WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:05.559 Karen. Yes, there are so many types of meditation out there. True, 2 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:09.199 right, there's loving kindness, they're sitting in stillness, there's heart center. 3 00:00:09.320 --> 00:00:14.240 There are binorial beats and mindfulness meditations. There are even sound bath meditations. 4 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:19.359 But what if I told you that there is actually only one meditation that 5 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:23.719 you need in order to manifest your life's purpose. Oh, I want to 6 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:27.000 know that one. Uh huh. And what if that one meditation was about 7 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:30.760 to be revealed to us on this week's show, Well, that would be 8 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.719 very exciting about I'd say, let's get out with the show. So here 9 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:39.039 we go. My name is Will and I'm Karen, and unlike moulderin Scully, 10 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:42.079 both want to believe. So we've embarked in a journey of discovery. 11 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:46.079 We've talked to people deeply entrenched in the spiritual and metaphysical world. We've thrown 12 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:50.240 ourselves into weird and wonderful experiences. I even joined a coven of witches and 13 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:54.600 wait, you joined a coven yep, all the interests of finding something, 14 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:58.920 anything that will prove that there's something beyond this physical, three dimensional world we 15 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:18.920 all live in. This is the skeptic metaphysicians. So I see humanity as 16 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:23.400 an analog to the eyes of a fly. Yeah, that's pretty weird just 17 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:26.920 to throw that out there. I know, bear with me because the knowledge 18 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.079 I have of a fly is minimal at best. Now. I only know 19 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:34.959 what I know because of like fifth grade science, right, But what I 20 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:38.359 do know is that the eye of the fly is made up of hundreds or 21 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:44.079 thousands of little ocular lenses that are only looking in one direction. They can't 22 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:48.680 move to look in other directions. They just stay steady looking in one direction. 23 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:52.000 That's all that they can do. So they can only see that one 24 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:56.319 particular direction that they're facing in. And it's only by the fly taken in 25 00:01:56.439 --> 00:02:00.799 all the information from the different lenses can the fly truly make a perfect picture 26 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:04.879 of what's actually going on around them. So, you see, humans are 27 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.719 like the universe's eyes. See, we're all just facing one specific direction. 28 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:14.560 We're only seeing one thing, one perspective, and only by putting all of 29 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:21.280 our perspectives together can we even come close to understanding what life is about or 30 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:24.319 like. Now, unlike the fly, who has no way of letting each 31 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:30.159 lens communicate with each other, we thankfully have the ability to communicate with each 32 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:35.240 other to actually talk and learn from each other's perspectives, the other's view of 33 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:38.080 the world, and so we're able to put things together much more consciously than 34 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:43.479 a fly can, or a fly's I can. A fly needs the fly 35 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:47.000 to put everything together, whereas we can actually put everything together, at least 36 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:51.800 piecemeal, little by little, a little of the corner of the world, 37 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:54.719 by a little corner of the world, by opening ourselves up to each other 38 00:02:54.800 --> 00:03:00.479 and learning from each other's perspectives so that we can try to understand even a 39 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:05.800 little bit more about what life is really about. So the next time you 40 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:09.719 see a fly, think of the fact that all these little islenses only have 41 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:15.840 one perspective, and learn from each other's perspectives, the other's view of the 42 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:23.400 world. Today, we've got a special treat for you. He's an entrepreneur, 43 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:29.039 a twice published and best selling author, a podcast host, a yoga 44 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:32.280 teacher, co owner of blue Osa Yoga Retreat and spot in Costa Rica, 45 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:38.479 and the creator of the revolutionary approach to yoga, applied yoga anatomy plus muscle 46 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:43.879 activation, otherwise known as ayama. It's easy for me to say right now. 47 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:46.199 His journeyed from the wilds of Canada, to New York City, where 48 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:53.280 he started the global men's Naked Yoga movement, to the Sacred Himalayas, where 49 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:58.120 his leg was crushed by boulder in a freak accident while trekking. To the 50 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:02.840 untamed Jungk of Costa Rica, where he built a thriving yoga retweet center, 51 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.879 to today, where he's on a mission to help as many people as possible 52 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:12.960 live a pain free life by teaching his revolutionary approach to yoga. And he 53 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:17.800 says he's accomplished all of this not because he's fearless or extraordinary, although I'm 54 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:24.319 sure he is, but because he had a powerful meditation practice alongside him throughout 55 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:29.040 it all. And he's about to reveal to us what that one meditation practice 56 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:32.240 we all need to manifest our life's purpose. Today. Excited to talk to 57 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:34.439 him and welcome to the show, Yogi, Aaron, How are you? 58 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:41.360 I am better? Now? Can you introduce me? Every day as I 59 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:45.759 wake up out of bed? I love it? You know, I've always 60 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:47.560 told Karen I need to record someone saying something like that and just will carry 61 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:49.720 around with me. So whenever I walk into a room, I've got this 62 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:55.639 introduction, you know, Yes, nice, so much nice. When someone 63 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:59.000 says you know stuff about you, so as long as it's good stuff, 64 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:01.759 well that's true, just stuff. It's it's because I hear people read you 65 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.399 know things about me all the time. But it's that you do it with 66 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:12.199 such enthusiasm and gusto. That's what got me go. It's just I need 67 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:15.680 that enthusiasm daily in my life. I have been accused of having lots of 68 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:25.600 gusto, that's for sure, but we call it gusto here. Okay, 69 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:28.399 all right, Well, I'm excited to talk to you because I mean, 70 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:31.839 you're super intrigued to learn what that one meditation practice is. But we're gonna 71 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:36.079 make every any way just a minute because one of the things as I was 72 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:41.000 researching you, one thing I found about you that I was I was astounded 73 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:46.360 by your type of yoga, Like you have a very unorthodox approach, right 74 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:51.160 to the point of Karen, get this, he believes he feels that stretching 75 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:58.720 might actually do more harm than good. Oh, what, we've been doing 76 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:04.399 it wrong all along, I'll show absolutely. Well. I never like to 77 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:12.079 say anybody's been doing it wrong, but they've been been doing wrong. Well, 78 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:14.600 you know, we don't know what we don't know until we know that 79 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:16.240 we didn't know. I mean, you know, we can go back in 80 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:23.720 medical history and see so many examples of the craziness that you know, these 81 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:29.800 people bought. But yeah, I started getting into yoga because I was tight. 