September 25, 2025 • 24 mins
How I have shifted my Yin Yoga practice and teachings for bodies over 40.
Resources:
The SolefulYin Yoga App: https://solefulyin.com/app
Courses and Series for Bodies 40+ https://solefulyin.com/courses
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Hey, hey, Yenning at Life Gang. It's Kimberly Roberts, your host
here, and I'm so excited to deliver little bits of insight
on living your best, most extraordinary life with, of
course, yen yoga, traditional Chinese medicine, reflexology,
(00:22):
and even mindset acts. So thank you so much for
pressing play on today's episode.
Let's do this well, hello, everybody, and welcome to
another episode of the Yinning at Life podcast.
I'm so seriously happy you are here today because I want to
(00:46):
talk about something that I think is really going to hit
with a lot of people, especiallyif you're over the age of 40.
So let's be real here for a second.
Life after 40 feels different, doesn't it?
I mean, I don't mean it's bad different.
(01:08):
I mean the kind of different where one morning you wake up
and you realize, oh, like my body isn't bouncing back quite
the way it used to. Like I remember like hacking in
my university days, like I wouldgo to school all day and then,
you know, afterwards we would, you know, do some partying and
(01:32):
stuff like that. I could eat like a whole pizza
and like a pint or two or three beers and literally go to bed 5
minutes later and crash and sleep for like 3 hours and then
get up the next day and just do it all over again.
And I would just spring out of bed, right?
(01:56):
But now it's like those late nights got food at the last
minute. My joints when I'm getting out
of bed, not the same, not the same at all.
And also, let's talk about the mind chatter.
(02:16):
Like, suddenly, you know, your brain starts to get busier than
ever, and it doesn't always wantto shut down when you're trying
to rest, right? Like, if you ever had those
nights where it's like, I'm so tired.
So you crawl into bed and you'reliterally staring at the
ceiling. And it's like, I can't sleep.
(02:38):
My mind is just rattling, right?And you know what?
This is all OK. This is normal.
This is part of this season of our life.
I often call the generation over40 as like the sandwich
generation. I mean, not everybody, but a lot
(02:59):
of the people in this category still have kids and they have
aging parents and they're in themiddle.
And so it's like, OK, well, I'm trying to navigate my own, my
own life, my own self-care, my work, you know, personal
responsibilities. Then I've got my kids and then
I've got aging parents that I'm concerned that I have to take
care of. Right.
(03:20):
But here's the important thing. Just because you're getting
older doesn't mean you're declining.
It doesn't mean game over. Like it's just that you know
what it means that your body andyour mind are inviting you into
a new way of living. That's all it is.
And it's just basically adjusting to that.
(03:43):
So that's what kind of what I want to talk to you guys about
today. And, you know, just like grab
yourself a latte or a tea or, you know, a kombucha, whatever.
And I want to talk about this stage of life and I also want to
tie in how I have personally myself found yin yoga, breath
(04:07):
work, meditation, acupressure, and even reflexology, they've
all been gold. Like literally not even gold.
Like let's talk platinum here for navigating my 40s like and
beyond with more ease, more energy, and honestly, like a lot
(04:27):
more joy. Because let's face it, when we
get older, like we, we want to be living our best life like, so
I want to tell you a little story, a turning point for me.
So when I hit my 40s, I kept trying to do the same things
that worked when I was in my 20sand 30s, right?
(04:49):
Like the intense high impact workouts, late nights of just
pushing through, right? Living on adrenaline and in the
corporate world, just doing and doing and doing and doing.
(05:10):
And for a while, you know what? It worked.
I thought, OK, I've still got this.
I can still do this. So what?
I'm 42 years old, who cares? I'm indestructible.
This is what I thought, right? But slowly, it was very, very
slow. I started noticing some things
(05:31):
wasn't sleeping as deeply. I'd wake up, you know, 1 to 3:00
AM, which if you know, in traditional Chinese medicine is
liver Meridian time. And I'd wake up feeling stiff in
my body, like not quite like wake up.
