May 6, 2025 • 22 mins
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What if one hour of true presence could change everything?
In this week’s episode of the Deepen Your Practice Challenge, Dee and Giana unpack the powerful (and often misunderstood) concept of discipline—not as punishment, but as devotion. Through the lens of the Niyamas, yoga’s personal observances, they explore how small, intentional rituals can lead to big inner shifts.
✨ Saucha (Cleanliness): Discover how morning practices like tongue scraping and slow, tech-free time aren’t just Ayurvedic hygiene hacks—they’re energetic resets for the soul.
🧘♀️ Santosha (Contentment): Tired of the “I’ll be happy when...” trap? Learn how to make peace with the present moment—without bypassing life’s messiness.
🔥 Tapas (Discipline): Hear Gianna’s raw take on phones in yoga class and how showing up with intention (not perfection) is the real key to growth.
🪞 Svadhyaya (Self-Study): From Break Method journaling to quiet reflection, discover tools for spotting patterns, breaking cycles, and taking radical responsibility.
🌌 Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender or Devotion): What does it really mean to let go? Explore how faith in something greater can help you meet the unknown with grace instead of fear.
Whether you’re new to the Niyamas or looking to embody them more deeply, this episode is your invitation to transform discipline into devotion—and create space for clarity, contentment, and self-trust.
🎧 Listen now and visit nearlyenlightened.com or tap into the Meditate to Elevate portal for guided practices that bring these teachings to life.
👉 Next week: We dive into the physical layers of practice with Asana and Pranayama. You won’t want to miss it.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Nearly Enlightened podcast, a high
vibe toolbox designed to helpyou connect to your body, mind
and spirit.
I'm your host, gianna Girusso,and I'm here to share tools,
conversations and insights tohelp you on your journey of
self-discovery.
This podcast is all aboutexploring what it means to live
a conscious, connected andnearly enlightened life, because
the truth is, the answersaren't outside of us, they're
(00:23):
already within.
Let's dive in.
I'm joined again by Dee and weare diving in further week two
of our deepen your practicechallenge.
Hi Dee, hello, week two.
Here we go.
It is so crazy I can't believewe're already in week two.
I know Feels good.
(00:43):
We have just wrapped up theyamas and we are heading into
the niyamas, which are more oflike personal observances.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, like guides.
Get that.
The niyamas are kind of like ithelps guide us towards
cultivating more balance anddiscipline in the inner world, I
would say like the connectionto ourself.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yes, and I love that we keep bringing up discipline.
It's funny I talked about thisin my yoga classes yesterday
because it was kind of on atirade.
People have been texting in myyoga classes and I'm like what
the fuck, whoa, really, yes,lots of phones in my yoga
classes.
And I'm like what the fuck,whoa, really, yes, lots of
phones in the yoga room um,would that's so interesting to
me?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I would, I would it's so layered.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, it's so layered because both studios have signs
that are like please leave yourphone outside of here, um.
But I think it's like sometimesI think it's a little bit of a
generational thing, because it'susually more of like the
college girlies not to call themout, but I'm calling them out,
um.
So yeah, yesterday in my threeclasses I kind of went on a
(01:58):
tirade of just like you canunplug for 60 fucking minutes
yes, yeah, you can, you shouldyou.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I don't want to should on anybody, but you
should.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I mean, it's just 60 minutes like you will survive.
And, like I said, if it's anemergency or you're waiting for
an important phone call, likeabsolutely pull me aside and
tell me.
But for, like, the majority oflife, things like if the mom
next to you can leave her phonein the cubby or the locker
outside, so can you yeah, Idon't know if I that that, how I
(02:38):
like I don't even know what tosay, because that, just like,
well, it, it blows my mind.
I think we just lack disciplineas a society and like I love
bringing this conversation backinto the yoga world, because
when I first started yoga, wayback when, um, discipline was
(02:58):
something that we talked aboutall the time and yoga is a
practice of discipline and wekind of kind of um have like
this negative connotation aboutwhat discipline means.
We think of it as like aconsequence or, like you know,
an outcome of doing somethingbad, but discipline that we've
(03:22):
lost.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
we've lost the meaning of this yeah, and we're
going to come to this when wetalk about the meaning of this
one.
Yeah, and we're going to cometo this when we talk about the
niyamas.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
This is actually one of the niyamas.
So let's dive in.
Yes, let's dive in.
So day six, that's well,depends on when you're listening
, but it's today and we'retalking about Saucha cleanliness
, and there's so many differentways you can think of this.
