Yoga Lost The Plot with Deirdre Doyno

If you've ever walked out of a yoga class feeling stronger... but still like something was missing, this episode is for you.

Yoga has gotten louder, faster, and more performative. More playlists. More poses. More aesthetics. But is it actually helping us live yoga?

This week, Dee is back on the podcast, and we're pulling back the curtain on everything we've been building behind the scenes before diving into a conversation that might challenge the way you think about your practice.

We're talking about what modern yoga isn't teaching you.

We unpack why asana is just one small piece of yoga, why the Eight Limbs and the Yoga Sutras are more relevant than ever, and how breathwork, nervous system regulation, and self-study can completely transform your practice—on and off the mat.

Then... we go there.

We talk about yoga and religion, mantra, deity-based pose names, cultural respect, informed consent, and how teachers can honor the roots of yoga while creating spaces that respect every student's beliefs and personal boundaries.

And because you know us, we couldn't leave without a few spicy opinions.

Injectables. Peptides. The obsession with quick fixes. Filming in yoga classes. Tripods. Apple Watches. The culture we've created around wellness—and whether we're actually willing to do the slower, deeper work that real transformation asks of us.

This isn't about having all the answers. It's about asking better questions.

If you're craving a yoga practice that goes beyond the poses and actually changes the way you move through life, press play.

Resources Mentioned

🧘 Ready to go deeper? Join the Deepen Your Practice Challenge. A guided journey beyond the poses, exploring the Eight Limbs of Yoga through daily teachings, reflections, and practices. Sign up here

🎥 Watch our webinar: What Modern Yoga Isn't Teaching You, this training dives even deeper into transformative practices that are often left out of today's yoga classes. Watch here

✨ Learn more about Nearly Enlightened, upcoming offerings, and ways to work with us: learn more here 

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Transcript

Welcome And Podcast Mission

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome back to the Nearly Enlightened Podcast, a high vibe toolbox designed to help you connect to your body, mind, and spirit. I'm your host, Shiana Giarusso, and I'm here to share tools, conversations, and insights to help you on your journey of self-discovery. This podcast is all about exploring what it means to live a conscious, connected, and nearly enlightened life because the truth is the answers aren't outside of us. They're already within. Let's dive in.

Dee Returns And Big Updates

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Today I am joined by Dee. She's been on many, many episodes at this point. She's practically like my number one co-host. Dee, welcome back. Hello, thank you. Thank you. For allowing me to be here. We haven't podcasted in a while. So this is exciting because I feel like we have a lot to catch the people up on.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Yes, let's catch them up on the things.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Yes.

The Deep In Your Practice Challenge

SPEAKER_01 0:50

So we have been working diligently behind the scenes. Last year, last May, we launched the Deep in Your Practice Challenge. And that is something that's still available now. It's go at your own pace. It's 30 days of diving into the yoga principles that we don't necessarily give a lot of attention to here in the Western world because if you've listened to a podcast with D and I before, you've probably we're beating a dead horse at this point.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Just gonna say we are beating a dead horse. The horse has been beaten.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

It's fucking dead. Um, but you know that we talk about this all the time that yoga is way beyond the asana, and it's asana is one of the eight limbs, and we really pride ourselves in talking about the other limbs that no one is talking about. So we wanted to deepen our journey on this path as well, and that is why this next thing that we created was born, and that is what modern yoga isn't teaching you. So we have a brand new webinar. Again, it's go at your own pace. You can sign up, everything shows up right in your inbox. It's really user-friendly, and then you have access to that. Live was live at one point, but now it's recorded, broadcast. And that is a really great jumping off point for teachers or for people who have been practicing for a long time and who want to go beyond the asana because the in my opinion, the real transformative practice happens like yes, asana is the gateway.

Yoga Beyond Asana And The Mat

SPEAKER_01 2:38

It's a great practice to keep and to have, but it's it's like the beginner, it's like the baby beginner part of like the deeper practice. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Yeah, to a much bigger holistic practice. And I think, you know, the things that we have created together, one of the I think for me at least, one of the biggest takeaways is sharing this knowledge. Like neither you nor I are perfect in our own practices. But I think the biggest thing that I've taken away is that these are things that you take off of your mat from the practice at the studio or in your own home or wherever you're practicing physically, the asana practice. And then how can you actually take this big holistic practice off of that and into the world? Because there's so much more to it. And like you were saying, the the deepen your practice challenge is a great place for people to begin. And I think, you know, we've said this before, you know, less than a dollar a day, you can learn new things and literally have prompts that help guide you on a daily basis to incorporate these holistic practices that is yoga into your life.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

