Listen Now

In our highly stimulating environments, mantra utilizes concrete words spoken aloud which serve as a very impactful tool to shift one's focus even among distraction. Nikita offers insight to to the implementation of this practice and even offers the additional (also very concrete) tool of Mala beads for sharpening concentration. She invites us to bring this effective tool into our practice and our teachings.Show notes and contact information www.theElegantOutlaw.com

With upmost respect for the scientific and somatic elements of the yoga practice; Nikita brings to our attention that sanskrit mantra evokes deities of mythology. This practice carries a distinctly mystical (or even magical) element to it and she points out that perhaps there exist room for this magic even in an increasingly fact-based reality we exist in.Show notes and contact information www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Meet Nikita Ahuja, yoga teacher and artist! Nikita's teaching practice is informed by a disciplined ashtanga practice combined with her upbringing in a traditional Indian household where yoga was introduced to her in the form of Sanskrit mantra, philosophy, pranayama, and Ayurveda. Her parents shared practices of repeating different mantras and eating (or fasting from) specific foods to reach a state of balance, depending on the situation or imbalance she was experiencing. There were specific practices denoted for sleep, anxiousness, lethargy, loss, celebration, etc. In this episode Nikita speaks to implementing Mantra as a tool for alignment & awareness both in our activities of daily life as well as our practice of teaching yoga.Show notes and contact information at www.theElegantOutlaw.com 

Did you know that there are 7 patterns of functional movement, all of which are easily identifiable in the postures (asanas) of yoga? Together we explore what functional movement is and just how beneficial it can be to mindfully integrate this information into our practice of teaching yoga. Through mindfully teaching and consciously creating sequences we help our students recreate healthy habits & patterns of movement!Show notes and contact info at www.theElegantOutlaw.com 

Each yoga student is a unique and complex being, composed of mind, body and spirit. How do we support the WHOLE being in each one of our classes? This is an opportunity to reflect upon your classes with an analytical eye to evaluate the support you are offering the practitioners in your community.Show notes and contact information at www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Contrary to popular belief, creating accessible asana  for community classes is much more than simply modifying poses to be "easier" for students. Accessibility, especially in yoga practice, is a complex & multi-faceted topic. In this episode, I outline a 5-point framework to begin creating classes that are truly for all bodies, levels, ages and more. This is by no means a step-by-step guide (if ONLY it were that easy), but rather interdependent variables to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate. .⁠.⁠This is also insight into the first module of our 300-YTT, as the curriculum is inspired by the 3 values of the Elegant Outlaw Collective ACCESSIBILITY, SUPPORT & FUNCTIONALITY.Show notes at www.theElegantOutlaw.com

The long awaited 300 Yoga Teacher Training is NOW open for registration! It was a slow & arduous journey of thoughtful curriculum development and credentialing process, but it is very satisfying to bring you such a comprehensive program. The curriculum for this registered yoga school is naturally based on the 3 values of the Elegant Outlaw Collective: Accessibility, Support & Function. If you are interested in learning more advanced & subtle techniques to teaching...learn more here! Schedule: April 17th - August 6th, 2022 Format: Combination online & destination in person learning Online: Self-paced via on-the-go mobile app & live key note speakers (THEORY) In-person Format: 2 week intensive (APPLICATIONS) in Sayulita, Mexico Destination Location: Haramara Yoga Retreat Center (lodging & 3 meals/day included in price) Early Bird Pricing: $4000 (deposit due 1/31/2022) Regular registration: $4800 (deposit due 1/31/2022 More information at www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Especially with the increase in students being referred to yoga practice, more often we see students with pre-existing injuries and problem areas in the body. Eric Finger (Austin- based physical therapist and yoga practitioner) discusses concepts such as regional interdependence, the path of least resistance and more. These topics help us to avoid exacerbating already-existing injuries in our yoga students.For show notes and contact information visit www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Yoga should be a healing modality for body, mind and breath/spirit, but unfortunately sustaining injuries in practice is a reality.  But why and when do injuries occur?  In this episode, Eric Finger (Austin-based mobile physical therapist) and I explore this topic of provoking injuries. More importantly we speak about how to prevent injuries in yoga practice.For show notes and contact information visit www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Eric Finger (Mobile physical therapist, father of three, triathlete and yoga practitioner) speaks to his own personal injury in yoga when a well-intentioned teacher "assisted" him into a deeper range of motion in plow pose. Even so, Eric acknowledges the wealth of benefits that this practice has to offer. After thorough evaluation and assessment, Eric will still refer some (not all) his own clients to yoga practice. He gives us some insight to this process and additionally, we explore some of the elements that contributed to this injury in practice and of course what we as teachers can do (and not do) in preventing situations like this.Show notes and contact information www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Surrender can be explained...or better said.....surrender can be experienced first at a somatic level. Being that the majority of students arrive to yoga practice for the physical benefits, but often stay practicing for the mental, emotional, & spiritual benefits; we can encourage our students to first feel release in the postures before explaining the meaning. Pamela Seelig, author of "Threads of Yoga, Themes: Reflection and Meditations to weave into Practice," provides insight to the two types of surrender found in the yoga sutra and how we can explain these concepts to our yoga students.Show notes and contact information visit www.theElegantOutlaw.com