And I felt like a tin man, but Iwas still like, wow, like things
are a little tight. Stressed seemed to stick around
(05:56):
longer than it used to. Like I would stress about stuff
and it'd be like 3 days of stressing about it.
And I thought, is this, is this how it's going to be from now
on? Is this how my life is going to
be? And then I kind of had like a
light bulb moment here. My body wasn't breaking down.
(06:20):
My body was just aging. Like all of our bodies age like
there is no miraculous cure out there yet for reversing the
aging process. We can certainly slow it down,
but we can't reverse it yet. But my body was just asking for
something different. It didn't want me to push harder
anymore. It wanted me to soften.
(06:42):
It wanted me to listen. It wanted me to care for it in a
whole new way. And this is where I completely
transformed my yin yoga practice.
Now, if you don't know me, I've been practicing yin yoga for
over 30 years. So I started well, well, like
(07:03):
when I was like, you know, late teens, early 20s.
And I've been teaching yin for over 20 years.
And I will tell you that my practice has changed
dramatically because my body is changing.
So for example, like I'm very flexible and I also am very
(07:28):
hyper mobile in my joints. So when I was younger, I was a
gymnast and a ballet dancer. So the flexibility was awesome.
But as I started getting older, I started to realize that my
joints weren't as happy and I was experiencing like atrophy in
(07:51):
my muscles. So weakness and my yin
practices, yin practice was actually making it worse.
What I needed to do was I neededto start strengthening my body.
So I started to do weight lifting, resistance training.
I fell in love with bar. If you've ever done bar, it's
(08:12):
like low impact, high reps of, you know, weight lifting
repetitions. And it was a game changer for my
body in terms of like making it more stable and strong so that
as I was aging, I wasn't fallingapart in my joints and in my
muscles. But on the flip side of that, my
(08:34):
body started getting tighter, right because it's getting
stronger. So I literally over the course
of like a couple of months went from being Uber flexible to like
super tight. And I was like, OK, this is like
not the way to go. I need to find a happy medium.
So this is where in my yen practice, I started to prop
(08:58):
more. I mean, the way I teach yen,
it's always not about how it looks.
It's about how does it feel in your body, right?
So, So what you have to prop more, you get a better
experience out of the practice anyway.
And not only do you get a betterexperience because you're not
(09:18):
trying to push through it, but your body is softening more
because there's less resistance.And it was literally like a
pause button that I was turning on this slowing down, holding
things more gently, using props and allowing my body to open up
(09:41):
was game changing. And because yin yoga targets
deep connective tissue like fascia, the joints and the
ligaments, these are exact partsof our body that start needing
extra love after 40, right? And that's what I was really
noticing was that, OK, I'm not, I don't have to give up yin.
(10:04):
Of course I'm going to stay withmy yin practice.
Like I mean, my God, like I'd, I'd be lost without yin here,
but it was like I just need to tweak it a little bit.
It's kind of like giving oil to the creaky door hinge, right?
Like my joints were feeling kindof creaky because I was also
strengthening and tightening my body, which I need to do as I
(10:26):
get older. But I was like, well, I still
need to be flexible because you know, too strong and too tight
is not good. Too flexible and too weak is not
good. You need like that happy medium.
But in shifting my in practice, you know what else I started to
notice that was seriously so cool was that my nervous system
(10:49):
regulation was unreal. Like instead of it being like it
takes me now like an hour to an hour and a half to decompress in
a in practice, I could decompress in 5-10 or even 15
minutes. And I was like, whoa.
(11:10):
Like after a 15 minute practice.Now after even a 5 minute yen
practice or breath work or meditation, I can literally
shift my nervous system. It is so amazing.
And I remember thinking, Oh my God, like this, just this is the
(11:32):
way it's, it can be. Even though my body is aging and
let's be real, here in society, there is still a lot of stigma
around aging, right? And I just think that that's a
bunch of crap because the reality is everybody is aging,
(11:52):
right? And everybody's body is changing
and everybody's mind is changing, and we have to find a
way to shut off that overactive mind and to soothe that
overstimulated nervous system and to release all that tension
(12:17):
in our body. Now, the next part of my journey
that I want to talk about is breath work.
