Sacred Redesign: Redesigning Aging: Chair Yoga, Community, and Real-World Vitality with Tanya

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: What happens when nearly three decades of yoga, mindfulness, and movement meet a deep call to redesign life from the inside out?

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Our next guest brings her wisdom, joy, and global retreat expertise into sacred redesign. And in this episode, we will explore how her chapter connects to the work she's doing now. Hi, and welcome to the UWorld Order Showcase Podcast, where we feature life, health, transformational coaches and spiritual entrepreneurs stepping up to be the change they seek in the world. I'm your host, Jill Hart, the coaches alchemist, on a mission

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: To help coaches and entrepreneurs amplify their voice, monetize their mission, and get visible, leveraging podcasts and our million-plus audience on Substack.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Today, we are joined by my fellow author and contributor, Tanya Rochelle Fageton, sorry. Tanya is a yoga and bar instructor, author, speaker, and entrepreneur with 28 years as a practicing yogini,

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Certified in bar vinyasa, and yin yoga, pilates and mindfulness coaching, she's known for her sold-out chair yoga classes and international wellness retreats. With a background spanning dance, figure skating, HR, and real estate, Tanya weaves creativity, movement, and mindfulness into everything she does.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: When she's not teaching, she's quilting and collecting colorful fabrics. Welcome to the show, Tanya, it's great to have you here.

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Tanya F: Thanks for having me.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So, your chapter on… in Sacred Redesign, which is a book that, is… being published

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: on Friday, the 20… no, the 12th of September.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It's coming up soon. It's… it's got a powerful personal message.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And how does this message that you're sharing in your chapter connect with what you're doing as far as yoga and mindfulness?

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Tanya F: Right. Well, my chapter, this is my second, I'm contributing in a multi-author book.

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Tanya F: This chapter is my… my title is Longevity, Love, and purpose.

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Tanya F: And, it really, you know, when I first started

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Tanya F: to decide whether I wanted to be in this project, in this collaboration. I… I really didn't know what angle I wanted to share. I thought, I'm going to just see what… what evolves and what comes out.

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Tanya F: And, the last 3 years, I have been teaching, chair yoga classes, yoga classes, and barf pretty much full-time.

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Tanya F: And, I've been… I was kind of thrust into a community, really not by my design, and, it's an over-55 community.

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Tanya F: I started teaching classes, and I was teaching regular yoga with a mat up and down, on the floor, up and down, and a couple of people asked me, have you ever taught chair yoga? And would you

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Tanya F: willing to teach chair yoga, and I said, absolutely, I've taught for many, many years, I've taught everything. So I would be happy to do that. And they said, well, we bet they won't let you teach it here.

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Tanya F: And I said, why not? And they said, well, because this community is real big on selling properties, and they're afraid. They've always said no to chair yoga in the past, because they're afraid that if people coming in to look at property

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Tanya F: see people in a class, a fitness class, seated on chairs, they'll think that old people live here. So they've said no, and my mouth dropped open, and I said, old people do live here. What are you talking about?

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Tanya F: This is the over 50, you know, 55 community. So I said, well, I'll ask. If they say no, that's all, you know, we'll just say no. So when I asked, I said, this is what I can bring, and…

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Tanya F: They said, okay, let's give it a try. Well, that was 3 years ago, and now my classes, I'm teaching 7 chair yoga classes a week.

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Tanya F: They're booked out over a month in advance, sold out, and it's really been an amazing process to see.

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Tanya F: the clients come from the beginning up till even present day. So, really, this, vitality that we want to have as we go into the last quarter century of our lives, it's just been a… it's been a lesson to me, really. And I say my students teach me so much.

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Tanya F: And that's really the basis of this chapter, is…

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Tanya F: really honoring our body, our vibrancy, no matter what age. I've had people come in age 30, right, that have injured an ankle or a knee.

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Tanya F: They're able to use the props and the chair as a prop, too, as an extension of their body, so they're getting the benefits of their practice.

