Sensitive Matters • Podcast

HER STORIES – Life in a female body | EP 01 with Emily Kuser

Bodies come in many shapes, sizes, ages and stages of health. As humans and almost on a daily basis, we are exposed to standardized perceptions of what a beautiful, strong and healthy body and their features should look and feel like. We meet peer judgement, silent judgement and our own self-talk, oftentimes without even asking where these ways of thinking and believing are truly coming from.
In the following series ‘HER STORIES – Life in a female body’ we interviewed an incredible mix of inspiring women that all represent in their own ways different facets and aspects of beauty with having on thing in common: they are without any doubt beautiful.
Our first interview is with Emily Kuser, yoga and embodiment teacher who currently lives in Bali. Emily is at the time of the interview 8 months pregnant and on her very own journey around beauty and how it feels to be in this human body.
In the upcoming episodes we will speak with the 68 year old Soma who shares her heart and eye-opening story around moving through the ages and what it feels like to be in a 68 years old body today. Sophie shares her story on having a baby and what it feels like to turn to a new found sense of embodiment and wisdom. Please stay put... ;)

Meeting with Artemis – Chris Skidmore and ancient tales of humanity

Welcome to the newest episode of Sensitive Matters. This time we are taking a dive deep into the mysterious and fascinating world of mythology together with the wonderful Chris Skidmore, a therapist registered with the psychotherapy and counselling foundation of Australia. Chris is also a biodynamic craniosacral therapist and has been a practicing astrologer for the past seven years. In his podcast ‘On the soul’s terms’ Chris shares insights on well-known myths and figures and analyses them with the concepts of astrology, mythology, archetypes and legends from the past.
Today’s episode is a dedication to the Greek Goddess Artemis whose presence is a big part of our newest collection ‘Tales from Within’.
This episode covers the following points:
Embark on a journey into the profound world of mythology, where intricate life complexities are unraveled, inviting introspection and deeper existential inquiries.
Explore the intricacies of the human experience through mythological tales, which serve as mirrors reflecting the delicate shades of gray and moral dilemmas we encounter.
Dive deep into the archetype of Artemis, embodying the harmonious blend of untamed intuition and the delicate balance between domesticity and the wild.
Uncover the unforeseen consequences of the "never again" mindset, delving into its potential to lead to tragic outcomes and a gradual hardening of one's identity.
Find out how ancient archetypes offer insights to navigate personal narratives, heal from pain, and glean wisdom amidst betrayal.
Witness the transformative fusion of astrology, fairy tales, and personal anecdotes from Christina and guest, Chris Skidmore as they share illuminating new perspectives and providing profound life guidance.
Embark on an enlightening exploration of the captivating Artemis, as we unravel her multifaceted essence—a guardian, sensual enigma, and embodiment of life force.
Navigate Artemis within the rich tapestry of ancient Greek deities, discovering her distinct role and dynamic interplay among the divine beings.
Immerse yourself in practical applications of "Artemis Energy," drawing upon her fierce vitality to infuse your narrative with courage, intuition, and authenticity.
Discover how Christina was inspired by “Artemis Energy” to create Ananda Soul’s new Artemis collection.
Reflect on the captivating exploration of Artemis, inviting you to embrace your untamed nature within, fostering intuitive revelations and nurturing the transformative power of myth. 
We truly hope you are as fascinated about this episode as we are! Listen and leave us a review and your feedback below!
Find more about Chris Skidmore here: https://onthesoulsterms.com
Check out Chris 'On the Soul's' podcast 
 
ABOUT OUR HOST:
Christina Zipperlen is the designer and founder of Ananda Soul, but her journey doesn’t end there. She is also a writer and counselor, helping others to heal trauma, find their authentic self, and feel safe and whole as they walk through this life. She uses a somatic approach combined with Compassionate Inquiry to form a deep understanding of how the body, mind, and soul are undeniably interwoven. Interested? You can learn more by visiting www.SensitiveMatters.com

Special Episode: Sink Into Your Intuition Meditation by Christina Zipperlen

Within us resides a collection of tales and stories – a wisdom passed on through generations a long, long time ago. You are invited to join me in a 10 minute meditation to come to meet tales, wonders and magic that have always already been residing within you, but might have not been accessible to you. You will be guided to listen to the wonders and whispers of your own inner wisdom that stir your heart and ignite a fire deep within your soul. You will be guided back to getting in touch with your intuition, your heart and gut, so you may move into the world as a full expression of your truth.
Grab a cushion or blanket, find yourself in your most comfortable seat or lie down and allow yourself to be carried into a safe space from which you get to see all parts and tales of you.
We hope you will enjoy this unique exploration into your own world of tales and wonders. 
Here is your free meditation with Christina. Find a quiet space, maybe a cushion, and press play 🤍

