The Yoga Journey and Finding Spiritual Community

What happens when a traditional spiritual upbringing collides with the transformative power of yoga? Kascey Schvans takes us on her remarkable journey from Catholic roots to finding profound connection on the yoga mat.

Details
Kascey's story begins in Canada, where exposure to diverse spiritual traditions planted seeds that would later flourish in unexpected ways. Describing herself as once sampling from the "religion buffet," Kascey shares how her path eventually led to a life-changing moment during meditation on Tamarindo Beach in Costa Rica. That pivotal experience redirected her from pursuing a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling toward becoming a trauma-informed yoga teacher.

The conversation delves into the fascinating intersection of traditional faith and modern spiritual practice. Kascey reveals how her relationship with her father, a Catholic deacon, has evolved through mutual respect despite their different paths. When he questioned her belief in "moon water," she astutely asked how that differed from a priest blessing water—highlighting the beautiful parallels between ancient rituals and contemporary spiritual practices.

For yoga newcomers and skeptics, Kascey offers invaluable insights that dispel common misconceptions. She explains the various types of yoga beyond the Instagram-perfect poses, emphasizing that the practice was traditionally designed to prepare the body for meditation, not just increase flexibility. Her passion for making yoga accessible shines through as she discusses how props and adaptations can help practitioners of all body types and abilities find comfort in their practice.

Kascey's current studies in psychoactive pharmaceutical investigation reflect her commitment to bridging ancient healing wisdom with modern science, particularly for veterans and those with PTSD. Her vision of creating a professional home at the intersection of healthcare and spirituality represents a hopeful future where these artificially separated domains can work in harmony.

Whether you're a devoted yogi, spiritually curious, or somewhere in between, Kascey's wisdom offers a fresh perspective on finding your authentic path. As she beautifully reminds us: "Get to know yourself in the quiet moments... without your job title, without your social labels... and if something isn't serving you, stop doing it." Follow Kascey on Instagram at aligned_rites_of_passage to continue your journey together.

Contact

Instagram: Aligned Rites of Passage

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet Casey Chavons: Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher
• 3:45 Casey's Spiritual Journey and Background
• 7:45 Awakening Moment in Costa Rica
• 11:15 Catholicism and Spiritual Exploration
• 18:25 Different Types of Yoga Explained
• 29:00 Adapting Yoga for Different Bodies
• 36:55 The Purpose of Meditation in Yoga
• 47:20 Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation
• 56:10 Spiritual Guidance and Closing Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Welcome to the Mystical Mermaid Lounge podcast, a space where all spiritual seekers are honored and celebrated. This podcast was born from the journeys of your hosts, who have each faced her own dark night of the sun, but they've emerged with an unshakable belief in divine connection, cosmic inspiration and her true life's calling. Join us on a journey of personal growth, transformation and magical self-discovery. Your first co-host is Chloe Brown, a gifted intuitive empath and shadow work life coach. Your second co-host is Keoni Starr, an intuitive energy worker and acclaimed past life regressionist. The Mystical Mermaid Lounge podcast starts now.

Speaker 1: 1:11

I am so happy to introduce today Casey Chavons. Casey is a trauma-informed 200-hour certified yoga teacher, budding author, former flight attendant and passionate advocate for healing and personal transformation. Born in Canada and fortunate to have called five US states home, she blends a background in anthropology and hospitality with a deep commitment to spiritual growth. Casey brings grounded compassion and a thoughtful curiosity about the human experience to every conversation. She holds certifications in trauma-informed coaching, mental health management and yoga instruction. She's on the path to 500 hours and is currently pursuing advanced studies in psychoactive pharmaceutical investigation, which merges ancient healing wisdom with modern science. Thank you so much, Casey, for joining us, and I can personally attest to her wonderfulness because she was our personal travel agent for a group of us that recently went to the Netherlands and area and also was the one that got stuck for four days during the Heathrow airport fires and we got to know Casey quite intimately. So, airport fires and we got to know Casey quite intimately.

Speaker 3: 2:47

She held our hands.

Speaker 1: 2:49

She prayed over us, she held our hands and personally kept my sister especially me sane during that process. But it just goes to show how you meet the most amazing people in just unexpected ways. And the more I talked to Casey and learned about her, the more I thought that her particular spiritual journey and her talents would be perfect for us to have on the Mystical Mermaid Lounge podcast. So I welcome you, welcome you, welcome you. And we also have Chloe here with us today. Hello, we're so excited.

Speaker 1: 3:32

And we would love to hear all about your spiritual journey, casey, what took you from Canada to the States and all of the various areas of work that you have been in and loaned your beautiful talents to yeah.

Speaker 3: 3:50

I have quite the eccentric professional resume I guess you could say. I feel like at this point I've definitely lived a couple different lives within this lifetime. In addition to working in the travel industry, I've also been a military spouse for a combined 10 years, but prior to that I had began my degree in anthropology and I was also really fortunate to grow up in a very diverse area of Canada with definitely like a huge immigrant population. So I was exposed to quite a few spiritual paths early in life and that's kind of been a main theme of sorts in my life thus far. I was raised Catholic. My father became a deacon when I was an adult. That's been a really interesting conversational path for our relationship as well, I guess. Long story short, while spirituality hasn't necessarily always been at the forefront of my life, it has been a common thread and right now I find most of that spirituality, either on my mat or within my yoga community, that I've found and that's grown with me through this chapter in life.