And to revisit when you need to. Like I think we've talked about this before on past podcasts, and you can go back. The Deep in Your Practice Challenge actually has a special podcast for every single week, um, which I think is really cool. It's like a little bonus. But so like one of the themes that we talked about in there a lot, and I completely lost my train of thought now, and it'll come back to me in a second. Oh, I remember what we it was it's themes that you can constantly go back to, and you're always gonna find like something else, like a deeper layer or something that you didn't realize before. And one of the really cool things about that challenge is when we first launched it in May of last year, we had 50 people sign up, and more than half of those people were teachers of practice. And the consensus was pretty unanimous all the way around. Everyone came back to me and they were like, I have been practicing for X amount of years, I've been teaching for X amount of years. My teacher training didn't cover half of these topics, so it is a really comprehensive 30-day journey. And for like you said, less than a dollar a day, it's jam-packed with value and information and tools that you can constantly go back to when you need to.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

And it's I think one thing too, I want to touch upon. I don't know if I've said this in the podcast, but I think, you know, when you do these practices and you know, you're focusing on yourself and how to incorporate them into your own life. Let me just tell you, and I know I can speak for both Gianna and I, doing the 30-day deep in your practice challenge blew open doors for both of us in so many different ways. And I'm not even kidding, in just like our yoga world practice, I think it opened up a lot of doors and gave us tools for our personal life that I feel like if we didn't have front burner, we would not be well.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

I also think it gave us a little bit of direction, or especially me, because when I was first coming up with Nearly Enlightened, it was like, oh, it's for this. And that is just like bad business. And Jamie Gray, who's been on this podcast before, good friend of both of ours, actually the person who connected us together. But she would always say to me, like, no, you need to know who you are talking to. And I think that was a big eye-opening experience because from that, it's like, oh, we're talking to yoga teachers and we're talking to people who

New Webinar On Modern Yoga Gaps

SPEAKER_01 6:39

have been practicing for a long time and are skating on the surface of what yoga is, and that really propelled to I think this next webinar that we're we're launching, it's live, so you can go and find it now. But what modern yoga isn't teaching you, and that is what I am super passionate about. I know I talk a lot about hot takes and in the yoga world a lot, and I think that COVID and 2020 really changed the landscape of yoga. When I first started practicing 15 years ago, I'm sure you can attest to this too. Um, yoga classes were 90 minutes. I don't think we could get a fucking single person to come to a 90-minute class. Like, I think it was I hope that we go back to that, but I think that that day and age for right now is over because people like don't have the time. And so we went from we lost 30 minutes in a yoga class and now we're teaching in an hour. And I've seen classes as short as 45 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

It's like, how that doesn't even make sense to me. And I think the interesting thing I think between you and I is that we both have very different.

Shorter Classes And Longer Savasana

SPEAKER_00 7:55

What is the word I want to say? I almost wanted to say dynamic. Is it dynamic the word I want to say? That sounds like the pe the people that come to our classes, demographic. Wow, okay, see, whoa! Okay, so we both have very different, I feel like, demographics. And obviously, you know, I'm in Latin America, I'm in Panama, you're in New England, and I think one of the things I like that just blows my mind. I think my classes, it's interesting to hear you say that because I think before 2020, when I had my own studio, I was teaching, I think my classes were only an hour long. And now they're longer. I'm teaching at least a 75 minute class. And when people come to my class, they're like, I always ask, you know, I always ask, is there something specific that you guys that you need today? Is there something specific that we we can work on this morning, you know, and gear it towards whatever style class we're working in? And I kid you not, at least one person every time is like, can we have a longer savasana today? And I don't go shorter than like eight, 10 minute savasanas. Like we are integrating.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

That is the hard thing about uh a one-hour class is like you want to give the most time and like maybe you're getting three minutes. Yeah. Like you said, the demographics are a little bit different because here in New England, we're like go, go, go. It's like very much people. What you just broke up.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

I said that people are cold, ain't nobody got time for that.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yeah, ain't nobody got time. Oh yeah, let's go. They want to move, they want to sweat, and they want to be out. Yeah. Um, and yeah, I don't know. So I think that watering down the practice a little bit is part of the reason why we took some of these themes out. But if you look at yoga, if you strip back all of the of the things and you look at yoga through the lens of Pat and Jolly's Yoga Sutras, I think that a lot of what we're teaching to begin with is nonsense. And this brings me to my hot take, which I've been wanting to talk about for a long time, and it's gonna ruffle a lot of feathers, and it's a hot take, and it I'm just gonna say it, but I don't believe that religion of any kind, and that means Buddhism and Hinduism, was meant to be interjected into the practice, and that is a very hot take because most of the poses, if we're talking about the original Sanskrit names for the poses, were named for deities.