Like seriously, people like, I mean, I've always done breath
work, but then it was like, oh, there's breath work and then
there's breath work. And listen, I'll be honest, I
(12:39):
was doing breath work before, but not with the same kind of
intention as I am now. So you know that most of us
spend our days chest breathing, right?
Staying in that stressed out flight or fright mode without
even realizing it. That's the sad part is that we
don't even realize we're there because that has become the
(13:02):
normal way of being. But when you take time for deep,
slow, intentional breathing, like I'm talking about inhaling
through the nose and then exhaling through the mouth, it's
like telling your body, hey, you're so safe.
(13:27):
You can relax now. You can let go of all this
stuff. And here's the crazy thing, it
works almost instantly. A few rounds of deep belly
breaths where literally you're inhaling through the nose for
maybe like 4 or 5 or 6 counts, and then you're exhaling through
(13:48):
an open mouth. Maybe you're even like, like
making a sigh or some kind of sound and it's literally like
your shoulders drop, your heart slows down, your mind starts to
get quiet. And I'll tell you, after 40 when
the stress hormones do a real number on our bodies and women
(14:12):
here listening, you know what I'm talking about, that
perimenopause shifting into menopause state.
Breath work becomes so simple. It's free.
It's always an available tool toreset.
It's kind of like a portable space and a portable place of
peace that you can tap into anytime.
(14:36):
Like seriously, like you could be sitting at your desk and
you'll be like, I'm just going to pause here for a second.
I'm going to take 4 deep inhalesthrough my nose and I'm going to
take 4 deep exhales through my mouth.
Boom, right there. So now let's shift.
I want to talk about meditation because who here doesn't have
(14:59):
the rambling rattle around hamster on a wheel mindset,
right? And I'll tell you that there is
still a little bit of stigma around what meditation means,
right? People think it's like, oh, I'm
going to sit in a cross legged position, total silence and then
empty mind. And I'm just going to be like,
Oh well, I'll tell you it doesn't work that way.
(15:24):
First of all, your brain is not meant to shut down completely.
OK? It's literally hardwired for
thought. But here's the truth.
Meditation isn't about change, about stopping your thoughts.
It's about noticing them and realizing you don't have to
(15:45):
follow every single thought thatcomes in.
Think of it kind of like a car passing by on the highway.
You can just sit on the side of the road and let them go by
instead of chasing one down, right?
Like, how many times have I caught myself in a thought?
And I'm like, what? I'm like, I don't have to
(16:06):
believe that. No goodbye, move on.
And for me now, meditation, I mean, meditation has always been
important to me, but now even more so.
It's been one of the most powerful ways to bring peace
into my life, right? Like, and it's again, it's
simple, just put on some music. I mean, on my app, the Soulful
(16:32):
Yin Yoga app, I have a section for that's just for audios.
I mean, I have lots of breath work and meditations, but I also
have a section that's just audios where literally you could
put your headphones or your earbuds in and just tune into
the music and just listen and absorb the vibration of the
(16:54):
music and allow it to move through your body and calm you
down. And then, you know, like even
with acupressure and reflexology, which I have on my
app as well, I blend a lot of myyin yoga practices in there with
acupressure. And then I have a whole section
just on reflexology. I mean, I'm still developing
(17:15):
that section, but it's coming along quite nicely.
And these tools too, with the meditation have helped me
basically heal my body. I mean, if you know anything
about my healing story, I was, you know, you can go back and
take a look right at the beginning of my podcast where I
(17:36):
talk about my healing crisis that I had.
And I will tell you that all of these modalities have been like
game changing and life transformative and helping me
heal my body. And what I love about all of
(17:57):
these practices, all these modalities, is that they're so
accessible. You don't need fancy equipment.
You don't need an hour of time. You just need like a couple of
blocks, a strap or a belt or a scarf.
