What if aging isn't a problem to solve but a feature of being human? What if what's falling apart is doing exactly what it's meant to do?

Sarah Jessop is a dear friend, fellow mariner, Yoga teacher, artist, and mystic based in Witchcliff, Western Australia. She's been coming to Bali since she was 21, when she first left Australia with a little bit of money and no idea what she was in for. We talk about what it means to be welcomed into a living culture, the ways tourists sometimes misunderstand Bali, and how Balinese society holds itself together through invisible threads of connection.

Sarah speaks so honestly about what it's been like to age, to shift from student to teacher, to feel the tug between visibility and invisibility, and to stay true in the face of frog Yoga and downward dogs with goats. This one gets into the heartbreak and humor of being alive, being a woman, and remembering that life is already working, even in the compost pile.

Key Takeaways

Bali is a Living Culture – The Balinese aren't performing for tourists. They're living their culture, and we're being invited into it.

Ageing is Sacred – Watching the body change is confronting, but it's also part of how life keeps moving and renewing itself.

Breath is What People Really Want – When Yoga is centered in breath and simplicity, people feel the difference. They stay.

Self-Doubt Still Comes Up – Even seasoned teachers wonder if they'll be eclipsed by trendier offerings, but truth finds its people.

Everything is the Practice – Even the pain of losing what you thought you were is part of Yoga. It all belongs.

Life is a Recycling Program – We're made of star stuff, Einstein's hair, and dinosaur toenails. Nothing is ever lost.

Where to Find Our Guest

Sarah Jessop on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahjessopyoga 

Links & Resources

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

You're locked in a cell, in handcuffs, with no way out. Not just physically, but mentally too. That's where Sofie Chi found herself, and it's also where her daily Yoga truly began. In this conversation, Sofie speaks about being detained and how, in that moment of intense restriction, she turned to her breath and body. From within that birdcage-like balcony, she began participating in the given reality, and it changed everything.

Sofie is a teacher from Austria of Polish descent who travels the world sharing Facial Rejuvenation. Her story and presence bring deep clarity to the question of beauty, how it's been distorted by culture, and how Yoga reveals that we are the beauty itself. This episode moves through trauma, power structures, aging, sexuality, and what it means to be truly intimate with life. Sofie speaks from direct experience and with real humility. I'm grateful to walk this path alongside her.

Key Takeaways

Yoga in Crisis - True practice begins when there's no escape from mental and physical restriction.

The Body is the Cosmos - Real Yoga is participation in the beauty and unity of life itself.

Beauty Is Not Performance - We are not meant to chase beauty. We are it, inherently and already.

Aging with Integrity - Aging is not a decline but a return to natural wisdom and strength.

Sexuality as Presence - Intimacy begins with the breath, the body, and receptivity to life.

From Comparison to Compassion - We must unlearn the societal patterning that pits women against one another.

Where to Find Our Guest

Sofie Chi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starfaceyoga 

Links & Resources

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

Food is something we all have to engage with, and yet it carries so much confusion, control, and even fear. We sit with this theme of the Yoga of eating, the Yoga of food, and look at how our relationship with food shows our relationship with life itself.

We remembered Krishnamacharya's words that most Yoga problems are food problems. We talked about how simple meals in Bali surprised people with their ease and nourishment, and how the food culture in Sicily points us back to honest ingredients and natural ways of living. For us, eating is a sacred action, an offering to the fire of life within. It is the participation in what is already whole. Food is never about chasing happiness or perfection, it is about joining with life, directly and simply.

Key Takeaways

Food and Yoga – Eating is participation in life's nurturing force.

Simplicity – Honest ingredients and straightforward meals bring real nourishment.

Pleasure – Food is enjoyable, but deeper joy comes from intimacy with life.

Sacred Action – Eating can be seen as offering to the fire of digestion.

Cultural Habits – Food problems reflect our fears and patterns of control.

Ayurveda – Each person's constitution asks for a unique way of eating.

Links & Resources

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

Every mother is the first Guru, the one who transmits life to her children. My friend and Yogini Vivian Clemens shares how Yoga revealed to her that the nurturing force of reality was always within her. We speak of Yoga motherhood and the unity of existence. Vivian shares her own story of moving from fear and suffering into freedom through daily Yoga practice and how that change has shaped her daughters,  her teaching, and her way of being in the world.

Vivian lives in the German Alps where she teaches Yoga to her local community and online. She is co- translator into German of my book, Hridaya Yogasutra. We speak of bringing children into Yoga,  the grace of suffering, and the recognition that Yoga is participation in the nurturing force of the cosmos. This is a story of motherhood Yoga and the healing of generational pain through the direct experience of unity.

Key Takeaways

Yoga and Motherhood – The first Guru is the mother and children receive Yoga through her daily practice.

Generational Healing Through Yoga – Daily Yoga practice ends cycles of trauma and opens space for health and freedom.

The Grace of Suffering – Pain can be a powerful motive that brings sincerity to Yoga practice and real transformation.

Unity of Life – Yoga reveals that body, breath, and cosmos are one movement and that life itself is love.

The Nurturing Force of Reality – Each person is the Shakti, the mother force that cares for and sustains life.

Yoga as Community and Sharing – Teaching is the simple act of sharing practice and experience in family and in the local community.

Links & Resources

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

What happens when we understand the guru not as an identity but as the nurturing function of Mother Nature itself? The guru is the force of caring, the universal means of transmission that arises in real relationships. It is never a social status or a personal claim. It is no more than a friend and no less than a friend.

This talk explores how the word guru has been toxified in recent decades and how it can be purified again. The guru is not an authority figure but the natural current of friendship, affection, and Yoga shared between actual people. When that relationship is present, transformation becomes possible.

Key Takeaways

Guru is Heavy – The word guru means heavy, a powerful influence that can alter the course of life.

Beyond Ego – What is often called ego is only association, never a fixed identity.

Transmission Through Relationship – Yoga, Buddhism, and Christianity all point to the same heart: the relationship between teacher and student.

Three Qualifications to Teach – You need a good teacher, your own practice, and genuine care for others.

Purifying Guru and Sex – Both must be healed so that teaching and intimacy are clear, respectful, and free of misuse.

Living as Beauty – The beauty of nature is the same beauty that stands in your own body as your actual condition.

Links & Resources

Self-Paced Online Yoga Teacher Training: https://www.heartofyoga.com/recorded-online-teacher-training 

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

What happens when someone born inside the culture of Yoga meets the modern world with eyes wide open? This timeless conversation with my Gurubhai, R. Sriram, originally recorded five years ago, is as alive and necessary now as it was then.

Sriram grew up in South India, surrounded by music, temples, and traditional values. He also experienced Catholic schooling, English literature, radical theater, and many layers of spiritual and political questioning. This is a deeply personal account of growing up in the very society that Krishnamacharya and Desikachar came from, while still struggling to feel at home in it. We talk about what it means to be indigenous to this tradition, and how Sriram's life became a bridge between ancient learning and modern experience.

When he met Desikachar in the late 1970s, he didn't just begin to study Yoga. He entered a relationship that helped him live through the emotional and cultural complexity of his own story. Breath, practice, and shared understanding gave him a way to continue, to grow, and to teach. That path eventually took him to Germany, where he has taught since 1988 alongside his wife, the Indian classical dancer Anjali Sriram.

This conversation is a reminder that the teacher-student relationship is about being seen. It is about friendship, sincerity, and learning to live with all parts of who we are.

Key Takeaways

A Life Inside the Tradition – Sriram shares firsthand memories of growing up in the same world that Krishnamacharya and Desikachar belonged to.

Holding the Whole – His life shows how Yoga supported him through family customs, academic pressure, spiritual curiosity, and social questions.

Desikachar's Openness – Sriram remembers how Desikachar welcomed real people with real conflicts and questions.

Voice and Breath – Chanting became a way to connect with his roots, express devotion, and care for his inner life.

Ongoing Search – This story speaks to anyone asking how to live in two worlds, and how to find peace without needing to erase anything.

Yoga in a New Culture – Sriram reflects on decades of teaching in Germany, how people first reacted to Yoga, and how that has shifted over time.

Where to Find Our Guest

R. Sriram's Website: https://www.yogaweg.de/r-sriram/

R. Sriram on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sriramsriramyoga/

Links & Resources

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

There are times when the pain for the Earth is so strong it feels like it might break you. You may have felt it in your chest after seeing a forest cut down or watching the ocean poisoned. Rosalind talks about her years as an environmental activist and how being in constant contact with destruction led to exhaustion, grief, and a feeling of being stuck. She shares how Yoga became a way to meet those feelings, move through them, and reconnect with the energy to keep going.

Mark and Rosalind speak about allowing every stage of emotion to be felt — from numbness to fear, anger, pain, grief, and finally compassion. They talk about Yoga as a relationship with life, the body, and nature, and how that relationship can help us face reality without shutting down.

Key Takeaways

Eco Anxiety and Grief – Feeling sorrow and fear for nature is an intelligent response from Mother Nature

Natural Order of Emotions – Allowing numbness, fear, anger, pain, grief, and compassion to be felt brings healing and energy

Yoga as Relationship – Practice is about being with your own body and in intimacy with nature and life

Strength Through Feeling – Meeting and releasing emotions restores the energy to keep caring for the Earth

No Bypassing – Avoiding difficult feelings disconnects us from what is true and from our own humanity

Inner to Outer Change – Working with our own patterns and conditioning makes us more able to help create change for the Earth

Links & Resources

Yoga for A Better World: https://www.heartofyoga.com/yoga-for-activists-1

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

What if real Yoga begins with feeling more alive, not just more flexible?

Ari is a Yoga teacher from Korea on a mission to investigate the depth of the Yoga tradition. She discovered a passion to bring the teachings of Krishnamacharya to Korea, along with her dear friend Ray and friends from the Gabbi community. This is a community of young people from Korea who are dropping out of corporate life and patterned conformism, in favour of finding their own path in life. 

This conversation gets to the heart of the matter — what is Yoga, really? How can it be integrated into the lives of everyday people? The shift from conformity to autonomy is paralleled by the shift from yoga as performance to Yoga as intimacy with our own body and breath… the mystery of our own incarnation. 

It's a great interview because it is coming from the freshness of Ari's own experience of Yoga, and feeling the breath and movement as one continuous intelligence. And it's a good convo to listen to because both speakers are loving and respecting what the other has to offer. 

In Short:

Yoga Begins with You –The practice adapts to your life, not the other way around

Breath is the Guide – Let the breath lead the body and the mind will follow

Strength is in Softness – Inhale and exhale are a love relationship, each nourishing the other

Real Yoga is Personal – It doesn't require tricks, brands, or poses; it requires honesty

Intimacy is the Path – Yoga returns us to real connection with life, with others, and with ourselves

Start Where You Are – A short, daily practice made just for you can change everything

Find Ari on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ari.yogatraveler

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation: This podcast is sustained by your donations.

In this episode, David turns the tables and interviews Mark. We dive into the roots of Mark's life, growing up in New Zealand's church and school systems, confronting injustice early on, and stumbling into my body through sport and the natural world. 

David grills Mark on the long journey that led him to the heart of Yoga with his teachers Krishnamacharya and Desikachar.

