On and Off Your Mat Yoga Podcast

Do you feel like you're constantly running on a hamster wheel? If you ever wonder how to take a break or how to stop feeling like you always have to be 'doing' something? Today’s episode is for you. It's not always easy to slow down, but mindfulness meditation is a great place to start.

This new year also coincides with the 5th anniversary of the podcast and for the occasion, we changed the cover art! I’m so excited to hear what you have to say. To celebrate, we are also offering a month for free on the premium membership. Use the coupon FREETRIAL to create your account for free.

Since this video practice is part of our premium subscription, you’ll have access to it for free, and you’ll be able to explore everything we have on there. You’ll find 30 min yoga classes, meditations, led pranayamas, philosophical chats, workbooks to go our episodes, and more. Find it here.

On the membership platform, you'll find:

1. Your premium podcast episodes ($5/month). Just like before, as a member, you can get a ton of exclusive audio and video content like this class for sensitive knees.

2. You can now also have access to almost 300 recorded full-length yoga classes in a Netflix-Style Membership ($25/month).

3. You can sign up for any live-stream class I offer!

With our podcast premium membership, your contribution ripples to thousands of people every week, allowing me to offer accessible quality free content to a wide community of yogis. This podcast is a way I contribute to the community, and this membership is a way you can too. It allows you to share everything yoga offers with the world by supporting me in the creation and production of this podcast while I choose to keep it ad-free.

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For our 32nd episode, I sat down with Jane Austin. Since Jane is San Francisco based pre and post natal yoga teacher, I’ve never personally taken class with her, but I’ve heard numbers of fellow teachers raving about her, her classes and her trainings. When I saw she was also leading workshops on the pelvic floor, I thought we could make a great episode that anybody could relate to, mom to be or not.

5 BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS OF THIS EPISODE

1. Yoga gives you an opportunity to shift form all the external chatter (from what people think you should be doing) to the internal experience. When you understand that what you're experiencing is true for you, you can learn how to trust yourself.

2. When you listen to your own truth, you will make choices and decision for yourself (and your baby) that are going to be appropriate. And what's true for one women is not true for an other. You know your body better than anybody else.

3. You don't HAVE to go to a class to practice yoga. Roll out your mat and just commit to doing any amount everyday. Rolling out your mat is a way to set an intention to do some self-care.

4. Holding Mula Bandha for a long time without releasing can be very detrimental for your health.

5. Embracing yourself and loving yourself is the first step to reconnect to your pelvic floor. Then, when we have a relationship to it, visualizing muscle function, will create more activation and more receptivity.

QUESTIONS SHE ANSWERED DURING THE EPISODE :

• Can you tell us about yourself, your yoga journey, and why you chose to dedicate yourself to pre and post natal yoga.
• What are the needs of pregnant women when it comes to yoga? And what are the benefits they get out of it?
• How important is the power of the group and the community?
• Do you have tips for self-care for newer and not so new moms out there?
• For teachers that teach regular class that are listening, what are some ways they can hold space or be supportive to a pregnant or postpartum mom coming to their regular class?
• For teachers that are interested to train in pre and post natal but have reservations because they are not moms, have never been pregnant, what do you say to them?
• Why is it important for you to teach about the wonders of the pelvic floor?
• How does a strong pelvic floor helps us be more stable and more powerful?
• What’s the link between the pelvic floor and our nervous system?
• What’s the biggest obstacle when it comes to pelvic floor health?
• Do you have an example of movement or breath technique that can help listeners to get started with building more awareness or vitality to the part of that body?

SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW! GIVEAWAY WINNER. DO YOU WANT $75 OF SHOPPING? DONATE OR BECOME AN EXCLUSIVE MEMBER TODAY.

Thank you so much for listening and being part of our 32nd episode! We have other great guests lined up for you so make sure to subscribe to the podcast where ever you listen to not miss an episode or get on my mailing list!

As always, I really appreciate your support. So as you leave a review on iTunes or on your iPhone podcast app, you automatically enter a giveaway. Athleta is generously continuing to support this podcast in their effort to ignite a community of strong women who lift each other up, and is giving out a 75$ shop card! If you're not sure how to leave a review, check this article. Thank you so much if you left a review. The winner of this episode's giveaway is iTunes user Embraced Yogi. Congrats! Email me at [email protected] or DM me on instagram @erika.belanger and I’ll send you your shop card!

Other very exciting news, I’m adding another way for you to support this Podcast. I am now part of Patreon. Patreon is a platform where you can donate to support this podcast or you can become a monthly member. Donators will get shoutouts on the episode and as monthly members you will receive exclusive content : mini-shows, guided meditation, guided flows and so much more. Our first exclusive episode will be about me! So if you have any questions, if there’s anything you would like to know about me, send me an email at [email protected] or DM on IG. I will read the question on the show and answer them...

Yes! We made it to 100! This podcast has been a labor of love for the last 3 years. I’ve had the immense pleasure to chat with some of the most accomplished yoga teachers, wellness experts, and spiritual teachers in the west so they can share their work and best-kept secrets with you. Some were genuinely excited to come on, others I had to slightly harass and I’ve reached out to many more who never even made it on. I want to take a moment to say thank you to all our guests so far, for giving freely their time, sharing their expertise, and being so open and generous with the process...

