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Election week has a lot of us floating in a liminal space, and when that happens, many of us override our systems. We feel exhausted, then skip real stillness because we don't always want to hear what it brings. In this episode, Andrea shares a recent meltdown after swim lessons (and the yoga breathing that kept her own system from derailing), what solo parenting five days a week has taught her about needing time to herself, and why we reach for our phones instead of the stillness our nervous systems are asking for. She also talks about the disappearance of boredom, why movement can be a better doorway than sitting when you're frazzled, and what vata season in Ayurveda has to do with scrolling. Connect: Read the blog post Threshold Meditation Website: andreaclaassen.com Reply or DM: How is the world feeling for you right now?

My Instagram feed has been full of one question lately: are yoga studios dying? In this solo episode, I'm sharing what I'm seeing from the front of the room, and why I believe the answer has more to do with how we've sold yoga than with yoga itself. I haven't seen a drop in my class sizes at either studio where I teach, but I know many studios are struggling. In this conversation, I talk through my theories on why, and what I think people are craving instead.   Connect with me: Website: andreaclaassen.com Instagram: @seasonalandrea Read the blog post: Blog Take the Hallmark Dosha Movie Quiz If this episode resonated, share it with a friend or a fellow yoga teacher, and leave a rating or review. It helps more people find the show.

Two people can share the same age, build, and lifestyle, and what works for one still might not work for the other. In this solo episode, Andrea shares how the weight loss ads and "3 ab moves" influencer content got to her after having a baby, even with her training background. She explains why the confusion-to-stuck-to-buying-more cycle keeps the wellness industry booming, and how Ayurveda offers a different approach built around tuning into your body. In this episode Andrea's postpartum story and why even trained professionals fall for the algorithm The cycle: confusion leads to no action, no action leads to feeling stuck, and feeling stuck leads to buying more false solutions A simple intro to prakriti (your natural constitution) and vikriti (where you are right now), and the three doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha How different bodies respond to stress, over-caffeination, and running on adrenaline Why a trainer getting shredded doesn't make them an expert on your body Trends versus absolutes How to put blinders on and audit your feed and your life Key takeaways What worked for someone else's body, stress level, sleep, hormones, and life stage may not work for yours. Trends can guide us, but they're not absolutes. Be cautious of anyone who speaks in absolutes. Before you follow someone, ask: What are their credentials? What is their lived experience? How many people have they actually worked with? Try this week Mute or unfollow three accounts that leave you feeling confused or "less than." Check in with your body each day: How's my energy, sleep, digestion, and mood? Ask yourself: Who am I listening to, and why? About Andrea Andrea Claassen is a 500-hour yoga teacher, Ayurvedic wellness counselor, certified personal trainer, and author of Divine Body Wisdom. She hosts the Peaceful Power Podcast. Connect with Andrea www.andreaclaassen.com @seasonalandrea

In a world with no room for quiet, sitting still has become a skill many of us have lost, and just like strength, it takes practice. In this episode, Andrea shares what she noticed during a recent weekend in Big Sur with no cell service, where even the teens settled and people were truly present. She also talks about why she teaches both Yin and strength, how yin and yang show up in real life, and what an unsettled nervous system can look like when slowing down feels hard. You'll hear simple ways to start, from one minute of breath to restorative yoga or yoga nidra, plus a story about a missed tennis shot and the power of a blank mind. Your challenge this week: notice where you can invite more stillness into your life, and what your relationship with it is. Ready for the strength side? Join Seasonal Strength Fall Edition at https://andreaclaassen.com/seasonal-strength.   Connect with me on IG @seasonalandrea

Description: Hallmark movies and Ayurveda might seem like an odd pair, but they connect. In this episode, I share why I made the Your Hallmark Movie Night, Ayurveda Style quiz, what happened when I took it myself (spoiler: pitta), and how to turn movie night into real rest. Take the quiz, try the habit, and watch one of your movies before Hallmark's Christmas season starts October 16th. Links: Take the quiz Here Listen to Hallmark Mysteries & More andreaclaassen.com