This is a very personal conversation, going into the sincere "teachers" (aka friends)who helped Mark see through the spiritual industrial complex, and the simple, traditional yoga practices that smoothed out all the drama of spiritual India in the 1970s.

In other words, Yoga as intimacy with reality.

Key Takeaways

Early Awakening – A childhood moment on the lawn, sun on the back, revealing the body's deep continuity with the cosmos.

Seeing Through Systems – From church to school to spirituality - recognising how society exploits us with the promise of a future salvation or success.

Real Yoga Is Empowering – the good stuff adapts to the individual, honors the breath, and returns us to our natural state of wholeness.

Teachers Who Transmit – Meeting Krishnamacharya and Desikachar brought a transmission of humility, scholarship, and direct experience, not guruism.

Yoga Is Relationship – the power of real and actual friendship that is equal and mutually felt and expressed

The Body Is God – Yoga reveals that the body is not separate from divinity, it is divinity. Not a metaphor!!

Where to Find Our Guest

David's Website: http://lenirvanawear.com

David on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david22bali

Links & Resources

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access courses at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation if you can… you help us keep the lights on and the podcasts made listenable.  This podcast is sustained by your donations.

 

What if the life you're seeking is already unfolding beneath your feet? David Fardi's path from spiritual confusion to grounded clarity is a powerful reminder that real Yoga begins when we stop chasing and start participating in what is.

A Yoga teacher and founder of the men's fashion brand Le Nirvana, David shares how he moved through disillusionment in Europe and neo-tantric circles to find a deeply embodied practice in Bali. His story touches on healing generational wounds, living in rhythm with nature, and discovering how simple breath and movement can reshape a life. David now teaches private sessions at Samyama Yoga and lives what he practices with devotion, artistry, and love.

Key Takeaways

The Power of Presence – Gathering in person allows for a deeper transmission of Yoga that even the best Zoom call can't replicate.

Bali's Blessing Culture – The spiritual fabric of Balinese daily life creates an environment of tolerance, beauty, and ease that supports deep practice.

Yoga Is Participation, Not Performance – Real Yoga is not information gathering; it's direct participation in the reality of breath, body, and being.

Spiritual Friendship Matters – One-on-one connections made in gatherings often become lifelong support systems for practice and healing.

The End of the Separate Self – Gathering invites us into a recognition: there's no fixed "me" to fix. There's only reality unfolding through us.

We Are the Forest Dwellers – These gatherings are part of an eternal cultural process of Yoga; friends meeting in sacred spaces for wisdom to be lived and shared.

Where to Find Our Guest

David Fardi's Website: https://lenirvanawear.com

David Fardi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david22bali

Le Nirvana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lenirvanabali

Links & Resources

All In-Person Gatherings : https://www.heartofyoga.com/all-in-person-programs

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com. Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

What does it mean to begin Yoga now—right here, in your breath and body, with your life exactly as it is?

This talk, recorded during our teacher untraining in Bali, is a direct experience of the first four Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Together, we chanted, laughed, and explored what it means to practice Yoga in a way that's grounded, personal, and alive. These Sutras are a living guide, not a doctrine. They point us to something we already are. Your life, your interests, your body in its natural context—this is where Yoga begins.

Key Takeaways

The Sutras Come Alive in Relationship – Their meaning emerges through the shared inquiry between teacher and student.

Yoga Begins Now – Each breath and step taken in presence is the real beginning of practice.

Yoga Means Direction with Continuity – Choose your direction and stay with it. This is how peace arises.

The Role of a Teacher – A true teacher supports your path, not their own agenda.

The Body Is Consciousness – Whole-body participation in reality is the essence of Yoga.

You Are Already the Power of the Cosmos – No improvement needed, only recognition and participation.

Links & Resources

https://www.heartofyoga.com/

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com. Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

What makes us leave home and come together in person to share Yoga?

In this episode, Mark and Rosalind reflect on hosting Yoga gatherings in Bali. They speak about the deeper meaning of these meetings, the beauty of Balinese blessing culture, and what it really means to offer something useful in a spiritual tourist economy. 

Can travel be justified as Bali groans under the weight of tourism and the expansion of the concrete jungle? What are we doing here, and what are the potential 

They discuss how seeking makes us vulnerable to exploitation, the nature of real practice, and the kind of intimacy that arises when people meet without pretense. 

Themes

Bali as a spiritual gathering place and why people come here

Blessing culture: what is it and how does it work

How do we justify going to a Yoga gathering? Is it selfish?

The difference between information-gathering and experiential learning

Personal practice as the foundation of everything

The healing power of dear friendship grounded in Yoga

How do we welcome a genuinely wide range of people? 

Key Quotes

"Yoga is participation in the given reality."

"There's no need to get to what you already are."

"The gathering is the icing on the cake. Zoom is the cake—we already have it."

"People come to Bali looking for something, even if they don't know what it is."

"There's a relief in realizing there's nothing to become. You already are."

Key Takeaways

Place Carries Power – Bali holds a blessing culture that people can feel in their bodies.

Gatherings Create Intimacy – In-person Yoga opens a space for deeper relational presence.

Practice Starts with You – The daily rhythm of breath and movement is where change happens.

Transmission Is a Felt Thing – Yoga is shared in silence, in contact, in attention.

Seekers Need Care – Honest offerings matter in places shaped by spiritual commerce.

There Is No One to Fix – Yoga reveals freedom through untraining, not accumulation.

Learn more and register for future events at https://www.heartofyoga.com/bali-ytt. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations. You can support the Heart of Yoga Foundation at www.heartofyoga.com/foundation

For Mark Whitwell, music was always a temple. In the jazz clubs of New York such as Village Vanguard, Blue Note, and Sweet Basil, he felt the power of true presence. In this conversation, Mark is joined by Tony Glausi, a trumpet player and composer who carries the living jazz tradition with profound originality. Over the course of a month practicing together in Bali, a friendship formed through daily Yoga, shared breath, and an unshakable love for music.

Tony opens up about the journey that brought him here. From his roots in a large Mormon family to years of exploring Buddhism, psychedelics, and the creative highs and lows of the music industry, he shares how Yoga has become his ground. Mark and Tony speak candidly about sobriety, the myth of the tortured artist, and what it means to truly merge with the music.

Tony Glausi is a New York-based musician devoted to the jazz tradition. Through trumpet, piano, and composition, he explores the meeting point of Yoga and sound for the real life of every person. His most recent album, Awaken, came from a time of injury, reflection, and a deep return to what matters most. 

Key Takeaways

Yoga of Breath and Sound – Music and Yoga meet in the breath, in the steady exhale, and in the felt experience of being fully alive.

Sobriety and Clarity – Letting go of substances isn't a loss. It is the return to real perception and sustainable joy.

From Dogma to Direct Experience – Yoga isn't a belief system. It's how we are with what is.

Horizontal Intimacy as the Foundation for Art – Real artistry comes through being fully with the life around us.

The End of the Tortured Artist – Art does not need to come from suffering. With real Yoga, artists can thrive and create from wholeness.

Concerts as Ceremony – Tony envisions a new kind of performance that begins in silence, in practice, in true receptivity.

Where to Find Our Guest

Tony Glausi's Website: http://www.tonyglausi.com

Tony Glausi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyglausi

Links & Resources

Tony's Latest Album 'Awaken': http://www.tonyglausi.com

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

Imagine words so sincere, that the author appears as a close friend, speaking directly through time to the deepest part of who we are? This week, Dylan Giles joins Rosalind to share how reading Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" in a time of personal drift opened a direct experience of connection. Dylan describes nights spent under the Californian moon, feeling Whitman's words as a living presence, breaking him free of rigid traditions. 

In this episode I find out from Dylan about Whitman as mystic, and we use him to understand yogic ideas such as shaktipat, ishta, and guru parampara. 

We explore how reading Whitman can lead to a shift from cleverness to sincerity in our own writing, the subtle ways we unconsciously believe we are separate from greatness, and the challenge of integrating moments of inspiration into daily life.

In this conversation we track the shift from being a FAN of a mystic like Whitman of William Blake, to being a fellow participant in the great mystery called life. With our artists and mystics holding our hands.

Subjects Explored

Meeting Whitman in a moment of drift and loneliness

The freedom of Whitman's meterless, sincere poetry

Sensing Whitman's living presence through reading

How sincerity cuts through patterned language

Moving beyond cleverness to honest writing

Recognizing unconscious beliefs of separation

Yoga as the way we integrate grace into our lives

Key Phrases or Quotes

"I was reading this and feeling from the page that Walt Whitman was directly communicating to me, like he was in the room."

"True sincerity really moves me."

"I felt as if his words were so sweet. I felt it in my heart that he was just around me somehow."

"There's erosion of spontaneous human expression. You sort of felt like you'd discovered a fountain of spontaneous human expression in a desert."

"I realized he wasn't different from me. We are made of the same stuff."

Key Takeaways

Sincerity Creates Real Connection – Honest words carry a power that reaches others directly.

Poetry Reveals Yoga – Words infused with life transmit a sense of presence and unity.

Admiration Sparks Recognition – Seeing beauty in Whitman helps us see it in ourselves.

Yoga Grows in Integration – Grace opens possibilities, and Yoga helps us live them fully.

Spontaneous Words Are Alive – Breaking from scripts nourishes life and brings clarity.

We Share the Creative Force – The same life that moved Whitman moves through each of us.

Suggested Reading

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman – Explore the groundbreaking free verse poems that celebrate the body, nature, death, and the joy of existence.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake – A visionary work challenging traditional views of good and evil, exploring the unity of opposites, and the energy of life.

Timestamps

00:02:00 Intimate Yoga revealed in Whitman's poetry during Dylan's personal drift

00:04:00 Whitman's presence felt through words alive and immediate across time

00:06:00 Scripted language blocking authentic, heartfelt human communication

00:08:00 Shaktipat-like realization ignited by powerful, sincere words

00:09:00 Shared creative power with Whitman dissolves illusions of separation

00:20:00 Radical embrace of body, sexuality, death, and life celebrated by Whitman

00:29:00 "What is the grass?" reflects on life, death, and universal connection

00:32:00 Eternal life recognized within finite human experience through Yoga

00:36:00 Bold authenticity inspired by Whitman's lines urging courage beyond comfort

00:46:00 Body-soul unity illuminated in Blake's vision of eternal creative energy

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com. Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

 

What happens when healing becomes another form of harm? When the search for purity, wellness, and relief becomes a maze of restriction, shame, and exhaustion? In this quietly radical conversation, Konstanze Weiser joins us to speak not as an expert, but as someone who lived it from childhood illness to orthorexia, Panchakarma to spiritual burnout.

We explore the parts of wellness culture we don't often talk about: the obsession with food, the spiritualization of suffering, the silent shame around digestion and embodiment. Konstanze shares what it took to finally stop outsourcing authority, soften her grip, and listen to her own body. What emerged wasn't a protocol, but a practice. Not control, but connection.

This is not a story of being healed. It's a story of no longer needing to be.

Subjects Explored

Orthorexia and the glorification of "clean" eating

When Ayurveda becomes another system to get right

Panchakarma, shame, and the desire to purge pain

Digestive distress, embodiment, and feminine silence

Yoga practice as participation, not perfection

Letting go of healing as a project

Food, feeling, and the return to simplicity

Key Phrases or Quotes

"It wasn't the food. It was the shame."

