Yoga, Ayurveda & Somatic Wisdom for Modern Life

Maxi Meissner
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Alternative Health

Are you someone with a full life who has genuinely tried a lot - different practices, different approaches, different ways of feeling better - and still find yourself wondering why something isn't quite landing? Or maybe you're a yoga practitioner or teacher who loves the mat, and is starting to sense there's a deeper layer waiting: in Ayurveda, in nervous system work, in understanding what's actually happening underneath the poses? This podcast lives at that intersection. I'm Maxi Meissner -  yoga teacher, Ayurveda counselor, nervous system coach, and PhD in medical sciences. My work draws on 20+ years of Ashtanga yoga and Ayurveda practice, Somatic Experiencing training, and years of biomedical research. What fascinates me - and what this podcast is really about - is that ancient Vedic wisdom and modern nervous system science are often describing the same thing. Just in different language. And when you start to understand both, something clicks. Here we go beyond quick fixes and surface-level wellness. We talk honestly about rhythm, regulation, and what it means to digest life - not just food, but experiences, stress, change, and everything in between. About why knowing what helps isn't always enough. And about how real, lasting change tends to be quieter, slower, and kinder than we've been told. No rigid rules. No performing wellness. Just grounded conversations where science, lived experience, and ancient wisdom sit comfortably at the same table. Episodes are in English and Dutch - because language, like healing, is personal. Welcome. I'm glad you're here. More of my work lives at www.maximeissner.nl.  Come say hello on Instagram @maximeissner or LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/maximeissner.

Episodes

  1. From the Inside Out #2: The Gap Between Insight and Change

    4d ago

    From the Inside Out #2: The Gap Between Insight and Change

    You've probably read the books. Listened to the podcasts. Done the research. You understand your patterns, your attachment style, your dosha - maybe better than most people understand theirs. And yet something still hasn't quite shifted. This episode explores one of the most common, and least visible,  gaps in the healing process: The gap between insight and change. Between knowing something intellectually and actually living it or experiencing life differently. Between understanding your nervous system and feeling it settle. It makes complete sense that we reach for information when things feel hard. Knowledge gives us a sense of agency, a feeling of "I know what this is now." And that's not nothing! Cognitive understanding genuinely matters. But it has a ceiling. And for many people, that ceiling is exactly where they're stuck. In this episode I explore why, drawing on the Vedic framework of hearing, contemplating and integrating, and on what nervous system science helps us understand about why the autonomic nervous system doesn't respond to information alone. I also talk about intellectualisation as one of the most sophisticated ways we stay at a distance from what actually needs to shift, and what it looks like when knowledge finally drops from the head into the body. This is the second episode in the mini-series From the Inside Out: On the body, the nervous system, and what creates lasting change. Each episode takes one common approach and looks honestly at what it can and can't reach. This one is for you if you've ever felt like you understand everything and somehow still feel the same. More of my work lives at www.maximeissner.nl Come say hello on: Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/maximeissner/or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximeissner/

    23 min
  2. From the Inside Out #1: What Keeps Us Stuck - Even When We're Trying

    Jun 1

    From the Inside Out #1: What Keeps Us Stuck - Even When We're Trying

    Maybe you've already tried a lot. The therapy, the supplements, the morning routine, the retreat that felt transformative - for a bit.. Maybe you're functioning well on the outside and running on empty on the inside. Or you simply have the quiet sense that something still isn't quite landing - despite everything you've already done. This episode opens a new mini-series: From the Inside Out. A mini-series on the body, the nervous system and what creates lasting change Not to dismiss what you've tried. Not to add more to your list. But to look honestly at what actually keeps us stuck, even when we're genuinely trying. And to understand what's going on at the level underneath. Over the coming episodes we'll explore some of the most common things people reach for with the best intentions and why they often don't create the lasting change we're hoping for. From information and talk therapy to supplements, biometric tracking, intermittent relief and approaches that rely on force and restriction. Each one gets its own episode, with real attention and without quick dismissal. This first episode lays the foundation - including a brief introduction to the autonomic nervous system, neuroception, and why in a culture so oriented toward speed, optimisation and quick fixes, we've learned to work almost exclusively with one side of the mind-body conversation. This series is for you if you're tired of trying hard and still feeling stuck. And ready for an approach that actually reaches the level where the issue lives. More of my work lives at www.maximeissner.nl Come say hello on: Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/maximeissner/or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximeissner/