Episode summary: Andrea untangles the misconceptions around the word "sadhana" — it's not a 5am routine or something reserved for monks, it's a consistent, devoted practice toward transformation. In this episode, she breaks down the difference between ritual and routine, shares two deeply personal stories of taking her practice off the mat during real grief and hard family moments, and offers simple, practical ways to start your own sadhana today — plus an invitation into her 40-Day Vayu Sadhana, starting October 1st. In this episode: What sadhana actually means (and what it doesn't) Ritual vs. routine — and why the distinction matters A simple off-the-mat practice: noticing how you arrive and how you leave Ear oiling and other tangible tools Andrea teaches in class Why the yoga mat is a rehearsal space — and traffic, hard conversations, and doomscrolling are the real test A personal story: staying grounded through a hard conversation with her mom after losing her grandmother Holding steady presence through her brother and sister-in-law's loss of their five-month-old Small, doable ways to start a sadhana — a five-minute phone check-in, noticing your breath, curating your feed Why sadhanas aren't about perfection or streaks (and why 30-day challenges usually fail) An invitation to the 40-Day Vayu Sadhana — structure, pricing, and sliding scale details Mentioned in this episode: Unfixable Flow: Andrea's class on noticing unconscious habits vs. conscious ritual The three gunas: sattvic, rajasic, tamasic 40-Day Vayu Sadhana:  begins October 1st, runs through November 7th. Tuesday/Thursday drops (meditation, short yoga practice, flower essence, mudra) plus two live calls. Sliding scale starting at $99 — message Andrea if cost is a barrier. Connect with Andrea: Website: andreaclaassen.com Instagram: @seasonalandrea Free 5 Day Stillness Practices

Two years ago, I made a quiet vor to live and teach through the five vayus, the ancient yogic map of how life-force energy moves through us. What started as curiosity became a full-bodied devotion, one class at a time. In this episode, I share how Apana shows up on my grounding walks, how Udana wakes up in unexpected moments of voice, and why these five "winds" aren't just philosophy they're a practical lens for asking what any moment actually needs: release or receiving, expression or integration. Plus: an invitation to go deeper in the 40-Day Vayu Sadhana, starting October 1st, offered on a sliding scale. 🎧 Listen, breathe, and notice which vayu is moving through you today.   Connect with Andrea I'm back on Instagram- You can find me @seasonalandrea Website- www.andreaclaassen.com

I was sitting by the river last week my favorite spot in nature, the place I go when I need to hear myself think when three different groups floated by within a few minutes of each other. First, a canoe, moving fast, paddling hard, clearly trying to put distance between themselves and everything else. Then a group of kayakers, chatting back and forth, passing the third group a raft full of people having an actual party. Music blaring. Beers in hand. Fully in it. None of those three groups was doing it "right." None of them was doing it wrong, either. But sitting there, watching all three pass in the space of a few minutes, I couldn't stop thinking about what each one was really after.     Connect with Andrea Website: https://andreaclaassen.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/seasonalandrea 5 Day Stillness Challenge https://andreaclaassen.com/sacred-stillness-challenge Seasonal Strength https://andreaclaassen.com/seasonal-strength   Sacred Seasons- A 10 week seasonal Ayurveda and yoga program helping you connect with your own inner wisdom through the subtle body.      Andrea Claassen Bio Andrea Claassen is an Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor, RYT 500 hour yoga teacher, and personal trainer who has been in the wellness space since 2007. She specializes in helping women both on and off their yoga mats, find their inner strength. Her mission is to help women learn how to slow down, tune in and connect to their inner wisdom.   The three pillars she focuses on are movement, mindfulness & mother nature through an Ayurvedic lens. You can hear more from Andrea on her Peaceful Power Podcast where she aims to deliver actionable takeaways for you to live a more holistic lifestyle. Connect with Andrea on her website at www.andreaclaassen.com