"I believed my body couldn't heal unless I followed all the rules."

"At some point, I didn't even have the capacity for shame anymore."

"I don't use food to compensate as much anymore—because I don't need to."

"Healing isn't about fixing. It's about not betraying yourself."

"My practice is non-negotiable. But it's not because I'm trying to improve. It's because it brings me back."

Key Takeaways

Orthorexia is often hidden in wellness culture – When food becomes a moral issue, restriction masquerades as discipline.

Systems are not saviors – Ayurveda, yoga, or detox can become prisons when driven by fear or perfectionism.

Digestion and shame are deeply linked – It wasn't the food causing distress. It was the silence, the hiding, the internalized shame.

Embodiment is not a theory – Real practice means listening to the body, not overriding it with ideals.

Simplicity is a form of intelligence – Healing came not from doing more, but from letting go.

The body already knows – The role of practice is to help us trust it again.

Resources Mentioned

• Konstanze Weiser on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/konstanze.weiser

• The Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden: https://www.larabriden.com/period-repair-manual

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Introduction from Mexico and today's theme
[00:02:00] Konstanze's early health struggles and the roots of obsession
[00:05:00] Orthorexia and the quiet pain of trying to eat "perfectly"
[00:08:00] When Ayurveda becomes another form of control
[00:13:00] First Panchakarma: detox, intensity, and unexpected peace
[00:17:00] Returning to Germany and feeling alive for the first time
[00:23:00] Digestive shame and the false image of the perfect woman
[00:28:00] The trap of spiritual protocols and chasing purity
[00:36:00] Second Panchakarma: heartbreak, collapse, and exhaustion
[00:42:00] Yoga as non-negotiable—not for performance, but for sanity
[00:48:00] Breaking the rules and finding freedom in food
[00:54:00] Reframing sickness as a message, not a malfunction
[01:00:00] Breath, simplicity, and the intelligence of the body
[01:01:00] Final reflections and invitation to return to trust

Your body is not broken.
You are not behind.
You are not a problem to be solved.

Practice is not a fix. It's a homecoming.

To support the Heart of Yoga Foundation or learn more about our courses, visit heartofyoga.com. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

 

What if our anger is sacred? What if the rage we feel in our bodies, in our culture, in our Earth, is not something to suppress, but something to honor? This week, Mariana Garcia Flores and I sit again in the Garden of the Moon to invoke the presence of Kali, the fierce face of the Divine Feminine, and the part of us that says no more.

We speak into the places where softness meets strength, where grief becomes action, where Yoga becomes the healing of the rift between Shakti and Shiva, within us and in the world. This conversation is not sanitized. It's raw, truthful, necessary. Kali is not here to be palatable. She's here to wake us up. To rewild us. To make our practice real.

Subjects Explored

• The mythology of Kali and the archetype of feminine rage

• Dissociation and the violence of spiritual bypass

• Why embodiment is activism

• The pain of controlling Shakti and separating from Shiva

• What Yoga teaches us about sacred integration

• How feminine anger becomes a healing force

Key Phrases or Quotes

"Shakti is angry. And it is appropriate."

"Kali is here to destroy what needs to be destroyed."

"You don't separate Shiva from Shakti. You gather her."

"Your practice is making love with life."

"She's not killing people. She's killing the delusion."

"It is destroying what is not real."

Key Takeaways

Sacred Anger is Real – Feminine rage is not dysfunction. It is sacred correction.

Dissociation is the True Demon – When the mind leaves the body, suffering begins.

Yoga is the Union of Opposites – Strength and softness, Shiva and Shakti, must be lived together.

Receptivity is Power – To receive Shakti is the strength of true masculinity and humanity.

Embodied Intimacy is Activism – When we inhabit our wholeness, we reclaim the world.

The Feminine Will Not Be Silenced – This is not about gender. It's about life force refusing erasure.

Resources Mentioned

Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine by David Kinsley

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Opening with Kali and the missing piece of feminine rage

[00:02:00] The illusion of gendered energy and cultural separation

[00:04:00] Trees, nature, and the union of opposites

[00:05:00] Reading the terrifying and sacred imagery of Kali

[00:07:00] Kali's rage as sacred destruction and healing

[00:09:00] Severed heads and the metaphor of cutting dissociation

[00:10:40] Yoga as receptivity and the return of mind to body

[00:11:50] Gathering Shakti: what real husbanding means

[00:12:40] Modern relationships, transactional needs, and intimacy

[00:14:00] Feminine rebellion and Kali as a global force

[00:16:00] Suppressed anger and the cost of not saying no

[00:18:00] Strength, softness, and the spine of Yoga practice

[00:20:00] Shiva's surrender and the softening of Kali

[00:22:00] William Blake and the marriage of heaven and hell

[00:24:00] The sacredness of desire and the distortion of repression

[00:27:00] Violence, anger, and sexuality in religious conditioning

[00:29:00] Receiving desire vs. grasping in relationship

[00:30:00] A meditation on Kali's wrath and the transformation of rage

[00:32:00] The world's denial of the feminine and embodied revolt

[00:34:00] Kali's names, her sacred sexuality, and final reflections

 

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com. Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

 

What if everything you were taught to fear is actually sacred?

In this intimate, resonant conversation, I sit down with Mariana, a dear friend and fellow teacher whose life story continues to unfold in powerful ways. Raised in a strict Catholic school environment in Mexico, Mariana shares how years of religious repression shaped her understanding of sexuality, embodiment, and spirituality and how the practices of Yoga, meditation, and humanistic psychotherapy helped her unravel those beliefs and come home to her own sacred aliveness.

This episode is not a theoretical conversation. It is an embodied testimony to the power of Yoga as life itself as Shakti, as descent, as the energy that we are. Together, we question the cultural scripts that pit spirit against flesh, and remember what it means to live in a world where the seen is the source.

Subjects Explored

• Growing up Catholic and the repression of the body

• Unlearning religious shame through embodied practice

• How Yoga reunites what doctrine divides

• The holiness of desire and the wisdom of William Blake

• Why the feminine can never be denied, only exiled

• Shakti as the undismissable truth of nature

Key Quotes

"Shakti is what we are. There's no denying Shakti."

"It was as if I had finally placed the needle on the right record, and the music began to play in rhythm with my own heart."

"The body is not a shell to the soul. It is the soul."

"Religion told me that the closer I was to God, the further I should be from the body. Yoga showed me they were never separate."

"The repression of nature is not safety. It's suffering."

Key Takeaways

Embodied Awakening – True spiritual life begins when we reclaim the body as sacred.

Shakti Cannot Be Denied – The feminine principle is life itself—wild, wise, and ever-present.

Beyond Duality – Spirit and matter are not in opposition. Yoga reveals their unity.

From Shame to Sovereignty – Dismantling internalized doctrine opens the door to freedom.

The Holiness of Desire – As William Blake taught, energy is delight. To feel is divine.

Intimacy is the Practice – Yoga is not an escape from reality but a deep participation in it.

Resources Mentioned

Mariana's offerings: https://www.aliveaslife.com

IG @aliveaslife

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Opening and Mariana's Catholic upbringing

[00:04:05] Leaving Mexico and the search for freedom

[00:08:17] Early messages about sexuality and sin

[00:12:00] Confession culture and fear of the body

[00:15:48] Yoga, psychotherapy, and reclaiming desire

[00:19:55] William Blake and the holiness of energy

[00:23:40] From shame to sovereignty

[00:27:12] The myth of ascension and the truth of descent

[00:31:06] Shakti as nature, not a concept

[00:35:30] The body is the soul

[00:39:45] Mariana's current offerings and final reflections

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com. Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

 

What if you are already everything you're looking for? What if the power of the cosmos is not out there, but pulsing through your breath, your body, your life right now?

In this conversation, I welcome Mariana Garcia Flores, a radiant presence from Mexico City, and a Woman of the Americas in her full power. Mariana shares her story of transformation from counselor and seeker to embodied yogini and teacher. She speaks of the moment the search ended, when she realized: I am that. Not as an idea, but as a lived, undeniable reality. It is the story of Yoga as life itself, not a technique, not a path, but a participation in what already is.

Mariana's clarity is practical, grounded, and deeply feminine. She speaks with the strength of someone who has remembered who she is, and now wants to share that possibility with others. It is not ambition; it is love. It is not effort; it is life flowing through.

Key Phrases or Quotes

"You are the power of the cosmos. You are life happening." 

"The end of the search is the beginning of participation."

"This is not poetry. It's not something to attain. It is the fact of your existence."

"No power can stop you because you are that power." 

"Yoga is the catalyst that brings forth your latent talents."

Key Takeaways

Embodied Awakening – Yoga is not something you do; it is who you are when you remember. 

Feminine Power Reclaimed – Women of the Americas and the world are remembering their inherent Shakti. 

The End of Seeking – The great relief comes when we realize there's nowhere to get to. We are already home. 

Spiritual Decolonization – Dismantling inherited frameworks that deny the power and beauty of life, especially for women. 

Yoga is for Everyone – This is the base of human life, not a luxury, not an escape, but our shared ground. 

Service from Wholeness – Teaching is not a career move. It is what naturally flows when we recognize our completeness.

Resources Mentioned

The Heart of Yoga course: https://www.heartofyoga.com

Timestamps 

[00:00:00] Introduction and welcoming Mariana, honoring her as a Woman of the Americas and setting the context for the conversation.

[00:10:00] Mariana and Mark discuss the impact of colonialism on feminine power and Shakti, exploring the inherited cultural wounding and need for reclamation.

[00:20:00] Mariana speaks about family life, sacred motherhood, and how Yoga supports the creative and relational aspects of living.

[00:30:00] They reflect on returning to source, living in alignment with life, and how spiritual practice must be grounded in truth and experience.

[00:40:00] Mariana discusses the dismantling of guilt, shame, and inherited patterns that obscure our connection to life and presence.

[00:44:00] Closing reflections on clarity, the simplicity of being, and how Yoga reveals the truth already present.

''You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.''

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com. 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

What if true activism doesn't begin with protest signs or policy change, but with the way we breathe?

In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Cassell in the lush Fijian islands to explore the profound intersections between Yoga, ecology, and the urgent need for human change. We speak about our shared grief for a world in ecological crisis and ask: how can we act from love, not just outrage?

Yoga for a Better World isn't a lofty ideal, it's a daily, grounded intimacy with life. We explore the emotional cost of caring deeply, why burnout is so common among changemakers, and how a consistent practice can nourish resilience, compassion, and courage. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world, this conversation is for you.

Subjects Explored

• The emotional weight of ecological collapse and climate activism

• Why true activism begins with caring for your own body

• Eco-grief, burnout, and the need for deep rest

• How Yoga creates the energy for meaningful action

• Moving from overwhelm to embodied intimacy with life

• The illusion of separation and the urgency of reconnection

Key Phrases or Quotes

• "If you're not grieving, you're not paying attention."

• "Yoga is intimacy with what life actually is."

• "Depressed means deep rest—we need to honor what our biology is telling us."

• "You can't repair the ecosystem without repairing the wild of Mother Nature here—your own body."

• "The purpose of Yoga isn't to escape fear or grief—it's to act from them with clarity and care."

Key Takeaways

Rooted Activism – Real change begins with embodiment, not burnout.

The Wisdom of Grief – Pain is not a flaw, but a biological function that signals connection.