For today’s episode, we are celebrating, by first, doing a recap of the episodes that were the most listened to in the last 3 years. We’ll also go over the episode that you guys voted for to enter our celebration giveaway and I want to underline a couple of episodes that I think were underrated but that were special to me and that should have made it to the top of the chart in my opinion.

100TH EPISODE GIVEAWAY

If you voted for your favorite episode, thank you so much!

Our randomly selected winner for our 100th episode giveaway is Flo Dupuy from the US. Congratulations!!!

Our winner voted for Ep58 Restorative Yoga and the Importance of Slowing Down, with Judith Hanson Lasater. Their takeaway was “Some people’s cholesterol levels dropped up to 50 points in one hour of yoga practice. Cholesterol is a measure of stress. The sequence is not the key part, it’s more taking the weight of stress off. It is so powerful.”

I want to say a huge thank you to all our sponsors for this giveaway. You are winning a 100$ gift card from Athleta, a yoga mat from Liform, an Eco Yoga Bolster and Acupressure Mat and Pillow set from Ajna WellBeing, a Roll Model Starter Kit, and a class pass for one of Jill Miller union-fit classes, one month on my membership, an eye pillow from Spritz wellness London, and the book Move, Connect, Play from Jason Nemer.

TOP 5 MOST LISTENED EPISODES

Here are our top 5 most listened-to episodes of the last 3 years!

• #25. The 8 limbs, with Janet Stone.
• #58: Restorative Yoga and the Importance of Slowing Down, with Judith Hanson Lasater.
• #1: When you say yoga...
• #75: The Art of Sequencing with Jason Crandell.
• #46 Chakras 101, with Anodea Judith.

EPISODE VOTED FOR IN OUR GIVEAWAY

During the episode, I mentioned the 3 episodes that were the most voted for. Here they are:

#93: A 3 Step Guide to Being More Yourself, with Erika Belanger.

Meiling voted for #93 and shared: The moment I heard this episode, I was super confused about my path and my decisions, and I remember being in the car alone, looking for a sign and I wrote yoga podcast on Spotify, and On and Off Your Mat came out and I don’t know what, but something made me choose this episode. I went to a lake with my journal and started to write all the questions with their answers, and Felt so relieved. Thank you so much for guiding me. My takeaway is “Stay focused on yourself, what you want and what you can control.”

#87: 5 Reasons you Procrastinate, with Erika Belanger.

Emily voted for #87 and said “Listening to the episode made me feel like Erika was...

For this episode, I sat down with Robert Sturman. Robert is a dedicated yoga practitioner and photographer capturing the timeless grace and embodied mindfulness of yoga in his work. His stunning repertoire of portraits runs the gamut from yogis perched on rocks surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, to African orphans practicing yoga in Kenya, to breast cancer survivors, bare-chested and scarred. In addition, Sturman has worked extensively photographing war veterans who have embraced the practice of yoga to heal PTSD, first responders and more. He has been an Official Artist of the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2008 United States Olympics.

MY 5 BIGGEST TAKE-AWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

1- Photography is a way to pay attention, recognize, see, and acknowledge to the person you look at.

2 - Photography can be like positive propaganda. You can share new ideas that will become the norm. You can change the world through the images you take. It's the most influential form of communication.

3 - Yoga simply helps you make better choice. Yoga is for anybody and everybody, anywhere and everywhere.

4 - Being an artist is different than being a photographer.

5 - Never look down on anyone. When you photograph someone. Be eye to eye, on your subject's level. It's a sign of respect!

QUESTIONS HE ANSWERED DURING THIS EPISODE:

• Why do you choose to showcase yoga in your photography?
• How do you tell a story through a still image?
• Does the subject and the story you choose to tell change the power of the art piece?
• What was the idea behind your "Scars are Beautiful" Portfolio? What drew you to breast cancer survivors?
• Why do cancer survivors wanted to do these shoots? What was their intentions?
• Which prisons have you visited and photographed?
• You say that “everything you know about the essence of photography, I learned from working in prisons” Can you explain that?
• Is the camera a way for you to share what you see so more people can see it?
• What was your intention about photography the military and first responders doing yoga.
• You photographed for the Africa Yoga Project and made and did a photographic essay for the New York times about it. What did this portfolio and your trip to Nairobi teach you? Did it change your perspective on yoga in any way?
• What inspires you right now? What would you like to see more represented?
• How do you feel about everybody being a “photographer” now?
• Any tips to take better photos?

SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW!

DONATE OR BECOME AN EXCLUSIVE MEMBER TODAY.