Speaker 3: 5:04

My experience of coming into the yoga community is a unique one because I had been mostly an at-home practitioner. When I ventured into the community space of yoga, it was for the purpose of doing the advanced training for my 300 hour. There are a lot more open-minded people and the studio that I'm doing my advanced training at we have a lot of philosophical conversations and we're a pretty tight-knit group. At this point, I don't know that's the case for most people. If you think of the yoga community at large, especially with the influence of Instagram, I wouldn't say that's the same experience, especially for me, because I'm a plus size practitioner. There's not a ton of people in that space and there's definitely still those long held beliefs of what a yogi should look like. Right, I've been so, so lucky to have found the community that I have within my yoga world where I live. I'm just endlessly grateful for it.

Speaker 2: 6:09

Community is so powerful and I feel like the more we talk to people and listen to stories, community seems to be like that concrete foundation that we build upon For sure, it's something that took me a little while to learn and accept.

Speaker 3: 6:25

That's such a necessary part of life. But humans not to take an anthropological deep dive.

Speaker 1: 6:31

but we need our religions, we need our communities, whether that's your family community that you have or the one that you create so are you saying that you've been practicing yoga on a personal level, even while you were a flight attendant and working in the travel industry?

Speaker 3: 6:52

so it's not often during those times like it's something that I like played with here and there through, like my teens and twenties. But it really became more of a practice in my thirties because it became like a safe and healthy way for me to invite movement into my life, especially during my postpartum period of life. The way that it became more of a practice was I had started a 30 day challenge and that kind of burrow into a hundred day challenge and then it ebbed and flowed a little bit here and there depending on what was happening in my life. But obviously prior to hitting record, we had talked about all the synchronicities and those interesting moments.

Speaker 3: 7:38

Right the moment that I decided to pursue my certification was pretty profound.

Speaker 3: 7:43

I had gone to Costa Rica and I had been participating in a yoga class on Tamarindo beach most of the days that I was visiting, and one particular one was followed by a meditation, and as I was laying there during the meditation on the beach, I kind of had what I would call like a moment of awakening. I was supposed to start a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling shortly after I came home and while I was laying there I just kind of started to question my motivations of why do I want to have this master's degree. Is it something I feel like I should be doing, or is it something that I want to be doing? And I decided to shelve it because it didn't feel like it was in alignment with me at the time and I realized that I was so happy doing yoga and I just felt that calling to take a deep dive and I started exploring my options as soon as I could to become certified. I couldn't be more grateful for the experiences and the people that yoga has gifted me. It's been really beautiful.

Speaker 1: 8:53

What was that awakening like for you? I?

Speaker 3: 8:57

guess it's what people would describe as like a down mode. When you're in Shavasana and you're meditating, you're just supposed to be clearing your mind and not thinking of things. But I find that when I'm in shavasana and doing my meditations, that's when I have like my most profound thoughts and kind of connect with myself at the most deepest level. I cleared away all the noise and it was like I'm happy in this moment and I need to follow this path to see where it takes me. Yeah, it's just one of those moments where I was like oh, actually this feels more aligned with what I should be doing and that seems like a better path for me for the time being.

Speaker 1: 9:37

When we're pursuing higher education, there's a presumed path that if you're here, then you have two tracks.

Speaker 1: 9:48

You can go this way or you can go that way, and they both lead to their master's and then potentially PhD dissertation.

Speaker 1: 9:57

And so there's a track that has been laid out for you almost from the very beginning, and so if you're in that higher education space, whether it's on a clinical path or a tenured teaching path, then there's not a whole lot of room for thinking outside of that path.

Speaker 1: 10:23

And I know this because when I was in between my bachelor's degree and my master's, I was thinking similar things about why do I want to get this master's degree? What about this speaks to me? Is this because it's the next level, it's the next step that is presumed, or does this serve me and who I want to serve in the greater good and to take a completely different pathway? Off of that speaks to authenticity in the moment and what makes you feel good, not just where you know you need to be going, but also you spoke to just having that sense of somatic and brain connection for a moment that you were able to hold onto and say no, this is where I feel good. And the cool thing obviously about education is you can always go back if that then starts to align with you.

Speaker 3: 11:32

For sure. So I think most people in my life would kind of align me with that educational path as well, like it's always been part of my identity. It took me 11 years to get my bachelor's degree. They chipped away at it while working full time and throughout life's craziness, right. So I think my friends and I joke that going to school and higher education is my favorite form of self-harm, because I will always make time for it no matter what. But the last time that I was doing it was more like science focused and it was like really chemistry heavy and I was crying multiple times a week because I was just so stressed out about it to like get to the higher points so that I could get into the psychoactive pharmaceutical program. But yeah, it's so interesting that it's hard to separate myself from the academic and the other, regardless of how my journey unfolds. It's it is something I always will go back to, no matter what.