“When we practice and we quiet the mind and we get into that deeper state; we touch that part of ourself which is beneath or beyond the mind...it is called many things: the witness, the knower, consciousness…the seer” - Pamela Seelig, author of Threads of Yoga, Themes, Reflections and Meditations for practice. In this episode, she provides us with methods to weave the concept of witness consciousness into our practice of teaching yoga. For show notes and contact information visit www.theElegantOutlaw.com

What's the point of yoga? HINT: the point is not to hold a handstand! Pamela Seelig, author of “Threads of Yoga-Themes, reflections, and meditations to weave into your practice,” reminds us not only what yoga is but also what is the point. She reminds us with her encouraging words just what a gift to us and our students to be able share these deeper message into the classes as we teach. Show notes and contact information at www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Yoga has almost a magical way of evoking emotions from within us and if you are a yoga teacher you have likely experienced students cry during practice or some other form of emotional outburst. When we see one of our students grieving during practice, how do support them? Jennifer, the Grief Medium, exposes the DOs and the DONTs (often well-intentions, but also often harmful).For show notes and contact info visit www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Increasingly, we are left with a decreased amount of time to grief after the loss of a loved one. As yoga teacher, how does grief our ability to show up and hold space for others? It is vital that we must hold space for ourselves first. Jennifer, the Grief Medium, provides us with 5 healthy activities to cope with grief while also balancing life (such as teaching yoga). For show notes and contact information visit www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Meet Jennifer, the grief medium. Jennifer is an an end of life and grief licensed therapist; helping people with anticipatory grief or grief in hospice, palliative care, ICU, and outpatient therapy. Jennifer is also certified Kundalini Yoga instructor and  employs simple yoga practice such as chair yoga, visualization, breath work, and meditation to help her clients with anticipatory grief and grief. She is also a medium, psychic, and empath; she has combined her skills to holistically help people grieve the loss of a loved one. In this episode Jennifer provides us with an introduction of grief and the use of yoga during grief.Show notes and contact information visit www.theElegantOutlaw.com

Trauma-informed yoga teaching is a robust, multi-dimensional and complex topic. In this show, Sarah Kadel, wraps up her series on trauma-informed teaching by offering the listeners 3 techniques to implement in the community classroom. They are simple starting points, which by no means covers the broad subject, but will provide a way we can bring this information into our practice of teaching yoga. Show notes & contact information www.theElegantOutlaw.com

This episode discusses how yoga is historically, a trauma informed practice, and how it has evolved with the times. We speak about how we can support our yoga students with the understanding that they are all coming to us with different levels of physical abilities, emotional, and possibly traumatic histories. How can we hold space for all?How long is your Savasana? We talk about the varying lengths of the final pose, and how we all react differently to the stillness.For Notes and Contact Information Visit: www.TheElegantOutlaw.com

Welcome, Sarah Kadel for today's episode on navigating through the changes of life. As our abilities change, as our priorities shift, as we mature within our own bodies...How can we, as yoga teachers be accepting of those transitions? Even if our personal practice has become more grounding & restorative can one continue teaching active classes?...or should you allow your teaching style, to shift with your personal practice?For Show Notes and Contact Information Visit: www.TheElegantOutlaw.com

Amber Hagberg shares with us how loving herself in fullness was a process of learning to accept both the light and the darkness within herself. By doing this she is now able to lead by example for her students. That they can transform the parts of themselves they don't like to see, and taking away the best parts of them. Prioritizing her own personal practice, is just one way she prioritizes herself. Like anything self love is a choice, and a practice.For Show Note and Contact Information Visit: www.TheElegantOutlaw.com