You don't even need any fancy Lululemon clothes.
Just put on your favorite sweatsand hop on that yoga mat.
(18:19):
And if you don't know how reflexology and acupressure
work, if you're kind of new to those, let me just tell you that
using your own hands to connect with your body and to connect
with your energy is wild. Like acupressure works just like
acupuncture, right? Like you're pressing on certain
(18:41):
points, Meridian points along the a specific Meridian channel
and you're basically, you know, moving energy and bringing the
body back into balance. It's so easy to do on yourself
and I love incorporating it in with the end because it just
(19:01):
makes it a more amplified practice.
Now, if you're new to reflexology, this works with
both hands and feet, but I work with the feet where we have all
of these incredible reflex points that link to every part
of your body. So you know, you want to improve
liver function like there's a point for that.
(19:26):
And I will tell you that I, I call it feet playing, but it's
not really feet playing. But when you are stimulating a
point on your foot and you do this before you go to bed, it
can seriously calm down your nervous system and help you get
a better sleep. It can even help you ease
anxiety, support digestion, release tension.
(19:51):
And it's kind of like you're discovering your own body with a
built in toolbox and you just needed the map.
And basically I'll tell you I'm the map.
So it's super, it's super cool. And.
You know, when you bring all of these practices together, yen,
breath work, meditation, acupressure, reflexology, it's
(20:14):
not that you're just helping your body stay flexible or your
mind stay calm. You're creating a whole
lifestyle that supports you as you age.
And especially preventative. I think of it as preventative
medicine, right? And I want to emphasize that
(20:36):
aging doesn't mean declining. It just means shifting.
It means learning to care for yourself in ways that are
different than what you've been used to in the past.
There's nothing wrong with that.And what's the play?
Pay off of all of that? Well, more energy, more peace,
more freedom in your body and inyour life, More joy in your
(20:57):
days, more passion. Because let's face it, when you
feel good, life is more fun, right?
And honestly, this is how I've been living for years.
And This is why I created my app, because I know what it's
like to work with these tools and I know the impact that they
(21:19):
have. But I also know a lot of people
are like, well, I don't have these tools and I have no idea
where to start. And some people are even like,
well, to feel like me, I have tohave hours to devote into
practice. No, you don't.
That's why my app is designed for busy people over the age of
(21:40):
40. Whether you got 5 minutes, 15
minutes or an hour, you will find yin yoga classes, breath
work, meditations, step by step,reflexology, acupressure.
You can practice as much as you want as long as you want or as
little as you want. But everything that Ioffer in
(22:02):
there fits into what I call reallife.
Even on your busiest days. And here's the best part, you
can try my entire app, get unlimited content to all my
videos, my audios. I even have yin yoga series up
there for seven days free. Seven days free.
(22:24):
No pressure, no strings attached.
Just a chance for you to feel yourself in a much more calmer,
more flexible, and more energized state of being.
Because let's face it, at the end of the day, it's not about
talking about these practices. It's actually about embodying
(22:46):
them, right? So here's my encouragement for
you. Just pick one little thing
today. Maybe you're going to just lie
down in a simple yin pose for 5 minutes.
Maybe you're going to take 10 deep breaths before your next
meeting. Maybe you're going to press on
(23:08):
your big toe, which is the brainreflex point.
Before you go to bed tonight, I will tell you that all these
little choices, they start to add up.
They compound, there's a ripple effect, and they become your way
of telling your body and your mind.
You know what, I've got you. I'm taking care of you.
(23:30):
Life after 40 doesn't mean you're slowing down.
It just means you're showing up differently.
You've got way more wisdom, far more compassion, and more tools
in your pocket than ever before,right?
So thanks so much for hanging out with me today and press and
(23:52):
play on this episode. If you really want to dive
deeper and explore practices foryourself, I'd love to see you
inside the Soulful Yin Yoga app.It is the number one yin yoga
app for over 40. You get 7 days free unlimited
access. It's all waiting for you.