Special Episode: Grounding meditation with Anna Fries

Inspired by the celebration of Earth Day last week, we wanted to speak to the idea of acknowledging and honoring Mother Earth as the nurturer and bearer of all life.
Earth Day is a day that celebrates and honors our planet. It brings light to the efforts and the achievements of the global environmental movement and raises awareness of the need to protect Mother Earth’s resources for future generations to come. The intention is to educate, diversify and activate. Earth Day creates visibility for projects and initiatives that support our resources and our future.
Our offering for Earth Day is to bring you and us back to our own inner earth and with this to our interconnectedness.
This Earth Day we are offering a grounding meditation to connect deeper to where we are coming from.
Start by settling into a comfortable seat, sensing into the weight of your lower body and notice your particles settle as you arrive. Make sure you are supported and able to be at ease.
Notice the way in which your weight is distributed in your seat. Take note if it is even, or if you are more inclined towards the left, the right, the front or the back and if you are able to find your center.Imagine your pelvis is an anchor - grounding you into the Earth you are sitting on.
Feel down into the base of your spine, the point that connects you to the Earth. Envision roots growing from the base of your spine, like a tree, burrowing down, anchoring so deeply into the earth, you become a part of her. Nothing can rock you, pull you out of your foundation.
Feel yourself rooted in the place that you are in now.
From these roots imagine the spine and torso as the trunk of a solid tree. Visualize its bark, the structure, texture, smell, stability - give it adjectives as you continue to give it your awareness and observations
Take the space to lean back into that which is you, that holds you.
Let your inner eye wander through the belly, through your diaphragm, the base of your heart, your heart towards your shoulders.
From the shoulders upward we imagine/feel as if we had branches extending skyward, towards the astral. Branches that make up a crown that you would wear.
Where the leaves of our tree would be, we see the benevolent faces of our loved ones, community, familial and spiritual ancestry from which we receive blessings, love and support in form of liquid light flowing down to us. The stars are woven into our branches like diamonds from the sky.
Let the light, the love from our loved ones trickle down through our branches, our trunk and roots back into the Earth.
Let the light and love be a creative intelligence that exists through you, that permeates you and passed on into the Earth itself, you are a connection point between the Earth and the heavens.
Allow yourself to bask in the sensation and support of the Earth as well as your guides. All is connected, in deep reciprocity. Our roots are like super highways that share nourishment, energy and wisdom with one another. You are not alone on this Earthly realm.
Slowly start to bring awareness back to your surroundings, notice any other sensation your senses grasp before opening your eyes slowly. Move with mindfulness and intention as you take the sensation of groundedness into your day.
 

Nancy Aronie & the healing power of writing

We are incredibly honored to speak with Nancy Aronie on the 23rd episode of our Sensitive Matters podcast. Nancy is a writing coach and workshop leader who has helped countless writers access their own unique voice and create a
safe space for self-expression. She has worked with various big institutions such as Harvard University, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and Omega Institute, among others.
Her book Memoir as Medicine in which she shares her own moving stories invites writers to tap into the healing power of writing.
This episode covers the following points:
How to create a positive atmosphere where writers can feel comfortable sharing their work and being vulnerable by setting clear guidelines for respectful communication.
How writers can overcome their self-doubt and fear of judgment to continue on their writing journey, using her own experiences as an example.
The importance of finding the right group of writers who will support and encourage each other to grow and thrive.
The therapeutic benefits of writing, and how it can be used as a tool for self-discovery and personal growth.
Nancy shares practical advice on how writers can use writing to tap into their unique voice and perspective, and how prompts and exercises can be used to spark creativity and inspiration.
The importance of writers tapping into their unique voice and perspective to create authentic and powerful writing.
Tips on using prompts and exercises to overcome writer's block and spark creativity.
The importance of positive feedback and encouragement in the creative process, and how it can help writers stay motivated and confident.
How writing can be used as a tool to process trauma and difficult emotions, and how it can lead to healing and growth.
The benefits of creating a regular writing practice, and how it can serve as a form of self-care and self-expression.
We truly hope you love this episode as much as we do! Listen and leave us a review and your feedback below!
Learn more about Nancy Aronie here:
https://chilmarkwritingworkshop.com/nancy-aronie
Check out her new book 'Memoir as Medicine'
ABOUT OUR HOST:
Christina Zipperlen is the designer and founder of Ananda Soul, but her journey doesn’t end there. She is also a writer and counselor, helping others to heal trauma, find their authentic self, and feel safe and whole as they walk through this life. She uses a somatic approach combined with Compassionate Inquiry to form a deep understanding of how the body, mind, and soul are undeniably interwoven. Interested? You can learn more by visiting www.SensitiveMatters.com

