The Yogaland Roundup

Friday, Jan. 27th

Some things that are inspiring me this week:

A piece published in The New York Times about the importance of cultivating wonder or awe in our daily lives.

The author defines awe as, “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world,” and wooh if that didn’t remind me of how helpful those micro-moments of wonder in yoga and meditation are for our overall well-being.

There are documented physical and mental benefits of experiencing awe:

Dr. Keltner found that awe activates the vagal nerves, clusters of neurons in the spinal cord that regulate various bodily functions, and slows our heart rate, relieves digestion‌ and deepens breathing.

It also has psychological benefits. Many of us have a critical voice in our head, telling us we’re not smart, beautiful or rich enough. Awe seems to quiet this negative self-talk, Dr. Keltner said, by deactivating the default mode network, the part of the cortex involved in how we perceive ourselves.

Jason & I are planning a podcast called, PS: Yoga is still good for you, and I’m definitely going to reference this article. As soon as I read it, I felt so viscerally how yoga reminds me over and over again of how awesome it is to have a body.

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More fun things

I ❤️ Marni and her deep thoughts.

Our new air fryer + literally any veggie + miso butter = 😍 😍 😍

Susan Cain’s latest work of nonfiction, Bittersweet. I just love how she feels like she is everyone’s dear friend; a kindred spirit.

This podcast series where Dan Harris talks to the Dalai Lama. Sometimes Dan’s overly ambitious Type A schtick really bugs me, but this series was refreshingly honest. So much so, that it makes me want to talk to people about it!

So, here’s a final thought: I’m thinking of starting a Podcast Club on here. I know, I know we’re all supposed to have book clubs. But I am a podcast junkie and would love to have monthly discussions of one or two of my favorite pods for that period.

The Dan Harris (10% Happier) series above would be the first one that we’d discuss. Give me a yea or nay in the comments if this is of interest to you.👇