Ep 195 Eddie Stern - From Ashtanga to Exploration www.eddiestern.com | @eddiestern Eddie Stern discusses his evolving relationship with yoga, moving from a strict Ashtanga practice to a more holistic approach that incorporates various elements of yoga, spirituality, and personal well-being. He emphasizes the importance of community, the role of the temple in his spiritual life, and the need to adapt practices to suit individual needs. Eddie also reflects on the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern science, advocating for a personalized yoga experience that fosters growth and self-discovery Key Points  ·    Eddie's yoga practice has evolved significantly over the years. ·  The temple serves as a vital space for spiritual expression. ·      Transitioning from Ashtanga allowed Eddie to explore a more holistic approach to yoga. ·      Community and relationships play a crucial role in the yoga journey. ·      Listening to one's body is essential for a sustainable practice. ·      Eddie integrates scientific research into his yoga teachings. ·      Personal growth is a continuous journey in yoga and life. ·      Diversity in yoga practices is important for individual needs. ·      Eddie emphasizes the importance of joy and creativity in practice. ·      The future of yoga lies in embracing change and personal exploration.

Adam discusses the pervasive issue of systemic abuse within the yoga community, particularly in Ashtanga yoga. He explores the impact of hierarchy and control, the role of language in perpetuating abuse, and the various forms of psychological and physical abuse that can occur in yoga spaces. Adam emphasizes the need for accountability among teachers, the importance of creating safe spaces for dialogue, and the necessity for change within the community to address discrimination and gaslighting. He concludes with a call to action for teachers and students alike to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment in yoga. www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga  "Language can mean different things to different people." Key Points ·      Systemic abuse exists in the yoga world, particularly in Ashtanga. ·      Hierarchy and control can lead to psychological and physical abuse. ·      Language used in yoga can have different meanings and implications. ·      Psychological abuse is often more prevalent than physical abuse. ·      Discrimination and ableism are significant issues in yoga spaces. ·      Teachers have a responsibility to create safe environments for students. ·      Gaslighting and denial are common responses from teachers when confronted with abuse. ·      There is a lack of accountability and transparency in yoga teaching. ·      Creating avenues for feedback is essential for improvement. ·      We must encourage open dialogue to address these issues.

Explore Beryl Bender’s journey into yoga, her experiences with Ashtanga, and the evolution of Power Yoga. Beryl shares her insights on the importance of mindfulness, the intersection of yoga and meditation, and the moral responsibilities of yogis in today's world. They discuss the challenges of aging in practice, the significance of teaching philosophy, and the need for activism in the yoga community. Beryl's optimistic outlook on life and her dedication to her practice shine through as she reflects on her past and future aspirations.  www.power-yoga.com | @berylbenderbirch Key Points ·      Beryl's early curiosity about life's big questions led her to yoga. ·      Her first yoga class was Kundalini yoga with Yogi Bhajan. ·      Beryl was inspired by Norman Allen's Ashtanga practice. ·      Power Yoga was created to make yoga accessible to athletes. ·      Beryl modified Ashtanga to suit the needs of her students. ·      The practice of yoga is about learning to pay attention. ·      Aging brings challenges, but Beryl remains optimistic and dedicated. ·      Activism and yoga are intertwined; yogis have a moral obligation to speak out. ·      Beryl emphasizes the importance of meditation in yoga practice. ·      She has no regrets and believes everything happens for a reason.

Ep 192 Adam Keen – The Breath: A Journey Through Yoga www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga  Adam Keen the profound significance of breath in yoga practice. He delves into various aspects of breathing, including the traditional ujjayi breath, the role of the diaphragm, and the concept of bandha. The conversation also covers the importance of vinyasa in creating rhythm and awareness in practice, as well as the distinctions between pranayama and modern breath work. Throughout the discussion, Adam emphasizes the need for personal experimentation and understanding in one's yoga journey, particularly regarding breath control and its impact on emotional and physical well-being.    ·        Breath is fundamental to life and spirituality. ·      Ujjayi breath has evolved from a heavier to a lighter practice. ·      The diaphragm is the primary muscle used in breathing. ·      Bandha helps in controlling breath and energy flow. ·      Vinyasa creates a rhythm that mirrors diaphragmatic movements. ·      Pranayama is more about breath control than rhythmic breathing. ·      Breath reflects emotional states and should not be forced into equality. ·      Yoga practice is an individual experiment. ·      Understanding the diaphragm enhances pranayama effectiveness. ·      Breath work can stimulate or calm the nervous system.  

Ep 191 Ellen Johannesen – Buddhist Meditation and Christmas Retreat with Adam in Spain www.ashtanganepal.com  | @ashtanganepal Join the Christmas retreat with Ellen and Adam: www.keenonyoga.com/events/ashtanga-christmas-retreat Adam Keen and Ellen Johansson delve into the intricate relationship between meditation and asana practice. They explore Ellen's personal journey into meditation, the differences between yoga and Tibetan Buddhist practices, and the importance of compassion in meditation. The conversation emphasizes the integration of meditation into asana practice, the use of visualization techniques, and practical tips for starting meditation. Ellen shares insights on working with emotions during meditation and the connection between asana and meditation, ultimately encouraging listeners to cultivate a compassionate approach to their practice. Here is a link to the meditation method with free resources: https://sustainablecompassion.org/ Article on (the shortcomings of) mindfulness in relation to Buddhism: The myth of the present moment: https://www.academia.edu/8070322/The_Myth_of_the_Present_Moment  Key Points ·      Meditation can serve various purposes, including calming the mind and focusing. ·      The Tibetan view emphasizes our relational nature and interconnectedness. ·      Context in meditation practice is crucial for understanding and support. ·      Compassion is fundamental in Buddhist practices and should be integrated into meditation. ·      Visualization techniques can enhance meditation and deepen awareness. ·      Emotions should be acknowledged and worked with during meditation. ·      Setting intentions can transform the practice of asana and meditation. ·      The nervous system plays a significant role in both asana and meditation practices. ·      Meditation can help differentiate awareness from the content of thoughts. ·      Practical meditation can be easily integrated into daily life.

Ep 190 Adam Keen – A Deeper Look at the Yamas and Niyamas "The yamas look like monks' vows." "Yoga is a physical method of inner conflict resolution." www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga  Adam delves into the complexities of the yamas and niyamas, exploring their relevance in modern yoga practice. He emphasizes the importance of inner alignment through Hatha yoga before adhering to moral codes, suggesting that true ethical living arises from a clear inner state. Adam discusses the challenges of moral actions, the nuances of non-violence, and the concept of Dharma in contemporary society. He advocates for a deeper inquiry into the nature of goodness and authenticity, ultimately positioning yoga as a process of self-discovery and alignment rather than mere adherence to social morality. Key Points ·      Yoga is not just about following rules; it's about inner alignment. ·      Hatha yoga serves as a foundation for understanding the yamas and niyamas. ·      Moral actions are complex and often lead to unintended consequences. ·      Patanjali's yamas may be more suited for monastics than lay practitioners. ·      Non-violence is a nuanced concept that goes beyond physical actions. ·      Dharma is not fixed; it requires personal inquiry and reflection. ·      Authenticity is more important than simply appearing good to society. ·      The struggle with ethical living is part of the yoga journey. ·      Inner cleansing is essential for genuine ethical behavior. ·      Yoga encourages inquiry and challenges societal norms.    

Ep 189 John Scott – The Journey of Self-Discovery  www.johnscottyoga.com | @johnscottyoga "Some of us need to be putting our leg behind our head daily for a long time to realize, okay I don't really need to put my leg behind my head anymore." John Scott discusses his journey from being known as John to becoming Jonny. He reflects on his passion for yoga and how it has shaped his life, the importance of mind control and reclaiming one's own sovereignty through yoga. He emphasizes the significance of posture, free breathing, and the counting method in the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga practice. He also delves into the concept of drishti and the importance of seeing the God spark in oneself and others. Finally, he discusses the different stages of life and the process of letting go. In this conversation, John Scott discusses the importance of making choices from the soul and listening to one's inner voice. He emphasizes the need to let go of unnecessary attachments and beliefs, and to surrender to the wisdom within. John also shares his journey of self-discovery and the role of psychedelics in his transformation. He talks about the phases of his life and the evolution of his teaching style. He encourages practitioners to inquire and find their own answers, rather than relying on external sources. John emphasizes the importance of practicing for oneself and for the benefit of others.   Key Points ·      Passion is an important aspect of life and should be nurtured and pursued. ·      Yoga can help in reclaiming one's own mind and achieving sovereignty. ·      Posture, free breathing, and the counting method are essential in the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga practice. ·      Drishti is about seeing the God spark in oneself and others. ·      The different stages of life, from athlete to renunciant, bring different responsibilities and perspectives. ·      Letting go is a process that can lead to inner peace and contentment. Make choices from the soul and listen to your inner voice. ·      Let go of unnecessary attachments and beliefs. ·      Surrender to the wisdom within and practice for yourself. ·      Inquire and find your own answers. ·      Practice for the benefit of others. ·      Be practical and flexible in your practice. ·      Embrace freedom and rebel against rigid rules. ·      Let go of guilt and focus on self-love. ·      Find inspiration in the presence of others. ·      Transition from being a teacher to being a mentor.      