I've been a longtime listener of A Grateful Life, and if you've spent any time in the yoga or wellness world, chances are you already know Dr. Lauren Tober's voice — thoughtful, grounded, and never afraid to go deep. So when I had the chance to sit down with her for this episode, I couldn't say yes fast enough. Lauren is a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Yoga Teacher who has spent over two decades weaving together the wisdom of psychology and yoga — and her work feels more relevant than ever. As yoga teachers, we're often holding space for students who are struggling in ways we may not be trained to recognize, let alone support. Lauren's work on Mental Health Aware Yoga is exactly the kind of conversation our community needs more of, and I loved getting to dig into it with her. In this episode: Lauren's journey bridging clinical psychology and yoga What "Mental Health Aware Yoga" means and why it matters Common blind spots: how yoga teachers can unintentionally cause harm with students who are struggling Where the line is between holding space and referring out to a mental health professional Trauma-informed teaching — what most yoga trainings leave out Patanjali's 8 limbs through the lens of mental health Practical first steps for teachers who want to become more mental-health-aware Lauren's online Mental Health Aware Yoga training and who it's for Living and teaching from Bundjalung Country, and how place shapes her work What "a grateful life" means to Lauren today About Dr. Lauren Tober: Dr Lauren Tober is a Clinical Psychologist, Senior Yoga Teacher, author of Mental Health Aware Yoga: A Guide for Yoga Teachers, host of the A Grateful Life podcast and an eternal student of life. As the founder of the Yoga Psychology Institute, Lauren has spent over two decades integrating the wisdom of contemporary psychology with the timeless teachings of yoga, supporting yoga teachers, health professionals and seekers to heal, grow and come home to themselves. Based on Bundjalung Country in Mullumbimby, Australia, Lauren teaches and travels globally. Her work is soulful without being new-agey, evidence-based without being clinical, and above all, deeply human. Connect with Lauren: Website: www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com Yoga Psychology Institute: www.yogapsychologyinstitute.com Mentioned in this episode: Free book: Patanjali's 8 Limbs and Mental Health Aware Yoga → https://www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/8limbs Online Mental Health Aware Yoga Training (starts September 16, 2026) → https://www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/online   Connect with Andrea www.andreaclaassen.com Sacred Seasons- https://andreaclaassen.com/sacred-seasons

Skill in Action: Protection, Ritual & Embodiment with Michelle Cassandra Johnson In this episode, I sit down with author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial equity consultant, and intuitive healer Michelle Cassandra Johnson to talk about her sixth book, You Are Protected. We dig into what real protection means (hint: it's not the fear-based kind), the guides and unseen support available to all of us, and how ritual and embodiment are transforming racial equity work. We also get personal talking bees and what an entire life of skill in action actually looks like day to day. Connect with Michelle:  Website: https://www.michellecjohnson.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skillinaction Connect with Andrea:  andreaclaassen.com Sacred Seasons  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seasonalandrea

This week I'm getting honest about the week I ignored every signal my body was sending me nine yoga classes subbed in four days, zero rest, and a stumble that finally got my attention. I'm talking about what Ayurveda taught me about pitta season, the sneaky ways we override our own bodies in the name of being helpful, and why slowing down isn't the same thing as giving up. Plus, I share why I'm heading into a weekend retreat completely depleted and framing it as the remedy, not one more thing to survive. I'll report back on how it actually went in a few weeks. Also mentioned: Seasonal Strength Fall Edition is live now, and Sacred Seasons my flagship seasonal container opens for the fall round on my birthday, September 17, through the Fall Equinox, September 22. Get on the waiting list today for special bonuses!  Find me at andreaclaassen.com.

The Pitta Wall: What Happens When You Skip the One Thing That Grounds You Ever notice yourself getting irritable over nothing, feeling like there's never enough time, or hitting a wall of exhaustion right around this time of year? In Ayurveda, this is a classic sign of a Pitta imbalance and late August is prime time for it. In this episode, I get personal about hitting my own Pitta wall a few weeks ago: the quick anger, the time-scarcity feeling, and the realization that even though I'd been outside all summer, I hadn't been to the one place that actually grounds me on my favorite nature trail. I dig into the guilt so many of us carry around choosing solo restoration over family togetherness, why knowing your grounding practice isn't the same as protecting it, and what I'm changing heading into fall. In this episode: What a Pitta wall is and why late summer brings it on The physical and emotional signs of Pitta imbalance Andrea's own story of losing (and finding her way back to) her grounding practice The guilt of choosing solo time over family time — and why that tension matters Simple Ayurvedic practices to cool Pitta as the season shifts toward Vata Andrea's plan for protecting this practice going into fall Mentioned in this episode: Andrea's nature trail practice and 7-year relationship with the land The three pillars: movement, mindfulness, mother nature Wednesdays with her youngest son starting in September Connect with Andrea: 🌐 andreaclaassen.com 📩 Subscribe to the newsletter for more on Ayurveda, strength training, and living seasonally Loved this episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts it helps this show reach more people navigating the same season.