(24:12):
I'll link it all up in the show notes.
So until next time, folks, take a deep breath, be gentle with
yourself and no exactly where you're meant to be.
Hey, hey, Yenning at Life Gang. It's Kimberly Roberts, your host
here, and I'm so excited to deliver little bits of insight
on living your best, most extraordinary life with, of
course, yen yoga, traditional Chinese medicine, reflexology,
(00:22):
and even mindset acts. So thank you so much for
pressing play on today's episode.
Let's do this well, hello, everybody, and welcome to
another episode of the Yinning at Life podcast.
I'm so seriously happy you are here today because I want to
(00:46):
talk about something that I think is really going to hit
with a lot of people, especiallyif you're over the age of 40.
So let's be real here for a second.
Life after 40 feels different, doesn't it?
I mean, I don't mean it's bad different.
(01:08):
I mean the kind of different where one morning you wake up
and you realize, oh, like my body isn't bouncing back quite
the way it used to. Like I remember like hacking in
my university days, like I wouldgo to school all day and then,
you know, afterwards we would, you know, do some partying and
(01:32):
stuff like that. I could eat like a whole pizza
and like a pint or two or three beers and literally go to bed 5
minutes later and crash and sleep for like 3 hours and then
get up the next day and just do it all over again.
And I would just spring out of bed, right?
(01:56):
But now it's like those late nights got food at the last
minute. My joints when I'm getting out
of bed, not the same, not the same at all.
And also, let's talk about the mind chatter.
(02:16):
Like, suddenly, you know, your brain starts to get busier than
ever, and it doesn't always wantto shut down when you're trying
to rest, right? Like, if you ever had those
nights where it's like, I'm so tired.
So you crawl into bed and you'reliterally staring at the
ceiling. And it's like, I can't sleep.
(02:38):
My mind is just rattling, right?And you know what?
This is all OK. This is normal.
This is part of this season of our life.
I often call the generation over40 as like the sandwich
generation. I mean, not everybody, but a lot
(02:59):
of the people in this category still have kids and they have
aging parents and they're in themiddle.
And so it's like, OK, well, I'm trying to navigate my own, my
own life, my own self-care, my work, you know, personal
responsibilities. Then I've got my kids and then
I've got aging parents that I'm concerned that I have to take
care of. Right.
(03:20):
But here's the important thing. Just because you're getting
older doesn't mean you're declining.
It doesn't mean game over. Like it's just that you know
what it means that your body andyour mind are inviting you into
a new way of living. That's all it is.
And it's just basically adjusting to that.
(03:43):
So that's what kind of what I want to talk to you guys about
today. And, you know, just like grab
yourself a latte or a tea or, you know, a kombucha, whatever.
And I want to talk about this stage of life and I also want to
tie in how I have personally myself found yin yoga, breath
(04:07):
work, meditation, acupressure, and even reflexology, they've
all been gold. Like literally not even gold.
Like let's talk platinum here for navigating my 40s like and
beyond with more ease, more energy, and honestly, like a lot
(04:27):
more joy. Because let's face it, when we
get older, like we, we want to be living our best life like, so
I want to tell you a little story, a turning point for me.
So when I hit my 40s, I kept trying to do the same things
that worked when I was in my 20sand 30s, right?
(04:49):
Like the intense high impact workouts, late nights of just
pushing through, right? Living on adrenaline and in the
corporate world, just doing and doing and doing and doing.
(05:10):
And for a while, you know what? It worked.
I thought, OK, I've still got this.
I can still do this. So what?
I'm 42 years old, who cares? I'm indestructible.
This is what I thought, right? But slowly, it was very, very
slow. I started noticing some things
(05:31):
wasn't sleeping as deeply. I'd wake up, you know, 1 to 3:00
AM, which if you know, in traditional Chinese medicine is
liver Meridian time. And I'd wake up feeling stiff in
my body, like not quite like wake up.
And I felt like a tin man, but Iwas still like, wow, like things
are a little tight. Stressed seemed to stick around
(05:56):
longer than it used to. Like I would stress about stuff
and it'd be like 3 days of stressing about it.