www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga  Adam explores the concept of emotions in the body in the context of yoga. He discusses the origins of yoga asana as a steady seat for meditation and the use of asana as an ascetic practice to hold the body still against the changing world. Adam explains how yoga, particularly Hatha Yoga, can help change neurological pathways and transform states of mind. He emphasizes the importance of balancing the active and passive aspects of ourselves and the role of the diaphragm in breathing techniques. Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lo   Key Points ·      Yoga asana can be used as a steady seat for meditation and as an ascetic practice to hold the body still against the changing world. ·      Hatha Yoga is a science of the body that uses the body to change the mind and affect neurological pathways. ·      Balancing the active and passive aspects of ourselves is important for emotional well-being. ·      Breathing techniques, particularly using the diaphragm, can stimulate the nervous system and affect states of mind.      

www.davidgarrigues.com | @davidgarriguesyoga In this conversation, David Garrigues discusses his journey as a yoga teacher and the challenges he has faced along the way. He emphasizes the importance of being authentic and real as a teacher, even if it means admitting to struggles and imperfections. David also talks about the need for structure and specificity in teaching, while also recognizing the importance of individual interpretation and exploration. He shares his love for Ashtanga Yoga and the joy it brings him, and how he has evolved his teaching style over the years.   Key Points ·      Being authentic and real as a yoga teacher is important, even if it means admitting to struggles and imperfections. ·      There is a need for structure and specificity in teaching, while also allowing for individual interpretation and exploration. ·      Finding joy in your practice and teaching is essential for staying motivated and connected to the practice. ·      Ashtanga Yoga can be a powerful modality for teaching and practicing yoga, but it is important to adapt it to the individual needs and abilities of students. Structure and repetition can be beneficial in a yoga practice, providing comfort and allowing for deeper exploration. ·      The existing sequences in Ashtanga yoga offer a wealth of knowledge and experience that can be thoroughly explored. ·      Anatomy and physicality are important aspects of the practice, as they provide a foundation for bandhas and breath control. ·      Engaging with the ritual of yoga can lead to self-discovery and a deeper understanding of oneself. ·      The interplay between movement and stillness, becoming and being, is a fundamental aspect of yoga. ·      Teaching yoga requires balancing the sharing of knowledge with empowering the student and avoiding the misuse of power. ·      The practice of yoga can be physically and mentally demanding, requiring rest and recovery. ·      Students and their dedication to the practice can be a great source of inspiration for teachers. ·      Generosity and the joy of giving are important qualities to cultivate in the practice and teaching of yoga.

www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga  Adam reflects on his 25 years of teaching yoga and shares the things he has changed his mind on over the years. He emphasizes the importance of evolving and learning in yoga and how knowledge should change us. He discusses the concept of deepening a posture and how it is more about balancing forces in the body rather than pushing for a deeper shape. He also talks about his evolving understanding of Hatha yoga and the integration of movement, breath, and concentration.  Key Points ·      Knowledge should change us and lead to personal growth and evolution. ·      Deepening a posture is about balancing forces in the body, not just pushing for a deeper shape. ·      Hatha yoga is a method of pressurizing the body to align and purify the energy of the spine. ·      The integration of movement, breath, and concentration is essential in yoga practice. Adjustments in yoga can send the message that a person is not good enough and can lead to injury. ·      Trust and touch are important in yoga practice, and being in proximity with others who provide supportive touch can open up the body. ·      Breathing is the movement in yoga, and the diaphragm is the center of the body. ·      Technique in yoga is important, but it should not overshadow the need for space, support, and encouragement in the practice. ·      Anatomical variations should be taken into account in yoga practice, and individualized variations can be used instead of rigidly following a set sequence. ·      Quality of practice is more important than the amount of time spent practicing. ·      Rounding the back in forward folds can be beneficial, and internal rotation can be emphasized in twists. ·      The second series backbends can be introduced early in the practice to provide a balanced approach. ·      Personal discipline in yoga practice should be balanced with trust in oneself and the ability to listen to one's own needs.   "Yoga did... what medications didn't." "Teaching back then was practicing with the class." "I don't adjust anymore... I don't manhandle people." "Adjustments, second thing, adjustments don't work." "Being with people in proximity, if you trust them, if you feel their touch is endorsing, affirmative of your being, just opens up the body like nothing else." "The body always wants to seek homeostasis. In everything, in its blood temperature, in the regulation of all its organs, it just wants to seek homeostasis naturally."

  www.shyam-ranganathan.info | @yogaphilosophy_com | amazon books Dr. Shyam Ranganathan discusses explores the themes of yoga, anti-colonial philosophy, and action-focused guide to practice. He highlights the concept of the Linguistic Account of Thought (LAT) and how it has led to cultural filtering and colonialism. He also explains the difference between understanding and belief, emphasizing that action is about choice, not belief. Dr. Ranganathan challenges the Western appropriation of yoga and the secularization of Indian philosophy, advocating for a more nuanced and responsible approach to understanding other cultures.  Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]   Key Points ·      The Linguistic Account of Thought (LAT) has led to cultural filtering and colonialism, as it restricts understanding to what is culturally familiar. ·      Understanding and belief are distinct concepts, with understanding being an engaged event and belief being a passive state of existence. ·      It is possible to look at another culture without imposing one's own interpretive box, but it requires adopting a different method and being open to learning. ·      Action is about choice, not belief, and belief can hinder understanding and autonomy. ·      The Western appropriation of yoga and the secularization of Indian philosophy perpetuate white supremacy and overlook the rich philosophical traditions of South Asia. ·      There are four basic ethical theories, including virtue ethics, and sovereignty and autonomy are important in yoga practice. Yoga encompasses different ethical theories, including consequentialism, deontology, and bhakti yoga. ·      Consequentialism in yoga focuses on reducing suffering as the ultimate goal. ·      Deontology in yoga emphasizes mastering certain actions and fulfilling one's special obligations. ·      Bhakti yoga starts with devotion to the ideal of the right and leads to personal autonomy. ·      Yoga is a practice of devotion to Ishvara and helps individuals overcome trauma and internalized experiences.  

The Importance of a Mature Understanding of Yoga www.paulgrilley.com | @paulandsuzeegrilley  Paul Grilley, known for his work in Yin Yoga, discusses his journey in yoga and the evolution of yoga in the West along with the secularization of yoga and the rise of power yoga in LA. Paul shares his realization that no matter how much he practiced, there were poses he would never be able to do, which led him to explore Yin Yoga. He mentions his encounter with Paulie Zink, who emphasized the importance of holding poses for a longer duration and his experience studying with David Williams.  Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]    Key Points     ·      Paul Grilley started his yoga journey with Hatha yoga and explored various styles, including Bikram and Ashtanga. ·      The secularization of yoga in the West was influenced by the popularity of dance aerobics and the desire for a more intense and dynamic workout. ·      Paul Grilley realized that no matter how much he practiced, there were poses he would never be able to do, which led him to explore Yin Yoga. ·      Yin Yoga emphasizes holding poses for a longer duration and provides a different approach to yoga practice. ·      Paul Grilley's encounter with Paulie Zink further reinforced the importance of Yin Yoga and its benefits for the body and martial arts. David Williams and Polly Zink were influential teachers for Paul Grilley due to their generosity and lack of a guru mentality. ·      Yin Yoga originated from Paul's study with Polly Zink, who referred to it as Taoist Yoga. ·      The concept of fascia and its role in stretching is important in understanding the body's response to yoga practice. ·      Individual variations in skeletal structure can impact range of motion and flexibility. ·      Paul emphasizes the harmonization of energy flow in the body as a key aspect of yoga practice. The breath is a tool to become aware of the movement of prana in the body during pranayama and bandhas. ·      The ultimate goal is to achieve pratyahara, a state where one is physiologically deaf, blind, and unaware of the physical body. ·      Pratyahara allows for conscious experiences detached from the body and leads to true mystical and spiritual experiences. ·      Understanding the movement of prana and achieving pratyahara requires a mature understanding and practice of yoga.    

www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga Adam explores the concept of pushing in yoga and why we feel the need to push ourselves in our practice. He discusses the influence of modern capitalism and societal pressure to compete and achieve, as well as the cultural belief that suffering and pushing ourselves will lead to purification and progress. Adam emphasizes the importance of letting go of the guilt associated with pushing and highlights the limitations and drawbacks of pushing too hard.  Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]  Key Points ·      Pushing in yoga is influenced by modern capitalism and societal pressure to compete and achieve. ·      The belief that suffering and pushing ourselves will lead to purification and progress is deeply ingrained in Western culture. ·      Letting go of the guilt associated with pushing is important for a more balanced and sustainable practice. ·      Embracing a more subtle and technique-focused approach can lead to deeper experiences and a sense of satisfaction in the practice.    

  www.mrjamesnestor.com | @mrjamesnestor James Nestor, author of 'The Breath, The New Science of a Lost Art,' discusses the importance of breath and the prevalence of breathing dysfunction in society. He shares his personal journey of discovering the power of breath to improve his own health. Nestor explains the concept of bad breathing and the impact it can have on overall health. He also delves into the role of carbon dioxide in breathing and the benefits of proper breathing techniques.  Key Points   ·      Breathing dysfunction is prevalent in society, leading to various health issues. ·      Proper breathing techniques, such as nasal breathing and diaphragmatic breathing, can improve overall health. ·      Carbon dioxide plays a crucial role in breathing and can be used therapeutically. ·      Jaw structure has a significant impact on breathing, and industrialized foods have contributed to narrower airways. ·      Fresh air is essential for good health, and poor air quality can have detrimental effects. ·      Teaching proper breathing techniques in yoga and exercise practices is crucial for optimal health.    

