This is a special practice-only episode in which I guide listeners through an 8-minute Buddhist practice called Metta or Loving-Kindness. ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This episode is a continuation of last week's discussion on shadow work. I begin with a reading of what's known as the Eleventh Hour Hopi Elders Prophecy before I revisit a working definition of what a shadow is and offer some examples of how people's shadows might manifest. I then share an example of my own shadow, how it impacts my relationship to my husband, and how I consciously work with it. It's important to remember that we all possess light and shadow. We are all flawed and imperfect humans, and yet there is an aspect of us that remains untouched by our failures. This is our true nature, and it's what connects us to every other being in the vast web of life. I invite us to a different, more spacious perspective that allows us room to grow and evolve, rooting our relationships in presence, understanding, and compassion. And I reflect on how, when we blame others for our life circumstances, we give away our power and our capacity to write our own story. I continue with a sincere, vulnerable exploration of many of my own shadow aspects that I've come to accept and integrate with the support of self-compassion practices. In doing so, I have learned how to forgive myself, forgive others, and appreciate that our shortcomings are not failures, but a part of our unfolding story of becoming our authentic selves.  The episode ends with an invitation to practice seeing the divine nature in the eyes of everyone we meet. Or as Ram Dass would say, "Learning to see everyone as God in drag." ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This episode offers an introduction to shadow work. Our shadow includes all of the denied aspects of ourselves–the parts of us that we can’t accept, and so we push out of our conscious awareness. The problem with voting our unsavory aspects off of the island of “me” is that these shadow parts continue to heavily influence how we interact with the world around us. And they can have profoundly negative impacts on our relationships as well as our ability to live a fulfilling life. The process of shadow work involves turning toward these rejected parts with the intention of accepting and integrating them back into our self-concept. This reclamation of our wholeness is key to revealing our intrinsic loving, peaceful, compassionate nature. While shadow work can seem intimidating or scary at first, it is liberating and empowering work. And it’s a necessary step for gaining emotional maturity, deepening relationships, and showing up authentically and joyfully in your life. I end the episode with a helpful method for identifying our shadow and a guided meditation for cultivating nonjudgmental awareness. ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This episode begins with an acknowledgment of what most of us are feeling these days: full of big emotions and deeply unsettled. Many of us are witnessing our relationships undergo profound shifts–some are even breaking apart. Emotions are a powerful form of energy. Some of us might fear them, so we squash them down and avoid them. Others of us let them rip, giving very little thought to the potentially destructive impact our emotional reactions may have. This is due to a tendency we each have–to identify with the thoughts and emotions we experience instead of the awareness that is witnessing them. We get caught in ego consciousness, misidentifying ourselves as the weather instead of the sky that holds it all. But what if we could shift our perspective - just a little - and create some space for an alternative view? One that sees emotions as information instead of an enemy? This is what I endeavor to do throughout the episode.  Although rooted in the work of Nonviolent Communication champion Marshall Rosenberg, I first came upon this teaching through the book Say What You Mean, written by meditation teacher and Nonviolent Communication trainer Oren Jay Sofer. And this reframing suggests that emotions provide information to us about whether or not our basic human needs are being met. This is a profoundly empowering view of emotions. And it offers us a rich framework with which to sort out and process them in a way that leads to a more fulfilling life. Join me for this valuable conversation which concludes with a short fictional story I wrote about my own process of transforming my emotions from enemies to information.   SHOW NOTES:  ✦Oren Jay Sofer book - Say What You Mean: https://www.orenjaysofer.com/book-audio  ✦Bay Area Nonviolent Communication - List of Needs: https://baynvc.org/list-of-needs/ ✦Bay Area Nonviolent Communication - List of Feelings: https://baynvc.org/list-of-feelings/ ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