82 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:33.199 I was very athletic, and I thought, like most people, I 83 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:38.560 need to stretch. And it's it's a natural progression because if you look at 84 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:44.399 people as they age, they tend to become more closed in. And I 85 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:50.160 always observe people that looked youthful and were older had more openness, more spring 86 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:55.600 in their step, more mobility. So I got into yoga, I started 87 00:06:55.639 --> 00:07:00.199 stretching, and the very short story is it took me twenty five years to 88 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:03.439 realize it was the stretching that was causing me more pain. As soon as 89 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:08.600 they started stretching, I developed back problems, need problems, neck problems, 90 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:12.639 lower back problems, all kinds of problems. And I never put two and 91 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:17.000 two together until I ended up in a surgeon's office in an emergency room wanting 92 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:21.040 to do a spinal fusion on my lower back after doing this kind of stretching 93 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:27.240 practice to be younger and be more youthful and virile, at the age of 94 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:31.160 forty five, they're wanting to do a spinal fusion. And I actually know 95 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:39.279 many people in their forties early forties even who have had hip replacement surgeries and 96 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:44.600 who are yoga teachers. So really it's something isn't going right. And then 97 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:50.439 that led me into studying the neuromuscular connection between what actually happens when we stretch. 98 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:56.839 And I mean nothing I'm saying is you know, made up, It's 99 00:07:56.879 --> 00:08:01.079 scientifically verified. These are you know, people with PhDs will tell you, 100 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:05.319 yeah, that's exactly what happens. And so the short the short answer is 101 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:11.680 that when we stretch, we actually desensitize our nerve endings and those that we 102 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:16.959 desensitize our nerves, so that the communication system between the nerves or the central 103 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.480 nervous system and the muscles becomes desensitized. So when you need those muscles to 104 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:28.360 support your body, aka like your bend over you pick something up, you 105 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.879 know, if your muscles aren't contracting properly, all of a sudden the body 106 00:08:31.960 --> 00:08:35.039 is not stable. What does it do. It tightens up. And then 107 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:37.799 that's when you hear people say, oh my god, my back just went 108 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:41.639 out, or I've got this huge kink in my neck. Those kinks and 109 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:46.559 your back going out is a protective mechanism from your body to tighten up. 110 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:52.120 So when your body it feels like it it's it needs to it's unstable, 111 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:58.000 it will just tighten up. And so stretching is the absolute wrong thing to 112 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:00.799 do. I know many people like to go well that your opinion, and 113 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.399 this is my practical. Well, you can keep disabling your body if you 114 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:09.600 keep stretching, that's up to you end up in an emergency room, see 115 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:13.480 Karen. I And that that is why I don't do yoga, because I 116 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:18.600 don't want to desensitize my nerves. I always knew it all alive. Yes, 117 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:24.440 yoga, Aaron, I'm I'm the worst. Like when you're like you're 118 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:28.679 talking about tight like I can't. I can't. Don't even think about touching 119 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.000 your toes. I can't touch my knees. I mean, I am so 120 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:35.960 crazy, it's ridiculous. And I've tried yoga before and inevitably I end up 121 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:39.440 more in more pain than then when I started. In fact, when when 122 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:43.600 Karen and I first started dating, she took me to bickroom yoga and that 123 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:46.440 was like hell, like not only was I in pain, but I was 124 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:50.360 in pain and sweating my ass off while I was in pain. It was 125 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:54.960 terrible. Like like, so, then if stretching is not what we're supposed 126 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:58.679 to be doing when we're doing yoga, aren't you supposed to when you're going 127 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:03.360 into yoga poses, aren't you stretching? Yeah, I'm I don't teach stretching 128 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:09.360 anymore. It's just the way that you approach certain postures you're also. I 129 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:11.600 mean, one of the number one rules of what I teach is just go 130 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:16.039 to thirty percent of what you think is your range of motion. Like if 131 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:20.159 you're going to do a stretch, only go to thirty percent. But the 132 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:26.120 tightness that you're experiencing is just your you know, it's just a symptom of 133 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:31.200 that connection between your brain and your muscles not working properly. That neuromuscular connection 134 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:35.840 has become compromised due to stress, due to trauma, due to overuse. 135 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.600 You know. Overuse, by the way, could be as simple as you 136 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:43.159 sitting for eight, ten, twelve hours a day. So that's like an 137 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:48.679 overuse of your body and a stagnant posture, and that starts to compromise that 138 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:54.840 neuromuscular connection. So if we get that communication system working properly, you can 139 00:10:54.919 --> 00:11:01.720 have mobility back happening really quickly. But the tightness you're experiencing is your body 140 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:05.679 protecting itself. It's like if you walked on ice, you know, like 141 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:09.679 you step out on ice, what do you do? You freeze up? 142 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:16.240 Literally, So there's an autonomic nerve response to go into a protective state. 143 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:20.279 But I just wanted to say, Karen, oh my god, throwing will 144 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:28.600 into the firelight with Bigram literally one hundred and twenty degrees Literally, it felt 145 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:35.200 like my entire neurons were on fire. Isn't that still trying to impress mode, 146 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:39.200 which which translates to have to come, Karen, If you don't you 147 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:41.120 know, don't know the way that things go twice? Right, well twice 148 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:48.679 and the second time you almost have to call the paramedics. It wasted. 