Show Notes
We start, as usual, with some wandering banter touching on astrological shifts for Aquarius, shrinking brains, talking to sisters, and whatever else comes up along the way.
Then we settle into the heart of the episode: “Listen to Your Body”- a cue used constantly in yoga spaces, but what does it actually mean? And more importantly, is it really landing?
We unpack how disconnected many people are from their bodies, and how vague cues like listen to your body can miss the mark when students don’t yet know what they’re listening for. Giana shares an example from a semi-private session that highlights this disconnect, sparking a bigger conversation around the difference between discomfort and pain, comparison in class, overriding your own internal compass, and how easily students become further detached from themselves. We also explore how distractions, from external pressure to even the music in class, can pull people further out of their embodied experience.
From there, we talk about what it actually means to cultivate connection. As teachers, how do we offer language and options that help students tune in rather than tune out? How do we give permission for what they’re genuinely feeling?
We also dive into nervous system work and embodiment. Giana shares how years of deep flexibility were, in part, tied to an inability to fully feel sensation in her body, and how reconnecting through different healing modalities completely changed her relationship to movement. She can still access the same range, but now from a place of awareness rather than disconnection.
The conversation expands into what embodiment really means- mind, body, and spirit- and how pregnancy has added layers of distraction, discomfort, and change that have made feeling fully embodied more complex.
And because this is us, we wrap up with funny stories about Bradshaw’s unique gifts and the humbling experience of taking public yoga classes while injured.
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