Thank you so much for listening and being part of our 63rd episode! If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, rate and review anywhere you listen. As always, I really appreciate your support with this podcast whether it’s through reviews or through Patreon. I have just added 2 new tiers to the premium memberships. As before, with a small donation of $5/month you can get access to more content, exclusive episodes, tutorials, guided meditations. The newest episode was an amazing 25 minutes Yoga Nidra. Now you can also have access to some or all the classes we’ve recorded on zoom and continue to record during this shelter-in-place. If you’d like to have access to all this and/or support me in the creation of this podcast, please visit www.patreon.com/onandoffyourmat and become a PREMIUM member on the tier of your choice.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

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A dedicated yoga practitioner, photographer Robert Sturman has increasingly focused on capturing the timeless grace and embodied mindfulness of asana in his work.

His portraits, whether set in the lively streets of Manhattan, the expansive beaches and canyons of Malibu, the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, the timeless elegance of Walden's New England, or the bleakness of San Quentin Prison, remind us that there is beauty everywhere.

His stunning repertoire runs the gamut from yogis perched on rocks surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, to African orphans practicing yoga in Kenya, to breast cancer survivors, bare-chested and scarred. In addition, Sturman has worked extensively photographing war veterans who have embraced the practice of yoga to heal PTSD, in an effort to help change the heartbreaking statistics of veteran suicides each day.

In Sturman's own words, "I often think of Rumi's words 'I can't stop pointing to the beauty.' That feels right to me." Sturman's honors include Official Artist of the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, 2010 FIFA World Cup Artist Representing ...

For this episode, I sat down with Judith Hanson Lasater. Judith has a Ph.D in East-West psychology, she’s a trained, Physical Therapist and has been teaching yoga since 1971. She trains students and teachers throughout the United States as well as abroad. She is the co-founder of Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a founder of the Yoga Journal magazine and is president of the California Yoga Teachers Association. She has written eight books, including her most recent one called: Restore and Rebalance: Yoga for Deep Relaxation.

MY 5 BIGGEST TAKE-AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE:

1- Restorative yoga is remembering to be still every day. When we are still, silence arises. When silence arises, fear melts away. When fear melts away, there's space for spontaneous gratitude, joy, compassion and empathy. From there's an integration of our being.

2- You can't force yourself to relax, but you can carve out 20 minutes a day to do nothing. Doing nothing is the best thing you can do for yourself. It's a radical thing. No music, no talking, no recording. Do it in a place you feel safe and it's quiet.

3- It will start to notice that your mind is a drunken monkey. Pay attention to the sensations of breaths and you'll create radical presence. Becoming aware of sensation is a practice of body-fulness on top of mind-fulness.

4- The body is always trying to reach out homeostasis. Stress is the most important disruptor of that state of homeostasis. Worrying is praying for what you don't want. so let's focus on what you don't want.

Physiologically, it takes at least 15 min to relax, if you are well rested.

5- The light is the most stimulating thing to the nervous system.

QUESTIONS SHE ANSWERED DURING THIS EPISODE :

Can you define what is restorative yoga and explain what is special about it or different than other styles of yoga?

Do you think it's a more meditative practice compare to other asana practices?

What are the benefits, or positive effects of this practice?

How do you take the weight of stress off the body?

What are the stages of Savasana?

SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW!

DONATE OR BECOME AN EXCLUSIVE MEMBER TODAY.

Thank you so much for listening and being part of our 58th episode! If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, rate and review anywhere you listen. I really appreciate your financial support with this podcast. If you can, know that you can make a big difference even with a small donation to help me cover the production cost and allow me to create more episodes. Visit www.patreon.com/onandoffyourmat and become a vip member. As a thank you, get access to new exclusive content every month. This month, you get a tell-all episode on my life story.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

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Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., PT, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500, YACEP®, has taught yoga around the world since 1971. She is a founder of the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco, CA, as well as the Yoga Journal magazine which is published in a number of countries. Ms. Lasater frequently trains teachers in virtually every state of the union and is often an invited guest at international yoga conventions. She is president emeritus of the California Yoga Teachers; Association as well as the author of numerous articles on yoga and health for nationally recognized magazines. She was featured in Self Magazine in 1998 as one of the outstanding yoga teachers in the U.S. In 2000, she was selected by Yoga Journal Magazine as one of the outstanding yoga teachers shaping yoga practice in America today. She was selected by Natural Health magazine, on the occasion of their 40th anniversary, as one of the five people in the USA who has had the most influence on natural health in America during those 40 years. In 2015, Yoga Journal Magazine selected her the most influential yoga teacher in the USA in the last 40 years.

She is the author of ten books, including: Yoga Myths: What You Need to Learn and Unlearn to Stay Safe and Happy on Your Yoga Mat (2020) Restore and Rebalance: Yoga for Deep Relaxation (2017, What We Say Matters: Practicing Nonviolent Communication (2009),YogaBody: Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Asana (2009), A Year of Living Your Yoga (2006), Yoga Abs (2005), Yoga for Pregnancy: What Every Mom-to-Be Needs to Know (2004), 30 Essential Yoga Poses: for beginning students and their teachers (2003), Living Your Yoga: finding the spiritual in everyday life (2000), and Relax and Renew: restful yoga for stressful times (1995), and Living Your Yoga: finding the spiritual in everyday life (2000).

Her website :