Sensitive Matters • Podcast

We are back with an exciting and at the same time somehow relaxing episode of the Sensitive Matter Podcast. This months guest is Kamini Desai, author, yoga teacher and master of Yoga Nidra.

In this episode Kamini introduces us to the art of Yoga Nidra, what she means by saying it is ‘meditation made easy’ and how she encountered Yoga Nidra in her own life and practice.

This brand new episode will guide us through the following points:

• What Yoga Nidra is as a spiritual and meditation practice
• How Yoga Nidra is different from other meditation and yoga asana
• Kamini’s journey and the foundation that shaped her spiritual journey, career and practice
• The benefits that Yoga Nidra brings as a practice.
• How can we integrate our spiritual connection for those that are busy and have a hard time finding space for a practice
• Some resources and practices to help us all stay centered in our ever-changing world

We hope you enjoy this episode! Listen up and leave us a review and your feedback below!

Learn more about Kamini Desai here:

This newest episode is with Sat Dharam Kaur, Kundalini Yoga teacher, naturopath, co-creator of the Compassionate Inquiry therapeutic approach with Dr. Gabor Maté's and a great inspiration in my own life.

Throughout this episode Sat Dharam allows us a peek into the world of Kundalini Yoga and her life with it; she shares about her Beyond Addictions program as well as the work with Dr. Gabor Maté's Compassionate inquiry program.

This brand new episode guides us through the following points:

• The benefits Sat Dharam experiences with Kundalini Yoga, what the practice entails, how mantra revels itself to us and how it enables her intuition becomes clear to her allowing her to hear her soul’s purpose
• *The underlying reason people struggle with addiction and how some parts of ourselves that are unexpressed result in many people creating patterns to self-sooth.
• Sat Dharam’s Beyond Addictions program and how it teaches learning to have compassion and acceptance for ourselves in a safe space to build connection to our true selves, change those patterns and process our pain.
• Sat Dharam’s role in how Compassionate Inquiry with Dr. Gabor Mate was created and their collaboration teaching and formulating the method, the components, skills and line of inquiry that comprise the program.
• Christina and Sat Dharam model Compassionate Inquiry to showcase the approach and how it’s practiced.
• Christina vulnerably shares a situation that’s brought stress within her life
• They work together identifying feelings within the body and what comes up when discussing the inquiry
• Sat Dharam and Christina get to bottom of when she first felt this way, and the core memory that this feeling stems from
• They find a parallel within Christina’s life to understand the experience of anyone in this situation, how they would cope, grow and how this feeling or experience would shape them
• Christina and Sat Dharam discuss how anyone in this situation could be supported and what that support would look like
• They conclude by identifying how Christina would have felt if she were supported within the situation at the time, what she would like to say to that part of herself she still carries with her and what in return that self needs to feel safe moving forward
• What Sat Dharam has coming up in both her offerings with Beyond Addictions, Compassionate Inquiry and joyfully within her personal life

We hope you enjoy this episode! Listen up and leave your feedback below!

In the past years, this world has been an awkward place. Beautiful. Eye-opening. Heart-widening. At the same time, the landscapes society walked through offered edges, cliffs, cracks, crevices – in short, many occasions to trip and to fall.

Our realities are informed differently now than they have been in recent years. I found myself dealing with a lot of fear and anxiety grounded in the unknowing of all that life was throwing at us, besides personal battles, wins and losses that all happened in the shortest period of time.

The main questions I sat with was

In order to not get too overwhelmed as an HSP in an ever-busy, ever-changing world routines and regularly practiced tools can be of sustainable support.

On another note: This post isn’t exclusive to HSPs only.

Whether you are an HSP or not – we all have experienced some form of fear and anxiety in recent years and can benefit of the tools shared below.

As an HSP myself, over the years I’ve been experimenting and practicing with techniques that have been supportive in times of anxiety and overwhelm.

Coming back to breath

Breath is one of the few tools that we have to easily alter our nervous system and the states it may find itself in when overwhelmed or agitated. 

The art and practice of pranayama is a yogic practice that regulates the flow of our life force (= prana) throughout the body. Yama translates from Sanskrit as ‘gaining control’.

In this special episode, we will do 3 breathing practices:

1. Sama Vritti or Box breath

Sama Vritti is known as equal breath or box breath and is a powerful tool that can help clear your mind, slow down your heart rate, relax your body, and allow you to increase your focus. 

2. Nadi Shodana or Alternate Nostril breathing

This intermediate practice involves breathing through one nostril at a time. It is a powerful way to bring harmony and balance to the energy pathways. 

3. Bhramari or Bee breath

A breathing technique that helps to block out distractions and soothe the nervous system with the support of a humming sound. When we hum, we are happy. Calling in a buzzing hum creates a sense of safety for our nervous systems. 

May this serve you, may this support you. 

This month's guest is a very special and bright light in this world: Maxene Magalona, Filipino actress and Mental health advocate in the Philippines shares with me close and upfront her inspiring and very personal story as her, 'Maxene'.

She grants insights into her struggles with her own mental health, losses and wins in life, her path towards spirituality and what her soul deeply yearns for – for the world, her surroundings and herself.

