Hello and welcome to Earth medicine podcast your daily medicine for inspired living. My name is Alexia and I am sharing stories motivations and wisdom from Mama Earth and her changemakers. I am so excited. You're here with me today not tuned in and lesson. Welcome back to another episode of Earth medicine podcast today. I'm really excited to be speaking to a very beautiful influential woman Talia Sutra who I've just met at the yoga festival at vertice in the south of Australia and just taking her back bending class. I got so inspired to just go up to her and talk to her about what she does in her life and how she inspires Other people so welcome Talia so excited that you're taking your time even after teaching to speak to me and I want to open by just asking, you know, what has brought you to the point of today where you are so much really sharing the back bending story with other people and what really is the essence of of your teaching when it comes to opening the heart. What do you want to share? So I don't know if there was ever one specific thing that brought me to where I am. Now. I think it's just one step followed by another step followed by another step and it wasn't always a straight path. But like I mentioned in the class briefly, I've always loved to backbend. So I did it even when I was just a baby. I think I think my in my family we have pictures of me. Even sleeping really? Yeah, this is sleeping in like a puppy pose and my son actually does the same. He's two years old and he likes to sleep like this. I think I've seen other kids do that. But I really enjoyed I guess I found it comfortable for my young age. And then I also really enjoyed doing wheels and camels before I knew what they were and that they were yoga postures and then my mom discovered yoga when I was about Out six years old and she and I practiced together from time to time and I learned a lot of yoga through her and I've always had the luck to to be physically active later in life. I started to delve into a world of Classical Ballet. So I definitely got to spend every single I spent hours a day eight hours a day. Wow at a studio. Working on my body. You know, I'd take Nica expression and I was my whole life and while there's certainly back bending in dance and ballet. It's not it's not for the sake of healing the spine. It's a lot more of an expressive artistic aesthetic Choice choreography. So it's very different than tension was very different. I still it was a very very much a spiritual experience for me dancing. I felt that I was communicating in a way that I couldn't otherwise while right now in my life. I'm a speaker I speak to people when I was young. I was not a speaker. I communicated to my body so movement was like prayer to me and I felt very free when I was dancing and I felt very full in my presence very fully what I was expecting collating in the story that I was telling And then if I had to have like just a regular conversation or try to talk to someone I found myself getting a little agitated at how emotional I might get trying to express myself. And so I always felt at home in my body and in movement about 11 years ago when I started committing to a Daily Yoga practice as an adult I started to notice that my friends and other teachers that I was friends with did not really enjoy a going backwards in us and as much as I did and I started to kind of investigate in and look at others and when I started teaching I definitely started to look at students and what they were doing and looking at what I was taught to say to students and seeing if that made sense and a lot of times I noticed that what teachers were teaching didn't actually make sense when I The back bending posture is and I also noticed that it was very hard to find a teacher who could backbend to teach Back Fence and I realized that actually most people were avoiding back then. Hmm. That is true. Yeah just avoiding them and that and that I really didn't know any teacher who was an actual back bending that Master but practitioner even don't eat don't even have to be a master but a practitioner Most people I found were avoiding them and and because they were avoiding them when they would teach a simple back then it was filled with hesitation and fear in that what that's what you're passing your students. It still happens now right when you offer a backbend, sometimes people just sit on the heels or they watch and see what happens in the room. Is there like a way of empowering or how do you step into this role of a teacher to empower everyone to go there? Because today was the, you know third class of the day. It in everyone was tired, but everyone was doing it and I felt you in a very, you know Center it and kind of motherly holding space energy, which was so beautiful. But what do you think? What does it take of what's the key ingredients to Holt space like that for people? Well, I think you have to teach what you don't huh? Yeah, of course, so I would say work your you your As a yoga teacher it is very much your task to be a student first and foremost into practice and to learn things. So I think if if back bending asanas are something that you have a lot of fear around just acknowledge that and it's okay to be a teacher and also like not know things and be like, I don't know. So if someone asks you a question about that bending or you're not sure it's totally okay to I am not sure but I definitely want to learn more about this instead of