Here's a draft for the show notes: Episode Title: Stop Looking, Start Feeling Peaceful Power Podcast Show Notes: This episode starts with cows. On a recent road trip to Colorado, my three year old was on the hunt for cows out the window. I pointed to some grazing on a distant hill — "Look, there are cows!" — while my husband pointed out the field of them right in front of us that I'd completely missed while scanning the horizon. It became the metaphor I couldn't shake for the rest of the trip, and for the week that followed. In this episode, I talk about: The cows story, and how often we look ahead for the "right" answer while missing what's already unfolding in front of us Why this idea landed so differently for me this week, after our family experienced the sudden loss of my five month old nephew, Mac The shift from looking for to feeling into — in gratitude, in presence, and in practice What I think yoga is actually for, underneath the poses — not performing your way toward some far-off state, but feeling your way into the one you're already in The question I keep asking myself: what's your hill, and what's actually right in front of you? This one is tender, honest, and a little more reflective than usual. I hope it meets you wherever you are this week. Mentioned in this episode: Our family's GoFundMe for Mac, if you'd like to read his story or support us: Here Connect with me: Website: andreaclaassen.com Instagram: @seasonalandrea

What I Learned From a Social Media Break (That No One Talks About)   I didn't take a break from social media with some grand plan in mind. I took a break because I was tired. What I didn't expect was to find out how tired and how much of that tiredness had been hiding in plain sight.   In this episode, I'm sharing what came up during my time away: the subtle overwhelm I didn't realize I was carrying, the constant rolodex of "what should I post next" spinning in the back of my brain, and the noise underneath the noise including AI-generated "women" selling perimenopausal women beauty standards that aren't even real.   I also share a framework that's been rattling around in my head since I heard it in a recent webinar with my longtime teacher Tracee Stanley and her guest, author Shannon Algeo, on the real differences between real-world space and online space — and why our nervous systems know the difference even when we don't.   We talk about: The overwhelm I didn't know I was carrying until it was gone Why Instagram sends me a "look what you're missing" email almost every day (sometimes two) and what that says about who these platforms are really built for What it's like to catch up with a friend when you genuinely don't know what they've been up to anymore How online spaces can quietly become an echo chamber, even when you don't realize you're standing inside one Why I notice more than ever who shows up consistently, and who I actually feel connected to Real world vs. online, through Shannon Algeo's framework: embodied vs. disembodied, synchronous vs. asynchronous, one-to-few vs. one-to-many, and the high bar of entry and exit in real life vs. the low bar online What I'm choosing to build instead: shared sacredness, embodiment, stillness, being slow to anger and quick to forgive, connection to nature and awe, and connection to our ancestors and transcendent self   If you've ever wondered whether it's just you feeling the hum of low-grade overwhelm from being online, this one's for you.   Connect with me: 🌿 Website: andreaclaassen.com Work with Me: www.andreaclaassen.com/services

Before my son does his backfloat, his swim teacher asks him one question: song, count, or silence? He gets to choose every time and more often than not, at three years old, he chooses silence. In this episode, I connect that small, ordinary moment at the pool to something I hear constantly in my work: a woman doing everything "right" in her training program, still gaining weight, still exhausted, still being asked how many days of cardio are you getting when the real question no one's asking is whether her nervous system has any room left to give. We talk about: Why "more" is almost never the answer to a body that's already in overdraft The Ayurvedic concept of swasthavritta — daily rhythm in accordance with your own nature, not a universal script Why stillness (yin, restorative, rest) can feel more threatening than a hard workout to a stressed nervous system Why health was never just grams and cardio minutes — digestion, the senses, and the mind are part of the same system The question I want you to sit with this week: where are you defaulting to someone else's script when what you need is to pause and ask your own? If this episode resonates, Nourished & Rooted my 16-week 1:1 container weaving Ayurveda, subtle body practice, yoga nidra, and flower essences is built exactly for this kind of remembering. Link below. 🔗 Learn more about Nourished & Rooted: andreaclaassen.com/nourishedandrooted