Skillful Means Podcast
Skillful Means Podcast offers practical wisdom for everyday life. Host Jennifer O'Sullivan explores navigating life's challenges through the lenses of Buddhist mindfulness, yoga, Internal Family Systems, and positive psychology.
Each month, episodes feature grounded guidance and accessible practices for meeting whatever arises with greater ease.
Jennifer is a Certified IFS Practitioner with over 20 years of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness.
Find out more: https://www.skillfulmeanspodcast.com and https://www.sati.yoga
- Update frequency
- every 12 days
- Average duration
- 29 minutes
- Episodes
- 126
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
#55 The Kleshas, Part 1: Contemplating Avidya Guided Practice
The philosophical tradition of yoga suggests five root causes of suffering, known in Sanskrit as kleshas. While the specific spins of our minds differ from person to person, th…
#54 Welcome Annie Moyer
This week, Jen welcomes her new cohost Annie Moyer to the show. They discuss
- Annie's unusual yoga beginnings,
- her yoga guide stars,
- her thoughts on what yoga students are seeking…
Changes Coming to the Show
So it happens that impermanence has found its way to Skillful Means Podcast. Jen teases some updates and says adieu to Sarah Jane who is stepping back (but not away) to expand h…
#53 Progressive Relaxation for Managing Stress and Anxiety Guided Practice
Frequent bouts of stress and anxiety create physical tension in the body. When stress persists, we can "forget" how to relax, a common source of chronic pain.
In this practice, …
#52 Sensing Subtle Energy in Yin Yoga Guided Practice
Of the many reasons to practice Yin Yoga, working with the energy body is one of the most alluring. Yet, this ephemeral force can be elusive for many practitioners.
In this gui…
#51 Mindful Awareness of Feelings Guided Practice
In the Second Foundation of Mindfulness, the Buddha outlines practices for working with feelings. Not quite the same as emotions, feelings are the visceral, body-based response…
#50 Pause, Soften, Connect Guided Practice
With this meditation, Sarah Jane takes the instructions “Pause, Soften, and Connect,” which are often delivered at the beginning of a meditation, and stretches the time we spend…
#49 Finding Calm Amidst Uncertainty Guided Practice
Unfortunately for humans, our nervous system's stress response only has two settings (on and off) even though we understand degrees of tension. Whether we feel the pressure of a…
#48 Embodying Equanimity Guided Practice
Equanimity is a steadiness in heart and mind that has a spacious feel. It is “being with” rather than “reacting to” present-moment experience, which makes possible the beat betw…
#47 Pathway to Spacious Awareness Guided Practice
In our latest guided practice, Jen blends two potent practices to help you land in the tranquility of open, spacious awareness.
The traditional way to call forth this energy is t…
#46 Inclining the Mind Toward Gladness Guided Practice
Acknowledging that humans are hardwired to be on alert for danger, and that imbalanced states can cause us problems such as anxiety and doubt, we would do well to incline the mi…
#45 Yin Yoga for the Heart & Small Intestines Guided Practice
According to Chinese Energetic Medicine, the heart is vulnerable to heat of the summer season. In this short but sweet practice, Jen while guide you through three Yin Yoga postu…
#44 Self-Compassion to Antidote Stress Guided Practice
In this guided meditation, Sarah Jane supports you in turning toward what is present in the body, heart, and mind, and holding it with kind regard without insisting it change or…
#43 Microcosmic Orbit Guided Practice
In this guided practice, Jen shares the Microcosmic Orbit, a Taoist meditation for longevity. Circulating Qi (life force energy) through a loop formed by the Governor Vessel (Du…
#42 Disrupting Inner Chatter and Establishing Presence Guided Practice
In this guided meditation, Sarah Jane invites you to settle into a posture that will support your mindfulness by inviting a relaxed quality in the body and wakefulness in the mi…
#41 Dharma Book Club: "Tao Te Ching"
In our second book club, Jen and Sarah Jane follow some dharmic threads through the ancient Taoist text the “Tao Te Ching” by Laozi and enjoy the poetic language used to, someho…
#40 Mindful Awareness of the Body Guided Practice
In this guided practice, Jen offers a meditation on establishing body awareness as a mindfulness anchor. Because the body is always available, bringing our attention to the post…
#39 When Nothing Lasts, Life is Precious
In this episode, Jen and Sarah Jane talk about the concept of precious impermanence, an organizing principle for many Asian religions and belief systems.
Impermanence dignifies t…
#38 Tree Meditation Guided Practice
In this meditation inspired by popular teacher Jack Kornfield’s tree meditations, Sarah Jane guides you through a visualization that accesses the stabilizing and steadfast quali…
#37 Dharma Book Club: "The End of Your World" by Adyashanti
In this inaugural episode of the bi-monthly Dharma Book Club, Sarah Jane and Jen chat about The End of Your World. In this book, based on a series of his talks on the nature of …