Ask Your Guides - Live - 10/6/24

Ask Your Guides! With Carlos de Bennic, Islam Channel, Melanie Underwood, Monika Loe, Robert Halley - recorded LIVE - 10/6/24 - An unscripted collaboration among teachers, addressing questions from the Insight Timer community.

Please join our Insight Timer Group "ASK YOUR GUIDES" to continue interacting with the teachers and the community.

Transcript

We are going to get started.

I'm going to go around the panel here and let everybody introduce themselves.

So,

Carlos,

I'm going to start with you.

All right.

My name is Carlos.

I'm actually originally from Chile,

South America.

So I've been living most of my life in Denmark since I was three years old.

And I just come upon this path when I turned 30 years old and I'm 51 now.

So it's been quite a journey,

Been on Inside Timer since 2017.

And I'm all about practicing what we practice every day.

So that's a bit about me.

I love that.

I used to late at night watch.

I know that you're on every day and you keep track of the number of days you're on.

And I used to sometimes two o'clock in the morning I'd be up and I'd be watching.

And I was like,

Wow,

That is dedication to be on here every single day.

I love that about you.

All right,

Robert,

I'm going to move over to you.

Wow.

The warmest of greetings to you all.

My name's Robert Halley.

And right now and usually I'm in Toronto,

Ontario,

Canada.

This is the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit,

The Anishinaabe,

The Chippewa and the Haudenosaunee.

And yeah,

It's kind of hard to describe me.

So I say I'm a creative wellness coach because I blend my 25 years as a performing artist,

Mainly dance,

With my passion and holistic wellness,

Yoga,

Wellness,

Coaching and meditation.

So my unique thing is I I blend the arts and holistic practices for more engagement and to have fun because we're always going to be doing it.

Thank you.

And I have to say,

I always loved journaling with you when you'd be in your hammock.

I'm like,

This is like the most like awesome,

Comfortable,

Cozy setup.

I love it.

All right.

Islam Channel,

Christina and Gabriel are moving on to you.

Hello,

Guys.

I'm Christina and I'm Gabriel.

And we have created Islam Channel.

It's a baby,

Baby account,

Baby channel to help educate the Insight Timer community.

Those who are curious about,

You know,

Knowing the truth about the Islamic traditions.

And truly,

The aim is to be to bring peace,

Communication and connection between people.

I mean,

There's a lot of Islamophobic I can say news on the,

You know,

On the media that we want to portray the real message of Islam,

Which is,

You know,

Peace,

Actually in knowing your creator,

Knowing the one that deserve our praise.

So that's really one of the reasons that we wanted to create an Islam Channel that gives the real value and the real picture of what Islam is.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh,

Thank you for coming.

That's beautiful.

Thank you for sharing,

Too.

And Monica.

Hello,

Everybody.

I'm Monica.

I'm a yoga teacher and a coach from Switzerland.

And I use mantra meditation a lot,

Mainly because I know from my own experience that it is really,

Really helpful to give the mind something to do until the mind becomes quiet and slower and still and clear.

And,

Yeah,

I mean,

When I say I am a yoga teacher,

I mean everything.

So not just asana,

I mean pranayama,

I mean meditation.

I also do yoga nidra.

There is a one monthly live yoga nidra in English that I do.

And I'm quite a new teacher on the app.

So only since February.

But I have been using the app for many years on and off.

So every time when I kind of lost my own practice,

Insight Timer helped me to get back on track.

Thank you so much for having me here.

Thank you for being here.

And now I'm going to turn it over to Melanie,

Who's going to open up the audience to questions and keep track of them and and put them out there.

Thank you.

Thanks,

Violet.

So I just want to welcome everybody here.

If you have questions,

Please pop them in the chat.

I know I already have some from people coming in.

So one of the questions that came in is what inspired you to begin your journey into mindfulness and teaching on Insight Timer?

And I know some of you touched on that a little bit.

But if you could go a little deeper,

If you feel compelled to answer,

I know I would love to know a little bit about that from you all.

You can either raise your hand if you want to answer.

Robert,

You want to answer,

You can go ahead.

I was going to ask for doing the same order,

But I'm happy to jump in.

Okey dokes.

Well,

Yeah,

My journey as a performing artist is what started the need for self-care because there's so much rejection,

Like living in New York City,

Auditioning.

You're not tall enough.

You're not muscular enough.

You're not white enough.

You're not ethnic enough.

So really needed to understand and to build that internal safe space with my worthiness,

But also warming up and cooling down.

Like being a dancer is really challenging.

So that's the journey that started.

And like most things,

You start on one aspect and then it filters into mind,

Body,

Soul,

Spirit.

So that's how I started,

Mainly when I went to New York because there's so much variety and although this is a bit of not a nice word,

I'll just say it so we can have lightheartedness.

Me and my friends,

Well,

She coined the term of being a yoga whore.

I don't like that term,

But trying all the different traditions and then seeing what settles with you,

And that's where I started to do more kundalini because I wanted to go beyond the asana,

Mantra,

More pranayama and having more of that somatic internal experience.

And in terms of Insight Climber,

I'm here because of Marcus Fung.

I'm sure we know beautiful Marcus Fung from Edmonton.

Yeah,

We've been friends because I lived in Edmonton years ago and I don't know,

I posted something on Facebook about Flo and he was researching Flo and then he told me about Insight Climber.

And it was truly a lifesaver during the pandemic to have a place to serve,

To be in community and to develop myself.

I'm so proud of everyone showing up so that I could show up and develop myself because I've been a silent dance artist most of my life.

But over the past few years,

I'm able to connect the head,

Heart,

Body and voice to speak with more authenticity and attunement,

And I'm very grateful.

And we're all mirrors.

So it's pretty awesome how this community and we all give back to one another.

Thank you.

That's so beautiful.

I didn't know that about you,

So I really appreciate that.