And I thought, is this, is this how it's going to be from now
on? Is this how my life is going to
be? And then I kind of had like a
light bulb moment here. My body wasn't breaking down.
(06:20):
My body was just aging. Like all of our bodies age like
there is no miraculous cure out there yet for reversing the
aging process. We can certainly slow it down,
but we can't reverse it yet. But my body was just asking for
something different. It didn't want me to push harder
anymore. It wanted me to soften.
(06:42):
It wanted me to listen. It wanted me to care for it in a
whole new way. And this is where I completely
transformed my yin yoga practice.
Now, if you don't know me, I've been practicing yin yoga for
over 30 years. So I started well, well, like
(07:03):
when I was like, you know, late teens, early 20s.
And I've been teaching yin for over 20 years.
And I will tell you that my practice has changed
dramatically because my body is changing.
So for example, like I'm very flexible and I also am very
(07:28):
hyper mobile in my joints. So when I was younger, I was a
gymnast and a ballet dancer. So the flexibility was awesome.
But as I started getting older, I started to realize that my
joints weren't as happy and I was experiencing like atrophy in
(07:51):
my muscles. So weakness and my yin
practices, yin practice was actually making it worse.
What I needed to do was I neededto start strengthening my body.
So I started to do weight lifting, resistance training.
I fell in love with bar. If you've ever done bar, it's
(08:12):
like low impact, high reps of, you know, weight lifting
repetitions. And it was a game changer for my
body in terms of like making it more stable and strong so that
as I was aging, I wasn't fallingapart in my joints and in my
muscles. But on the flip side of that, my
(08:34):
body started getting tighter, right because it's getting
stronger. So I literally over the course
of like a couple of months went from being Uber flexible to like
super tight. And I was like, OK, this is like
not the way to go. I need to find a happy medium.
So this is where in my yen practice, I started to prop
(08:58):
more. I mean, the way I teach yen,
it's always not about how it looks.
It's about how does it feel in your body, right?
So, So what you have to prop more, you get a better
experience out of the practice anyway.
And not only do you get a betterexperience because you're not
(09:18):
trying to push through it, but your body is softening more
because there's less resistance.And it was literally like a
pause button that I was turning on this slowing down, holding
things more gently, using props and allowing my body to open up
(09:41):
was game changing. And because yin yoga targets
deep connective tissue like fascia, the joints and the
ligaments, these are exact partsof our body that start needing
extra love after 40, right? And that's what I was really
noticing was that, OK, I'm not, I don't have to give up yin.
(10:04):
Of course I'm going to stay withmy yin practice.
Like I mean, my God, like I'd, I'd be lost without yin here,
but it was like I just need to tweak it a little bit.
It's kind of like giving oil to the creaky door hinge, right?
Like my joints were feeling kindof creaky because I was also
strengthening and tightening my body, which I need to do as I
(10:26):
get older. But I was like, well, I still
need to be flexible because you know, too strong and too tight
is not good. Too flexible and too weak is not
good. You need like that happy medium.
But in shifting my in practice, you know what else I started to
notice that was seriously so cool was that my nervous system
(10:49):
regulation was unreal. Like instead of it being like it
takes me now like an hour to an hour and a half to decompress in
a in practice, I could decompress in 5-10 or even 15
minutes. And I was like, whoa.
(11:10):
Like after a 15 minute practice.Now after even a 5 minute yen
practice or breath work or meditation, I can literally
shift my nervous system. It is so amazing.
And I remember thinking, Oh my God, like this, just this is the
(11:32):
way it's, it can be. Even though my body is aging and
let's be real, here in society, there is still a lot of stigma
around aging, right? And I just think that that's a
bunch of crap because the reality is everybody is aging,
(11:52):
right? And everybody's body is changing
and everybody's mind is changing, and we have to find a
way to shut off that overactive mind and to soothe that
overstimulated nervous system and to release all that tension
(12:17):
in our body. Now, the next part of my journey
that I want to talk about is breath work.