Hot Take On Religion In Yoga

SPEAKER_01 10:47

So here's my ultra hot take. I think, and this is my opinion, so you know, take it for what it's worth. I think that the leaders of original yoga, like way back when, 6,000 years ago, were just trying to get people to trust them and to send their sons to practice with them and to keep these traditions alive. So that's why these, and not that Buddhism is a religion because it's not, but but that's why Buddhism and Hinduism got injected into the practice, was because they were trying to grasp their demographic at that time. So if the culture is primarily Hindi, then how do we get these people to trust us? How do we get these people to come? How do we get these people to send us their sons and trust us with their sons to literally raise them? They would set they would literally send their like 10, 12-year-old sons off to these gurus, these sages to be raised by them under these principal principles. So how do you get a a society to trust you? You interject their religion into the practice, but if you strip it back and you look at Pat and Jolly's Yoga Sutras, Asana isn't even part of it. Asana is not part of it. Well, well, well. Well, well, well. So that's my hot take. That's kind of like the train I'm riding. And maybe it's because I am going back to my Christian roots, so I don't want to do poses for deities because I believe like I believe in the spirit world. So when you are right, when you are like invoking these deities, like I don't know. I don't know. And I do, I think it's a fine line because we don't want to appropriate culture, we want to give homage to the roots of the practice, but I think it's important to know the real roots of the practice, and I don't think it was personally my opinion, I do not believe it was rooted in Hinduism. And that's why like it's kind of gotten convoluted a little bit. But in my episode with Busy, I talked about it a little bit. I don't really do mantra anymore. But here's uh also hot take there's mantra in Christianity. Hello, the book of Psalms, that's mantra. So I think, like, yes, it's important to say like this originated in India five to six thousand years ago. It's important to know where it came from and like where these principles originated, but I think when we're injecting it into a modern practice, like we don't need to be practicing Hinduism or Buddhism unless you're a Hindu or or Buddhist.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Right. That's my it's not the same thing, but yoga div, I think the the core to all of this is that yoga developed within the philosophical and spiritual landscape of the ancient India, where Hindu and Buddhism were all like influencing each other at the same time. So do with that what you will.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Yeah. And if you look back at ancient cultures, India was not the only one practicing. So we talked about it in the I think we talked about it in the episode with Tiffany, and she was talking about how she also doesn't teach yoga the same way anymore because she is Christian and she's obviously not doing poses to deities, and she wanted to still have a movement practice that honored God, the one God. Um and I fucking lost my train of thought again. What is wrong with my brain today? That Mercury retrograde at the end of the month's coming in hot. I totally forgot what I was gonna say.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

I

Yoga As Spiritual Practice Not Religion

SPEAKER_00 14:56

think what it is is that too like yoga is not a religion. Yes, is one thing. And I think you know, there is, you know, I had just said this before we started recording, was like one thing that scared me was that when I it was weird how the timing happened, or maybe it was divine timing for me to really understand exactly what you're bringing up and we're talking about in this very present moment is I was learning a little bit by this acquaintance about the Bible and Christianity, and I had told her, you know, like I'm not gonna be around for the next month because I'm going to get my yoga teacher training, and she immediately like I like lost touch with her, basically thought I was demonic. She wouldn't let me into her through her door. And at that time I couldn't really understand. And now, after all these years, you know, practicing and having conversations like we're having right now, it's like, okay, I get it, you know. And I think one of the things too that I learned, I did learn this in my teacher training was like, especially with my private students, right? Like one of the questions, like before we even start practicing, I'm gonna sit down with you and we're gonna go over everything. We're gonna go over if you've had a surgery, we're gonna go over if you practice religion, we're gonna go over everything so that I can cater your asana practice to your life so that you can take it off of the mat and not feel like you're doing something wrong or you know, demonic. I feel like so.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

I have a question for you. Do you teach the poses in Sanskrit or do you teach them in Spanish?

SPEAKER_00 16:30

I sometimes I have a trilingual class. It just whatever I whatever word I can remember in the language I can remember it in the min in the moment is what you're gonna get. Like I, but then if I have, for example, like if I have someone who is Muslim, I'm not gonna speak Sanskrit and I'm not gonna even use the word sun salutation. Okay, so there's there's this paying homage to the actual practice with asana and the roots of yoga, and also respecting someone and their culture and their own beliefs, which I think is really important.

Teaching With Student Beliefs In Mind

SPEAKER_00 17:09

And if you're an empowered teacher, you'll figure out and you'll have these conversations how to actually deliver something like that.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Yes, I agree. And also, like I talk a lot about cultural appropriation in regards to yoga, but I'm starting to even change my views on that because yoga was meant to be passed down as an oral tradition from teacher to student. It wasn't meant to just stay in India. Like the reason it's lasted 6,000 years is because it's been it's branched out beyond. Yeah. So I think that's something to look at too. And I'm trying to remember what I was saying, but I oh I I think I remember now. So there are other ancient traditions where yoga was practiced and it didn't have to do with Hinduism. It was also so in ancient Egypt Khmet, there was also a yoga practice, and that is something that you can get a certification. And the poses are called different things to different gods, um, but it was the same thing. So I I don't know, I don't believe that religion, whether it's multiple gods or one god, I don't think that yoga was meant to be like a religious practice.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

I don't think so either. I think the way that they intersect is interesting because, for example, like Buddhism talks about the freedom of suffering and you know, these kinds of things. And so in yoga, you're also looking internally as you know, the ethical practices towards self and towards others, for example, or like where can you lessen the suffering in your life? Like, I think there's similarities in the, for example, the religion of Hinduism or Buddhism and what you practice in yoga. But is yoga an actual religion? No, I would say no, absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