Actually,

I have to add one more thing.

I'll be brief.

I do believe in spiritual DNA and different ancestors evoking,

Setting foundational for your incarnation.

And I do mention it time to time,

But my grandfather on my dad's side,

He I believe I'm doing some of that legacy work because he was not afraid to be different.

So my ancestry is through Guyana,

But then it goes to Africa and all sorts of different places.

But yeah,

He was a preacher,

Speaker of truth and spirituality on the streets of Guyana.

And when he came to Toronto,

He had his weekly gatherings of exploring consciousness in different religions.

Like he was some people viewed him as kind of like a madman because he wasn't just Christian.

Like he had sources through other religions and esoteric traditions.

And I'm so passionate about the spectrum.

It's like many paths to peace and to know God.

And so that's another reason how I started my journey,

Because it's just innate.

It wants to come through me.

And I and that's another really important aspect of me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anybody else?

Sure.

So the question was how we got started.

Yes.

What inspired you to begin your journey into mindfulness and teaching on Insight Timer?

I think that Monica said it really like spot on for me.

It's like when when I find out that things are not really working,

I have this tendency to find out how can I set myself up to to succeed with it.

And for me,

I wanted to really get a mindfulness meditation practice like on a daily basis,

Get that going.

So I challenged myself to do Insight Timer sessions for like I think it was 14 days back in 2017.

And that's just been my style.

It's like I love reading.

I love learning,

But I love acting more.

You know,

I love I love putting my words into action and I like I like to provoke myself in the sense that my my structure,

My the way my mind works,

My emotions works,

That I do something about it every day.

And it's just it's just been my path to to develop on that.

And I think it's so hilarious to see the first videos like from from the first ones there and then see it now where it's a different person.

And I'm a different person in the sense that so much has just let go in my nervous system when it comes to I think that the primary word I hear people say is authenticity.

I don't feel it like that because I'm just being me,

But I didn't used to be.

So I know from for a fact that I used to,

You know,

Try to be this person that everybody liked.

And now it's just completely switched that the primary person that needs to like me is me.

So it makes it so much easier.

Right.

So so going back to,

You know,

Why I started,

That was to reason.

I think that we all start from pain.

So that was also for me the pain of so many different things.

So it's just grown,

You know,

It's just grown from from being this 14 day processes and now at 730 days,

Today's day 189 out of 730.

And it's just become a second nature where I don't want to I don't want to I don't want to not do it.

So yesterday we went to a funeral and I was doing live in the evening talking about the funeral.

So it's just like I think my my daughters would probably call it kind of a inside YouTuber kind of thing,

Right,

Because I'm on every day.

But for me,

It's not about that.

It's about me having this process that I'm doing.

And because it just helps me so much,

It's just become so valuable for me and for the people that I share with.

Thank you.

Christine and Gabriel,

Did you want to add to that?

Absolutely.

Yes.

Thank you.

So what inspired us to create this space on Insight Timer?

As I said,

Well,

For me,

Mostly it was my teenager who when he turned 14,

Even though he was born a Muslim,

He started to pray and fast the month of Ramadan and seeing his very commitment and dedication to being who he chose to be inspired me very much and connected to the current events inspired me to start renewing my my intention and my my choice for my faith and my beliefs and my values and start learning because Islam is a lifestyle,

Is not a religion,

And not being raised as a Muslim and choosing it myself when I was 21 feels like there's knowledge to be gained.

So my teenager was,

For me,

My inspiration.

Hey,

Beautiful.

Yes,

I was always spiritual even as a child.

I went to church.

I played even in a church play,

You know,

Not choir.

I was,

You know,

On Christmas you have the,

You know,

The nativity stories.

So I was one of the three mages,

Was the older one,

The Gospel.

So I was always looking for for the creator,

For God Almighty.

I wanted to make sure that I could reach him to the right channels.

And,

Yeah,

Around 27,

20 years ago,

You know,

I found Islam.

I come from an Orthodox Christian background.

And I mean,

Ourselves,

You know,

We practice Islam.

That's all about peace.

Yes,

There are some people,

You know,

In any cultures,

Any religious background that they don't represent that institution.

They don't represent that religion.

And but unfortunately,

In the media,

You see that it portrays,

You know,

That the Muslims that are doing all the bad things,

That the terrorists and so on.

So we just wanted to give,

You know,

Our side of the story,

That Islam is not all about,

You know,

Killing and all that.

Actually,

Islam comes from a root word,

Salama,

Which means peace or surrender to your own creator.

So we don't take the name of our prophet or any other prophets.

We believe in all the prophets and messengers sent by God Almighty,

Our creator.

And we just want to make sure that people find their own path in life,

You know,

Because some people might be searching for a way to reach God.

But there are so many,

How can I say,

Different ways that not all of them goes to the right to the right path.

Thank you.

And I don't know if you guys saw in the chat.

I'm just going to read what Wendy said.

And Wendy has reiterated it a couple of times.

And she said,

Islam Channel has taught me so much.

I feel so incredibly lucky to join your lives and hear your wisdoms.

I can say I never knew anything about Islam other than what has been portrayed in the media.

I feel I now feel completely different about it.

So much love.

Thank you,

Wendy.

I really appreciate that from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you.

We are here for the Wendys.

I'm sure you have many Wendys.

Monica,

Did you want to add?

Yes,

Sure.

Yeah,

My need for calm recipes emerged because I needed balance from my corporate job.

And so I started to do yoga,

Tried different styles as well,

And then decided to become a yoga teacher.

And it was a quite intense teacher training over several years.

So it was really deep and helped me a lot.

And I was able to build my own yoga practice aside,

I mean,

Next to my job in the corporate world.

And I was quite happy about that.

And it only turned out how helpful this all was a lot later because I was diagnosed with cancer and then all or many of the things that I had been exposed to with yoga had helped me so much.