Speaker 3: 12:41

I'm really fortunate in that because my husband's in the military and because I am in this kind of liminal phase of life, I have the opportunity to diverge on the path. So I kind of have a safety net of sorts to explore these options because he's got secure employment right. I've had to quit my career twice now because of his job. I think there's a lot of okay. Well, this is how I can currently support you and you can go ahead and go down that path and explore these different options, because what else are we going to do right now? Because getting a job, and I don't want you to get a job, find a career again and then have to leave that because of moving or whatever else. That support's been really helpful for sure.

Speaker 1: 13:35

One of the things that I felt and I'm just wondering if the same was true for you, unless we're studying to become something religious that our spirituality is hanging out there on its own. And was that dearth for you? Felt that, that void. Did you yearn for something to fill that void? Did you even know that there was a void when you had that awareness moment? Were you like there you are, or was it something that you always knew about and you had been searching? Or was it just a total surprise?

Speaker 3: 14:26

think that I was aware that that's something that I needed. It's always been like an interest, but I didn't have the personal relationship or that personal connection to it the way that I do now. More than anything, I was yearning for the community aspect of it, which has evolved into both. When I completed my 200 hour certification online, just because of how timing had worked out, even though it was communicating with the studio at the time, they didn't end up having enough people sign up for it when I was able to sign up for it so, but it ended up working out that the 300 hours started as soon as I finished the 200 hours, so I was able to find my community.

Speaker 3: 15:05

Then I don't know that I was searching for. I knew that there was something missing, but I just kept assuming that it was the community aspect and not necessarily the spiritual one. I feel like I've always had a solid foundation of sorts for spirituality because of my Catholic upbringing, but I refer to myself as a recovering Catholic. There's just so many things that just don't add up for me, but that could be like a whole tangent in and of itself right when it comes to like Judeo-Christian beliefs and practices in my early 20s. I was referring to myself as someone who would go to the religion buffet and I would sample a little from here, a little from there, and try to make sense of what life was.

Speaker 2: 15:55

I'd definitely become a little more refined since then heard guest after guest after guest say something very similar about being this religious buffet connoisseur of sorts, which I love that phrasing that's so cute. You shared with us that your dad's the Catholic deacon, so how does that blend for you and do you struggle with that blend? Or is it seamless and beautiful and seems to fit wonderful, which I've seen both sides of?

Speaker 3: 16:32

I think now it's definitely more seamless. There was definitely quite a bit of struggle to get there but, like I said, I think it's like a good, like I have a solid foundation, like I had, I guess for lack of a better term like the tools in place right, like to have a spiritual practice right, and it's just been refining what makes sense for me, like how I experience those spiritual things when I'm traveling. I love to go to religious buildings, like there's just something so wonderful and profound about them, but I do not like to go to church. I do not feel comfortable in church and I haven't for years. There was definitely some push and pull getting to that point, but a summer when I was here to visit, my dad said something that was really interesting and it's kind of stuck with me. He referred to me as his most Catholic child. There are five of us. I'm the one that samples the most from Eastern religions. My son is baptized and my father was actually the one that baptized him in the church and his other grandchildren father was actually the one that baptized him in the church and his other grandchildren, as far as I know, are not. As he's grown through his deacon journey he's definitely become more accepting of things and he's more community focused. A lot of times when I say, oh yeah, my dad's a Catholic deacon, they're like oh no, they're like that must be like intense. It's been a really cool path to have both of us grow on, because he's definitely become more open-minded.

Speaker 3: 18:08

And I remember a couple years ago I was really taking a deep dive on the woo-woo. I had put out moon water and my dad was helping me move and he had picked up the jar of moon water and he was, oh, what is this? And I said, oh, it's moon water. And he was like oh, like what? What do you? You believe it has special powers. And I kind of looked at him and I was like, do you not believe that some man can just bless water? And it has special powers? And he stopped and was like, yeah, but they have a ton of education and this, that and whatever. And I just stood and looked at him and I was like, like I don't have the education. I'd be curious to know what they're thinking as they overhear me saying all this. Now, it's a really cool journey at this point and it is coming together in different ways that we never, I think would have expected it to.

Speaker 2: 18:58

I'm so grateful you shared that story because I wrote down. Does he have a great sense of humor or does he recognize the similarities between Catholicism and spirituality?

Speaker 1: 19:09

More, so the first that was a great response, casey. I love that you didn't go on the defensive. Love that you didn't go on the defensive. Now, my mom is Native American and she was one of the people that survived the Catholic Church. That came to the reservations to come save them from their own heathenness. And yesterday, while we were visiting with friends, our host said he hated church. He's never liked church. I think, in his terms, it's all a bunch of bullshit. I'm paraphrasing. It was a lot worse than that and my mom said I survived Catholic church.

Speaker 3: 19:58

Yeah, I've been really, really lucky too, because one of my mom's best friends is native Ashinabe from here, and she's just been the most wonderful, and so I think having a relationship with her and then also being able to have her as a resource to kind of say like hey, I know that this is something that you've experienced, or I know that this is something that you were taught to believe, and I love being able to have those conversations because I think they're so important, and I have been able to have that from such a young age, so that it wasn't just like surrounded by people that were like this is what we believe, this is the option. We can't go any which way from here, right?

