Tending to Change with Jeni Juarez

Self-Honoring: Permission to Rest

This episode is both a teaching and a reminder: it’s okay to rest.
The energy of the times we are collectively in at this moment is highly charged and unstable. So many of us are experiencing a season of profound transition. And while that isn’t necessarily bad, it may mean that we need to slow down a bit.
In a fast-paced, achievement- and productivity-focused culture, slowing down or adjusting our expectations is a revolutionary act. But prioritizing our health and well-being isn’t a luxury in these times – it’s a necessity. 
So if you’ve been pushing through some tough stuff lately and beating yourself up along the way, please consider this your sign to chill out – this is permission to rest.
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Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange
 
✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. 
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
 
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this podcast is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Bearing Witness: The Difference Between Sympathy, Empathy, and Compassion

I begin this episode by reflecting on some common reasons why we might have a difficult time taking an honest, clear look at our own pain and determining what our current needs are - both of which are necessary if we're going to ask for support from our family or community when the going gets tough (which it eventually does for all of us).
I then share how cultivating this skill of vulnerability informs our ability to effectively help others who are suffering without becoming incapacitated by empathy without boundaries. This leads into a conversation about the difference between sympathy, empathy, and compassion and what it means to hold space for someone.
Finally, I propose the argument that if our compassion leads to fatigue, burnout, or resentment, that it is egoic compassion, not true compassion. True compassion honors our boundaries and present capacity, and it's freely given without a sense of obligation or an expectation of gratitude, accolade, or return of favor. True compassion recognizes our interconnectedness and shared humanity, and comes from a place of abundance and sincere generosity of spirit.
We end the episode with a lovely compassion practice called “Just Like Me.”
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange
✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. 
 
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
 
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this podcast is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

I Need Help!: The Courage to Be Vulnerable

In this episode of Tending to Change, I explore the paradox that we encounter when we find ourselves in the depths of despair: No one is coming to save us, and we can't do it alone. And it is precisely in this space of vulnerability, this place of unknowing, that we find ourselves on the precipice of profound transformation. 
I continue to delve into a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness and interdependence with one another, and I reflect on what a nourishing, joy-filled experience it is to be both the giver AND the receiver of heartfelt generosity. It reconnects us to a network of mutual care and reciprocity that is life-giving for all who participate in it.
I share some of my own personal challenges and insights around admitting my pain to my community and allowing myself to be supported by those who love me. And I acknowledge the universal experience of suffering - that we will all eventually find ourselves in times of need, and we all have something to give - even if it’s just our time and energy.
We end today’s episode with a sweet and gentle meditation of breathing into the heartspace.
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange
✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. 
 
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
 
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this podcast is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Begin Again: Strengthening Willpower Through Mindful Habit Change

In this episode, I reflect again on the value of reassessing our daily routines during this transitional time of year. I acknowledge that translating what we know into what we do may be one of the hardest undertakings we can take up. 
I then shift the conversation to a focus on the importance of strengthening our personal will through smaller commitments, and how doing so can lead to transformative change. I share a personal story about my own struggles with willpower and how I leverage my values to help me persevere even when obstacles inevitably arise.
I invite us to consider how we would treat a baby or young child who is navigating the challenges of attaining mastery of a new skill and to generously apply the same patience and compassion toward ourselves. Our meditation practice is a wonderful reminder of the wisdom of “beginning again” as many times as we need to until we achieve what we’ve set out to do.
We conclude the episode with a seated meditation practice to help train our minds to focus our attention on what matters most to us in each moment.
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange
✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. 
 
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
 
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this podcast is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Special Practice Episode: 12-Minute Mountain Meditation

This is a special practice-only episode in which I guide listeners through a 12-minute Mountain Meditation. 
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange
✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/ 
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. 
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this podcast is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Dinacharya: How the Right Daily Routine Can Transform Your Life

I begin this episode with the premise that contrary to mainstream or pop spirituality, our spiritual journey is not meant to be a blissed out, “good vibes only” trip that negates, avoids, or ignores the less pleasant, more challenging human emotions and experiences. Actually, a lot of the practice is just the grind of day-to-day living. It's about learning how to live in a whole, balanced, integrated, kind, loving, conscious way.
I then explore various rhythms and cycles contained within the universe, our planet, and our bodies to expand our perspective and emphasize how cyclical time is embedded in nature, of which we are a part. 
From this, we shift into a conversation about Ayurveda, the sister science of Yoga, and how our dinacharya, our daily routine, can be potent medicine if regularly observed and attended to. When we're not living in alignment with our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs, the aim of ayurveda is to identify the root cause and attend to it to support us in coming back into harmony.
I invite the listener to become curious about their own daily routines and sense of inner alignment, and to set the intention to make one or two supportive changes to their dinacharya. I offer my own example before guiding listeners in pranayama - a breath practice to help us attune to the rhythm of the breath.
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life. 
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
 
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Opening to Grace: The Hidden Gift of Despair

