Feeling stuck despite doing “the work”? This is the only podcast for spiritual, self-help-curious midlifers where you can explore hidden blocks, soulful practices, and actionable tools to find clarity, calm, and progress. We interview inspiring guests who share insights to help you move forward, and your host, The Gentle Yoga Warrior, knows what it’s like to be stuck for years — offering guidance, meditations, and practical practices to support your growth.
Many episodes include a bonus optional meditation!
Formerly Awakened Conscious Conversations, we’ve rebranded with a new title: When Spiritual Work Feels Stuck — What to Do Next. This updated name more fully reflects the heart of our work, and we’re deeply grateful to our longtime listeners for growing with us—and to our new listeners for joining us on the journey. We’re so glad you’re here!
Season Finale: Finding Strength, Self-Compassion and Purpose.
•The Gentle Yoga Warrior•Season 15•Episode 17
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Ever feel like you're standing at the edge of transformation, yet unsure how to take that leap? Join us as we traverse the landscapes of personal growth and self-discovery in this season Finale. We unearth the strength that lies in the aftermath of pain and the profound nourishment. If you've been feeling your motivation wane, we've got you covered with strategies to reignite your inner fire, be it through the tranquility of deep breathing or the joy of an impromptu dance.
This episode is not just a conversation with highlights from our guests; it's a celebration of the individual journey and the collectivity of our experiences.
We wrap up with an invitation to join us in a guided meditation designed to help you pinpoint your personal mission and step boldly in its direction. And while we bid you a brief adieu this Wednesday, a treasure trove of past discussions awaits to fill the void and continue to inspire. Thank you for sharing this part of your journey with us. Season 17 is closely on its way!
A note for every episode: we do not necessary agree with all the views on our podcast and leave listeners to make their own mind up with what they do or don't agree with.
I thought how could I serve you best as a listener ? And the best thing to do is to share with you some highlights from the best guests , the inspiration , the greatest lessons I've learned in this quarter and how our guests have inspired me , how I felt inspired by life in general , and just put it together in this beautiful collage of rich , fantastic wisdom , and I can't wait to share more .
Speaker 2
Lauren LaDuke Looking at Lauren's details , she describes a visionary yoga teacher , intuitive mentor and mama , thank you so much , first for holding this conversation with so much grace , because there's not just two of us talking , there's three , there's cats running around , it's you know , it's wild over here at times , but I would say that you know , if a listener is in this like deep place of pain right now , that there is a way forward . And what is the quote ? Something like the pain is where the light comes through , or something like that . And it's absolutely true .
Speaker 2
And unfortunately , we can't just go from the pain straight to the to feeling good . There has to be a journey in between with , you know , moments of light and love , and also moments of discomfort and like really feeling through things that maybe we don't want to feel . But the journey is so worthwhile and I always think about these moments that are hard as this like fertile soil for our growth . So we have to go through the pardon my language , but shit to create this fertilizer for ourselves to grow . So I just want to give a lot of hope to anyone going through something difficult right now . There is another side and it takes work to get there and you can do it . You can do it . We are so strong and we are so resilient , we can do the hardest things , and it is so worth it .
Speaker 1
So this next guest will shortly be joining us Sandra Harper . Author , teacher , yogi , with over 18 years of experience of a daily meditation practice . Is there any book that really inspires you and that's helped you on your journey ?
Speaker 3
Oh my gosh , there's so many I can imagine . I mean , I mean , I love um . Well , I love the yoga sutra by that Patanjali wrote and my teacher did a one . It's yoga sutra one and that's the samadhi pada . I love that , um , and let's see what's another book I really like . I like the bhagavad-gita .
Speaker 3
Somebody asked me this the other day and I think , uh , okay , I'm just this kind of gal that reads the scriptures a lot , those kinds of scriptures , because they just help me feel like . Uh , I'll share with you one of the first times I ever read this scripture , this particular scripture . It was almost like um rain falling on a desert , like my mind was so thirsty for that knowledge . It just it just like sunk deeply in . And that is how I feel about a lot of those kinds of books , like because there's things that are , there's things that are pleasant and they help us for a moment , and then there's things that are truly good for us , that really take us deep within our own heart , and those are . Those are some of the tools that I use and books that I like .