thinking that you have all the answers, but it's actually something that you're have a little Block in. So if you're afraid of back-bending, it's in your best interest and in your students best interest that that we try and create understanding around this area so that if you do try and teach a back-bending post, it doesn't come from a place of fear. Because we don't want to create an exchange of energy that is that is fear-based because unfortunately that it teaches our students to respond in the same way to back beneath often us to to clench the neck to clench the throat to hinge at the lower back to have pain but to just think that that's just how it is and that's the end of the story. So how how do we hold space for students by knowing what it is that we're offering an offering from? Genuine place so it's not trying to be something that that it isn't it's just some it's something that you have spent time practicing that you feel confident in offering. I think this is the way to approach it when it when you really do have a strong practice. It shows in your teaching. It's really beautiful. So think for you, it must have been years of Investigation right also, like checking your own. Spine how do I bend bag? Is that right or wrong? What was the main thing? Is there anything that has just opened your eyes a lot wider or anything that has helped you even Open to life a lot more red because back bending also helps us to open to life as its kind of given to us. Yeah, tell me the question again. So if there was one thing in particular that has helped you to get even deeper into your back bending story a deeper into the experience of a back bend to a deeper and to experience that as a teacher. We seeing that in students. Well, it's like I said in the class. So I think back bending asanas require a deep connection to our spine. And if you think of the spine it's a center of our bodies and yoga teaches us that there is no separation between body-mind-spirit between our our our body is connected to everything else that that is us our energy our are feeling - our thoughts so everything is connected when we have a certain sensation, especially because the spine is the middle of the body it connects to everything. It's clearly very important. So when we're coming into back bending asanas would not only strengthening the spinal column in the muscles around it. We're also opening the front side, which is really what most people really fear is the opening. the expansion the stretch in the front side of the body and we spoke a little bit about this in class, especially what I really focus on what I really try to bring attention to is the space between the chin bone and the chest bone and this little area is often kept closed not just in yoga class, but in life and that was a part of your question, so when we're able to find just even physical stretch a simple physical stretch between the chin bone and the chest bone and we're able to feel that it's not just physical. So there's nothing if you're being that is separated into labels and parts and boxes. So it's not like my body's here. My body's here. My mind is here. My feelings are here. It's like oh one it's all connected. So when we're able to to stretch the throat there is a lot that could start happening from that if If we're practicing that regularly for practicing it on the daily for strengthening the back of our of our neck the upper spine and we're stretching and opening the front of the throat. We spoke a little bit about communication and class. The neck is like a bridge between the animal body that everything below the neck. Everything below. The collar bones is what I would call the animal body it does everything on its own your heart is beating. Beyond its own your lungs are breathing on their own your intestines and your stomach everything is working on its own you if you're a woman you can even have a potential of creating life and your body is kind of doing it on its own. You're not thinking another crazy thought right? You're not thinking about creating feet in the fetus. It's just your body down - yeah, it's amazing. So we have a lot in our body that is not voluntary that have been on his own. And if you go above the chin above the where the our necks and throats sort of bridge into our heads the head is a completely different thing and it's kind of like what what I think makes us a little bit more humid. It's the the brain our way of seeing the world the way we identify we create labels we create identities we created ego or multiple egos from which we act from it all gets very this is where like The Human Experience happens just existential suffering. so the neck is it is a very special place in connects us between the animal and the human and it's a place of communication oftentimes because communication is blocked and stopped and if not, it's a place where a lot of shape and guilt lives fakes that we wish we could have said but we didn't things that we feel we were punished for or blamed for our ideas of how our bodies should be especially more women ideas. how the body should look should feel how I should act in this way and a lot of just control to like not being able to let go literally you can see it in asanas in back wedding asanas not being able to let go of I'm holding onto the throat the the fear that comes into like letting that go is tremendous and when we do learn that we can support full expression not because we're just