But I also had to completely change my practice because all the things that I was able to do before,

Which needed a lot of strength and involved also really the body and movement,

They were no longer possible.

And it was really a gift that around that time,

Actually before my diagnosis,

I started a teacher training in another yoga and mantra.

And that was really that was so helpful for me because then with the mantra,

I had something to to really concentrate on.

And so during my my chemo,

My chemotherapies,

I recited the mantras and it helped me so,

So much to not go too much into fear.

And,

You know what I mean,

Or the one people that know that have gone through something like this,

They know what I what I mean.

So it was really my my anchor.

And so my my wish is to to share some of these practices.

And I was really grateful that somebody mentioned to me that I could also become a teacher on Insight Timer because I didn't know that.

So somehow I had missed that.

And yeah,

So I started in February and and yeah,

I'm just trying to share in life and make my recordings.

And already before I have done a lot over over Zoom.

I hope I'm allowed to say that because I still didn't have the strength and the endurance to go to a studio and teach there.

So I do most of my of my classes online anyway,

Because yeah,

Maybe I can also mention that I had my cancer diagnosis during Covid.

So I was really locked at home because it was too dangerous to to have contact with people outside.

And it has helped me so much to to just already then when I was ill,

Teaching.

And I was also when I I'm mixing things a little bit now,

But when I when I wanted to find my own rhythm after all these treatments,

I decided I just chant the mantra every morning at nine a.

M.

And I didn't care if anybody showed up or not.

I just went online.

Unfortunately,

I didn't know about about Insight Timer because I would have,

You know,

I could have shared with so many of you.

So I just showed up every morning and chanted my mantras online and sometimes with three people,

Sometimes alone,

Sometimes with ten.

And so,

Yeah,

So I try to bring that now to Insight Timer.

I'm still struggling with my microphones.

That's why I'm not chanting so much in the lives.

But I do the Yoga Nidra.

And yes,

Maybe also about Yoga Nidra.

I also did when I was recovering from cancer and the treatment,

I did a teacher training in Yoga Nidra for a half a year.

And so for a half a year,

We had to practice.

We were asked to practice Yoga Nidra every day.

And that had a huge impact on my recovery.

And so that's why I really love to share Yoga Nidra.

And I hope that other people also and find the beauty of practicing it every day for a few weeks and see the difference.

Yeah,

I have talked a lot now.

I'm sorry.

You're fine.

You can talk as much as you want.

That's why we're here.

Yeah,

Your voice is so tender and gentle and soothing.

So I love I was thinking I was thinking the same thing,

Robert.

Like she soothes me just listening to her.

Thank you,

Monica.

You tapped in a little bit to the next question that came in.

What is one unexpected lesson or realization you've gained from your teaching experience on Insight Timer?

Have any thoughts on that?

Feel free to raise your hand.

I have the question over.

Robert,

So it's what's an unexpected lesson or something I learned.

Yeah,

Exactly.

Since you've been teaching on from your experiences on Insight Timer.

That I could be myself like three thousand percent and I don't have to know it all because there's there's such a vastness to yoga,

Meditation,

Spirituality,

To be honest.

I've done Zoom as well.

I've taught in person,

But there's something.

And although it's kind of weird,

It's like you're talking to yourself.

You're like the mad person in the room alone.

Even though that's kind of weird,

It allows you to not feel judged and to really harness the intuition,

The impulses and to literally be yourself.

Like I've always been creative and eclectic,

But I I've developed myself even more to go for it,

Like I've done some light languaging that I never would have done before,

And I really am sometimes really,

Really silly,

Blended with like full on passion and honoring tradition.

So that's what I've learned,

And it's elevated my confidence and to just be,

Again,

The buzzword,

Even more authentic.

And that sparked ideas like,

Oh,

I can add this to in person,

Try this creative thing while I do this warm up and things like that.

So I'm super grateful,

Which you can tell with my energy.

And I love that.

And I've heard a number of teachers actually say that recently,

That they feel such support from the people that watch us,

That they feel it's OK to be yourself and bring forth things that you might not typically have done.

And I I want you to know how much that resonates with me about being fun and silly,

Because my photo here on Insight Timer,

I'm laughing and a friend said to me,

You can't have a laughing photo on a meditation app.

That's serious.

And I was like,

Yeah,

I'm not very serious.

And I spent a lot of time laughing in my life,

So it's kind of appropriate.

So I think that's a beautiful sentiment.

Thank you,

Robert.

Carlos.

For me,

The most unexpected thing has been how profound relationships can actually grow throughout,

You know,

One day after the other.

I'm not really,

You know,

I've been independent for like 15 years.

I've been working as a psychotherapist for all of those years.

And before that,

I was in the corporate world 14 years.

And for me,

This online stuff was like,

Yeah,

Let's let's see,

You know,

Is it any good,

Right?

It's online.

I mean,

So,

You know,

It's incredible because,

As Robert said,

We are,

You know,

The only crazy person in the room where we were the ones not seeing anybody.

We see the profile pictures,

But but still because one of the things that I I do sometimes and the beautiful thing about everyday sessions is that I don't have any scripts,

It's I usually say that I don't even know what's going to happen myself.

So I'm I'm often asked that question,

Whether I gain something from myself and I do because I don't know what's going to happen and it's just whatever is here and now that's being guided to my voice.

And I have that experience myself.

So those continuous processes and sometimes what opens up is that it develops into sessions.

Somebody I mean,

There's this beautiful woman called Gail that that suddenly shared that she was going through through a cancer process,

You know,

A very rare two percent kind of cancer.

And suddenly it turns into a session,

A session in the sense of opening and I ask questions,

She writes.

And and it's like when you have sessions like that with people joining in and feeling and sharing and connecting with it,

It's like something happens that I can't explain.

I've been so fortunate that I've experienced because I do retreats as well.