No, and I think like going back to the Christian thing, because we we were talking about this before we were online, but like a lot of Christians won't practice yoga because of that. And I get it, I I do, I didn't understand it before, but now I am starting to because like where you put your energy is important, and like now it's funny I'm saying like not to interject religion into the practice, but I also believe in God and Christianity in a way that like I'm not religious, like I believe religion is what fucked everything up. So this is like a nuanced conversation, and I probably sound very hypocritical because in classic Gemini fashion I can see it from like all different sides.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

Um but I think that's just I think it's a conversation to have without anyone getting all panties in the twist kind of vibes.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Like I'm always having conversations that get people's panties in a twist.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Can you have a nuanced conversation? Like, yeah, so sorry, continue on you are saying.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

No, that was basically it. Like, but I, you know, I am coming from a place where everything I do honors God and not in like a Bible thumper way or like I go to church every weekend, but like everything I do is to serve God. And I think that's like the transformation that I'm currently coming into now. Getting more visible. The podcast has more downloads than ever. My social media is small, I have like a teeny tiny following, but the reach is starting to slowly increase and get more visible. And I think it's because I'm coming more clear. Like, I think yoga was like if you're looking at yoga through Pat and Jolly's principles, the Yoga Sutras, it was a way to clear your channels to get closer to the divine.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Absolutely, and even like even connection in that too, like imagine the Ayurvedic ways of like living is Ayurveda is the sister science to yoga, and it's all about that, like cleaning your temple, your body

Breath Work As The Real Shift

SPEAKER_00 21:40

is your temple, so that you can, as you said, be closer to the divine.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

So and you can see those same principles in almost every religion. It's clear your channels, your body is your temple, like that theme is woven throughout so many different. Traditions.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Right. And so it's just like, you know, again, coming full circle to beat the dead horse, like asana. Asana is the gateway. It's like this to the self-study. Yeah. The body using the body as a doorway to go inward and have this, and then yoga as this holistic practice, if you do decide to deepen your practice as a relationship to yourself. And that's gonna ripple outward, whether you intend to or not. When you're working on yourself with intention, integrity, and just I think too, like this piece of curiosity, I feel like, how can that not ripple outwards? And I think, you know, we did talk about this a little bit before, too, is just how, like, of course, things over time are going to evolve and change. Like the practice, specifically the asana practice, is changing, you know, in so, and this again could be an honest conversation in so many different ways. Think, look at how many different quote-unquote styles of yogos are taught at studios. And then, like we were talking about before, and I was saying how like the children of today are all gonna have hunched backs and problems with their necks, and our hands are gonna start to be like crunched in together because everyone's typing on a phone, like our physical bodies are like gonna evolve and change. And so, like, I don't know about you, but in a lot of my classes, I spend time so much with the neck and like literally opening up your hands.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

Yeah, happy Gemini season. Open your hands, get your palms wide. So funny, and you know, like when I first started practicing yoga, like I said 15 years ago, what that was one of the big things that she always spent time on, my teacher was to open your hands up, to open your palms, because most people are losing the ability to spread their fingers. I mean, you see it in down dog all the time, like people's hands are all crunched together. It's like, no, you want to create a stable foundation. Open your fucking hands, like think about like your. I mean, yes, we're energetic beings, so you harness energy and your hands. Like, if you practice any kind of energy work, I mean, fuck, Jesus literally practiced energy work. He was laying his hands on people and hello, what the fuck do we think he was doing? Like, duh. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:23

Um feet too, the feet too. You know how long? Yeah, you know how long it took this bitch to get yogi toes and spread my feet wide, like years up.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

It's funny. I've always had like uh some kind of alien feet. I can spread my toes so far, like I just have like so much dexterity in my feet, like I can actually pick things up. That's why your balance is so good.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

It's creepy, it's creepy. Gardot's feet are like that too. And I'm like, oh he's such a good, yeah, he's such a good yoga. He would. I'm gonna get my baby into it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

I know, yes. And it's how do we start them? How do we start them young? Like, let them see us. Like, we just at the studio here, we just started monthly mommy and me yoga, and it's a one-hour yoga class for moms and babies under like under three. Um, and it is the cutest thing, but it's like how awesome is that that we are giving them these tools and practices, like coming out the gate is something that I just started with my niece. She's I guess she'll be 18 months at the end of this month.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

Oh, good time.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

The best. But we recently started okay, like when she has her little toddler temper tantrum, we take a minute, and even if she's not listening to me, say capri, we take a breath. Mm-hmm. Yep, exactly. And now we're starting to do that. So it's like giving them these tools early on. Taught us how to breathe.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

If I had been taught how to breathe, I feel like so much, and like I know that sounds crazy, but that's the thing. Like, I was just saying, like, people are gonna be all hunched over and no one's breathing from their diaphragm.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