The power of Now with Kat Dawes

She was our number one guest on the Sensitive Matters podcast. And we are so happy to have her back again, for episode 22.
If you haven’t met her yet, Kat Dawes is a performance philosopher, author, spiritual coach, and creator of the practice of Nowism.
As a Now-Ninja she challenges us to be in the present moment and to fall deeper in love with our "mindfulness muscle" in our ever distracting distracted world. Kat made it her calling to teach people to use their superpower and what it means to audaciously invest in the higher vibrations for the purpose of activating our inherent potential. 
This brand new episode covers the following topics:
Kat Dawes' background as a performance philosopher, author, spiritual coach, and creator of the practice of Nowism
The importance of being present in the moment and flexing our "mindfulness muscle" in a world full of distractions
Kat's discovery of the power of taking a vow to now and reframing negative thought patterns into positive manifestations
The idea that the quality of the present moment flavors our future manifestations
The creation of Nowism as a game to make mindfulness practice engaging and compelling
The role of thoughts and vibes in shaping our character traits and patterns, and how to catch ourselves before reacting and choose a higher response
The need for commitment and discipline to create a higher response to life and break free from negative patterns
Answers to the questions: How can we stay present in the face of distractions? What is the power of manifestation? How can we break free from patterns of negative thinking and feeling?
We truly hope you love this episode as much as we do! Listen and leave us a review and your feedback below!
Learn more about Kat Dawes and Nowism here:
https://www.katdawes.com/
Kat's favorite Ananda Soul Jewelry:
Shine Necklace: https://anandasoul.com/products/shine-necklace
Into the Light Necklace: https://anandasoul.com/products/into-the-light-necklace
ABOUT OUR HOST:
Christina Zipperlen is the designer and founder of Ananda Soul, but her journey doesn’t end there. She is also a writer and counselor, helping others to heal trauma, find their authentic self, and feel safe and whole as they walk through this life. She uses a somatic approach combined with Compassionate Inquiry to form a deep understanding of how the body, mind, and soul are undeniably interwoven. Interested? You can learn more by visiting www.SensitiveMatters.com

Tara Judelle on living life in flow

Our latest guest to the Sensitive Matters Podcast is joy, embodied wisdom and curiosity in one. Tara Judelle, a full time yoga teacher for over 20 years is actually a lifelong student of spiritual practice, meditation and our connection to our bodies through Hatha yoga, contemporary somatic theory and the philosophy of Non-dual Kashmir Shaivism.  
She merges her knowledge and experience in her very own School of Embodied Flow, a school of yoga and movement reconnecting body, mind and spirit. Movement, asana, meditation, visualization, philosophy, psychology, verbal expression, and science are technologies she merges to acquire a deep sense of strength, ease and connectivity.
Listen to this episode as we walk our way through the following points:
 How Tara Judelle became a full-time yoga teacher and a lifelong student of spiritual practice, meditation, and embodied practices
What embodiment is and why it's important
How our minds and our bodies work together to help further our journey of self-inquiry
How yoga is a balance of steadiness and ease and how we can cultivate that for ourselves
How Tara uses the philosophies of non-dualism and Buddhism to bring about oneness within our practices and our bodies
The mechanics and how to hone in on specific parts of the body
Working with the axis of our bodies, working with the backbody, and finding our anatomical centerline of our bodies
The body's connection to our emotions, society, our ancestors and how we’re all intrinsically connected
Working with inquiry and how we experience different emotions within the body and bringing our awareness into those experiences
We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do! Listen and leave us a review and your feedback below!
Learn more about Tara Judelle and The School of Embodied Flow here:
http://tarajudelle.com
https://www.embodiedflow.com
Tara’s next offering begins on February 23rd and is an online-only immersion into the art of Embodied Flow. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to study with her.
 
ABOUT OUR HOST:
Christina Zipperlen is the designer and founder of Ananda Soul, but her journey doesn’t end there. She is also a writer and counselor, helping others to heal trauma, find their authentic self, and feel safe and whole as they walk through this life. She uses a somatic approach combined with Compassionate Inquiry to form a deep understanding of how the body, mind, and soul are undeniably interwoven. Interested? You can learn more by visiting www.SensitiveMatters.com