So I've experienced people that I've known through inside time and come to the retreats and it's like I've never seen the person in real life,

But there's this instant it's already there,

The connection.

Right.

It's such a beautiful thing.

So that's been the most surprising thing for me.

Thank you,

Gabriel.

Christina,

Did you want to add?

Yeah.

Yeah.

What I learned really is that you don't have to be in person to connect to someone.

And I've connected to so many people from all around the world,

You know,

On a deeper level,

You know,

USA,

UK,

Asia.

It's just the the connection doesn't matter if it's online or offline.

It's really,

You know,

When you when you connect at the heart level,

Mind level,

It's just it's very powerful.

It's as powerful as,

You know,

You meet someone in person because the emotions are still there,

Even over the phone.

If you don't see someone,

But you can feel that person is smiling or that person is kind.

So through even I don't see the people that they are there,

Only the picture or names.

But you can you can feel their energy when when they speak to you,

When they text you,

When they when they ask question,

You know,

Genuinely,

I feel that you can you can connect to anyone,

Everywhere,

Anywhere.

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't have to be online or offline.

This is just we have walls that,

You know,

You have to be,

You know,

Person to person to feel that energy.

But now you can feel it,

You know,

Through the screen.

You can you can see that Gabriel has been the one who was going live on the channel.

I let him do that.

And for me,

The Insight Timer community is absolutely the most mindful and sweet and caring.

I had only good experiences in my in my years on Christina Doss journey of like four years,

And it's something special.

I have been live on different social media channels,

But the Insight Timer is special.

I can really feel that they're there for a reason.

And I love how united we are in the essential love that we feel for for,

As I said,

For and the the desire for feeling connected,

Having peace and being supported by each other on this journey,

Whether,

You know,

Is yoga that we do or,

You know,

Prayer or mantras or dance.

So I truly love the respect and love for each other.

I agree with you 100 percent.

I was on an app called Kitch for a long time,

And it was really just about cooking because I do mindful cooking,

If you don't know,

And there was not that connection with most people.

And I really think that all the people on Insight Timer,

Teachers and participants are here to connect and grow and learn.

And it's really what makes it so incredibly special.

Monica,

Did you want to add anything?

Yes.

I mean,

What I experienced since I'm on the app,

It's just incredible.

I mean,

All the nice people that I kind of meet.

And I think it's really incredible because also to my life,

So many people say that they try yoga or the meditation for the first time.

So there are so many curious people that just join and try something new.

And I think that's just wonderful.

And then,

I mean,

Also the teacher community.

I mean,

It's just incredible.

It's incredible beyond words.

So grateful.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Here's a great question that came in.

How do you handle challenges or difficult moments during your teaching or in your personal mindfulness practice?

Can I answer that?

Of course.

We were just talking about this before we went live was how sometimes OBS does not want to behave and freaks me out completely.

But I have to tell you,

I have learned a lot from my fellow Insight Timer teachers.

I am not a meditation teacher.

I got on Insight Timer because I obviously loved what everybody was doing and wanted to be a part of it.

I'm a tech person and I do love my crystals and my journaling.

So I got into Insight Timer with that.

But then this ask your guides idea came to me in the shower and Melanie was like,

Let's run with it.

And it took on a life of its own.

And I love it and I will never stop doing it.

But sometimes OBS brings me to the brink of insanity.

That's the software that we use to have all the teachers on camera together.

And definitely there are times I need a break.

I need to just go sit somewhere quiet.

So if it happens during the live,

I will never freak out on camera.

I've learned to just keep breathing deeply and just keep focused on what I'm doing.

And I've learned that from all of you.

And,

You know,

Afterwards,

Sometimes I just need to go sit outside and just reconnect with nature and just and just breathe.

So for me,

Breathing is key.

I do a lot of breathing and I never realized how often I hold my breath.

It's crazy.

Like you don't even like I never knew.

I used to hear people say that.

I'm like,

Really?

And I'd be listening to one of your meditations and I'd be like,

Oh,

My God,

I wasn't even breathing just now,

Like I didn't even realize I was not breathing.

So now I do a lot of breathing.

So that's a great question.

I love it.

And thank you,

Breeze,

For telling me I handle it gracefully because sometimes inside I am melting into a huge puddle and I'm trying to keep my cool.

And people are wonderful.

They try to give me advice.

And when I'm trying to focus and everyone's telling me what to do,

Like I'm losing my mind,

But I'm not showing that.

So thank you for being patient always with me.

And that was a great question.

Thank you.

Yeah,

I love this question.

And I'm going to say this because I because of me teaching cooking,

I do get different opinions because I don't cook meat on Inside Timer because I don't want it to be controversial.

But most people know I grew up on a farm and I'm not vegan.

But once in a while in the chat,

Somebody comes in hot with their opinions and and that's OK.

And I love it because for me,

You know,

I have been teaching 28 years and I do look at all of those moments as learning moments and exploratory.

So unless it's super I no one's ever offended me.

I would like the most impossible person to offend,

But I would just say like for me,

It's just moments to talk about.

And I'm very honest in my life.

So I'll be like,

Oh,

Hey,

Look,

Violet just talked about,

You know,

I'm a cow killer.

So I do think it's a it's a beautiful way to explore topics that maybe people back off of and become shy a little bit.

Carlos,

What about you?

I think it's a super good question.

I've actually only experienced twice that that there were some,

What could you call it,

Inappropriate comments or but I'm so I'm so focused on the now and what that means is that I I share what happens inside of me.

So I just remembered that I was noticing me myself talking about it without but a part of my mind was saying,

Why are you why are you know,

You know,

Why are you going into it and into it?

But it's because it's the practice for me.

It is to to allow for me to feel everything and be with everything.

So I was I was since just sharing all the different emotions I was feeling,

I was not trying to communicate or start a dialogue or anything like that.

