223 - Choosing Your Responses to Life's Challenges w/Rodrigo Souza

Yoga Strong

We're joined today by Rodrigo Souza, a teacher of adaptive and accessible yoga. He shares his evolutionary journey since sustaining a life-changing spinal cord injury at the age of 33, paralyzing him from the chest down.
Some episode highlights:

• Embracing imperfection and overcoming the fear of sharing your voice
• Identity is not fixed and can evolve after life-altering events
• Yoga can be a powerful tool for healing and cultivating self-compassion.
• Choose your response to life's challenges with grace and curiosity.
• Creating a safe and inclusive space is essential for yoga teachers to facilitate personal growth and self-discovery in their students.
• Being loud and advocating for inclusivity in the yoga community is crucial for making yoga accessible to all individuals.
• Chair yoga as a valuable practice that can make yoga accessible to disabled individuals, providing them with the physical and mental benefits of the practice.
• Serving the disabled community through yoga can be a rewarding experience that allows teachers to learn and grow in their own practice.

Connect with Rodrigo through his website or Instagram.
Chapters

00:00
Introduction and Purpose

01:02
The Power of Connection

02:13
Language and Voice

03:11
Overcoming Fear of Speaking

05:25
Vulnerability and Sharing Your Voice

08:07
Embracing Imperfection

09:50
Love and Changing Relationships

10:54
Identity and Life Transformations

17:22
The Reality of Time

18:30
Learning Swedish and Embracing Culture

21:13
Shifting Identity After Injury

23:11
Yoga as a Tool for Healing

25:50
Choosing Your Path and Embracing Change

27:07
Navigating Difficult Times with Grace

29:05
Cultivating Self-Compassion

32:38
Choosing Your Response to Life's Challenges

36:15
Finding Ease and Effort in Yoga

39:29
The Beginning of a Yoga Journey

44:31
Defining Spirituality

45:45
Spirituality and the Collective

47:02
Finding Spirituality through Yoga

49:20
Yoga for All Bodies

52:09
Challenging Ableism in Yoga

57:47
Expanding Yoga Practices Worldwide

01:03:31
Facilitating Yoga for Disabled Individuals

01:09:13
The Responsibility of Yoga Teachers

01:11:31
Grief and Yoga

01:18:08
Moving Softly and Befriending Emotions

01:26:10
Yoga as a Tool for Self-Acceptance

01:28:04
The Gift of Yoga

01:29:00
Creating a Safe Space

01:30:31
Being Loud and Inclusive

01:31:30
Chair Yoga and Accessibility

01:33:10
Learning from Each Other

01:33:45
Teaching Yoga to Disabled Folks

01:36:35
Serving the Disabled Community

01:37:03
Embodying the Practice

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The music for this episode is Threads by The Light Meeting.
Produced by: Grey Tanner