Adam discusses the difference between physical assistance and physical adjustments in yoga. He explains that physical assistance is essential for developing a yoga practice, while physical adjustments can be harmful and lead to injuries. Adam emphasizes the importance of endorsement, alignment, and breathing in physical assistance.  Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]  Key Points ·      Physical assistance is essential for developing a yoga practice. ·      Physical adjustments can be harmful and lead to injuries. ·      Endorsement, alignment, and breathing are key aspects of physical assistance. ·      Adjustments should be approached with caution and consideration of the potential risks and consequences. ·      A slow and steady approach to yoga practice is recommended. Chapters 00:00 Introduction: Physical Assistance vs Physical Adjustments 13:31 The Importance of Self-Practice in Yoga 16:50 Endorsement: Supporting the Natural Shape of the Body 20:38 Alignment: Connecting the Body Together 25:49 Giving a Taste of Something: Holding in a Strength Thing 28:40 Cautions and Considerations for Adjusting Students in Yoga 34:03 Conclusion: Balancing Risk and Long-Term Well-Being

The conversation explores the concept of movement in yoga and its relationship to daily life. Peter argues that yoga should focus on improving overall movement patterns and functionality rather than specific asanas. He emphasizes the importance of sensory feedback and learning through repetition, like how children learn to move. Peter also introduces the idea of the neurological fallacy, which challenges the reductionist view of the body and emphasizes the interconnectedness of the whole system.  www.peterblackaby.co.uk   KEEN ON YOGA 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]    Key Points ·      Yoga should focus on improving overall movement patterns and functionality in daily life. ·      Sensory feedback and repetition are key to learning and improving movement. ·      The neurological fallacy challenges the reductionist view of the body and emphasizes the interconnectedness of the whole system. ·      Yoga should disrupt unwanted patterns and enhance desired patterns of movement. Challenging oneself is important for personal growth and avoiding stagnation. ·      Curiosity and exploration are key to maintaining a sense of wonder and engagement with the world. ·      Finding a balance between pushing oneself and being mindful of one's limits is crucial for overall well-being. ·      The role of the teacher is to guide students in becoming more aware of their bodies and their responses to discomfort. ·      Posture can be seen as a representation of one's history and patterns of movement. ·      The goal of yoga is to alleviate suffering and promote well-being. ·      Paying attention to discomfort and finding ways to make it more comfortable is essential for personal growth. ·      There are differing perspectives on the concept of emotions and desires being stored in the body. Our emotions are constructed based on our historical responses and the meaning we have given to them. ·      Paying attention to our responses to the world can help us adapt and change our emotional states. ·      Yoga is a practice of attentive noticing rather than therapy. ·      Understanding death can be liberating and allow us to fully live our lives. ·      Yoga texts offer valuable insights, but it's important to critically examine and cherry-pick the ideas that resonate with us.    

Gary Kraftsow shares his background and experiences studying with Krishnamacharya and Desikachar. He discusses the teachings he received and the impact they had on his life. He also talks about the relationship between Krishnamacharya and Desikachar and their teaching methods. Kraftsow explains the concepts of Viniyoga and Vinyasa and how they are applied in yoga practice.  www.viniyoga.com | @americanviniyogainstitute Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]  Key Points Gary Kraftsow studied with Krishnamacharya and Desikachar and shares his experiences and the impact they had on his life. Krishnamacharya and Desikachar were both revered teachers who adapted and made yoga practices relevant for practitioners. Viniyoga is the adaptation of yoga practices to suit the needs of the practitioner and apply them appropriately. Vinyasa refers to the sequence and order in which postures are placed in a yoga practice. The teachings of Krishnamacharya and Desikachar emphasized the transformation of the body and the practitioner's highest potential. Adapt postures to suit individual needs and functional benefits. The breath is essential in linking the mind and body during yoga practice. Yoga is an integrated practice that includes yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, and meditation. Release valves are compensating mechanisms that occur when the body cannot stabilize a certain part. Find a sustainable yoga practice that supports overall well-being and prepares for the end of life.

www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga Adam explores the topic of community in the context of yoga, specifically Ashtanga yoga. He discusses the importance of community and belonging, as well as the challenges and drawbacks that can arise within a community. Adam also touches on the role of the teacher, the need for autonomy within a community, and the balance between a firm center and expanding edges. He emphasizes the importance of open discussion and the preservation of individuality within a collective. Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]  Key Points  Community is essential in yoga, providing a sense of belonging and support. However, communities can have drawbacks, such as strict rules and a lack of autonomy. The role of the teacher is important in creating a healthy community dynamic. Balancing a firm center with expanding edges allows for growth and dialogue within a community. Preserving individuality and autonomy is crucial within a collective. Open discussion and the ability to question and express doubts are essential in a community. The modern yoga center can play a role in fostering inclusivity and community. Community should extend beyond the yoga class and into daily life. The concept of sangha, or community, has always been important in spiritual practices.  

www.rodneyyeeyoga.com/ | @rodneyyeeyoga   Rodney Yee is an American yoga instructor who rose to prominence in the mid-1990s when he was featured on the cover of Yoga Journal magazine and starred in some of the first-ever yoga instructional videos and DVDs with Gaiam/Living Arts. After his interview with Oprah in 1999, both Yee personally and yoga were catapulted into the mainstream spotlight. Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]   Key Points From dance to yoga Starting with Iyengar yoga Working with Richard Rosen There was no such thing as a yoga career in those days The need to study yoga Creating Gaiam yoga videos On Oprah in 1999 Sold a million videos the day after Fulfilling the map of your skin Being in a place where there is no you Yoga and self reflection The pyramid of yoga Giving a touch of the yoga landscape Even in a bad asana class something else happens Staying relevant in yoga teaching Questing for meaning Teaching this new generation It was easy for us to out do our parents I’m inspired by anyone who is enquiring deeply  

Adam discusses the concept of short forms in Ashtanga Yoga. He explains that while the traditional practice involves doing the entire series every day, it is not always practical or beneficial.  Key Points Short forms in Ashtanga Yoga can be a sensible approach when time, energy, or inspiration are limited. Variation in practice is important to prevent stagnation and maintain enthusiasm. Short forms should still incorporate the principles of posture, counter posture, building, and vinyasa. Grounding and ending the practice with a focus on the parasympathetic nervous system is essential. Practitioners should listen to their bodies and make adjustments to their practice as needed.    

Daniela Bevilacqua, a research associate at the University of SOAS in London, speaks about the Hatha Yoga tradition, the past lack of research and the recent surge of interest in the subject.  https://www.yogicstudies.com/ys-103 | @dhanya_83 Key Points ·      Hatha Yoga texts have been overlooked in the past, with more focus on the philosophical side of yoga. ·      The recent surge of interest in Hatha Yoga is due to scholars and practitioners addressing the textual sources with a different curiosity. ·      Tapas (austerities) and Hatha Yoga are closely connected, with tapas being a form of inner heat produced through austerities. ·      Sadhus practice extreme body modifications for various reasons, including spiritual devotion, burning karma, and the well-being of society. ·      Further research is needed to explore the historical development of Hatha Yoga and its connection to tapas. Sadhus claim to possess various supernatural powers, such as mind reading and walking on leaves. ·      Teachings and initiations within the sadhu community are often reserved for Indians and not foreigners. ·      Certain sadhu groups have a militant nature and have historically been involved in mercenary activities. ·      Female sadhus face challenges in a patriarchal society and often have to fight against societal norms and expectations. Women from educated, middle-class families are slowly gaining positions in Sadhu society. ·      Being fluent in Hindi and an outsider helped Daniela connect with the Sadhus and gain their trust. ·      Hatha Yoga in the Sadhu society has different layers of meaning, including tapas and manipulation of the subtle body. ·      Modern technology, such as smartphones and social media, has impacted the lives of Sadhus. ·      Daniela formed friendships with some Sadhus and continues to stay in touch with them.   