    21 min
  3. You Were Never Actually on Trial: For anyone who has ever felt like they had to earn their place

    May 18

    You Were Never Actually on Trial: For anyone who has ever felt like they had to earn their place

    This episode runs 50 minutes - grab a tea. Maybe you know the feeling of working hard to be believed. Of achieving a lot and still waiting, somewhere underneath, to be found out. Of freezing exactly when you most want to speak up. In this episode I share something personal - more personal than I usually go. I talk about being born two months premature, what the doctors told my mother, and the math sessions that followed. And I talk about what my nervous system was actually doing in those moments - and how that pattern travelled with me for decades, through relationships, work, sports and all parts of life. This episode is also an introduction to Somatic Experiencing - what it is, why the name puts people off and what it actually is. A little bit of theory and also lived experience. Including what shifted for me from the very first session, and why I still go regularly - sometimes without knowing what to actually bring, as nothing feels urgent - and am still amazed at the doors that keep opening. Doors I didn't even know were shut. I also talk about the difference between freeze and overactivation - and why they so often live in the same person. About fawn. About why yoga, as much as it has supported me deeply over twenty years, couldn't reach certain layers on its own. And about what it means to work with the body rather than just the mind - without willpower, without quick fixes, without yet another thing to figure out. This one is for you if you recognise that quiet exhaustion of always being on trial with yourself. And if you've ever wondered why knowing something isn't the same as embodying it. More of my work lives at www.maximeissner.nl  Come say hello on: Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/maximeissner/ or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximeissner/

    56 min
  4. Ashtanga Yoga: Thuiskomen in je lichaam (Nederlands)

    May 11

    Ashtanga Yoga: Thuiskomen in je lichaam (Nederlands)

    Aflevering 4 - en de eerste in het Nederlands. Ashtanga yoga als oefening in ritme, veiligheid en innerlijk leven Sommige afleveringen van deze podcast zijn in het Engels, sommige in het Nederlands... en dit is de eerste Nederlandse. Aflevering 3 gaat ook over Ashtanga yoga, maar dan in het Engels. Dit zijn geen vertalingen van elkaar. Elke aflevering heeft zijn eigen leven, zijn eigen verhaal, zijn eigen ingang. Dit is de mijne - in het Nederlands. En misschien hoor je aan mijn stem dat het nog iets betekent voor mij om mijn werk in het Nederlands te delen. Dat is ook zo… er zit wat spanning in mijn stem en een kleine zoektocht - en dat mag er ook zijn. Dit moet niet weg, en ik laat me daar niet door tegenhouden. Deze aflevering begint met een herinnering. Het is 2004. Ik woon in Columbus, Ohio. Mijn toenmalige vriend beoefent Ashtanga yoga - en ik ben er behoorlijk sceptisch over. Yoga is voor mensen in een midlifecrisis, denk ik. Zeker niet voor mij. Hij blijft het zeggen, elke keer met die rustige glimlach: Je moet het gewoon zelf proberen. En dan sta ik er toch. Tien mensen. Twee rijen van vijf, tegenover elkaar. De openingsmantra begint en ik denk letterlijk: Waar ben ik terechtgekomen? Wat er daarna gebeurde, heeft twintig jaar van mijn leven bepaald. Na twintig jaar beoefenen en zestien jaar lesgeven heb ik veel te zeggen over deze praktijk. Toch heb ik mezelf moeten inhouden - er zijn draden in dit gesprek die in toekomstige afleveringen verder worden uitgerold. Maar wat er in deze aflevering zit, gaat diep. En ik hoop dat je dat voelt als je luistert. Of je nu al jaren Ashtanga beoefent, er altijd nieuwsgierig naar was, of altijd hebt gedacht dat het vast niets voor jou is - deze aflevering is voor jou. Wat je in deze aflevering vindt: Wat Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga eigenlijk is - en waarom Ashtanga Mysore-stijl zo fundamenteel anders is dan een gewone yogalesWaarom ritme en herhaling niet saai zijn - maar werkelijk regulerend voor je zenuwstelselWaarom het vertrouwde van de reeks precies is wat het zenuwstelsel laat settelen - en iets diepers laat opengaanWat de kwaliteit van aanwezigheid van een leraar doet in de ruimteWat het betekent om ruimte te houden zonder hiërarchieWaarom verbinding boven correctie alles verandertEn wat ik na zestien jaar lesgeven blijf zien bij mensen - wat me elke keer opnieuw raaktAshtanga heeft de reputatie een praktijk te zijn voor sterke, jonge, soepele lichamen. Ik begrijp waar dat beeld vandaan komt - maar het klopt niet. In zestien jaar lesgeven heb ik mensen van zeventig zien beginnen, mensen met chronische pijn, met lichamelijke beperkingen, met een vermoeidheid die veel dieper ging dan fysiek.  De praktijk is veel rijker en veelzijdiger dan het imago. Er zijn zoveel manieren om te oefenen, zoveel manieren om de reeks te ontmoeten - aangepast aan jouw lichaam, jouw energie, jouw seizoen van het leven. Alle lichamen. Alle leeftijden. Alle niveaus. De deur staat echt open. Benieuwd wat je kunt verwachten van je eerste les? Bekijk de reel waar ik het uitleg hier: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DA8VxQbNvl6/ Meer over het Ashtanga Mysore-programma bij Bhumi Yoga in Groningen vind je hier: https://www.maximeissner.nl/ashtanga-yoga-groningen Say hello op Instagram via @maximeissner of op LinkedIn via linkedin.com/in/maximeissner