Like seriously, people like, I mean, I've always done breath
work, but then it was like, oh, there's breath work and then
there's breath work. And listen, I'll be honest, I
(12:39):
was doing breath work before, but not with the same kind of
intention as I am now. So you know that most of us
spend our days chest breathing, right?
Staying in that stressed out flight or fright mode without
even realizing it. That's the sad part is that we
don't even realize we're there because that has become the
(13:02):
normal way of being. But when you take time for deep,
slow, intentional breathing, like I'm talking about inhaling
through the nose and then exhaling through the mouth, it's
like telling your body, hey, you're so safe.
(13:27):
You can relax now. You can let go of all this
stuff. And here's the crazy thing, it
works almost instantly. A few rounds of deep belly
breaths where literally you're inhaling through the nose for
maybe like 4 or 5 or 6 counts, and then you're exhaling through
(13:48):
an open mouth. Maybe you're even like, like
making a sigh or some kind of sound and it's literally like
your shoulders drop, your heart slows down, your mind starts to
get quiet. And I'll tell you, after 40 when
the stress hormones do a real number on our bodies and women
(14:12):
here listening, you know what I'm talking about, that
perimenopause shifting into menopause state.
Breath work becomes so simple. It's free.
It's always an available tool toreset.
It's kind of like a portable space and a portable place of
peace that you can tap into anytime.
(14:36):
Like seriously, like you could be sitting at your desk and
you'll be like, I'm just going to pause here for a second.
I'm going to take 4 deep inhalesthrough my nose and I'm going to
take 4 deep exhales through my mouth.
Boom, right there. So now let's shift.
I want to talk about meditation because who here doesn't have
(14:59):
the rambling rattle around hamster on a wheel mindset,
right? And I'll tell you that there is
still a little bit of stigma around what meditation means,
right? People think it's like, oh, I'm
going to sit in a cross legged position, total silence and then
empty mind. And I'm just going to be like,
Oh well, I'll tell you it doesn't work that way.
(15:24):
First of all, your brain is not meant to shut down completely.
OK? It's literally hardwired for
thought. But here's the truth.
Meditation isn't about change, about stopping your thoughts.
It's about noticing them and realizing you don't have to
(15:45):
follow every single thought thatcomes in.
Think of it kind of like a car passing by on the highway.
You can just sit on the side of the road and let them go by
instead of chasing one down, right?
Like, how many times have I caught myself in a thought?
And I'm like, what? I'm like, I don't have to
(16:06):
believe that. No goodbye, move on.
And for me now, meditation, I mean, meditation has always been
important to me, but now even more so.
It's been one of the most powerful ways to bring peace
into my life, right? Like, and it's again, it's
simple, just put on some music. I mean, on my app, the Soulful
(16:32):
Yin Yoga app, I have a section for that's just for audios.
I mean, I have lots of breath work and meditations, but I also
have a section that's just audios where literally you could
put your headphones or your earbuds in and just tune into
the music and just listen and absorb the vibration of the
(16:54):
music and allow it to move through your body and calm you
down. And then, you know, like even
with acupressure and reflexology, which I have on my
app as well, I blend a lot of myyin yoga practices in there with
acupressure. And then I have a whole section
just on reflexology. I mean, I'm still developing
(17:15):
that section, but it's coming along quite nicely.
And these tools too, with the meditation have helped me
basically heal my body. I mean, if you know anything
about my healing story, I was, you know, you can go back and
take a look right at the beginning of my podcast where I
(17:36):
talk about my healing crisis that I had.
And I will tell you that all of these modalities have been like
game changing and life transformative and helping me
heal my body. And what I love about all of
(17:57):
these practices, all these modalities, is that they're so
accessible. You don't need fancy equipment.
You don't need an hour of time. You just need like a couple of
blocks, a strap or a belt or a scarf.
You don't even need any fancy Lululemon clothes.
Just put on your favorite sweatsand hop on that yoga mat.