releasing and dropping or head back because we're able to hold it hold it up and allow herself to stretch using our own strength. So that's kind of incredible because what I've seen in my students over many years because I have some students that I've worked with for like more than 8 years now. So what I'm able to see over time is that people who who came without knowledge of back bending are now, you know, just Their whole lives have changed not just their camel pose. Their whole lives are are in a different place. They have been transformed because of the ability to support that full expression of of this special area of the throat the neck the chest and this is what we really focus on in. This is probably my favorite my favorite part of any back bending classes really just delving into that and and and The look on people's faces when they realize that they can to can write because they've been usually stopped because they've been told not to well over and over and over again. So it's their look of like, aw, I like joy and surprise when they can be such a big Joy when you actually deepen your back fence. Hmm. I wonder if like question popped up now because there is it seems like especially for women there's an epidemic of like thyroid. Options and even me having suffered from one and had a lot long healing span and story. Do you think that back bending and really supporting yourself and getting you know opening up the chest and doing this practice and a regular basis is the medicine that we are looking for because a lot of it for me was really controlling and keeping it down and not speaking it out and realizing that I can support. Go ahead and open up was really big medicine for me that allowed me to now so to speak out and help help my healing a lot. So what do you think? Is that something that could support especially women? You know, I think that healing has a lot to do with what we believe in. Hmm. That's going to be the most important aspect of healing. So if you do not believe self healing is possible. It's not going to necessarily it's still going to have I think back bending will have healing effects on those who come into them with open mind. Open heart and really try they will have healing effects. But if it stops if you make a separation of physical and non-physical if you think physical is physical and everything else has nothing to do with it. Then you are going to be blocking yourself and some white so you will strengthen the back of your neck you will open and stretch your throat. But if you do not believe if you are firm in your stance that the physical has nothing to do with the emotional the emotional has nothing to do with the mental the mental health. If you think that they're all separated, then you might stop somewhere and then we will continue to experience all sorts of different blocks. Absolutely. So it all depends on what you believe for example going back to my mom when she discovered yoga. She was sick with lymphoma, and she obviously not obviously, but she did take the Western. Root of chemotherapy. She saw all the Western doctors did all the normal things. But at the same time she there that Western doctors of a very sort of direct and dead-ended way of giving people prognosis and being like well, this is your condition you have probably we would assume a year to live. Okay. So this happens to a lot of people happen to my mom happens to a lot of well where you get a certain prognosis and because it's coming from a person in a white coat in the hospital. It seems like this is it like this is what I have to believe and we have to be mindful that while it's definitely useful to listen to people of authority and get their opinions that it's never never the the last word on anything and I think what I've learned through my mom and what I've learned through yoga practice is it's our own. Is and our own beliefs that are going to matter most when it comes to Transforming Our Lives and healing in general. So I believe and it's I believe in I know really I know that there is no independent life of the body. It's not like a body on its own. It's connected fully one with everything else. So when I heal my body I am healing deep I am healing Old emotional wounds I am healing feelings of inadequacy not feeling enough healing old conditioning. I'm bringing awareness into my mind. I'm changing the biochemistry of my body. I'm changing the neural Connections in my brain. I'm soothing the nervous system. It's all connected. Hmm. And so I think for to answer your question with thyroid conditions that I've definitely known a lot of women who have Gold with thyroid conditions. I can't say for sure that a back-bending practice down correctly will heal thyroid conditions, but I do believe that if you take the time to practice back bending asanas and deepen your awareness and deepen your acceptance. Of course, I think you can begin to find a journey to Inner healing what regardless of what you're going through and I mean no one is going to regret doing some stuff asanas or postures. I mean, you don't while it's hard to get on the mat. Sometimes I think after you're done doing your practice. Most people are not like oh well, I should have done something else. No, we're really happy that we took the time to practice and so of course, I believe a hundred percent that We are our own best healers and we are all gold best teachers and that you can heal anything with with your awareness with your