This brand new episode guides us through the following points:

• Her personal journey of growing up in the spotlight and how fame shaped her life in the Philippines
• How Maxene used to manage stress and how in hindsight we can all recognize how our past behavior was our ability to handle trauma with the tools and resources available to us at that time
• The importance of mental health and how it effects our physical health
• The stigma around mental health in the Philippines and how the pandemic started to shift that
• The importance of seeking professional support in Maxene’s own words
• What spirituality and her connection to God and spirit means to Maxene, and how she follows her soul’s desire
• The mantras that Maxene loves to sing and chant that bring her strength
• How The Soul Space was created and the reason why Maxene shares her very own practices and wisdom she’s learned along the way
• The intuitive way that Maxene selects her jewelry and what Ananda Soul pieces bring her into alignment giving her grace in her day-to-day life
• Christina shares some spiritual practices of cleansing your jewelry and energetically recharging your Ananda Soul pieces
• What offerings Maxene will share when she returns to the Philippines

You can also watch the video of our conversation here:

This month’s episode comes with a special guest I have been very excited about inviting to our Sensitive Matters podcast: Elena Brower.

I’ve admired her work for many years. As a mother, world-renowned yoga and meditation teacher (since 1999!), artist, author and host of her very own podcast ‘Practice You’ I find her entire being, her work, her story and personality intriguing and inspiring in so many ways.

Listen to this brand new episode as we cover a variety of topics about her yoga journey, compassion, in particular self-compassion as the core of her work, yoga and meditation, spirituality and her podcast.

This brand new episode guides us through the following points:

• Elena’s spiritual journey and how her personal practice and beliefs have evolved through her decades of studying and teaching yoga and meditation

• What she’s working on with her new book of poetry, journal and parenting course

• How Elena has been kind to herself during times of uncertainty and the mindset that she shares for us all to turn that kindness inwards to our own hearts

• Elena’s podcast, Practice You, and what she’s learned from over 100 conversations with spiritual leaders and change makers Dr. Gabor mate, Yung Pueblo, Latham Thomas and our mutual friend Nadine McNeil

• How yoga as an industry has developed over the past 20 years and what it looks like to make a living as a yoga teacher, developing community and diversifying your income

•The breathing practice Elena does to stay grounded within her daily life

•What Ananda Soul pieces Elena wears, what Ananda evokes her and how she feels when she wears our jewelry

•A sneak peek reading from her latest journal that inspires the soul

As we continue to speak about the Moon, I am excited to share this month's podcast episode with my dear friend and menstrual cycle activist Bex Tyrer.

This brand new episode speaks about the following topics:As we have just launched our Lunar collection that focuses on the power of the Moon and all its phases, it is an honor to continue the ‘Moon’versations  - so to speak - from another angle: menstrual cycle awareness and alignment with the Moon and its phases.Bex has dedicated her life’s work to yoga and women’s health and focuses on  inclusivity, trauma work and social and environmental justice. Bex has been a full time yoga teacher at the Yoga Barn, the largest yoga studio in Asia,  since 2009.

• How yoga is a traditional practice for men that carries much wisdom and also doesn’t include women’s natural cycles and bodies.
• Addiction and eating disorders in yoga and how the separation from our cycles and bodies can contribute to a break and separation within ourselves
• How women’s periods are our 5th vital sign and the many different ways periods serve as an indicator of a women’s health
• The function of women’s periods, or moon cycles, and what we “give birth to” every month
• What a normal period actually is and what miraculous things our bodies do every month
• The follicular and luteal phases and how we can make the most of them
• What hormones our natural cycles activate and how they work with our brains, hearts and overall health
• How stress effects our cycles and overall health and the timing of our cycles
• What men can do to work with the moon phases and natural rhythms of the earth
• The options women have for menstrual products and how much we actually bleed every month
• Menopause, Perimenopause and what those phases of women’s lives actually entail, with hormonal and period cycle changes
• How we should be celebrate Menopause and honor this sacred time in a women’s life
• The exciting collaboration between Bex and Ananda Soul and the free offering coming your way
• What Ananda Soul pieces Bex wears daily

In this episode, I am speaking with my dear friend Kate Reardon, as she shares with us how to come back to our natural instincts, how the be the fullest version of ourselves and live our truth. Fascinated by the way she weaves the tapestry of healing and health, I listen to her sharing her personal insights as a naturopath, healer, and mother.

Here are some of the things Kate and I cover in this episode:

• The mind-body connection and how emotions can physically manifest in the body
• Kate's journey into motherhood including her experience with miscarriage
• Giving yourself grace, and maintaining life balance as a mother
• What practices does Kate use to stay aligned and attuned to her intuition (including what we’ll share for this month’s meditation episode of Sensitive Matters!)
• How Christina and Kate know each other and their journey together as friends living in Bali as female entrepreneurs
• The inspirations behind her book "The Essential Cleanse" and how her retreat participants created the motivation to bring this work into the world
• What pieces of Ananda sold jewelry Kate wears that represent important milestones in her life
• Kate's upcoming mentorship and what that looks like in living accordance with the moon and its monthly cycles

Kate Reardon is a mother of three girls, a naturopath, yoga teacher, intuitive healer, author, podcast host and co-founder of Natural Instinct Healing, a boutique retreat center based in Ubud, Bali, that offers both retreats on-site as well as in Byron Bay, Australia and online.