Speaker 1: 20:46

So yeah, you weren't held to one dogmatic standard.

Speaker 1: 20:51

And yeah, absolutely. It is so important to be exposed to people of all different beliefs and backgrounds and I think that was the thing that got me the most into wanting to travel was because I knew that the more sheltered and provincial we are, the more we're missing the greater picture. Yeah, just from a global standpoint, I realized that if God was so omniscient, if she was so omnipotent, if she was that amazing, why would she say, only Christians are going to have it For sure? That's not very smart and I'm a human, and so why would she create in these creator stories all of these other civilizations and peoples and cultures and then say and by the way, they're wrong and they're doomed, right.

Speaker 3: 21:59

So, it just became very clear to me how very dumb that was yeah, I agree, I think that's probably where my like thought pattern started. If they're good people, why would they be punished? Not even for believing anything else or whatever, but just if you're a good person like that's what should matter. And, yeah, being a good human should be enough, right? So, yeah, definitely lucky to have that influence. I think it's a common thing for yoga instructors, at least in classes that, like I've taken, is take what resonates, leave what doesn't. And I think that's a nice thing. To take off your mat right, like if there's something that's serving you, by all means take it, but if there's something that doesn't, you don't have to take it, you don't have to buy in, you don't have to practice. If it doesn't work for you, then you know, find what does.

Speaker 1: 23:00

And I love that you said what initially drew you, because I was going to ask, like, what about? Yoga called to you and I love what you said about it just being a safe, gentle way to start movement back into your life postpartum, because it's painful having a child. This somatic entry turned into be so much more for you.

Speaker 3: 23:26

For sure. That's something that we talk about a lot in the advanced teacher. Training is like how each person has come to their mat. Y'all arrived on our mats for very different reasons, but what's important is why we stay right. It doesn't matter how you got there. It's figuring out the reason why you stay. Like, does it make you feel good? Do you have that spiritual connection, you know, are you finding that you're stronger? Are you finding that you're more flexible? Are you able to calm your mind? Whatever the case may be, as long as it's serving you, right, because there are plenty of people that are like you know what? I'm not finding something in this, and that's okay. Maybe they're finding it in church or wherever else. But yeah, I would say that there's no wrong reason to come to it, as long as you decide that it's serving you.

Speaker 1: 24:20

So what do you say to the practitioner that comes to the mat? I love that it sounds like the Worldwide Wrestling Federation Come into the mat, but I mean I do love that. What do you say to the person who comes to the mat and is like my wrists are so weak I cannot do down dog. And this, I've been told, is a gentle way to learn how to use balance and muscle memory to strengthen.

Speaker 3: 24:56

Yeah, so I'm seeing in our society, a lot of people have this picture in their head of what yoga is right, and yoga is so much more than you could ever imagine. And not that I'm completely biased, but there is a yoga for everyone, whether that be the breath work, whether that be the postures, whether that be the mindfulness and intentional practices. I think a lot of people aren't aware that there are so many options when it comes to yoga. I personally have a connective tissue disorder and I'm hypermobile, so sometimes my shoulders pop out where they shouldn't, like mast cell issues. When it comes to that, I have to be really careful. Like when I started my regular practice, I was wearing wrist braces to make sure that I wasn't creating injuries and things like that.

Speaker 3: 25:46

But I think that once you find the kind of yoga that you enjoy and you are showing up to the classes, approach your instructors and say, hey, I'm having or I'm experiencing this issue.

Speaker 3: 26:01

Do you have suggestions or can you point me in the direction of like where to find the information to help with those things?

Speaker 3: 26:07

Right, like I've learned that I had to strengthen the muscles in my forearms and I wasn't quite placing my hands in the correct position because I came from a home practice and a gym practice.

Speaker 3: 26:19

It wasn't until I really got to the studio I had those more experienced instructors that were like hey, maybe try just spreading your hands out a little bit or turning them just slightly, or just play with that motion to see where it feels better in your body, because you might have better results. And I think a piece of advice for someone who is embarking on a yoga practice is one find what yoga you enjoy, so try all the different kinds as many as you can, and then, once you find a couple different ones that you enjoy, get to a studio or find an instructor that you trust to help you with those little alignment, refining things so that you don't end up hurting yourself more or creating bad habits. I'm having to scale back on some of the things that I've done for a couple of years because I didn't have someone to spot me and say oh, you know what? Yeah, bring your hips back just slightly or turn your torso a little bit, and you might find that this is a more enjoyable experience in the pose.

Speaker 2: 27:33

Coming from the negligent side of yoga. My jaw's still kind of on the floor, I guess I thought for me there's in my brain. I thought there was two different types of yoga, like the plank and downward dog flexible kind, and that I'm living a vegetarian lifestyle. I didn't know there was more. Could you speak to that a little bit and help educate myself and our listeners?