compassion to yourself and through study by actually studying what it what it really beautifully said. Yeah, I think that's what what has shown me a guided me into healing path and even just opening up rinsing the body and looking at the system as a whole realizing that nothing is, you know, no separate. Yeah, and that everything is together. And that is that was probably the most important healing step for me realizing that just okay opening up. What is coming up like is that just a body? What are these things come from? Suddenly? I know you realize. Okay. There's something more than just believing in someone with a white coat. And so yeah, it's a beautiful beautiful way of describing and sharing. I'm really really honored. Even sharing your personal stories and your mom's story. It's really beautiful just because I get truly a lot of women who have thyroid conditions and they keep asking me if I want to share, you know, my healing path of healing an autoimmune condition and if it's even possible because we all get hormones and supposed to take them for the rest of our lives and my Approach is very holistic and it's really good to hear just different people's opinion on how this system works and how we All just you know, trying our best to learn more about ourselves and that really is the healing to click in back with with nature and with our own nature because the only thing that keeps us from not being healthy is not being enough or nature. It's what I learned from myself and least. So to kind of end this little talk, is there anything that You would share with people to just deepen the experience of a backbend. Like how does a person even get started? Say my mom, for example, she doesn't she doesn't go to yoga even and how would she go on the mat? And how would I share with her? Okay, this is something that could you could benefit from what would you tell her like absolute beginner and going to this experience? Well, I work with a lot of beginners. I work with ya all types of people so I definitely I've had students in the past who really were incredibly flexible and just wanted to deepen their they're back bending asanas and I have students who are beginners. The most important thing is to find a teacher who practices what they teach to go back to at least spoke about in the beginning so It's not always easy finding a teacher who knows how to help you with your back bending you have to find someone who has committed some time to learn and to practice and we can do their best and is honest like I find that honesty and sincerity is an important quality in people. So For a beginner what I usually start with is what the way we started the class moving into wrist circling wrist stretching fingers taking really taking time to move into the rest of the arms are an extension of our upper backs right extension of the heart and like we spoke about there is no separation. So we do a lot with our hands to be creative to make meals to wash You hug someone to beat someone there's a lot that happens to communicate with our hands and we rarely take the time most people do not take the time to really breathe into them to stretch the wrist joints to stretch the finger joints. I start there and then from there I usually speak a little bit to beginners about them the mobility of the shoulders and what they can do so that they know that they can lift your shoulders up. Up and down, they could track the shoulders. They can pull the shoulders back. So there's all sorts of simple actions. We can do to lift children have and pull them down and really reach them in all sorts of directions and then going into cats and cows. So beginning to introduce the tilt of the pelvis in different directions and talking about the shape in cow pose where we really get a stretch from the chamber. Look to the pubic bone. This is essentially a shape that we continue visiting and back bending and the phone. Yes, and this could even be enough. So if you want to teach your mom a little bit about back bending, this is a great way to start you show them a little bit about the mobility of the wrist mobility of the shoulders a little bit of cats and cows and maybe even puppy pose is great with beginners as well. They can place their forehead on the floor and really just rest there. You could even use blankets or pillows. Has like a bolster and place them underneath the chest and Chin tube to if it's challenging and then you could even hug the bolster of the pillow and it's way you this is how we sleep. So you do that that can be great for for beginners anything that's kind of supported and gentlemen, you think doing a cat pose with the wall like we did in class. Those are all great. Options. Mmm. Thank you so much. Thank you. It's really empowering. I think also to hear for people that anyone can do back bends and you start with your fingers and your hands and your wrists and shoulders just even learning about your body. Yeah, and yeah cat Cow is well, right. Most people just do it in class and I don't realize that it's already very back when you already doing the work. Yeah you doing the work but it's not just what we do. It's how we do it. And so absolutely lot of times we get into a thing. And there I mean, there's very in a room of like 30 students. I would say probably only two or three are doing a cat Cow with complete attention and awareness and curiosity. A lot of times. They're the mind is somewhere else is is it's either spaced