Episode 30: Leila Stuart – Somatics, Surrender, and the Wisdom of Living with Chronic Illness

Dr. Steffany Moonaz welcomes Leila Stuart—clinical massage therapist, yoga teacher, and somatic educator—who shares her deeply personal journey of navigating psoriatic arthritis and chronic fatigue while continuing to teach, learn, and live fully.

With decades of experience teaching embodied movement and leading innovative yoga trainings, Leila brings a profound understanding of somatic reprogramming, self-agency, and healing from within.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Her winding road to a rheumatic disease diagnosis

• How somatic practices helped her rebuild trust with her body and participate actively in her healing

• The power of non-physical yoga practices—meditation, breathwork, and Yoga Nidra—during times of deep physical limitation

• Navigating the conventional medical system alongside alternative paths, including the Marshall Protocol, Ayurvedic medicine, and Panchakarma

• What it means to negotiate care with a rheumatologist and advocate for your own body’s truth

• Spoon theory and the right use of energy

• Letting go of identity, practicing non-attachment, and reaching the threshold of surrender when living with a chronic condition

Leila’s story is not just about illness—it’s about presence, practice, and reclaiming the wisdom of the body.

Her words remind us: “It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it… and can you bring all of you to it?”

Whether you're a yoga professional, healthcare provider, or someone living with arthritis or chronic pain, this episode offers insight, compassion, and inspiration.

About Leila:

Leila Stuart BA, LLB, C-IAYT, is a Registered Massage Therapist (retired) and has practiced and taught yoga for over 40 years. A warm and compassionate teacher, she offers accessible teachings on experiential anatomy, movement repatterning and embodiment of the deeper teachings of yoga as pathways to self-healing.

With a deep love and intuitive knowledge of experiential anatomy, Leila specializes in transforming academic information into somatic awareness and life changing experience. She is the author of Pathways to a Centered Body, co-authored with Donna Farhi, The Great Yoga Handbook, and Experiential Anatomy, Therapeutic Applications of Embodied Movement and Awareness. Leila teaches in Canada and internationally.

Show Notes:

• To learn more about Leila visit her website: https://leilastuart.com/
• Ayurveda Course, Intro Into Ayurveda https://yoga-for-arthritis.thinkific.com/courses/intro-to-ayurveda
• 200hr Come As You Are Yoga Teacher Training Beginning January 8th: https://yoga-for-arthritis.thinkific.com/courses/hybrid-online-yoga-for-arthritis-200-hour-yoga-teacher-training
• Experiential Anatomy by Leila Stuart https://amzn.to/3IQah0Y
• Pathways to a Centered Body: Gentle Yoga Therapy for Core Stability, Healing Back Pain, and Moving With Ease By Leila Stuart and Donna Farhi: https://amzn.to/45olIpg