Light Letter Podcast

Jeannette Bessinger, interfaith minister and Board Certified Health Coach, is an award-winning educator/speaker and author of 8 books featuring healthy eating. Her recipes and healthy lifestyle perspectives have been showcased in hundreds of speaking venues and media outlets, including Consumer Reports, the Washington Post, NPR, Clean Eating, Parenting, Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart Living and NBC News. Designer of a long-running and successful, hospital-based, lifestyle change program and countless transformational workshops, Jeannette has helped thousands of people make lasting changes to deeply entrenched habits that no longer serve them. In the podcast we mention: >>Jeannette's new book: click here to get updates on the release! >>Her Facebook and Instagram Pages » FACEBOOK | The Clean Food Coach and Flower Fire - A Fresh Vision for Over-40 Women » INSTAGRAM | @jeannettebessinger  >>That Cheese Recipe..Yum   >>Black Lives Matter Resources >>The Tosha Silver Book, Outrageous Openness

Jurian Hughes, E-RYT 500, YACEP, MFA, is founder of the Yoga of Voice; co-creator of The Yoga of Yes; a Let Your Yoga Dance® teacher trainer; voice coach; personal mentor; writer; speaker; and theatre performer known for her passionate, playful and engaging teaching style. As a senior faculty member of the Kripalu School of Yoga, Hughes has led thousands of workshops and programs and trained more than 1,000 Kripalu yoga teachers since 2006. Check her out at www.JurianHughes.com and her online voice workshop on Saturday at https://jurianhughes.com/online-classes/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jurianhughesyogadancevoice/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jurian.hughes Instagram: @jurianhughes We also mentioned our online yoga and wellness program, BeLightOnline. Check it out here. www.belightonline.com

In this time of uncertainty and in this new way of operating we need to take time to take care of our mental and emotional well being. We hope this meditation can be a tool to do just that. Allow yourself to be guided by the vibration of the drum, gongs, and crystal bowls.  Enjoy this sound meditation. Feel free get comfortable, this is best enjoyed with headphones. 

Alexandra Hope Flood is a second-generation intuitive consultant and medium who works with hundreds of clients both nationally and internationally, connecting with their individual divine guidance for the purpose of clarity and healing. She was the Intuitive Life Coach at All That Matters Yoga and Holistic Health Center in South Kingstown, Rhode Island for five years and continues to teach and present workshops there. She has been vetted by Former Private Investigator’s Bob Olsen’s #1 ranked Best Psychic Directory.com. She is also a writer with over  25  years of professional experience, including as a staff writer at MTV.com and contributing to the blog TinyBudda.com. She  lives in Jamestown, RI  with her husband and two children. For more information please visit www.alexandrahopeflood.com. Sign up for our weekly light letter: www.belightonline.com

This episode is a little different. We sat and had our intuitive readings done with Alexandra Hope Flood. It is a bonus episode, and next week we will dive into intuition and how to tap into your intuition with her in more depth. Alexandra Hope Flood is a second-generation intuitive consultant and medium who works with hundreds of clients both nationally and internationally, connecting with their individual divine guidance for the purpose of clarity and healing. She was the Intuitive Life Coach at All That Matters Yoga and Holistic Health Center in South Kingstown, Rhode Island for five years and continues to teach and present workshops there. She has been vetted by Former Private Investigator’s Bob Olsen’s #1 ranked Best Psychic Directory.com. She is also a writer with over  25  years of professional experience, including as a staff writer at MTV.com and contributing to the blog TinyBudda.com. She  lives in Jamestown, RI  with her husband and two children. For more information please visit www.alexandrahopeflood.com. Sign up for our weekly light Letter: www.belightonline.com

Joan Dwyer founded and successfully ran All That Matters Yoga Center for 25 years. In this conversation we dive into Dharma, and how to identify your strengths.  In the episode we discuss a serious of questions you can send your friends & family to help you identify your dharma and your strengths. You can find those questions here: https://www.belightblog.com/post/a-tool-to-know-your-strengths-uncover-your-dharma Do some yoga with us @ www.belightonline.com

This week we sat down with the experienced, masterful teacher Devarshi Steven Hartman to uncover the Yamas and Niyamas.  Devarshi has been a student and teacher of yoga and yoga philosophy since 1974 when he dedicated his life to study the art and science of yoga. Throughout that study he was the dean of the Kripalu school of yoga for ten years before he founded the Pranotthan school of yoga. Through both, he has helped graduate over 4,000 yoga teachers.  To find out more about Devarshi, his trainings, retreats, workshops and life go to https://www.stevenhartman.com/

Laura Hunt is deputy director of the non-profit Hands in Outreach. We talk about how their charity works with poor, inner-city girls in Nepal. She tells us amazing stories of how providing access to education has helped young woman end the cycle of poverty. Donate or learn more about Hands in outreach at www.handsinoutreach.org Register for their community event in Dartmouth Ma: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/winter-wonderland-community-creativity-tickets-79982593089