Speaker 3: 27:59

Yeah, so there's all kinds of different schools of yoga. It depends on what they refer to as like lineages. I'm not super familiar with Ashtanga, I just know that they do like the same poses over and, over and over again. Vinyasa is going to be more active, flowy, linking all the poses together with your sun salutations and your downward dogs. Yin is going to be you're hanging out in your pose for a couple minutes. Hatha is more you hang out in the pose for a couple minutes, but then progress to another one.

Speaker 3: 28:30

And then when it comes to living the vegan lifestyle. That kind of speaks more to the eight limbs of yoga, which are the yamas and niyamas, the postures, the breath, work and so on and so forth. Once you become a serious practitioner or you take a teacher training, that's when you really start learning about the yamas and niyamas and how those apply to your daily life. I'm personally not a vegetarian, but I do try to incorporate the yamas and niyamas as much as I feasibly can in this current chapter of my life. So that means non-violence, non-stealing, truthfulness, things like that, because one I think that's a great way to live, right, there's nothing wrong with doing any of those things. But yeah, like I think those that's how you take yoga off the mat, right, and then it's not so much about I can do this really cool pose and get my leg behind my head. That's great for you. I feel like it's a little more important to be nonviolent and be truthful.

Speaker 2: 29:32

I had no idea it was such an encompassing, beautiful picture. Thank you for the education.

Speaker 1: 29:38

I know someone who loves going to hot yoga at four in the morning and I said dude, just likes to sweat and get up early.

Speaker 3: 29:44

They'll never catch me in a hot yoga class. That is not for me. I am not going, no matter what is at the end of it.

Speaker 2: 29:52

That's the one that I thought looked good. That's the only one I was interested in.

Speaker 1: 29:57

I want no part of that he just likes looking at sweaty women in leotards. I completely know what's going on there processes behind the vinyasa and the yin and the different reasons behind the postures and the poses and the thought processes and I had this question and the reason I'm saying this. I had this question for you, casey, because I was reading on threads about someone who was really concerned as an instructor as to what to do with this person who was breathing so heavily and annoyingly and half the class was like you got to tell this guy to stop. And the other half of the class was like hey, that's just how they do their yoga, I don't even know what to call it. And they were on thread saying what do you guys think? Should we slap a bitch up or should we just let this person have their moment? And what if we lose half the class because they find it so distracting?

Speaker 3: 31:16

Yeah, I think that's a really common one, especially for new instructors. I'm in a couple groups that they're like I have this person that's coming to class and they're distracting everybody and I'm not sure how to handle it. So I think it's. I almost think that it might be like a rite of passage for, at this point, for yoga instructors to have the loud breather. Or the person that's has no healthy sense of fear and tries to go into a headstand on day one and you're like oh my God, please don't. I understand that you signed the waiver, but you're about to kill yourself if you could just not. Or the people that show up and they have injuries and you're like at what point did you think that this was going to be a good idea for you?

Speaker 3: 31:58

With everything else, it totally depends on how you approach it, and there's so many factors that play into that.

Speaker 3: 32:05

Right before you just go and speak to someone about it, whether that be like the individuals or the class collectively, I think with the breathing you could test out, get into the actual asanas or the postures and see how we all follow along, or if it's still this person huffing and puffing in the corner or whatever, just to see if you can play around with best practices or different practices.

Speaker 3: 32:33

But then I think if it's in a gym or a public class setting a good place to start, maybe bring in that concept of ahimsa, non-violence, or let's maybe be considerate of others in this class and consider that some people might be distracted by heavy breathing and just have that disclaimer of sorts going into it. I think if you've got that person in a studio setting and that person has been going to the studio for years, like that's it, there's not, you're not going to do anything. That's, you're going to have people that maybe just stop showing up to the studio and that just is what it is. Because in studios where there are like heavy breath work practices or like chanting or things like that, you just accept that's a thing there and you work with it. And if you're super distracted in your head, then that's more of a you problem and you have to start focusing on your breath instead of the distractions in the room. Right, just yeah, par for the course as an instructor.

Speaker 2: 33:37

I am over here crying in tears because I'm thinking of myself as the girl is the Hufflepuff person in the corner as I just did my first sound bath. Ironically enough, it was actually in a hot yoga studio and before it started we did some quick breath work and I'm like, oh yes, this part I do understand, I can connect. Okay, this is going to pull me out of my uncomfortable mentality Like this is great. First one was the loudest, most crazy distracting breath sound I had ever heard in my life and I almost got up and left.

Speaker 2: 34:13

I had such a hard time sitting through that. Thankfully I did. It turned out to be wonderful. It was amazing experience. But the whole time I was thinking about going back and doing that and now I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm going to be the Hufflepuffle in the corner. Should I just sit in the front?

Speaker 3: 34:44

both at the studio and in the gym setting, and I had surgery a couple months ago and my practice is definitely not looking the way that it did prior to getting back into these more like flowy classes or like heavy balance classes are pretty interesting for me and, like the other day, we were practicing and we were in a balance pose and I just said, oh shit, because I thought I was gonna face plant, and she just busted up laughing because she heard me and she's like you said exactly what I was thinking in the moment, right, and yeah, she's kind of one of those things that you just go with it because you're like, well, today's not the day that I'm balancing and hopefully I don't fall on my face. You all have a laugh about these things, right, we're all human and we're all at different levels and some days we're at different levels than the day before. And yeah, it's just kind of one of those things that you're like all right, this is how it's going to be today oh my, that's so funny.