Eco-Grief is Real – Honoring our emotions is part of collective healing.

Yoga is the Ground – A daily practice nourishes the clarity and energy needed for action.

You Are the Ecosystem – Caring for the planet begins by caring for the body.

From Despair to Movement – Yoga helps transmute grief into grounded, life-sustaining action.

Resources Mentioned

The Heart of Yoga course: https://www.heartofyoga.com

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation: https://www.heartofyoga.com/foundation

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Opening in Fiji and naming the ecological crisis

[00:01:00] Why the course name changed from "Yoga for Activists" to "Yoga for a Better World"

[00:02:00] Activism as intimacy with life and caring for the body

[00:03:00] The risk of burnout among changemakers

[00:05:00] Honoring legitimate emotional responses: anger, grief, pain

[00:07:00] The necessity of inner repair for ecosystem repair

[00:09:00] Depression as deep rest and a call to stillness

[00:11:00] The myth of "overcoming" grief; honoring emotions as biology

[00:22:00] Reframing civilization and reconnecting to the body as sacred

[00:30:00] The power of receptivity and nurturing in embodied activism

[00:33:00] Course insights: daily Yoga as a way to care for life

[00:36:00] The chaos of culture and the need for a new attractor

[00:37:00] Yoga as the movement of life: a shift from thought to participation

[00:40:00] A non-dramatic, non-obsessive Yoga that supports sustainable action

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com. Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

 

This talk was recorded live at a workshop in the Swiss town of Saanen. A very interesting place for yoga and spiritual history and the transmission from East to West! Among the 'himalayas of the north', Mark is unravelling the core of modern spiritual systems and the search for enlightenment. 

Summarising the teachings of Krishnamacharya, Desikachar, and the radical honesty of U.G. Krishnamurti, this episode presents Yoga as an intimate participation in what is real—life itself.

Subjects…

• J Krishnamurti, UG Krishnamurti, BKS Iyengar, and the history of the Saanen Valley

• Why the ideal of a "perfect person" has deeply disempowered humanity

• How Yoga has been distorted by systems of effort, hierarchy, and branding

• U.G. Krishnamurti's radical realization and the myth of spiritual seeking

• The social hoax of striving, self-improvement, and enlightenment fantasies

• How true Yoga arises spontaneously from intimacy with breath, body, and life

• The feminine principle and restoring our natural intelligence

Key Phrases:

"The Guru has no followers. The Guru has friends to help."
"Stop looking. Start living. Your Yoga is the living of it."
"No more gymnastics. No more spiritual gymnastics. Yoga is just your participation in life."

Gratitude to Moritz Kuebler who recorded this, and our host in Saanen, Stephanie Iseli.

Resources Mentioned:

• Teachings of T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar

• The lives of J. Krishnamurti and U.G. Krishnamurti

• The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice book

• History of Theosophy and the Saanen Valley gatherings

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Opening invocation: You are the power of the cosmos
[00:03:00] Stephanie's story and how Yoga found a home in Saanen
[00:08:00] Mark shares the deeper purpose of the gathering
[00:11:00] What makes a true Guru: no more than a friend, no less than a friend
[00:16:00] The myth of spiritual hierarchy and the problem of "perfection"
[00:23:00] Why modern Yoga and meditation have become systems of disempowerment
[00:27:00] Reframing the idea of enlightenment as a harmful distraction
[00:32:00] U.G. Krishnamurti's "calamity" and the end of seeking
[00:39:00] The mind is for relationship—not for searching
[00:44:00] Healing trauma through natural breath and spontaneous Yoga
[00:49:00] Revisiting the Yoga of Krishnamacharya and the legacy of Desikachar
[00:55:00] The Saanen gatherings and spiritual history of the valley
[01:02:00] The rejection of modern Yoga branding and spiritual consumerism
[01:10:00] A new view: Yoga as participation, not performance
[01:17:00] The body is intelligence, the breath is healing
[01:25:00] Embracing life without effort: no more spiritual goals
[01:32:00] How to practice a Yoga that serves your real life
[01:38:00] Preparing to receive a personal, breath-centered practice

"You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it—you need only participate in it."

Learn more and stay connected at https://www.heartofyoga.com
Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation — this podcast is sustained by your donations.

The Yoga Tantras that Krishnamacharya graciously brought forth teach us direct participation in Reality and the qualities or nature of Reality. They flush from the living body the restive patterning and traumas that culture and society has put in us. These Tantras disappeared in India & Tibet after the 14th century replaced by authoritarian power structures. 

In this powerful episode of The Heart of Yoga Podcast, Mark returns with scholar and heart of Yoga teacher Andrew Raba for a deeply vulnerable & piercing conversation on the core wounds of society: the denial of the feminine, the suppression of sexual wisdom, and the destructive legacy of religious thinking that created world mind.

Together, they unravel the heavy conditioning that shapes our views of intimacy, self-improvement, and the male fantasy of enlightenment. Together they point us back to the radical truth: that the source & the seen are one. With candor, grief, humor and hope, Mark and Andrew explore how Yoga is participation in What is already the case, real & natural.

They discuss…

How the ancient idea of enlightenment has created harmful hierarchies that separate the spiritual from the sexual and the sacred from the ordinary.

The personal and collective consequences of suppressing the feminine, intimacy & body intelligence. 

Why intimacy is often the battleground for inherited trauma, shame, and confusion—how Yoga can help us participate in love, the unity condition that is life, without seeking to "fix" or "transcend" ourselves.

Mark's reflections on sex, relationship, and receiving each other is the only sacred life there is. 

The power of whole-body breathing, above to below, inhalation to exhalation, strength to receptivity reconnects us to What is real, beyond religious dogma or self-improvement fantasies and struggles. 

They discuss…

• How the ancient idea of enlightenment has created harmful hierarchies that separate the spiritual from the sexual and the sacred from the ordinary.

• The personal and collective consequences of suppressing the feminine, intimacy, and embodied wisdom.

• Andrew's journey from academic seeker to awakened Yogi, and how one simple truth—the source and the seen are one—transformed his life.

• Why intimacy is often the battleground for inherited trauma, shame, and spiritual confusion—and how Yoga can help us participate in love without seeking to "fix" or "transcend" ourselves.

• Mark's reflections on sex, relationship, and receiving the other as a sacred, cosmic act—not as a spiritual obstacle.

• The power of whole-body Yoga to reconnect us with what's real, beyond religious dogma or self-improvement fantasies.

Favorite Phrases:

"Life is perfectly expressing itself through you. What could create a human body? That power is not somewhere else—it's here, as this."

"Sex is not something done to get something. It is to participate in what life actually is."

"Male does not receive female—and that's the core wound of civilization."

Resources Mentioned:

Teachings of T. Krishnamacharya

Taoist insights into yin-yang and sacred sexuality

Reflections on world religions, mystic traditions, and cultural conditioning

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Opening reflection on hierarchy, enlightenment, and the denial of the feminine
[00:02:00] Introduction to guest Andrew Raba and his background
[00:06:00] Andrew shares his transformation after hearing "the source and the seen are one"
[00:10:00] The collapse of the seeking framework and the emergence of presence
[00:16:00] The deep cultural programming around sex, love, and spirituality
[00:23:00] Exploring karmic patterns, judgment, and self-forgiveness
[00:31:00] Reclaiming sex as participation, not transaction
[00:36:00] The role of Yoga as a daily reflection and realignment with truth
[00:42:00] Mark and Andrew discuss the union of opposites and the healing of gender divisions
[00:47:00] Closing thoughts on spiritual honesty, Yoga as participation, and receiving the other

 

In this episode of "The Heart of Yoga " Rosalind kicks off the Yogic Arts Series with a deep and enlightening conversation with artist and Yogini Melissa Forbes. They explore the intersection of art and spirituality through the study of Yantra, numerology, and Jyotish (Vedic astrology). Melissa shares her personal journey into sacred geometry and how these ancient traditions have shaped her practice, teaching, and artwork. Through this conversation, listeners are invited into the rich, intricate world of sacred Yogic arts and the deeper meaning behind these practices.

 

 

They discuss…

• The profound relationship between Yantra, numerology, and the energies of the planets, exploring how specific shapes, colors, and numbers influence one's life and spiritual journey.

• Melissa's background in sacred geometry and her teachings on how constructing Yantras can help align an individual's energy with cosmic forces.

• The influence of Melissa's teacher, Harish Johari, and the tradition of integrating chanting, numerology, and sacred geometry into the spiritual practice.

• Insights into the powerful energy of certain colors and planets, such as working with green and emerald to harness the healing energy of Mercury.

• The importance of natural movement and geometry in understanding the true essence of Yoga beyond its physical form.

 

 

Favorite Phrases:

• "The study of the macrocosm via the microcosm. Tantra offers a holistic approach to the universe through the lens of the individual."

• "The energy of the Yantras is all about alignment—through sound, color, and shape, we can tap into the deeper forces of the cosmos."

• "Working with a spiral in sacred geometry mirrors nature's own patterns; it's a theme that's as universal as the DNA in our bodies or the form of a fern unfurling."

 

 

Resources Mentioned:

• Books by Harish Johari: Numerology, Tantra, Ayurveda: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Harish-Johari/410046710

• https://melissaforbes.art/retreats
  
  You are invited to join Melissa on her Sacred Geometry luxury retreat in India, January 2025. Melissa leads an annual retreat at Shreyas, member of Relais & Chateaux, focusing on Sacred Geometry. An excellent opportunity to explore the inner dimensions and rekindle our creative energies, and direct it towards spiritual unfoldment. Yoga, Ayurveda and Art in a refined beautiful environment.
  
  
• Connect with Melissa on IG @melissaforbes8

 

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Introduction to the episode and guest, Melissa Forbes

• [00:01:00] Melissa shares her initial journey into Yoga and sacred geometry

• [00:03:00] Discussion on numerology and the relationship mandala

• [00:06:00] Exploring the deeper meaning of Yantra and the connection with planets

• [00:20:00] Transition into Jyotish and how numerology ties into personal energies

• [00:36:00] Retreat discussions and how participants interact with the Yogic arts

• [00:50:00] Personal anecdotes about U.G. and Melissa's experiences in sacred spaces

• [00:59:00] Conclusion and final reflections on art, spirituality, and cosmic energy

In this episode of the Heart of Yoga podcast, Raul Petraglia, a former high-flying corporate executive, shares his incredible journey from the high-stress world of luxury hospitality to finding profound peace through the practice of Yoga. Raul opens up about his past life of excess and stress, the physical and emotional toll it took on him, and how a serious health crisis led him to discover Yoga. This transformative experience not only saved his life but also inspired him to dedicate himself to sharing the healing power of Yoga with others, including the corporate world he once inhabited.

 

 

They discuss:

• Raul's early life in Argentina and his rise in the luxury hotel industry, leading to a lifestyle of excess and eventual burnout.

• The pivotal moment when Raul realized his lifestyle was unsustainable, leading him to seek a different path through Yoga.

• How Raul's journey into Yoga began as a necessity for physical rehabilitation and evolved into a profound personal practice.

• The unique challenges of teaching Yoga within a corporate environment and the impact it has on stressed executives.

• The importance of adapting Yoga practices to individual needs, as Raul did for his own mother.