I was just sharing what happened with my breath,

My nervous system,

My my my temperature,

My emotions,

Everything,

Just sharing what was going on.

And then I wasn't even noticing what was going on in the chat.

But I saw that he wrote some different things.

And then he said,

Sorry,

I was just joking and then nothing more.

So it's like kind of that wave that just came in,

And that's what we practice over and over.

It's like how to deal with everything that happens inside of us,

But also staying so authentic to ourselves that we will actually share here and now what's going on.

When dealing with my own circumstances,

Because I'm I'm doing this every day and I'm doing that to open my own heart,

You know,

As a man,

And I don't know if it's just a man thing,

But I think that us men have a more mentalizing way of being in the world.

So for me,

I remember when I started to become a psychotherapist,

I was so provoked because everybody was talking about how they felt their heart opening and the heat coming out and the radiance and all of that.

And I was like,

What are you talking about?

How do you do that stuff?

And I just had to find out that I don't work that way.

I've come to understand energy.

And what I'm trying to say here is that for me,

It's just been a path of being with what is no matter whether I'm on live or off live.

So just sharing,

I've been crying.

I can't tell you how many times live on Insight Timer.

You know,

I've been I've been in any kind of emotional state on Insight Timer and it's so freaking liberating.

I mean,

It's so crazy because I don't have to be anybody.

I don't have to do anything.

I just need to show up and practice whatever shows up in me right now.

That's beautiful.

Anybody else?

Well,

Usually I'm a very grounded person and,

You know,

I know my way around technology and stuff.

But I think a couple of months ago,

I was just about to go live.

And I think Insight Timer has some updates going on.

They messed up the lives or something like that.

And I came on my Mac,

Go live,

I wouldn't go live.

It was the time to go live,

Say what I'm going to do,

What I'm going to do.

I wasn't really panicking,

But I don't want people to wait.

I want to I want I like to be on time.

And thankfully,

You know,

For some reason,

You know,

I had my other laptop,

My window laptop that was open,

You know,

For the live,

I just needed to click the button.

So quickly I run,

I got my laptop,

Install everything quickly and then click live.

I think I was late a minute or two.

At that time,

I really panicked,

Not panicked,

But I was a little bit worried because I know people,

They were waiting for me going live.

And I just didn't want them to to wait,

Not knowing what's going on.

So that was just one thing that,

You know,

Made me realize that sometime,

You know,

Even if you're prepared,

You have everything done,

Sometimes it's not in your power and that's OK.

You know,

Just you need to breathe,

Let it go.

And at that time,

You know,

You have a clear mind and then you find the solution.

For me,

Christina,

I'm so sorry.

Go ahead.

OK,

For me,

It's all good.

For me,

When there's a personal obstacle,

I tend to connect with nature,

Have a walk and admire,

You know,

The creation and remember the present moment and just ground.

When there's a teaching obstacle,

I truly remember that I am the vehicle and that,

You know,

The almighty God is the planner of all of it.

And I just surrender because there's truly not much I can do more than almighty God can.

So I surrender and I trust that everything is happening for the best of all of us.

Thank you.

Thank you so much,

Robert.

Yeah,

It's beautiful listening.

I echo what everyone has said.

One of my missions is to normalize quick solutions for our wellness.

So I love normalizing.

Let's take five mindful breaths together.

So I do that time to time.

I actually start usually that way if it's a talking live and not a yoga class,

Like placing your hands somewhere in the body that you want to offer love and compassion to that groundedness.

I also have this drawing script.

So sometimes I just draw or take a moment to not talk because there's lots you can still do without talking to recenter or just to integrate because sometimes I cry or I just need a moment because there's such synchronicity in the chat and what happened.

It's like,

Yo,

I need a moment.

So drawing as a movement artist and yoga teacher,

Just get up and walk around to doing some bouncing.

And then in terms of technical stuff,

I also love what you said,

Christina.

You have to surrender to the higher power.

And if you're meant to go live,

You are.

If not,

I'm often late because things happen.

But it's 10 minutes before IT kicks you off.

So,

Yeah,

It's good to have two devices in an emergency to start it from your phone or something.

I've done that before.

Start it from the phone and then you can switch it over.

You learn,

But it's a game back and forth,

Spirit and technology.

And then in terms of things happening in lives,

I do feel and this is something that maybe we don't talk about a lot,

But again,

Because only our camera and audio is on,

Anyone could could join from anywhere in the world.

It's free.

And sometimes I think I've had like a nine year old,

A 10 year old.

Thankfully,

It was really sweet because it was when I was doing my Oracle readings and he was like,

He's hiding in Australia under his covers.

But like it felt weird at first because this is a kid like took his mom's phone,

He doesn't know.

But there was like the whole chat changed and it was very affirming.

But there has been times where you could tell someone has some sort of mental health situation and because they're not following the thread and the flow and it can be weird and it's distracting to look at the chat and hold space,

But you just have to trust that the community is going to write things to that person or send them out of the chat room.

It's not often,

But it is a thing like some people are not aware of the flow or they come in later and it is inappropriate what they're saying.

Rare,

But it happens.

I just thought I'd voice it because no one has yet.

And there is an epidemic of mental health.

And this is a huge tool for people around the world,

The lives.

But collectively,

We're all kind of working together and or taking a moment and just wishing well,

Putting your hands up,

Doing a quick prayer for that person or that the strange energy and then realigning.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anybody,

Monica,

Do you want to add to that?

Yes.

So maybe just quickly.

I mean,

Not during the lives,

But what I do a lot is just humming instead of breathing because there is also breathing with the humming.

And I also I really love nonviolent communication.

So it's most of the times it's not what I'm doing right now in the moment,

But as soon as I catch myself that I was in a kind of a situation and my my thoughts just went crazy,

I go back to feelings and needs and work through that for me often in writing.