    55 min
  5. Coming Home to Your Body - Ashtanga Yoga as a Practice of Rhythm, Safety and Inner Awareness

    May 4

    Coming Home to Your Body - Ashtanga Yoga as a Practice of Rhythm, Safety and Inner Awareness

    This episode is one of my favourites so far - and honestly, one I've been wanting to record for a long time. Twenty years of practicing Ashtanga, fifteen years of teaching it. There is so much I love about this practice and so much I wanted to share. The passion probably shows. And there is still so much more to explore - so yes, more episodes herein are coming. (Tip: this one works well at 1.25x speed 😊) Whether you've been practicing Ashtanga for years, are quietly curious about it, or have always assumed it probably wasn't for you - this episode has something for you. Maybe you're a long-term practitioner who wants to go deeper into why this practice does what it does. Maybe you've been curious but weren't sure where you'd fit, or whether your body was the right kind of body for it. Or maybe you've encountered Ashtanga and something felt off - a culture of performance, a sense that you were never quite getting it right. This episode is my answer to all of that. There is so much in here. What Ashtanga actually is, and why Mysore-style practice is so fundamentally different from a yoga class.Why it's the very familiarity of the sequence that lets the nervous system settle - and something deeper open up.What makes this practice such a reliable anchor for the nervous system.The quality of attention a teacher brings into the room.What it means to hold space without hierarchy.Why collaboration over correction changes the dynamic entirely.And what I keep witnessing in people after fifteen years of teaching this - which still moves me every time.And so much more...My enthusiasm for this practice probably comes through. I make no apology for that - and yes, there will definitely be more episodes diving into the threads I only touched on here. There is still so much to unpack and explore about Ashtanga. If you're: curious about what to expect from your first class, I put together a short reel herethinking you need to know anything or be able to do anything prior to your first Ashtanga Mysore Yoga class, here it's me reassuring you that you really don't need to know anything nor be able to do anything  more of me talking to the camera about Ashtanga Mysore Yoga here. And if you want to know more about our Ashtanga Yoga program itself, you can find all the details about our Ashtanga Mysore program here: https://www.maximeissner.nl/ashtanga-yoga-groningen All bodies. All levels. All ages. The door is genuinely open. More of my work lives at www.maximeissner.nl. Come say hello on Instagram here or on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/maximeissner