 

 

Favorite phrases:

• "I used to party till sunrise. Now I wake up to see the sunrise and do my practice."

• "There is a special feeling there, Mark. It's like this is my goal, my dharma."

• "Yoga is participation in reality via the breath."

 

 

Resources:

• Books: The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56303.The_Heart_of_Yoga

• Websites: Heart of Yoga Studio 

 https://www.heartofyoga.com/studio

 

 

Timestamps:

• [00:00] Introduction: Raul's background and entry into Yoga.

• [07:00] Corporate Burnout: Transition from a high-stress career to discovering Yoga.

• [16:00] Yoga's Impact: How Yoga transformed Raul's life.

• [26:00] Teaching Yoga: Bringing Yoga into corporate settings.

• [40:00] Personalizing Yoga: Adapting practices for individual needs.

• [52:00] Reflection: Raul's ongoing journey and mission with Yoga.

 

OM is the mantra of all mantras, the expression of perfect perfection of life that is happening as every person and every form of the cosmos. Including you, the reader. Pronunciation of OM reveals this to the whole body and mind. 

This conversation is between two devotees of the OM: Sybille is a Yoga teacher, student of Sanskrit and the wisdom traditions, mother, historian, and co-founder of Hatha Vinyasa Parampara Studio in Mainz, Germany. She is also a lover of the vibration of the OM. We explore the beauty of Om, its sonic completeness, and how Sanskrit, practiced rather than merely studied, can cleanse the doors of perception.

Key Takeaways

Om Is The Breath Of The Universe – It includes all other sounds, and contains the same rhythm of expansion and return found in life and nature.

Sanskrit Is An Embodied Practice – Beyond signifier and signified, it is a sonically intelligent language that includes the whole body nervous system.

Sound Is Real, Not Just Symbolic – In Sanskrit and in Yoga, sound actually exists, it wriggles through the air, it ripples through us; it's not just a vehicle of conceptual meaning.

Precision In Mantra Creates Harmony – Subtle shifts in pronunciation affect energy, and pleasure leads the way. 

Chanting Is Subtle Asana – Just like postures, refining sound in the instrument of our body involves subtle adjustments, in devotion to the flow of prana

Silence Is Part Of Om – The fourth part of Om is silence, the natural state, what is the base of all sound and form.

Links & Resources

Learn more and access resources to practice at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation!

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

Teaching at Liliana Lakshmi's teaching training, this question arises.. hear the response. 

In this episode, Mark explores how Yoga can provide a sense of unity and belonging amidst conflict and division in the world. He emphasizes that Yoga is not about seeking or trying to get somewhere, but recognizing and participating in the beauty, power and extraordinary intelligence that is always there, the wholeness and the harmony. 

Mark argues that religious seeking and presumption of separation are the root of conflict, and Yoga dissolve this illusion. He shares the principles from Krishnamacharya on adapting Yoga to each person's needs, and the recognition of the Tantras of life's inherent unity.

His position is that teaching Yoga is the necessary, cultural shift required to end conflict in separation, to end trauma, destructive tribalism and disconnection.

They discuss: 

- Why Yoga is needed as the response to divisiveness and terror. 

- Krishnamacharya's emphasis on Yoga as embracing 'what is' rather than seeking some future state 

- How religious doctrine has been used to create division, but true religion needs Yoga as its practical means

- The end of spiritual seeking and ideas of a perfect future state - wholeness is already here

- The tantric recognition and response

- Adapting Yoga to each person's body, age, health and cultural background 

- Teaching Yoga as a stand against trauma and disconnection in the world

Favorite phrases:  

"The yogas of participation in the given reality." 

"Your body is in a profound unity with the total cosmos."

"Yoga is the practical means by which individuals actualize the great ideals of their culture, of their religion." 

"Trying to come into union implies the two are separate."

"Your body is the extraordinary intelligence that is the cosmos happening as you."

Bali teacher training www.heartofyoga.com/bali-ytt

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:02:00] Krishnamacharya's emphasis on adapting Yoga to the individual 

[00:05:00] Already being the beauty - no need to get somewhere   

[00:10:00] Yoga as actualizing the ideals of religion and culture

[00:15:00] Division created by religious doctrine and seeking   

[00:20:00] The body as already in unity with the cosmos

[00:25:00] Yoga as participation versus seeking 

[00:30:00] Personal examples of transformative effects of simple Yoga

[00:35:00] Science, religion and Yoga as three stabilizing forces 

[00:40:00] Consciousness and objects as a unity

[00:45:00] No separate self or other

[00:50:00] Being beyond gender identification   

[00:55:00] Introducing principles of Krishnamacharya's Yoga

 

In this episode, Rosalind and Domagoj have an enlightening discussion demystifying Tantra. They explore how Tantra is a path to freedom that teaches you to fall in love with life. Tantra aims to help one realize everything is infinite and discover naturalness, spontaneity and openness to the mystery of life.

 

Rituals in Tantra go hand in hand with meditation and realization of the teachings within oneself. The goal is freedom and absolute independence. They talk about transcending duality between matter and spirit, external rituals and internal experiences, embracing life and relationships as they are.   

 

They discuss:

 

- The importance of modernizing and adapting tantric rituals and practices to suit the practitioners rather than just following fixed external instructions. 

 

- How Tantric philosophy sees matter and spirit as one, both being divine. 

 

- The interplay and correlation between external tantric rituals and internal meditations and realizations.

 

- How intimacy, relationships and embracing life and others enables easy ascent of energy compared to forced individual practices. Loving presence effortlessly moves energy.

 

- How Tantra teaches one to fall in love with life just as it is - overwhelming, enormous and mysterious. 

 

- The role of a Tantric guru and how the teacher principal always exists within and guides one's own direct experience. 

 

Favorite phrases:

 

"The teachings are like gold jewelry, you receive a lump of gold and you must hammer it into a jewelry for yourself."

 

"If the doors of perception were cleansed, then everything would appear to men as it is - infinite."

 

Timestamps:

 

[00:00] Introducing the topics of discussion

[00:39] The essence of tantric rituals being inner experience vs outer form 

[02:28] Correlating external rituals and internal realizations in tantra

[05:19] Embracing life effortlessly moves energy compared to forced practices   

[09:10] William Blake on seeing matter and spirit as one  

[14:50] Falling in love with life as the essence of tantra

[18:45] The role of a tantric teacher and physical vs inner gurus

[21:20] Domagoj shares about his tantric guru

[28:04] Closing chant

 

In part one of this two part episode, Rosalind is joined by Domagoj Orlić to demystify tantra, a profoundly misunderstood spiritual tradition.

 

As both a scholar and practitioner of Tantra, Domagoj sheds light on what Tantra actually is, its key principles and aims, and how it differs from the "Neo-Tantra" appropriated in the West. They explore Tantra's emphasis on liberation through feeling unity with the divine feminine, why ritual and initiation by a guru matters, and how Tantra can help overcome conditioning to realize inherent power.

 

Domagoj clarifies Tantra's nuanced relationship with sexuality and why it has been misportrayed. Far from just exotic techniques, traditional Tantra offers potent tools for those called to dive deep into self-realization and awakening through embodied practice.   

 

They discuss:

- What is Tantra? Defining the principles, aims and practices of traditional Tantra vs Neo-Tantra  

- Why guru, lineage and transmission matters in Tantra    

- Tantra as a monistic spiritual path emphasizing unity with the divine feminine    

- Ritual, puja and worship of deities to receive empowerment  

- Tantra's goal of deconditioning the mind and realizing power     

- Clarifying Tantra's nuanced relationship with sexuality     

- Tantra's influence on Yoga - integrating mantra, yantra, embodied ritual  

- Adapting traditional Tantra wisdom for the modern world and individual need  

 

Favorite phrases:  

"Tantra teaches us that we actually are very powerful and we have the power of Shakti to change reality, to change whatever we want to change and live our full human potential. That's the basic premise of Tantra."  

 

"The idea of the Tantric practice is to viscerally feel that I am one with the divine feminine...this can be called motherly love, which is the same as compassion, which is love generally, our ability to actually love life and love ourselves and love other people and love all creation."

Timestamps:

 

[1:00] Domagoj introduces his background in Tantra as a scholar, practitioner and teacher   

[3:00] What is Tantra? Domagoj reads his definition  

[5:00] Explaining the core elements: guru, lineage, student effort    

[7:00] How traditional Tantra differs from modern and Neo-Tantra   

[12:00] Clarifying Tantra's nuanced relationship with sexuality   

[15:00] Discussing themes from Passage to India that reveal Western misunderstandings of Tantra  

[17:00] Krishnamacharya's veiled tantric influences   

[21:00] Tantra's influence on Yoga - integrating ritual, mantra, deity   

[25:00] Yoga as a means to directly experience the ideals of religion  

[27:00] Tantra's monistic view of unity with the divine feminine as heretical  

[32:00] Tantra's emphasis on deconditioning to uncover power   

[34:00] Bringing tantra wisdom into the modern world  

[36:00] End of part 1 

 

This episode features Kathrin, a Yoga practitioner and mother of two living in Germany. She shares how she came to Yoga to relieve suffering during the pandemic, and through her daily practice discovered a profound intimacy with her own body and breath. Kathrin describes how Yoga helped her shift from feelings of "not being enough" to simply receiving and participating in each moment just as it is.

 

She and Mark discuss how Yoga connects us to the miracle of life, and talk about translating this experience into everyday life and language. Key topics include releasing shame, rebuilding society through education, participating in wholeness already here, and rediscovering the beauty in one's own culture and tradition.

 

They discuss:

 

- How the pandemic and suffering led Kathrin to deeper Yoga practice  

- Moving from self-judgment to receiving and intimacy with the body   

- Letting go of "becoming" and future salvation, participating in life now  

- Translating Yoga wisdom into everyday German life and language

- Educating our children in wholeness beyond knowledge and thought   

- Rediscovering beauty in her Catholic upbringing through Yoga

- Releasing cultural shame and rebuilding society through education 

- Sex and eros as mutual participation versus transaction

 

Favorite phrases:

 

"Everything that lives is holy." - William Blake

 

Resources:  

 

- The Art of Yoga online course

- Hridaya Yoga Sutras (German translation) 

- Writings and podcasts by Mark Whitwell (German translations)

 

Timestamps:  

 

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:02:00] How Kathrin came to deeper Yoga practice

[00:05:00] Discovering intimacy with body and breath 

[00:10:00] Yoga for everybody

[00:15:00] Participating in life now, beyond self-improvement

[00:20:00] Rediscovering beauty within her Catholic upbringing 

[00:30:00] Rebuilding society through education

[00:35:00] Shifting views on sex and intimacy 

[00:45:00] Translating Yoga wisdom into German  

[00:50:00] Releasing cultural shame

 

This episode features Paul Hoffman, a devoted Christian who discovered yoga and has found it deeply enriches his religious life and spiritual connection. He shares how yoga complements Christian teachings and practices, helping him integrate breath, movement and prayer.

 

Paul recounts his journey to incorporating yoga into his church community and daily spiritual rituals. He provides insights into how yoga can allow Christians and people of all backgrounds to more fully embody sacred teachings. 

 

They discuss...

 

- How yoga created a framework for Paul's daily devotional practice and connection to the divine presence. 

- Adapting yoga for Christians using biblical language and Christian concepts.

