Life in Balance

In Part Two of our conversation about work and balance, we're diving into that sometimes elusive experience of work/life balance. It's the buzzword du jour, but while many people talk about it, not many people experience it. And with the prevalence of remote work, finding that sweet spot can be even trickier. In this episode, Stef and Nicole discuss how they've navigated work/life balance – from office jobs to remote jobs, being self-employed, and everything in between! They also give some solid tips for creating more work/life balance. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

It only took us four seasons, but we're finally diving into the wild world of work and finding balance within it. This is a big topic, so we've split it into two parts. In this episode, we're discussing what it means to find balance at work, and within your work. A trifecta of work in balance emerges: How we do our work, the ways we support ourselves in doing our work, and how we feel about our work. Reflecting on some of the ideas brought forward in the book The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, Stef and Nicole talk about how they create more balance in their work lives and what finding meaning and value in your work have to do with balance at work. Tune in and let us know what you think about finding balance at work. In part two, we'll explore the big buzzword: work/life balance. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

It's Stef and Nicole's birthday month! And what better way to celebrate than to talk about all things aging? From grey hairs and life milestones to busting aging stereotypes and seeking out older-than-you role models, we talk about what aging has been for us in the 36 years we've been on this planet and how we see ourselves 36 years from now. Special shout-out to Stef's mom for her mic-drop moment mindset on aging. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

What's the antidote to living in a society that is constantly telling us to do more, be better, and go harder? Contentment, my friend. How sweet it is to bask in the present moment and feel a deep sense of satisfaction with exactly where you are in your life. And yet how tricky it can be to feel content! Stef and Nicole deconstruct all the elements required for feeling content in one's life and find a few ah-ha moments along the way. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

How well (and how often) do you let yourself do something simply for the enjoyment of it? Do you wait until you go on vacation, or do you schedule your fun around rewards for work and productivity? If you notice that you delay gratification or have a hard time justifying enjoyment for the sake of enjoyment, this episode is for you! What started as a conversation about looking forward to life's pleasures took an unexpected twist to examine our relationship to fun, the ways in which we inadvertently postpone joy, and how the power of presence can amplify enjoyable experiences. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

If you feel like your to-do list never gets smaller and you're stressed about all the life admin that's piling up on your plate, this episode is for you! Stef and Nicole get real about how they manage their to-do lists and share some interesting ideas for how to make peace with the mundane. From paperwork to appointments and everything in between, tune in to learn how to shift your mindset to manage your tasks better. Because if the to-do list is never going away, how do we make it as light and balanced in our life as possible? We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Life ebbs and flows. But what if you're ebbing more than your flowing? What if the tools that helped you stay balanced in the past aren't working for you anymore? In this episode, Stef and Nicole talk about their recent experiences with "falling off the balance wagon" and share their ideas for how to reclaim a semblance of balance again. This episode contains explicit language. Listener discretion is advised! We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Please share the love by giving us a 5-star review – it helps more listeners find our podcast. Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Stef and Nicole are back after a 1.5 year hiatus from the podcast, and it FEELS GOOD! Tune in to hear them share about where they've been, who they've become, and what they've left behind. Nicole talks about the burnout that stopped her in her tracks, and Stef shares what it was like to go through a crash-course in adulthood – we reflect on shifting identities, the complicated relationship with our yoga practices, and what we're excited about for this new season of life (and the podcast). This episode contains explicit language. Listener discretion is advised! We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In the season 3 finale of the Life in Balance podcast, we're here to spread the JOY! We live in a world where struggle is almost more widely socially accepted than joy – where complaining is the way to camaraderie and almost apologize or justify when life feels GOOD. We tend to share our negative experiences more than we share what lights us up, what excites and inspires us. Tune in to hear Stef and Nicole talk about being open to receiving joy, how to make space for joy without bypassing pain, and their own recently joyful moments.  They also share the exciting news that the Life in Balance RETREAT is now open for registration! Join them in southwestern France from November 7-13, 2021 for a week of stunning rest and relaxation, cozy accommodations, delicious food, and of course, JOY! Space is limited so sign up now with only a €300 deposit: https://www.wetravel.com/trips/life-in-balance-yoga-retreat-nicole-stephanie-antugnac-68458600 This episode mentions the book No Mud No Lotus: The art of transforming suffering, by Thich Nhat Hanh. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Humans love the change that we opt into. Change that we choose can feel fun and exciting! The change that surprises us, however, the change that knocks us sideways, the changes that we don’t want – how do we get better at relating to those? Not just dealing with change, but actually leaning into it? In this episode, April Rinne is here to talk about creating a thriving relationship with change. April Rinne is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and ranked one of the “50 Leading Female Futurists” in the world by Forbes, April Rinne is a change navigator: she helps individuals and organizations rethink and reshape their relationship with change, uncertainty, and a world in flux. She is a trusted advisor to well-known startups, companies, financial institutions, nonprofits, and think tanks worldwide, including Airbnb, Nike, and the World Bank, just to name a few. as well as governments ranging from Singapore to South Africa, Canada to Colombia, Italy to India. April is the author of Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change, coming out in August 2021.  April lost both of her parents in a car accident when she was 20 and everything she thought her life would be changed in an instant. Tune in to hear ideas about how to thrive in constant change, the concept of enoughness, how we can navigate change from the inside out, and learning to listen to your inner voice through tragedy and curiosity. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/. Visit April's website: https://aprilrinne.com Learn more about April's book here: https://fluxmindset.com/ Watch April's Ted Talk: How to Navigate Our Uncertain Future https://www.ted.com/talks/april_rinne_how_to_navigate_our_uncertain_future

