What if the fastest way forward is first to sit still? Our conversation with spiritual coach and master healer Cheryl Stelte begins with a startling beachside vision and unfolds into a practical blueprint for transforming stuck energy into real momentum. Cheryl shares how low, steady breathing below the navel can surface subconscious material, why building safety in the root chakra is the keystone for lasting change, and how to pair inner work with accessible movement rituals to feel stronger, clearer, and more at home in your body.

We dig into the mechanics of breath-led meditation, the science of trauma storage as sensations and emotions, and the way neuroplasticity accelerates once emotional charge is released. Cheryl explains her energy work framework—reading chakra flow without theatrics, transforming what’s already yours instead of importing “healing energy,” and returning it cleared so the nervous system can stabilize. The Five Tibetan Rites take center stage as a compact, organ-massaging sequence you can build from three to twenty-one reps, supporting sleep, lymph flow, flexibility, and everyday vitality. Power walking emerges as an underrated movement meditation that rebuilt stamina and bone density while reinforcing identity shifts that stick.

You’ll hear vivid case stories: throat and shoulder pain easing when old truths are finally voiced, hip tension releasing as a lifelong burden gets set down, and a client rediscovering excitement after decades of depression. Cheryl’s books—especially her throat chakra guide and From Blocked to Powerful—offer a workbook-style path to becoming your own energy worker with meditations and practices that meet you where you are. The throughline is clear: safety first, inner truth always, and small, consistent rituals that turn healing from a concept into a lifestyle.
https://cherylstelte.kartra.com/page/powerful-mediations

https://www.starofdivinelight.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-stelte/

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Welcome to Season Two of The Squats & Séances Podcast. The guided meditations shared over the break were unanimously well received. What better way to kick off a brand new season than with the master of meditation himself, davidji!

On that note, what if grit isn’t about grinding harder, but about leaning fully into the moment without clinging to outcomes? That one shift frames an eye-opening conversation in this episode with davidji—globally recognized meditation teacher, mindful performance trainer, and the “Velvet Voice of Stillness”—as we connect ancient practices to modern performance and wellbeing.

We start by demystifying meditation as a simple, repeatable tool for presence. We trace its origins from seed sounds in the Vedic tradition to today’s secular methods and shows how consistency, not duration, produces real results. The physiology is striking: stress spikes cortisol, tightens blood, and shuts down immunity; practice reverses those markers within minutes. Over weeks, the brain itself changes—hippocampal growth, calmer amygdala—while research linked to telomeres hints at benefits down to cellular aging. These aren’t abstract claims; they’re the biology of better choices under pressure.

davidji makes the inner path feel honest and human. He maps the six stages of a real session—settling, witnessing, drifting, judging, surrendering, stillness—and explains why the gentle return is the master skill. We talk about reframing “threat” as “challenge,” using a 16-second breath to interrupt patterns, and building bookend rituals that anchor the day. Two resonant ideas bring heart to the science: gratitude as a daily primer for intention, and “evidence of presence,” a perspective shift that turns small annoyances into reminders of what—and who—you love.

We close with a short guided practice blending breath, gratitude, the mantra “I trust,” and intention planting. If you want lower stress, better focus, and a steadier sense of purpose without the jargon, this conversation is a clear, practical on-ramp. Subscribe, share with a friend who could use a reset.

https://davidji.com/
linktr.ee/davidjimeditation
​ ⁨@davidjimeditation⁩

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HELP contribute to this growing community. Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseances.com.

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Until the next time - stay gritty you badass!

Resolutions pile up; intentions land softly. We open the year with a calming, guided meditation designed to help you set one clear, heartfelt intention and actually feel it take root. Instead of hustling into dozens of goals, we slow down together, breathe with intention, and ground in until your nervous system settles and the mind grows quiet enough to listen.

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HELP contribute to this growing community. Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseances.com.

FIND new episodes of Squats & Séances on all major podcast platforms and the vlogcast on our YouTube channel - Squats & Séances.

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Until the next time - stay gritty you badass!