149 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:58.360 Yes, yeah, I got mad Bigram's skill, Baby's business. So when 150 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:05.320 you uncompromise the communication, can how flexible can you be? Like I in 151 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:07.879 high school and then I was on a dance team and I could do like 152 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.799 all the splits and kicks and everything. Can I get back to that? 153 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:16.360 I like, I forget those days. I mean, I know, yes 154 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:18.799 and no. I mean the first question I always ask people is why, 155 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.360 like why do you want that? And then the second question the follow up, 156 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:31.159 great hair back? Then that's well, then it's more about what we 157 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:35.200 looked like. But no, But the bigger question is, you know, 158 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:39.000 how much flexibility do you need to have to be happy? We have a 159 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:43.200 young daughter. Yeah, she's twelve, and she's starting to do sports and 160 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:45.919 stuff, and I want to be able to do a lot of that stuff 161 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:50.519 with her and not cry and that'll be paralyzed. Yeah, So I would 162 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:54.360 just say, you want to make sure that you are functioning optimally and that 163 00:12:54.799 --> 00:13:00.720 the communications system is working properly throughout your body. You know, how long 164 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:03.879 will that take for you to get there? That just depends on history, 165 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:07.600 It depends on what you're bringing to the table. But the answer is I 166 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:11.320 ended up in the surgeon's office. It was six years ago, and pretty 167 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:15.200 quickly, due to all of the work that I was doing on myself, 168 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.759 I was able to actually get back into hiking and doing all kinds of stuff 169 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:22.799 that I thought I would never do again. And now I'm fifty one and 170 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:28.080 I feel stronger today than I have in a long time, a long long 171 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:33.000 time. So and I would also point out like one of the things that 172 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:35.879 always fascinates me is is sometimes I'll bend over and I'll pick something up, 173 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:39.320 and I'll be like, huh, there's no titaness in my body right now. 174 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:43.639 My body is working well. Like I don't have my hands strings pulling 175 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.600 on me. I don't have my back like screaming at me, and that's 176 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:52.519 a sign that I'm actually my body is working really well. So how much? 177 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.759 Again, the question is always like why, and then how much flexibility 178 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:01.960 do you really need? I never really make that when my teacher Greg always 179 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:05.919 says is when you have stability, you will have all the mobility in the 180 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.480 world that you could possibly want. So, just to clarify for the slow 181 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:16.200 person in the room, when you're talking about getting to it, I think 182 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:20.799 you said seventy percent. So ideally, what you're trying not to do is 183 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:22.960 over stretch, right, you do need to stretch a little bit, or 184 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:28.120 it's just like go beyond really, you know, stretching at all? No, 185 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.399 no, because what we've forgotten and it's like, you know, humans 186 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:41.320 as you know, have incredible ameesia and media amesia, I'm sorry, so 187 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:43.240 let me get let me tell you, Like there's a pose like I'll pull 188 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.279 out a beechrom post because I've done bichrome a lot. So one of the 189 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:50.879 big chrome is you come over to the side the side bending post and usually 190 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:54.159 they'll cue it like go go, go, go and try and feel the 191 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:58.200 stretch on the sidebody. But in the way that I would set that up, 192 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.519 and I would, I would almost do it the same we have. 193 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:05.399 Actually people cross their arms and do it. But instead of focusing on this 194 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:11.000 stretch, what are actually the muscles that is moving the body in that post. 195 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:16.440 The muscles that are moving the body is the lateral obliques and quadratus lumborum 196 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:20.159 and a few of the other side bender muscles. So what you want to 197 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:22.679 do is you want to activate those. So when you're coming over, I 198 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:28.159 would cue it more like squeeze the shoulder to the hip and now you're engaging 199 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:33.759 all of those muscles properly. It's not a focus on trying to stretch. 200 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:39.399 And what we've forgotten again the Ammeesia thing is the role of muscles. So 201 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:43.600 muscles always work in pairs. There's a muscle that's contracting it's called the agonists, 202 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:48.080 and there's the other muscle that's relaxing, that's the antagonist. And so 203 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:52.240 in yoga where we've gone wrong and a lot of this kind of stretching ideas 204 00:15:52.240 --> 00:16:00.519 that we're focusing on getting the agonists to actually go longer than it should be 205 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:04.639 instead of focusing on the muscle that should be contracting. If we focus on 206 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:08.000 that more, then we increase our range of motion, and there's one hundred 207 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:15.200 percent accountability. If I'm just focusing on stretching, the whole nerve connection gets 208 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:22.200 discombobulated and is that a word? And is today? And then there's no 209 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:26.879 accountability, and then we lose the muscle connection. And you see that happen 210 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:32.039 a lot like think about beakerm classes. People get up, they're not like 211 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:38.399 bouncing up, they're crawling up yea themselves a floor. None of their muscles 212 00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:44.559 are working properly. They've all been like that. Whole neuromuscular connection is just 213 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:49.080 gone, and so people don't have that like what sometime people call force output. 214 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:52.960 There's no force output in the muscles. Muscles should always be able to 215 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:57.440 contract and contract on demand. When they don't, there's a problem and the 216 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:02.840 result of that is stress us in the joints, and the result of stress 217 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:06.119 is pain. So that's why I'm on a mission to help people become pain 218 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.720 free. You know, I'd love it. I want to sign up, 219 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:11.640 because Holy I've been in pain. So I blame COVID because I started working 220 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:15.359 from home and Will was working from home and our daughter was homeschooling, and 221 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.920 so they got the good spots and I got the couch. So I sat 222 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:21.720 on the couch with my laptop for a couple of years, and now my 223 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:26.200 back it's terrible. It's just horrible. Sure, blame it on us the 224 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:30.640 dining room. I got the couch, but now the oppos sitting empty all 225 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:33.599 day every day. Now we're both sitting on the couch instead, because I 226 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:37.119 can't sit anywhere but the couch because I'm so messed up. You've become one 227 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:45.039 with the couch, con fused with the All right, Well, this is 228 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:49.039 fascinating because I've studied a little bit of Hinduism, right, and your Hindus 229 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:55.240 all about yoga, but their yogas they really specifically talk about stretching in order 230 00:17:55.359 --> 00:18:00.559 to reach the mindfulness thing. Right, So this is maybe not exactly what 231 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:04.039 the Hindus were thinking about when it comes to yoga, we're talking more of 232 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:10.839 a Western physiology. Let's keep ourselves healthy, young, as much as possible, 233 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:15.359 as long as possible. There's a lot to unpack in that statement, 234 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.119 but I'm going to keep it. I'll keep it really short and just leave 235 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:21.279 it at this, and if you want more you can ask me. But 236 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:26.599 in the yoga scriptures, there's actually no reference to having to become flexible. 