You can think of it as likephysical cleanliness, of course,
(04:02):
like physical cleanliness ofspace, of personal hygiene,
which are great things, um and.
But today, for me, it was kindof like taking a moment to have
a slow morning and to likementally detox more than
anything, like I sat in bed andread with my kitty and that just
felt like so detoxifying andcleansing.
(04:23):
So sometimes it can, you know,it can be like the physical, and
with anything in yoga it couldbe physical or it can be
intangible.
And so for me, today that waskind of like taking that moment,
like have an energy detox.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, an emotional detox and just things that help
foster inner peace.
You, whether, as you said,there's like this with a lot of
what we're talking about, withboth the niyamas and the the
yamas, there's like thispendulum right where you can
take it from something that istangible or or or it's not.
Um, for me, this morning Ishared a little bit about my
(05:01):
morning routine as well and afew things that I do physically,
a little bit about my morningroutine as well, and a few
things that I do.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Physically, your post was fire, like everyone go look
at these posts.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
It was so beautiful, it was so inspiring.
I loved it, thank you.
Well, I just felt.
I just feel like, as a guthealth practitioner, it's
important to put to you knowthis is a big piece of gut
health too, is you know, justsimply starting with like tongue
scraping is I don't know whatit is, but piece of gut health
too, is you know, just simply,starting with like tongue
scraping is I don't know what itis, but it's I just I have to,
I can't, I can't leave my houseunless I do it.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
I love that we both had like cause tongue.
Tongue scraping is an Ayurvedicpractice, Um, and then I had
some CCFT, which is cumin,coriander and fennel seed, which
is also really detoxifying forthe lymphatic system.
But these are two Ayurvedicpractices, so Ayurveda is the
sister science to yoga, and so Ilove that we both talked about
(05:52):
Ayurvedic practices today.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I know I was giggling when I saw your post, because
that's exactly where my mind wastoo.
And then I just I, when I havethe time, as you were saying,
like you had a slow morning, Ialso had a slow morning and I
was able to make myself a fresh,cold, pressed green juice and
sit in the morning sun, which,you know, it sometimes is not
possible for me where I am in mylife and at this time and phase
(06:16):
where I am.
But when I do those things,it's, you know, it's a nice,
it's like giving back to my bodyand doing like allowing the
inner, the inners, uh, of myselfto take a deep breath, and I
think that that's, you know,such a purity east.
That's what I think of, um, youknow, obviously, you know
(06:36):
taking a shower is great, um,yes, and that's a big part of my
cleansing practice too.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Like I will not get in bed at night unless I shower.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
I can't.
It feels weird yeah and it's.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
It's also like, yeah, it's a physical cleansing, but
also like I feel like it's anenergetic cleansing of just like
washing the day off oh for sure, even when I was in my like
party deep, I couldn't.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I would come home at three in the morning and I would
have to take a shower, didn'tmatter, I had to do it.
Um so yes.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
So then we're moving into day seven, which is
santosha contentment um, which Ilove, because we've kind of
like talked about this, we'velike foreshadowed this in some
of the other posts, because Ifeel like all of the yamas and
the niyamas leading up to thisis kind of like it's it's kind
(07:38):
of like not pushing us to getthere, but it's um inspiring us
to find contentment in what isthe right now.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yes, the here and the now and you know I think
sometimes for me I talk aboutthis a lot is where you know
you'll be going throughsomething that might be
challenging.
And you know I feel likesometimes it's some people that
you speak to or confide in, likeone of the things that really
(08:08):
is an ick for me is toxicpositivity.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
So I think anyone who's listened to the podcast
before knows this.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
So I think, like, yes , it is so important to find
that happiness or thatcontentment in the present
moment and to always besearching for that, but allow
space for both, and like justknow, you have the wisdom and
the capacity to hold both hardthings and happy things at the
same time, and I think thatthat's kind of like for me.
(08:39):
That's what Santosha means forme.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Yes, and for me, like I was one of those people who,
like I, would see the bigpicture goal and like if I
wasn't get and still sometimes Ican be this way and if I'm not
getting to that big picture goalfast enough or on the timeline
that I think it should be on,like it does disrupt that, that
present moment contentment.
(09:04):
And, yes, you want to keep thatbig goal in mind, but it
shouldn't sway you one way oranother from feeling like
present or happy and contentwith where you are right now.
And and I think this is a goodreminder because so many of us
are like, oh, I'll be happy whenX Y Z, I'll feel more at peace
(09:28):
when X Y Z.
