, but just the, what you gain with self understanding is incredible.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:I I I'm bet it is part of me.
rev karen:Well, I'm gonna ask this question later, but, um, what do, what do you say to
rev karen:the people that say they can't meditate?
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:Um, I usually say if you can breathe, you can meditate and someone's mind.
rev karen:So often people will tell me, I can't meditate, my mind moves too quickly.
rev karen:I can't focus.
rev karen:It's like, great.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:My, me neither.
rev karen:Me neither.
rev karen:We all can't do that.
rev karen:And I've had conversations with monks, uh, when I've stayed in monasteries
rev karen:or they've given Dax and we'll say they're 50 years old and they came
rev karen:to the monastery when they're 10.
rev karen:So they've been meditating every day diligently with wonderful and incredible
rev karen:discipline for 40 years, and they're, they still say it's hard for their mind to.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:It's dependent on your, your energy, the way your mind works.
rev karen:And today, unfortunately in our contemporary society,
rev karen:we're so, so, so stimulated.
rev karen:Our attention span has reduced scientists have made this evident and clear.
rev karen:We used to have, I think, a attention span of 15 seconds in
rev karen:the two thousands, and now we're down to eight seconds or something.
rev karen:Wow.
rev karen:Like we are no longer able to focus.
rev karen:And so our mind when.
rev karen:Say, okay, just sit here and focus on the breath.
rev karen:It thinks that's boring, that's not enough.
rev karen:Where's my tv?
rev karen:Where's my movie?
rev karen:Where's my right flashing lights and primary colors and all these things
rev karen:that get me stimulated and, and tapping into different, you know, endorphins
rev karen:and it's so falling in love with your breath and like starting to really
rev karen:observe it like you would a newborn baby.
rev karen:Like there's different ways that you can engage with your breath
rev karen:in a way that makes it seem.
rev karen:Engaging or entertaining.
rev karen:And then noticing that every breath is very different
rev karen:and appreciating the breath.
rev karen:So if you feel like you can't meditate, one, you're not alone.
rev karen:Two, yes, you can.
rev karen:And three, meditation isn't about.
rev karen:Clearing the mind completely blank, you know?
rev karen:Oh wow.
rev karen:They must be thinking about nothing for an hour.
rev karen:Right.
rev karen:You know, they're definitely, their mind is swinging around it
rev karen:like it's usually described as a monkey from branch to branch.
rev karen:Just swing to swing, to swing to from thought to thought to thought.
rev karen:And if that's the case, which it, it is a case, it's the human brain.
rev karen:The human brain does this.
rev karen:If you are a human, your brain will do it.
rev karen:But, um, it's just developing that muscle that you're distracted, bring it.
rev karen:It swings to another thought, bring it back.
rev karen:That's the practice.
rev karen:The practice is coming back.
rev karen:The practice isn't wiping clean.
rev karen:I like that.
rev karen:It's coming back.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:, so going back to the international aspect of you and what you do and who you teach,
rev karen:so you really like to shine a light on, you know, the the global yoga community.
rev karen:Why is that?
rev karen:Why is that important to.
rev karen:Thank you.
rev karen:Thank you for asking that, Karen.
rev karen:So, when I decided I wanted to become a yoga teacher and I decided I wanted to
rev karen:kind of quit the desk job, grab a big backpack and travel around the world,
rev karen:teaching and learning, absolutely.
rev karen:I knew my learning was not over yet.
rev karen:So doing a ton of more trainings and meditation retreats and time spent,
rev karen:nostrums and monasteries, just, you know, gathering more information
rev karen:and, and knowledge and wisdom and expertise and anything I could get.
rev karen:Hands on, uh, for me.
rev karen:I knew I never wanted it to be yoga with Lily.
rev karen:Mm.
rev karen:I didn't.
rev karen:I, I knew that it, I didn't want it to be all about me and I think kind of my
rev karen:energy signature, it's not about me.
rev karen:I feel like my energy signature really is about empowering others and or
rev karen:mentorship for others, or uplifting others or amplifying the voices of others.
rev karen:It's just, I've always felt.
rev karen:Other focused.
rev karen:And while, I mean, I'm grateful for all of my, my own individuality and
rev karen:my own gifts and my own knowledge.
rev karen:I just love, love, love getting to connect with and learn from
rev karen:and celebrate other people.
rev karen:So that's why I knew it would have to be the wild yoga tribe, and I knew that
rev karen:it would also have to be international.
