Ancient Tools for Modern Living: Wisdom from Mamas, Mystics, and Medicine Makers

Overview

Noah Rasheta is a Buddhist teacher, lay minister, and author, as well as the host of the podcast Secular Buddhism. He teaches mindfulness and Buddhist philosophy online and in workshops all around the world. He works with others to make the world a better place as he studies, embodies, and teaches the fundamentals of Buddhist philosophy, integrating Buddhist teachings with modern science, humanism, and humor. He lives in Kamas, Utah, with his wife and three kids.

What We’ll Learn

• What inspired Noah to create the Secular Buddhism Podcast, as well as the other components that continue to influence his work.
• Define what is meant by the term, “secular Buddhism” and identify what differentiates this path from a religious one.
• How the teachings of Buddhism provide simple and accessible strategies for creating lifestyle change that leads to improved mental health.
• Particular teachings that would be most helpful for someone struggling with a mental health challenge or a chronic health condition.
• Participate in a guided mindfulness meditation experience
• Ways to learn more about Noah’s work and how to contact him

Dr. Avanti is a physician who, after medical training in emergency medicine, began a journey to find her joy again and to help people truly heal.  This calling has led her to training in a variety of healing traditions and modalities:  Ayurveda, energy healing modalities including Pranic Healing and Reiki, plant-based nutrition and Yoga Therapy.  She integrates these intuitive healing systems and traditions in her writing, research and teaching.  She lectures extensively to medical students and physicians, as well as a broad-range of audiences throughout the country.  The subjects of these talks range from scientific talks on various traditional healing systems to interactive dialogues on meditation, yoga, lifestyle and nutrition.

What We’ll Learn

• A thorough explanation of every human being’s innate potential for healing through the practices defined in Ayurveda
•   How disconnection from harmony with the outside world begin to manifest into symptoms    and subsequent disease
• The process through which Ayurveda provides a framework for identifying imbalances and cultivating awareness
• The importance of empowering ourselves to remember our innate healing potential
• Key differences between the self as the healer and doctor as a facilitator of health
• How Ayurveda serves as a template for lifestyle change versus a “quick fix” for symptom reduction

Today’s guest features Tra Kirkpatrick, a certified yoga therapist, life coach, and experienced yoga teacher residing in Atlanta, GA. Tra was trained at the Kripalu Institute in Massachusetts under the guidance and direction of Yoganand Michael Carroll.  Because community and collaboration are intricate aspects of the practice, in 2014 Tra joined two of her friends and colleagues to launch the Center for Integrative Yoga Studies. The Center offers two training tracks, including a 200-hour therapeutic yoga teacher, which focuses on the therapeutic and meditative aspects of yoga and a 500-hour yoga therapy program, both of which are hosted at studios across the country. In addition to teaching in both the 200 and 500 hour programs, Tra offers regular workshops and programs, weekly classes in Decatur and Atlanta, as well as seeing private clients for both yoga therapy and Thai Yoga in Decatur, GA. Tra created a course entitled “Seeds of Change” for the 300 hour program that explores the intersection of yoga and dialogue as a map for discovery and transformation.

What We’ll Learn

• How the Yoga Sutras outline a path and goal for behavior change
• The components of a yoga practice that are essential to changing behavior
• Unpack and dismantle the social myths embedded in the Western psyche that yoga is inherently therapeutic
• Be able to discern the difference between yoga as a therapeutic modality and the yoga that is taught in a general population class
• How the stages of change model align with the yoga therapy framework
• What exactly Tantra Hatha Yoga is and how it’s teachings are relevant to behavior change

My guest for today’s episode is Kristine Kaoverii Weber MA, C-IAYT, eRYT500, YACEP. She has been studying yoga and holistic healing for nearly 30 years and is committed to the widespread adoption of yoga as a population health strategy. Her organization, Subtle®Health, LLC, provides holistic, mind-body trainings, education, and clinical services with the mission of enhancing community health infrastructure. She is the director of the Subtle® Yoga Teacher Training for Behavioral Health Professionals program at MAHEC in Asheville, NC; presents workshops and trainings internationally, and is frequently invited to speak about yoga at health care conferences. She is the author of The Complete Self Massage Workbook, and has published articles in the International Association of Yoga Therapist’s journal, Yoga Therapy in Practice and other wellness publications. Her work has been featured in Redbook, BodySense, Women’s World, Natural Health, and Lifetime TV. She is a regular presenter for www.yogauonline.com and www.yogamate.com. She has provided yoga therapy to various populations in institutions and privately since 1996.

What We’ll Learn

• Personal narratives that speak to the transformative and life enhancing power of yoga as a tool for lifestyle management.
• Principles of contemplative based practice that would broadly redesign our healthcare system as a whole to deliver person centered care
• How yoga and contemplative based pedagogy would offer viable solutions for some of the most prevalent mental/physical health challenges currently facing a large percentage of the US adult population.
• Thoughts on how yoga could be integrated into prevention, treatment, aftercare/recovery, and promotion
• Strategies for shifting the way we think about healthcare from a systemic approach