A Curious Yogi with Bobbi Paidel – Details, episodes & analysis

Season 5 of A Curious Yogi is here.

I’m so happy to begin this season with a solo episode exploring an essential teaching from my teacher, Swamiji, who encouraged everyone to learn and memorize these seven verses from the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 2, verses 19–25). He described them as containing the essence of the entire scripture.

In this episode, I share some of Swamiji’s reflections and commentary, attempt to sing the Sanskrit verses myself (eek), and explore ways we can read, contemplate, and meditate on this timeless text as modern seekers.

Some key themes from the conversation:

• The Gita is not simply a literal story about war or battle, but an exploration of the inner conflict between the individual self and the wisdom of the Higher Self.
• Gita means “song” — these teachings were meant to be sung, recited, and absorbed deeply.
• The teachings point us toward deathlessness: the reminder that we are not merely the body or identity we take ourselves to be.
• Perspective matters deeply — reading the Gita through Krishna’s consciousness offers something very different from reading solely through Arjuna’s confusion.

If this episode gives you even a small glimpse into the depth and beauty of the Gita, I’d love for you to join me this June for an 18-week reading, study, and meditation group: 18 chapters in 18 weeks.

All sessions will be recorded, so there’s no pressure to attend live every time. And Patreon members receive 50% off the full offering.

More than anything, I’m excited to explore this mystical and practical scripture intentionally with the curious yogi sangha.

In oneness, 

Bobbi 

Thanks for listening! 

💭Support the podcast Patreon Page and join monthly satsangs 

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one. 

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories @bobbipaidel  

💭Join me for Yog Sadhana Retreats in epic landscapes like Northern India, Norway, Sri Lanka and more!  Doors Now Open

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, be a guest, or practice together - Let’s connect! 🙏♥️✨

"When you experience trauma, your spectrum of grief grows…on the other side of the spectrum, it has as much joy as you are able to experience as well."

In this powerful episode, I chat with Rodrigo Souza of Allihopa Yoga - from his living room in Malmö, Sweden. Rodrigo is the coolest yogi I’ve ever met, and more importantly, he lives yoga in every sense of the word.

We delve into the profound impact of yoga on trauma recovery and spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation through his journey, illustrating how adaptive yoga can transform lives by fostering resilience and healing.

Key Highlights:

➖ “Life is not against you; you are enough”

➖Yoga goes beyond physical postures; it’s about connection

➖Curiosity keeps us alive and engaged in life.

➖ How to empower students by offering agency in their practice

➖ Grief and joy coexist on the same spectrum.

➖Yoga should be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability

➖Inclusive language enhances the yoga experience for all.

➖”This is perfect, or this is perfect…”

Connect with Rodrigo:

Instagram: @allihopayoga

Web: www.allihopayoga.com/

Practice with Rodrigo:

Yoga for Disabled Folks: Accessible & Adaptive Practices for those with Limited Mobility & Wheelchair Users a 10-hour online course With Rodrigo Souza on demand.

https://www.accessibleyogaschool.com/yoga-for-disabled-folks

I loved exploring the true essence of yoga with Rodrigo. We are aligned in our understanding of why stillness and meditation are emphasized, and Rodrigo shed light on the importance of reclaiming yoga from commercial biases and ableism for me. This inspiring talk serves as a beacon of hope and empowerment for all.

I got so fired up and touched with this convo, I promise you will too.

And I’ll always remember how to hug the cactus.

In oneness,

Bobbi

Thanks for listening!

💭Support the podcast and join monthly satsangs at patreon.com/acuriousyogipodcast

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories @bobbipaidel

💭Join me in northern India for the Yog Sadhana Retreat Himalaya March 2026 bobbipaidel.com/himalayan-retreat

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, be a guest, or practice together find me at bobbipaidel.com/connect 🙏♥️✨

“Being truly conscious requires stepping back from compulsions and attachments - a change in the operating system. And sometimes we need a helping hand for that. We can’t do it alone, nor should we have to.”

For me, the healing, the coming home, starts with shame. And is currently seeped in gratitude.

In this solo episode, I share my personal story woven together with words from wise teachers and thinkers. Borrowed from the sages, saints and sponsors who have inspired my own inquiry into addiction, mental health and healing, I share my take aways from 6 years of sobriety.