rev karen:I love that there is incredible yoga teachers.
rev karen:I am based in the us.
rev karen:I moved back a few months ago.
rev karen:I know there's amazing yoga teachers in the US and I don't ever mean
rev karen:to say these yoga teachers aren't special, but they are as special as
rev karen:yoga teachers in Columbia or Kenya or any Russia or Azerbaijan or Moldova.
rev karen:Like those yoga teachers are as worthy and as amazing to learn from.
rev karen:So yeah, that's why international for.
rev karen:Yeah, , I'm taking 15 people to Kenya, in September, and we're
rev karen:gonna stay at the beach a few days.
rev karen:And I noticed there's a fantastic, like these people have built a kind
rev karen:of a Treehouse yoga facility and we're not staying there because there's
rev karen:too many of us, but it looks like a really wonderful place to spend some
rev karen:time, and I never would've realized there was a, a nice yoga studio there.
rev karen:I'm sure there's several that I just haven't run into yet.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:What's amazing about Kenya too, Karen, is that it's actually like the hub of
rev karen:yoga in all of the continent of Africa.
rev karen:So Kenya is home of the Africa Yoga Project and they train yoga teachers from
rev karen:around the whole continent of Africa.
rev karen:And then they, they provide scholarships and funding and teachers, and they fly
rev karen:in teachers from around the world and.
rev karen:Amazing nonprofit.
rev karen:If you have a chance to Google it, check into it.
rev karen:Maybe connect with them somehow some way.
rev karen:It's an amazing, what's their name again?
rev karen:Africa.
rev karen:Africa Yoga Project.
rev karen:Okay.
rev karen:A y p I will do that.
rev karen:I will absolutely do that.
rev karen:Thank you.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:So what are some common misconceptions that, that you think everyone has about
rev karen:yoga or meditation or , mindfulness that, that you wanna dispel?
rev karen:Yeah, I think we've covered quite a, quite a few of them, which has
rev karen:been great, uh, already, but the whole, yeah, I'm not flexible.
rev karen:I can't do yoga.
rev karen:Mm-hmm.
rev karen:Absolutely.
rev karen:Please come.
rev karen:It doesn't matter how unflexible you are, and especially if you
rev karen:think about it with that one.
rev karen:There's yoga around the world going on with amazing people who are in
rev karen:wheelchairs or who have gone through a car accident are, are in recovery.
rev karen:There's so many different.
rev karen:Types of, uh, humans out there with all of these varying degrees of abilities.
rev karen:And just because we're able bodied doesn't mean that yoga is just for us.
rev karen:Thinking that is little bananas.
rev karen:So if someone who is paralyzed from the waist down, Um, if that person can
rev karen:do yoga, absolutely you can do yoga.
rev karen:If you can't touch your toes there, there's no reason you can't.
rev karen:And I hope that I'm communicating this in a way that is very
rev karen:celebratory of anyone who is not able-bodied, because yoga is for them.
rev karen:Yoga is for us, yoga is for every human, and yoga only
rev karen:exists in relationship to us.
rev karen:So yoga becomes what we need it to be.
rev karen:It's not like we're forcing ourself to learn the box of yoga.
rev karen:We're adapting and modifying and integrating yoga so that our
rev karen:body feels like it is, you know, successfully moving and celebrating and
rev karen:breathing or stretching and growing.
rev karen:And you can even do yoga just with your breath.
rev karen:You don't even have to move your body.
rev karen:Uh, you can visualize P practices.
rev karen:People who are para are like completely paralyzed a hundred
rev karen:percent, and they are whole body.
rev karen:You know, whatever.
rev karen:They have told stories to me on my podcast of doing yoga.
rev karen:Yeah.
rev karen:Even though they, they could not move any part of their body but their eyes.
rev karen:Wow.
rev karen:So that was after a really horrible, horrible car crash.
rev karen:And so luckily that that teacher was able to make a full recovery and yoga
rev karen:played a large role in that, so, right.
rev karen:It's just amazing what yoga can give.
rev karen:And then when it comes to a myth around the meditation,
rev karen:it's that busy mind syndrome.
rev karen:Mm-hmm.
rev karen:People think, oh, oh, I don't mean to call it a syndrome actually, it's just,
rev karen:it's, people think of it like, oh, my mind's too busy, I just can't do it.
rev karen:It's so, Yeah, again, absolutely you can.
rev karen:You're welcome to.
rev karen:And so just remembering that yoga's for everyone, meditation's for everyone.