- Teaching yoga and breathwork before Sunday services at his Episcopal church.

- Experiencing yoga as a form of whole body prayer and spirit baptism.

- Integrating sacred sexuality, intimacy and union as yoga.

- Releasing grief, trauma and obstructions through asana to receive grace.  

- Participating through yoga in the grace and blessings already present.

 

Favorite phrases:

 

"Yoga has urged me, forced me, urged me to take seriously what it is that I'm doing in church." 

 

"The kingdom is, inside you or, you know, the, the divine is like, yeast and bread. it's just part of the deal."

 

"What I'm starting to feel is that, well, no, actually that's, that might be where it is for me. it's a lot of conditioning, a lot of programming to, to break through, isn't it? This notion that you get to God by giving up sex."

 

Resources:

 

Paul Hoffman's website: www.breathemovepray.org

 

Timestamps:

 

[00:00] Introduction  

[00:01] How Paul was first introduced to yoga by his wife

[00:03] His beginner's yoga retreat with Mark at Esalen

[00:07] Finding yoga provided what was missing from only attending Sunday church  

[00:10] Using Christian concepts and chanting in yoga class

[00:15] Adapting yoga language and teachings to the Christian context

[00:22] Yoga helps actualize the essence of Christianity  

[00:26] The continued impact of realized beings like Jesus

[00:31] Participating through yoga in the living divinity 

[00:35] Teaching yoga at his church on Saturdays  

[00:43] A dying friend urging him to start a daily prayer practice 

[00:48] Yoga as receptivity to Christ's baptism, releasing obstructions

[00:54] Introducing yoga at church through video 

[01:00] Yoga practice as participating in ever-present grace   

[01:10] Conclusion and close

This episode features yogini Akia Merritt who shares her life journey growing up in Miami and discovering her capital S Self through yoga sadhana. Akiya recounts the journey from aspiring fashion designer in New York City to becoming a capital-Y Yoga teacher, and the pitfalls of the industry along the way. Relatable to everyone whose journey has taken them far from where they started, and then back home with compassion. 

 

Mark and Akia discuss: 

 

- Akia's childhood in poverty, family struggles with addiction, and dangerous neighborhood in Miami

- Her drive to get out of that environment and pursuit of fashion career in NYC

- A psychic telling her she would be a teacher… which she dismissed!

- Discovering through yoga practice 'you are what you're looking for'

- Anger, then compassion arising, seeing her family clearly

- Embodying freedom allowing her to be a mirror and bridge  

- Sharing with friends and family and helping create shifts in their lives

- Her continued shedding and settling into being a teacher

 

Favorite phrases:

 

- "Language is limiting, and you, you transmit to your family and friends, just by you being you."

- "You are, you are what you're looking for. You are what you're searching for." 

- "I'll give my life over to be able to hold someone's hand to that gate, to that door."

Timestamps:

 

[00:00:00] Introduction  

[00:01:00] Akia shares her challenging upbringing in Miami

[00:08:00] Her drive to get out and pursuit of fashion career

[00:12:00] A psychic tells Akia she will be a teacher

[00:19:00] Getting in touch with anger, then compassion for her family

[00:24:00] Finding clarity through yoga

[00:28:00] Now teaching yoga, starting with friends and family

[00:33:00] Akia describes discovering 'you are what you seek'

[00:38:00] Mark affirms Akia as an exemplary yoga teacher  

[00:43:00] Conclusion

 

This episode features a powerful and insightful conversation between Mark and a Yogini living in Iran, who we refer to as Sarah for her safety.

They discuss the ongoing revolution and protests in Iran, along with the government brutality and oppression people, especially women, face daily. Sarah shares her personal experiences surviving the turmoil, finding refuge through community, and taking action for freedom through sharing yoga's teachings.

This episode offers an inside look at Iran's struggle, the universal need for connection, and the hope that comes from within through truly knowing oneself. 

 

Key Topics: 

 

- Living under an oppressive regime in Iran 

- Government use of fear and financial struggle for control

- Intergenerational trauma and the younger generation's desire for freedom

- Taking action through spreading yoga's teachings and building community  

- The importance of knowing and expressing your authentic self

- Universal issues across cultures and religions that suppress life and intimacy

- Iran's deep culture and history of ancient wisdom now lost  

 

Insights:

 

- 80% of Iran's population is dissatisfied with the current regime

- Younger Iranians are questioning the system and motivated from within for change

- The Southeast province with high suppression has the brightest fire for revolution 

- Islam's rituals contain yogic principles of movement and breath that connect to the divine within 

 

Quotes:

 

- "They've been traumatizing people for as long as they've been in the country, for the past 40 years, 45 years, it's...they've started their authority with fear and killing people."

 

- "I really believe that more people, my quest is to open people's heart a little bit more. So build intimacy for every person for themselves so they can find their own way of conquering their fears." 

 

- "I was a kid...wearing shorts and a tank top. I was four years old, eating ice cream. And a woman with veil and everything comes and she's like, You have to cover up, you know, you're going to go to hell."

 

Takeaways:  

 

- Oppressive power structures that deny life create dysfunction across humanity 

- Revolution requires intimate self-knowledge and courage to take wise action  

- Fostering community and spreading empowering teachings is key for change

- We can all offer support to those fighting for freedom in Iran and beyond

 

Resources:

 

- Mark's essay "Iran: Root Causes and Root Solutions"

- YES - Yoga Education in Schools program

 

Timestamps

 

[00:00] Introduction  

[00:45] Living under an oppressive regime in Iran

[02:30] Government use of fear and financial struggle for control  

[04:15] Intergenerational trauma and desire for freedom

[07:00] Taking action by spreading yoga's teachings

[12:00] Universal issues across cultures and religions 

[17:00] Iran's deep culture and history of ancient wisdom

[22:00] Insights into the revolutionary movement

[27:00] Islam contains yogic principles  

[32:00] Effects of suppressing life and intimacy

[37:00] Iran's need for connection to its ancient wisdom

[44:00] Beauty of Iran and loss of wisdom traditions

[49:00] Conclusion and Call to Action

Rosalind and Andrew meet again to lay out the vision for the Heart of Yoga 'YES' programme: Yoga Education in Schools. 

 

Andrew shares the vision behind it: for every young person to leave school with a basic yoga education including the ability to practice connection with body and breath at home by themselves. 

 

We discuss how the project was born from Andrew's experience teaching yoga at a high school in New Zealand, where he saw firsthand how it benefited both students and teachers. And we discuss the 8-week teen yoga course that is at the heart of the YES program.  

 

Key Topics:  

 

- The mental health crisis among teens and the need for new solutions

- How the YES project started at Andrew's high school in New Zealand

- The vision for bringing yoga education to every student globally   

- The 8-week teen yoga course and how it's structured

- Teaching yoga breathing and asana to younger kids

- Stories of how teens benefit from yoga classes at school

- Training people to deliver the YES teen program in schools internationally

- Creating positive experiences for young people through yoga

 

Insights:

 

- Young people intuitively understand and feel the benefits of yoga for themselves. When they experience it, they don't need convincing to keep practicing.

- Yoga can create contexts for authentic human connection between teens and teachers. It's not about assessment or filling them with knowledge.   

- Teens appreciate having a space to rest, be quiet, and tap into inner peace amidst the stresses of school. The yoga "cleans the pot" so they can focus again.

- Teens provide profound and sensitive feedback on how yoga helps their mental health, grounding, sleep, and ability to engage life.

- Yoga is a positive cultural intervention, offering kids tools to transform their relationship with themselves, others and nature.

 

Quotes: 

 

"Yoga is prior to intellectual subjects and learning about life. It's to be connected to your actual life."

 

"After doing this, I feel like nothing can knock me off my balance." — teenage practitioner

 

"The breath made me feel all tingly and calm. Afterwards I feel like I can sleep for an eternity because I'm so connected to the earth." — 13 year old student 

 

Resources: 

 

Heart of Yoga: heartofyoga.org/YES

YES New Zealand Project Website: yogainschools.org.nz

Train to be a facilitator: October–November 2024, online

 

Timestamps:

 

2:00 - Introducing the YES project and its vision 

4:00 - How the project started organically at Andrew's New Zealand high school

6:00 - Taking yoga into schools globally, training facilitators 

10:00 - The mental health crisis and need for yoga in schools

15:00 - Creating the 8-week teen yoga program 

20:00 - On the profound wisdom and experiences of teens

25:00 - Powerful stories of teens benefiting from yoga   

30:00 - Using yoga for relational intelligence and autonomy

35:00 - Training people internationally to share the program

45:00 - Teaching yoga breathing to younger kids

50:00 - Allowing teens to experience all facets of life in yoga

55:00 - Yoga as a positive intervention in society and culture

This episode is a recording of a talk Mark Whitwell gave at the Omega Institute in New York in 2008. He speaks of Reality itself as an intelligent nurturing force, like a mother. Yoga is our direct participation in this nurturing reality, not an effort to achieve some future spiritual goal. 

 

This episode is a dharmic reset-reminder of yoga as participation in union, merging strength and receptivity just as we came into being ourselves through the union of our parents. Mark encourages listeners to see that any pain or difficult circumstance in life is ultimately healing and rebalancing when embraced fully. The practice of yoga reconnects us to the fact that we are cared for, no matter what arises.

 

Quotes:

 

- "Looking for God implies God is absent."

- "The more charming or logical a teacher is, the more they'll delude you into thinking you are less and have to get somewhere." 

- "Spiritual language implies you're not already there and have to attain something."

- "Relate to the life in people rather than labeling something as evil."

- "Mother is here. You are utterly cared for."

- "This pain is healing. My pain is nurturing."

- "On the mat is my complete intimacy with reality. I can now go off the mat and do it."

Timestamps:

 

4:00 - Discussing reality as nurturing force

8:00 - Pain as healing 

15:00 - Promising a daily yoga practice 

27:00 - Relating to pain and healing

38:00 - Reality appearing as you 

58:00 - Closing discussion

Welcome back to "God and Sex" book club part 3.

Mark and Rosalind argue about themes of the book around relationship, love and intimacy. 

 

Mark goes to the root of things as usual, connecting up the separate self to how relationship chaos plays out, and how yoga intervenes.

 

We discuss the longing for a "soulmate" and whether this idea is useful, reflect on the China teacher training, and a few more controversial subjects relating to intimacy. 

 

Be aware some of these subjects may be connected with painful emotions in ourselves & feel free to reach out any time if you need to. 

 

Key Topics Covered

 

- The presumption of being a separate self as the root of human suffering

- How religions tend to devalue the body and sexuality  

- Ramanuja's teaching that we need yoga to actualise oneness

- Participating in the union of opposites through yoga 

- Merging with your experience to understand yourself and life  

- Letting go of ideas like "soulmate" that create impossible expectations

- How vulgarity and abuse can also be expressions of denying sex

- Sharing yoga as a way to increase intimacy and improve relationships

 

Key quotes:

 

- "The hostility and disturbance in the world arises because people are not loving their life."

- "If the man could learn to love bodily, sexually, then there would be peace." 

- "Consciousness perceiving an object is a single movement — there is no separation."

- "Once you've tasted actual intimacy, the common patterns of sex finish."

- "There must be yoga, and there must be the polarity of opposites within and without."

- "The presumption of being a separate self with problems is an illusion."

- "You can't use anybody to make you happy."  