And it's like no, like, even ifyou're in your busiest season,
like you can find that present,that contentment in the right
now, like there's a reasonyou're in this space yeah,
totally and then we move intoday eight tapas discipline yes,
(09:50):
here we are, we've arrived sodiscipline is so important in
the yoga practice.
It's its own, it's its own thingit is its own thing.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
It's I think it's a lot of it, too is like this
personal dedication to your owngrowth and you know if you feel
like you're falling off course.
Yeah, you like that.
Perseverance that's a word thatcomes to mind when I think
about tapas is, you know, howcan you push through challenges
(10:24):
and maintain your commitment?
You know, and this one can alsotoo you can, you can even bring
this onto the mat.
This is a good one.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yes, good one, I know on and off the mat, like I
think I talked about it in ourlast episode, but you know I
have the same students lateevery time, like 10 minutes late
every single time.
It's like you're 10 minuteslate for a 60 minute class.
Now you've cut your practicedown to 50 minutes.
You're disrupting the classwhich, yes, the practice.
(10:53):
The other practitioners shouldbe practicing yoga and shouldn't
be swayed by that.
But it's a respect thing forthe people around you.
It's honoring other people'stime, which we talked about in
the yamas um and just havingthat discipline of like I'm
management, like if you're, ifyou're one of those people who
(11:14):
are always consistently late,it's like it's not a thing that
holds you in one direction.
It's like you are always late.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, there's a time management problem there yes, I
have a lot to work on with thisone especially.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
This is something I work on too, because, you know,
I come from an Italian Europeanfamily who, it's like what is
time, which like, yes, what istime, but like also having
integrity and honoring otherpeople's time exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I that's.
I feel very similar because Ilive in Panama and here it's
called Latino time, like if youyou can say, come over to my
house for coffee at 10 am andanywhere between 9, 30 and 2 pm,
you've got to have the kettleon because you just, you never
know Like I remember when Iwould run meetings, I would tell
(12:05):
people to get there two hoursbefore I would actually even
show up because I just knew.
So it's like honoring not justyour own time and energy, but
the people around you.
Yes, and even just having thediscipline to make the time and
space for the practice, like youknow, taking it just back to
(12:29):
the physical practice, whichobviously we want to go beyond
that, but like, if you don'tmake time for that physical
practice and being there, beingpresent, like that is part of
discipline too yeah, and youthis is like I was saying, like
this is a good one to take onand off the mat, like if you're
working towards a specific asanathat you want to, you know, be
(12:51):
able to practice more often, youhave to keep practicing.
You have to be disciplinedenough to keep practicing and to
have that make to make the timeto practice physically and you
will get there.
It's like riding a bike.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yes, you're not just gonna like get up on two wheels
one day.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
No, so discipline tapa, thank you.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Thank you.
Day nine we're coming intoSvadhyaya, which I love.
This is self-study and likethis could be part of like.
If the physical practice ofyoga is not for you, you can
still practice yoga by observingand participating in self-study
.
And this one is a big one for mebecause obviously, as you know,
like I did the self-studythrough break method, which I
(13:46):
think is an amazing tool.
It's like another 30 day kindof guided journaling journey,
and I think that's a great way,like if you're curious about
just diving deeper intoself-awareness and how you show
up in the world and being thebest version of yourself.
(14:07):
Like I think self-study is sucha great place to start.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
It's huge.
It's for me too.
I feel very, very stronglyabout this as well and I think
the reason why I obviously Iheard about break method through
you and I went through it and Ithink the reason why I was very
dedicated to go through it wasbecause I was an amount of time
(14:32):
and place where I need to takepersonal risk.
You know, radical personalresponsibility for myself,
recognizing the patterns likethere might be some patterns in
your life that you don't evenrecognize and to be able to have
someone to guide you through it, to be like holy shit.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, it's a deep look inward and sometimes like
that's really hard to look at,like the not so pretty parts of
yourself, yeah, and, but it'sokay, and I think that that's
part of the process.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
You know, if you can't take an honest look at
yourself in the mirror, thenwhat are you doing?
You know?
I think that that's it's onlygoing to make you a better
person, I think, you know.
And just continuing thatintrospection and that study and
(15:23):
self-reflection, yeah, it's onething, of course, to write in a
journal, but, like, can youtake action on those patterns
that you keep repeating, thatare holding you back or keeping
you, you know, in fear?