out. It's spaced out somewhere or it's focusing on something like a thought or something. It's it's not the right here in the spine. It's not going into the actual spine with the thing that we need to learn is that you can go into your body. You can go into your actual spine and get to know it in a cat Cow, like it's as simple as that and cat-cows can become super interesting to do if you really are curious about it if you're interested in it. You know and it goes back to what you believe. So if you really believe that the body is one with with who you are with with your with your sets of with your energy with your mind. If you believe that everything is connected then you'll begin to notice that how you feel shifts, you know, you feel differently when you really paying attention you really present you start to feel different. So after class or after you in just five minutes. Of moving into wrists and shoulders and and lifting the chin and cow pose. You can really afterwards it's enough to already have shifted energy tremendously you feel a little more open. So would you would just say that going slower helps to bring more awareness in different places? Yes. I'm definitely I don't think I mean a lot it's very popular to have just very fast very loud like Like yoga classes because I think it's like almost It's Entertainment. It's very entertaining and sometimes it can be under Something That We're craving to just like dancing, you know, like going wild and dance absolutely traditionally like and I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I think yoga Asana is is meant to be meditative and a place where we can really go Inward and learn study ourselves. So with compassion with non harm with non judgment, I think the goal is really awesome. Not as means to have a steady connection to the earth a steady seat. This is the purpose of Asana is in the name itself is to have a peaceful and steady connection to the body. The body becomes a seat. The body becomes like a throne on the earth. Hmm. And so that's definitely something that can help guide us. Our intention slowing down and slowing down just means being present means but not practicing to get anywhere you just practicing to be here. Yeah, I truly appreciate that that in your class today because I didn't think I could you know do another fast one. Yeah I came and it was very peacefully held and you didn't play music and I was very much drawn to your voice and really trying to be present and focus on myself and I very much appreciated that You carry that with the message. You don't even have to speak about it. It's what you embody and that's a very very beautiful thing. So thank you for that. Thank you. And just for everyone who is listening if we wanted to continue practicing with you. Do you like to share like where we can find you or if you have upcoming events anything in the next year or so you can practice online and a low moves Alamos is an online platform. There are many many. Wonderful teachers, I think every teacher who's here teaching a lot of the teachers who are here to take today. You can find their classes on there and I definitely have the method back bending on a low moves as well as many other classes. So if you're interested in back bending the information, is there online I also travel right now. I'm going to be taking a couple of months to be home with my family and to take a break. Take after that. I do my 200 our teacher training and then I go actually to Asia so I don't wow. Yeah, I going to Singapore and Hong Kong and send them over. Yeah all over all over. I'll be in Europe in December and Croatia actually, which I'm excited about. I haven't been there yet. So beautiful. So just recommend everyone to stay updated on your website. I guess VIA website and Alan moves. Yeah where there's all the classes. Yeah, right. Don't beautiful. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm really really grateful that you shared all these words. Thank you. Thank you everyone for listening Jim back in soon, bye-bye.
In this episode I am talking to world renowned Yoga teacher Talia Sutra from Israel. Her backbends have become her signature and message for the world. Talia talks about    the effect backbending has on the body & mind  how you have to teach the world what you know best   how to hold space for others   the physical and emotional connection of backbending   how the neck is the connection between animal and human expression   how healing has to do with what we we believe in   Talia Sutra has been practicing movement, dance, yoga, meditation and veganism since childhood. She sees nothing as external to her studies and has learned impeccable skill and technique from masters in the world of ballet and art alike. Talia has studied and practiced many forms of yoga including Bikram, Dharma, ashtanga and various forms of vinyasa. She has combined years of experience into her own unique blend of seamless, creative vinyasas and intense, focused hatha stillness. Her classes  inspire joy, alignment, breath and focus. She offers a deep understanding of traditional asanas and specializes in both the theory and practice of backbending postures, for which she has created a method.Talia believes that yoga practice is a window to self realization. Equally, she finds sensitivity, intuition and insight are to be found through connection with the seemingly ordinary world around us and that no teacher is greater than the one within. 