Show Notes
In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Swami Atma Muktananda Saraswati, the long-time resident teacher and manager of Rocklyn Ashram, where we’ll be gathering for my upcoming October Returning Retreat. Swamiji has spent more than 40 years living, teaching, and serving at the ashram, and in this conversation we explore the traditional Satyananda Yoga system, the role of Yoga Nidra in creating deep relaxation, the history of the ashram, and what life in an ashram is actually like. We also talk about community, practice, and why stepping away from the pace of everyday life can create space for something quite profound to happen. After spending time out at the ashram recently, I’ve become even more excited for our retreat. There’s something very special about the place — the warmth of the people, the beautiful bush setting, the simplicity of the rhythm, and the feeling that you can put down all of the usual “doing” for a while and simply arrive as a student and practitioner. If you’ve been craving more depth in your practice, more spaciousness, or simply a few days away from holding everything together, I genuinely think this experience is going to be incredibly special. A quick reminder too: the super early bird pricing for the retreat ends this Sunday, so if you’ve been considering joining us, now is a really lovely time to book in. Enjoy the conversation. Check out all the Returning Retreat details here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/returning Support the show on Patreon. Here is the link: https://www.patreon.com/AmyMcDonald
More from Abundant Yoga Teacher Podcast
I’m kicking off a new teacher spotlight series of the show this week with a conversation with Sonya Quijada. After using yoga as part of her recovery from Army-related injuries and chronic pain, Sonya pursued extensive training in yoga, mindfulness, biomechanics, and physio-functional movement. She became a yoga teacher in 2008, focusing on helping people who may feel intimidated by traditional yoga environments. Sonya founded Q Wellness Yoga, a pay-what-you-can online yoga studio based on the idea that yoga can fit both your body and your lifestyle. She teaches "clunky yoga for creaky bodies," with adaptive practices for mobility, balance, and strength for accessible aging. She has practiced yoga for more than 30 years, combining yoga instruction, life coaching, wellness consulting, and resilience training into an integrated approach to wellbeing. We discuss her incredible journey, living with pain and the fear of pain, creating, building and selling a Yoga studio and reimagining your life then taking the leap to action. I think you’ll love it! Check out Sonya’s work here: https://qwellnessyoga.com/ Come and join me for Gita Chat Club. We’ll spend six sessions exploring the text, its mythology and philosophy in a relaxed, conversational way, without needing to be an expert. You can sign up for the full club or come along to a free taster session to see if it’s for you. Check out the brand new Gita chat Club here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/gita Support this show and access all the extra goodies on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/AmyMcDonald
In this episode, I’m exploring what happens when you’ve built a successful business, you’re earning enough and you have plenty of clients, but you still feel compelled to do more. Through three conversations with Yoga business owners and two stories from the Mahābhārata, we’ll look at the beliefs and habits that keep us striving long after the original need has passed, why an empty space in your calendar can feel surprisingly uncomfortable and what it might take to trust yourself to choose less. Because sometimes the next step in your business isn’t more growth. It’s learning how to live well with what you’ve already created. And if you’re curious about exploring these kinds of questions through the stories and teachings of the Bhagavad Gītā, come and join me for Gita Chat Club. We’ll spend six sessions over 12 weeks exploring the text, its mythology and philosophy in a relaxed, conversational way, without needing to be an expert. You can sign up for the full club or come along to a free taster session to see if it’s for you. Check out the brand new Gita chat Club here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/gita
Today I’m joined by Mark Breadner who has spent 45 years teaching yoga and more than 30 years educating teachers. His work has taken him from yoga rooms and teacher trainings to elite sport, corporate performance, Tibetan monasteries and online education. Through all of it, one question has remained: what does it actually mean to teach? Today, Mark's work explores Teaching in the New Room—helping experienced teachers translate decades of lived wisdom into a digital world without becoming influencers or content creators. His message is simple: the room has changed. Great teaching hasn't. Check out Mark’s work here: https://vip.yogacoach.com/ And follow him on Instagram @mark.breadner Support this show and access all the extra goodies on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/AmyMcDonald Join the Returning Retreat here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/returning Join the Business Breakthrough Day here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/breakthrough Check out the brand new Gita chat Club here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/gita
Last month we kicked off the new Yoga Teacher Circle with some juicy questions about boundaries. Enjoy a teaser of that conversation. And over on Patreon I’ve got a bonus episode of the podcast all about a recent Shero I discovered. Enjoy! Support this show and access all the extra goodies on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/AmyMcDonald Join the Returning Retreat here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/returning Join the Business Breakthrough Day here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/breakthrough And if you’re interested in working with me individually around your own life, relationships or inner world, you can find out more about counselling here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/counselling REFERENCE: Rao, Kavitha (2021) Lady Doctors: The Untold Stories of India's First Women in Medicine, Westland, Chennai
There’s a strange point in personal growth where you can become very good at understanding your patterns without actually changing them. In this episode I’m looking at why insight isn’t always enough, how attachment and people-pleasing patterns can show up with students, studio owners and colleagues and what it takes to interrupt those automatic responses and choose something different. Support this show on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/AmyMcDonald And if you’re interested in working with me individually around your own life, relationships or inner world, you can find out more about counselling here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/counselling