Stop satire yeah, yeah, and Ithink too, like, if that is
(15:44):
there, I think there's also tooanother way to look at this
self-study.
You know, you don't have tonecessarily be so.
I mean you can also use this.
You can use maybe like sacredtexts to also help you.
You know, like for the Biblebible it might be for some
people, um, a course in miraclesis another great book to help
(16:07):
through.
You know, just just texts thathelp you.
Aid in self-discovery, I think,is another way you could
practice this niyama for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
And then that moves us into day 10, surrender.
I am going.
I'm so sorry I'm gonnaabsolutely butcher the Sanskrit
on this one.
It is such a long word.
Um, it's Ishvara Pranidhana.
Yeah, that's great.
I've heard it pronounced like abunch of different ways.
(16:40):
That is like how it's spelled,so if I'm wrong, please like
correct me um but this is justsurrender, trusting the divine,
trusting the flow, and I thinkthis is just such an important
life lesson that I think allhumans learn, whether they
practice yoga or not, whetherthey're spiritual or not.
(17:01):
Like you, have to learn tosurrender, um knowing that
sometimes there's a bigger planat play.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Yeah, which is really hard.
Yeah, it's really hard.
I feel like there's, you know,sometimes there's a, there's
this pendulum where you canswing from fear to faith, and
sometimes I kind of, just when Ifall into the trap of not being
able to commit to thatsurrender, I'm like, okay, where
(17:32):
am I operating here on thispendulum, and how can I get
closer to the faith side insurrendering side and
surrendering um, just aligningyour actions with knowing that
there's a bigger, a higher powerof your, of your understanding.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
And this always reminds me of, like you know,
going back to my religious roots.
I guess um of like giving yourfear to God, giving your angst
and anxiety to god, like this,is always a reminder of that,
because not everything is in ourcontrol and when we worry and
stress about things that aren'tin our control, we're like just
(18:11):
prolonging and, um, likedeepening our suffering.
So sometimes, instead of theworry, the fear, you have to
just surrender and and trust yes, yeah and yes, ma'am I think
(18:32):
that's pretty much where we canwrap it up today, unless you
want.
Is there anything else you wantto say about the niyamas?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I don't think so.
I think that the niyamas arequite I don't want to say
self-explanatory, but I feellike they're.
You know, I'm I feel, I feelgood about that.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I feel about what we shared and for people to take
what we shared into their owninterpretation and then take
this into the challenge or intoyour daily life, off the mat
onto the mat yes, I'm excited tosee how everyone, um, how
everyone's perspective is on onthese topics, like I think it's
really interesting to seebecause, like we said in the
(19:12):
last episode, like this is a 5000 year old practice, and like
it's fun to see how people bringit into the modern world
teachers and students alike yeah, yeah, because we all have
different perspectives, we allhave different lives, and I love
seeing how it's showing up fordifferent, for different people
and participants and, yeah, Ikeep it going.
(19:35):
I'm excited, thank you so thisis week two, the Niyamas, and
then next week we'll be slidinginto Asana and Pranayama, which,
um, that's what, uh, we, wetalk about the most when we talk
about modern yoga or like in inthe modern yoga world.
(19:56):
So, um, that will be next weekand, yeah, I can't believe we're
already like halfway throughthis challenge.
It's so crazy.
I know it feels good, it feelsgreat.
I'm so glad we decided to dothis.
Me too.
It's a good reminder for myself, like to come back to these
practices where they kind oflike you've been practicing for
(20:18):
so long, sometimes they um, notthat they slip your mind, like
you get into these grooves andit just it does become a way of
life, but just a little reminderof like why we do these things.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Is is nice yeah, yeah , I agree, I think just kind of
bringing it back to the surface,bringing it, you know it's
there, it's there for sure,especially after going through a
YTT, you know, or justcontinuously practicing, it's
good to bring it back up to thesurface and have it, you know,
on the front burner, if you will, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
And I think, even even for asana.
You know, I talked about thisin my yoga classes yesterday.
Like, I think, most people whohave been practicing for a long
time, like they even lose it inthe asana.
I know that personally.
Like you tend to rest in yourflexibility.
You're just like flowingthrough mindlessly, You're just
like not fully present.
So it's nice to have thesereminders of like oh yeah, bring
(21:16):
it back to the beginning.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Totally yeah, and just always be a student.
I think both you and I agree onthat and I think that there's,
you know, always room forimprovement and learning.
So yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Thank you.
Thank you for joining me todayand, um, stay tuned for next
week.
