Let's Talk Yoga

What makes a yoga pose truly restorative? Aru shares her journey from chasing challenging asanas to discovering the importance of deep rest. She explores the origins of restorative yoga, its roots in the Iyengar tradition, and the five qualities that make a pose restorative: support, stillness, warmth, silence, and darkness. Learn how these elements help the nervous system settle, why Mauna and sensory withdrawal matter, and how restorative yoga prepares us for unsupported Shavasana and a deeper experience of rest.
Episode Highlights:
Confessions of a Yogaholic
Movement and the Goal of Stillness
Understanding Restorative Yoga
Restorative Yoga’s Iyengar Roots
The Autonomic Nervous System
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Responses
Support and Intelligent Prop Use
Stillness and Proprioception
Warmth and Nervous System Regulation
Mauna and the Practice of Silence
Pratyahara and Sensory Withdrawal
Darkness and the Oculocardiac Reflex
Restorative Yoga and the Five Koshas
The Goal of Unsupported Shavasana
From Doing Shavasana to Being in Shavasana
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Online
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What exactly is a Sangha, and why does community matter so much in yoga? Aru explores the meaning and origins of Sangha, its relationship to Satsang, and the many traditional forms of community that have supported yoga over time. She also looks at what makes a genuine Sangha, what it is not, the shadow side of spiritual communities, and the importance of boundaries, agency, accountability, and sustained relationships in modern yoga.
Episode Highlights:
Defining Sangha and its origins
Sangha, Satsang, and yoga
Characteristics and purpose of Sangha
Recognizing genuine Sangha
Traditional forms of yoga community
Guru Shishya Parampara and living transmission
Kula, ashrams, and Gurukula
Bhakti communities and spiritual practice
Accountability, belonging, and collective knowledge
What Sangha is not
The shadow side of spiritual communities
Teacher and student responsibilities
Boundaries, agency, and discernment
The Three Jewels and modern yoga
Rebuilding meaningful community in yoga
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Online
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What actually changes during pregnancy, and how should yoga teachers adapt their teaching? Aru talks with Aparna Ramesh about prenatal yoga across all three trimesters, balancing effort and rest, modifications, props, pranayama, sound, visualization, and the tools that can support a healthy and empowering pregnancy practice.
Episode Highlights:
Prenatal yoga intensity and effort
Balancing effort and rest, and teaching beyond “listen to your body”
The prenatal talk test
Normalizing breaks in practice
First trimester yoga practice
Trimester changes and teaching considerations
Second trimester strengthening
Third trimester physical changes
Heat and hot yoga risks
First trimester practice focus
Second trimester practice focus
Third trimester practice focus
Prenatal yoga in mixed classes
Strengthening for pregnancy and motherhood
Pelvic floor education and practice
Third trimester modifications
Props and creative modifications
Lying on the back during pregnancy
Prana and pregnancy
Prenatal pranayama practices
Prenatal chanting and sound
Visualization during pregnancy and labor
Yoga Nidra and sankalpa
Teaching prenatal yoga with confidence
Functional and non-ego-driven practice
Building sustainable self-practice
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Online
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What exactly is Yin Yoga, and how is it different from restorative yoga? Aru gets nerdy with Vinay Jesta about sensation, stillness, connective tissue, the meridian system, emotional awareness, and finding the right balance between Yin and Yang. They also discuss common teaching mistakes, practicing Yin online, and what to look for in a good Yin Yoga training.
Episode Highlights:
What Yin Yoga is and its place in the yoga tradition
Yin Yoga vs. restorative yoga
Sensation, stillness, and finding the appropriate edge
Props, modifications, and working with different bodies
Yin practice length, sequencing, and connective tissue
Tension vs. compression and recognizing harmful sensations
The role of verbal guidance in Yin
The meridian system and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Meridians, nadis, emotions, and the psychological aspects of Yin
Stillness, self-observation, and meditation in Yin poses
Yin poses, gravity, and different ways to practice
Yin for injuries, pregnancy, and hypermobility
Balancing Yin with Yang-oriented practices
Common misconceptions and mistakes in teaching Yin
Music in Yin classes
Practicing Yin through online videos vs. with a teacher
What to look for in a Yin Yoga training
Balancing anatomy, skeletal variations, and energetic approaches in Yin
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Online
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What does authentic yoga actually look like? Aru shares her personal checklist for examining the depth, roots, and transmission of your yoga practice and teaching. From lineage and Hinduism to pranic experience, sadhana, primary sources, and knowing what you don’t know, this episode explores why sincerity alone isn’t enough—and how we can move closer to authenticity.
Episode Highlights:
Feeling authentic versus being authentic
Westernization and cultural drift
Authenticity beyond Indian identity
Hinduism and yoga literacy
Origin versus transmission
Social media as a red flag
Platform size versus teaching depth
Reach versus depth in yoga
The content creator economy
When content becomes teaching
Churn in yoga offerings
Social media versus real knowledge
Adhikara and authentic transmission
Knowing and tracing your lineage
Guru Shishya Parampara and transmission
Lineage versus compiled yoga
Hinduism as working yoga literacy
Sanatana Dharma and yoga roots
Yoga texts and traditions
Experiencing the pranic body
Prana versus nervous system knowledge
Pranayama and pranic understanding
The pranic body in Hatha Yoga
Deep study with teachers
Having primary yoga teachers
Sadhana beyond asana
Personal practice beyond physical yoga
Yoga practice versus transactional teaching
Marketing culture and yoga communities
Learning from primary sources
Long-form study and contemplation
Knowing the limits of knowledge
Honesty about what you know
Relationship with the sacred
Non-instrumental spiritual practice
Sincerity versus authenticity
Closing the gap through practice
Earning the right to transmit
Self-reflection and authentic yoga
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Online
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