153: 12 Ways I Stay Engaged In The World, Protect My Nervous System And Uplevel My Teaching
My understanding of the spiritual teachings is that my liberation doesn’t mean anything unless everyone else is free too. The teachings of Buddhism say over and over again that a huge part of our practice is about creating a world where the safety and freedom and happiness of all sentient beings is possible. So from that I take that being engaged in working for a better world is a necessary part of my spiritual practice.
This is a really dark timeline. The things the American government is doing are truly horrific. I want to stay out of the spiral of despair and overwhelm so that I can be engaged, focused, supportive and actually helpful.
Today we are taking a deep dive into the 12 things I do regularly to stay engaged without overloading my system, find ways to be helpful and let it all be part of my practice and teaching. Let’s dive in.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
4 suggestions for staying informed without mainlining the news, because no one’s nervous system is built for that
a soap box speech about social media and how I recommend you engage with it
the things I am doing to try and make both my small world and our wider community places better for everyone
4 things I do every day to keep my nervous system regulated
Resources Mentioned
Recent Podcast Episodes
Is yoga exclusively connected to Hinduism? What is the caste system and why would a western yoga teacher need to understand it? How much of yoga’s complex history do modern yoga practitioners and teachers really understand?
In this powerful and thought-provoking conversation, I welcome back Anjali Rao — yoga educator, activist, and author — to unpack the intertwined histories of yoga, caste, patriarchy, and colonization. Drawing from her new book Yoga as Embodied Resistance, Anjali challenges us to explore how caste hierarchies and colonial legacies still shape modern yoga spaces, language, and access to practice today.