Dr. Anita Johnston & how to eat under the light of the moon

"Belonging is when you stay connected to your authentic self as you connect with others. Fitting in is when you have to abandon your authentic self to try to look like, act like, think like, feel like how you imagine others want you to look and act as, think and feel." -Dr. Anita Johnston
Our 20th episode is dedicated to Dr. Anita Johnston, a licensed clinical psychologist, pioneer in the field of disordered eating psychology, and author of Eating in the Light of the Moon and a true storyteller. She has dedicated her career to helping people recover from disordered eating and the relationships we have with food, with our bodies.
Having suffered – like many other young women – from disordered eating in her teenage years herself, Christina explores in her usual sensitive manner together with Dr. Anita Johnston the complexity of disordered eating and human sensitivity and what ways are available to us to address eating disorders.
This episode guides us through the following points:
Exploring the prevalence of disordered eating and its relationship to diet culture.
Examining the sensitivity and intuition of individuals with disordered eating.
Investigating the use of storytelling and metaphor as a way to address disordered eating.
The commonalities of those with disordered eating in regard to sensitivity
How we can limit external influences that may affect our body image 
How  underlying societal stereotypes of gender roles and the expectations we have around those roles can contribute as cofactors
What it actually means when people say they are in recovery for disordered eating
We hope you enjoy this episode! Listen up and leave us a review and your feedback below!
Learn more about Dr. Anita Johnston here: 
https://dranitajohnston.com
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ABOUT OUR HOST:
Christina Zipperlen is the designer and founder of Ananda Soul, but her journey doesn’t end there. She is also a writer and counselor, helping others to heal trauma, find their authentic self, and feel safe and whole as they walk through this life. She uses a somatic approach combined with Compassionate Inquiry to form a deep understanding of how the body, mind, and soul are undeniably interwoven. Interested? You can learn more by visiting www.SensitiveMatters.com

Special Episode: Free Yoga Nidra with Kamini Desai

Following the podcast episode with Kamini Desai, in which she introduces us to the art of Yoga Nidra, we are now superexcited to share with you a free Yoga Nidra gift from Kamini Desai as a special treat for you this holiday season. If you are in need to slow down, take a break from the ongoing festivities or upgrade your resilience – here is your perfect how to.
What is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra, known as the 'Yogic sleep' is an ancient practice that invokes deep relaxation and calmness of the heart, mind and soul. In our latest podcast episode with Kamini Desai we have been introduced to the beautiful art of Yoga Nidra and what makes it a spiritual practice.
As the year is drawing to a close we are offered with opportunities to stand still and allow ourselves the space for contemplation of what was, what is and what will become.
The benefits of Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is a wonderful tool to support us through these times of digestion and processing.
Originally a nyasa meditation practice (the practice of moving of consciousness through the different body parts retaining prana) from traditional Tantra Yoga, it has profound healing effects on the body, mind, and soul.
Yoga Nidra guides practitioners into a deep state of relaxation putting the practitioner into a space between the alpha and theta state. This allows us to rest in deep relaxation, a state between waking and sleeping, a state that calms the autonomic nervous system that we need to regulate our body's processes and that take place without a conscious effort. In addition, it puts the parasympathetic nervous system into a deeper resting state.
A calm nervous system is the state we want to act and live from at all times.
Yoga Nidra offers a great variety of benefits that we have listed for you below:
Improved thought patterns and reduced stress
Enhanced cognitive performance and memory
Improved self-esteem and confidence
Better sleep
Improved waking mindfulness
Diminishes symptoms of anxiety and depression
Treats chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder
Lowers blood pressure
Reduces addiction
Enhances creativity
Reduces PTSD
Strengthens immune system
Recharges vital energy
Strengthens the endocrine system
Reduces the need for pain medication
...and many many more
Weaving Yoga Nidra into our every day over a certain period of time helps us greatly to meet the external and internal challenges of life from a space of calm, hope and ease, allowing us to look at the bright side of life rather than through a sense of stress and contraction.
Kamini Desai is offering us a beautiful Yoga Nidra practice to enjoy in the safe environment of your home. Enjoy!

Kamini Desai & the art of Yoga Nidra

We are back with an exciting and at the same time somehow relaxing episode of the Sensitive Matter Podcast. This months guest is Kamini Desai, author, yoga teacher and master of Yoga Nidra.
In this episode Kamini introduces us to the art of Yoga Nidra, what she means by saying it is ‘meditation made easy’ and how she encountered Yoga Nidra in her own life and practice.
This brand new episode will guide us through the following points:
What Yoga Nidra is as a spiritual and meditation practice
How Yoga Nidra is different from other meditation and yoga asana
Kamini’s journey and the foundation that shaped her spiritual journey, career and practice
The benefits that Yoga Nidra brings as a practice.
How can we integrate our spiritual connection for those that are busy and have a hard time finding space for a practice
Some resources and practices to help us all stay centered in our ever-changing world
We hope you enjoy this episode! Listen up and leave us a review and your feedback below!
Learn more about Kamini Desai here:
https://www.kaminidesai.com/
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About our host:
Christina Zipperlen is the designer and founder of Ananda Soul, but her journey doesn’t end there. She is also a writer and counselor, helping others to heal trauma, find their authentic self, and feel safe and whole as they walk through this life. She uses a somatic approach combined with Compassionate Inquiry to form a deep understanding of how the body, mind, and soul are undeniably interwoven. Interested? You can learn more by visiting www.SensitiveMatters.com