As the world opens back up again in the wake of the pandemic, you might be feeling a lot of different emotions around what that will look like or feel like for you. That's certainly true for Stef and Nicole, who in this episode, speak candidly about where they're at mentally and emotionally with the global reopening. Will things go back to the way they were? What's the best way to move forward? How can we prepare ourselves to adapt to what comes next? Tune in to hear how they're navigating the transition between what we’re experiencing right now and what’s going to come when we’re back out in the world. This episode mentions 2 previous podcast episodes:  Living with Intention with Malaika DosRemedios: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e12bf60 Finding Five Minutes: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/evca9b  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

The ancient history and philosophy of the yoga tradition run deep, but how can we apply it to modern, everyday life? In this episode, Stef and Nicole talk with Hali Schwartz, who has been teaching yoga and yoga philosophy for decades. Hali has been steeped in the world of yoga since she was a small child. When she was barely five years old, her mother met a teacher from India, and this would mark the beginning of her life spent being immersed in the practice of yoga, and later, in the study of its various traditions. When she was a teenager, she went to India for the first time to live with her mother at the yoga institute in the north-western Himalayas, where she studied, hatha yoga, pranayam and meditation, as well as Sanskrit and yoga philosophy. Hali leads yoga history and philosophy teacher training programs in Toronto, where she now makes her home, as well as leading yoga retreats, and philosophy trainings in India, the UK and the Caribbean. This conversation explored so much about what the wisdom of yoga can offer and how to really bring yoga philosophy to life, like listening to your inner voice, ways of looking at and experiencing your life's purpose, the relationship between success and failure, and more.  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/. To learn more about Hali and her work, visit www.yogahali.com. 