237 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:32.759 There's nothing. And then that's one of the that's a big misconception in the 238 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:37.440 West, like because we see these lanky, sinewy, you know, eighteen 239 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:41.960 year old men doing these incredible things. But as I would say to Karen, 240 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:45.559 she goes to a bakerm class wanting to look like them, you know, 241 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:52.279 are you really an eighteen year old? Like not this time around, 242 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:59.000 she's not. You're going to test us me, Karen, thank you all. 243 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:07.119 Yeah, that's all I have to say about that. Okay, Well, 244 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:10.200 I won't out then who it is whose book I read, but it's 245 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:15.400 an Indian who came over to the States, who established an ashram, who 246 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:18.839 that that is pretty well known reading his book talks about being flexible. So 247 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:26.559 not to unpack like means flexible of the mind. He misunderstood the whole book. 248 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.759 Damn, I can't speak to that. But all I can tell you 249 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:34.359 is that in scriptural reference, there is no reference to the importance of flexibility. 250 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:40.640 And what has happened is and if you look at a lot of the 251 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:45.119 teachers as they as they age, they actually don't really do much as Ustin 252 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:49.640 has like something engineered for us to. I mean, I could go on 253 00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:52.559 and on and on about it, but it's really something for us to get 254 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:56.640 a grip of our mind. And so there's only two things that we have 255 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:06.799 to master in order to master posture and that stillness and then joy or ease 256 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:10.559 and effortless, which is the you know, the result is joy. So 257 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:15.640 if we can embody those two things, then we can master usana. And 258 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:22.839 it's interesting because the whole idea of that teaching scripturally referenced in Sutra two forty 259 00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:26.480 six two forty eight. He says, if you can master those two qualities, 260 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:30.400 you can overcome all the pairs of opposites of life, meaning that neither 261 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:36.720 pain or pleasure will pull you in any direction, that you just become this 262 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:41.599 steadfast pillar of steadiness in the world, and for me, that's that's a 263 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:45.519 powerful teaching, no doubt about it. And I know now for sure that 264 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:48.920 I'm doing it wrong because stillness and joy when I do yoga, I do 265 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:53.240 shakiness and pain, So it is not at all what I'm trying to do. 266 00:20:57.079 --> 00:21:00.519 Can I just tell you something? You're what I always refer to. 267 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:06.039 I have two archetypes when I'm doing my trainings, and one of them is 268 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:12.319 called stiff biff And you are just probably probably I'm going to get you a 269 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:17.480 T shirt, will you know? You know, I might. I might 270 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:22.279 actually wear it. I think it's fit fits really well. By the way, 271 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:26.640 women can also be stiff Biff. It's it's gender neutral, so yeah, 272 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:30.519 it's pretty agnostic. Yeah, absolutely. All right, Well, this 273 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:33.839 has been fascinating. We just getting started and we already have to dig a 274 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:36.799 break, So if you will just bear with us, when we come back, 275 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:40.200 we're going to talk about that one meditation practice that we tease at the 276 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:44.680 beginning of the show, because this is what the whole reason we brought Yogi 277 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:47.119 Aaron into the show, and we've yet to touch on it, but I 278 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:48.759 promise you when we come back, we're going to dive into it to stay 279 00:21:48.799 --> 00:22:02.599 with us. This is Carrie Hummingbird, host of Soul Nectar Show, and 280 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:07.839 I invite you to come over and check out our conversations about all things essence. 281 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:14.559 Gather around the campfire with us and share stories of connection to that which 282 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:18.880 is bigger than us, the great mystery beyond the veil, to those synchronistic 283 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:25.119 moments that lead us to a deeper understanding of ourselves. We'll see you over 284 00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:34.759 at Soul Nectar Show. So not every message that we share with you comes 285 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:40.680 from Apple Podcasts or our website. Sometimes messages come to us via social media. 286 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:45.920 This one specifically comes from Instagram, and the person that sent us the 287 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:52.559 message her name is Stephanie Johnston. She actually recommended the skeptic metaphysicians. Now 288 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:56.559 that I think about it, this might actually be Facebook. So well, 289 00:22:56.599 --> 00:22:57.960 this came from Facebook or Instagram, They're kind of all the same now, 290 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:03.839 so I'm sorry I mess them up. However, this was an incredible message 291 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:07.200 that I wanted to share with you. Stephanie goes on to say, I'm 292 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:14.960 ex Mormon turned agnostic atheist that has had far too many unexplained things happened. 293 00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:18.039 The start of this year has been one of them. My journey has definitely 294 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:22.480 begun as I had a huge breakthrough at the beginning of March that led me 295 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:26.640 to this podcast, which I can't get enough of. I've learned so much, 296 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:30.640 and I shared with my one son who is in tune as well. 297 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:37.319 The amount of layers I've uncovered have changed me well, just like I responded 298 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:42.119 to her on that social media platform with four brilliantly red hearts, thank you 299 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:47.079 so much for this. Here's hoping that your journey is a smooth one. 300 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:52.519 We all know journeys can be rocky, so knowing that we have people like 301 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:56.440 you in our corner who are going through the journey with us makes it all 302 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:00.160 worthwhile. Stephanie, thank you so much for that message to us. We 303 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:04.880 really appreciate your feedback, your thoughts, and we are so glad that the 304 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:11.079 show is helping you to maneuver through this rocky ground. Well. If you'd 305 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:12.759 like to hear your message right on the air, please feel free to go 306 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:17.599 to Skeptic metaphysition dot com, leave us a voicemail or an email directly from 307 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:19.799 the site, or if you like to leave us a five star review or 308 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:22.880 even a four star Heck, even a one star review. If you got 309 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:26.759 something to say, we want to hear about it. Actually, now I 310 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:29.119 think about it, go ahead and leave us a five star review on Apple 311 00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:30.160 Podcasts. If you've got a one star review, want to share it with 312 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:33.799 us, Share it to us on skepticmanevision dot com. That way we can 313 00:24:33.880 --> 00:24:38.920 actually take action adjust something that will make it better for you. We do 314 00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:42.880 want to continue to grow and get better. So if you have any feedback 315 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:47.920 that you feel we should hear, please, we truly, honestly, sincerely 316 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:52.440 would love to hear it once again Skeptic Metaphysician dot com or of course Apple 317 00:24:52.480 --> 00:25:00.759 Podcasts. Welcome back to the Skeptic Metaphysicians. We are speaking to Yogi Aaron, 318 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:04.200 who is enlightening us with the fact that we are doing it wrong. 