What this episode explores
• A raw, personal story of stress, grief, and the moment everything changed
• How grief after losing both parents affected Adrianne’s physical health
• The blood pressure readings that became a wake-up call
• How yoga and mindfulness became her lifeline
• The role Veterans Yoga Project played in her healing
• A mini Mindful Resilience class you can follow along with
• Support for anyone grieving during the holidays
Key moments
• The breaking point
Adrianne shares blood pressure readings from the months after her father passed in 2021. Numbers in the red zone. A doctor who wouldn’t let her leave until they stabilized. The shock of realizing stress and grief were affecting her body more than she knew.
• What grief looked like day to day
Hair loss. Weight changes. Sleeplessness. A rash across her arm. Crying every day and trying to function while falling apart inside and missing her parents deeply, especially around holiday seasons.
• The turning point
Finding Veterans Yoga Project — free, trauma-informed classes for the military community, caregivers, and first responders. Logging in with the camera off. Crying through classes. Returning anyway. Learning breath work, meditation, mindful movement, gratitude, and rest.
• Becoming a teacher
Starting yoga teacher training with no plans to teach — just a need to heal. Earning a 200-hour certificate, then trauma-informed training, then Veterans Yoga Project certification. VYP offering her first teaching role in 2023.
• Why she teaches today
Not to perform yoga. Not to be “perfect.” But to offer community, support, and tools for navigating grief, stress, and uncertainty — the same tools that helped save her life.
Mini Mindful Resilience Class (follow along)
Breath work
• Inhale through the nose
• Exhale through the mouth
• Or breathe through parted lips if congested
• Notice coolness in, warmth out
Meditation
• Visualize light snow falling
• Imagine watching it as a child
• Notice the softness, the stillness, the quiet
Mindful movement
• Gentle neck rotations
• Shoulder rolls
• Slow head tilts with steady breath
Gratitude
• Name one small thing you appreciate
• If nothing comes, set the intention to notice gratitude today
Rest
• Take five minutes if that’s all you can find
• Let your breath settle
• Let your body soften
Holiday Grief Reflection
• Grief can hit harder during the holidays
• Empty chairs and missed traditions stir deep emotions
• It’s okay to cry — tears reflect love, not weakness
• You can show up for others only when you first show up for yourself
Resources mentioned
Veterans Yoga Project
• Free daily online classes
• Yoga, meditation, breath work, and Yoga Nidra
• For veterans, active duty, reservists, first responders, caregivers, and their families
• veteransyogaproject.org
Closing message
Grief changes you. Mindfulness and movement help you keep going.
If this season feels heavy, you’re not alone.
Take a breath.
Take your time.
Take what you need from this practice.
Release Tension When Stress Builds Up
Mindfulness partners:
Take a 20-minute break to unwind.
Release Tension When Stress Builds Up
Mindfulness partners:
Feeling drained on Thanksgiving? Dreading the holidays? This 20-minute meditation is for you.
Release Tension When Stress Builds Up
Mindfulness partners:
Use these affirmations to find moments of calm regardless of the chaos on the news.
Release Tension When Stress Builds Up
Mindfulness partners:
Carine in Belgium studied Sankrit in University. Listen to this episode to learn more about this amazing woman.
Release Tension When Stress Builds Up:
Mindfulness partners:
Use one deep breath between each line.
Two ways to Release Tension When Stress Builds Up:
Mindfulness partners:
Release tension with this 20 minute mindfulness meditation.
Mindfulness partners:
Here’s a precise, practice-based flow when sadness feels heavy.
Breathwork Exercise: Exhale Release
Sit upright, feet grounded.
Place one hand on your chest, one hand on your belly.
Inhale gently through your nose for a slow count of 4.
Hold the breath softly for 2.
Exhale through pursed lips for a slow count of 6–7, imagining the heaviness leaving your body.
Repeat 6–8 rounds.
After the last round, pause in stillness and notice any shift.
Affirmations for Sadness - Speak slowly, with breath:
“I allow myself to feel sadness without judgment.”
“My feelings are valid, and they will pass.”
“I am gentle with myself in this moment.”
“I can hold sadness and still be steady.”
“Each breath brings me a little more calm.”
Journaling Prompts
What is the story my sadness is telling me right now?
Where do I feel this sadness in my body? What does it need?
If my sadness could speak, what would it ask for?
Who or what helps me remember I’m not alone?
What is one small act of care I can give myself today?
Reclaim calm with the free 5 Day Calm Reset online course:
Meet Chaja van Boesschoten of Design IN Yoga.
Currently in Tanzania with her family, she offers classes online.
In sum, Chaja teaches Hatha/ Kundalini Yoga with a deep focus on pranayama and energetic exploration.
She has experienced living cross-culturally, having lived in the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Tanzania.
She has a strong interest in women's health.
Connect with Chaja:
Instagram: @designinyoga_
Website: https://designin-yoga.kit.com/28c11e33d1/
Mindfulness partners:
Today’s practice
Grounding breath (choose your exhale).
One-minute gratitude check-in.
Three affirmations.
Gentle tapping on the collarbones.
Close with one steady breath.