Dr. Ian Baker discusses the connection between Tibetan yoga and modern postural yoga, specifically Astanga yoga. He explores the origins of postural yoga in Tibet and the Himalayan world, highlighting the common elements and different emphases between traditions. He also delves into the practices of Tibetan yoga, such as Hatha Yoga, Tantra, and the subtle body, which focus on the circulation of prana and the transformation of metabolic heat into mystic fire.  Connect with Ian Baker 👉 Website: https://ianbakerjourneys.wordpress.com  👉 Instagram: @ianbaker108  Connect with Keen on Yoga 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]  Key Points Tibetan yoga and modern postural yoga share common elements and different emphases. The practices of Tibetan yoga focus on the circulation of prana and the transformation of metabolic heat into mystic fire. Tapas (heat) is an important aspect of yoga practice, burning away afflictive emotions and expanding our sense of self. The origins of postural yoga can be traced back to Tibet and the Himalayan world. Tantric Buddhism originated from the exchange of knowledge along ancient trade routes, such as the Silk Roads. The cultivation of inner fire, or tummo, is a common practice in various traditions, including the Wim Hof method and ancient Chinese Yangshen traditions. Transformative heat is associated with powerful goddesses in both Hindu tantra and tantric Buddhist texts. Tantra embraces a body-positive approach, celebrating sensory awareness and the potential of the human body.  

(www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga ) Adam explores the concept of tradition in Ashtanga Yoga. He defines tradition as a way of working, a pattern carried over from the old to the new.   Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]  Key Points Tradition in Ashtanga Yoga is a way of working, a pattern that is carried over from the old to the new. Tradition needs to be contextualized and adapted to suit the modern epoch and the needs of the current age. Yoga asana and philosophy are context-sensitive and need to evolve to suit the values and understanding of the modern world. There is a balance between tradition and non-tradition, where pragmatism and maintaining an ideal coexist. Belonging to a tradition can provide a sense of support and community, but it is important to critically evaluate and adapt the tradition to suit individual needs.  

 Celest Pereira –  (www.celestpereira.com | @celestpereirapt ) Adam and Celest discuss the topic of pain and its relationship to the brain. They explore the idea that pain is not solely felt in the body, but rather is an output of the brain.  Support Keen on Yoga 👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 PayPal: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot   Connect 👉 Website: www.keenonyoga.com 👉 Instagram:  @keen_on_yoga | @adam_keen_ashtanga 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]  Key Points ·      Pain is not solely felt in the body, but is an output of the brain. ·      Pain is a communication tool used by the brain to alter behavior and promote safety. ·      Outputs can be both safety outputs (like pain) and empowering outputs. ·      The biopsychosocial model of pain considers the biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to pain. The brain is a highly suggestive organ that can influence pain perception. ·      Empowering language and positive suggestions can have a significant impact on pain management. ·      The placebo effect is a real and powerful phenomenon that should be explored and utilized. ·      Movement is medicine and can help in pain management. It is important to keep moving and try different forms of movement. ·      Subtle interventions can have profound effects on the body and brain. ·      Finding joy in activities outside of studying or work is important for overall well-being.      

#171 Adam Keen - Are we practicing Patanjali's yoga? (www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga) Adam explores the question of what kind of practice we are doing in modern yoga. He discusses whether we are practicing Patanjali's yoga and how it aligns with our current aims and aspirations. Adam highlights that Patanjali's yoga does not focus much on asana and aims to control the senses and transcend the suffering of the world. He also delves into the concept of Dharma and its importance in yoga philosophy. Adam touches on the evolution of yoga and the inclusion of dynamic asana in modern practice. He concludes by discussing the influence of tantric yoga and its emphasis on using the body as a vessel of knowledge. Key Points ·      Modern yoga practice differs from Patanjali's yoga in terms of its focus on dynamic asanas and its aim to live in unity and connection with the world. ·      Dharma, the objective principles of life, is the basis of yoga philosophy and guides our actions and attitudes towards the world. ·      The inclusion of dynamic asana in modern yoga can be seen as a way to use the body as a vessel of knowledge and to live in harmony with the world. ·      Tantric yoga offers a body-positive approach and emphasizes the awakening of energy and the exploration of esoteric practices. ·      Modern yoga is an evolution of traditional yoga practices, incorporating elements from Patanjali's yoga and tantric yoga.   SUPPORT US 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 Support us directly: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa CONNECT WITH US 👉 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/   👉 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]        

Richard Rosen (www.m-yoga.org/richard-rosen  | @richardrosenyoga) Adam interviews Richard Rosen, a yoga teacher and author, about his background in yoga and his book, Yoga FAQ. They discuss the evolution of yoga texts, the influence of yoga on Western psychology, and the potential for yoga to suppress emotions. They also explore the role of asana in yoga, the trend of yoga anatomy in classes, and the need for assessing students and structuring classes effectively.  SUPPORT US 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 Support us directly: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Become a Patron for €10 monthly: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ CONNECT WITH US 👉 Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ | https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]  This conversation covers various topics related to yoga, including accessibility and challenges, the importance of beginner's courses, the practice of pranayama, the significance of savasana, meditation and concentration, the relevance of Sanskrit in yoga, and influences on modern yoga. Richard Rosen shares his insights and experiences, highlighting the need for a balanced and patient approach to yoga. He also discusses his guilty pleasure of writing silly poetry and draws inspiration from various writers and books.   Takeaways Yoga is more than just asana; it is a comprehensive practice encompassing philosophy, meditation, and self-discovery. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, while a foundational text, can be seen as life and world-denying, and may not fully align with modern yoga practices. The Vedas, Upanishads, and other ancient texts provide valuable insights into the history and philosophy of yoga, but they can be challenging to read and interpret. The popularity of yoga has led to the evolution of different styles and approaches, and teachers need to have a solid understanding of the tradition and the needs of their students. Yoga anatomy can be useful for teachers, especially in therapeutic contexts, but it should not overshadow the broader aspects of yoga practice. Yoga should be accessible to all, but it is important to approach it cautiously and seek proper guidance to avoid injury or discouragement. Beginner's courses can provide a solid foundation for yoga practice and help new students ease into the practice gradually. Pranayama, the practice of breath control, can be challenging to teach and may require patience and perseverance from both the teacher and the student. Savasana, the relaxation pose, is an essential part of yoga practice and can help develop self-awareness and a witness consciousness. Meditation and concentration are integral to yoga and can be practised both on and off the mat. Learning Sanskrit can deepen one's understanding of yoga and its traditional texts, but it is not necessary for all practitioners. Various individuals and schools, including B.K.S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi, have had significant influences on modern yoga. Richard Rosen finds joy in writing silly poetry and draws inspiration from writers such as Ian Banks, Stanislaw Lem, and José Saramago.   "Yoga doesn't affect the union, it reveals a union that pre-existed and will always exist." "In any meditation practice, the world should be included in the meditation." "I'm a little bit unhappy with flow classes." "We can't put it to rights here, but yeah." "Nobody wants to breathe." "There's consequences often times."      

Adam Keen – Exploring the Modern Mysore Tradition of Ashtanga Yoga                               ( www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga) Adam discusses the modern Mysore tradition of Ashtanga yoga. He explores the early days of Krishnamacharya in the Mysore Palace and the emergence of a dynamic form of yoga.  SUPPORT US 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 Support us directly: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Become a Patron for €10 monthly: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/   CONNECT WITH US 👉 Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ | https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected] Key Points ·      The modern Mysore tradition of Ashtanga yoga emerged with Krishnamacharya in the Mysore Palace, where a dynamic form of yoga started to take shape. ·      The Ashtanga tradition is a modern tradition that has evolved, with influences from various teachers and adaptations to suit different contexts and individuals. ·      The sequences in Ashtanga yoga are not fixed and rigid, but rather a general method that can be adapted to each individual's body and needs. ·      The emphasis on specific details and postures in the modern Ashtanga tradition is a recent innovation and not a fundamental aspect of the practice. ·      Understanding the historical roots and context of the Ashtanga tradition is important, but ultimately, the effectiveness of the practice should be judged based on individual experience and results.    

( https://uni-hamburg.academia.edu/LauravonOstrowski | @yoganerds_de ) Adam and Laura discuss the application of the Yoga Sutras to modern yoga practice. Laura's PhD focused on how the Yoga Sutras can be applied to the physical practice of Ashtanga yoga. They explore the concept of embodiment and how it relates to the classical philosophy of the Yoga Sutras. They also discuss the idea of concentration and absorption in modern practice, and how it may differ from the traditional interpretation of Patanjali's teachings. Laura emphasises the importance of observing the mind and finding practices that lead to heightened states of concentration. They also touch on the concept of the ego and its role in practice. The conversation explores the different perspectives on interpreting the Yoga Sutras, including the emic and etic approaches. "My PhD was about observing how in the 21st century Patanjali is connected to the physical practice, especially to Ashtanga yoga." "How do these practices get us into a state of concentration and absorption?" "Flow state is not what Patanjali meant with Samadhi, but maybe it can be deemed as a small Samadhi." "What we're doing is, I believe, ethic, is that right?" "We're looking from the outside." "We're not trying to lose the ego." SUPPORT US 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 Support us directly: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Become a Patron for €10 monthly: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ CONNECT WITH US 👉 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ | https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]   Key Points ·      The Yoga Sutras can be applied to modern yoga practice, but it's important to consider the context and adapt the teachings to fit our current lifestyles. ·      Observing the mind and finding practices that lead to heightened states of concentration can be valuable in modern practice. ·      The concept of the ego in yoga practice is complex and can be interpreted differently. It's important to find a balance between honouring the teachings of Patanjali and adapting them to our modern worldview. ·      The Yamas, or ethical guidelines, can be seen as contemplation points rather than strict rules to follow. It's important to reflect on how they apply to our lives and make conscious choices. ·      Reading the commentaries on the Yoga Sutras can provide a deeper understanding of the text, but it's helpful to have guidance from a teacher or someone knowledgeable in Sankhya philosophy. ·      Recognizing that the Yoga Sutras have been interpreted and adapted throughout history can provide mental clarity and a sense of relaxation when exploring their teachings. There are different perspectives on interpreting the Yoga Sutras, including the emic (within the culture) and etic (cross-cultural) approaches. ·      It is important to question and critically examine the text rather than blindly following it. ·      The concept of ego should not be eliminated, as it is necessary for engagement and living fully in the world. ·      Vivekananda played a significant role in bringing the Yoga Sutras to the modern context, but his promotion of disembodied practices should be reconsidered. ·      Curiosity is a valuable trait that allows for open-mindedness and continuous learning. ·      Taking time to simply be and do nothing can be a guilty pleasure that provides a break from the busyness of life.