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Tanya F: So it's just really learning to have that vibrancy, that energetic body that we all want to do for the rest of our lives. So that's kind of my chapter.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It's so amazing that you're offering this… the ability for people to have access to yoga. Yoga's so good for you in so many different ways, but just being able to move, and I… yeah, we're all getting older.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It… it just… It's happening.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: you can embrace it, or not. I have a dad who's 89 years old. He does Tai Chi every single day, and he's very active. In fact, he was just mentioning that his girlfriend, who's, like, 12 years younger than he is, is moving into an old folks' home.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And he refuses to go. He's just like, nope, I have to find another girlfriend. He's 89!

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Like, I can find another girlfriend next week.

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Tanya F: Well, it's really fascinating, because.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: What's that?

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Tanya F: then, really fun to come up with new ways to use the chair as a prop, and then to watch how these yogis… I mean, I have people in their middle to late 80s,

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Tanya F: that are taking the class, and they're doing a full tree pose, one leg, they're doing artificandrasana, half moon pose, one leg up on, you know, hand on a chair, and it's just…

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Tanya F: to see their confidence, right? Strength through balance, and…

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Tanya F: And then the other big part is really the connection, right? They're connecting with one another in these classes, and…

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Tanya F: the humor, that they, you know, I'll say something, and normally in a yoga class.

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Tanya F: It's pretty subdued. No one really says anything back.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Right.

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Tanya F: They've been fun. I mean, I'll say, you know, something is this… are you feeling this in your hamstring or something? And someone will say, I'm feeling it in my ASS. What are you talking about, you know?

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Tanya F: And, I mean, the whole room laughs, just cracks up and laughs, and it's that connection and bond that I think…

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Tanya F: They're really gaining a lot from supporting one another, and

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Tanya F: I mean, I watch them when they walk out of the class, and they're laughing, they're smiling, they're talking about, I didn't know I could do that. I mean, one of the most fascinating things, I had a lady in her 80s, who used to practice yoga years ago, and after class, she said, I haven't done that for over 30 years.

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Tanya F: I haven't done that move in over 30 years, so it's just, you know, it's inspiring. It's inspiring to me.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It's so amazing. It just… it allows people to have access to…

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: To practicing and to continue practicing without the stigma that sometimes comes from yoga classes, where you feel like.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Oh, God, everybody's so much better than I am, and I can't do that pose, because I look like a fish out of water.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It's just like, it can be so intimidating, but when you… when you're like, okay, we're just gonna go with the fact that we all need some help now and then, and we're not gonna make a big deal about it.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Chair yoga. You know, if you need the chair to sit on, sit on it. If you need the chair just to balance you, then just use it for balance. It's wherever you are, and it's your yoga practice. It doesn't have to look any particular way.

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Tanya F: Right, and it's really about nourishing your body, what you need, what your particular body needs. I've had other yogis come to take a class, and they'll… they'll say, you know, that class, the chair yoga class, is actually more difficult than the yoga class with the math.

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Tanya F: And… and just, you know, when you think about the plane that your body's moving on, where your hips and things, it's easier to get deeper into some hip-opening stretches people can do when they're standing or even sitting on the floor. So, it's not an easy workout, but really.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Yeah.

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Tanya F: They get the physical benefits, they get the spiritual respects, that time to tune inward, and like I say, just the sense of connection and community is pretty phenomenal.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I love that. It can go beyond just the yoga class. In a community like you live in, it's, like, in other areas, and people connect on different levels, and then it feels like, you know, you're coming home, and you're all doing this together, and it's fun, instead of, like.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: The chore that you have to do is you're supposed to go to your yoga class.

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Tanya F: Right, right. I mean, I really see it. I mean, they're in there waiting for me before I get there. I've never had a class where every spot's filled up, and they're waiting for 10, 5-10 minutes before I get there. They're ready to do it, and they're eager, and they've… I think they've really learned that it's nourishing their spirit as well as their body.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Do they know about your book that's coming out? The book that's coming out?