Affirmations
I’m grateful for my mind, my body, and my soul.
Gratitude is the foundation of my day.
I am enough exactly as I am.
Who this serves
Military, veterans, reservists, first responders, caregivers, and families.
Free daily online classes via Veterans Yoga Project.
I guide a 20-minute meditation every Wednesday 6:30 AM ET.
Breathwork & Gentle Yoga Saturdays 9:00 AM ET.
Resources
Free 5-Day Calm Reset: bit.ly/5daycalm
Podcast: Yoga Saved Me (video on Spotify; audio on other platforms)
Books: Wellness on the Weekly series; Mindful & Mobilized.
Work with me (45+)
1:1 support to build your steady, repeatable practice.
Your reflection
Name one specific thing you’re grateful for right now. Say it out loud.
Reclaim Calm - 5 Day Calm Reset
Mindfulness partners:
Sixty minutes is all you need, and you deserve that and even more. Breathe, move, be grateful, and rest with this Yoga practice.
Reclaim calm with the free 5-Day Calm Reset.
#reclaimcalm
Use this meditation to recharge your energy in calmness.
Reclaim your calm with the free 5-Day Calm Reset.
#reclaimcalm
You know Stefanie Heider as a guest on a Talk Tuesday episode and for her Water Yoga offering for us. She's fantastic, and of course, I said YES when she asked me to participate in her You Can Become Summit.
It's free and runs from August 4 to 7. Register here:
https://stefanieheiderycb.de/summit
Reclaim your calm with the free 5-Day Calm Reset:https://bit.ly/5DayReset
#reclaimcalm #freesummit
How are you feeling? It probably changes from news cycle to news cycle. But we can reclaim calm with mindfulness tools.
Enjoy these mindfulness practices today.
Reclaim calm with the free 5-Day Calm Reset online course. Join the waitlist today. https://bit.ly/5DayCalm
#reclaimcalm #mindfulnesstools
In this energizing episode from an upcoming Talk Tuesday episode on 2 September 2025, we’re joined by Chaja van Boesschoten for a guided Breath of Fire practice. Chaja shares the benefits of this dynamic breath technique, often used in Kundalini Yoga to build internal heat, increase focus, and release stagnant energy.
Whether you’re new to Breath of Fire or returning to the practice, this episode offers a safe, accessible introduction with clear instructions and modifications.
What You’ll Experience:
A short explanation of Breath of Fire
A guided practice with Chaja
Tips for staying grounded during energizing pranayama
Discussion of how breath can support clarity, vitality, and emotional resilience
About Our Guest:
Chaja van Boesschoten is a trauma-informed Yoga teacher, breathwork facilitator, and somatic guide. She supports people in reconnecting with the wisdom of their bodies and breath.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Contraindications and who should avoid this practice
How to adapt Breath of Fire for a gentle experience
Chaja’s upcoming offerings: [Insert Link if available]
Connect with Chaja:
Instagram: @designinyoga_Website: https://designin-yoga.kit.com/28c11e33d1/
🎧 Listen now and explore the power of your breath.
Subscribe, rate, and leave a review if this episode supports your journey.
Reclaim Your Calm
Free 5 Day Calm Reset - in about 5 minutes a day.
This 20-minute guided meditation is a path to calm.
Read the closed caption text here.
Reclaim your calm with the free 5-Day Calm Reset.
#guided meditation #reclaimcalm
I love Yin Yoga for the way it provides an opportunity for calm and rest.
Practice in bed if you want.
Reclaim calm with the free 5-Day Calm Reset.
#yinyoga
Carve out 30 minutes for yourself with this Slow Stretch Yoga practice.
Reclaim your calm with the free 5-Day Calm Reset.
#slowstretch #reclaimcalm
Reclaim your attention.I know the headlines are overwhelming.
Reclaim your calm with the 5-Day Calm Reset: https://bit.ly/5DayCalm
#reclaimcalm #boycottheadlines
In this heartfelt episode, Adrianne welcomes Yoga teacher and multi-passionate woman Zaz Grumbar, who shares how Yoga helped her reconnect with her body, breath, and self during some of life’s most difficult transitions.
Zaz speaks honestly about overcoming an eating disorder through ahimsa, managing menopause and anxiety with breathwork, healing chronic pain with Forrest Yoga, and finding herself again after feeling lost in parenting and career shifts.
Her story is a reminder that Yoga doesn’t ask us to be perfect—it invites us to come home.
The power of ahimsa in healing body image
Breathwork for anxiety, menopause, and emotional regulation
Forrest Yoga and physical healing after failed medical interventions
Navigating identity shifts as a parent and career changer
How Yoga keeps you connected through life’s chaos
“Ahimsa gave me a way to relate to my body with kindness, not control.”
“Pranayama didn’t just calm me—it reminded me I was still here.”
“Yoga helped me return to myself when I felt like I had disappeared into my roles.”
A slow breath in, a longer breath out.
A pause.
And a reminder: You are allowed to come back to yourself.
When was the last time I felt fully connected to myself?
What helped me feel that way?
Website: https://yogawithzaz.com
Instagram: @yogawithzaz