If you’re a fan of this podcast, or if you’ve done my Shiny Healthy You 12 week program, then you will probably already know and love yoga teacher and yoga therapist Chara Caruthers. She appeared on Episode 21, where we talked about all things Ayurveda. But in this episode I’ve got her back in to chat about one of my favourite pastimes – and that’s yoga!

Chara’s students are drawn to her wise, gentle, flowing and pragmatic style, which is always sprinkled with a good dose of humour, and if you haven’t “met” her yet – I just know you’re gonna love her!

Chara’s also a friend of mine, so in this interview we REALLY get down to the nitty gritty, with no topic that’s off limits! Prepare for some valuable insights and lots of laughter in the process.

Yoga is so much more than a series of poses.

If you’re going to a typical yoga class, that’s just one aspect of yoga. Chara takes us through the deeper meaning of yoga as a system for living our best possible lives. By tuning into our own inner voice, and when we begin to detach ourselves from all our cultural conditioning, we truly start to realise what is really us, and what are just stories that we’re running in our own heads.
We also talk about the concept of the yoga mat as being a mirror to truly see ourselves, and how to break through the self-criticism and comparisons that inevitably come up during a class. (Yep – it happens to ALL of us!).

“What’s running your show?”

Why have you turned up here?
What do you want from this?
Have you come here to prove something? Or hide from something?

We chat about how to work through ALL the thoughts that confront us when we get there.

Confused as to which type of yoga to try? We also take you through the various styles and their benefits.

“If you need to throw yourself into something physical to get out of your head, or if you need to focus some of your crazy thoughts, or if you just need something to lift you up… that’s what I like about yoga… it can be a lot of different things to different people.”

But quote of the day has to be this one:

“Bikram is like the McDonalds of yoga.”

Ummmm… what???

Yep, it’s “tell it like it is” day here on the podcast, hehe… You’ll have to tune in to find out Chara’s reasoning behind this comment!

But it doesn’t end there. We also chat about the rise in glamorous “Instagram-Yogis” and what that means for the rest of us who can’t do handstands. (Hint: Yoga is for EVERYONE – not just for “the skinny girl with the leg behind her neck with the ocean and waves crashing in the background.”)

“I want everyone to look at the vast expanse of yoga as a toolkit.”

What do you need in your life at the moment? Do you need to be challenged? Do you need stamina? Do you need to soften your mind and body?

Get ready to go deep this week. If you thought yoga was just about getting stretchy and flexible, think again… and be prepared for Chara to blow your mind!

Want to connect with this amazing woman? (Of course you do, right?)

You can find her here:

http://www.blissbodyandsoul.com/

Or if you’re interested in her local classes (in Ballina, Northern NSW), click here:

http://blissbodyandsoul.com.au/

Chara can also be found on social media. (Guaranteed to have no skinny-beach-upside-down-on-a-rock-poses!)

https://www.facebook.com/BlissBodyandSoul

https://www.instagram.com/blissbodyandsoul/

Also, if you’d like a FREE healthy dessert eBook, chock full of yummy treat that are gluten, dairy and cane sugar free, head to julesgalloway.com now. While you’re there, you can also grab my FREE Guide to Healing Your Adrenals. Go and check it out now!

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