Anyone who's been to a yoga class knows that working with your breath – how to become aware of it, shape it, and work with it – is often as important as the asana itself. With the breath being the vehicle for prana, the life force or vital energy, pranayama is a way of directing that energy through the body with specific breathing exercises. In this episode, Stef Stanfield and Nicole Catenazzi discuss some of the ways to work with the breath to elicit different feelings and functions in the body, and they break down some of the barriers to pranayama practices. They also explore how getting familiar with your breath on the mat is a great stepping stone to let it live as a practice that you can draw from in your normal day-to-day. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In this episode of the Life in Balance podcast, we're joined by our very first guest, Malaika DosRemedios. Malaika is a multi-faceted and empowering warrior, who helps souls of all ages with cultivating harmony within, to live a life full of vitality and wholeness. Through the ancient practices of the yoga tradition, holistic nutrition and fitness coaching, she has dedicated her life to helping others breathe and live with intention. In conversation with Stef and Nicole, Malaika shares how yoga has helped her get through hard times with depression and anxiety, how she learned to listen to her inner voice, and the wisdom she's gathered along the way.  In addition to being a yoga teacher (ERYT-500+), Malaika brings her experience of yoga Nidra, pranayama, personal training, and holistic nutrition coaching to finding balance in her life, and the lives of her clients. You can learn more about Malaika at https://www.malaikayoga.com/. This episode contains explicit content (foul language). Listener discretion is advised!  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/. 

Self-confidence, or lack thereof, is a hot topic in today's go-getter world. While motivational messages might be well-meaning, the truth is, sometimes they can make you feel like you should be more confident than you are. So how does one navigate fluctuating levels of self-confidence? In this episode, Stef and Nicole discuss their relationships with confidence. They explore what can yoga teach us about self-confidence, and consider some of the things we can do to build confidence. In this episode, we mention a previous episode from the Life in Balance podcast called "Who Do You Think You Are?". Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/enjntj  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/

Plain and simple: many of us hold a lot of shame around failure. Whether we feel like we've failed ourselves or we've failed others, confronting failure in the moment is never a nice feeling. In today's episode, Stef and Nicole share some of their most memorable failures and have a conversation around how we can navigate failure, have grace with ourselves, and not let the emotional memory of the failures keep us stuck in the past. Because at the end of the day, we can’t change the experience of failure but we can change how we perceive it. This episode contains explicit content (foul language). Listener discretion is advised! This episode mentions the "How to Fail" podcast with Elizabeth Day. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

"Let it go." Whether you've heard that cue on your yoga mat or are belting it out with Elsa from Frozen, we've all heard how important it is to let go of things that no longer serve us. But as we all know, letting go is easier said than done. In today's episode, Stef and Nicole unpack some of the meaning behind the phrase and share their personal experiences of how they came to let go of things that no longer served them – be it, relationships, thoughts, beliefs, or things.  We mention a couple of our past episodes in this one:  Letting Go of Expectations: https://anchor.fm/lifeinbalance/episodes/Season-1-Finale-Letting-Go-of-Expectations-eho14r  Going Back to Basics, A Call for Simplicity: https://anchor.fm/lifeinbalance/episodes/Going-Back-to-Basics-A-Call-for-Simplicity-ef0ikk We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In this episode, Stef and Nicole take a trip down memory lane to reflect on their experiences in yoga teacher training (YTT) programs. They share what made them decide to take a YTT, how they picked their programs of choice, the favourite parts of their learning experience and how their practice and interests have evolved. This is a great episode to listen to if you've ever been curious about what a yoga teacher training program is like or if you've considered taking one yourself!  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/

In today's episode, Stef and Nicole explore what it means to be a beginner. Depending on the experience or your ego, being a beginner can feel anything from exciting to frustrating. Whether you're starting something new, or you're returning to something you haven't done in a while (and your skills feel a bit rusty), what do you make it mean about yourself when you have to begin again? What can our yoga and meditation practice teach us about embracing being a beginner? From step-backs to setbacks, this episode is all about looking at the different ways in which we experience being a beginner and what we can learn along the way. In this episode, we reference two previous podcast episodes: Letting Go of Expectations: https://anchor.fm/lifeinbalance/episodes/Season-1-Finale-Letting-Go-of-Expectations-eho14r  Finding Five Minutes – why is it so hard to make time for yourself?: https://anchor.fm/lifeinbalance/episodes/Finding-Five-Minutes-Why-is-it-so-hard-to-make-time-for-yourself-evca9b  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/