No one can I say when I was younger, one of my like one of one of the things that I really remember was I hated hearing my breath. So I would breathe super shallow, super quiet, like little teeny breaths. Like, oh duh, no wonder she had a panic attack by the time she was 10 years old. Like, I wasn't fucking breathing. Because I didn't want anyone to hear me breathe. But this was like, I didn't just come up with that on my own. So this was something that was learned. What I don't know who it was learned from. It definitely wasn't my parents. I, you know, would love to blame them, but but it definitely wasn't them. It must have been like a teacher or something, but I would seriously not breathe.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

I that's how I feel now. I feel like my head spins like just all over the place. And then I'm like, oh my god, Dee, like take a breath. Like, when's the last time you breathe? Yeah, yeah. Like, let's feel into the belly here. And so I think part, and I just had this conversation with the gym owner who actually I was so surprised. He's early 20s, and it made it just like made me so happy to hear he went to Argentina to study biomechanics. And did I say that right?

SPEAKER_01 27:29

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

And so he works with people who have specific like health challenges and you know, whatever, or he can, I should say, he has that ability and the knowledge to work through that. And we were having this conversation. I was like, so much, I feel like of what we're dealing with, whether it's you know, in the gym with what you're working with, with weights and that kind of stuff and mobility, or you know, with the asana practice, like so much of it, if we could open up like creating space with your breath, is such a powerful tool. Such a if not the, I feel like if not the most. So it's like, yes, you come to practice for asana, but what's really gonna drive it home is the pranayama.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

And it's being patient with these practices. Like, I, you know, when I first started practicing yoga, you would hear the flowery

Humor In Class And Teacher Language

SPEAKER_01 28:20

terms that teachers would give. Would be like, breathe into your heart space. That's totally me. Breathe into your upper back. And my brain would always be like, What the fuck are you talking about? Breathe down your spine. I'd be like, What the fuck? Like, this is why people hate yoga and hate yoga teachers. Like, that would be my thought process. But recently, and I'm talking very recently, like within the last couple of months, I've really been able to breathe into my upper backspace, and I'm like, you child, that is what they were talking about.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

That is totally me. That is totally me.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

That's funny. I would make fun of it all the time. It's like tail, blossom from your asshole.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

But I would never tell anyone to blossom from their asshole, but I can totally sometimes it'll slip out where I'm like, reach to the sun, breathe through the heart space, open. That's funny. That I but I do it with humor. I do it with humor. Like, I feel like that's a part of it too, where it's like, why do we have to be like it's not a serious, it doesn't have to be serious 100% of the time either. Like, yes, there's time and place, like, but I can bring you up and down, like we're gonna have fun.

SPEAKER_01 29:43

Yes, you're gonna giggle at least once in my class, and probably because I'm doing something ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

And you forgot right or left or what language you're speaking in, because Lord help us.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

For me, it's not the language I only speak one. Well, I guess if you count Sanskrit, I guess I speak two. Yeah, um, a dead language. But it's funny because I just put up a a joke reel about this about like, oh, if only I could get my rights and lefts right at this point.

SPEAKER_00 30:13

Oh, that's so true. Doesn't Jamie have R and L written on her hand for that? Like, I was like that genius, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

And they were for her dogs, Lucy and Ricky, but it just it worked out perfectly. Yeah. Plus. I know when you're mirroring, like, forget it. I don't even I I think I put the I answered somebody's comment back, but I I don't even mirror anymore because it's like my brain just like there's too much going on up there. Like, let's simplify a little bit. But anyways, I digress. This is

Disagreeing Without Ending Friendships

SPEAKER_01 30:45

these are my hot takes for today. My last podcast was very spicy, and just remember people, like these are my opinions. It's not that serious. If you don't agree, you don't have to watch.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Yeah, no, I think it's important to have and not agree, like exact exactly, and I think that that's I think that's a really big part of the conversation that we another dead horse that we also have the ring around too, is that like, can we have difficult conversations and like disagree on something and still be friends? Like, is that a possibility in today's world? Because fully shit.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

Yes, and like someone came to me and I haven't really heard them out fully, but they were they didn't love my I guess my take or my approach on my opinion from my last episode. But I have to say, as someone who is spiritually rooted and grounded, and again, I'm not perfect. I am figuring this out every day. If you've been listening to this podcast for five years, my opinions have changed, they've shifted. What I say is not infallible.

Injectables Peptides And A Warning

SPEAKER_01 32:05

However, when it comes to injectables, I'm not judging you if you do it. I mean, maybe a little, but like that's my human thing. I'm working through it. Like, God will forgive me. I'm doing the best I can. But I am telling you, mark my words, in 10 years, there will be research. It's not safe. I don't give a fuck if I'm offending you.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

Isn't there a black box warning on it?