319 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:11.160 And I'm talking about yoga of course. Right before the break, we talked 320 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.200 about the fact that in scripture there was nothing that said that you have to 321 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:19.680 be flexible in You're right, thinking back on the bag of a Gita and 322 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:25.880 the Upanishads, everything I've read, I don't recall ever hearing anything about being 323 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:34.079 stretchy. So all right, so I appreciate you giving us a whole new 324 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:37.960 perspective on yoga because it is completely different than anything we've I mean, it 325 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:42.039 is completely anti intuitive, like it is completely opposite of everything we've heard about 326 00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:47.480 in yoga in western world. It's incredible. No, thank you. Yeah. 327 00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:49.839 Now, before we left and at the beginning of the show, and 328 00:25:49.880 --> 00:25:52.799 in the middle of show, and every other time except for when we were 329 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:56.359 you know, we talked. We talked about this one meditation practice. Now, 330 00:25:56.440 --> 00:26:02.559 you've done a lot in your life and a lot of struggles that ultimately 331 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:07.119 came out to be really good things, but you have to overcome. You 332 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:11.920 mentioned meditation practice, and everyone who listens to the show knows how important meditation 333 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:14.559 is. I mean, it is a no brainer. Is the first step. 334 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:17.079 It is a do not pass God not collect your hundred box. This 335 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:19.480 is You've got to meditate if you want to move down this path, whatever 336 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:22.319 path you decide. Meditation seems to be the gateway drug for all of it. 337 00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:29.240 But yet you say it is where you got my attention. You say 338 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:34.440 that there is one practice that you must do to manifest your life's purpose yogi 339 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:41.160 Erin, I must know what this practice is because I'm doing a them and 340 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:45.799 because I have not found it yet, and this is would leave every elusive 341 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:51.480 meditation practice. Okay, yogi erin the floor is yours? Oh my god, 342 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:57.279 I just felt the pressure go up. Like there's a couple of things 343 00:26:57.279 --> 00:27:00.839 that I kind of want to tee up first, but one of them is 344 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:07.640 So. I was on the train coming from Vancouver to New York and I 345 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:11.799 decided, for some crazy reason, which I never recommend anybody else to take 346 00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:15.160 the train from you know, West coast to East Coast or vice versa. 347 00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:18.920 It's one of the most horrible experiences you'll ever have as on am track. 348 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:22.079 Well and well, yeah, I was gonna say, if you have a 349 00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:23.640 sleeper car, might not be so bad, but if you're just sitting there, 350 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:26.519 like in an airline seat, next to the guy next to you, 351 00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:29.559 sleeping on your shoulder, because I did that, and that's not fun. 352 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:33.039 It wasn't fun. But I was in my you know, late twenties and 353 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:37.640 trying to save a buck, and I had my big bags and I was 354 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:41.000 moving to New York and it was really moving there without any money in my 355 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:45.079 pocket and but everything inside of me. You know, I'd been doing yoga 356 00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:48.880 for a little while and I felt like my dharma. My purpose was pushing 357 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:55.559 me to New York, and I couldn't explain why. Just everything inside of 358 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:59.279 me was just saying, go to New York, study yoga teach. I 359 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:02.079 know, it's a weird idea, like why would you go to New York 360 00:28:02.119 --> 00:28:06.680 to study yoga? But you know there's so many great yoga teachers in New 361 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:11.319 York and y I kind of like intuitively just picked it out. And so 362 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:18.359 anyways, I was on the train and I was just feeling that kind of 363 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:22.680 terror. It was really the first time in my life at that point that 364 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:26.000 I was kind of doing it on my own. In many ways, I'd 365 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.759 done stuff clearly on my own before, but just feeling that kind of terror 366 00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:34.440 bubbling up. And one of the things that I really felt as that terror 367 00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:38.920 was bubbling up was how paralyzing fear is in terms of being, you know, 368 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:45.480 of tapping into that inspirational source of that well of creative ideas like that, 369 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:51.960 that flow just stops, like all of a sudden, And so I 370 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:56.359 kind of closed my eyes and this meditation practice kind of dropped in. Now 371 00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:59.119 before I tell you what it is, oh my god, you'll eat. 372 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:08.920 I'm learning something from watching you Okay, so I have to jump ahead. 373 00:29:10.119 --> 00:29:14.240 And so when I went to New York, part of my mission was to 374 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:18.000 find a teacher, like I really wanted a teacher. And this idea of 375 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:22.799 tontra started coming up for me, partly because of the work I was doing 376 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:25.960 with the men, and then partly because of other things. And I was 377 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:30.720 like, what is this tantra business? And so I happened to pick up 378 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:37.279 a magazine from Crapollo and there was right on one of the pages living Tontra. 379 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:42.319 And I had met my teacher Rod. And so one of the things 380 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:48.599 that Rod tore the veil back between the scene and the unseen. For me, 381 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:52.039 I was able to begin to get a glimpse of the sacred itself, 382 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:57.319 and I had never experienced that before. But one of the most interesting things 383 00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:02.039 was that might de Big take a ways, was this idea of tntra. 384 00:30:02.279 --> 00:30:06.880 So a lot of people think of tntras like sex and you know, the 385 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:10.559 yoga of sex. And usually if they go to a tontra yoga workshop, 386 00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:12.400 they want to get rid of the yoga and get to the sex. So 387 00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:30.000 I mean, who does it? So what? But the actual definition of 388 00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:37.319 tantra means to become limitless, to move beyond all limitations. That's the literal 389 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:41.799 translation of tantra. So sitting on the train, I kind of started tapping 390 00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:47.759 into this, this meditation practice, this affirmation, this babana. In Sanscript, 391 00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:51.039 the word we often use is bavana, like something that you can really 392 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:56.599 feel in your heart, and the word bob actually denotes like love, so 393 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:00.960 to bring love into an idea. And this affirmation just kind of dropped into 394 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:08.160 my space and it was I'm opening myself up to the universe of limitless possibilities. 