Speaker 3: 35:42

My sister and I always said we wanted to perfect our child's pose there's a lot more to it than I think a lot of people realize, like I said, because, like the hypermobility in my shoulders, I've had to learn different ways to hold my posture to perfect my child's pose. But I think it's so individual at this point because I had shared with one of my instructors. I said hey, I found this new way to keep my shoulders where they're supposed to be in my child's pose. And he's a big, big buff dude. He used to be a sergeant major in the army and so his shoulders are like monster and like they are locked into place. I told him about it. He's like, oh, I'll have to try that. And he went to try that and he was like oh no, that does not feel good, like that is gonna pop my shoulder out of socket the wrong way.

Speaker 1: 36:27

Well, now we know we both learned something and what was painful for you felt really good for me. Yeah, exactly, it is a little frustrating. You spoke of surgery and I had a partial knee replacement and I cannot get my one knee to bend down enough to sit back on my heels, so I was forcing it for a while and I realized there's nowhere to go, so I just lean on one side more than others and just get into my head as much as possible. I hope that nobody's judging me, but I don't know what to do for those situations where, surgically, we just can't move the same way.

Speaker 3: 37:12

Yeah, I mean there's definitely, whether it be through surgery or like natural progression, or even just how your anatomy is, there are going to be certain things you can't do and as you're saying those things, all the alarm bells are going off. I'm like, please don't force anything. What do you mean? You're?

Speaker 1: 37:28

leaning to the side, but sometimes like a shock on your face. If anybody saw Casey. Casey, she just had just like, oh, I'm getting sued, oh no, please um.

Speaker 3: 37:40

In all of those cases, props are your friends.

Speaker 3: 37:43

Please get some props oh, there's a prop for child's props oh my god, you can use props for anything and I think if someone is coming from like an Ashtanga based practice, they're gonna going to be like oh my God, please do not touch the props. Props are terrible. I've been really influenced by Angar practices, which is more of like an alignment, or sometimes they call it like a form based practice. Props are everything. When we go to a form class, there are just props everywhere, because it's like okay, how can we make this so that you feel like you are in a great alignment and you're getting the most out of the pose for your body? So, yes, please get yourself some props. Please don't lean to the side, because then you're going to start overcompensating with other muscles and then you're going to have other pain and yeah, don't do that.

Speaker 2: 38:30

That does make sense, though, because nobody's body is the same. I know, just in my very expensive, nice fancy bed that we have that I will never move again because it's way too heavy. My husband sleeps great in it, but because I am a very curvy individual, I'm always tossing and turning, and so I was wondering about that how do we help compensate for different, not only flexibilities but mobility? I love that she asked that question. Good job, thank you.

Speaker 3: 39:03

Yeah, tops are your friend. Definitely find what works for you. And to speak about being worried about someone's judgment on the mat, we like to say eyes on your own mat. To speak about being worried about someone's judgment on the mat, we like to say eyes on your own mat, you don't need to worry about what other people are doing, you're doing your practice, not their practice. And to speak about different, like body types and how I said, my child's pose feels very different in my body versus my one instructor's, right, you don't know what other people are feeling in their body, right, and that's been a really common conversation topic in my training as well, because I am hypermobile and I have I think there's one other girl who's hypermobile in my training when we're exploring with these different poses and the different props and things like that.

Speaker 3: 39:49

This works for hypermobile shoulders. This does not work for hypermobile shoulders. Like, how can we just kind of do those little refining bits to make it accessible for each person? And if you do have a practitioner come to your class that has hypermobility issues or is pretty stiff or whatever the case may be, you can see those patterns and be like, okay, yeah, no, we can put a bolster under there. We can give you some blocks. So if you're having trouble stretching something or reaching for a bind, here's a strap for you Just finding those things to fine tune to make it more personal so that you're not like, oh, this is terrible, I hate this. Why would anyone want to do this? Right? Yeah, I think that's. That's something that that definitely comes later, as your practice progresses, or if you do take the path of becoming a teacher.

Speaker 1: 40:40

That is very helpful, because one of the questions was how do you deal with that frustration? But it sounds like there are all kinds of ways to assist people. Especially, a lot of older people don't do yoga because, yeah, because of that, Now my mom, she's 86. So she started chair yoga and then she loved it so much because it was functional. She felt a little bit challenged in the beginning, which was awesome for her. She felt a little bit challenged in the beginning, which was awesome for her, but then she became frustrated because then it was like okay, what's the next step? And the next step in this specific area where she was doing these yoga classes was too advanced for someone of her age. So she was really frustrated. She didn't want to go back to just sitting because she was able to do more then but didn't know what to do next because she didn't have the balance.

Speaker 3: 41:39

Yeah, I think, like in that particular case, she, like I don't know how the studio or gym is set up or what the instructors are like at that particular location, but she could always go to the class that is a little bit too hard and hang onto the wall.