In today's episode, Stef and Nicole talk about the mysterious conundrum of feeling like there's never enough time for our yoga or meditation practice when in reality, we can easily spend plenty of time doing other things like our jobs, taking care of our families, or taking on all the other responsibilities of modern life. If you've ever felt like you don't have the time to dedicate to a yoga or meditation practice, this episode is for you!  Using an excerpt from the book Radiant Rest by Tracee Stanley as a starting point (see below), Stef and Nicole discuss the pressure of what it means to be disciplined, the guilt and shame around not doing enough, and the murky grey zone of finding the balance between quality versus quantity of practice. They also explore what it means to have a yoga practice or a meditation practice, and letting go of the expectations around what a practice has to look like or how much time is required. This episode mentions a previous Life in Balance podcast episode titled "Letting Go of Expectations" https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/eho14r We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/. The excerpt from Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation & Awakened Clarity can be found on page 78: "Usually when we think of dedicated yoga practitioners, we visualize people who have many hours a day to meditate, study, and practice. We see them as very disciplined. They always seem to be reading the scriptures, discovering new teachers, trying new modalities, and going to workshops or on spiritual pilgrimages. This kind of time is a luxury and a privilege and not the case for most of us. We consider ourselves lucky if we can eke out time for a class once or twice a week. Somehow, we have gotten the idea that spiritual fruits are only delivered to those who have a lot of time, resources, and discipline to dedicate to practice. We decide that if we can't do a full hour of practice, it's not worth even bothering. But who said that a "practice" needed to be an hour or 90 minutes to be valid? That comes from the commercialization of yoga as a wellness product to be sold and not as a lifelong practice that can lead to spiritual freedom." 

In the Season 3 premiere, Stephanie Stanfield and Nicole Catenazzi talk about how living with the seasons can help you find balance in your life. Seasons exist in nature both externally, and internally. It's empowering to be aware of your own internal seasons and be aware of how you're feeling so that you can live in harmony with your own seasonality. They touch briefly on Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, and what it can teach us about finding balance within by working in alignment with our elemental nature. Stef and Nicole also share the behaviours and practices that help them live with the seasons. This episode mentions a previous Life in Balance podcast episode titled "Who Do You Think You Are": https://anchor.fm/lifeinbalance/episodes/Who-Do-You-Think-You-Are-enjntj This episode contains explicit content (foul language). Listener discretion is advised! We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Do you know your purpose in life? Do you believe you need to have one? Does it stress you out just thinking about it!?  In our Season 2 finale episode, Stef and Nicole talk about how one can navigate big existential questions such as this in a way that takes some of the pressure off and allows for more kindness and understanding towards yourself, understanding that these are difficult questions to navigate. Tune in to hear what we think makes a purposeful life, how yoga and spirituality have a role to play, and ways in which an individual's purpose can have a far-reaching impact on the greater collective. We mentioned a few resources in this episode, including: Previous Life in Balance podcast episodes (Being with Uncertainty, How to Tap Into Your Intution and Who Do You Think You Are?) The Fearless Heart Method program with Nicole Catenazzi: https://www.nicolecatenazzi.com/fearless-heart-method The Bhagavad Gita Hali Schwartz, yoga philosophy educator: https://www.yogahali.com/  Season 3 of the Life in Balance podcast comes out in Spring/Summer 2021! We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Do you want to be better at listening to your gut, developing more self-trust, and strengthening your connection with your intuition? If so, you're in luck because this Life in Balance podcast episode is just for you! Your intuition is like an inner voice or guide that provides you with a sense of direction based more on a feeling than on requiring much intellectual thought. Unfortunately, in modern society intuition is typically a highly undervalued and under-utilized resource.  Tune in to hear Stef and Nicole talk about how tapping into intuition can be helpful in business, social and personal relationships, how to develop awareness around the signals your intuition is offering you, and why listening to and leading from your heart might sound cliché but is anything but.  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