395 00:31:08.359 --> 00:31:15.039 And I just dropped into that practice literally on the train on the way 396 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:19.039 to New York, and the most amazing things started happening. The fear immediately 397 00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:26.240 started to vanish. The creative source of inspiration just started opening up to me. 398 00:31:26.119 --> 00:31:33.000 And that kind of I would say, like this sense of indomitable willpower 399 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:41.519 that each human being possesses became like a great force within me. And you 400 00:31:41.559 --> 00:31:45.319 know, after moving to New York, and of course when the train landed 401 00:31:45.400 --> 00:31:48.920 and you know, I got home and stuff like that, that fear obviously 402 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:53.480 came back time and time and time again. I had so many setbacks those 403 00:31:53.519 --> 00:32:00.799 first few months and that, but the saving thing, that thing that got 404 00:32:00.839 --> 00:32:06.440 me through, the thing that kept my focus, that kept me on my 405 00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:13.759 path of purpose and intention, was that meditation practice. And anytime I would 406 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:16.599 just start to go into that fearful place, I was able to capture that 407 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:23.880 babana, that idea, that feeling, that affirmation and remember who I was. 408 00:32:24.599 --> 00:32:28.839 And that's the point of I think meditation. I mean, meditation has 409 00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:34.279 many different levels to it, but at the source, a meditation practice should 410 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:38.799 bring us immediately, like in a split second, back to who we are 411 00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:45.160 at our source, and so that we can tap into that intuitive wisdom, 412 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:51.319 that indomitable will power, that creative source of inspiration. And the funny the 413 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:54.799 reason why I told the story about my teacher is because that idea of TNTRA 414 00:32:55.119 --> 00:33:00.279 is the embodiment of what just kind of dropped into me. You know, 415 00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:05.119 I call it sometimes spiritual downloads. You know, we get those spiritual downloads, 416 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:08.880 and those those spiritual downloads, you know, that one that I had 417 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:15.079 on the train is the one that kind of propelled me to starting in New 418 00:33:15.160 --> 00:33:19.920 York with nothing, opening up a yoga studio, which went worldwide, to 419 00:33:20.359 --> 00:33:25.240 opening up a yoga retreat center. So be careful what you open yourself up 420 00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:34.119 to. But it all sounds great. A question about something that we'll mentioned 421 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:38.000 in the introduction. You were hiking and yes, like your leg got crushed. 422 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:43.920 That sounds horrible. Now my question is was that before you started doing 423 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:47.400 this type of yoga or was it after? And did this help you heal? 424 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:51.480 Tell me a little bit about that. Yeah, sure, No, 425 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:55.200 I hadn't started the Ayama path yet. I was still a regular yoga teacher. 426 00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:02.519 Having said that, my spiritual practice of yoga and even somewhat the physical 427 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:09.719 and that's a bigger discussion, But the spiritual practice prepared me for that event 428 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:14.559 because when it happened, I was in the middle of the Himalayas. I 429 00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:19.719 was twenty six kilometers away from the vehicles, and my femur literally broke in 430 00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:22.800 half like you see the X ray. It was like that. And so 431 00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:29.880 I get I I feel like everything in my life prepared me for that moment. 432 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:37.920 I'm opening myself up to the universe of limitless possibilities. But really no 433 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:44.119 joke. And so but after that, on a physiological level, everything that 434 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:52.280 was wrong with me before, physiologically speaking, just became exacerbated and worse. 435 00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:58.519 And so it didn't help things, but I had started glimpsing into the world 436 00:34:58.599 --> 00:35:01.760 of muscle activation and what was going on at that level. But since then, 437 00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:05.440 I would say, like, I'm a lot stronger now than I ever 438 00:35:05.639 --> 00:35:08.039 was, So that feels really good. I would think an injury like that 439 00:35:08.039 --> 00:35:14.039 would have like lasting pain and kind of repercussions. That it sounds like what 440 00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:17.320 you're doing maybe has been really helping it. Yeah, absolutely, something to 441 00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:21.320 just get over. No, I mean, I had to wear a knee 442 00:35:21.320 --> 00:35:24.119 brace for a long time if I did any walking for an extended period of 443 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:30.039 time. Now I don't have to wear any braces or any supports or anything 444 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:34.000 like that. That's great. Yeah. So then let's get a little bit 445 00:35:34.039 --> 00:35:38.519 into the yama. A yama, Yes, yama, your technique, for 446 00:35:38.599 --> 00:35:42.400 lack of a better word, your approach, that's a better word. Your 447 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:47.719 approach is quite revolutionary, right, What makes a yama different than most yoga 448 00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:53.440 practices are well, the biggest one. So there's kind of a twofold question 449 00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:58.159 because I'm always using this coin like we're trying to flip the script in the 450 00:35:58.239 --> 00:36:02.920 yoga world and stop making it about stretching and flexibility, and so part of 451 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:07.800 it My focus is to bring yoga back to what it's supposed to be about. 452 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:13.360 You know, how often do we ever go into a yoga class and 453 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:17.400 hear a teacher talking about how our practice can help us to manifest and live 454 00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:24.039 or life purpose. I never never here a yoga teacher talking about that. 455 00:36:24.199 --> 00:36:28.800 Ostena is. You know, the goal of ostina is to help us become 456 00:36:29.199 --> 00:36:34.599 these steady forces in life where nothing pulls us in either direction, that we 457 00:36:34.679 --> 00:36:38.360 have a clear sense of purpose in who we are. And I think that's 458 00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:42.480 one of the biggest shames of this biggest you know, this marketing thing. 459 00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:45.159 So that's one part of a yama, and the other part that makes it 460 00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:52.239 very different is well, number one, stop stretching right, I start activating. 461 00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:57.519 And so a lot of what I do is I kind of flip the 462 00:36:57.599 --> 00:37:00.960 script in terms of you know what care was talking about before about wanting to 463 00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:05.039 put her foot up behind her head and you know, and do all of 464 00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:09.159 those marvelous things. But it's kind of asking, it's kind of getting people 465 00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:14.360 back into let's use our yoga practice so we can become so that we can 466 00:37:14.440 --> 00:37:21.559 stand well in life and not have pain and checking in with ourselves and using 467 00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:24.599 that as a tool to you know, push us forward in life, rather 468 00:37:24.679 --> 00:37:30.480 than you know, the whole idea of like putting your foot behind your head 469 00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:36.480 or learning to stand on your hands or whatever it is. Those are all 470 00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:39.280 kind of distractions at the end of the day, you know. And this 471 00:37:39.320 --> 00:37:44.760 is where the idea of posture can be the key to your liberation or the 472 00:37:44.840 --> 00:37:49.280 box of your own prison. There's so many people that are so focused on 473 00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:53.760 making something make their body look a certain way that they've completely missed the mark 474 00:37:54.079 --> 00:37:58.920 and what the asina, you know, the Austin is there to get you 475 00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:06.239 free, not to imprison yo into our shape. So basically what I'm hearing 476 00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:08.679 here is that when you do yoga, it's not supposed to hurt. It 477 00:38:08.760 --> 00:38:14.480 should never hurt. It should never hurt, Karen, see never hurt. 478 00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:22.079 It is impossible. Did you not see me shaking and beating up and sweat? 479 00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:28.000 So I'm trying not screening, Pa, I was looking away. I 480 00:38:28.039 --> 00:38:32.840 wanted to be impressed. All right. We've established the fact that stretching is 481 00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:37.079 bad. We had it to stretch bad. Flex I mean we used to. 482 00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:39.239 I mean flexibility is good, but not stretching. Stretching is bad. 483 00:38:39.280 --> 00:38:44.360 So it is there. I mean even you know, back in junior high 484 00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:47.039 when you're doing gym class and the first thing you do is put your right 485 00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:52.960 leg over your left leg and you bend down stretch. Is there a safe 486 00:38:52.960 --> 00:38:55.239 way to stretch or should we just not stretch at all, Like maybe get 487 00:38:55.280 --> 00:38:59.840 up in the morning and just keep ourselves like in a little bundle and walk 488 00:38:59.880 --> 00:39:05.519 to the shower and no stretching it out, or well, there's there's nothing 489 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:07.480 wrong with like if you bring your okay, bring your arms up to the 490 00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:13.719 sky. Now, don't move your chest. Now, bring your biceps behind 491 00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:16.880 your ears a little bit more. Do you feel your back muscles working? 