00:01                                     Hello and welcome to change the face of yoga teaching toddlers through golden oldies. I'm very excited to be talking to lots of yoga teachers who will explain their passion for teaching yoga to students with different ages, physical fitness levels, wellness levels and different goals. They will explain the benefits of yoga for these students and we'll be including teacher tips and pose modifications. I am Stephanie Cunningham of yoga lightness and I've been teaching over 50s for 10 years. So this area is my passion and the passion of many other yoga teachers that you will be listening to in this series. Thank you so much for listening and let's get started.

00:49                                     This is episode 129 of Changing the Face of Yoga and this is the last podcast of the year. As in previous years I am developing a meditation as a thank you to the listeners and to the guests. There would be no Changing the Face of Yoga without either one of you. So the topic of this particular meditation is cultivating authenticity. I have in all areas of my life the concept of authenticity coming up a lot in the past two months and as I work my way through my particular ideas of authenticity, I thought it might be helpful if this meditation also addresses that issue.

02:05                                     If you listened to the podcasts in November of this year that were about supporting yoga teachers and yoga therapists in their yoga business, all of the guests talk about authenticity in some way or another. And how our business must reflect what is authentically us. It was quite an interesting set of podcasts and I realized how much that was true. We have to reflect what we truly are to the outside world, whether it's through our business or through our connections or relationships.

03:01                                     This particular meditation has the following structure. It is based on Yoga Nidra. It will then have a breathing session. Then I will give you some prompts to start you on your way about thinking about how authentic yoga is in your life. Then relax again and then slowly come out of the meditation. So the first thing to do is to get very comfortable. This will probably take about 20 minutes or so. So you want to be in a comfortable position. If the body is uncomfortable, sometimes that can interfere with your meditative state. So you want to be as comfortable as possible. You can be lying down, you can be sitting, whichever is best for you.

04:08                                     So get into a position that you can hold for a while and is comfortable. I want you to set your intention for this meditation. What do you want to achieve? What do you want to get out of it?

                                                I want you to concentrate on a part of the body that I am going to give you in a minute and release it and relax it after you review it.

05:14                                     We'll start with the top of the left foot. Left toes, the sole of the left foot, the left heel, the left ankle, the left shin, the left calf, the left knee, the front of the left thigh (the quadriceps) back of the left thigh (the hamstring), the left hip. The left side of the waist. The left ribs, the left shoulder joint, left upper arm, left elbow, left forearm, left wrist, back of the left hand. Left fingers, left Palm, left thumb. Top of the right foot. Right toes, right. So, right teal, right ankle, right shin, right calf, right knee, top of the right thigh, back of the right thigh. Right hip, right side of the waist, right ribs, right shoulder joint, right upper arm, right elbow, right forearm, right wrist, back of the right hand, right fingers, right palm, right thumb. Groin, abdomen, lower chest, upper chest, buttocks, lower back, mid back, upper back, shoulders. Neck, throat jaw, lips, eyes. Eyebrows, space between the eyebrows, forehead, scalp, head, torso, Arms, Legs. Your whole body.

15:43                                     Now let's move to the breath. Long, slow inhalations with a pause long. slow exhalations and pause long slow inhalation, pause and long. slow exhalation pause. Just continue that rhythm or two or three more breaths.

                                                Just be aware of how your body feels and consider this to be a baseline. So when I give you these prompts about authenticity, you will probably have an intellectual reaction, but you also might have a physical reaction and just be aware that that's a possibility.

17:55                                     The first prompt is: I was attracted to yoga because,

18:25                                     the second prompt is: I've continued with yoga because.

18:57                                     the third prompt, is there anything connected with yoga in my life that seems out of alignment?

19:37                                     And the final prompt, is there anything I can do say that will allow yoga to reflect my inner truth?

                                                NOTE: the last two prompts come from the Authenticity Meditation by Kat Kansansis-Semel, NYU's mindfulness Chaplin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0yFTleM7Mo. Thank you Kat.

20:23                                     Now release all the reactions, whether mental or physical, to these prompts and relax and release again so that your body and your breath are without strain or tension. Start the breathing again and just take some time to fully appreciate this relaxed state.

25:45                                     Slowly become aware of your surroundings and the sound of my voice. If you are lying down, when you're ready, roll over to your right side. Everyone slowly open your eyes, try to maintain your sense of ease and relaxation. Those that are lying down come to a seated position.

27:09                                     Thank you all for being a part of changing the face of yoga.

27:25                                     Thank you for that wonderful interview. If you would like to be a guest on changing the face of yoga, please go to my website, www.yoga lightness.com. au under the Changing the Face of Yoga tab. You can complete Be our guest form and after reviewing the form and finding it applicable to this podcast, we will send you a link to schedule an interview.

                                                Please download, review, and tell your friends of any podcasts that are of interest to you and to them. If you would like to contact me, email to [email protected] and thank you for listening to Changing the Face of Yoga.