Kate is also the author of ‘The Essential Cleanse’, a book about her own cleansing method towards a more fulfilled, joyful and lighthearted way of living.

Kate’s work has been featured in high-profile media such as BBC Travel, Women’s Health & Fitness Magazine, and more.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Listen up and please share your feedback.

You can also watch the video of our conversation here:

• Gina’s journey from being an international plus-size model to a Self-Love coach
• Her spiritual calling for something greater in her life inspired by her father’s inspiring last words to her before he passed
• A visualization tool for how to bring awareness to the love we can give to ourselves
• An energy clearing exercise for keeping ourselves available to attract what we desire
• The difference between Self-Love and Selfishness
• The story behind Gina launching her book, P.S., I Love Me
• What Ananda Soul pieces Gina wears as her “jewelry uniform”
• What she’s got coming up next!

From Model to Mentor – welcome to this truly inspiring episode of the Sensitive Matters podcast. Gina Swire shares her personal story as a former plus-size model that finds her own way in this world with the help of the most profound relationship there is the one with yourself.

Gina Swire is a self-love expert, mentor, and manifesting queen on a bold-hearted, global mission to help women fall madly in love with themselves. After struggling with her own self-worth and self-image issues, Gina quit her career as a plus-size model in order to embark on her own journey of transformation.

Today she travels the world leading live workshops, hosting retreats, coaching private clients, and speaking on stages from Burning Man to Bali. Her work has been featured in Vogue Magazine, Elephant Journal, Yoga Guide Magazine, and more.

Gina recently published her first book named ‘PS I love me’, which instantly became a bestseller. She is also the host of her own podcast under the very same name.

‘Sensitive Matters’, is a podcast that features gentle conversations on sensitive, important matters such as mental health, conscious consumerism, sexuality, spirituality, ethical business and more.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Listen up and leave your feedback below!

Find out more about Gina Swire:

Welcome to another yummy episode of the Sensitive Matters podcast. We are ringing in the New Year with my dear friend Chef Cynthia Louise, who is sharing with us all about her personal journey in life, with food and the healing impact it had on herself and others.

We welcome you to a very special episode of our Sensitive Matters podcast this month!

We are super excited to announce that this month our founder and designer Christina Zipperlen will be the subject of this brand new episode of the Sensitive Matters podcast. We are excited for you to finally learn the whole story about Christina.

In the following 50 minutes, you will learn more about Christina’s path, how she came about creating Ananda Soul Jewelry, what it means to live in today’s world as a highly sensitive being, what Sensitive Matters is really all about and about her current journey as a psychology student and towards becoming a Somatics and embodiment counselor.

‘Sensitive Matters’, is a podcast that features gentle conversations on sensitive, important matters such as mental health, conscious consumerism, sexuality, spirituality, ethical business and more.

Enjoy the episode!

Hello and welcome back to our Podcast – now called ‘Sensitive Matters’, a podcast that features gentle conversations on sensitive, important matters such as mental health, conscious consumerism, sexuality, spirituality, ethical business and more.

In our newest episode we speak with Andriani Marshanda, better known as Marsha. Marsha is an actress (with having acted in over 20 movies), a singer and songwriter in Indonesia. 

Marsha has experienced an unbelievable journey around mental health. In this episode she shares with us what it means to grow up in the limelight, about mental health disorders and what it feels like to be under public pressure to appear perfect. This is the story of how she became a passionate advocate for mental health and spiritual wellbeing.

Together with Marsha we’ve created two special bundles with her all time favorite pieces from Ananda Soul for you to shop at a special price.

As always, 10% of all proceeds go towards our Adopt a family project that currently supports Balinese communities in need that suffer greatly from the repercussions of the current global pandemic.

We hope you’ll love it. Listen up and leave your feedback below!

In the past decade, mental health has made the limelight amongst the world population. Recent studies show that anxiety and mood disorders are significantly high in today’s world which is no surprise during a time where daily hustle is celebrated and a pandemic is keeping people from living their lives to their fullest.

Yoga Nidra, known as the 'Yogic sleep' is an ancient practice that invokes deep relaxation and calmness of the heart. We have teamed up with the beautiful Emily Kuser, a dear friend, a wonderful Yoga teacher in the fields of Classical Tantra, Hatha Yoga, Somatics and Integrated Sexuality and self-care. I have known Emily for over 12 years and she is one of my dearest and closest friends, working her magic throughout the entire world with her offerings and her fun and honest approach.

Episode 4 takes us beyond the stars. I am speaking with Paula Shaw, an intuitive psychic and astrologer who has offered over 15.000 sessions in 10 years, changing people’s lives through accompanying them on their journeys through healing, clarity, and their highest potential.

Paula has been a wonderful guide for me through our universe, ever since I met her in Bali 8 years ago.

In this episode, we speak about astrology, the moon, their impact on her personal life and we dare to take a short glimpse into the future.