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The Inner Practice-Stories of Healing from the Yoga mat into Life
Real people. Real stories. Real healing.
The Inner Practice Podcast shares heartfelt journeys from the yoga mat—authentic stories of presence, practice, and personal transformation. Through honest, emotional conversations, host Jackie Vandertuin explores how the healing power of yoga reaches far beyond physical poses, touching everyday life in meaningful and unexpected ways.
Each episode dives into real experiences of pain, anxiety, grief, resilience, and growth—revealing how yoga, mindfulness, and breathwork can become tools for grounding, strength, and hope. These are stories of becoming: stories that remind us that healing is possible, transformation is real, and no one walks this journey alone.
Join Jackie as she connects with guests who share powerful narratives of struggle turning into insight, suffering turning into strength, and everyday practice turning into deep personal awakening. Discover how lessons learned on the yoga mat translate into life—building resilience, emotional wellbeing, and a path back to the self.
May these stories remind you that hope exists. May they help you feel rooted, supported, and empowered to continue your own healing journey.
Yoga is more than movement—it’s a way of life that can change you forever.
About the Host:
Jackie Vandertuin, MSc, CAT(C), is a certified Athletic Therapist, professor, and student yoga therapist. Her personal journey with yoga began as simple exercise but quickly became a lifeline during a period of anxiety and depression. Yoga continues to be her anchor and her healing modality of choice.
Learn more at jackievandertuintherapy.com
Follow on Instagram: @jackie_vandertuin_therapy
The Inner Practice-Stories of Healing from the Yoga mat into Life
S1 E13: Breath by Breath: Healing Chronic Illness Through Yoga, Pranayama & Self-Compassion with Amanda Halls
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In this episode, athletic therapist and yoga teacher Amanda Halls shares her powerful journey of navigating chronic illness and rediscovering her identity through yoga, Pranayama, and self-compassion.
Amanda first encountered yoga at fourteen, learning from a family who lived their yoga—teaching her early lessons about spirituality, connection, and embodied wisdom. Her path led her into Athletic Therapy, where she worked with high-performance athletes, Field Hockey Canada, box lacrosse teams, and spent 14 years at Sheridan College.
But when a chronic neurological disorder suddenly changed her ability to move, breathe, and speak, Amanda was forced into a profound transformation. What followed was a journey of loss, resilience, and rebuilding her relationship with her body.
Through breathwork, yoga philosophy, and learning to listen to her body, Amanda found new ways to regulate her nervous system, reclaim her breath, and redefine what healing means.
In this episode, you’ll learn about:
- Early spiritual influences and what it means to live your yoga
- The realities of chronic illness and invisible disability
- How Pranayama can support breath regulation and diaphragm dysfunction
- Using yoga and breathwork to navigate grief, identity loss, and self-doubt
- Moving from helping others to learning how to heal yourself
- Finding resilience, meaning, and connection on the hardest days
Amanda’s story offers hope for anyone living with chronic pain, invisible illness, or the sense of losing who they once were. Her wisdom reminds us that healing isn’t returning to the past — it’s becoming who we’re meant to be, breath by breath.
Amanda's wisdom shines through in this podcast asking important questions for herself, but also questions that we can reflect on.
🌿 Recommended Books + Resources
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön •
Paths To God by Ram Dass •
Women Who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés •
The Alter Within by Juliet Diaz •
All About Love by bell hooks •
Knowing by Tanya Talaga •
We Were Made for These Times by Kaira Jewel Lingo •
Workbooks:
Sacred Powers by Davidji •
The Desire Map by Danielle Laporte
To find out more information about Amanda:
IG: @therebornalchemist
therebornalchemist.ca
If you enjoyed this show, make sure you like, subscribe, follow and download the episode or simply leave a comment. I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your thoughts, episode ideas or simply to say "hello"!
This episode is sponsored by Jackie Vandertuin Therapy. With over 30 years of practice as a Certified Athletic Therapist and professor of Athletic Therapy, coupled with her experience as a yoga therapist, Jackie Vandertuin MSc, CAT(C), will help guide you in the management and treatment of various disorders including: low back pain, sprains, strains, anxiety and depression. Reach out www.jackievandertuintherapy.com for a free discovery call.
If would like to be a guest of this podcast, please reach out to jackie@jackievandertuintherapy with a short bio of your story and how yoga has helped you in your journey of healing.
If you are interested in sponsoring an episode or this podcast, reach out to Jackie Vandertuin at jackie@jackievandertuintherapy.com.
Stay in touch at:
Website: https://www.jackievandertuintherapy.com
Instagram: jackie_vandertuin_therapy
Facebook: Jackie Vandertuin Therapy
To support the show, feel free to buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/theinnerpractice
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