We'll go through next week'spractice, so there'll be two
more episodes that coincide withthe challenge.
You don't have to be in thechallenge to listen to them, but
it's a good.
It's a good reminder and ifyou're yoga curious, this is a
(21:51):
great way to dive in.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Totally.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Thank you, d, for joining me and thank you all so
much for tuning into today'sepisode of the nearly
enlightened podcast.
If this conversation resonatedwith you, I would love it if you
shared it.
Leave a review or reach out andlet me know your thoughts.
And if you're looking for moreways to deepen your connection
to body, mind and spirit, checkout my Meditate to Elevate
portal, my guided meditationportal, or visit
(22:16):
nearlyenlightenedcom for moreresources.
Until next time, stay curious,stay connected and remember the
answers already lie within.
Welcome to the Nearly Enlightened podcast, a high
vibe toolbox designed to helpyou connect to your body, mind
and spirit.
I'm your host, gianna Girusso,and I'm here to share tools,
conversations and insights tohelp you on your journey of
self-discovery.
This podcast is all aboutexploring what it means to live
a conscious, connected andnearly enlightened life, because
the truth is, the answersaren't outside of us, they're
(00:23):
already within.
Let's dive in.
I'm joined again by Dee and weare diving in further week two
of our deepen your practicechallenge.
Hi Dee, hello, week two.
Here we go.
It is so crazy I can't believewe're already in week two.
I know Feels good.
(00:43):
We have just wrapped up theyamas and we are heading into
the niyamas, which are more oflike personal observances.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, like guides.
Get that.
The niyamas are kind of like ithelps guide us towards
cultivating more balance anddiscipline in the inner world, I
would say like the connectionto ourself.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yes, and I love that we keep bringing up discipline.
It's funny I talked about thisin my yoga classes yesterday
because it was kind of on atirade.
People have been texting in myyoga classes and I'm like what
the fuck, whoa, really, yes,lots of phones in my yoga
classes.
And I'm like what the fuck,whoa, really, yes, lots of
phones in the yoga room um,would that's so interesting to
me?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I would, I would it's so layered.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, it's so layered because both studios have signs
that are like please leave yourphone outside of here, um.
But I think it's like sometimesI think it's a little bit of a
generational thing, because it'susually more of like the
college girlies not to call themout, but I'm calling them out,
um.
So yeah, yesterday in my threeclasses I kind of went on a
(01:58):
tirade of just like you canunplug for 60 fucking minutes
yes, yeah, you can, you shouldyou.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I don't want to should on anybody, but you
should.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I mean, it's just 60 minutes like you will survive.
And, like I said, if it's anemergency or you're waiting for
an important phone call, likeabsolutely pull me aside and
tell me.
But for, like, the majority oflife, things like if the mom
next to you can leave her phonein the cubby or the locker
outside, so can you yeah, Idon't know if I that that, how I
(02:38):
like I don't even know what tosay, because that, just like,
well, it, it blows my mind.
I think we just lack disciplineas a society and like I love
bringing this conversation backinto the yoga world, because
when I first started yoga, wayback when, um, discipline was
(02:58):
something that we talked aboutall the time and yoga is a
practice of discipline and wekind of kind of um have like
this negative connotation aboutwhat discipline means.
We think of it as like aconsequence or, like you know,
an outcome of doing somethingbad, but discipline that we've
(03:22):
lost.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
we've lost the meaning of this yeah, and we're
going to come to this when wetalk about the meaning of this
one.
Yeah, and we're going to cometo this when we talk about the
niyamas.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
This is actually one of the niyamas.
So let's dive in.
Yes, let's dive in.
So day six, that's well,depends on when you're listening
, but it's today and we'retalking about Saucha cleanliness
, and there's so many differentways you can think of this.
You can think of it as likephysical cleanliness, of course,
(04:02):
like physical cleanliness ofspace, of personal hygiene,
which are great things, um and.
But today, for me, it was kindof like taking a moment to have
a slow morning and to likementally detox more than
anything, like I sat in bed andread with my kitty and that just
felt like so detoxifying andcleansing.
(04:23):
So sometimes it can, you know,it can be like the physical, and
with anything in yoga it couldbe physical or it can be
intangible.
And so for me, today that waskind of like taking that moment,
like have an energy detox.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, an emotional detox and just things that help
foster inner peace.
You, whether, as you said,there's like this with a lot of
what we're talking about, withboth the niyamas and the the
yamas, there's like thispendulum right where you can
take it from something that istangible or or or it's not.
