The therapeutic encounter between a practitioner and patient is, in many regards, the most important part of a healing relationship. This encounter is another way of referring to the placebo effect. But far from being ineffective, all good healers try to maximize this effect. According to Dr. Daniel Keown, acupuncture is one of the most sublime forms of the therapeutic encounter.
Everyday Sublime: Shedding Light on Yin Yoga and Meditation
Yin Yoga and meditation are refinements of awareness. The purpose of this podcast is to illuminate the theory and practice of Yin Yoga, Chinese Medicine, and meditation as three interwoven tools for apprehending the Everyday Sublime. As Stephen Batchelor says, "the mystical does not transcend the world, but saturates it."
Dr. Daniel Keown: Jellyfish, Channels, and Qi
How alive are you? This isn’t a question that Western Medicine frequently asks, but according to Dr. Daniel Keown, this question is at the heart of Traditional Chinese Medicine. And the quality, quantity, and circulation of our Qi determines the potency of our “aliveness.”
Dr. Daniel Keown: The Channels of Chinese Medicine
What is Qi? What are the channels of Chinese Medicine? What is fascia? These questions and more are taken up by Dr. Daniel Keown, explained with lucid brilliance. For anyone interested in Chinese Medicine, this is a must-listen.
Oren Jay Sofer: On Nonviolent Communication
Talking about difficult topics is not easy. Often we get trapped in patterns of reactivity and experience a clash of viewpoints. Oren Jay Sofer offers ways to move past through these impasses in learning how to identify the underlying needs being expressed – the needs that connect us to our shared universal human longings. From this sense of connection, collaborative dialogue becomes possible.
Oren Jay Sofer: On Mindful Communication
All too often, meditation is seen as a panacea for all that ails us. But meditation practice alone is not necessarily enough to smooth out the strife in our interpersonal conflicts. For this we need training in communication strategy – ways to escape the blame game and move towards a deeper understanding of shared needs and goals. In this episode, Oren Jay Sofer lays about a mindful approach to nonviolent communication.
Bernie Clark: Your Sacroiliac Joint
Bernie Clark shares how his thinking about exercise has shifted from an emphasis on mobility to an emphasis on stability. This is important to how we think about what we’re doing in all forms of physical yoga.
Bernie Clark: Developing and Aging Bodies
In our youth, we’re more Yang and need to work on strength and stability. As we age, we become more Yin, and therefore need to spend more time working on maintaining our mobility.
Reflecting on a Winter’s Retreat
This retreat inspired me to try a few hacks with regards to my relationship to technology – to make my phone less of the pocket-sized slot-machine that it’s become, I’ve tried to restructure the design of my phone as well as my timeframe around using it. And I invite you to join me on these digital hacks for better well-being.
Winter Is Coming
In the Season Finale of Everyday Sublime for 2018, I take stock of the past year and look ahead to 2019 – and pay tribute to two of my dearest teachers, Rodney Smith and Jack Engler, who are both retiring from their decades of teaching and service.
Bernie Clark: Spinal Neutrality, Symmetry, and Asymmetry
In the second episode of a 4-part series, Yin master Bernie Clark unpacks the important concept of spinal neutrality and he explores how to think about symmetry, functional asymmetry, and dysfunctional asymmetry in the body.
Bernie Clark: Your Spine, Your Yoga
In the first episode of a 4-part series, I welcome Bernie Clark back to the podcast to discuss his new book, Your Spine, Your Yoga. In it, Bernie talks about the main themes in the book including the importance of stability over mobility in the health of our spines.
Yin Meditation: The Instructions
Rather than trying to domesticate your thought process, Yin Meditation offers a process for refining your understanding of how your inner world works. Approaching your meditation with a receptive attitude is the least intrusive way of getting to know the natural terrain of your inner landscape.
Jason Siff: The Role of Remembering on the Path
In this final installment of my 3-part conversation with Jason Siff, we explore tricky Buddhist concepts of anatta (non-self) and nirvana. And we consider that present moment awareness is not sufficient for the development of deeper wisdom and understanding in one’s life. For that, memory is required.
Jason Siff: The Insight of Experience
In many styles of meditation, if we hold too tightly to meditative instructions, we may unintentionally cut many things out of our meditation practice. In part two of my 3-part series with Jason Siff, we explore letting more things “in” to your meditation, and not letting go too quickly.
Jason Siff: Thoughts Are Not the Enemy
In meditation, all too often, people struggle with their thinking, and feel badly that they can’t stop their “monkey mind” from thinking so much. Meditation teacher Jason Siff offers a kinder, more compassionate approach to working with one’s mind in meditation.
Season Finale – Summers’ Break
This episode is the season finale of The Everyday Sublime, before I close up shop for the summer. I give a preview of what’s to come in September, and a quick look back at some of the highlights from the past few months.
David Lesondak: All Things Fascia
I talk with David Lesondak about his new book, Fascia: What it is and why it matters. David is rapidly becoming a rock star in the fascial world, having extensive work in structural integration, as well as having attended and presented at many of the Fascial Congresses.
Chinese Medicine: The Organs, or Zang-Fu
Chinese language tends to describe the Organs and their functions in poetic terms. Their language is metaphorical, often drawing on images from nature and human governance to describe the various processes of human health.
Bernie Clark: Understanding Yin Yoga
Here, Bernie Clark talks about the fascial concepts of dynaments and creep. He discusses some misunderstandings of Yin Yoga, as well as how to think about propping and assisting in Yin Yoga.
Chinese Medicine: What is Essence?
“The best way to affect positively one’s Essence is by striving for balance in one’s life activities: balance between work and rest, restraint in sexual activity and balanced diet. Any irregularity or excess in these spheres is bound to diminish the Essence. A direct way to positively influence one’s Essence is through breathing exercises and such exercises as Tai Ji Quan and Qi Gong.” – Maciocia