Anneke Lucas is an author, speaker, advocate for child sex trafficking victims, founder of the non-profit organization Liberation Prison Yoga and creator of the Unconditional Model. Her work is based on personal experience of overcoming obstacles on a 30-year journey to mental and physical health after surviving some of the worst atrocities known to humankind before the age of 12. We talk about her story and the tools she used to work with the trauma she experienced. If you want to hear her full childhood story you can find it on a series called Real Woman Stories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jrLFzGb2tM

In this episode we talk with Cristy about her non-profit school Elements Learning Collaborative. We discuss what it means to be an outdoor education and project-based learning program. Cristy explains why she created the alternative schooling option and the challenges of traditional education. To learn more about the Elements Learning Collaborative and buy tickets for the upcoming fundraiser go to: https://www.facebook.com/ELCollaborative/

In this episode we dive into mythology. Specifically we talk about the story of Hanuman. Hanuman is a commonly used story in yoga and is actually a yoga pose (often called monkey pose or the full split). The story is common because it has a great moral. We enjoy breaking down the story in our own way. Read the story at https://www.belightblog.com/stories

John de Kadt is an internationally acclaimed percussionist, poet, and storyteller. John plays ethnic percussion instruments from across the globe and has a passion for spoken word, whether it’s in poetry, song, rap, or story. We discuss the power and tradition of storytelling, and of music. John mentions his amazing retreats, music, and workshops to learn more check out https://www.johndekadt.com/

This week we sit down with Kelvin Young. He shares his incredible story of recovery. Kelvin used sound healing, yoga and meditation to recover and has been drug free since 2009. Kelvin now helps other people in recovery with his own sound healing practice. Check out more about Kelvin at his site https://www.kelvinbyoung.com/

This week on your favorite podcast we launch two new segments. As we transition from summer to fall we brought on Sophia Avramides, our Ayurvedic expert. She helps us understand the changes we may experience in seasonal transition and how to use what we eat to feel healthy and grounded.  We also have launched our first blog! We share the first piece with you in a new segment we call Story time. Enjoy learning about how Winston Churchill and Yoga teach you to attack. Read the story at https://www.seedsofawakeningpodcast.com/stories

This week we talk with a self-proclaimed “wild wisdom yogini”, Tamara has used conventional and unconventional methods to experience liberation and realize yogic empowerment. In 2014, she completed a 3-year meditation retreat in which she was able to deepen her own personalized sadhana (spiritual practice) in remote wilderness, using various advanced trainings in Kundalini & Anusara Yoga, Vedanta & Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, along with profoundly surrendering to listen to and apply inner wisdom. We talked with Tamara’s about her unique experience and perspective on finding spirituality in the modern world. We hope you enjoy and you can learn more about tamara at www.modernmysticyoga.com We also mentioned a book on the episode. It is called Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.   

This week we interview Nicole Lebreux. We discuss her transition from running her own company in the fashion world to becoming a yoga teacher and living a mindful and intuitive life. Nicole has a passion for introducing people to the many benefits of yoga in the body, mind, and spirit. Our discussion dives into the difficulties of starting a spiritual path without a community of support and to the benefits of plant medicine that you can find in your backyard. To learn more about Nicole or sign up for her upcoming online workshop check her site out! www.nicolelebreuxyoga.com

This week we talk with Sara Davidson Flanders about her yogic journey and the different spiritual paths people can take. We also jump into specific ways to interact with your mind during meditation. Sara has been studying, practicing and teaching yoga since 1992 and she shares her masterful teaching and wisdom with us. If you would like to learn more about Sara's teachings, yoga teacher trainings, anatomy trainings or Neelakantha Meditation check out her site at www.fullradiance.com

This week we sit down with Jovinna Chan. Jovinna is a world traveler who leads transformational programs through conscious dance, yoga, and meditation.  As a child, she began delving into dance, yoga, and martial arts and cultivated an intimate understanding of the body through creative movement and expression. Jovinna is a lead teacher in the Pranotthan School of Yoga, previously served as the Assistant Dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga, and is a certified Soul Motion™ teacher. We talk in depth about how to bring your practice into all aspects of your life. To check out where Jovinna is teaching or to stay connected with her go to www.Jovinna.com 

Missy Brown is a pioneer in the field of wellness and yoga for children. Her classes and programs transform lives through play and joy. She runs an organization called Deep Play for Kids that trains and certifies teachers how to teach yoga to children. We talk about fun ways to teach kids yoga and meditation and the importance of children having a powerful yoga toolkit at an early age. Check out her trainings, classes, and books at www.deepplayforkids.com

Dr. Kristen Lee, Ed.D., LICSW, known as "Dr. Kris" is a recovering perfectionist, proud Mama, and an internationally recognized, award- winning author, clinician, researcher, educator, speaker and activist with over twenty years of experience. As lead faculty for Behavioral Science at Northeastern University in Boston, her research and teaching interests include individual and organizational well-being and resilience, particularly for marginalized and underserved populations. We talk about practical tools to use in your daily life that help you spiral up.