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Tanya F: Yeah, they're some of the biggest supporters, and yeah, it's really a fun, fun community to be a part of.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: That's awesome. So, if someone reads your chapter and feels called to… to take the next step with you, what would you want them to do?

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Tanya F: Oh, gosh. You know, I mean, first of all, just know that your body is your vessel. I want you to be able to use as many muscles, joints, and things as you can for your entire life.

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Tanya F: No matter what you perceive as your ability.

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Tanya F: I do teach chair yoga classes, I teach online as well as in person, I hold retreats.

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Tanya F: And I have combined yoga, yogis and chair yogis that have come to my retreats, and we… we connect and combine both chair practice as well as, using a mat.

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Tanya F: And then I'm also a mindfulness coach, so, practicing mindfulness and working, with private clients.

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Tanya F: And encouraging them to turn into meditation and more mindfulness practice in their body and their life.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So where do you do your retreats? Are they in Arizona?

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Tanya F: I've had a couple in Arizona, and I'm in the works of, planning them. I've got a couple really exotic places. I'm looking at hopefully going to Greece next year, and a couple different locations in Arizona.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Very nice, very nice. And you do…

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: teach some of these classes online? How does that work? How do people find you and…

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Tanya F: My website, we've done online classes via Zoom.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So…

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Tanya F: with group classes as well as private clients. Some of the folks in my community, they have friends or family members elsewhere, and they're like, you've got to come try these classes, and so they don't live here, but they've connected with me, and we can do private Zooms to do classes and work that way.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: That's awesome. Who would… who would be a candidate for something like that?

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Tanya F: everyone.

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Tanya F: You know, I mean, anybody who's curious, they want to move their body, maybe they're not comfortable going to a gym or a class or something where it's organized in their community, maybe they want a little more personalized focus on things that

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Tanya F: need attention with their body, and I think just anybody who, really wants to live a vibrant life, whether you're

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Tanya F: in a wheelchair, whether you're able to get up and run, you know, a 5K, whatever it is, really just…

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Tanya F: wanting to be the best in your body, and feel good, and move freely, breathe freely, and, you know, really find that sense of peace, a place to come that you can be centered, have peace no matter what's going on in the world around you. Had a lady in a class yesterday, she

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Tanya F: in class made the comment, oh, the golden years. No one told me the golden years would just be so awful. They, you know, the body…

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Tanya F: changing and doesn't do things, and hurts, and all that, and you know, the idea really is to have anybody, everybody feel good in their body, or as much as possible, right? So that every year is a golden year, every moment's a golden.

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Tanya F: Bodies change, so that's okay. You know, it's really okay that our bodies change and we have to adapt, but the idea is to be as vibrant as we can, and healthy and happy.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I think going into community classes of other people that are sort of in your age range, rather than going to a local gym where there's

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: There's a range of people, and a lot of them are younger, and we're just like…

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I'm showing up, but I'm feeling weird, because, you know, you don't really fit in

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Among, like, a bunch of 20-year-olds when you're in your 60s.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: But going to classes where

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: the… predominantly, everybody is pretty much in the same state. Like, a yoga class that's mostly older people, you're gonna feel more comfortable just trying things and doing things, that you might feel a little…

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: well, I'll just say me personally. I feel a little weird when I go to a yoga class, and there's a bunch of 20-somethings around, and I'm over there in the corner.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Looking weird.

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Tanya F: Well, yeah, and I think that's very common, right? And it's a deterrent for a lot of people. They don't, you know, they'll put off, they won't do it. And I'll even flip-side it. I've gone to take classes where I'm with those 20 and, you know, 20-somethings.

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Tanya F: I know, they kind of look, and they're like, well, what's this woman gonna do? You know, what's her practice gonna be? And… and, you know, the thing is, I've learned my practice is so different now, as I'm getting older.

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Tanya F: than when I was in my late 20s and my 30s. Yes, I had a beautiful asana practice. I could move my body in twists and, you know, headstands and things that were incredible, but my practice right now is so much richer

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Tanya F: than it was then. And, so sometimes I've even taken those classes, and you'll kind of… I notice they'll kind of look and say, oh my gosh, you know, she's not young, but she's doing this, you know? And I think, as an instructor, when I've taught classes of varied ages.

