The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    Abhyganga, or Ayurvedic self-massage, applies warmed oil (oftentimes infused with herbs for unique bodily constitutions) to our entire body from head (including scalp) to toes. This ancient and traditional practice helps with regulating the nervous system, nourishing the skin, and relieving tension from muscles and tendons.  Yvette guides us into a...

How often do we feel that we are not in control when it comes to our hormonal health, and that we are unfortunate victims when it comes to menstruation and menopause? In this episode, I speak with Yvette Racines, founder of Vital Living Wellness, an Ayurveda inspired bodycare brand, on simple self-care and self-nurture practices that can aid us throughout our hormonal transitions, especially the transition into menopause.    Listen IN to our conversation on self-care principles based in...

Many of us are oblivious to the knowledge and awareness that how we care for our menstrual cycles can greatly impact our energy, mood, sleep, PMS symptoms, and more. Furthermore, when we choose to ignore, alter, and/or suppress the natural rhythms of our menstrual cycles, our entire bodily functions can be thrown off course, resulting in hormonal-related health issues. Listen in to my conversation with Nicole Tillotson, founder of Season and Cycle, on menstrual health, cycle syncing, and how...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    This short and sweet yoga nidra / guided relaxation practice is suitable for when you are in a pinch with time, yet feel the need to nurture yourself. Embrace rest with these little moments of self-soothing to help regulate your nervous system throughout the day. The yoga nidra guides you through the contemplation that, when you tend to your body, your...

In this episode, Elaine explores our relationship with rest and the resistance many of us have towards it. She shares her own journey of learning to embrace rest and the importance of balancing busyness with rest. Elaine encourages listeners to have an honest conversation about their relationship with rest and to reframe the idea of deserving rest. She emphasizes that rest is the foundation for success and caring for oneself and others. The episode concludes with a reminder to constantly...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    This guided meditation helps you anchor into yourself, so that you can reconnect to who you are and what you value. This is a perfect accompanying practice with Episode 11: Prioritize Your Days Better With This Simple Trick. Use this meditation to help you with the exercise discussed in Episode 11.    Elaine Oyang is an IAYT-certified yoga therapist and...

Have you ever sat yourself down on the couch at the end of the day, feeling completely exhausted from a busy day, and yet, you couldn't quite remember exactly what you did? This is because we often fill our days somewhat mindlessly with busy activities that feel urgent (but may not be so important), and by the end of it all, you still didn't complete what you set out to do that day. And forget about personal down time!   In this episode, discover a simple experiment that can help you...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    Disclaimer: Do not participate in this exercise if you are currently undergoing emotional distress. Tend to your emotional needs and nurture yourself at this time.    Every event and/or interaction that feels triggering to you can be an opportunity for further self-reflection and self-healing. This guided contemplation and journaling practice takes you...

Can "setting boundaries" with other people be yet another form of finger-pointing rather than turning the mirror back to ourselves? How do we know whether we are trying to avoid a healing opportunity (which can be messy and painful) by "setting boundaries?" Listen in to this week's {potentially} controversial topic with my very dear sister Irene as my guest. We speak about: How we can miss out on healing opportunities and bypass deeper self-work when we are too quick to set boundaries...

The following episode is a guided practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    Why is it so hard for us to fall asleep at night? In the previous episode, sleep coach Lauren Ziegler suggests that it's in those quiet, dark hours of the night when our feelings catch up to us to a point of overwhelming us. In this guided meditation, she guides us through a tender journey of feeling our feelings and softening into them rather than...

In this episode, I have the honor of having Lauren Ziegler, IAYT-certified yoga therapist and a sleep coach to discuss the importance of sleep, and how it impacts our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Lauren also shares her experience with sleep difficulties and how she overcame them through yoga nidra and meditation. She discusses five ways to know whether your sleep quality is poor, how sleep and emotional regulations are closely tied to one another, and offers tips on improving...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    We are often driven by the insecure need to keep accomplishing and achieving things in this busyness culture. When this need is driven by the feeling that no matter what we do, it never is enough, then success becomes a constantly moving target. This guided meditation is designed to anchor ourselves back into what we already have, what we have already...

Have you noticed that oftentimes when asked: “how are you?”, many reply by saying: “oh, I’ve been super busy.”  Busyness seems to be a badge of honor nowadays. There’s this constant need to do, achieve, perform, and succeed. While there is nothing wrong with accomplishing goals in healthy measures, when there’s an obsession with it, when the drive to accomplish stems from feeling insecure about ourselves, then that could be a recipe for burnout.  In this episode, we discuss the burning (pun...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.    This meditation practice guides you through a body scan and a inner contemplative experience to discover what truly nourishes your body, mind, and soul. The purpose is to find your own unique self-nurture practice that you look forward to do a few times a day on a daily basis.    Elaine Oyang is an IAYT-certified yoga therapist and a self-nurture...

What is self-nurture and how does it differ from self-care? This is the topic we are going to explore in today’s episode, and you can say is my crusade in revolutionizing the way we think about self-care, or rather, RECLAIM what self-care is for ourselves rather than being SOLD what self-care is. We will discuss why self-care portrayed by the media is inaccessible and unsustainable, and what you can do instead to take care of yourself without the glitz and glamor.    Elaine Oyang is an...

The following episode is a guide practice meant to accompany the previous episode. For context, please refer to the previous episode.  This somatic practice takes you through a slow and mindful journey in your body to hone your listening skills for your bodily sensations. By slowing down a simple movement rather than rushing through it mechanically, we get to pick up on so much more about what our body is trying to tell us.    Elaine Oyang is an IAYT-certified yoga therapist and a...

Welcome to our very first episode of the Sacred Listening podcast! In today's episode, I am laying out the meaning behind Sacred Listening, and how I aim to guide you to "listen IN" to your body with this podcast. Chances are, if you've been living an over-scheduled, over-busy life, you haven't listened to what your body's needs are lately. Tune in to learn more about how to return to your body's wisdom to nurture, rather than neglect, your own self.    Elaine Oyang is an IAYT-certified...

Welcome to the Sacred Listening podcast — a sanctuary for those who feel overwhelmed, overscheduled, and overbusy. I’m your host, Elaine Oyang, IAYT-certified yoga therapist and a self-nurture advocate. In this podcast, we explore the various paths of restoring balance in our body from issues such as depletion, anxiety, chronic pain, and stress. We do this by redefining what self-care means on an individual level as we dive into cutting-edge research, personal stories, expert interviews, as...