Um, for me, this morning Ishared a little bit about my
(05:01):
morning routine as well and afew things that I do physically,
a little bit about my morningroutine as well, and a few
things that I do.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Physically, your post was fire, like everyone go look
at these posts.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
It was so beautiful, it was so inspiring.
I loved it, thank you.
Well, I just felt.
I just feel like, as a guthealth practitioner, it's
important to put to you knowthis is a big piece of gut
health too, is you know, justsimply starting with like tongue
scraping is I don't know whatit is, but piece of gut health
too, is you know, just simply,starting with like tongue
scraping is I don't know what itis, but it's I just I have to,
I can't, I can't leave my houseunless I do it.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
I love that we both had like cause tongue.
Tongue scraping is an Ayurvedicpractice, Um, and then I had
some CCFT, which is cumin,coriander and fennel seed, which
is also really detoxifying forthe lymphatic system.
But these are two Ayurvedicpractices, so Ayurveda is the
sister science to yoga, and so Ilove that we both talked about
(05:52):
Ayurvedic practices today.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I know I was giggling when I saw your post, because
that's exactly where my mind wastoo.
And then I just I, when I havethe time, as you were saying,
like you had a slow morning, Ialso had a slow morning and I
was able to make myself a fresh,cold, pressed green juice and
sit in the morning sun, which,you know, it sometimes is not
possible for me where I am in mylife and at this time and phase
(06:16):
where I am.
But when I do those things,it's, you know, it's a nice,
it's like giving back to my bodyand doing like allowing the
inner, the inners, uh, of myselfto take a deep breath, and I
think that that's, you know,such a purity east.
That's what I think of, um, youknow, obviously, you know
(06:36):
taking a shower is great, um,yes, and that's a big part of my
cleansing practice too.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Like I will not get in bed at night unless I shower.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
I can't.
It feels weird yeah and it's.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
It's also like, yeah, it's a physical cleansing, but
also like I feel like it's anenergetic cleansing of just like
washing the day off oh for sure, even when I was in my like
party deep, I couldn't.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I would come home at three in the morning and I would
have to take a shower, didn'tmatter, I had to do it.
Um so yes.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
So then we're moving into day seven, which is
santosha contentment um, which Ilove, because we've kind of
like talked about this, we'velike foreshadowed this in some
of the other posts, because Ifeel like all of the yamas and
the niyamas leading up to thisis kind of like it's it's kind
(07:38):
of like not pushing us to getthere, but it's um inspiring us
to find contentment in what isthe right now.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yes, the here and the now and you know I think
sometimes for me I talk aboutthis a lot is where you know
you'll be going throughsomething that might be
challenging.
And you know I feel likesometimes it's some people that
you speak to or confide in, likeone of the things that really
(08:08):
is an ick for me is toxicpositivity.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
So I think anyone who's listened to the podcast
before knows this.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
So I think, like, yes , it is so important to find
that happiness or thatcontentment in the present
moment and to always besearching for that, but allow
space for both, and like justknow, you have the wisdom and
the capacity to hold both hardthings and happy things at the
same time, and I think thatthat's kind of like for me.
(08:39):
That's what Santosha means forme.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Yes, and for me, like I was one of those people who,
like I, would see the bigpicture goal and like if I
wasn't get and still sometimes Ican be this way and if I'm not
getting to that big picture goalfast enough or on the timeline
that I think it should be on,like it does disrupt that, that
present moment contentment.
(09:04):
And, yes, you want to keep thatbig goal in mind, but it
shouldn't sway you one way oranother from feeling like
present or happy and contentwith where you are right now.
And and I think this is a goodreminder because so many of us
are like, oh, I'll be happy whenX Y Z, I'll feel more at peace
(09:28):
when X Y Z.
And it's like no, like, even ifyou're in your busiest season,
like you can find that present,that contentment in the right
now, like there's a reasonyou're in this space yeah,
totally and then we move intoday eight tapas discipline yes,
(09:50):
here we are, we've arrived sodiscipline is so important in
the yoga practice.
It's its own, it's its own thingit is its own thing.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
It's I think it's a lot of it, too is like this
personal dedication to your owngrowth and you know if you feel
like you're falling off course.
Yeah, you like that.
Perseverance that's a word thatcomes to mind when I think
about tapas is, you know, howcan you push through challenges
(10:24):
and maintain your commitment?
You know, and this one can alsotoo you can, you can even bring
this onto the mat.