#167 Adam Keen -  The Power of Holding Space for Students (www.keenonyoga.com | @adam_keen_ashtanga ) Adam shares advice for yoga teachers, emphasising the importance of being authentic, kind, and adaptable. He encourages teachers to create a supportive network and find a mentor to guide them on their teaching journey. Adam also discusses the need to hold space for students and allow them to have their own experiences, rather than trying to change them. He reminds teachers to stay humble, open-minded, and inspired in their practice and teaching. "Being kind is much more important than being right." "Yoga is a low entry, high qualification bar." "Know your blind spots and keep humble and caring."   LISTEN ON PODCAST 👉 Apple podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keen-on-yoga-podcast/id1509303411 👉 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5iM9lcw52JskHUZ2eFvVxN   SUPPORT US 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 Support us directly: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Become a Patron for €10 monthly: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ CONNECT WITH US 👉 Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ | https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]    Key Points ·      Be authentic to yourself as a yoga teacher. ·      Create a supportive network and find a mentor to guide you. ·      Hold space for your students and allow them to have their own experiences. ·      Stay humble, open-minded, and inspired in your practice and teaching.

#166 Andrea Ferretti – The Human Side of Yoga Teachers (@andreaferretti | www. jasonyoga.com/yogaland-podcast/ ) Andrea Ferretti shares her journey into yoga, starting in the 90s and finding her passion for Ashtanga. She discusses the challenges of early yoga classes and the evolution of yoga studios, as well as her transition to working at Yoga Journal and the opportunity to study with different yoga teachers. Andrea shares her struggles with mental health and how yoga and meditation have been transformative for her. She also discusses the phenomenon of imposter syndrome in the yoga teaching community. They also touch on the purpose of yoga, the impact of yoga on mental health, navigating life as a cancer survivor, and starting the Yoga Land podcast.  Throughout the conversation, they emphasize the importance of self-compassion, curiosity, and authenticity in the yoga teaching journey. Key Points ·      The yoga community in the 90s was small and intimate, with studios often fitting only a handful of students. ·      Personal insight and experience are essential in yoga practice, and teachers should encourage students to find their own path. ·      Yoga can be a powerful tool for mental health, providing a refuge and a sense of connection. ·      Imposter syndrome is common among yoga teachers, but it can be managed by acknowledging it and focusing on personal growth. ·      The evolution of yoga has led to a more diverse and inclusive practice, with a focus on individual needs and experiences. Coping with imposter syndrome involves acknowledging and accepting one's flaws and mistakes, rather than trying to be perfect. ·      The role of the yoga teacher is to have genuine interest and care for students and to provide tools for self-inquiry and turning inward. ·      Yoga helps individuals observe themselves and spend time looking inside, providing a sense of quiet and self-awareness. ·      Embracing imperfection and learning in public is essential for growth as a yoga teacher, as it allows for continuous learning and improvement. ·      Yoga can have a profound impact on mental health, providing tools for managing anxiety and stress. ·      Being a cancer survivor can change one's perspective on life and priorities, leading to a greater appreciation for what truly matters. ·      Starting a podcast can be a way to share conversations and teachings with a wider audience, and it can be a platform for personal growth and learning. ·      Nerve-wracking and difficult interviews can be valuable learning experiences, teaching resilience and adaptability.   SUPPORT US 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot  👉 Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 Support us directly: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Become a Patron for €10 monthly: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/   CONNECT WITH US 👉 Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ | https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]

In this solo podcast episode, Adam discusses his personal journey with emotional healing through yoga practice. He emphasizes the importance of using the body to resolve and purge emotions, as emotions are stored in the body. He explains that the practice of yoga, particularly in the tantric tradition, allows for the digestion and integration of past experiences and emotions. Adam also highlights the significance of creating a ritual space for oneself, where emotions can safely arise and be processed. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of self-trust and the potential pitfalls of over-practicing and suppressing emotions. Key Points ·      Yoga practice can be a powerful tool for emotional healing and purging stored emotions in the body. ·      The tantric tradition of yoga emphasizes using the body to resolve and integrate past experiences and emotions. ·      Creating a ritual space for oneself allows emotions to arise and be processed in a safe and supported environment. ·      Self-trust and commitment to a daily practice can lead to a sense of integrity and personal growth.

164 Tomas Zorzo – Mysore Since 1985  (  www.yogashtanga.com | @centro_yoga_ashtanga) Mysore in 1985 | $300 for one year | 2 students in the room | Sivananda ashram | First time seeing Ashtanga yoga | The practice was different | 10 breaths, not 5 | No jumping between sides in sitting | Each student had individual practice | One practice was 4.5 hours | The birth of the led class | Hooked on prana | Ego crisis | BNS Iyengar | Pattabhi Jois as a healer | 20 trips to Mysore | Adapting for older students | What is your reason for practice? | AG Mohan | Yoga is being in touch with your inner self  

In this solo podcast episode, Adam discusses various aspects of teaching yoga. He shares his journey of becoming a yoga teacher and the different experiences that led him to teaching. Adam emphasizes the importance of readiness to teach and the role of enthusiasm and appreciation in sharing the practice. He also discusses the qualifications and proficiency required for teaching, highlighting the significance of care, interest, and connection with students. Adam addresses the issue of burnout and the need for self-care as a teacher. He concludes by discussing the challenges of losing students and the importance of adapting teaching methods to suit individual students. Key Points Readiness to teach comes from personal experience, enthusiasm, and appreciation for the practice. Being the best practitioner is not a qualification for teaching yoga; care, interest, and connection with students are more important. Burnout is a real concern for yoga teachers, and it is essential to take breaks and prioritize self-care. Teaching adaptations and making the practice accessible to students is crucial for their progress and engagement. Continued learning, exploring different perspectives, and having

JAMES RAFAEL (www.jamesrafael.com | @jamesyoga ) James Rafael shares his journey from mental health and addiction to health through yoga and meditation. He emphasises the importance of embodiment and finding balance in yoga and meditation practices. James also discusses the role of trauma-informed approaches in these practices. He advocates for incorporating strength training into yoga practice and shares his daily routine. James addresses common concerns about strength training impacting flexibility and encourages a long-term perspective on physical well-being. In this conversation, Adam and James Rafael discuss various aspects of yoga and movement. They explore the practical applications of yoga in daily life, the techniques used in contortionism, the incorporation of different movement modalities, the relationship between embodiment and meditation, the challenges of addictive tendencies, and the importance of creating kind and compassionate spaces. James shares his journey and emphasizes the need for balance and self-awareness in one's practice. Key Points ·      Embodiment is a key aspect of yoga and meditation practices, allowing individuals to connect with their bodies and address deeper traumas or shame. ·      Strength training can be beneficial for yoga practitioners, helping to create balance, and stability, and prevent injuries. ·      Finding a balance between different practices, such as yoga, meditation, and strength training, is essential for overall well-being. ·      Incorporating trauma-informed approaches into yoga and meditation practices can lead to more holistic and helpful experiences. ·      Taking a long-term perspective on physical well-being and training for the body you want in the future can guide your yoga and strength training practices. Yoga can be used as a tool for feeling comfortable in one's body and living a fulfilling life. ·      Contortionism involves technique and strength and can be a valuable addition to a yoga practice. ·      Incorporating different movement modalities can enhance one's understanding and practice of yoga. ·      Embodiment and meditation are interconnected, contributing to a deeper sense of presence. ·      Maintaining balance and self-awareness is crucial in managing addictive tendencies. ·      Creating kind and compassionate spaces is essential for fostering growth and healing in yoga communities.