When our hearts become awakened to reality, it can be quite painful and challenging to observe the suffering in our own lives as well as the suffering in the lives of others. But no matter how we might try, once we’ve woken up, there is no going back to sleep. We may avoid, repress, numb, or rage out, but reality will beckon us forward on our path of evolution again and again. And that’s actually a good thing. From the perspective of Eastern spiritual traditions, it is very rare for a human being to willingly turn toward pain with curiosity, courage, and compassion. It’s only by facing the pain that we discover a space inside of us that remains untouched by it. And this awakened, tender heart is what reminds us that we are alive. It compels us to act in ways that are in alignment with the whole; we evaluate our impact on the world around us.  Through spiritual practice, we cultivate inner resilience: an ability to recover from difficulty. We learn to bend without breaking. Now more than ever, we are being challenged to stand strong in our integrity and our values. But I want you to understand that we are not without tools and resources right now. Many have been involved in the work of overcoming oppression for decades if not centuries and millennia. And to my mind, what’s most important in this moment is that we continue to build community. The only way for us to reimagine a just, compassionate, equitable society is to create it, brick by brick, together. Much of that work has already been in play. It just may be time for you to join in or lend more of your energy to it.  Let’s work together to take the meaningful action necessary to support ourselves and each other. Let us be stretched and challenged in ways that bring out the very best of ourselves–for our benefit and for the benefit of all beings, everywhere.   SHOW NOTES:  ✦Valarie Kaur speech | https://youtu.be/qQ7QlKG70LE?si=uy52oQg4jXZDHqhK ✦Valarie Kaur - Revolutionary Love Project | https://revolutionarylove.org/ ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher once wrote “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way”. This reflects the Zen teaching that reminds us that “the obstacle is the path.” Often, when things don’t go how we expect or want them to go, we feel that we have failed or are helpless victims of our lives. But what if the obstacle you’re facing is your greatest teacher in this moment? What if it’s guiding you toward your next step? In this short but valuable episode, I share about an obstacle that I have recently faced and how self-reflection and mindful action supported me in reframing the challenge as an opportunity to refine my daily habits and grow as an individual.  Cultivating self-awareness is very important. It helps us slow down, notice what mind state we're in, and figure out how to shift it if necessary. Taking action in the face of obstacles, as opposed to giving up or avoiding them, strengthens our resilience, our fortitude, and our stamina. We rediscover how powerful we are and increase our confidence in our capacity to face whatever life brings our way. The episode concludes with a message of hope and an Awareness of Breath practice.   ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This is a special practice-only episode in which I guide listeners through an 8-minute compassion practice called Just Like Me.   ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

In this episode of Tending to Change, I explore the concept of life purpose through the lens of swadharma, a Sanskrit term that refers to one's own duty or unique role in the world. Honoring our swadharma goes deeper than what we do as a profession. It means living in accordance with our innate nature, gifts, and talents.  Drawing insights from the Bhagavad Gita, I discuss the importance of understanding our personal responsibilities and how they contribute to the world around us and to future generations. I emphasize the journey of self-discovery, the significance of our roles, and the need to embrace our unique paths in life.  The episode concludes with a guided visualization meditation.   ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This episode begins with an acknowledgment of resonance. There’s a reason that we’re drawn to practices and teachings like the ones found in this podcast. They affirm something that we’ve been sensing, even if we haven’t put words to the experience. And as though we’re being tugged by our own hearts, we now find ourselves on a quest. We might not even know what we’re actually looking for, but we have become seekers. We’ve encountered a depth dimension of life that we previously didn’t know existed, and now we long to return to this profound sense of wholeness – of feeling at home within ourselves. This is a journey inward. It’s a journey of self-recognition – of the true self; the unchanging essence within this constantly changing world. It’s not that we reject our very real lives or our roles and responsibilities. It’s that we also reclaim this subtler aspect - this primordial mystery - and we reintegrate it into our daily lives. And then, the journey turns back outward. We recognize our interconnection within the web of life, and how our actions and energy impact the world around us. We take responsibility for what is ours, and we begin to ask ourselves how we can give back even a fraction of what has so generously been given to us.  We conclude the episode with a call to action – to understand that we are collectively co-creating the reality we’re experiencing, and that it’s up to each of us to tap into the vast well of creativity and inspiration within as we reimagine a more just, compassionate, loving society. We end with a meditation that helps us connect with spanda - with the sacred tremor - the creative pulsation of consciousness.   ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This episode begins by pointing out that a major theme for this entire podcast series is our capacity to shift and transform our perspective. Perspective is the lens through which we view and interpret the world around us. But its ramifications are profound - our unique mental coloring of the world informs how we live, what choices we make, how we interact in our relationships, and so much more.  I then thread the value of perspective-taking – of our ability to imagine the world through the eyes of another – to a conversation around the psychological concepts of fixed mindset versus growth mindset. If we’re stuck in a fixed mindset, we’ll waste all our precious energy on posturing to make it look like we’re intelligent and know what we’re doing. By contrast, a growth mindset will inspire us to harness that energy for curiosity, exploration, and personal empowerment. Our beliefs influence our ability to adapt and thrive in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.  The conversation then shifts to a global perspective of the profound paradigm shift we are collectively experiencing. We are each being called to face our fears around change so we can draw on the power of our imagination as we co-create a new reality – one that’s rooted in mutual care for the collective versus a hierarchical power structure where the many are ruled by the few. We conclude with a meditation practice aimed at creating some space between our awareness and our thoughts so we can make room for fresh possibilities – new perspectives – to come in. ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This episode is both a teaching and a reminder: it’s okay to rest. The energy of the times we are collectively in at this moment is highly charged and unstable. So many of us are experiencing a season of profound transition. And while that isn’t necessarily bad, it may mean that we need to slow down a bit. In a fast-paced, achievement- and productivity-focused culture, slowing down or adjusting our expectations is a revolutionary act. But prioritizing our health and well-being isn’t a luxury in these times – it’s a necessity.  So if you’ve been pushing through some tough stuff lately and beating yourself up along the way, please consider this your sign to chill out – this is permission to rest. ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