This is a good one.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yes, good one, I know on and off the mat, like I
think I talked about it in ourlast episode, but you know I
have the same students lateevery time, like 10 minutes late
every single time.
It's like you're 10 minuteslate for a 60 minute class.
Now you've cut your practicedown to 50 minutes.
You're disrupting the classwhich, yes, the practice.
(10:53):
The other practitioners shouldbe practicing yoga and shouldn't
be swayed by that.
But it's a respect thing forthe people around you.
It's honoring other people'stime, which we talked about in
the yamas um and just havingthat discipline of like I'm
management, like if you're, ifyou're one of those people who
(11:14):
are always consistently late,it's like it's not a thing that
holds you in one direction.
It's like you are always late.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, there's a time management problem there yes, I
have a lot to work on with thisone especially.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
This is something I work on too, because, you know,
I come from an Italian Europeanfamily who, it's like what is
time, which like, yes, what istime, but like also having
integrity and honoring otherpeople's time exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I that's.
I feel very similar because Ilive in Panama and here it's
called Latino time, like if youyou can say, come over to my
house for coffee at 10 am andanywhere between 9, 30 and 2 pm,
you've got to have the kettleon because you just, you never
know Like I remember when Iwould run meetings, I would tell
(12:05):
people to get there two hoursbefore I would actually even
show up because I just knew.
So it's like honoring not justyour own time and energy, but
the people around you.
Yes, and even just having thediscipline to make the time and
space for the practice, like youknow, taking it just back to
(12:29):
the physical practice, whichobviously we want to go beyond
that, but like, if you don'tmake time for that physical
practice and being there, beingpresent, like that is part of
discipline too yeah, and youthis is like I was saying, like
this is a good one to take onand off the mat, like if you're
working towards a specific asanathat you want to, you know, be
(12:51):
able to practice more often, youhave to keep practicing.
You have to be disciplinedenough to keep practicing and to
have that make to make the timeto practice physically and you
will get there.
It's like riding a bike.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yes, you're not just gonna like get up on two wheels
one day.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
No, so discipline tapa, thank you.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Thank you.
Day nine we're coming intoSvadhyaya, which I love.
This is self-study and likethis could be part of like.
If the physical practice ofyoga is not for you, you can
still practice yoga by observingand participating in self-study
.
And this one is a big one for mebecause obviously, as you know,
like I did the self-studythrough break method, which I
(13:46):
think is an amazing tool.
It's like another 30 day kindof guided journaling journey,
and I think that's a great way,like if you're curious about
just diving deeper intoself-awareness and how you show
up in the world and being thebest version of yourself.
(14:07):
Like I think self-study is sucha great place to start.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
It's huge.
It's for me too.
I feel very, very stronglyabout this as well and I think
the reason why I obviously Iheard about break method through
you and I went through it and Ithink the reason why I was very
dedicated to go through it wasbecause I was an amount of time
(14:32):
and place where I need to takepersonal risk.
You know, radical personalresponsibility for myself,
recognizing the patterns likethere might be some patterns in
your life that you don't evenrecognize and to be able to have
someone to guide you through it, to be like holy shit.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, it's a deep look inward and sometimes like
that's really hard to look at,like the not so pretty parts of
yourself, yeah, and, but it'sokay, and I think that that's
part of the process.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
You know, if you can't take an honest look at
yourself in the mirror, thenwhat are you doing?
You know?
I think that that's it's onlygoing to make you a better
person, I think, you know.
And just continuing thatintrospection and that study and
(15:23):
self-reflection, yeah, it's onething, of course, to write in a
journal, but, like, can youtake action on those patterns
that you keep repeating, thatare holding you back or keeping
you, you know, in fear?
Stop satire yeah, yeah, and Ithink too, like, if that is
(15:44):
there, I think there's also tooanother way to look at this
self-study.
You know, you don't have tonecessarily be so.
I mean you can also use this.
You can use maybe like sacredtexts to also help you.
You know, like for the Biblebible it might be for some
people, um, a course in miraclesis another great book to help
(16:07):
through.
You know, just just texts thathelp you.
Aid in self-discovery, I think,is another way you could
practice this niyama for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
And then that moves us into day 10, surrender.
I am going.
I'm so sorry I'm gonnaabsolutely butcher the Sanskrit
on this one.
It is such a long word.
Um, it's Ishvara Pranidhana.
Yeah, that's great.
I've heard it pronounced like abunch of different ways.