ADARSH WILLIAMS (www.ashtangayogagroningen.nl | www.smartstretch.com | @ adarshw) Adarsh Williams and Adam discuss various aspects of yoga practice, including its mental and physical benefits, the blending of yoga with fitness culture, and the importance of adapting the practice to individual bodies. They also explore the significance of consistency and enthusiasm in teaching, as well as the role of community and history in the practice of Ashtanga yoga. In this conversation, Adam and Adarsh discuss various aspects of building a Mysore program, teaching yoga to different types of students, the importance of breath, the framework of Ashtanga Yoga, and the benefits of cold exposure. They emphasise the need for teachers to meet students where they are and create a supportive community. They also highlight the significance of movement nutrition and breath hygiene for overall well-being. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the transformative power of tapas. Key Points ·   Yoga was originally intended as a mental practice and a moving meditation, rather than solely a physical exercise. ·      Ashtanga yoga should be approached as a mental practice with functional movement, rather than a fix for physical ailments. ·      Adapting the lotus work in Ashtanga to individual bodies and incorporating functional movement can make the practice more accessible and beneficial. ·      Consistency and enthusiasm are key in yoga practice, and being a new teacher can bring a fresh perspective and energy to the practice. ·      The discipline and restraint of yoga practice can lead to transformative experiences and a deeper understanding of oneself. Building a Mysore program requires meeting students where they are and creating a supportive community. ·      Teachers should focus on movement nutrition and breath hygiene for overall well-being. ·      The framework of Ashtanga Yoga provides a structure for self-connection and growth. ·      Cold exposure, such as ice baths, can have curative properties and promote mental and physiological well-being. ·      Tapas, the practice of embracing discomfort, can lead to personal transformation.

ADARSH WILLIAMS (www.ashtangayogagroningen.nl | www.smartstretch.com | @ adarshw) Adarsh Williams shares his journey into yoga and how it helped him overcome anxiety and insomnia. He started with self-taught yoga practice using library books and later transitioned to Ashtanga Yoga. Adarsh emphasizes that yoga is a tool that can be applied in various ways and does not necessarily require a spiritual context. He also discusses his experiences with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois, highlighting their consistency and dedication to the practice. In this conversation, Adarsh Williams discusses his time with Sharath and the transition he went through after the passing of Pattabhi Joyce. He reflects on Sharath's pressure to fill his grandfather's shoes and how he has grown into his role as a teacher. Adarsh emphasizes the importance of tolerance and understanding in the yoga community, as well as the need for a pragmatic approach to the Ashtanga method. He shares his experience with injuries and how he incorporates functional movement into his teaching. Adarsh concludes by revealing his guilty pleasure of being a professional wrestling fan and expressing his inspiration from his yoga students. In this conversation, we discussed the importance of effective communication and explored various strategies to improve communication skills. We covered topics such as building trust and rapport, active listening and empathy, non-verbal communication, managing conflict, cultural sensitivity and diversity, and effective feedback. These themes highlight the key aspects of communication that can lead to successful interactions and relationships. By implementing the strategies discussed, individuals can enhance their communication skills and achieve better outcomes in personal and professional settings. Key Points ·      Yoga can be a powerful tool for managing mental health issues such as anxiety and insomnia. ·      Self-taught yoga practice can be effective, especially when combined with reading and learning from various sources. ·      Ashtanga Yoga offers a structured and efficient practice that can lead to physical and mental transformation. ·      The guru-disciple relationship in yoga can vary, and it is important to maintain a balanced perspective and not idealize the teacher. Transition and growth are natural processes in any practice or role. ·      Tolerance and understanding are essential in the yoga community. ·      A pragmatic approach to the Ashtanga method can benefit students of all levels and abilities. ·      Incorporating functional movement can help prevent injuries and enhance the practice. ·      Finding inspiration in yoga students and their dedication can motivate teachers to continue their work. Effective communication is crucial for successful interactions and relationships. ·      Building trust and rapport is essential for effective communication. ·      Active listening and empathy help in understanding others and fostering better communication. ·      Non-verbal communication plays a significant role in conveying messages. ·      Managing conflict requires effective communication and problem-solving skills. ·      Cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness are important for inclusive communication. ·      Providing constructive feedback is essential for personal and professional growth.    

Adam Keen - Injuries in Yoga, Managing and Healing From Them (@adam_keen_ashtanga | www.keenonyoga.com ) Adam discusses the topic of injuries in yoga and the upcoming injuries conference. He emphasizes that injuries are not the fault of the yoga practice itself, but rather the approach and individual factors. Adam encourages practitioners to adapt the practice to their own bodies and focus on the feeling in the body rather than accomplishing postures. He also shares his personal experiences with injuries and highlights the importance of rest, seeking different approaches, and strengthening the body. The episode concludes with an invitation to the injuries conference.  Key Points  ·       Injuries in yoga are often the result of individual factors and the approach to the practice, rather than the practice itself. ·       Adapting the practice to suit one's own body and focusing on the feeling in the body can help prevent injuries. ·       Injuries can be seen as opportunities for growth and learning, and seeking different approaches and opinions can be beneficial. ·       Resting the injured area, strengthening the body, and considering alternative therapies can aid in the healing process. ·       The injuries conference provides a platform for discussing and addressing yoga-related injuries and healing.  

MC Yogi (www.mcyogi.com | @mcyogi ) MC Yogi (Nicholas Giacomini) shares his journey from a troubled youth to becoming a renowned yoga teacher and musician. He discusses the transformative power of yoga and breath, and how it helped him find peace and purpose in life. MC Yogi also talks about his mentor, Larry Schultz, and the development of Rocket Yoga. He reflects on the counterculture vibe of early yoga and the cathartic nature of yoga practice. Finally, he shares his experience as a musician and the role of music in his spiritual journey. In this conversation, MC Yogi discusses the power of words and mantras in his music. He explains how he remembers his lyrics and mantras through somatic movement and neural programming. MC Yogi also shares his influences from various genres of music and the cultural influences of growing up in the Bay Area. He emphasizes connecting with the spirit and seeking the inner kingdom. MC Yogi's guilty pleasure is driving fast, and his inspiration comes from the awe-inspiring force of the breath. Key Points ·      Yoga can transform and bring peace and purpose to one's life. ·      The breath is a powerful tool for self-awareness and connection. ·      The counterculture vibe of early yoga created a sense of community and acceptance. ·      Music can be a powerful tool for spiritual expression and connection.      

Adam talks about keeping motivated in your yoga practice.  

BERNIE CLARK – YOGA RELATED INJURIES (www.yinyoga.com | @bernieclark7528In this episode, Bernie Clark discusses knee issues in Ashtanga yoga. He explains the anatomy of the knee joint and the role of ligaments in preventing excessive movement. Bernie shares his personal experience with knee injuries and the different approaches to healing, including surgery and non-surgical methods. (more below) Bernie emphasizes the importance of strengthening the knee muscles and finding a balance between flexibility and stability. Bernie also addresses the idea of symmetry in yoga practice and the need for individualized approaches based on each person's unique body.  This conversation explores the topics of symmetry vs. balance, the cultural protocol of crossing legs, hip structure and range of motion, hip pain and lotus position, hip issues and solutions, understanding pain and discomfort, the impact on personal practice, carrying angles and individual differences, and recognising pain vs. discomfort. Key Points ·      Hyperextension of the knee is a natural movement and is not necessarily harmful. ·      Meniscus tears are more common than ACL ruptures in yoga. ·      The knee joint does not have a good blood supply, which makes healing difficult. ·      Strengthening the muscles around the knee can help support the joint and prevent injuries. ·      Asymmetry is natural in the body, and it is more important to focus on functionality rather than achieving perfect symmetry in yoga practice. Seek balance, not symmetry, in your practice. ·      Individual differences in hip structure and range of motion can affect poses like lotus position. ·      Various factors, including overuse and structural differences can cause hip pain. ·      Understanding the difference between pain and discomfort is important for practising safely. ·      Personalise your practice based on your body's capabilities and limitations.     To find out more about Professor Stuart McGill and see his books and videos: https://www.backfitpro.com/  

#155 Adam & Theresa – Keens Xmas Chat (www.keenonyoga.com | @keen_on_yoga ) In this episode, Adam and Theresa discuss their background stories, their journey with Ashtanga practice and teaching, and their experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also talk about starting an online presence and the Keen on Yoga Podcast. Theresa shares her experience working in corporate events and how she transitioned to running a yoga retreat centre. They discuss the benefits of teaching and practicing online, including the autonomy it gives to students. Overall, they emphasise the importance of adapting and finding new opportunities in challenging times. In this conversation, Adam and Theresa discuss various aspects of yoga teaching and practice. They explore the sustainability of online yoga, the benefits of online teaching for improving in-person teaching skills, and the role of Mysore in yoga practice. They also discuss the evolution of Ashtanga teaching and the need for flexibility and inclusivity in the approach. Adam shares his desired changes in Ashtanga teaching, emphasizing the importance of encouragement and individualization. They touch on the loneliness of teaching and express their desire for more connections and stability. Adam talks about finding inspiration for his writing and shares his gratitude for inspirational figures in yoga. They end the conversation by discussing their guilty pleasures and expressing their gratitude to the listeners. SUPPORT US 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot J 👉 We work in a lot of cafes, buy us a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 Support us directly: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Become a Patron for €10 monthly: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  CONNECT WITH US 👉 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keen_to_go/ 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]    Key Points   ·      Online yoga offers sustainability and flexibility for practitioners, allowing them to practice at their own pace without the pressure of competition or strong adjustments from teachers.   ·      Teaching online can improve in-person teaching skills by providing a broader perspective and allowing teachers to see different bodies and variations in practice.   ·      Mysore style yoga has its benefits, but it may not be suitable for everyone. It is important to approach teaching with inclusivity and flexibility, allowing students to progress at their own pace.   ·      The method of Ashtanga should be focused on encouragement and individual exploration, rather than strict adherence to rules and perfecting postures.   ·      Developing connections and finding stability in teaching and personal life are important goals for Adam and Theresa.   ·      Adam finds inspiration for his writing through his years of teaching experience and his passion for yoga philosophy.   ·      Mark Darby and Sharath are inspirational figures for Adam in his yoga journey.   ·      Adam's guilty pleasure is sitting in a cafe, enjoying a croissant and black coffee while reading philosophy or yoga books.   ·      Adam and Theresa express their gratitude to the listeners and their hopes for a positive and fulfilling new year.  