Speaker 1
Oh , anything that helps access our a is a winner , in my opinion . You can't kind of force something and it's kind of allowing that space to be and just take a kind of moment , like a moment of stillness . So if you you're having a lack of motivation dip and for those of you who did listen to last week shown , but even if you didn't , I'll give you some tips if there's one of the goals that you were trying to work on and you've got a complete lack of motivation dip , then could you instead try and work on one of the other goals . Now a note of caution by all means don't keep flipping between different goals , um , and then kind of not taking them through to their full manifestation , because that's going to make life a bit more difficult . But if you're having a day where you've got no motivation , you feel like you're having a kind of motivational dip . You're just , you're just thinking , oh , what's the point ? Why should I try and do all these things ? Nothing's going to change , blah , blah , blah . We can sometimes go down like this spiral where we're feeling so sorry for ourselves and kind of so lost . So first of all , I think we should all sit down and have a moment of quiet contemplation . This , hopefully , will help you with your task . So we're just going to sit and just take some slow , calm , deep breaths in and out through our nostrils . Just have a moment of calm , just for a moment . Take a deep inhalation and a deep exhalation , a deep exhalation . Let's do one more deep inhalation , a deep exhalation , and just let everything go . Hopefully you feel a bit calmer .
Speaker 1
I know I do mentally beating yourself up if you're feeling a lack of motivation in your goals , if you're going for one goal , it's just not working that I'll give you some examples that this might help a bit better . So maybe you want to I don't know write some kind of course , or you're working on something which requires a lot of concentration and and you're just not in the kind of frame of mind to concentrate much . There's a few things you could try before you give up for the day , and that is could you go for a walk , could you do some meditation , could you find a moment of stillness and just kind of really feel into yourself and why you feel like you're not motivated . Another thing you can do which sounds a bit random but it can help , I feel is put a dance track on . Have a really good dance to something that really motivates you dance , dance , dance and then sit down and give that task another shot . If it's still not working , then if you look at the list that you did , maybe one of the things was to clean your spare room or tidy up something . If your mind is feeling more that you want to kind of do that , do tasks that are going to bring you forward . So , like decluttering is a task that's going to bring you forward . Sitting and watching TV and eating unhealthy foods probably not a task that's going to bring you forward in your goals for the year .
Speaker 1
And another angle could be that you could write down some goals that you could try for the days that you aren't motivated . You could write down some goals that you could try for the days that you aren't motivated . So just have some like ad hoc goals . Like I said , tidying up the spare room . Or could you look up some really healthy recipes and experiment on cooking something really healthy .
Speaker 1
There's all these different kinds of ways to be . Sometimes on your pathways can get stubborn and think , oh well , why bother ? I've tried things before and things haven't changed . But I inspire you . Or I would say instead , could you look at your goal with a set of fresh angle a fresh angle , so perhaps you're trying to do it in a certain way and it's not working , but is there any other components of that goal that you can kind of take and and try and deliver on that ? And then you know , life can be like that . We have times when we feel highly motivated and then we have times when we feel like we just feel like nothing's kind of flowing away , and that's a natural part of life as well . Instead of seeing things as good and bad , try and find the gems within the times where you feel less motivated and , like I said , look at the the goal that you have for fresh eyes or have some of these ad hoc projects that you can do which don't take up too much time and aren't going to take you off your goal .
Speaker 1
Joining us from Thailand , we will have Sanul Banu Rajan . I did a bit of research on Sanul and Sanul is known as a spiritual leader . He runs various workshops and coaching sessions . Various workshops and coaching sessions and his journey began in India at a young age is when he discovered spirituality . His curiosity about this led him to study you meditation under a renowned teacher in northern India which for two transformative inspired him and kind of planted the seed as the aim to teach in a modern , universal way . It's just a lovely thing to inspire the next generation because they
We're not taught as children well , not often Maybe it's changed a bit now about self-worth and you know just one thing as a child can make us feel like we're not worth it . So hearing someone like yourself is going to really help a lot of people yeah , I would like to continue doing that .
Speaker 4
Like you know , every once in a while , during the season time , just go to india and you know , just teaching universities for some life .
Speaker 1
You know what I can do , just uh is there anything that you wish we'd covered today which you'd like to speak about now ?