So just to to discover myself a little bit more and better and to find out why this situation was so important for me or so disturbing or or whatever.

That is really one of the one of the tools that I that I really,

Really like using.

Thank you.

I think this is a great question,

Too.

What advice would you give to someone who feels too busy or overwhelmed to start a mindfulness practice?

And I'm just going to jump in while you guys are thinking and say you don't have to,

And I'm sure many of you agree,

Sit on a mat and meditate.

There's lots of ways to bring mindfulness to your life,

And I will let anyone here elaborate that wants to.

Carlos.

So I have people that start out with 10 seconds a day so anybody can find 10 seconds.

So so one thing is the choice doing it because I think that most of us are busy being busy.

Everybody's busy,

Right?

Nobody's not busy.

So so so it's like what really helps is the decision and then the community.

And that's where I tell people to come in for just like one minute,

Because when you've done one minute one day,

Then you'll do another minute the next day and then you'll do it in two minutes the third day.

So just just be very compassionate with yourself and just set yourself up for just doing that those 10 seconds,

Which seems ridiculous.

We're not looking at the length.

We look at the the ritual of repetition,

Right?

And and it works because you're not pushing yourself.

You know,

It's not going to be something where you where you want to sit down for 20 minutes or just like just 10 seconds,

One minute and then go from there.

Great advice.

Robert,

Not to one up you,

Carlos,

But I have a one second version.

And it's true.

I'll teach it quickly.

So the one second version can be any time when you just have to change your energy or before you go out the door.

The one second version is you just lift your arms up and drop them.

Do a half half second session.

Yeah.

Half second.

And there's even science to it.

Like you lift your arms up,

Your lungs open up.

You charge your aura a bit.

You attune to the higher chakras and sourcing.

We're going to we're going to set up an Ask Your Guides challenge.

How quickly can you do it?

Timer boom.

So that's just to make us all laugh,

But it's true.

There is the one second version.

You can share it with everyone.

Habits.

I love what you said,

Carlos.

It's compassion first.

Let's not judge each other.

We are where we are and it's enough.

That's one of my famous sayings.

You are where you are and it has to be enough.

Whether that's contrast,

Pain,

Fear,

Trauma,

Drama.

That's the foundation.

That's the compost to plant the seeds of intention,

Prayer and healing to go from there.

So let's have the compassion,

No comparison and the community aspects.

Where is the safe space?

Some of you know,

I'm not on Insight Timers much anymore because I've been called to serve and I'm still in shock and awe that I have the honour to fly all over Canada and teach in Indigenous spaces.

Sadly,

Some of the poorest and the most affected by colonization and genocide,

Too,

In our country.

Well,

It's happening all over.

And sadly,

This is a long,

Long journey.

And I'm bringing this up because of what you said,

Carlos.

Where is the community in the safe space?

One person that goes to a treatment centre comes back,

All the triggers are there.

I'm curious,

How do we heal communities that have trauma and it's not healthy and you can't go back to the home?

And so the main answer is community ritual.

And sadly,

It doesn't happen.

There's not weekly programming in Indigenous spaces or places that are dangerous and there's gangs.

But the truth is,

And I've asked a close Indigenous doctor,

It's community,

It's connection.

We know that's the opposite of addiction.

But there needs to be literally daily programming in person in these spaces.

And thankfully,

There's the virtual aspect that we provide.

And I didn't know you were going live every day,

Carlos.

That's absolutely incredible because one,

It's the community in the space.

But do people feel safe with the face,

With the voice,

With the incarnation?

So bravo.

And and I think I'm done my my flow of energy of what I wanted to say.

Thank you,

Christina and Gabriel.

Yes.

Wow,

That's that's a great advice.

Robert,

You know,

One second,

The simplified version.

And but I think because a lot of a lot of the times we as humans,

You know,

We build so much negative energy inside,

You know,

From inside ourselves and outside energy and just a simple let it go,

Like that should,

You know,

At least ease the the the pain that that we're feeling.

You know,

We have channels to all our body and they just let it go.

We'll unblock some of those channels.

I like the the inside time of community.

It could become like a support community for a lot of people.

If someone comes in,

You know,

They're new,

They just have to look to the teacher's profiles.

And I'm sure they can find their teacher,

They can find their people that they can get help and support.

And I mean,

It's a time when it is very wonderful and we can all agree to that.

So that's just that is my piece.

Sometimes,

Like I was saying,

You know,

We just have to trust the higher power,

You have to let it go.

Sometimes it's not in your ability to change anything.

It's just,

You know,

Life sometimes happens.

It is what it is.

We have to let it go and move on.

For me,

The question was,

How can we get started?

What suggestion do we have for someone to start their mindfulness practice?

Even though mindfulness can be overwhelming for beginners,

For me,

I would suggest to connect with their hearts.

It is so beautiful to remember that you're alive,

Right,

Because of all of the busyness.

And when you're busy,

Busyness for me is focusing on the external events at all times,

Right?

Because what keeps us busy?

And so because of that,

What is the most important thing?

The most important thing and the beauty comes from inside out.

So truly the easiest and my favorite one is to touch our hearts and feel it beating.

And that brings you into the present moment and makes you grateful instantly.

I mean,

You can try it if you're here live.

But I do I do that a lot with my community because,

Again,

It's my favorite way of reminding them that they're alive and reminding them that everything is OK in this moment right now.

And we are enough as we are.

And this heart beats on its own like it was created to beat on its own continuously.

It doesn't need our approval.

It doesn't need our,

You know,

On and off button or our attention.

And that in itself reveals how beautiful we are.

And when you start your mindfulness practice for me is like a date with myself.

So why don't you take yourself on a date,

Even if it's one minute?

Touch that beautiful heart.

Close your eyes and remember how perfect and beautiful you are on the inside.