Ellen Johannesen – Buddhism & Ashtanga Yoga (  www.ashtanganepal.com | www.onyoga.no | @ashtanganepal ) Ellen Johannessen shares her journey from studying dance to discovering Ashtanga yoga and eventually delving into Buddhist philosophy. She explains the differences between yoga and Buddhism, emphasising the importance of compassion and wisdom in both traditions. Ellen discusses the integration of Buddhist teachings in her Ashtanga yoga practice and how it enhances the overall experience. She also reflects on her time teaching and practising in Nepal and the impact of long retreats. Finally, Ellen opens up about her hip replacement surgery and the recovery process. In this conversation, Ellen discusses her decision to have hip replacement surgery after years of pain and limited mobility. She shares her recovery process and her challenges in regaining her yoga practice. Ellen emphasizes the importance of adapting the practice to accommodate physical limitations and finding joy in alternative movements. She also talks about her plans for the future, including online teaching and organizing yoga adventures in Nepal. Key Points ·      Yoga and Buddhism share common principles of compassion, interconnectedness, and self-realisation. ·      The integration of Buddhist teachings in yoga practice can deepen one's understanding and enhance the overall experience. ·      Long retreats and intensive practices provide an opportunity for focused self-reflection and growth. Hip replacement surgery can be a necessary step in maintaining physical well-being and continuing a yoga practice. Hip replacement surgery can provide relief from chronic pain and improve mobility.     Recovery from surgery requires patience and a gradual return to physical activity.     Adapting the yoga practice to accommodate physical limitations is essential for maintaining a consistent practice.     Exploring alternative movements and practices can bring joy and fulfilment to the yoga journey.     Online teaching and creating a supportive community can enhance the yoga experience for practitioners.

In this episode, Adam discusses his journey from studying philosophy to finding solace in Ashtanga Yoga. He shares his disappointment with the philosophy department and the lack of wisdom and inspiration he found in his professors. Adam explains how Ashtanga Yoga helped him deal with negative emotions and how the practice stimulates the spine to release stored emotions. He emphasizes the importance of a yoga lifestyle and provides tips for processing and digesting negative emotions in the practice. Takeaways Ashtanga Yoga can be an effective tool for dealing with negative emotions and trauma. The practice stimulates the spine and releases stored emotions and trauma. A yoga lifestyle, including diet, sleep, and social interactions, is essential for processing and digesting emotions. Breathing and compression techniques can enhance the effectiveness of the practice in releasing emotions. SUPPORT US 👉 Subscribe, like and share our videos, it helps us a lot J 👉 We work in a lot of cafes, buy us a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf 👉 Support us directly: https://paypal.me/adamandtheresa 👉 Become a Patron for €10 monthly: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  CONNECT WITH US 👉 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keen_to_go/ 👉 Work Enquiries: [email protected]        

Reema Datta (www.reemadatta.com | @reemayoga) In this conversation, Reema Datta shares her journey of discovering yoga and becoming a teacher. She discusses her background growing up in a family immersed in yoga and Ayurveda. Rima also talks about her experience with Larry Schultz and the perception of yoga appropriation. She emphasises the need for a holistic approach to yoga, including integrating mind practices. Rima suggests that ancient texts should be translated and made applicable to modern life to deepen the understanding of yoga. The conversation explores the importance of incorporating mental aspects in yoga and the need to go back to the original teachings of yoga. It discusses the role of translations in understanding yoga texts and the significance of cultural appropriation and respect in yoga. The meaning and pronunciation of Namaste are explored, along with the importance of respecting yoga traditions and practices. The conversation also delves into overcoming the fluctuations of the mind and the gift of yoga to humanity. It highlights the need to improve the representation of yoga and the use of yoga sequences to work with emotions.  The conversation concludes with discussing the need for a feminine touch in yoga and the mind-body experience in yoga. The chapter ends with a reflection on inspiration and guilty pleasures. Highlights Yoga can be practised in various ways and is not limited to asana.        The perception of yoga appropriation can be divisive and counterproductive. ·       There is a need for a holistic approach to yoga that integrates mind practices. ·       Ancient texts should be translated and made applicable to modern life to deepen the understanding of yoga. Incorporating mental aspects in yoga is essential to honour the original teachings of yoga. ·       Translations of yoga texts can greatly impact our understanding and practice of yoga. ·       Cultural appropriation in yoga should be approached with respect and understanding. ·       The meaning and pronunciation of Namaste can vary, but the intention behind it is what matters. ·       Respecting yoga traditions and practices includes understanding the symbolism and significance of statues and other elements. ·       Yoga helps overcome the fluctuations of the mind and promotes unity and connection. ·       Yoga is a gift to humanity and should be represented with integrity and authenticity. ·       Yoga sequences can be designed to work with specific emotions and promote emotional well-being. ·       Including more feminine perspectives in yoga can bring balance and depth to the practice. ·       The mind-body experience is an integral part of yoga and should not be suppressed or denied. ·       Honesty and authenticity are inspiring qualities in yoga and in life. ·       Taking time for guilty pleasures, such as watching movies and enjoying snacks, is important for self-care. You can find links to Reema's book, Sacred Sanskrit Words for Yoga, Chant, and Meditation and her two mantra albums on her website: www.reemadatta.com  You can also follow her on Instagram @reemayoga Sources:  Eknath Easwaran's translations of the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads are excellent. He taught at the University of California, Berkeley for decades, and was an amazing bridge between India and the West. His translations are easy to read and full of relatable stories. Roopa Pai has written The Gita for Children and The Vedas and Upanishads for Children. They are both excellent books if you'd like to share with your kids and learn with them! Even for adults, these books are a great introduction to these texts, which carry the original wisdom teachings of yoga that focus on the mind.  You can learn more about Niguma from H.E. Kalu Rinpoche.  Reema offers a free online community gathering on the last Sunday of each month to discuss aspects of yoga philosophy and engage in a short practice of mantra, pranayama, and meditation together. Everyone is welcome to join. You can register online and receive a link. She also has a few online courses that combine asana, mantra, pranayama, meditation, and philosophy. www.reemadatta.com

In this solo episode, Adam talks about the challenges facing yoga teachers and how he manages them.  Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/

David Fredriksson - A Journey From Injury to Yoga (@david_fredriksson | www.yogayama.com/teachers/david-fredriksson/ ) Background in dance | Hatha to Ashtanga | Change from an unhealthy lifestyle | Going through therapy | Switching addictions | Moving to a 6-day-a-week practice | Going to the source | Meeting Laruga | Healing body and mind | Tristana brings me to the present | Being there to give the tools | If I can do it, you can do it Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ David is one of the most experienced Ashtanga teachers in Sweden. His first contact with yoga was back in 1993 while exploring ways to find alternative forms of healing when Western medicine and physical therapy failed to heal a foot injury. As a spiritual seeker from his teens, he tried Hatha yoga. Right away, David felt the deep benefits of asana and meditation practice. Miraculously, yoga healed him physically, however, what blew David away the most, was the deep, sustaining well-being, that in turn, wasn’t fleeting, like other sensory pursuits. Yoga gave a greater sense of clarity, calmness, and internal focus more than anything he had previously experienced. Here David’s yoga journey began. His asana practice has been on and off through the years, but David always kept his seated meditation practice going the entire time. In early 2006, David took his first Ashtanga Yoga class. From that point on, he has not stopped. When David embarked on his first trip to Mysore, India, in February 2008, practicing with R. Sharath Jois, he delved deeper into the practice and fully committed himself to the method. Ever since then, David has been back to India every year to continue his studies and deepen his practice. In January 2011 he had the honour of receiving his Level 1 Authorization to teach from his teacher, R. Sharath Jois. In Sweden, David teaches and assists alongside his teacher, Laruga Glaser (Certified – Advanced B). When Laruga travels around the world to teach workshops and retreats. David is the one who runs and oversees the Mysore program at Yogayama Östermalm, in Stockholm. David regularly gets invitations to teach internationally and in other Swedish cities. He also teams up and teaches together with Laruga during her workshops and retreats all over the world. For David, it’s a great honour to help hold a space for students from all walks of life, where they can explore who they are, and grow as human beings with the help of this dynamic practice. He invites all of you who feel inspired by this practice to walk this path with him.      