How are the spaces where you spend most of your time? Do they give you a sense of calm and connection, or do they overwhelm you? In today's episode, Stef and Nicole talk about how to create and nurture spaces that you enjoy being in. They talk about their experiences with creating home-like environments, how to take pride in the space that you're in – especially during confinement or lockdown – how to feel at home when your living situation feels temporary or in limbo, and the connection between physical space and mental space. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

2020 was significant for many unexpected reasons – but isn't that what life is all about? In many ways, 2020 encompasses why we practice yoga: to try and find balance amongst the craziness that comes from living in this world. In this episode, Stef and Nicole take a personal and reflective look back at the past 12 months to uncover the good, the bad and the funny! From big life lessons to epiphanies about the meaning behind our favourite TV shows, we lay everything out on the virtual table. If you'd also like to reflect on the past year, here are the questions they cover:  What was your biggest challenge? What realizations or discoveries did you have about yourself? What did you learn, or how did you grow (wisdom, knowledge or skills)? What was your happiest moment?  What was your favourite TV show? …bonus points if you can figure out what it reveals about you! What surprised you about 2020? We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Does gratitude feel sticky or icky to you? You're not alone. We all know the pressure that comes from feeling like we *should* be grateful for what we have, yet gratitude can feel especially out of reach when you're struggling or life feels challenging. A great place to start is by cultivating an understanding of what gratitude feels like to you. In this episode, Stef and Nicole talk about practicing gratitude – what does a gratitude practice look like, why it can be beneficial and how to weave gratitude more into your daily life without bypassing difficult emotions. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new epsidoes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Boundaries are an important part of living a balanced life, so why are boundaries so hard to set? In this episode, Stef and Nicole talk about what boundaries are, why they’re important to have, and ways to set boundaries that honour our needs rather than thinking of them as walls that isolate us. They explore the many ways in which boundaries can exist in a physical, emotional, mental and energetic sense. Tune in to learn some tips for how to cultivate more self-awareness around your needs, wants, desires and how to set boundaries that enable you to do what you love to do and have the quality of relationships that you want to have without compromising who you are. And of course, how yoga and meditation can help you get to a place where you can feel empowered to set boundaries. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

It's a question that could put anyone into a headspin: who are you, really? In this episode, Stef and Nicole take inspiration from a TED talk by Caroline McHugh called "The Art of Being Yourself." Who are you without saying what you do for a living? Can you define yourself based on your most authentic self? What would that look like to show up more fully as yourself?  They discuss the different ways yoga and meditation can help you get to know yourself, ways in which you can follow your curiosity to find your true self and how to honour that amongst friends, family, co-workers or your community. Because the more we can figure out about ourselves, the better we can show up in the world. Watch Caroline McHugh's TED Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veEQQ-N9xWU&t=8s We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Ah, change. If there's one thing that's certain in life, it's that nothing ever stays the same. In today's episode, Stef and Nicole take on the mighty topic of change, and given that we are all navigating it right now during the global pandemic, this couldn't come at a better time. Tune in to hear their thoughts on how to best navigate change, what meditation and mindfulness can teach us about change, how to practice non-attachment in a way that doesn't deny the reality of your experience, and more.  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