Speaker 4
I would encourage everyone to be more open and be more curious with life , with who we are uh , with where we are going after all of this , with all of it , and just be curious about it , because we have been given so many stories and so many truths so far , and it is easy , uh , to just take these truths and move through life and find life increasingly boring , you know , and it's better to be in a place of curiosity . There's wisdom in knowing that I don't know , uh , so I would encourage everyone to be more curious with life and know that our perception is not really the truth , but it's more about how useful it is , when it comes to what we co-create with the universe , and just be able to be flexible enough to change your perspective , if that's what it takes for you to show up at your best and meet that moment and create good food results .
Speaker 1
Jessie Torres and I was looking at Jessie's biography before I came on this show , and Jessie , for the last 18 years , has been a performance coach and life strategist and she's coached thousands of people in all walks of life in all parts of the world and helped them to achieve success and fulfillment .
Speaker 5
Questions were amazing and , again , thank you for having me . And if there's one thing I can say to your listeners that I wish I would have had , someone tell me you're doing a great job . You're doing a great job . It's like don't be so hard on yourself that know that whatever situation you're in right now , you're doing the best you can . And if you're listening to Jane's podcast , it's that you're a seeker and you're wanting more . You're wanting a deeper expansion , and that , in and of itself , is something to celebrate . So honor yourself for every step and know that you are more powerful and more courageous than you know right now .
Speaker 1
I would like to thank you . It's such a grace to have someone as special as you on the show and for you to share your story and your bravery and how you're helping people . So thank you , and I hope to have you on the show again in the journey of life . But to lose ourselves into a world that has been designed in a way that might not be compatible to you and how you're feeling today and I'm here as a reminder to let you know that is okay . You thrive on your connection with other people and your individuality at the same time . If we were all meant to be the same , then we would all be the same , but in many ways we are all humans and there's that deep connection in that sense . But for our life paths they may be very different . From our neighbours they may be very similar , who knows ? We've all got our own unique way to traverse through this world . As promised , here is your meditation inspired by today's show .
Speaker 1
Top tips for the meditation is either sit nice and cross-legged on the floor with a nice straight back . Always nice to sit on a block or a cushion . Although that's not available for you , you sit in a chair with the back nice and straight . The important thing is you're not slouching , and if you're doing something that requires your concentration , all you need to do is just pause this and you can reconvene the meditation at a time that is good for you . If you're doing the meditation , let's begin , and I'm surrounded by birds and you can hear the water from the brook and the little river behind me . I'm going to take some slow , calm , deep breaths and just start to take some steps .
Speaker 1
Via your imagination , you can also be in a forest with all its noises , and as you breathe slowly , calmly and deeply in this forest , you start to take a little journey . So you're walking slowly on the ground and as you walk along in your imagination , you know that change is made up of steps , always done from a place of mindfulness , as much as we can . Sometimes we have to dive in deep and sometimes we have to step in slow , but whatever we do through life , everything happens by making the first step . So what first steps can you make today ? What changes steps can you make today ? What changes ? Perhaps to slightly go outside one's comfort zone , which isn't always what we want to do . However , remember , there's more discomfort in life by not making changes that are for our good than by being in the comfort of unease . Disease in the body is when we're at disease . So what small steps can you make today as you walk through this imaginary forest ?
Speaker 1
The sound of the feet on the ground , the smell of the flowers , the wildflowers , the rustle of the little creatures , the song of the bird what is your song ? What is your goal ? What is your song ? What is your goal ? What is your mission in life ? The textures of the leaves , the ground . What can you show up today to do ? That might be slightly discomfort but in the long term will bring ease and whatever that is for you .
Perhaps , as we come out of this meditation , as you inhale , as you exhale , you begin to make a note of it and with each day you can make a note of which step you can make towards that . It can be a little step , sometimes it's a giant leap , sometimes it's just a tiny micro step , but whatever it is , just step into your flow . See you .
Speaker 1
See you , not this Wednesday but , next Wednesday and in the meantime , do check out our back catalogue . There's four years worth of episodes , so if you're just a scrummerist for the first time , do look back on that and you'll find some fantastic inspiration . But I just want to say thank you once again .
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