On and Off Your Mat Yoga Podcast

Last week, in part one of our episode on psychedelic healing, we talked about the before the journey, during the journey, what you need to know, how to properly prepare, and how to navigate your experience. Today we dive into what it means to integrate, how to integrate effectively, the importance of support and community, and how to avoid a “bad trip” (or how to deal with one if you find yourself in one).If you're a Highly Sensitive Person considering plant medicine or psychedelics, this episode is a must-listen. Chuchu and I discuss the extra considerations HSPs should take into account, the power of trusting your intuition throughout the process, and how to step into your greatness through proper integration practices.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/248

As psychedelics become more mainstream and popular, it's crucial to approach these powerful medicines with caution, integrity, and responsibility - especially if you're a highly sensitive person. To help me explore this topic, I have psychedelic healing expert Chuchu Wang on the podcast. Through her own personal experiences and the work she does at Ceremonia, the retreat center she co-founded, Chuchu has witnessed both the beautiful, magical healing that can happen with psychedelics and the tragic, re-traumatizing experiences that can occur in the wrong setting with the wrong facilitator.In part one of this two-part episode, we discuss the fundamentals of psychedelic healing, what you need to know before deciding if this modality is right for you, how to properly prepare for a journey, and the foundation for navigating the experience itself. Be sure to return for part two next week, where we talk about integration, support, community, and how to avoid or deal with a "bad trip."Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/247

The first step in overcoming overwhelm is to understand what it is and how it feels in your body. By learning to recognize overwhelm, you can start to regulate your nervous system and manage stress more effectively. Join me to dive deep into the physical sensations of overwhelm and explore how to process this intense emotion in a healthy way.In this episode, I share the exact process I use with coaching clients to help them overcome overwhelm. As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), you may be more prone to overwhelm than the average person. You’ll learn why overwhelm is a common experience for HSPs, and why it doesn't have to control your life.Click here for the 1:1 Somatic coaching application or click here to join the waitlist for my Feel It to Heal It mini course.For everything else, get full show notes here: https://erikabelanger.com/246

If you experience a lot of worry or anxiety, or you’re always replaying in your head what happened, or always thinking about what needs to be done or what might happen in the future today’s practice is for you.A lot of my coaching client find TOUCH to be a really resourcing sense to turn to when orienting, creating inner safety, or widening their capacity for processing uncomfortable emotions and deal with challenges, so I thought I would share one of my favorite, super simple touch meditation practice.I’ve used this with clients to✨ bring them to the present moment✨ reconnect to their body and sensations✨ get out of anxiety, overwhelm and hyper-vigilance✨ regulate their nervous system✨ bring back a sense of control over their body and emotions✨ and even rewire old beliefs like “I’m not enough”This practice is part of our premium subscription, to get access to it, become a premium podcast member.When you leave a review for the podcast on iTunes you can get a free trial. DM @onandoffyourmatpodcast or email (erika.belanger@gmail.com) me a screenshot of your review and we'll get you set up.Your podcast premium membership (as low as $5/month) allows me to continue to create and produce this podcast. I choose to keep this add-free for a better listening experience, so there are no revenue and the membership keeps this podcast alive. If you love On and Off Your Mat and want it to continue, support the show here and have access to this somatic practice and so much more.

Today, I sit down with Shanna Farnsworth to explore practical strategies for confident class planning. Shanna’s journey as a yoga teacher began 15 years ago in a New York City church basement. Since then, she has honed her skills in intelligent sequencing and mentored hundreds of yoga teachers. Her goal is to help teachers feel prepared and confident when leading classes, fostering meaningful connections with their students.Discover Shanna’s tried-and-true methods for crafting sequences that are both creative and purposeful. She offers insights on breaking down poses, using props effectively, and creating a cohesive class experience that fosters meaningful connections with your students.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/244

If you feel sluggish, drained of energy, and experience a lingering sense of emptiness or a hollow ache in your heart, today’s episode is for you. As Highly Sensitive People (HSP), we often wish we didn’t feel so deeply, so we tend to repress our emotions, leading to outbursts of tears. This makes it difficult to identify whether we’re actually feeling sad, angry, disappointed, ashamed, and so on.Tune in this week to discover how to feel your sadness so you can heal it. I discuss how truly feeling your sadness allows you to show up more fiercely and fully as yourself, enabling you to access more joy in your life. Learn practical strategies you can use right now when sadness hits, allowing you to express your sadness in ways that truly serve you.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/243

Dr. Andy Sabatier, a physiotherapist passionate about the mechanics of breathing, joins us. After training at Stanford Hospital's Cardiac ICU and serving as the primary ICU physical therapist for a hospital system in Oregon, Andy has dedicated himself to eliminating confusion and harmful practices around breathing. We continue the conversation on breathing that we started a few weeks ago with Alison Starr.In this episode, Andy explains the difference between functional and dysfunctional breathing, the anatomy of the breathing muscles, and simple practices to optimize your breathing. You'll walk away with a fascinating new perspective on this essential bodily function we often take for granted.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/242

If you want to raise your frequency to uplift your mood and energy, improve your emotional and mental well-being, connect more deeply with your higher self, intuition, or a sense of universal consciousness, or even align yourself with the energies of abundance, love, and success for example so you can manifest more of what you desire, today’s practice is for you.Visualization is a powerful tool for raising your vibration because it engages the mind, emotions, and energy in a focused way that aligns you with higher frequencies and allows you to be very gentle.This practice is part of our premium subscription, to get access to it, become a premium podcast member.When you leave a review for the podcast on iTunes you can have access to the membership for free, including today’s class as a thank you for helping others to find the podcast and on their healing journey. DM @onandoffyourmatpodcast or email (erika.belanger@gmail.com) me a screenshot of your review and we'll get you set up.On the membership platform, you'll find: 1. Your premium podcast episodes ($5/month).2. You can now also have access to almost 600 recorded full-length yoga classes in a Netflix-Style Membership ($25/month). 3. You can sign up for any live-stream class I offer!With our podcast premium membership, your contribution ripples to thousands of people every week, allowing me to offer accessible quality free content to a wide community of yogis. This podcast is a way I contribute to the community, and this membership is a way you can too. It allows you to share everything yoga offers with the world by supporting me in the creation and production of this podcast while I choose to keep it ad-free.

Alison Starr, founder of Kanda Yoga School and creator of the 20 Minute Miracles app, joins us to explore how developing a relationship with your breath can transform your yoga practice and your life.Alison shares her journey of discovering functional breathing and how it helped her overcome chronic pain and instability. She explains the difference between functional and dysfunctional breathing patterns and how many common cues in yoga and fitness can actually restrict the natural movement of the diaphragm. Learn simple techniques to calm your nervous system, increase your inner awareness, and find more ease and presence both on and off the mat. Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/240