When life demands armor, choosing softness can feel radical. We guide a calm, precise journey that starts with breath, then travels head to toe using brief, controlled muscle tension followed by full release. That simple rhythm—tighten on the inhale, soften on the exhale—teaches the nervous system what safety feels like and shows the mind how to return to the present without force.
If this practice helps, share it with a friend, subscribe for more guided sessions, and leave a quick review so others can find their way to softer strength.

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HELP contribute to this growing community. Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseances.com.

FIND new episodes of Squats & Séances on all major podcast platforms and the vlogcast on our YouTube channel - Squats & Séances.

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Until the next time - stay gritty you badass!

The mind loves to sprint while the body asks to slow down. We bridge that gap with a concise, soothing practice built around a two-word mantra and steady breathwork, designed to help you return to the only place you can actually live in—this present moment.

If this meditation helped you reset, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a pause, and leave a quick review to help others find these guided practices.

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HELP contribute to this growing community. Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseances.com.

FIND new episodes of Squats & Séances on all major podcast platforms and the vlogcast on our YouTube channel - Squats & Séances.

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Until the next time - stay gritty you badass!

If the holidays have you overwhelmed, stressed, and screaming silently inside - your not a grinch, you just need a breath. Try this quick mindfulness practice to reset your nervous system so you can be fully present for those magical holiday moments.

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HELP contribute to this growing community. Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseances.com.

FIND new episodes of Squats & Séances on all major podcast platforms and the vlogcast on our YouTube channel - Squats & Séances.

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Drop in for a quick 5 minute guided mindfulness moment to slow that monkey mind and reconnect to your body. You'll feel amazing after this, we promise!

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HELP contribute to this growing community. Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseances.com.

FIND new episodes of Squats & Séances on all major podcast platforms and the vlogcast on our YouTube channel - Squats & Séances.

SUBSCRIBE so you never miss an episode. SEASON 1 ENDS OCTOBER 31ST!

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Until the next time - stay gritty you badass!

A single session set a bold challenge: make your voice available and your people will find you. That moment sparked a season of conversations and a growing community of spiritually gritty, physically resilient listeners who show up with curiosity and courage. To close out season one, we sit down with Priestess Yeshe Meryemana Matthews Robles—teacher, pilgrimage leader, and longtime student of mystery traditions—to explore how science, spirit, and strength converge on the sacred road.

We trace her annual pilgrimages through Greece’s oracular sites—Eleusis, Delphi, Dodoni—and unravel what “embodied history” looks like when you’re rolling bones at night and climbing to caves at dawn. Yeshi shares a slow travel framework that replaces checklist tourism with two or three perfect moments a day, so the place can imprint on your senses and your story. We dig into inclusive design for travelers of all abilities, practical flight and jet lag protocols (compression socks, movement cadence, hydration), and simple nutrition strategies that honor local food while protecting recovery.

From there, the conversation moves inward. We talk energetic hygiene on the road—pocket altars, mindful dress, grounding stones—and the stance she calls “friendship with humanity,” a way of showing up that respects culture and softens ego. Yeshi offers a timely, deeply compassionate guide to ancestor season: recognizing subtle signs, helping spirits who feel stuck after sudden death or dementia, and naming unacknowledged losses that echo through families. She shows how dedicating physical practice—those walks, squats, and steady breaths—to lineage repair can shift patterns forward and back.

If you’re craving a synthesis of training and transcendence, this finale delivers: a clear path to stronger bodies, steadier hearts, and a kinder, more present way to move through the world. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs this, and leave a review to help more seekers find the tribe.

https://priestessyeshe.com/

https://www.mtshastagoddesstemple.com/

https://www.caravansophia.com/

https://www.sacredwell.com/

Send us a text

HELP contribute to this growing community. Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseances.com.

FIND new episodes of Squats & Séances on all major podcast platforms and the vlogcast on our YouTube channel - Squats & Séances.

SUBSCRIBE so you never miss an episode. SEASON 1 ENDS OCTOBER 31ST!

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Until the next time - stay gritty you badass!