The intention in this honest, and unpolished episode is to share my hope, courage and strength for any other yogis or seekers out there struggling with addictions, compulsions and their own "stinking thinking".

Let’s all remember Swamiji’s words; “God lives in the effort.”

In this episode, I mention a few resources

➖Yoga and the 12 Steps: www.y12sr.com

➖And check out this lit Season 1, Episode 25 with Nikki in season 1 HERE

➖Gabor Mate’s book, “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction” HERE

And, connect below if you’d like to connect or reflect privately on this episode.

Thanks for being here.

💭Support the podcast and join our monthly satsang at patreon.com/acuriousyogipodcast

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review on Apple podcasts – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories @bobbipaidel

💭Join me in northern India for the Yog Sadhana Retreat Himalaya March 2025 bobbipaidel.com/himalayan-retreat

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, be a guest, or practice together find me at bobbipaidel.com/connect 🙏♥️✨

"It's never too late to make changes and reconnect with nature."

In today's delightful conversation, I speak with a dear friend and colleague, Anette Christensen, a certified Ayurvedic health counsellor, therapist, and founder of Ayurvedic Center Malmö.

We delve into the ancient practice of Ayurveda, exploring its principles, applications in modern life, and the importance of daily routines for maintaining balance. Anette highlights the significance of understanding one's dosha and the practical steps individuals can take to integrate Ayurvedic practices into their daily lives for improved well-being.

Ayurveda and Yoga are sister philosophies and applied lifestyles, which is why I find this talk so relevant for all the curious yogis out there. The interconnectedness of mind, body, and nature - the need for a holistic approach to health and wellness.

Here are some big takeaways;

➖Understanding your dosha is key to personal health.

➖Daily routines and practices are essential for maintaining balance.

➖The opposite balances: understanding how to counteract imbalances in life.

➖Sleep is crucial for mental and physical health.

➖Ayurveda emphasizes prevention rather than just treatment.

➖Creating a lifestyle around Ayurveda leads to long-term health benefits.

Find Anette at the beautiful Ayurvedic Center in Malmö, Sweden – my yoga home away from home, a quiet oasis in busy city life.

And join us! Upcoming courses with me and Anette, along with our Deep Winter Day Retreat on December 28th. More on the event calendar HERE

I really enjoyed getting clear on Ayurveda, how it aligns with yoga and exactly how to begin to apply the simple practices to our daily routines.

In oneness,

Bobbi

Thanks for listening!

💭Support the podcast Patreon Page and join monthly satsangs

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories @bobbipaidel

💭Join me in northern India for the Yog Sadhana Retreat Himalaya, March 2026 HERE

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, be a guest, or practice together - Let’s connect! 🙏♥️✨

“Take that 7 minutes (meditation) a day. And nurture it like a little seedling and watch how it grows into the beautiful plant of oneness and watch how it oozes out into your life.”

This week's guest is Mayank in New Zealand, he is first and foremost a yogi and meditator. He teaches Somatics, Restorative Movement & QiGong at the Wisdom of Meditation Centre in Te Horo, New Zealand.

Mayank and I discuss his story of growing up in a religious home and talk about the expanded meaning of the “G” word (GOD!). Mayank graciously shares his lifetime of study and meditation in India and how to live our awareness practically, in a life filled with many ups and downs.

He shares with me on how to “build the relationship” with meditation over time, so that “meditation does me, I don’t do meditation.”

Find Mayank HERE:

Retreat: .wisdomofmeditation.com/retreat-himalaya-2024

Kirtan: spirit-of-kirtan.bandcamp.com

Season 1 episode 12 with Shikhaa HERE

A great conversation, I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for listening!

💭 Find the full show notes at bobbipaidel.com/podcast-s3-ep10-mayank

💭Support the podcast and join monthly satsangs at patreon.com/acuriousyogipodcast

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review on Apple podcasts – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories @bobbipaidel

💭Join me in northern India for the Yog Sadhana Retreat Himalaya March 2025 bobbipaidel.com/himalayan-retreat

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, be a guest, or practice together find me at bobbipaidel.com/connect 🙏♥️✨

Today I’m joined live in Sainj Valley, Himachal Pradesh, with a wonderful teacher, satsangee and great human being who I’m honoured to call my friend - Vijay Shyam. Check out season 1 episode 5 for the first conversation we had on the podcast, where Vijay shares his stories and insights and his meeting with Baba Vivekanand almost 40 years ago.