With the changing seasons and a new wave of pandemic-related lockdowns, it can be hard to find the motivation to do things that we know are good for us.  Stef and Nicole share their struggles with finding motivation, how being intentional and knowing your why can help, and how to find the balance between pushing yourself to find motivation and taking time off to do nothing. Stef and Nicole also look at what yoga and meditation practices can teach us about being able to discern between energy, effort and ease. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In today's episode, Stef and Nicole talk all about how taking ownership of our thoughts, feelings, and actions can help us find empowerment. They discuss ownership through the lens of yoga, a pandemic, challenging experiences and hard conversations. Tune in to find out what yoga can teach us about taking responsibility, stepping away from victimhood, why pity parties can be helpful, compassion, and more. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In today's special episode, Stef and Nicole take you on a trip down memory lane! Normally, in the second week of November, Stef and Nicole are in the south of France hosting the Life in Balance Retreat. But the global pandemic had other plans! If you've ever been curious about what goes down on our retreats, the kinds of people who attend them, and what some of the highlights are, this episode is for you. Stef and Nicole talk about all the details that go into planning this special week together and share some of their favourite retreat memories. The next Life in Balance Retreat is scheduled for November 2021, so contact us at lifeinbalanceyogaretreats@gmail.com if you'd like to be added to the waitlist! We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In today's episode, Stef and Nicole take inspiration from the book called "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear" by Elizabeth Gilbert to talk about what creativity means and how it can be expressed in daily life.  They explore ideas around perfectionism, the myth about what creative endeavours should look like, how creativity relates to problem-solving and ways to generate more creativity and curiosity.  The quote mentioned at the beginning of the episode reads: “Are you considering becoming a creative person? Too late, you already are one. To even call somebody “a creative person” is almost laughably redundant; creativity is the hallmark of our species. We have the senses for it; we have the curiosity for it; we have the opposable thumbs for it; we have the rhythm for it; we have the language and the excitement and the innate connection to divinity for it.” To purchase Big Magic, visit: https://amzn.to/3oDFXI4 The other book mentioned is the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron: https://amzn.to/31SIkgC Please note these are affiliate links, which means we gratefully receive a commission from any purchases made through these links. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In the Season 2 debut, Life in Balance podcast co-hosts Stef Stanfield and Nicole Catenazzi talk about what most people think when they think of yoga: asana! Yoga asana – or yoga postures – are a big part of yoga in the Western world. Oftentimes, people won't even start a yoga practice because they're worried that they're not flexible enough to take a class or don't know where to start. What are some of the barriers that come up with the physical aspect of yoga, and what lessons can we learn from our mats that we can take into the world? Stef and Nicole talk about their experiences both as yoga teachers and yoga students for how to find ways to navigate some of the common barriers and find ways to make your yoga practice work for you. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In the final episode of season 1, Stef and Nicole talk about having expectations. Specifically, the challenges or disappointments that can arise if we become too attached to an expectation of how something should turn out. Whether it's having expectations about a vacation, about work, or of other people, what opens up when we can learn to let go of expectations? What's the difference between having goals and having expectations? Stef and Nicole share their own experiences with how having expectations got in the way of the present moment, and tips they have for how to find freedom in the journey.  Season 2 debuts in Autumn 2020!  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

If you've ever experienced pain either through injury or ailment, you may have felt like your body is failing you, or you're failing your body. In this week's episode, Stef and Nicole share their personal experiences of navigating physical pain. They talk about how easy it is to get caught up in identifying with pain, how much we rely on the body to determine how well we are, and how versatile the body is in how we experience life. Since the physical body is just one small part of yoga both on and off the mat, what else is at play when we lose the ability to do something that we once did easily? Do we become so attached to how long the feeling will last and when it will be over that we miss the point along the way? Yes of course we all want to feel good and be well, but is there a way to meet the reality of the situation with compassion and kindness? These are questions that Stef and Nicole explore and they share their tips for how to navigate pain or discomfort. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In this episode, Stef and Nicole talk about the need we sometimes feel to break away from something we're doing to an extreme. In seeing a greater number of people needing to take breaks from social media, Stef and Nicole discuss ideas for how to balance all parts of modern life in a rather than getting so deep into or attached to something that we have to break free from it. Ideas around shame, boredom, mindfulness and staying inspired come up in the conversation and ways to switch things up in your life before you hit the point of needing to take a hard-and-fast break from something. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In this episode, Stef and Nicole are talking about relationships! More specifically, about the qualities that make you connect with someone. Whether you call it having a “vibe” or being on the same page, they start by talking about how to find a yoga teacher you resonate with and how the same rules can apply when it comes to other relationships. Tune in to learn why it may be more challenging to build friendships as an adult, what it means to have a “vibe” with someone, why small talk isn’t always a bad thing, and how to choose a supporting and genuine social circle. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In this episode, Stef puts Nicole in the hot seat to discuss how to overcome fear and align with your fearless heart. Nicole is the Creator of the Fearless Heart Method which incorporates meditation, freewriting and coaching as a way to free yourself from fear. The Fearless Heart Method is about stepping out of your thinking mind and into your heart space as a way of tuning into your intuition, moving past fears or beliefs that hold you back from doing the things we really want to do, and creating a life that you love. Interested in the Fearless Heart Method? Visit www.nicolecatenazzi.com/fearless-heart-method to learn more and follow Nicole at @nameis.nicole on Instagram We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In this episode, Stef and Nicole tackle some of the common misconceptions and pain-points about meditation. Comments like "I'm not good at it," "I don't know what I'm doing," "I don't have the time," "I can't quiet my mind," and "I can't sit comfortably," can be major barriers to developing a regular meditation practice. Tune in to find out why it's worth breaking down those barriers and how they've dealt with those challenges head-on. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