Speaker 3: 41:58

The wall is an excellent prop because, especially for those with balance issues, and we can kind of play around with it and see how that goes. I think a lot of people don't realize that you don't have to sit in the chair to use the chair. Provided it is secure in wherever it is, you can use that as a balance thing, right, put your hands on the back of it or on the seat of it and work with that. But I think that as an instructor, if you're not used to the chair, it can also be incredibly intimidating to use it as a prop. Also be incredibly intimidating to use it as a prop like beyond just the okay, these are poses that we can do in the chair. If you can use the area around the chair, that's when it can become a little overwhelming for sure.

Speaker 1: 42:46

That's super helpful. I will make that suggestion to her because she's never done yoga before and this is at a senior center, so a lot of the people that are there are in the similar position that she's in, and so the ones that are a little bit more advanced aren't necessarily thinking about how to help her from an assistive standpoint. So maybe I can go with her and give her some ideas. Now I wanted to ask another question, but Chloe and I are both dying to ask a question about your psychoactive drug. We read that and we were like what? But before we go there, I swear, chloe, I will get there. I have to ask. My mom said that, and so I'm wondering, from an instructor standpoint, what you would say to somebody who said this to me and my sister, because our response was to bust out laughing. But my mom said I really like the yoga part, but why don't we have to keep meditating? We're not doing anything. She's like I've been thinking for 86 years. I don't want to do that anymore. Great question.

Speaker 1: 43:59

Yeah, my sister and I are laughing because we understood that was the point of it was. This is a movement meditative process, but for the novice practitioner or someone who's looking at it as a way to increase flexibility and those types of things, what do you say to that person?

Speaker 3: 44:18

That's a pretty common response. When I tried to get my dad into yoga he was like I don't like this, what am I doing? I was taught anyway that, like when you're setting up a sequence, you have to center yourself, right. So whether that be meditating or doing the breath work right, you have to center yourself. You have to center yourself. You have to arrive on the mat and to accept whatever may be or may not be on the mat during that particular practice and the breath work initially is you set up that breath that's going to carry you through your practice right, because if you're not breathing correctly through the poses, you might not achieve the poses or you might end up injuring yourself if you're breathing more in your rib cage up here or if you're not necessarily having the out breath while you're stretching. So that's an easy way to pull a muscle. So I would say that's more the purpose of it initially and then.

Speaker 3: 45:07

Traditionally the purpose of the poses were to prepare you for the meditation and especially with the Hatha lineage you did your meditation in those poses. So it was trying to find the poses where you could be the most comfortable for an extended period of time for the meditation. I know, for me personally, I need to have a certain amount of activity before I'm able to quiet my mind. I can't just sit down and meditate. My brain will have all the tabs open and noise and all that. So I have to be able to move my body a certain amount before I'm able to just rest and quiet my mind and just enjoy that peace, because I don't necessarily find peace in the flowy poses. It really is a preparation for arriving in that rest pose and quieting the mind, checking in with myself and having that moment of spirituality, essentially.

Speaker 1: 46:13

I love that Good answer and I also like the breath work being the somatic preparation to doing those poses and postures properly. Also, it's a really good answer.

Speaker 2: 46:32

I had no idea. I thought it was about stretching our muscles and I had no idea they were so intertwined.

Speaker 3: 46:40

Yeah, it's definitely changed over the years, for sure. But yeah, and I'll see different things on the spectrum of depending who's teaching or what their lineage is.

Speaker 2: 46:52

You made me want to do yoga, so thank you.

Speaker 1: 46:55

Good. Speaking of thought processes, you're currently pursuing studies in psychoactive pharmaceutical investigation, and so there's so much out there with regard to the use of psychoactive drugs for spiritual purposes, but also neural pathway healing and depression therapies and such, and so we really wanted to understand that part of your bio, your interest in it, and how you see that being part of your either personal or professional offering going forward.

Speaker 3: 47:46

It's definitely rooted in the anthropology side. It's learning about how different cultures use those substances, however many years ago, for different reasons right, whether it be for healing, whether it was for spirituality, different rites of passage but also it is becoming a very real and, for better or for worse, profitable industry. It just seemed like the next step. There's so much more to learn when it comes to people and culture on the anthropology side, but in the last few years I've definitely been more interested in the psychology, neuroscience side of people. It just seemed like a natural progression in a way to explore that and a nice bridge between anthropology and the ways of the mind. I've just started it, so I'm not too far into my courses as of yet, but it's definitely something that I'm very passionate about and I find absolutely fascinating, and I have to say that the group of people that are involved in the program are so interesting and come from such diverse backgrounds. There are people who come from the tech world, there are people who come from the medical world, there are lawyers and there're more holistic health people, and it's so interesting to me how many of those people are coming from a foundation of I want to help people, I want to change the world for the better, whatever path they plan to take with the studies or the degree, because they also offer a full master's program for it. I'm taking the certificate right now, but yeah, it's been a really interesting and wonderful experience to have these people around.

Speaker 3: 49:47

I'm really proud of my very first project that I did for my class was I had to come up with a law, or changing a law, surrounding psychedelic substances. I ended up choosing continuing education for medical and health practitioners to learn about the positive sides of psychedelic substances, because too often people are afraid to have these discussions with their providers for fear of judgment or whatever the case may be. But there's also a lack of understanding on the healthcare side. It's out there in the universe. Whether it gets applied to law or not is yet to be seen. That's the beginning of the journey, but it's been really interesting so far.