And,

You know,

This will help you see the external reality a little bit more compassionate,

Empathetic and caring,

I would say.

So that's that's it for me.

That was beautiful.

I think also I wrote it in the chat.

If we really remember that all of our hearts are beating together and if we remember that we're actually all just on each other's side.

I know that always helps me at least to think about that,

That,

You know,

We're all here at the same time for a reason.

So thank you for that beautiful reminder.

Monica,

Did you want to add to that?

Yes,

Maybe maybe two things.

So one thing that that I would or that I tell people is is the reason why they should do it to remind why.

Because they will get so much time back.

And it's so important to to create the space between the thoughts to take the right decisions.

And that's possible when when you do all of the things that my fellow teachers have suggested.

And maybe just as the second point,

I 100 percent agree that turning inside is the right way.

When I first tried to turn inside,

However,

So during my yoga teacher training,

We went on a 10 day Vipassana meditation.

So we didn't speak to anyone and nobody really spoke to us.

So it's just a meditation on the breath.

And on one hand,

It was positively mind blowing because I was I became really aware that everything is in my thoughts,

My reality.

But on the on the other hand,

There was also a really big overwhelm from all those things that came up.

And I really wish at that time I would I would already have had the tool of nonviolent communication because I was really overwhelmed by my own feelings and needs and denying my own needs and all those things that I guess many of us know and have gone through.

And and so,

Yes,

For me,

The most important is also then to find the community,

Find community like an inside timer and find the teachers that are able to to make you feel safe and to make you feel relaxed.

And then everything can open.

Thank you.

That's beautiful.

Well,

It's hard to believe that it's been an hour.

So I would love it if you guys could just unmute yourselves and tell people where to find you,

Your profile name,

How they best can support you.

However,

That looks like to you guys.

So just feel free to unmute and speak.

I just want to give a shout out to Violet.

She was she was named the Oprah of inside timer.

A title that I cherish.

Thank you.

And she's getting all the attention.

It seems in the chat.

Very sweet,

Because I was telling somebody I am a very shy person until I started doing this on inside timer,

Did not want to be on camera,

Did not like pictures.

But I pushed myself to step outside of my comfort zone and something amazing happened.

So I love it.

Thank you.

And speaking of voices,

I love your voice,

Violet,

By the way.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So something else I don't like.

Thank you.

Oh,

I shouldn't say I don't like something I'm learning to love.

Also,

I want to say thank you for those of you on inside timer who are open to come and communicate about,

You know,

About the way your values,

The way you see life.

If you're willing to not just to share,

But also to learn,

To ask questions about Islam.

I mean,

We picked such a straightforward name for a reason to be sure that,

You know,

If you come there,

You are open to discuss and or listen,

Obviously,

And you come with the intention in mind to understand maybe your neighbors who are Muslims,

Maybe your next relative,

Maybe,

You know,

A family member who will at some stage become Muslim and you through learning about this lifestyle and the beliefs,

You might be well equipped rather than watching the news,

Which we know is not just about Islam.

It's about everything that is distorted.

So we're very open minded.

We welcome all types of religions.

Gabriel is enjoying these connections through the Bible,

The Torah,

The Koran.

And I will focus on the stories of the prophets as we need more real role models in this life and women in Islam and the image of a woman in Islam.

So please welcome.

And thank you so much for your support,

Robert.

OK,

I was acknowledging the beauty,

But I can go next.

Well,

Such a treat.

I'll just take a moment.

So grateful that I was able to be here.

And I love that I tell this to people all the time.

It's every moment such a divine miracle,

The distinction,

The uniqueness of this moment,

These personalities,

These spirits coming together.

So what a beautiful moment that I'm grateful for.

And it's still early where I am.

So this is a great foundation into my day in terms of support.

Well,

I right now,

My main offerings for live events are Kundalini yoga.

They're usually nine a.

M.

Eastern Standard Time.

I'm going to be scheduling some Sunday,

Monday coming up.

And I'll probably just do my poetry once a month again because of traveling and this and that.

I actually have a really rare thing to share that you'll appreciate.

I will be doing some more lives because I actually accepted a role.

Let me get the blur off a role,

A reoccurring role as an alien,

Believe it or not,

On Star Trek filming in Toronto.

Can you believe that?

That is so cool.

I love it.

I'm a Trekkie,

So I love that.

Oh,

Cool.

I'm a Kelpian alien.

It's not every day,

But it'll keep me in Toronto more to go live.

So I'd love to see you in my Kundalini yoga classes in terms of tracks.

There is,

If you're a plus member,

Musical body gratitude.

It's a collaboration with an Italian singer.

And it's really,

Really special.

Just the harmonies he's doing while I guide you through the body.

And you can explore the other tracks as you want.

The main thing and I'm just putting this out there is I've created a wellness Oracle.

It's seven and a half years in the making and version two will hopefully come out next year.

So whenever you see the wellness Oracle or you hear me talk about it,

Eventually there'll be ways to support the new development or it coming back on Insight Timer,

So just pray for me that it comes to light because it's my legacy project to bring everyday strategies in a fun way.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Carlos,

It's a good question.

I think that the best way to support my work is to do something every day and hold yourself accountable to do it,

Do something every day and not for you,

But for somebody else.

So I love the thing that you said,

Christina,

It goes to the heart.

For me,

It's been such a journey to understand my heart and to open my heart.

And one of the things that is so important for me is the one single simple thing that we can do is just to breathe into our heart,

Just one breath and breathe out from our hearts towards the heart of another person.

So the best way to support my work is to to do something every day and commit yourself to doing it for 60 days,

Seven days,

One day and then make it non-negotiable.

I love that.

I've really taken that to heart,

Making things non-negotiable,

Because often what happens is that we have at least these two voices inside our head.

Should I?

Shouldn't I?

Should I?

Shouldn't I?