If anything is for certain, it's that uncertainty is a natural part of life! Yet so often, we feel like we need to know the right answer or the outcome before we get to enjoy life. We're all living through a particularly significant phase of uncertainty right now, so how can we navigate it? In this episode, we use an excerpt from a 19th-century book called Letters to a Young Poet as a starting place for our discussion: “Be patient towards all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, like books written in a foreign tongue. Do not strive to uncover answers; they cannot be given to you because you have not been able to live them. And what matters is to live everything. Live the questions for now. Perhaps then you will gradually, without noticing it, live your way into the answer, one day in the distant future. Perhaps you do carry within yourself the possibility of forming and creating, as a particularly happy and pure way of living.” Rainer Maria Rilke in Letters to A Young Poet.  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In this episode of the Life in Balance podcast, Nicole and Stef talk about the sacredness of simplicity. As the world "opens up" again following a global pandemic, what do we want to bring with us, and what do we want to leave behind? Stef and Nicole discuss simplicity from a physical and a spiritual perspective and discuss what simplicity means in terms of living a balanced life.  We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Self-care is a big buzzword right now and it seems like everyone is talking about it. Why is self-care important? Is there such a thing as too much self-care? Stef and Nicole reflect on the pressure of the wellness industry to get self-care "right," share their views on what self-care is really about, and the practices and habits that work for them. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Intention-setting can be a helpful way to create small but mighty reminders about what's important to you on a moment-to-moment basis. In this episode, Stef and Nicole discuss what an intention is, bust some of the myths about what it is not, and share how they integrate intentions into their yoga practice and their lives. Listen to learn about their process for setting an intention, and how you can create your own. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Stef Stanfield puts on the guest hat for today's episode! Listen in to learn how this lovely human went from growing up in the East Coast of Canada to building a life in one of the world's most famous wine villages. Stef shares about her faith in humanity, her self-care practices and how she navigates through challenging life circumstances. We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

Nicole takes the hot seat today as Stef asks her all about spirituality, what brought her to yoga, how her work has evolved and what tools and practices have helped her most along the way. Nicole shares her tips for how to access your intuition, how to connect with your fearless heart, and how to trust the path as it unfolds with all the unexpected curve balls life throws at you. You can learn more about Nicole and her journey at www.nicolecatenazzi.com or follow her on Instagram @nameis.nicole We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.

In this inaugural episode, Stephanie Stanfield and Nicole Catenazzi introduce the concept of "life in balance." How does one experience balance in day-to-day life? Is balance a state of being, or a point of achieving? What does balance mean In a practical sense, and why is it important to have these conversations? We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it! Want more balance in your life? Subscribe to our podcast to automatically receive new episodes, share the love by giving us a 5-star review, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lifeinbalance_project/.