rev karen:There's no barrier to it.
rev karen:There should be no barrier.
rev karen:And if you're finding there's a barrier, such as you don't feel like you belong
rev karen:in any of the yoga classes you see in your city, or if you feel like.
rev karen:Uh, yoga, there's a financial barrier for you and you just can't practice that.
rev karen:Just remember that.
rev karen:I think if you are willing to take like one little step of bravery in one
rev karen:little direction, I'm sure that the right teacher or the right opportunity
rev karen:will rise to meet you because if there's a financial barrier, reach out to me.
rev karen:Like, what can we do?
rev karen:What, how can I help you?
rev karen:And.
rev karen:Or reach out to the studio directly, you're interested in can, there's
rev karen:often a lot of trade opportunities where you can go in for a few hours
rev karen:and help with some cleaning and then receive a free unlimited membership.
rev karen:So there's, there are opportunities to kind of figure out how can
rev karen:you, how can yoga be for you?
rev karen:And I think the most advanced thing you can do in any yoga
rev karen:class is listen to your body.
rev karen:So if someone, if there's a listener who after we're done talking and they're like,
rev karen:okay, I'm gonna do something right now.
rev karen:Is there, do you have a tip or anything for what people can, can do?
rev karen:Like, just right now, just to start something?
rev karen:Yeah, I mean, I think start, start number one is just to find a, find a resource.
rev karen:So right now, if you wanted to just drop down and you're on the ground
rev karen:next to your chair, and if you wanted to slip into a child's pose, Spending
rev karen:three minutes there is gonna just be amazing for your nervous system.
rev karen:Mm-hmm.
rev karen:Mm-hmm.
rev karen:Good for your hips, which when you're seated all day long in chairs.
rev karen:Our hips are so tight, which creates tension in our glutes and tension
rev karen:in our legs, and it shortens our hamstrings and blah, blah blah.
rev karen:But so try just dropping into a child's pose for a few minutes.
rev karen:But if you only have five minutes, hop on in Insight timer.
rev karen:I offer free meditations there.
rev karen:Three minute, five minute, 15 minute, whatever you have time to do.
rev karen:Just meditate for a few minutes.
rev karen:If you wanna hop onto my YouTube Wild Yoga Tribe.
rev karen:Hop on a class, whether you, it's free, it's totally free.
rev karen:It's just YouTube.
rev karen:So do you wanna do a 10 minute morning kind of full body stretch?
rev karen:Do you wanna do an hour long, you know, joyful heart opening class?
rev karen:Like what are you interested in and how can having one little
rev karen:resource like get you started that?
rev karen:Perfect.
rev karen:All right, well you just mentioned some of them.
rev karen:Such great information here today.
rev karen:So where can everyone find you?
rev karen:I know you've said it, and of course it'll be in the show notes, where
rev karen:can they find you on the internet?
rev karen:Wild Yoga Tribe.
rev karen:So Wild yoga tribe.com.
rev karen:Wild Yo Yoga Tribe Podcast on Apple, Spotify.
rev karen:Alexa, you know, anywhere you wanna listen to, it's there.
rev karen:Uh, on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitter, you know, if
rev karen:you're basically in a space, you can just find me at Wild Yoga Tribe.
rev karen:And if for some reason it's, it's not popping up, my full name's Lily Allen
rev karen:DiUS and you can always search that.
rev karen:Or Google Wild Yoga Tribe, everything will pop up.
rev karen:Fantastic.
rev karen:All right, well I really appreciate your time today, Lily.
rev karen:It's been so fascinating and interesting and I've learned a lot personally.
rev karen:So I can't wait to start checking out more of these countries that
rev karen:you have on your podcast, cuz uh, and maybe even go there and work
rev karen:with some of these people one day.
rev karen:One day.
rev karen:So thank you.
rev karen:Talk to me, Karen.
rev karen:We'll figure something out.
rev karen:There we go.
rev karen:Thank you for your time today.
rev karen:Thank you Karen.
rev karen:Alright I hope to connect with everyone later and we'll see you later.
rev karen:Bye-bye bye.
rev karen:If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to head over to rev karen podcast.com.
rev karen:That's R E V K A R E N podcast.com.
rev karen:There you're gonna find the tools for finding more meaning
rev karen:and happiness in your own life.
rev karen:Plus, if you have a story that you want to share with me, either on or off the
rev karen:air, be sure to look for that form.
rev karen:Make sure you follow me so you get notified when new episodes drop.
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