I begin this episode by reflecting on some common reasons why we might have a difficult time taking an honest, clear look at our own pain and determining what our current needs are - both of which are necessary if we're going to ask for support from our family or community when the going gets tough (which it eventually does for all of us). I then share how cultivating this skill of vulnerability informs our ability to effectively help others who are suffering without becoming incapacitated by empathy without boundaries. This leads into a conversation about the difference between sympathy, empathy, and compassion and what it means to hold space for someone. Finally, I propose the argument that if our compassion leads to fatigue, burnout, or resentment, that it is egoic compassion, not true compassion. True compassion honors our boundaries and present capacity, and it's freely given without a sense of obligation or an expectation of gratitude, accolade, or return of favor. True compassion recognizes our interconnectedness and shared humanity, and comes from a place of abundance and sincere generosity of spirit. We end the episode with a lovely compassion practice called “Just Like Me.” ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

In this episode of Tending to Change, I explore the paradox that we encounter when we find ourselves in the depths of despair: No one is coming to save us, and we can't do it alone. And it is precisely in this space of vulnerability, this place of unknowing, that we find ourselves on the precipice of profound transformation.  I continue to delve into a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness and interdependence with one another, and I reflect on what a nourishing, joy-filled experience it is to be both the giver AND the receiver of heartfelt generosity. It reconnects us to a network of mutual care and reciprocity that is life-giving for all who participate in it. I share some of my own personal challenges and insights around admitting my pain to my community and allowing myself to be supported by those who love me. And I acknowledge the universal experience of suffering - that we will all eventually find ourselves in times of need, and we all have something to give - even if it’s just our time and energy. We end today’s episode with a sweet and gentle meditation of breathing into the heartspace. ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

In this episode, I reflect again on the value of reassessing our daily routines during this transitional time of year. I acknowledge that translating what we know into what we do may be one of the hardest undertakings we can take up.  I then shift the conversation to a focus on the importance of strengthening our personal will through smaller commitments, and how doing so can lead to transformative change. I share a personal story about my own struggles with willpower and how I leverage my values to help me persevere even when obstacles inevitably arise. I invite us to consider how we would treat a baby or young child who is navigating the challenges of attaining mastery of a new skill and to generously apply the same patience and compassion toward ourselves. Our meditation practice is a wonderful reminder of the wisdom of “beginning again” as many times as we need to until we achieve what we’ve set out to do. We conclude the episode with a seated meditation practice to help train our minds to focus our attention on what matters most to us in each moment. ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This is a special practice-only episode in which I guide listeners through a 12-minute Mountain Meditation.  ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

I begin this episode with the premise that contrary to mainstream or pop spirituality, our spiritual journey is not meant to be a blissed out, “good vibes only” trip that negates, avoids, or ignores the less pleasant, more challenging human emotions and experiences. Actually, a lot of the practice is just the grind of day-to-day living. It's about learning how to live in a whole, balanced, integrated, kind, loving, conscious way. I then explore various rhythms and cycles contained within the universe, our planet, and our bodies to expand our perspective and emphasize how cyclical time is embedded in nature, of which we are a part.  From this, we shift into a conversation about Ayurveda, the sister science of Yoga, and how our dinacharya, our daily routine, can be potent medicine if regularly observed and attended to. When we're not living in alignment with our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs, the aim of ayurveda is to identify the root cause and attend to it to support us in coming back into harmony. I invite the listener to become curious about their own daily routines and sense of inner alignment, and to set the intention to make one or two supportive changes to their dinacharya. I offer my own example before guiding listeners in pranayama - a breath practice to help us attune to the rhythm of the breath. ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