 

Resources

- God and Sex: Now We Get Both by Mark Whitwell  

- Yoga of Heart by Mark Whitwell

 

 Timestamps

 

[00:00:00] Introduction  

[00:01:00] The problem of separation as the root of suffering  

[00:06:00] Ramanuja's teaching about needing yoga   

[00:11:00] How religion devalues the body and sex

[00:16:00] Krishnamacharya's example of yoga and family life  

[00:21:00] How modern society still denies sex 

[00:26:00] Merging with your experience through yoga

[00:31:00] Letting go of the myth of "soulmates"   

[00:36:00] The misery caused by unrealistic expectations  

[00:41:00] The problem with techniques and sacred sexuality 

[00:46:00] The motivation to share these teachings  

[00:51:00] Being cautious about rushing into relationships

 

Grief is love.

Fear, anger, pain and grief are biological functions that resolve into compassion for all. Rather than fixation on my one dominant emotion, we develop an emotional intelligence. We predict the next emotion that is more fundamental than our present emotion. By this intelligence, we come to compassion. It is our own intelligence. We are born with it.

We saw an extraordinary Yoga transformation occur over one year.

Jin Hee Kim, (or Jinny) is a yogini from Korea and Melbourne. Over the past year, she has gone through a powerful journey of loss, realization, and return. Jinny shares how the death of her sister-in-law and the pain passed down from her mother, a woman identified as a shaman, led her into deep grief that no method could resolve.

When we met in Bali, she began to see that this grief was actually love. That the only way forward was to stop seeking and do her Yoga. To feel, to breathe, to be in her life.
This is a real and intimate dialogue about feminine power, suicide, healing, and what Yoga actually is. She speaks from experience. We do not need to run to monasteries or look for answers to big cultural promises. We need to be here. In our bodies. In our breath. In our relationships. This is where life is.

Key Takeaways

Grief Is Compassion – Jinny's journey began when she realized her grief wasn't something to fix. It was something to feel and offer.

Stop looking, start living. Stop Seeking, start Breathing – True Yoga began for her not in techniques, but in the simplicity of breath and body, just as they are.

Healing Is Intimacy – She found that healing came through a close relationship with herself, her family, and her surroundings.

Masculine Drive, Feminine Wisdom – A deep shift happened when she embraced her feminine. Shakti softened the fierce Shiva. The secular must serve the sacred.

Cultural Shame Holds Trauma – By speaking openly about her mother's story, she ended a cycle of silence and fear.

The Seduction Of Enlightenment – Her biggest lesson was that we don't need to transcend life. We need to live it fully, in our own way, in our own language.

Links & Resources

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

This episode explores rekindling our innate connection to nature through yoga and sensing practices. Rosalind has an insightful conversation with her friend Henriette Geber, a yogini with a deep love of the mountains, plants and animals.

 

They discuss how yoga helps us become more sensitive, intuit nature's aliveness, and dissolve harmful ways of relating that assume separation. Henriette shares how yoga empowers her natural affinities, from studying art history to living with the German Alps.

 

We discuss removing overlays of ideology to intuitively relate directly with the living world.

 

Key Topics 

 

- How yoga cultivates sensitivity to ourselves as nature 

- Dissolving the illusion of separateness from nature ingrained by society   

- Honoring the aliveness and subjectivity of all creatures and systems

- Henriette's countercultural move from the mountains to the city and back again

- Following our natural talents and relationships that emerge through yoga

 

Insights

 

- Assumptions of nature as passive or dead prevent us from sensing its aliveness

- Rituals trying to "connect" can reinforce separation if that belief is still there    

- Our bodies intuitively know which plants are healing if we relax our seeking mind

 

Quotes

 

"Yoga has given me this, that I trust what comes out of me. I think I was very outward oriented, like, how do you do certain things? How am I perceived? Always thinking like, oh, my perception might be really wrong or not even feeling how do I relate from the inside to this and giving me the sensitivity to actually feel how is my relationship to this, how is my sensing of this and then the strength to also act upon it and not be afraid."

 

"If you cannot feel your body, you cannot feel the natural world because ultimately it's the same thing. It's totally the same thing." 

 

"It's always there. It's there. You just need to listen."

 

Resources

 

- Franz von Stuck's painting "Sin" that Henriette wrote her thesis on

- The Correction by Amy Mindell, a book referenced

 

Timestamps

 

[00:00:00] Introduction  

[00:01:00] Henriette's background in the mountains and move to Berlin

[00:05:00] How yoga enabled tuning into her needs

[00:10:00] Studies in art history and disconnect from life   

[00:15:00] Henriette's return to the mountains from the city

[00:20:00] Painting of a woman and snake Henrietta was drawn to 

[00:25:00] Positive symbolism of the snake across cultures

[00:30:00] Henriette's relationship with animals and plants

[00:35:00] Accessing intuitive knowledge about medicinal plants

[00:40:00] Story illustrating the ever-present relationship between humans and nature  

[00:45:00] Rituals reinforcing separation versus assuming connection   

[00:50:00] Being in relationship versus demanding feelings from nature

[00:55:00] Living creatures acknowledging Henriette 

[01:00:00] Moving to farm not being the happily ever after

[01:03:00] Closing

In this week's episode of the Heart of Yoga Podcast, Mark and Andy Raba explore the world of psychics, seers, shamans and sages.

As director of the Yoga Education in Schools Charitable Trust in New Zealand, Andy leads initiatives to bring yoga-based health programs to young people in NZ and abroad.With a Master's degree and over a decade of experience fostering literacy in NZ schools, Andrew has extensively published on yoga and meditation and is dedicated to bringing yoga's benefits to students' wellbeing.

They discuss how to discern truth from charlatanry, the ethics around predicting the future, and why embodiment through yoga is key.

Mark emphasizes the importance of maintaining autonomy through daily yoga practice rather than seeking escape or solutions from spiritual leaders. He shares perspective on how psychics and seers should serve the community without claiming special powers.

Mark and Andy also talk about relating to the subtle realm, trauma healing, and keeping ourselves safe from disempowerment on the spiritual path. Tune in for an insightful discussion about navigating the mystical with open eyes and an empowered heart.

Key Points: 

 

• There are genuine psychics and seers who have special abilities to perceive realms beyond normal perception. However, there are many more charlatans who falsely claim such abilities.
  
  

• To discern truth from falsehood, it's important to have your own direct participation and intimacy with reality through yoga practice. This gives you autonomy and empowerment.
  
  

• Making predictions about the future is unethical. It implies you don't have access now to deeper knowledge about your life.
  
  

• Psychics and seers should be ordinary, humble people, not claiming to be special or different. Their abilities should be used to serve the community, not for ego or profit.
  
  

• For people with trauma, the subtle realm can seem an escape. But yoga brings embodiment and healing, not escape. Wake down into the body, don't go up into the subtle.
  
  

• The gross tangible world and the subtle intangible world are one, not separate. Through embodiment and intimacy with the tangible, we access the intangible.
  
  

• Keep yourself safe from disempowerment by spiritual leaders. With yoga practice for autonomy, you can discern who to learn from without losing yourself.
  
  

Connect with Any Raba :

Instagram: @_andyraba_

www.yogainschools.org.nz

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If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here:

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You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on

 Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/yogaofheart

 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeartofYoga

and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/markwhitwell

In this episode, Mark interviews Eva about her journey discovering Yoga and music. Eva shares how she was classically trained in cello as a child but hated the competitive pressure. She dropped music for 18 years until finding Yoga, which helped her rediscover enjoyment and presence. A few years into Yoga, Eva spontaneously picked up guitar and started playing purely for pleasure, posting videos online.

 

Mark and Eva explore how yoga catalyzed Eva's musical reawakening. Yoga helped Eva let go of striving for perfection and future attainment, and instead play music for the joy of each moment. Eva discusses how Yoga taught her to receive support and gave her courage to be vulnerable sharing imperfect musical videos. She also describes realizing Yoga isn't about achieving a thoughtless state, but being fully immersed in each experience.

 

Eva offers an inspirational example of how Yoga provided the foundation to rediscover her musical self by cultivating presence, receptivity and relationship.

Keypoints: 

• [00:03:00] Discovering yoga helped Eva find enjoyment and presence
• [00:05:00] Yoga was the catalyst that allowed Eva's musical talent to emerge
  
  
• [00:08:00] Eva learned to receive support and be vulnerable through Yoga
  
  
• [00:12:00] Eva rejected the competitive classical music system as a teen
  
  
• [00:18:00] Finding a Yoga teacher who respected Eva as an individual was pivotal
  
  
• [00:20:00] Yoga felt like the opposite of Eva's prior athletic yoga experience
  
  
• [00:25:00] Eva played music purely for enjoyment rather than future goals
  
  
• [00:30:00] Eva had to unlearn criticism and perfectionism around mistakes
  
  
• [00:40:00] Simple Yoga helped a depressed musician rediscover her artistry
  
  
• [00:50:00] Eva realized Yoga wasn't about achieving a thoughtless state

Memorable Quotes 

"Yoga as a system should adapt to the individual, not the other way around."

"It's not to get to the end, to the grand crescendo of the great symphony. It's every note along the way in harmony with every other note."

"There's no state like that, that I should be striving towards. What I have right now and what I'm doing right now is it."

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If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here:

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You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

In this episode of the Heart of Yoga podcast, Mark has an insightful conversation with his student Irina Esposito about her journey with Yoga. 

The cosmos and everything in the cosmos is obviously a pure intelligence, energy and an intrinsic harmony. In religious language of ancient India it is Shiva Shakti… or all that is, and there are no problems. This was Irina's sudden realization. It hit her "like a done of bricks". This is the realization of an ordinary life of anybody when the Hatha Yoga Tantras are practiced daily, actually, naturally and non obsessively.

Life is unity, an indivisible condition of no separation, no difference, unique individuation in the context of utter singularity. Thank you Irina for your Yôga realization and sharing this, your self with the world Here. 

Irina shares how the simple daily yoga practice Mark taught her is transformative.
She began to feel more connected to herself and worry less. The conversation explores pivotal moments of recognition Irina experienced through her practice, as well as how yoga shifted her perspective on body image and food.

An illuminating part of the talk is when old family patterns came up after a vacation with a parent, showing there are still habitual conditionings even after deep insights. Overall, the episode offers a beautiful glimpse into the power of dedicated yoga practice.  

Timestamps:

3:55 - They discuss Irina's experience in yoga teacher training with Mark and how she started a daily practice. 

12:55 - Irina talks about how yoga helped her feel more connected to herself and her body. 

28:35 - Irina describes a moment of recognition where she deeply felt that the whole universe is female and male energy. 

38:50 - Irina shares how yoga changed her relationship to food and body image.

55:15 - Irina talks about going on vacation with her mother after her recognition and how old patterns came up again.

Quotes:

"You gave us the simple practice and I just tried to do it every day. And this is so different to the practice I did before."
"I don't overthink that much. The crown is open and receiving."

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In this episode, I'm joined by Joseph Lauricella. We dive into Joseph's journey on The Yoga Bus, making yoga accessible to everyone. It is truly inspiring.

We talk about the power of yoga for newcomers and the limitations of the popular styles. Joseph shares his motivation behind his book, "Miracle of Body Wisdom," and his vision for authentic yoga education for all.