492 00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:22.079 Yeah, okay, So what are those back muscles doing. They're shortening, 493 00:39:22.119 --> 00:39:27.320 they're contracting, and so that is a great movement. By the way, 494 00:39:27.400 --> 00:39:31.440 that's a fantastic way to start debating your trapezius muscles. If you bring your 495 00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:35.880 arms out at forty five degrees and just bring them back, you're going to 496 00:39:35.920 --> 00:39:39.360 feel your lower traps starting to engage, which is a great thing. Now, 497 00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:44.079 do you feel sort of a sense of opening in your chest? Absolutely? 498 00:39:44.239 --> 00:39:49.480 When When when the trapezius muscle shortens, the result is the pecks start 499 00:39:49.559 --> 00:39:53.440 to relax. You're not trying to stretch the pecs. You're trying to engage 500 00:39:53.559 --> 00:39:58.920 the trapezius muscles. So when you engage, when you come at it from 501 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:04.320 that perspective, if I'm my focus now is engaging my traps, the pecks 502 00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:07.440 are going to start to naturally release. Now. Some people might want to 503 00:40:07.480 --> 00:40:13.400 call that a stretch. I don't biomechanically, it's just they just relax, 504 00:40:13.679 --> 00:40:17.639 That's what's happening. They just they have to relax so that the trapezias can 505 00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:22.639 contract. Now, the tightness in the chest is not is a symptom of 506 00:40:22.679 --> 00:40:29.840 the traps not being able to contract properly and the results of them not contracting 507 00:40:29.920 --> 00:40:34.440 properly. Guess what is tight neck? All the way up into the top 508 00:40:34.480 --> 00:40:37.760 of your neck. Yeah. The lower traps are actually the opposite of the 509 00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:43.360 upper traps, and so the upper traps tighten up because the lower traps are 510 00:40:43.360 --> 00:40:46.239 not doing their job properly. It's fascinating constantly dealing with this. S differ 511 00:40:46.320 --> 00:40:55.239 nat commonly migraines NonStop. I got though, because as we've already established, 512 00:40:55.280 --> 00:41:00.840 I'm stiff biff, and I can't get into the postures. How could I 513 00:41:00.920 --> 00:41:04.440 possibly get into a posture if I don't stretch my way into it, like 514 00:41:04.480 --> 00:41:08.079 if they well, if you are holding forward and you said earlier that you 515 00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:13.159 couldn't touch your knees, the question is okay, so what are the muscles 516 00:41:13.159 --> 00:41:16.800 that are contracting to bring you forward? Well, now we're looking at a 517 00:41:16.840 --> 00:41:21.440 lot of your uh let's call it the eight pack. You know, your 518 00:41:21.519 --> 00:41:25.199 rector subdominance. We're also looking at our oblique muscles. Yes, you find 519 00:41:25.239 --> 00:41:36.440 the face. So what's happening is those muscles are not shortening properly, and 520 00:41:36.480 --> 00:41:40.400 that's why you're feeling the tightness. They're they're in a kind of static state. 521 00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:45.320 They're not working properly. So what we want to do is get those 522 00:41:45.400 --> 00:41:49.559 muscles working. And if I did, I could probably get you to increase 523 00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:53.840 your range of motion quite dramatically. Wow. True story, true story. 524 00:41:54.280 --> 00:42:00.880 So do you have videos that you that people can can get in one how 525 00:42:00.519 --> 00:42:06.719 she's asking, how can will yes actually to where you're saying, So, 526 00:42:07.039 --> 00:42:10.440 yeah, people can access all my content on yogiarin dot com. It's sort 527 00:42:10.480 --> 00:42:16.239 of the gateway into the Yogi Club, into my YouTube channel, into the 528 00:42:16.280 --> 00:42:22.559 book which is called Stop Stretching. My podcast series called stop Stretching. I 529 00:42:22.599 --> 00:42:24.760 also if you fish around on my site and maybe I'll put it in the 530 00:42:25.280 --> 00:42:30.119 show notes. Is the link to the affirmation series that we've you know, 531 00:42:30.199 --> 00:42:34.360 because I created a twenty eight day affirmation series. That one that I shared 532 00:42:34.400 --> 00:42:37.199 with you is one of them, and it's all about you know, using 533 00:42:37.239 --> 00:42:40.840 these to manifest and live your life purpose. But that's how people can access 534 00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:45.840 what I'm doing. I have a pain free series that's right on my site 535 00:42:45.840 --> 00:42:51.400 as well like that, so it takes people through kind of like trying to 536 00:42:51.519 --> 00:42:55.320 educate people a little bit on how they can live their best pain free life 537 00:42:55.559 --> 00:43:00.800 and why they're experiencing pain and what they can do about it. Yeah, 538 00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:02.800 we're definitely going to add all those links to our show, not to Yogi 539 00:43:02.840 --> 00:43:07.599 Aaron, where have you been all my life? Just the last twenty years. 540 00:43:09.880 --> 00:43:14.880 I think we would be doing our listeners a disservice if I did not 541 00:43:14.960 --> 00:43:17.519 ask about something we'll mentioned. Oh, yes, you know, you mentioned 542 00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:21.960 it. I got to ask naked man yoga, Yes, what is that? 543 00:43:22.239 --> 00:43:25.639 I knew it. I knew it. We get through the show without 544 00:43:25.639 --> 00:43:32.079 you, and that's not something that you just mentioned and don't explain like a 545 00:43:32.199 --> 00:43:37.079 hit and run. You know, people out there going come on, come 546 00:43:37.119 --> 00:43:39.440 on, get to the making minoga part. Yeah, I think one particular 547 00:43:39.480 --> 00:43:45.239 person in the audience is so so I just have to specify. I was 548 00:43:45.320 --> 00:43:52.280 opening myself up to the universe of limitless possibilities, and we were opening up 549 00:43:52.320 --> 00:43:57.719 in all kinds of ways. And you know what, when I was actually 550 00:43:57.760 --> 00:44:00.480 in New York, I remember the day really well. I was with a 551 00:44:00.519 --> 00:44:02.880 friend and I was walking in it. I happened to be walking across sixth 552 00:44:02.920 --> 00:44:07.159 Avenue, which is the avenue of America's and it was in the middle of 553 00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:12.519 the street, and the top of my head opened up and this idea came 554 00:44:12.559 --> 00:44:15.719 into my head. It was like, oh my god, hot new yoga. 555 00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:21.119 And and you know, I did it. I started it for a 556 00:44:21.159 --> 00:44:24.760 few reasons, but one of them was I just feel like men are sort 557 00:44:24.760 --> 00:44:30.320 of an underserved community in the world of yoga, and I wanted to create 558 00:44:30.320 --> 00:44:36.280 a safe space and and a fun space for men to come and just be 559 00:44:36.440 --> 00:44:40.079 men, And and what better way to do that? And yeah, like 560 00:44:42.679 --> 00:44:46.639 and you know, when men get together it's a powerful thing, just like 561 00:44:46.679 --> 00:44:52.400 when women get together, it's a very powerful experience. And I just saw 562 00:44:52.599 --> 00:44:55.199 like, you know, my idea was to do it for six months and 563 00:44:55.199 --> 00:44:59.760 then call it a day and you know, move on. It ended up 564 00:44:59.800 --> 00:45:04.400 being coming this like you know, global phenomena, which is a whole other 565 00:45:04.559 --> 00:45:09.519 story, but it's just the community that came out of that was just incredible 566 00:45:09.760 --> 00:45:13.840 and one of the most enriching times of my life. Well, I mean 567 00:45:13.920 --> 00:45:15.960 I understand, like you know, going skinny dipping and stuff and and just 568 00:45:16.119 --> 00:45:22.159 something about being out and naked. It's very freeing. But yes, I 569 00:45:22.199 --> 00:45:25.719 don't think i'd want to be bending around a bunch of naked women. Would 570 00:45:25.760 --> 00:45:32.599 be so self cautious. Have you never played naked twister? Karen? Oh 571 00:45:34.519 --> 00:45:40.880 me either? That's well, take people to warm up, you know, 572 00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:45.079 like to kind of uncomfortable at first, and then the group kind of starts 573 00:45:45.400 --> 00:45:47.320 more comfortable. Can you start with toga yoga and then work your way to 574 00:45:50.559 --> 00:45:53.840 hours in all or nothing? Babey, No, there was no And you 575 00:45:53.880 --> 00:45:58.400 know you know how many times they got emails from people wanting just to come 576 00:45:58.440 --> 00:46:02.559 and watch the class. Oh my, oh, I mean yeah, really 577 00:46:02.599 --> 00:46:09.320 they had that nerves. Well, I think I saw that some little stuff. 