In this episode, we consider a perspective that the emotions of depression and anxiety are both real and unreal; they are thought constructs, yet they cause very real consequences on how we live and perceive our lives. I share how I’ve come to recognize these very painful, challenging emotions within my own body/mind as well as some strategies for how to work though and emerge from them. I then share a story about becoming aware of the experience of despair while in yoga teacher training, and the wisdom offered to me by my teacher. I explore the hidden Grace within despair as it reveals itself as longing in disguise - and how it holds the potential as a catalyst for profound change. We end the episode with an introduction to the practice of Metta, or Loving-Kindness, as a way to cultivate compassion and connection. Over time, this practice can powerfully transform the way we view and think about ourselves and others in a wonderful way. ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Today’s episode builds upon our discussion from last week about the stress response, aka fight or flight, and how this invaluable system protects us from life-threatening dangers. We explore what effects a dysregulated nervous system, caused by prolonged or severe adversity experienced during childhood, might have on the health of an adult. Leaning on the experience and research provided in the book The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, we take a look at the shocking data put forth by the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study conducted by CDC-Kaiser Permanente in the 1990s. I share how the findings of the ACEs study make it clear that not only is it common for children to experience toxic stress before the age of 18 (67% of respondents), but that there is a dose-response relationship between ACEs and many serious health conditions later on in adulthood. Instead of following the typical Western medical model of symptom management and damage control, we identify scientifically demonstrated ways to address a dysregulated nervous system to help mitigate or avoid altogether the worst possible outcomes both in ourselves and in our children if we’re a parent. We end the episode with a big dose of compassion and a brief gratitude practice for the protective, supportive beings who’ve helped us along our way. May we know them, may we be them.   SHOW NOTES:  The Body Keeps the Score, Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk Order on Amazon The Deepest Well, Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris Order on Amazon About the ACEs Study ACEs Prevention - CDC  ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

In this episode, we put a name to the painful feeling that we are inherently flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging: shame. We unpack how shame negatively impacts our ability to connect with others in a vulnerable, authentic way by telling us that we’re not good enough and that it’s better to hide behind a mask. We also discuss the difference between guilt, embarrassment, and shame, and why the first two support growth and connection while the last is both unnecessary and unhelpful.  And because shame, like continuous partial attention, can trigger our fight or flight response, we then shift the conversation to exploring what happens inside of our body when the stress response is activated. I offer a brief overview of the nervous system with a particular emphasis on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and I explain how chronic stress can negatively affect our bodies as well as the choices available to us to avoid those outcomes.  The episode concludes with a self-compassion practice created by Dr. Kristen Neff called a Self-Compassion Break. It’s short, sweet, and a beautifully portable practice to support us during life’s inevitably challenging times.   SHOW NOTES:  Brené Brown's TED talk from 2010: The Power of Vulnerability https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability?subtitle=en The Anxiety Centre: The Stress Response https://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-disorders/symptoms/stress-response/   ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

This episode begins with an exploration of why the behavior of masking our authentic selves and feeling very uncomfortable in our skin tends to start quite early in our lives as a result of unmet needs and childhood trauma. I share how we learn to wear masks as a protective strategy when we fear being abandoned or rejected for who and how we naturally are and how that loss of connection to ourselves leads us to feeling dissociated, disempowered, and viewing ourselves and the world as an inherently unsafe place.  I then shift the conversation to how the suppression of our natural human emotions in our early lives can cause us to fear our emotions in adulthood. Many of us carry an unexplored false belief that if we were to feel the full extent of our feelings, we might never come out of them. Instead, suppressed emotions might crop up later as addictions, mental illness, or unconscious strategies such as people pleasing. The good news is, there’s a way out of this cycle of self-sabotage. Through body-based stillness practices and self-compassion, we can rediscover our intrinsic value and learn to trust our instincts again, changing our lives in beautiful ways. We begin to live a more fulfilling and rewarding life, rooted in our values, in healthy relationships, and in deeper connection to ourselves and to the world around us.  The episode concludes with a self-compassion practice created by Dr. Kristen Neff called a Self-Compassion Break. It’s short, sweet, and a beautifully portable practice to support us during life’s inevitably challenging times.   ____________________________ Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support! ____________________________ Learn More About Virtual Offerings and Live Events in West Michigan ✦Website | https://www.jenijuarez.com✦Facebook |facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram |instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ ____________________________ Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. She offers public classes as well as personal sessions designed to inspire and empower the individual to reclaim their wholeness and sovereignty, for the benefit of all beings. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative. ____________________________ Please know that… The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.