(16:40):
That is like how it's spelled,so if I'm wrong, please like
correct me um but this is justsurrender, trusting the divine,
trusting the flow, and I thinkthis is just such an important
life lesson that I think allhumans learn, whether they
practice yoga or not, whetherthey're spiritual or not.
(17:01):
Like you, have to learn tosurrender, um knowing that
sometimes there's a bigger planat play.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Yeah, which is really hard.
Yeah, it's really hard.
I feel like there's, you know,sometimes there's a, there's
this pendulum where you canswing from fear to faith, and
sometimes I kind of, just when Ifall into the trap of not being
able to commit to thatsurrender, I'm like, okay, where
(17:32):
am I operating here on thispendulum, and how can I get
closer to the faith side insurrendering side and
surrendering um, just aligningyour actions with knowing that
there's a bigger, a higher powerof your, of your understanding.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
And this always reminds me of, like you know,
going back to my religious roots.
I guess um of like giving yourfear to God, giving your angst
and anxiety to god, like this,is always a reminder of that,
because not everything is in ourcontrol and when we worry and
stress about things that aren'tin our control, we're like just
(18:11):
prolonging and, um, likedeepening our suffering.
So sometimes, instead of theworry, the fear, you have to
just surrender and and trust yes, yeah and yes, ma'am I think
(18:32):
that's pretty much where we canwrap it up today, unless you
want.
Is there anything else you wantto say about the niyamas?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I don't think so.
I think that the niyamas arequite I don't want to say
self-explanatory, but I feellike they're.
You know, I'm I feel, I feelgood about that.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I feel about what we shared and for people to take
what we shared into their owninterpretation and then take
this into the challenge or intoyour daily life, off the mat
onto the mat yes, I'm excited tosee how everyone, um, how
everyone's perspective is on onthese topics, like I think it's
really interesting to seebecause, like we said in the
(19:12):
last episode, like this is a 5000 year old practice, and like
it's fun to see how people bringit into the modern world
teachers and students alike yeah, yeah, because we all have
different perspectives, we allhave different lives, and I love
seeing how it's showing up fordifferent, for different people
and participants and, yeah, Ikeep it going.
(19:35):
I'm excited, thank you so thisis week two, the Niyamas, and
then next week we'll be slidinginto Asana and Pranayama, which,
um, that's what, uh, we, wetalk about the most when we talk
about modern yoga or like in inthe modern yoga world.
(19:56):
So, um, that will be next weekand, yeah, I can't believe we're
already like halfway throughthis challenge.
It's so crazy.
I know it feels good, it feelsgreat.
I'm so glad we decided to dothis.
Me too.
It's a good reminder for myself, like to come back to these
practices where they kind oflike you've been practicing for
(20:18):
so long, sometimes they um, notthat they slip your mind, like
you get into these grooves andit just it does become a way of
life, but just a little reminderof like why we do these things.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Is is nice yeah, yeah , I agree, I think just kind of
bringing it back to the surface,bringing it, you know it's
there, it's there for sure,especially after going through a
YTT, you know, or justcontinuously practicing, it's
good to bring it back up to thesurface and have it, you know,
on the front burner, if you will, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
And I think, even even for asana.
You know, I talked about thisin my yoga classes yesterday.
Like, I think, most people whohave been practicing for a long
time, like they even lose it inthe asana.
I know that personally.
Like you tend to rest in yourflexibility.
You're just like flowingthrough mindlessly, You're just
like not fully present.
So it's nice to have thesereminders of like oh yeah, bring
(21:16):
it back to the beginning.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Totally yeah, and just always be a student.
I think both you and I agree onthat and I think that there's,
you know, always room forimprovement and learning.
So yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Thank you.
Thank you for joining me todayand, um, stay tuned for next
week.
We'll go through next week'spractice, so there'll be two
more episodes that coincide withthe challenge.
You don't have to be in thechallenge to listen to them, but
it's a good.
It's a good reminder and ifyou're yoga curious, this is a
(21:51):
great way to dive in.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Totally.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Thank you, d, for joining me and thank you all so
much for tuning into today'sepisode of the nearly
enlightened podcast.
If this conversation resonatedwith you, I would love it if you
shared it.
Leave a review or reach out andlet me know your thoughts.
And if you're looking for moreways to deepen your connection
to body, mind and spirit, checkout my Meditate to Elevate
portal, my guided meditationportal, or visit
(22:16):
nearlyenlightenedcom for moreresources.
Until next time, stay curious,stay connected and remember the
answers already lie within.
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