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Tanya F: What really has been difficult is I've seen 20-somethings come to class that can't touch their toes.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Yeah.

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Tanya F: 20-somethings that have

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Tanya F: very little flexibility, and that breaks my heart, because I think, oh my gosh, what's it going to be like if they're not doing something

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Tanya F: like this practice now in another 40 or 50 years. I mean, so it kind of works on the pendulum, you know, both ways.

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Tanya F: And I think just having this richer idea, knowledge of what the practice is now, and what it entails, it's not just about touching your toes, they say it's about the journey to touch your toes, right? And so, that's what's really beautiful now.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Yeah, that is… that is really beautiful, and it's…

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I think that kind of goes along all of life. When we talk about a sacred redesign, it's redesigning the world to

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Accommodate the reality that we wish to live in, rather than the reality that we've been told we're supposed to want.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And I like that for everyone.

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Tanya F: need to redesign, right? It's… they say we're never too old to start something, and I think what I've learned from living here

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Tanya F: The folks that stay active, not just physically active, meaning exercising, going to the gym, but the ones that stay with their minds active.

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Tanya F: And that are willing, you know, to drive home a different way, go home around a different block, that, you know, will sit in a different spot in a class. You know, we always have our favorite place when we come, but I've seen those that are willing to.

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Tanya F: go out of their comfort zone, right, and expand and be expansive.

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Tanya F: Just the vibrancy is so different, and

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Tanya F: they're more interested in life, and really, they're more interesting, right? And so I think just having that… you know, we're all awkward. We're all awkward at different times, and… and so it's just really being okay with that, and, you know.

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Tanya F: I… what I love is I've seen the folks here just be willing to accept, hey, I'm gonna have my hand on the chair today for this pose, and 6 months later, they're not even touching the chair.

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Tanya F: you know, their hand's way off, and they're not even using it as a prop. So, I think it's just really,

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Tanya F: Amazing to watch and be a part of that.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I love that. I love that you're doing this. I…

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I just think the whole thing is so beautiful.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So, how do people get in touch with you if they want to,

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Connect with you, or take part in a class.

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Tanya F: They can contact me via my website, tanyafaction.offeringtree.com, and you have that listed for them. They can also reach out to me via email, it's yoga, Y-O-G-A-B-Y, by Tanya, T-A-N-Y-A, at yahoo.com.

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Tanya F: And they can contact me that way, as well.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: That's awesome.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Thank you so much for joining me.

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Tanya F: Thank you for having me, and good luck with the book launch. It's gonna be a blast on Friday. It's a lot of fun.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It is, and we encourage everyone to go to heartlifecoach.com forward slash sacred design to purchase your copy of the book Sacred Design, and it will be for 99 cents, and

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: it starts at 9am Eastern, I believe? And if you go to that link, which I will also put in the show notes,

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: at or after 9 a.m. Eastern on September 12th, Friday, that heartlifecoach.com forward slash sacred design will work. If you go there beforehand, it will not work, it will not go anywhere.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So just everybody, if you could just go on Friday and, purchase the book. It supports all of the contributors to the book, and it helps

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: everybody else would be able to find the book later on, because there's so many wonderful chapters in there that will really help you to create a better life for yourself and redesign it. And it's never too late

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: To start a new chapter, right?

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Tanya F: For sure.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: To connect with Tanya, be sure to visit her website, tanya…

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: fagaton.offeringtree.com and visit heartlifecoach.com forward slash sacred design to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have a podcast or you're interested in starting one to get your message in front of our huge, inactive audience, be sure to reach out to us at support at heartlifecoach.com. We love to help spiritual entrepreneurs and coaches amplify their voice and monetize their mission, and offer a variety of ways to do this using Substack.

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Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Join us for our next episode as we share what others are doing to raise the global frequency, and remember, change begins with you. You have all the power to change the world. Start today and get visible.