Ep #102: Judgement-Free Awareness of Self with Katie Nesbitt

In this week’s episode of Going Pro, Michael sits down with guest Katie Nesbitt to discuss all things yoga, present moment awareness, somatic work, and mindfulness. Katie describes her background shifting from childhood athlete to corporate worker in LA to yoga instructor and wellness consultant.  Katie dives into the elements of present awareness and shares techniques that have helped her on her own journey, as well as with her clients. Katie talks about the three pillars of mindfulness: being in the present moment, being in the present moment with intention, and the hardest of the three… non-judgement. She explains why we cannot and should not judge our mind for whatever emotions arise in the present moment. A place that is often very difficult as we are used to criticizing and judging ourselves, the practice of non-judgement, she says, is where the real work begins. Katie and Michael also dive into practical tools to help oneself when having a traumatic response. They go through the different stages of our response system and talk about the importance of really understanding what our triggers are so that we can support ourselves before, during or after our body enters a trauma response mode. She also ties this into the different parts of the brain and explains what’s actually happening on a technical level. Katie emphasizes how the brain’s primary purpose is to keep the body alive, which is why we can’t judge ourselves for it. We don’t have control. Our brain and body are building new neural pathways to create a sense of safety and relaxation that allows us to proceed with life. In this info-packed episode, Katie shares invaluable information on becoming aware of ourselves without judgment and shares tools including shaking and breath work that listeners can use in their day to day lives. She even offers a mindfulness exercise in the last 15 minutes of the episode that’s not to be missed!  01:27 Katie Introduction 06:36 The Moment Yoga Changed the Path 09:21 Connecting to the Breath 15:40 Trauma Response in Yoga 18:45 Dysregulation and Depression  19:55 Three Pillars of Mindfulness 25:00 Michael Discusses Trauma and the Nervous System 27:10 Reptilian Brain 41:20 Body Movement during these Practices  43:40 Active Breathing and Energy  47:30 Shaking Practice in your Life 49:50 Avoidance  53:23 Ignoring vs Accepting 56:43 Customizing These Practices 58:00 Katie leads an Exercise 1:10:00 Closing Remarks About Going Pro Yoga: At Going Pro Yoga, we help yoga teachers become even better by teaching them new skills and giving them the tools they need to make their yoga classes safe, fun, and special for everyone. **Right now you can try Going Pro Yoga FREE for 7-days and sample: All Tools Needed to Master Cueing, Sequencing, and Alignment Video Library of over 75 fully Sequenced Classes, Sequence Chunks, and Flows FIRST EVER Yoga Cueing System with Over 160 poses and Hundreds of Variations Wisdom Talks from over 20,000 Hours of Teaching Experience Anatomy and Injury Prevention as it relates to Yoga. To Learn More, Visit Going Pro Yoga, and ⁠⁠⁠Start your 7-Day Free Trial⁠⁠⁠! For more information about in-person trainings in Bali, ⁠⁠https://www.elementsofpoweryoga.com/advancedtrainings⁠⁠