For our 36th episode, I sat down with Ana Forrest and Jose Calarco. I never had the pleasure to practice live in person with them, but I love the importance and the attention to healing that Forest Yoga stands for. The intentions behind the practices are truly powerful and the spectrum of tools to get reconnected to the body, to the truth, and to move through our suffering is really making those practices much richer, and so I wanted to sit down with them to chat about what healing possibility yoga can offer us.

5 BIGGEST TAKE AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE

1. Your life is infinitely precious. Don’t waste it. Thinking that you are not enough is a lie. Tend to your life force and to your spirit in a respectful and reverent way.When you act in a way that doesn’t serve you, deep down you know, so stop. Instead do things that help you evolve.

2. Yoga alone might not be enough to heal deep wounds. The body needs movement and action, the mind needs to be still, the emotions need expression and the spirit needs nourishment.

3. To be in integrity, you have to connect with all parts of yourself.

4. There’s a lot of suffering and anguish in the yoga community, but yogis need to understand that you don’t have to suffer. You can get out of pain, heal your pain and start to live a life that you are proud of.

5. When you set an intention for class, pick something inside of you that needs heeling.

QUESTIONS THEY ANSWERED DURING THIS EPISODE :

• Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what was the vision behind starting Forrest Yoga?
• Integrity is a pillar of forest yoga. How do you teach it?
• I think that before we can even connect to our integrity we need to move out numbness and connect to our bodies, so we can listen better to what it’s trying to tell us. How do you approach that? Where can people start?
• Can you give examples of tools you give students to get out of pain and heal?
• How do you work with the breath?

SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW!

Thank you so much for listening and being part of our 36th episode! We have other great guests lined up for you so make sure to subscribe to the podcast where ever you listen to not miss an episode or get on my mailing list!

As always, I really appreciate your support. So as you leave a review on iTunes or on your iPhone podcast app, you automatically enter a giveaway. Athleta is generously continuing to support this podcast in their effort to ignite a community of strong women who lift each other up, and is giving out a 75$ shop card! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, check this article. Thank you so much if you left a review. The winner of this episode’s giveaway is iTunes user Flo Dupuy. Congrats! Email me at erika.belanger@gmail.com or DM me on instagram @erika.belanger and I’ll send you your shop card!

On and Off Your Mat is also part of Patreon. Patreon is a web platform where you can donate to financially support this podcast or you can become a monthly member. Donators will get shout outs on the episode and as monthly members you will receive exclusive content : mini-shows, guided meditation, guided flows and so much more. Our first exclusive episode was about me, and the second one that just came out on sept 1st was a guided loving-kindness meditation. This month, you’ll get access to one more exclusive gift! I met with Ana and Jose on Video Chat so you’ll also get access to the full unedited video discussion! Visit my patreon page here to become a member and get your hands on all this exclusive VIP content. I want to Welcome our new patreons members this week : Emily Goodell, Felice gold, Julie DErrico, Mark Stefanski, Peter & Linda Hsu and Teri Kelly. Hope you enjoy your exclusive content! Also a special shout out to Karen Holt for her generous donation. Thank you guys for your support. I’m extremely grateful for you.

ABOUT OUR GUEST OF TODAY

Ana Forrest and Jose Calarco. Ana is an internationally-recognized pioneer in yoga and emotional healing. She is the Creatrix of ForrestYoga, a powerfully physical, internally focused practice that emphasizes how to integrate the transformative experiences from the mat into your daily life. With the collaboration of Jose, ForestYoga transformed by embodying and bringing alive ancient spiritual teachings from the Aboriginal culture through ceremonies, stories, and songs.

Ana is the author of the book Fierce Medicine and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, Elephant Journal, Origin Magazine, MantraYoga and Health Magazine, and Yoga Journal Magazine. She is known as a mystic, visionary, philanthropist, and Medicine Woman.

Jose’s background ranges from producer and administrator of large-scale events to artistic director in the fields of dance, film, theater, yoga, and music. Today he the Creative Director, Ceremonial Director, and Business Mentor of ForrestYoga. Together they travel the world teaching the healing power of yoga through movement and breath, integrity and spirit.

Find out more about them and their upcoming events :

Website : forrestyoga.com

Events : forrestyoga.com/events

Check out their YouTube Channel :https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPXdW-IGG59j_KlrGYc7_EQ/videos