Suzanne Sterling, S1 E18; Ritual, Music, Money, Sex & Social Change

Meet ritualist, musician, activist, and yogi Suzanne Sterling (suzannesterling.com). Suzanne has been performing and teaching transformational workshops for over 20 years. She is the founder of Voice of Change, inspiring people to find their unique voice as a tool for conscious evolution. Suzanne has been featured at hundreds of international festivals and conference centers including Yoga Journal, Omega, Esalen, Wanderlust, Bhaktifest, Earthdance and many more. Since 2007 she has been training leaders in activism and social justice through her co-founded organization Off The Mat, Into the World. As director of OTM’s Seva Challenge Humanitarian Tours, which raised over $4 million, she has spent time in the US, India, Cambodia, Haiti, Ecuador, and Africa working in community resilience and raising awareness about critical global issues. In addition to her work with OTM, she offers yearlong trainings in Sacred Leadership. She is a guest teacher in numerous Yoga Teacher Trainings and is excitedly training facilitators in her signature Voice of Change work. She has released 5 solo albums and numerous DVD soundtracks. To learn more and stay connected go to www.suzannesterling.com In this episode, we talk about the intricate connection between yoga and self-expression and how yoga can be a force for social change. We talk about why it’s so important and terrifying for us to use our voices as well as the power of ritual and how we’re hard-wired for self-expression in community. We touch on leaderless movements, the pitfalls of hero worship, and the transformation that can happen when embodiment practices are combined with science and psychology. Suzanne reminds us of How EVERYONE has the right to sing and EVERYONE has sound inside them, We talk about colonialism and the injunction of self-expression in our bodies, what creativity requires of us, the challenge of receiving, and the fear and freedom of transparency around money and sex. This week the call to action is to ponder and ask ourselves - how can I be more self-expressed? Where do I feel the most free? Where do I feel the most restrained? What fear am I willing to face to create a new level of freedom, not only for myself but for others? Then, share it with someone you trust and take the next brave step.