SPEAKER_01 32:32

There is a black box warning on it. I'm not sure about the peptides thing. I think they're too new. Um, but like I said in that episode, this is just a way for them to vaccinate us. And now we're self-injecting. And I don't care. Like I have a very strong connection with spirit. I when I have visions or any of my clear senses tingle, very seldom am I wrong. I am telling you, mark my words, save this fucking podcast somewhere. Botox, Dysport, all of these injectables that paralyze your face, all of these injectables that are adding filler to your face, all of these peptides, they are going to have an adverse effect on your body. Mark my words. And so I feel this with such conviction. It completely every single time, I'm sorry, like, yeah, there's no fact behind this, there's no science behind this. It's literally just my intuition. So, like, chalk it up, whatever. But I am telling you, these things are not safe and you should not be injecting them. And I know there's been some people that have come out and that on this podcast, busy, just put up a post about it. She has a new podcast about it. She has suffered with autoimmune disease since her early 20s, and she said that like some of the peptides have literally changed her life. If you have an autoimmune disease, there's a root cause, and this is a hot take. And again, there's no science behind this, it's just like intuition. I believe firmly that autoimmune disease could be reversed given the right set of circumstances. It's just going to take you more than a couple weeks to figure it out. Right. And that's the thing that I think the peptide conversation is kind of banking on is people want results.

SPEAKER_00 34:52

Results now.

SPEAKER_01 34:53

Now, yeah, people don't want to wait, people don't want to do the work. It is easy to inject something that big pharma gives you and say, I feel better. Yeah, you feel better right now, but you've been doing it for a year. So, like I said, talk to me in 10 years. Talk to me in 10 years because your liver, your kidneys are processing these things and they are they're artificial, harmful, they're harmful.

SPEAKER_00 35:21

They can be harmful.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

Your body recognizes synthetic and it's going to treat it as such. And if you're somebody who has an autoimmune disease, like, I'm sorry, the peptides are probably gonna keep you in that cycle because you're injecting something that's synthetic into your body, so you're keeping your immune system on high alert because you're introducing something that's foreign.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

So I don't know enough about it, like in my opinion, and I'm not a doctor, this is not health advice, but I do believe that there's something nefarious coming from big pharma, and these peptides and injectables are not to fucking be trusted. I will stand firm in that.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

And you know what?

SPEAKER_01 36:11

I'm not gonna throw this in everyone's face, but I am like I was right in 2020. Everything that I fucking said came true. I was correct. So many people canceled me, they stopped listening to me, they said that I was in Neanderthal, perpetuating the issue. Like 90% of those people came back and apologized because I was right. And I feel like this is gonna be one of those spaces. It's gonna chap a lot of people. This opinion is gonna chap a lot of people's asses. However, I know I can stand fully rooted in the fact that I'm right about this. Spirit is telling me, God is telling me, like, do not trust these things. There's a reason not to trust them. So lots of hot takes on this episode now that I'm thoroughly canceled and have no followers.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

No, I think it's I think just to like kind of button that up, I think because again, I feel like I live like yes, I see things online, but like I just like my present everyday life is very different, I think, than the north. And a lot slower pace of life, a lot slower pace of life, however, I still receive, like I still know more or less like what's going on, and I just have to I think we were never meant, like, let me just tell you this, and I'll share, I'll give you this little share. I've had a couple of symptoms that I've been working with, and it wasn't it's a classic case of your labs are normal. And when I had an epigenetic test done, all of these things are starting to or fingers crossed, starting to kind of make sense now because what's affecting me is my environment. So if and this is to come full circle too with yoga and looking within, like where in my environment can I improve, or like how can I take care of my temple better, or like what are the specific like, and when I tell you, I was told basically everything I was eating was inflaming my body, and simply by taking things, and this not to take them out forever, but just switching simple things has made such a difference in my life, understanding that I am seriously affected by the radiation and EMFs, like was something I learned through this. So it's like using these things and feeling symptoms or the way that even like you're emotionally and mental health feeling like what in your environment? Like, are you online too much? Because I guarantee you that is what's affecting your mental health and your liver. Your liver hates you scrolling, literally, it's a thing.

SPEAKER_01 39:07

So, like there's just I feel like everybody's walking around so fucking angry.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

Oh, I wouldn't doubt it. I really wouldn't doubt it, and it's all connected, you know what I mean? Like it's all connected, and I think if you can use your the way you feel, what's going on, and use it again, coming to like the self-study and allowing exactly, yeah, like allowing this data

Environment EMFs And Self Study

SPEAKER_00 39:38

and the self-study to redirect you and look at things in more of a holistic fashion and find what you can do, or like how, like, one of the questions that I always come back to when I get super frustrated is like, okay, or like if I'm doing a new endeavor, or like something like what is what is gonna serve for the highest good of all? Like, is this gonna help me, but is it gonna help for the highest good of all? Like, you know what I mean? Like, I think, and that's something that I've taken since learning yoga, you know, like how and that's how I play it, that's how I integrate it. And I think that we talk a lot about that in that new in our new webinar as well.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