(18:19):
And if you don't know how reflexology and acupressure
work, if you're kind of new to those, let me just tell you that
using your own hands to connect with your body and to connect
with your energy is wild. Like acupressure works just like
acupuncture, right? Like you're pressing on certain
(18:41):
points, Meridian points along the a specific Meridian channel
and you're basically, you know, moving energy and bringing the
body back into balance. It's so easy to do on yourself
and I love incorporating it in with the end because it just
(19:01):
makes it a more amplified practice.
Now, if you're new to reflexology, this works with
both hands and feet, but I work with the feet where we have all
of these incredible reflex points that link to every part
of your body. So you know, you want to improve
liver function like there's a point for that.
(19:26):
And I will tell you that I, I call it feet playing, but it's
not really feet playing. But when you are stimulating a
point on your foot and you do this before you go to bed, it
can seriously calm down your nervous system and help you get
a better sleep. It can even help you ease
anxiety, support digestion, release tension.
(19:51):
And it's kind of like you're discovering your own body with a
built in toolbox and you just needed the map.
And basically I'll tell you I'm the map.
So it's super, it's super cool. And.
You know, when you bring all of these practices together, yen,
breath work, meditation, acupressure, reflexology, it's
(20:14):
not that you're just helping your body stay flexible or your
mind stay calm. You're creating a whole
lifestyle that supports you as you age.
And especially preventative. I think of it as preventative
medicine, right? And I want to emphasize that
(20:36):
aging doesn't mean declining. It just means shifting.
It means learning to care for yourself in ways that are
different than what you've been used to in the past.
There's nothing wrong with that.And what's the play?
Pay off of all of that? Well, more energy, more peace,
more freedom in your body and inyour life, More joy in your
(20:57):
days, more passion. Because let's face it, when you
feel good, life is more fun, right?
And honestly, this is how I've been living for years.
And This is why I created my app, because I know what it's
like to work with these tools and I know the impact that they
(21:19):
have. But I also know a lot of people
are like, well, I don't have these tools and I have no idea
where to start. And some people are even like,
well, to feel like me, I have tohave hours to devote into
practice. No, you don't.
That's why my app is designed for busy people over the age of
(21:40):
40. Whether you got 5 minutes, 15
minutes or an hour, you will find yin yoga classes, breath
work, meditations, step by step,reflexology, acupressure.
You can practice as much as you want as long as you want or as
little as you want. But everything that Ioffer in
(22:02):
there fits into what I call reallife.
Even on your busiest days. And here's the best part, you
can try my entire app, get unlimited content to all my
videos, my audios. I even have yin yoga series up
there for seven days free. Seven days free.
(22:24):
No pressure, no strings attached.
Just a chance for you to feel yourself in a much more calmer,
more flexible, and more energized state of being.
Because let's face it, at the end of the day, it's not about
talking about these practices. It's actually about embodying
(22:46):
them, right? So here's my encouragement for
you. Just pick one little thing
today. Maybe you're going to just lie
down in a simple yin pose for 5 minutes.
Maybe you're going to take 10 deep breaths before your next
meeting. Maybe you're going to press on
(23:08):
your big toe, which is the brainreflex point.
Before you go to bed tonight, I will tell you that all these
little choices, they start to add up.
They compound, there's a ripple effect, and they become your way
of telling your body and your mind.
You know what, I've got you. I'm taking care of you.
(23:30):
Life after 40 doesn't mean you're slowing down.
It just means you're showing up differently.
You've got way more wisdom, far more compassion, and more tools
in your pocket than ever before,right?
So thanks so much for hanging out with me today and press and
(23:52):
play on this episode. If you really want to dive
deeper and explore practices foryourself, I'd love to see you
inside the Soulful Yin Yoga app.It is the number one yin yoga
app for over 40. You get 7 days free unlimited
access. It's all waiting for you.
(24:12):
I'll link it all up in the show notes.
So until next time, folks, take a deep breath, be gentle with
yourself and no exactly where you're meant to be.
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