As Vijay and I adventured for a few days in the Himalayas, we had a special meeting with this very same Baba before we recorded this episode. As we discuss what we’re experiencing and understanding in our own sadhana, highlighted by the teachings of our shared Guru, Babaji, and other enlightened beings, I’ve clipped in some of our talk with Babaji from his little room at the temple.

Here are some of the major points we circle on:

➖08:55 Place everything at the feet of Guru

➖16:52 The world will keep pushing your buttons

➖18:01 How to be like the trees meditating

➖22:09 Grief of death and knowing unborn

➖34:30 We are the eternal Being, not beings

➖42:35 Babaji and Zero-ness - just empty your thoughts

➖49:29 Burning karm and don’t interfere with nature

➖55:42 Guidance is important - hold somebody’s hand to walk this road

➖61: 50 Surrender everything, even Sattwa or goodness

➖1:08:10 Making any being less than God is a kind of violence

Connect with Vijay Shyam at www.nondual.dk www.linktr.ee/vijayshyam108

This delightful and deep conversation focuses on egolessness, surrender, death and living a truly illuminated life of oneness by knowing all as God, or Guru. This truly celebrates the highest knowledge, great company and another successful season of A Curious Yogi Podcast.

So sit back, relax, and come to the Himalayas with Vijay and me. I look forward to seeing you next season.

In oneness,

Bobbi

Thanks for listening!

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review on Apple podcasts – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭Never miss a new episode and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite platform.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories – just be sure to tag @bobbipaidel so we can connect

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, offer feedback or be a guest, please get in touch.

💭 Want to go further into your understanding of yoga sadhana? Let’s share in the journey together at www.bobbipaidel.com/connect 🙏♥️✨

Swamiji's words ring true today; "Saadhaana, or practice, is only relevant when you as your source are united to the Whole, and that is called Yog."

Today I share thoughts on the nature of the mind, resolutions or Sankalp, and how social media can keep us in conflict.

I invite you to contemplate the following in your sadhana;

➖ How does your mind work? Why do you think, feel, act, and relate the way you do?

➖ What might your life look like if your resolution was to simply know, accept and love yourself?

➖ What can you turn your attention towards that illuminates the perfection and wholeness of who you are beyond your personality?

Let me know your resolutions and your reflections on where you're free and where you still have work to do.

Thank you for being here, and sharing this path of sadhana together.

Let's keep connected!

in oneness,

Bobbi

Thanks for listening!

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review on Apple podcasts – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭Never miss a new episode and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite platform.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories – just be sure to tag @bobbipaidel so we can connect

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, offer feedback or be a guest, please get in touch.

💭 Want to go further into your understanding of yoga sadhana? Let’s share in the journey together at www.bobbipaidel.com/connect 🙏♥️✨

“Patience, finding your teacher, and a community, a community that is led by a higher goal, led by purpose, by empathy, togetherness - will help you.”

In this episode, I talk to the ever-fresh and brilliant Prasad Rangnekar. Humble and humorous with a way of connecting the listener to the underlying essence of yoga is, with total clarity, Prasad has been teaching and living those teachings of yoga as a scientific system of spirituality for nearly 30 years.

Today, he gives us a broader context to consider when arriving at the practices and study of yoga, as well as the utmost importance of studentship. I ask him how we can practice yoga today while respecting the roots, the origins, and the culture from which it arises. He amazingly expounds all my questions with analogies and inquiries from which we can all learn.

Here’s just a tiny sample of the key knowledge points:

➖08:20 Yoga as the spiritual, cultural capital of India

➖15:19 There needs to be respect for this grand narrative of yoga

➖20:41 Yoga is an ecosystem

➖33:09 Yoga as a longer path of Self-transformation

➖39:48 The confusion of a “yoga teacher” after a 200-hour training

➖47:42 Recognize the volume of ground we have to cover

➖51:12 Finding your teacher is extremely important, not just a teacher

➖53:15 Sangha is a spiritual community of fellow seekers with a deeper resonance

Sign up for Prasad’s newsletter HERE.