Speaker 1: 50:41

If you need any volunteers to take any substances. Not quite there Anthropologically, I totally understand that. Looking at shamanism and the different spiritual reasons people and cultures have used that, are you thinking of becoming a practitioner at some point?

Speaker 3: 51:05

so I was thinking that it would go really well, like hand in hand with my counseling masters, that I did not end up starting. But yeah, like I do feel like there is going to be a point at which all of my interests and professional experience and academic experience all kind of intersect. In addition to my dad being a deacon, he also worked in healthcare for years and my mom is also in healthcare. Most of our family works in healthcare. I've always kind of felt like I was at the intersection of healthcare and spirituality in a way. I haven't quite found or created the space just yet, but that is somewhere I hope to make my professional home at some point.

Speaker 2: 51:54

Do you feel or think potentially, that this could be down the road, perhaps intertwined with your living experience? The reason why I say that is as a veteran for me, where this whole psychedelics conversation ever even came up psychedelics conversation ever even came up really was about trauma and healing and the intense retreats and therapy groups that I know I've specifically participated in and it took me 20 years to even tell another person I was a veteran much less open that door for healing opportunity. Also, coming from the Pacific Northwest, growing up and being like hey, there's the Mario mushrooms and so I come from, I feel like two different mentalities that have somehow merged from this veteran trauma standpoint, but also it's so of the earth and so natural. I'm just curious do you feel like that might be part of the pebble stones of your path? As far as you being a military spouse, I don't know how much you are or are not affected by that, and so I was curious if that wagered in this decision or place a role in any capacity.

Speaker 3: 53:12

For sure. I spent a lot of time volunteering with a charity that was specific to helping veterans, first responders and active military, as well as their families, and we were very focused on suicide prevention and PTSD awareness, so that's definitely a huge component of my journey, both professionally and personally. I've definitely seen a lot of folks that have been through the ringer and deserve a whole lot better than what our Western medical model and the VA can provide for them or want to provide for them, but that could be a whole conversation in and of itself.

Speaker 3: 53:58

So, yeah, that's certainly a huge motivator and yeah, I do believe that it is medicine. I know that my beliefs on whether it should be used recreationally are. My beliefs on whether it should be used recreationally are debatable. I don't personally believe that it should be a recreational thing. I think that it should be used as a medicine, but obviously we have enough issues in our medical model as it is that trying to access it as a medicine is a challenge, to say the least. Sometimes recreationally is the only way to make that happen. It's a huge motivator, for sure. I just hope that at some point, all of these different experiences that I've had, and personally and professionally, that all the puzzle pieces just come together at some point and I find that home at the intersection of all of these different things.

Speaker 2: 54:57

I definitely believe you will. I can feel you are a force to be reckoned with.

Speaker 3: 54:59

I'm so grateful to have been able to meet you. Oh, I appreciate that so much.

Speaker 1: 55:04

Do you have guidance, mantras or yogic words of wisdom that you can leave with us? We would love to share your words of wisdom. Yeah, so you can leave with us. We would love to share your words of wisdom.

Speaker 3: 55:17

Some guidance for those on the spiritual path. Get to know yourself in the quiet moments. Find out who you are, without your job title, without your social labels, without the traits that people associate you with. Take the time to allow your mind to wander and be intentional. Find the things that people associate you with. Take the time to allow your mind to wander and be intentional. Find the things that call to you in those moments, even if those calls feel like whispers initially. And if something isn't serving you, stop doing it, because if you continue on a path with something that's not serving you for the sake of tradition or expectations or whatever the case may be, it's only going to push you farther away from your truth and your alignment, and you should reevaluate and readjust your path as often as you fit so that you can find that truth and find that spiritual being that you are and find your youest.

Speaker 1: 56:22

You Thank you so much Should we direct people to your Instagram account?

Speaker 3: 56:28

You absolutely can. You can find me at aligned rites of passage on Instagram, and rights is spelled R, I, t E S. I'm starting to get it going for my yoga page, but that's where you can find me.

Speaker 1: 56:43

As of now, we'll include that in the show notes, and I cannot thank you any more than what I have for sharing your time and your light with us today, casey.

Speaker 3: 56:56

Thank you so much. I've really enjoyed all of this. It's been really really wonderful.

Speaker 2: 57:01

It was such a pleasure meeting you. I'm so grateful. Thank you again. Thanks for diving into the depths with us today. If you enjoyed this episode, show your support at buymeacoffeecom forward slash. Mystical mermaid lounge, as every little ripple helps keep the magic flowing. Would you like some more deep, soul yearning conversations? We'll then swim on over to our sister podcast, past Lives Cafe, where Keone deep dives into those past life experiences. Also, we'd love to hear from you. Please don't forget to rate and review and drop your feedback and comments at our website, mysticalmermaideloungebuzzsproutcom. Thank you again so much, and don't forget to catch us at the next high tide. Bye-bye.