
183.8K
Downloads
313
Episodes
Hi, my name is Ava and I’m delighted to offer you “Functional Spirituality”, a free resource of talks, trainings and guided meditations. I use an academic approach to invite critical thinking into energetic, mystical and heart-based practices. Spirituality has a history of disempowering the individual and worshiping the guru or priest, without question. In this podcast, I aim to reduce the dogma that has rendered so many schools and practices ineffective - (and strange AF) - and to elevate the conversation around spirituality. I want to EMPOWER the meditator and yogi, to place the power back in our hands, to live directly from our own experience. I hope you enjoy! For Q&A questions, topic suggestions email Ava at functionalspiritualityretreat@gmail.com Visit www.functionalspirituality.com Follow us @FunctionalSpirituality or @avairani_ and our Yoga Studio at @spandaschool
Episodes

Monday Aug 21, 2023
The universe does not have your back - Part 1
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Welcome to this mini series where Ava will talk about manifestation.
Manifestation is a tempting and attractive topic. There are many schools and practices around it. However, not all of these practices can be as effective as we wish them to be.
We can end up spending many years following the wrong practice and losing motivation.
In this series Ava shares with you what has worked and hasn’t worked for her in the last 10+ years of practicing manifestation.
Chapter markers:
00:00 Introduction to the topic
3:30 The imbalance in the culture of speediness
5:00 The intention of this podcast episode and Functional Spirituality
7:11 Ava’s current experience with manifestation and how she started this practice
9:33 A quick overview of the main practices around manifestation
15:08 Wasting years learning and following the wrong practice can lead to losing motivation
19:00 Thank you for listening, stay tuned for part 2 of this series which will be released next week!
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness:
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimize your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool

Monday Aug 14, 2023
Guided meditation: Returning to the centre of your being
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Join Ava Irani for this guided meditation with music. Lightly guided with lots of space, you are invited to drop into your body, your centre and your presence. The perfect way to find inner connection and unravel the tensions before you start the week.
If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your account so you have access to this practice with one click.
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimise your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool

Monday Aug 07, 2023
4 Stages of Spiritual Seeking
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Recommended links:
- History of Hatha Yoga Course
- History of Hatha Yoga podcast episode
- “The Ancient and Modern Roots of Yoga” by Mark Singleton
Chapter markers:
00:00 Introduction
3:15 The four phases of a spiritual path
4:20 Ava’s spiritual journey
8:28 Phase II
14:59 Phase III and the importance of questioning
17:07 Becoming a teacher (phase IV)
20:40 Let us know about what you think of this episode
21:00 Leave us a review on the Apple podcast and win a FREE History of Hatha Yoga Course
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness:
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimise your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool

Monday Jul 31, 2023
Guided meditation: Relaxing your body into stillness
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Enjoy this 40minute meditation with Ava as she guides you to soften the layers of tensions of your body, mind and emotions.
Explore the present moment from a deep embodied awareness and feel the expansive effects of this powerful practice.
If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your account so you have access to this practice with one click.
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimise your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool

Monday Jul 24, 2023
How to integrate after retreat
Monday Jul 24, 2023
Monday Jul 24, 2023
A journaling exercise to up level at any time.
In this episode Ava shares tips, journal prompts and three ingredients that will help us integrate the retreat experience in our daily lives.
These journal prompts can also be applied when you want to go deeper into a practice and harness the effects after a powerful experience.
Relevant links:
Chapter markers:
00:00 Introduction to the topic
2:10 The three ingredients that will help us integrate the retreat experience in our daily lives
3:20 The ‘I don’t have enough time’ mentality
8:08 The importance of having a journaling practice and working retrospectively
9:55 Willpower is a finite resource, so what do we need?
11:08 Journaling prompts
14:00 Creating a structure
17:07 Looking at our capacity
18:10 Thank you for listening and visit our podcast page to review the journal prompts
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness:
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimize your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool

Monday Jul 17, 2023
Guided meditation: Breath awareness
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Monday Jul 17, 2023
If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your Spotify so you have access to this practice with one click"
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimise your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool

Monday Jul 10, 2023
Yoga and Mental Health
Monday Jul 10, 2023
Monday Jul 10, 2023
The 100hr Yoga for Mental Health Teacher Training is back!
Join with our discount code: AVA50 and support students experiencing mental health challenges with compassion, confidence, and skill.
Visit this link for more details about the training.
Repurposed episode:
Ava and Deniz explore the importance of educating yoga teachers in mental health, as they answer these questions: Why do people come to yoga? When is cueing not mental health aware? What is the antidote to this?
About our guest: Deniz Aydoslu is a self-care coach, senior yoga and meditation teacher, somatic educator, and an expert in the therapeutic application of embodied movement systems for emotional health.
Relevant links:
Chapter markers:
00:00 Introduction
2:35 Who is Deniz Aydoslu?
8:30 The time when Ava and Deniz met
10:20 The importance of educating yoga teachers in mental health
13:00 Training offering & mental health in old-school yoga
17:00 What inspired Deniz to create this training?
18:45 When is cueing not mental health aware?
24:00 What is the antidote to this?
26:25 What is included in the training?

Monday Jul 03, 2023
Guided meditation: Gratitude and abundance
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
The energy of gratitude that expands through the heart allows us to open ourselves to receive more.
Give yourself the opportunity to relax, receive the universal energy of abundance and observe your life, mind and body transform.
If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your account so you have access to this practice with one click.
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimise your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool

Monday Jun 26, 2023
Crying in Loving Arms
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Monday Jun 26, 2023
In this episode, Ava shares about one of the greatest gifts that she has received from having baby Jasmine.
After exploring the two most common parenting styles, she has come across a third way of parenting. An empowering approach that has helped her reframe the way she holds space for herself, Jasmine and others when they experience emotion.
Listen in to learn about Aware Parenting and how this can be helpful for both your parenting and relational journeys.
Chapter markers:
00:00 Introduction to the topic and context
02:39 The two most common parenting styles
4:40 When Jasmine was born and Ava’s observations on these approaches
8:58 The third way: Aware parenting
13:40 Crying in loving arms
16:13 How this helped Ava reframe the way she holds space for others
19:20 Why is this such a beneficial paradigm?
22:48 Have you tried this approach? Keen to hear your thoughts. Thank you for listening.
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness:
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimize your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool

Monday Jun 19, 2023
Guided meditation: Using the breath to relax your body
Monday Jun 19, 2023
Monday Jun 19, 2023
Need some time to rest and relax?
Then listen to this meditation where Anaid guides you to use the breath to relax your body and mind.
Feel the invitation to rest in a deeper state of ease and joy.
If you enjoy this audio you can save the link somewhere in your phone, or make a playlist for it on your Spotify so you have access to this practice with one click"
To join our free weekly group meditations message us or visit @functionalspirituality
Increasing accessibility to functional healing + non-dual spiritual oneness.
www.functionalspirituality.com
Free resources:
A monthly update for me on new offers and the energy of the month.
Join the Functional Spirituality Group and enjoy a free resource for meditators and yogis to connect to and enjoy a like-minded community.
Free workshop: Healing complex trauma:
A free workshop on how to optimise your spiritual practice and your daily life by understanding complex trauma.
Connect on Socials
Where you can hear from us in daily life
Personal account: @avairani_
Functional Spirituality: @functionalspirituality
Studio: @spandaschool