So I love that you're bringing that up because I think that's another thing that the modern yoga, it's so self-centered, yeah, that we have like you know, it's the swing of the pendulum, like we have swung it so far in this direction of like self-centeredness. And yes, it is about uncovering the self, but also the self in relation to the all. And that sounds like crazy woo-woo stuff, but when we take that other part of it out, the good for me, but not just me. How is this benefiting the good of all? Like, when we take that latter half out of it, like, yes, the practice becomes super self-centered, and everyone is kind of like driven by finding like ease and pleasure and like all this good stuff. It's that toxic positivity culture, but how can we allow ourselves to be comfortable in the discomfort? And it's like the same reason that we talk about people like shying away from the stillness part of the practice because it's fucking uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

Yeah. And I think like you were saying, like one of the things when I first started my business and my yoga business and my health consulting business was, you know, the I didn't feel like I hadn't, I just I had moved back down to Latin America within three years, and then I moved to be up with a guardo, and I felt like I had no community here. And yoga is what brought me community, it's what does it every time and sharing this practice. And I always tell, like, I always ask Spirit, I'm like, allow the students that need to be with me to come to this practice, to come to this class and allow even before I go to a private class and I'm teaching, I always like say this. I don't know if you want to call it a prayer, like this silent word to myself, like, work through me to for the highest good of all for whatever is needed today. Like, please allow to work through me. And yeah,

Yoga Community And The Highest Good

SPEAKER_00 42:35

so I think it's something that does bring community when you can look outside yourself.

SPEAKER_01 42:40

I have moved across the country. I've moved to Florida, I've moved to Arizona, I've moved to Colorado, and every single time, same thing, yoga has been my anchor. Like I moved to Arizona because of yoga. When I moved to Florida, I was just finding the yoga community. That's how I ended up working for Lululemon. We did yoga every single day together, pretty much. That was like when Lululemon was kind of in its inception here in the US. And we that's like how I made my friends. That I'm all of my friends that I've made in adulthood have pretty much come from yoga.

SPEAKER_00 43:23

Yeah, and that I think that's such a beautiful thing. And I'm gonna kind of shift gears, but on the same thing, like how you were saying it's become so individual. And we do go into a little bit of that in the webinar. But one hot take I wanted to bring up that I think we've spoken about, or maybe this is what you couldn't remember, was the like people actually setting up tripods in class. Like, I can't even like I've seen

Tripods Consent And Unplugging In Class

SPEAKER_00 43:51

that online and I haven't like I can't even has that happened to you?

SPEAKER_01 43:56

Like I can't even It hasn't happened to me yet. I also am really good, like the college girlies probably think I'm such a cunt, but I will literally tell them like no phones in here. Yeah, I was gonna say like how how how have studios not made an absolute like I don't want to say rule, but like I don't know suggestion, suggestion, like not allowed, like is at the studios I'm teaching at, and I'm very conscious of this because I fucking hate when people aren't getting informed consent. And this is something that I've talked about, I think on podcasts before it's come up a few times, but what's really insane is in I don't know what waivers and like terms and conditions are like in Latin America, but here in the US, if you're using mind body, mind body has a clause built into their terms and conditions that you sign off on in that waiver that no one fucking reads. It says that your teacher is allowed to take and share photos of class, of you, whatever. You sign those rights away. And most people have no idea. So I think it's really important as a yoga teacher or even a yoga student to like know and be aware. And if you're a teacher who is, you know, everyone has to be a content creator to be a business owner these days. That's like an unfortunate turn of events that has taken 2020. Be conscious of where your content is coming from. Offer a free class in exchange for your content.

SPEAKER_00 45:41

Ask permission if you're not doing like if you need to get some content, like I completely understand, I totally understand that. But did you ask permission? That's my thing.

SPEAKER_01 45:53

And like something at the top of class, like, hey, I might take a clip here or there. Like, if you don't want to be in it, this section of the studio will be shown. If you don't want to be in it, like go towards the outer edge or like the back, like whatever it is, but give informed consent because so many people are like, I got like I think we talked about on this podcast, but there was a studio I was teaching at this time last year, and I got in trouble because I kind of like publicly called the teacher out because she's taking crotch shots in fucking Shivasana and like not asking permission, then it's plastered all over her social media, and it's just like, ew, like that is a sacred space. And like, I would rather you at the end of class be like, hey, I need some social media content. Do you mind if we stage something? And I take it. Yeah, I just totally there are so many workarounds for that, but I've never had a student do it. But it's actually funny because being a wannabe content creator, I have toyed with this. Like, if I go to class, like maybe I take a couple of video clips of myself, but every time I've stopped myself because it gives me the yick.

SPEAKER_00 47:09

I always just do it by like by myself. I haven't done a class. I haven't done a class yet. I just do, I just film myself.

SPEAKER_01 47:16

The I have a couple clips of classes, and it was when we first opened the studio. We did like a grand opening day, and we had all of our classes free. Um, and I took a quick little shot at the beginning of each class, and that's what I use now. And I feel like that was an energy exchange. Like people knew ahead of time. We asked permission. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 47:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:42

Like it was a free class. The the exchange was that we're gonna take some content.

