Devotional Practices, An interview with Tracee Stanley on Accessible Yoga Podcast with Jivana Heyman

In this episode, Jivana sits down with Tracee Stanley, author of the newly released book Living Ritual: Infuse Each Day with Purpose and Spirit. Tracee shares how she treated the writing of the book itself as a ritual and shares how practicing Bhakti Yoga through chants, mantras, and mental puja (manas puja) blossomed her personal practice. Together, Jivana and Tracee talk about the devotional aspect at the heart of the yoga tradition and why contemporary yoga has drifted away from Bhakti Yoga and devotional practice.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana chats with co-host Deanna Michalopoulos about his conversation with Tracee, including the idea that devotion does not have to be directed at a guru and can instead be offered to nature or to the small acts of daily life. They dig into mindfulness and pratyahara, the practice of consciously choosing where to place attention, and how ordinary moments can become rituals when done with awareness.

Topics include:

• The difference between performative ritual and internal or mental puja

• Reclaiming one's senses via Yoga Nidra is presented as a vital strategy against constant digital stimulation

• Simple ways to bring devotion into a yoga practice

• The risks outsourcing all spiritual knowing and devotion to an external authority or guru figure

• Pratyahara and the practice of making conscious choices about attention

• Turning daily habits like doing dishes or drinking coffee into small acts of ritual

Get your copy of Living Ritual today!