578 00:46:09.320 --> 00:46:12.079 I can do it, but I want to know it. You know, 579 00:46:12.480 --> 00:46:16.239 a big part of it was coming outside your comfort zone. And I 580 00:46:16.280 --> 00:46:22.400 can just say from my own younger, younger, younger years, nudity was 581 00:46:22.440 --> 00:46:25.360 always a big issue for me. I grew up in a very religious household 582 00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:30.440 in my younger years, and so the idea of getting naked, and I 583 00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:35.440 remember when I started to and I just felt liberated. I felt free, 584 00:46:35.719 --> 00:46:39.239 and I felt like there was like something around me that had just come off 585 00:46:39.480 --> 00:46:45.760 and I was like, hey, here I am. And so that's also 586 00:46:45.920 --> 00:46:49.480 was a big part of it, was just people taking a leap of faith 587 00:46:49.760 --> 00:46:53.840 and just getting outside of what you know, becoming limitless. That's the definition 588 00:46:53.880 --> 00:46:59.639 of TNTRUP. Become limitless, go us limitations. It is still going on 589 00:46:59.719 --> 00:47:05.440 now. It's become a worldwide, you know phenomena. There's been chapters of 590 00:47:06.119 --> 00:47:08.480 men's groups that have opened up all over the place. One of the things 591 00:47:08.480 --> 00:47:10.840 that I, oh, I should not be saying this right now, but 592 00:47:10.880 --> 00:47:16.480 anyways, I actually created a ton of videos and that are out there, 593 00:47:17.039 --> 00:47:22.679 and so part of my intention was to put those videos out and at the 594 00:47:22.760 --> 00:47:24.960 very least, like these different men's groups could put them on play and do 595 00:47:25.039 --> 00:47:30.440 them together, or you know, other people would become inspired by them and 596 00:47:30.519 --> 00:47:34.639 start teaching, you know, their own groups, which is what exactly happened. 597 00:47:34.719 --> 00:47:39.360 So again opening up to the universe of limitless possibilities. Very short, 598 00:47:39.480 --> 00:47:45.039 quick fun story. I was in Australia leading a retreat and we went to 599 00:47:45.119 --> 00:47:49.119 Alice Springs. Well, Alice Springs is homes to Airs Rock. So I 600 00:47:49.159 --> 00:47:52.360 had all of these guys with me. We're going to Airs Rock. We 601 00:47:52.360 --> 00:47:53.760 weren't going to do naked yoga there. We're just going, you know, 602 00:47:53.840 --> 00:47:58.800 playing tourists. It was the tourist part of the Australian trip. We pull 603 00:47:58.880 --> 00:48:01.639 up to the gate four o'clock in the morning, guard goes, are you 604 00:48:01.719 --> 00:48:07.159 those naked guys? No? No, that's thundered down under. That's different 605 00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:10.840 in the middle of the outback, in the middle of nowhere, are you 606 00:48:10.960 --> 00:48:22.920 coduties? So my reputation proceeded me. I see that we're quickly running out 607 00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:24.679 of time. But I've got to ask because it's it's the question that's been 608 00:48:24.719 --> 00:48:30.239 hanging out there for me for almost the entire interview. But going back to 609 00:48:30.280 --> 00:48:32.840 the stretching part of things, because obviously I am focused, as you can 610 00:48:32.880 --> 00:48:37.480 tell, because I'm blown away by all this. But Yeah, this is 611 00:48:37.519 --> 00:48:40.440 such a different way of thinking of how to do yoga and things like that. 612 00:48:40.760 --> 00:48:45.360 How what's been the reception in the yoga community, because I can't imagine 613 00:48:45.519 --> 00:48:49.400 a lot of people being real happy with what you're trying to teach out there. 614 00:48:50.400 --> 00:48:53.159 Yeah, and I think that probably a good fit. Thirty to fifty 615 00:48:53.199 --> 00:49:00.719 percent think I'm the devil incarnate or something. You know, it's threatening. 616 00:49:00.840 --> 00:49:05.840 It's threatening to them because the question who am I if I'm not teaching you 617 00:49:05.840 --> 00:49:07.800 know, how am I going to teach yoga if I'm not teaching stretching? 618 00:49:08.960 --> 00:49:13.519 And so that is a big problem for a lot of people to kind of 619 00:49:13.559 --> 00:49:16.239 like wrap their heads around. Also, Like I met this one woman who 620 00:49:16.840 --> 00:49:21.519 works in the gym and part of her job is to stretch people. And 621 00:49:21.599 --> 00:49:24.719 here she is thinking she's doing a service and then she kind of finds out 622 00:49:24.760 --> 00:49:30.159 for me that she's not actually And I just want to kind of just say 623 00:49:30.159 --> 00:49:35.559 one thing really quick, that we can actually test muscle function, so we 624 00:49:35.639 --> 00:49:39.480 can test you are strong, and then when you stretch and you're going to 625 00:49:39.519 --> 00:49:45.199 test week and I've done I've done this countless times and it's and I've actually 626 00:49:45.199 --> 00:49:49.000 got a whole thing where I can get people to do it to themselves. 627 00:49:49.159 --> 00:49:53.320 You can test your own sort of force output and you feel the difference quite 628 00:49:53.400 --> 00:50:00.239 dramatically. Actually, what happens before you stretch in after you stretch. So 629 00:50:01.280 --> 00:50:06.159 but I would also say, like thirty to fifty percent of people doing yoga 630 00:50:06.280 --> 00:50:10.400 recognize at some level or at a deep level, that what they're doing is 631 00:50:10.440 --> 00:50:15.320 not supporting them. What they're doing is actually making them worse. But the 632 00:50:15.480 --> 00:50:20.840 yoga, the stretching part of it feels good, you know. And so 633 00:50:20.920 --> 00:50:22.679 this is like if you ask a lot of yoga teachers, why do we 634 00:50:22.760 --> 00:50:28.000 stretch well because you feel good? Well, my response is doing a line 635 00:50:28.039 --> 00:50:31.119 of cocaine makes you feel good. You don't see us all running around doing 636 00:50:31.159 --> 00:50:36.159 cocaine, like just because something makes you feel good. That should never be 637 00:50:36.239 --> 00:50:42.159 the answer about why we do something right. So's it's I would say it's 638 00:50:42.159 --> 00:50:45.920 like a fifty to fifty thing. A lot of people are very interested, 639 00:50:45.079 --> 00:50:52.480 but it is definitely making some waves. I can only imagine it, but 640 00:50:52.559 --> 00:50:54.159 it kind of makes sense because if you think like a rubber band, you 641 00:50:54.159 --> 00:50:58.159 know, if you stretch it too much then it breaks or it doesn't work. 642 00:50:58.199 --> 00:51:01.639 But it's all you know funky was it was? It was used discombobulated. 643 00:51:02.239 --> 00:51:09.360 Discombobulated, Yeah, the term of the day, and throw a juggernaut 644 00:51:09.400 --> 00:51:14.599 in there somewhere. Do you know what that means? Now? Yogi? 645 00:51:14.639 --> 00:51:19.679 Aaron, do you still teach yoga to people in person or online or anything 646 00:51:19.679 --> 00:51:22.000 other than I know you get your content on your website, but you still 647 00:51:22.039 --> 00:51:24.000 do teach that. Yeah. Absolutely, And a lot of the content I 648 00:51:24.039 --> 00:51:28.519 actually film is when I'm with teaching students, like I just finished doing the 649 00:51:28.599 --> 00:51:31.679 teacher training and I filmed a lot of content while I was doing the teacher 650 00:51:31.719 --> 00:51:35.480 trainings. I do a lot of travel. I teach, you know, 651 00:51:35.519 --> 00:51:39.480 in different studios. I teach at yoga festivals. My main area of teaching 652 00:51:39.559 --> 00:51:44.320 is at blue Osa, the yoga retreat I have in Costa Rica, and 653 00:51:44.519 --> 00:51:52.039 we do trainings there. And sorry, I'm hearing things. Sorry about that. 654 00:51:52.119 --> 00:52:00.800 Okay, come down and we'll film a radio episode. Yeah so I 655 00:52:00.840 --> 00:52:04.360 am teaching, Yes, Okay, well awesome. Well we're gonna lay in 656 00:52:04.440 --> 00:52:06.880 all those links directly on show notes. All you need to do is go 657 00:52:06.880 --> 00:52:08.719 to skepticmaneposition dot com, go to his episode page. You'll see all those 658 00:52:08.760 --> 00:52:13.280 links there. You can connect with the oe Aaron directly. His stuff is 659 00:52:13.599 --> 00:52:17.119 mind blowing. It's been blowing my mind this entire interview. So I'm thrilled 660 00:52:17.159 --> 00:52:21.920 that we got the chance to talk with you because I never knew how badly 661 00:52:22.440 --> 00:52:28.280 I didn't know how to do yoga. Well, maybe I understand a little 662 00:52:28.280 --> 00:52:31.199 bit of why it was causing you so much pain to try and stretch, 663 00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:35.599 you know, And I think this is one of the biggest things as well. 664 00:52:35.679 --> 00:52:37.760 Like in the yoga world, we talk about how yoga is about creating 665 00:52:37.840 --> 00:52:43.400 a safe space, it's about honoring our bodies, and yet when we're stretching, 666 00:52:43.440 --> 00:52:47.960 we're actually violating our bodies own protective self protective mechanisms. And what we 667 00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:53.400 should do instead is honor those protective mechanisms and address the cause of why it's 668 00:52:53.480 --> 00:52:59.480 tightening up. And that's where I come in. The typical story of ease 669 00:52:59.559 --> 00:53:04.360 versus He's medicine versus Western medicine is how this has been fascinating you. Aaron. 670 00:53:04.440 --> 00:53:07.039 Thank you so much for coming and sharing your wisdom with us. I 671 00:53:07.119 --> 00:53:10.159 am really looking forward to reintroducing myself to yoga, because now that sounds like 672 00:53:10.159 --> 00:53:14.119 stuff that I might want to do. I might be able to do to 673 00:53:14.159 --> 00:53:21.880 start with, so thank you. I'm stiff, Bendy Wendy Careen. I 674 00:53:22.159 --> 00:53:25.320 love it. No, no, I can't believe he just went there. 675 00:53:29.599 --> 00:53:35.559 I think we might have found our episode title. All right. Well, 676 00:53:35.559 --> 00:53:37.039 once again, yoga Aaron, thank you so much for coming on. It's 677 00:53:37.079 --> 00:53:43.480 been fat Thanks guys, and a huge thank you to you. We hope 678 00:53:43.480 --> 00:53:45.559 you've enjoyed this conversation as much as we have. If you did and you 679 00:53:45.599 --> 00:53:50.639 feel called to give back, we invite you to visit our website at Skepticmanephysition 680 00:53:50.679 --> 00:53:53.440 dot com, where you can donate to the show or subscribe as a member 681 00:53:53.480 --> 00:53:58.599 through our buy me a Coffee campaign. Your support will go a long way 682 00:53:58.599 --> 00:54:02.440 towards allowing Karen and I to bring you these wonderful conversations and teachings in more 683 00:54:02.480 --> 00:54:07.400 and more robust ways. Well that's all for now. We will see you 684 00:54:07.440 --> 00:54:12.159 on the next episode of The Skeptic Metaphysician. Until then, take care,