Then making that one thing non-negotiable for X amount of days and just trying it out,

Finding out as Monica also says,

You get so much back,

You know,

It's really an investment,

Not only in you.

I'm very focused with my own girls,

They are 15 and 17 now,

Being a psychotherapist,

Working within the systemic field.

I think seven generations forward.

So what can I do now that will change my family system seven generations forward?

Just like we,

Everybody here now on Insight Timer,

How have we been influenced by seven generations back,

Our ancestors?

So this is the first time anybody in your family system is sitting in an Insight Timer live session talking about stuff like this,

And how can we take that and give it on to our children,

Their children,

Their children?

This is the new way of making this bonfire,

This campfire that we can give on to our children,

Right?

So one thing every day,

Non-negotiable,

60 days.

Let's go.

I love that.

That's beautiful.

It is.

Monica,

What about you?

Yes,

What can I say after that,

Carlos?

That's so incredible.

Yeah,

I would I would just like to invite people to to be part of my journey on Insight Timer.

And if you would like to try Yoga Nidra for yourself,

Join my next live.

It's on November 1st.

And there is also a recording from a live.

And when I do my Yoga Nidra,

I often use sound.

So sound of the own voice.

So we are humming and making ah and ee and woo sounds.

And maybe it feels a little bit strange at first,

But it really works through the body and the emotions and everything.

And you can you can find deep relaxation when you do that.

And I would also love for people that like then the Yoga Nidra to join my Yoga Nidra group.

I just created it.

But I have the dream that people can repeat kind of what I did.

So I did my Yoga Nidra own practice for six months every day.

And so in my Yoga Nidra group,

I would try with recordings and lives that I do more often to to offer Yoga Nidra for six months and see what that changes in every person.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

This has been amazing.

I'm going to give myself a plug.

I have a live tomorrow at nine a.

M.

On Mindful Cooking.

So I hope that you guys can come and join me.

I never do them on Mondays at nine.

So I thought it would be fun.

I appreciate all of you attending in the audience and you guys as teachers.

I've learned so much about you because other than Monica,

I don't really know a lot about you all.

And I'm feeling really blessed right now to have learned a little bit about you and just feel very connected.

So thank you.

I appreciate you and Violet.

Thank you,

Violet.

And I hear something a lot.

People are like,

Wow,

We feel like you guys have known each other a long time.

And Violet and I just met.

She's followed me on lives in January and then we met in April.

Right.

It's April.

She came in April.

I invite April 14 or 13.

I put out in my newsletter all the time,

Hey,

If I if I don't know you,

You want to come to my house and have a dinner party and join me.

And Violet came and it was amazing.

And that's how Violet and I met in person.

And that's a perfect example of stepping outside your box and something amazing happens.

I am not one to go to someone's house alone because I'm very shy.

And I'm like,

Oh,

You know,

What's going to happen?

Am I going to have anything to say?

I'm not a chatty person normally.

And I I pushed myself to go,

I think originally I was going to go in March and then I postponed till the one in April that you had.

And I'm so glad that I went because it was an amazing experience.

I felt like I'd known her my whole life,

First of all.

And,

You know,

I still feel like I've known her my whole life.

It's crazy.

The connection.

It's amazing.

What was the meal,

Violet?

I couldn't even tell you what I ate.

I don't even remember.

But it was amazing.

It was amazing.

There was a lot of different things that I things that I had never even eaten before.

And I loved everything.

Yeah.

And I made people very jealous when I told them I was going to her house to eat the food that they watch her cooking all the time and I don't cook,

Which is another funny thing.

I don't cook.

So for me to have been drawn to somebody who does a lot of cooking was also bizarre.

But she makes it so much fun that I was like,

Who is this person?

This is awesome.

And,

You know,

I've learned tips from her.

I've actually tried a couple of her recipes and I bought this amazing salt and pepper thing that I saw her using because,

You know,

I do like salt and pepper.

So I was like,

What is that thing that you're using that gadget?

I got to have it.

And I bought it.

Yes.

So,

Violet,

We're all grateful to you.

Thank you for bringing us together.

Oh,

Thank you.

Thank you.

Like I said,

This was a this was an experiment for me to not be so shy and put myself out there and I've since discovered that maybe on the outside,

You know,

If I go out somewhere,

I'm the shy one.

My husband's a chatty one,

Which is great.

But when I'm around people like this that light me up,

I am not shy.

I am not an introvert.

I'm I'm home.

So I love it.

So thank you,

Everybody.

Thank you to all these beautiful teachers for giving us your time today and everybody who joined us.

And,

You know,

We're going to keep doing these.

They were asking earlier if I do these a couple of times a week or every week.

We were doing them every week.

We originally had planned on doing them like once a month.

But there was such a demand.

We started doing them every week.

However,

I have worn myself out because I have a full time job.

So I'm like,

All right,

I got to every other week we're going to be doing them because I,

You know,

I do a lot of prep beforehand.

I upload the videos after I edit the audios and I love it.

I love doing it.

But for a while there,

I was up to like two o'clock in the morning doing this.

And,

You know,

Then I get up for work and I'm exhausted.

So I'm trying to kind of,

You know,

Regroup myself and get into a better flow where I'm not exhausted.

So if you don't see us every week,

Don't worry.

We're still,

You know,

Every other week.

And we also have a couple of others that we'll throw in every now and then.

So we're not going anywhere.

We're going to keep doing these.

I love them.

They light me up.

You know,

The energy that I feel when I get off these lives is incredible.

It's like it's like a shot of adrenaline for me.

So thank you,

Everybody,

For loving them,

For being here and for participating.

And we are going to end our live unless anybody else in our beautiful panel has anything else they want to add.

We're going to say goodbye.

Thank you,

Wendy and Judy and all of you.

Your support's amazing.

Megan,

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

All right,

Everybody.

We'll see you soon.

Bye.