    1h 22m

  6. Apr 27

    The Doing Was the Sedation - and Why Nothing Quite Lands

    Maybe you wake up already overwhelmed before the day has even begun. Maybe you're functioning well on the outside but there's a quiet voice underneath asking: is this really all there is? Maybe you've tried a lot of things - and they helped, a little, for a while - but something still isn't quite landing. In this episode, I go into the heart of why I work the way I do - bringing together yoga, Ayurveda, and nervous system work - and why so many people are still struggling even after trying a lot of things. I talk about what I keep seeing in the people I work with: That the symptoms that seem separate - in their digestion, hormones, restless mind, exhaustion - are often different expressions of the same underlying pattern. A nervous system that has lost its rhythm. A body that has been running on override for too long. I also share more of my own story. The part I didn't talk about much in episode 1 - what it actually felt like from the inside to achieve a lot while feeling disconnected. And what I mean when I say that the doing was the sedation. And I talk about something that still genuinely fascinates me: That Ayurveda and modern science are, in many ways, looking at the same thing - just in different language. This episode is for you if you've ever felt like you're doing everything right and still not quite landing. And if you've ever wondered why. It's also for yoga practitioners and teachers who sense there's a deeper layer available - in their own practice, and in the way they hold space for others. And a few annoouncements: Capacity Coaching - 3 spots opening in May If something in this episode resonated, you might be curious about working together more deeply. Three spots are opening up in my 6-month Capacity Coaching trajectory this May - a nervous system-based, integrative approach that brings together Ayurveda, somatic work, and yoga. It always begins with an Initial Ayurveda Health Consultation. A free call beforehand is always welcome. You can read more and reach at: https://www.maximeissner.nl/coaching Ashtanga Yoga & Ayurveda Retreat - Twente (NL), 28–31 May Two spots are still available for my 4-day retreat in the serene countryside of Twente at the end of this month. Past participants often describe it as a genuine reset - a few days to slow down, practice, and reconnect with yourself. We practice Ashtanga yoga, weave in Ayurvedic rhythm, and eat well together - think nourishing food, good company, and yes, desserts too. No restriction, no rigidity. Just a few days of being taken care of. More information at: https://www.maximeissner.nl/retreats. Summer Special - Ashtanga Gateway at Yoga Kula Emden (GER), 21–23 September And looking a little further ahead: this August I'll be hosting a special weekend retreat at Yoga Kula in Emden, Germany called "Anchored Within: Ashtanga Yoga Weekend for Body and Soul." A weekend to deepen your practice, settle into your body, and find that particular stillness that only comes from a few days away from ordinary life. More details and registration at: https://www.maximeissner.nl/ashtanga-yoga-weekend-emden-august-21-23 More of my work lives at www.maximeissner.nl. Come say hello on Instagram here or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximeissner/

    1h 7m

  7. Apr 20

    Welcome - This Is Where It Begins

    Welcome. I'm so glad you're here. This first episode is an honest introduction: Who I am, what I do  and why this podcast has been quietly waiting to begin for longer than I'd like to admit. I share a little about my path - from growing up in East Germany to becoming a world champion rower at 17, through years in medical science, psychology and research, to twenty-plus years of Ashtanga yoga, Ayurveda and nervous system work. And the part that maybe matters most: What I learned from my own journey through striving, disconnection, overgiving and finding my way back to myself. What I've come to believe, and what this podcast is built around, is that the missing piece is almost never more effort or more information. It's something quieter. Safety felt in the body, not just understood in the mind. Rhythm. A real sense of coming home to yourself. In Ashtanga, in Ayurveda, in coaching - the thread is always the same: Working with your system, not against it. That's what I care about, and that's what we'll keep coming back to here. Whether you've tried a lot and something still isn't quite landing, or you're a yoga practitioner quietly curious about what lies beneath the practice - I think you might find something here. More of my work lives at www.maximeissner.nl.  Come say hello on Instagram here or LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximeissner/

    48 min
  • 7 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Are you someone with a full life who has genuinely tried a lot - different practices, different approaches, different ways of feeling better - and still find yourself wondering why something isn't quite landing? Or maybe you're a yoga practitioner or teacher who loves the mat, and is starting to sense there's a deeper layer waiting: in Ayurveda, in nervous system work, in understanding what's actually happening underneath the poses? This podcast lives at that intersection. I'm Maxi Meissner -  yoga teacher, Ayurveda counselor, nervous system coach, and PhD in medical sciences. My work draws on 20+ years of Ashtanga yoga and Ayurveda practice, Somatic Experiencing training, and years of biomedical research. What fascinates me - and what this podcast is really about - is that ancient Vedic wisdom and modern nervous system science are often describing the same thing. Just in different language. And when you start to understand both, something clicks. Here we go beyond quick fixes and surface-level wellness. We talk honestly about rhythm, regulation, and what it means to digest life - not just food, but experiences, stress, change, and everything in between. About why knowing what helps isn't always enough. And about how real, lasting change tends to be quieter, slower, and kinder than we've been told. No rigid rules. No performing wellness. Just grounded conversations where science, lived experience, and ancient wisdom sit comfortably at the same table. Episodes are in English and Dutch - because language, like healing, is personal. Welcome. I'm glad you're here. More of my work lives at www.maximeissner.nl.  Come say hello on Instagram @maximeissner or LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/maximeissner.

Information

  • Creator
    Maxi Meissner
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Yoga, Ayurveda & Somatic Wisdom for Modern Life