In this episode, we consider a perspective that the emotions of depression and anxiety are both real and unreal; they are thought constructs, yet they cause very real consequences on how we live and perceive our lives. I share how I’ve come to recognize these very painful, challenging emotions within my own body/mind as well as some strategies for how to work though and emerge from them.
I then share a story about becoming aware of the experience of despair while in yoga teacher training, and the wisdom offered to me by my teacher. I explore the hidden Grace within despair as it reveals itself as longing in disguise - and how it holds the potential as a catalyst for profound change.
We end the episode with an introduction to the practice of Metta, or Loving-Kindness, as a way to cultivate compassion and connection. Over time, this practice can powerfully transform the way we view and think about ourselves and others in a wonderful way.
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life.
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being.
Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

The ACEs Study: How Childhood Adversity Harms Across a Lifetime

Today’s episode builds upon our discussion from last week about the stress response, aka fight or flight, and how this invaluable system protects us from life-threatening dangers. We explore what effects a dysregulated nervous system, caused by prolonged or severe adversity experienced during childhood, might have on the health of an adult.
Leaning on the experience and research provided in the book The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, we take a look at the shocking data put forth by the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study conducted by CDC-Kaiser Permanente in the 1990s. I share how the findings of the ACEs study make it clear that not only is it common for children to experience toxic stress before the age of 18 (67% of respondents), but that there is a dose-response relationship between ACEs and many serious health conditions later on in adulthood.
Instead of following the typical Western medical model of symptom management and damage control, we identify scientifically demonstrated ways to address a dysregulated nervous system to help mitigate or avoid altogether the worst possible outcomes both in ourselves and in our children if we’re a parent. We end the episode with a big dose of compassion and a brief gratitude practice for the protective, supportive beings who’ve helped us along our way. May we know them, may we be them.
 
SHOW NOTES:
 The Body Keeps the Score, Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
Order on Amazon
The Deepest Well, Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
Order on Amazon
About the ACEs Study
ACEs Prevention - CDC 
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life.
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being.
Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Fight or Flight: Understanding Shame, Stress, and How to Soothe

In this episode, we put a name to the painful feeling that we are inherently flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging: shame. We unpack how shame negatively impacts our ability to connect with others in a vulnerable, authentic way by telling us that we’re not good enough and that it’s better to hide behind a mask. We also discuss the difference between guilt, embarrassment, and shame, and why the first two support growth and connection while the last is both unnecessary and unhelpful. 
And because shame, like continuous partial attention, can trigger our fight or flight response, we then shift the conversation to exploring what happens inside of our body when the stress response is activated. I offer a brief overview of the nervous system with a particular emphasis on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and I explain how chronic stress can negatively affect our bodies as well as the choices available to us to avoid those outcomes. 
The episode concludes with a self-compassion practice created by Dr. Kristen Neff called a Self-Compassion Break. It’s short, sweet, and a beautifully portable practice to support us during life’s inevitably challenging times.
 
SHOW NOTES: 
Brené Brown's TED talk from 2010: The Power of Vulnerability
https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability?subtitle=en
The Anxiety Centre: The Stress Response
https://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-disorders/symptoms/stress-response/
 
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life.
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being.
Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Dropping the Mask: Our Innate Need for Authenticity

This episode begins with an exploration of why the behavior of masking our authentic selves and feeling very uncomfortable in our skin tends to start quite early in our lives as a result of unmet needs and childhood trauma. I share how we learn to wear masks as a protective strategy when we fear being abandoned or rejected for who and how we naturally are and how that loss of connection to ourselves leads us to feeling dissociated, disempowered, and viewing ourselves and the world as an inherently unsafe place. 
I then shift the conversation to how the suppression of our natural human emotions in our early lives can cause us to fear our emotions in adulthood. Many of us carry an unexplored false belief that if we were to feel the full extent of our feelings, we might never come out of them. Instead, suppressed emotions might crop up later as addictions, mental illness, or unconscious strategies such as people pleasing.
The good news is, there’s a way out of this cycle of self-sabotage. Through body-based stillness practices and self-compassion, we can rediscover our intrinsic value and learn to trust our instincts again, changing our lives in beautiful ways. We begin to live a more fulfilling and rewarding life, rooted in our values, in healthy relationships, and in deeper connection to ourselves and to the world around us. 
The episode concludes with a self-compassion practice created by Dr. Kristen Neff called a Self-Compassion Break. It’s short, sweet, and a beautifully portable practice to support us during life’s inevitably challenging times.
 
____________________________
Do you love this content and want to support the show?Buy Me A Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JeniJuarezllcI sincerely appreciate your support!
____________________________
Learn More About Live Events in Grand Rapids, MI
✦Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/TendingtoChange ✦Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tendingtochangewithjeni/
____________________________
Tending to Change is hosted by Jeni Juarez, a 500-hr RYT, a mother of four, and a dedicated student on the path of the heart. Having struggled with trauma, addiction, and debilitating anxiety, she has deep gratitude for the power of nature, stillness practices, and loving community to completely change the trajectory of one’s life.
Jeni believes there is a significant undervaluation of emotional resilience and cultivating peace of mind in our fast-paced, over-achieving culture, and she’s excited to be a part of the momentum that is actively working to change that narrative.
____________________________
Please know that…
The intent of this podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being.
Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a professional therapeutic relationship. In the event you use any of the information in these episodes for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the creator assumes no responsibility for your actions.