We discuss the discipline of writing a book. Also the function of yoga in dealing with anxiety in tough times. We explore how whole body breathing can boost our well-being and making yoga suitable for everyone, regardless of beliefs or body type. We discus the YES program, Yôga Education in Schools. How Yoga isn't just an exercise; it's vital for our future, a subject as vital as any other subject taught in schools, such as mathematics or physics! 

We discuss unity, authenticity, and the healing journey after loss. Joseph shares his personal story of loss and healing, and the positive impact of recent gatherings and upcoming retreats in Mexico. We're all in this together.

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In this episode, we dive deep into Mark's transformative journey to India. Mark shares his personal experiences and first impressions upon arriving in this vibrant and diverse country. He discusses how The Beatles' presence in Rishikesh influenced his interest in Indian wisdom traditions, making it a global phenomenon.

Mark reflects on the powerful impact of rock music from England and the U.S. on his life, particularly highlighting the musical genius of Ray Davies from The Kinks. He opens up about his initial moments in India, painting a vivid picture of the sights, sounds, and emotions that overwhelmed him.

We explore the challenges and insights of being a white minority in India, contrasting it with Mark's observations as a part of the white majority in New Zealand. Mark shares his candid thoughts on India's lack of a social welfare system and how survival takes on a unique meaning in this bustling country.

Throughout our conversation, Mark takes us on a spiritual journey, recounting his encounters with Bhakti Vedanta Swami and the worldwide temple movement initiated through chanting in Hyde Park. We delve into the essence of India's holy cities, bringing to light the blend of spirituality and commerce that characterizes them.

Mark's trip to India serves as the central narrative, intertwining with various topics such as colonialism and the preservation of authenticity in a rapidly changing world. Mark's personal experiences and insights offer a captivating window into his adventure and the profound impact it had on his life.

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Our guest today is our wonderful collaborator in Japan, Minami Takashima.
Minami is a yogini and heart of Yôga teacher, teaching in the traditions of the hathayoga non dual Tantra. She has written the introduction to the Japanese second edition of Mark Whitwell's Yôga Heart and teaches throughout Japan and the world. 

Born in Sapporo, Japan, she found that early life spiritual awakenings were not really helping with the pain of corporate life and socialization, but were rather making society's misalignment with nature's flow even more obvious and miserable.
One day, she came across Mark's book Yoga of Heart, and says "this changed my life completely." "There's no steps to be taken". "Everything you are seeking to become, you already are." "You are the power of the cosmos"— the book was a great statement of your life's actual worth. 

Minami has had victory over the oppressive misogyny of society that restricts women, and men, and all of life. In this victory she understands the difficulties of the usual life, so can be extremely helpful to others going through what she has had to go through herself. In Yôga such a person is called the "Acharya", one who can teach. 

Minami found that traditional heart of Yoga, Hathayoga practice bridges spirituality and tangible reality, allowing our masculine and feminine aspects to find their natural harmony. Knowing herself and her students to be Reality itself ("divine existence" itsel.) Minami teaches from the authority of her own experience and power. She lives in Japan and New Zealand with her yogi-musician husband Rey. 
Teaching mainly one on one in an intimate, traditional way, Minami serves others to find their innate power, intelligence and beauty. 

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Clayton Joseph Scott is a singer, songwriter and master Yoga Teacher. Born in Los Angeles, California, he attended Santa Monica High School. Clayton lived most of his life as a street hustling native of Venice Ca. He was raised in the culture of musicians and pioneers of the counter culture.

Clayton speaks clearly about over coming addiction of every kind. He was in his own words, a gourmet addict, masterful at keeping addictions finely counteracting each so as to hold them in all in place. Until…. ? 

As a Yôga enthusiast (one of his addictions) for many years Clayton mastered all the popular styles of the yoga industry. In this context he discovered the principles of the modern founder of Yôga, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and was then able to make sense of it all. 

Clayton's own music career is highlighted by his touring band Brightside. He has a number of notable albums of poetic depth and beauty. 

Albums and EPs include Heavy Rest, More Love, West of Lincoln, Let Go and View from the Moon.

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Liliana Lakshmi and her husband Satya are renowned yoga teachers, whose influence extends from India to the Americas, and from Berlin to Bali. Liliana, born into tribal culture of indigenous shamans of Colombia was quickly able to understand the shamanic cultures of ancient India, their yogas of participation and the profound realization of their ancient cultures, both of India and the Americas. Liliana is the hope of humanity, and she will not be exploited by any mere belief systems or point of view. She embraces all life and all cultures in the samyama of truth, the spotlight of absolute reality. Liliana is a bridge for humanity of cultures, ethnicities, of East and West, and of ancient to modern. Mark shares some time with Liliana discussing their time together over the years and their mutual purpose to bring the Yoga of intimacy to the entire world. 
They discussed the lost teaching of the Tantras that flourished for a thousand years prior to the 14th C. Liliana shares her early life in shamanic culture, and her eventual pilgrimages to India and Europe.

In this episode you will hear...

''... I went to to see a doctor and ... I was asking ... how does it look if I want to remove these implants? And I remember ... he would tell me ''but you're a very young woman. You don't want to look like a man''...''

''...There is a beautiful tribe in the north and I feel my ancestors land coming from there...they're quite famous because they have the ability to connect through space and time with all the tribes in another parts of the world...''

 

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Ernessa Bergman is a world-travelling Yogini, Mother and Biosynthesis / Somatic Body Psychotherapist who is currently living and working in Tel Aviv, Israel. She reflects on her long friendship with Mark at trainings around the world and her life as a mother and yoga teacher.

In this episode you will hear...

'' ...you torture yourself with the insanity of trying to get enlightened or something, or the insanity of trying to get to God. It is completely insane. It creates the separate self that is seeking.''

''...In the heart, that's where it says you break your heart, you start to cry because you realize that everything you've been doing up until now, at least mentally ...consciously, has not been putting your attention in the place that can give you more joy..."

"...This yoga of participation in the given reality, the power of the cosmos that is factually their condit. Just like it happened to you and you pass it on to every kind of person there, and you do it without drama, without theater. You just do it consistently and you just stood your ground. You bloom in your own garden..."

 

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Can Yoga be real in the corporate world? Can we live from the natural state while moving through meetings, deadlines, and the everyday push of professional life?

In this conversation with my good friend and dedicated practitioner Maartje Hesseling, we speak about what happens when Yoga becomes a daily reality. Maartje lives in Switzerland and works at a high level in the corporate world, but over the last three years, she has quietly come into a steady rhythm of practice. We talk about how that shift has changed her life, not by chasing self-improvement, but by staying close to what she actually is.

This one is for anyone who has felt torn between their inner life and the world of work. Maartje shares from her own experience, and her clarity and honesty really shine.

Key Takeaways

Yoga as Daily Relationship – Yoga becomes sustainable when it's not a self-improvement project, but a daily pleasure and relationship with life.

Drop the Drive – The subtle pressure to always get better is deeply ingrained, but it's not necessary. It's not helpful.

Corporate Compassion – When we're intimate with our own life, we relate with respect and clarity to everyone around us, even when things are tough at work.

Inclusion as Yoga – True inclusion at work begins by truly seeing each person, their presence, their gifts, and being in relationship with them.

No Conflict Needed – Yoga in the workplace isn't about turning anyone into a spiritual person. It's about being human together and making space for wellbeing.

Start With Practice – The clarity, confidence, and connection we long for don't come from a strategy. They come from simply showing up in our practice.

Links & Resources

You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it.

Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com 

Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. 

This podcast is sustained by your donations.

Mark Whitwell interviews Rosalind Atkinson about her life with yoga and realisations. In particular, Mark asks about her academic studies of english literature, especially the mystic poet William Blake, and the relevance of these studies to her life in yoga.

This episode will be of interest to anyone with a mixed experience in academia or poetry, who is interested in the yogic process of making inspiration relevant to our lives right now.

We also discuss the last two years of teaching around the world through zoom, and end with a little teaser about a new project, called "Wardrobe Dharma".

In this episode you will hear...

''And I got to the end of this research project ... and I was trying to write a conclusion that summed up what I had learned in the process. And I came across a line by Blake that said something like ... the true faculty of knowledge is experience... And it was a very unsettling phrase to me because I realized in that moment that of everything I'd written about passionately, it wasn't my experience I was writing about Blake's experience.''

''I fell straight into the spiritual seekers trap of hungrily seeking experience...for myself...''

''It's like if my mind was the king and the body was the peasants of the kingdom. Even if the king ignores the peasants, they're still there. And they're still feeding him. But he's just not acknowledging them... Abusing them, mistreating them, not appreciating their work. ''

"Blake's poetry speaks in and as that force of life that is beyond the mind. And that's why obviously people from different cultures resonate with it. If it was just culturally constructed, then the English would love Blake the best. But they didn't, they thought he belonged in a straight jacket."

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What is natural movement for a human being?   In this episode we are graced with the presence of Anne-Tyler, yogini of the Americas and her profound story of evolving movement patterns from the strictures of ballet into the natural forms for a human body.    Mark and Anne-Tyler discuss learning to dance from a young age in the UK and developing her skills when moved back to the US, and how it wasn't obvious that ballet is a very unnatural way of movement. They discuss abuse of power in the world of ballet and the feeling of being replaceable at any minute.   Tapping into pure beingness sheds a light while still being in the trap. Learning how to breathe. Getting through the stranglehold of thought, seeking and performance. Returning to the truth, returning to the heart, returning to the breath and to nature. Real yoga for real people, not performance, not gymnastics.   ''I came here to disrupt patterns''. The breath enables the shedding of layers of old patterns and reveals one's true being. There is no denial or suppression in Yoga. Teaching people how to help themselves. Yoga as an empowerment and embodyment practise.

Anne-Tyler's teachings and online gatherings are here at www.bloss-om.com or on social media @theecstaticblossom

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Mark and his dear friend Patrick collude at the beach in Australia to discuss Patrick's life of Yoga and insight. They unpack the lie of "trying to get there" through Yoga. Get where? We are already here!

Patrick breaks down the regular Australian conditioning of beer and sport, and relates how one sentence from a partner inspired a quest for change.

They chart the murky waters of addiction to asana, and transforming it to participation in reality.

Patrick teaches Yoga and Tai Chi in Australia, Sri Lanka and Fiji, and has been the heart and soul of Fiji teacher trainings for nearly a decade. His teaching is characterised by wisdom, humour and the unexpected.

Explore Patrick's website at https://www.bodyawareness.com.au

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This podcast tells the story of Maja's transition from social activism to Yoga revelation. How Yoga becomes the means to enacting the change we want to see. As Gandhi said.. "be the change you want to see."

In this conversation we hear once again the process to become an actual Yoga teacher in real life and community. From Sloviana Maja's background and society has had its own traumas and horrific trials. Life has been difficult.

Maja speaks of her personal victory in the midst of societal patterning, hostility and despair. As a government public health professional working in the struggles of social policy Maja has been conscientious and ambitious to improve the difficult conditions of the world. She speaks of how her Yoga has enabled her to do this, while transcending conflict with society and in herself. 

Maja speaks of the various vehicles in which she has learned to teach Yoga effectively. At her work in very large groups of colleagues, in smaller intimate circles of friends, and in one-on-one private tuition. 

Maja is the hope of humanity.