SPEAKER_00 47:46

Exactly. That's a such that's such a beautiful way to have a fun practice, and then people who want to like people who love you and your teaching are gonna wanna help you with that. And I think by offering them that, you know what I mean, that energy exchange of having that practice, I think that that's like that's such a beautiful way to honor the practice, but also to help your business. And I think anyone who is a practitioner of you and like understands that and is comfortable, you know, being filmed or what have you, I think would like no questions asked, like hands down, like helping. I just found that so funny when I I like have seen that come up a few times for me. And I'm just like, I can't even, I can't even like fathom my head around yet. Like it's so like I don't even know what I would do if I saw someone setting up a tripod.

SPEAKER_01 48:44

I honestly, uh yeah. I mean, uh, at this point, I would be like, no, this this ain't the class. I'm not afraid to make an enemy, and maybe that's like my Achilles heel because I am kind of confrontational, and I think that's like maybe what rubbed some people the wrong way about my last episode is it was a little confrontational. Um this episode is trending that way as well. I'm sounding a little bit confrontational, and maybe that's like my thing to look inward on and work on to make it in a more loving, non-judgmental way. But yeah, I'm human and I'm practicing and I'm not perfect. But yeah, I think I would make an enemy. I would be like, this is just like not the class.

SPEAKER_00 49:31

Oh, I I'm just like I've thought about it. I'm like, I don't even, I still I guess get back to me on this, but like, or I'll get back to you on this. Like, I don't know how I I would react because I was like, oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 49:43

Or I don't know, maybe I would be like, okay, you can do it, but just make sure you're in the corner and like no one else, and like you let the people around you know what you're doing and make sure that they're not on camera. I don't know how I would handle it, but I just think we have this one 60-minute window to be unplugged, like unfucking plug.

SPEAKER_00 50:01

Yeah, yeah, that's where my head goes. Like, if you really need it, like distraction. Let's have a conversation about it first.

SPEAKER_01 50:10

It's just a distraction, it's a way to distract yourself. Like, that's the new thing that also drives me nuts. It's like the Apple Watch thing. It's like people are texting during class from their Apple Watch. It's like unplug for one hour, you will live. Unless it's like an emergency or like, you know, extenuating circumstance, that's different. I can honor that. But when you're literally doing it to distract yourself from the practice, like you're missing the practice. That's the point. It's like noticing where the distractions are and allowing yourself to not lean into those distractions. Like, talk about be uncomfortable. Yeah, even we can use water as a distraction. You're having like a super hard practice. Do you really need that sip of water right there? Or are you using it as a way to like detach from the practice for a minute?

SPEAKER_00 50:55

Get out of chair pose.

SPEAKER_01 50:57

Yeah, right. Are you bailing because it's hard and like you need an excuse, or are you really going to absolutely fucking die of thirst right then and there?

SPEAKER_00 51:07

Mm-hmm. Okay.

Where To Find Dee And Closing Ask

SPEAKER_01 51:11

I think that's a good place to wrap it up. Now that we've offended everyone, judged everyone, and alienated everyone, we'll end it here.

SPEAKER_00 51:22

No, we're sharing our human opinions. People don't need to agree.

SPEAKER_01 51:29

Yes. Yes, I mean we've got on this podcast as well. And like I always I do always want to hear from people. So like send me a comment, send me a DM. I think now you can even chat with us right through wherever you podcast from. So yeah, shoot us a line. Let me know. If you've been following this podcast for a while, you know that I, when presented with new facts and information, I have no problems changing my mind. Um, some of the things like, yeah, I'm firm on. I I don't want to hear about your peptides. I don't want to hear about your Botox and how it cured your TMJ dysfunction. Like those are band-aids, and you're I'm sorry, you're gonna regret that someday. And you the great thing is you have the power to do the same thing, get more information and to make a change. So amen. That's that. Anything else you got for us, Dee? Where can we follow you and find you?

SPEAKER_00 52:29

You can find me on Instagram at I am Deirdre Lee, or you can follow me on my anahapta.yoga.bnistar page. Or you can find me at this wonderful new webinar that we're gonna put out.

SPEAKER_01 52:48

Yes, we I will link that in the show notes here. It's not currently on the nearly enlightened homepage. Maybe eventually it will be when I figure out how to do that. Um but for now, you can find it in a link that we will provide in the show notes. And then stay tuned for our social media because I'm sure we're gonna be blowing you up about it.

SPEAKER_00 53:11

Yes. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 53:14

Thank you for being here. It's always a pleasure. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of the Nearly Enlightened podcast. If this conversation resonated with you, I would love it if you shared it, left a review, or reach out to me and let me know your thoughts. And if you're looking for more ways to deepen your connection to body, mind, and spirit, check out my Meditate to Elevate Guided Meditation portal or visit nearlyenlightened.com for more resources. Until next time, stay curious, stay connected, and remember the answers already lie within.