Or follow his popular IG account HERE @yogaprasad_institute

I left this conversation with my heart open for the yoga we so thoroughly discussed. The yoga which can never, and should never, be extracted in part from the whole, magnificent Self that we all aspire to know and reside in.

Whether you’re a student, teacher or simply curious about what yoga really is, there is something here for you.

in oneness,

Bobbi

Thanks for listening!

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review on Apple podcasts – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭Never miss a new episode and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite platform.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories – just be sure to tag @bobbipaidel so we can connect

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, offer feedback or be a guest, please get in touch.

💭 Want to go further into your understanding of yoga sadhana? Let’s share in the journey together at www.bobbipaidel.com/connect 🙏♥️✨

“There’s no peace until we truly know ourselves; until we know the unchanging being.”

It is a total delight to share the Satsang space with friend, seeker, creator and teacher Sundaram. Originally from Poland, Sundaram has been studying and sharing Advait Vedant (non-dualism) teachings for 15 years. Today, we get into his story, along with the ancient wisdom from stories in Indian scriptures, how to find peace through meditation and satsang, plus so much more!

Some of our highlight moments:

➖19:39 Where we put our attention is everything

➖26:00 The choice we’re all facing at every moment

➖28:24 There’s no peace until we truly know ourselves

➖33:57 Burning the seeds of ignorance

➖43:17 Importance of inspiration

➖47:00 Meditation is not about removing your thoughts

➖49:02 A story from Yog Vashisht

Connect with Sundaram and subscribe to Yog Tales: www.yogtales.com/

Watch Episode 1 of Yog Vashisht Animated HERE

This is a pretty deep conversation which explores the subtle yet powerful message of wisdom in Advait Vedant. Listen with an open heart and consider what you might expound for yourself by contemplating the ever-present witness through meditation.

And let us know what you think!

in oneness,

Bobbi

Thanks for listening!

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review on Apple podcasts – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭Never miss a new episode and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite platform.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories – just be sure to tag @bobbipaidel so we can connect

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, offer feedback or be a guest, please get in touch.

💭 Want to go further into your understanding of yoga sadhana? Let’s share in the journey together at www.bobbipaidel.com/connect 🙏♥️✨

“There’s always someone looking for help, whether we notice it or not. I think that we don’t need to create a reality separate from the actual reality.”

Such a meaningful conversation today with Tejal Patel, a first-generation Indian American yoga teacher, writer, podcaster, and community organizer. Tejal aims to educate and empower individuals and groups worldwide to practice yoga holistically and through a social justice equity lens.

Touchpoints;

➖ 14:10 Yoga is not a gift given to the world, it’s a relationship

➖23:31 Cultural appropriation vs appreciation

➖32:51 Social justice and yoga are intrinsically linked

➖37:21 What to do with our discomfort?

➖44:21 How you can take action and join larger collectives

➖46:00 Lululemon’s negative climate impact

Tejal can be found organizing and teaching at the revolutionary Tejal Yoga online studio, a primarily South Asian teacher-led yoga community focused on social justice actions and authentic, culturally rooted spiritual practices: www.tejalyoga.com

Also mentioned in the episode is www.abcdyogi.com & www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com

Connect with Tejal on IG: @tejalyoga

This discussion is filled with practical ways we can all begin to examine the inequalities in the communities and systems we’re a part of, along with many tangible pathways to taking action right now. Tejal's clarity, conviction and well-spoken wisdom will leave you with much to consider.

In oneness,

Bobbi

Thanks for listening!

💭 If you liked this episode, please leave a review on Apple podcasts – it really, really helps the show reach more people, plus I love reading each one.

💭Never miss a new episode and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite platform.

💭 Share your biggest takeaway on Instagram stories – just be sure to tag @bobbipaidel so we can connect

💭 If you’d like to chat about the show, offer feedback or be a guest, please get in touch.

💭 Want to go further into your understanding of what it means to be both human and divine through yoga sadhana? Let’s share in the journey together at www.bobbipaidel.com/connect 🙏♥️✨