#149 John Tattva & Marta Magdalena - Ashtanga Yoga, Love & Community (Ashtanga Nilayam Singapore | @ashtanganilayam.sg ) Yin and yang | Yoga community in Singapore | Finding Ashtanga Yoga | Pranayama & Chanting | Manifesting | A Gateway to Self-realisation | What’s in the sequences? | Sharing the joy of connecting to your own breath | Not following blindly | Managing knee issues | Yoga as a lifestyle | Removing obstacles | Finding your truth  Marta Magdalena is a co-founder of Nilayam and a dedicated yoga practitioner and teacher of Astanga Yoga. With over 20 years of experience on the mat, Marta's dedication to her daily self-practice of asana and pranayama is truly inspiring. Passionate about the holistic approach to wellness, Marta emphasises the importance of breathing practices, Ayurveda, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle alongside the physical aspects of yoga. She firmly believes these elements should always go hand in hand, creating a harmonious balance for overall well-being.  In her spare time, Marta delves into the study of Vedic mantras, seeking a deeper understanding of the mind-body-soul connection. She understands that exploring a wide range of practices that bridge the physical and metaphysical realms unlocks the gateway to a more meaningful and fulfilling life. John Tattva is a co-founder of Nilayam and a passionate advocate of yoga. From his early days as a primary school apprentice, John has immersed himself in yoga, constantly expanding his knowledge and expertise. Today, he stands as a seasoned instructor, sharing his deep-rooted passion and wisdom with students daily for over a decade. He truly believes in the transformative power of Ashtanga Yoga, a practice that has become the cornerstone of his teachings. Yearly trips to Mysore allowed him to deepen his understanding and receive the blessing to teach from his teacher, Sharath Jois, reaching an Authorization Level 2. John also embraces therapeutic yoga, spreading positivity and healing through his teachings. Join him on a transformative journey of self-discovery and holistic well-being.

Christopher Wallis – Near Enemies of The Truth (www.hareesh.org | @hareeshwallis | YouTube ) Speaking in near absolute truths | Digesting v rather than letting emotions go | Don’t take it personally | I am my own guru | When the mental filters fall away | Communion with reality | Being with what is | Is yoga stilling the fluctuations of the mind? | Finding your dharma? | Following the golden thread in your life New Book Available for Pre-order: Near Enemies of the Truth https://hareesh.org/nearenemies  Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ ____________________________________________________________________ Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh, is a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra with thirty years of experience. He was initiated by a traditional Indian guru at the age of sixteen and received education at yoga āshrams in India and the West.  Subsequently, he engaged in fourteen years of formal education in Sanskrit, South Asian Studies, and classical Indian religions. Hareesh teaches classical Tantric philosophy and Tantric practices, meditation, Sanskrit, and mantra-science to an engaged online community of practitioners. He is the Founder of Tantra Illuminated Online, an online learning portal where all his courses and teachings are available. He also offers workshops, retreats and classes in person in Portugal and around the world. He combines his practice of more than 25 years with a rigorous inquiry into the original Sanskrit sources to accurately translate and bring this ancient nondual wisdom to modern practitioners. The practices aim to facilitate both spiritual awakening and enhanced well-being for people in all walks of life. His community of students frequently praise his deep love for the tradition and the clarity of thought and expression.  His teachers, mentors, and gurus, in chronological order, include: Gurumayī Chidvilāsānandā (root-guru), Paul Muller-Ortega (Śaiva Tantra and Classical Yoga); Alexis Sanderson (Śaiva and Śākta Tantra and Sanskrit); Marshall Rosenberg (Nonviolent Communication); Somadeva Vasudeva (Śaiva Tantra), Adyashanti (Meditation), and others who wish to remain anonymous.  His degrees include a B.A. in Religion and Classics from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in South Asian Studies from U.C. Berkeley, an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley.  Hareesh is the author of Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition, the first comprehensive and accessible introduction to Classical Tantra in English (also available in Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian), and of The Recognition Sutras, a translation and commentary on a 1000-year-old masterpiece on experiential recognition of oneself as a direct expression of universal divine Consciousness.  His new book Near Enemies of the Truth comes out on November 14 and is available for pre-orders now.  EDUCATION  Ph.D. in South Asian Studies (Sanskrit), University of California-Berkeley, 2014 M.Phil. with Distinction in Classical Indian Religions, University of Oxford (UK) M.A. with Honors in South Asian Studies (Sanskrit), University of California-Berkeley, 2003 B.A. magna cum laude in Religion and Classics, University of Rochester, 2001  In this talk: Near Enemies of the Truth  Christopher Wallis YouTube Channel  Christopher Wallis Blog  Tantra Illuminated Online   

Lotta Sebzda - The Mindset of Practice |  @lottasbzdayoga Ashtanga as a 57-year-old grandmother (not what you’d think) | The importance of listening to the body | Early injury | Balancing yoga practice with family | Finding your limit | Finding joy in simple moments | Practice moments when feeling down | Inspiration from social media | Struggling with jumpbacks | Being mindful of social media | The benefits of a cold plunge | The practice in the early 2000s | Discovering the handstand press | Pushing yourself in practice Lotta Sebzda is a 57-year-old hairdresser - Ashtanga lover - mother of two adult children and two grandchildren.  Ever since Lotta was a child, she was mostly upside down, doing handstands, cartwheels or other gymnastics. When she found Ashtanga Yoga in the late 90s it was like coming home, she says - she was immediately drawn to the practice. Since that day it’s been a big part of her life - with dedication, love, curiosity, energy and gratefulness. Andrew also started his Ashtanga Yoga journey at the same time as Lotta. With a background as a basketball player, he had many old injuries to deal with. Ashtanga yoga helped him to strengthen the weak and injured parts of his body, and today yoga is the only thing that keeps him strong, both in body and mind.

Christopher “Hareesh” Wallis – Non-dual Classical Tantra or The Teacher Drinks Bourbon? (www.hareesh.org | @hareeshwallis | YouTube ) First yoga for householders | True Holistic Experience | Digesting the remnants to incomplete experiences from the past | Scholar & practitioner | Eastern spirituality upbringing Siddha yoga | Powerful experience during meditation | Exploring psychedelics | Classical Tantra teachings | Seeking in various ways | Nondual tantra provided the context for everything in one | Discipline is required for meaning | Paul Muller-Ortega | Adyashanti | Unpacking transmissions | Tibetan Buddhism v Classical Tantra v modern yoga | Revivalism of the Yoga Sutras | Reincarnation and the soul | Connecting to the subtle body during asana | Feeling the pain | Digesting our experiences to resolve them His new book Near Enemies of the Truth comes out on November 14 and is available for pre-orders now. Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh, is a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra with thirty years of experience. He was initiated by a traditional Indian guru at the age of sixteen, and received education at yoga āshrams in India and the West.  Hareesh teaches classical Tantric philosophy and Tantric practices, meditation, Sanskrit, and mantra-science to an engaged online community of practitioners. He is the Founder of Tantra Illuminated Online, an online learning portal where all his courses and teachings are available. He also offers workshops, retreats and classes in person in Portugal and around the world. He combines his practice of more than 25 years with a rigorous inquiry into the original Sanskrit sources to accurately translate and bring this ancient nondual wisdom to modern practitioners. The practices aim to facilitate both spiritual awakening and enhanced well-being for people in all walks of life. His community of students frequently praise his deep love for the tradition and the clarity of thought and expression. His teachers, mentors, and gurus, in chronological order, include: Gurumayī Chidvilāsānandā (root-guru), Paul Muller-Ortega (Śaiva Tantra and Classical Yoga); Alexis Sanderson (Śaiva and Śākta Tantra and Sanskrit); Marshall Rosenberg (Nonviolent Communication); Somadeva Vasudeva (Śaiva Tantra), Adyashanti (Meditation), and others who wish to remain anonymous.  His degrees include a B.A. in Religion and Classics from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in South Asian Studies from U.C. Berkeley, an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley. Hareesh is the author of Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition, the first comprehensive and accessible introduction to Classical Tantra in English (also available in Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian), and of The Recognition Sutras, a translation and commentary on a 1000-year-old masterpiece on experiential recognition of oneself as a direct expression of universal divine Consciousness. Tantra Illuminated: https://www.amazon.com/Tantra-Illuminated-Philosophy-Practice-Tradition/dp/0989761304/  ‘Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice by Mark Singleton https://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Body-Origins-Posture-Practice/dp/0195395344  ‘The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: A Biography’ by David Gordon White: https://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Sutra-Patanjali-Biography-2014-05-25/dp/B01FGMV5S2/  Hamsamitthu: "Pātañjalayoga is Nonsense" by Somdev Vasudeva: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23884110 The Recognition Sūtras; https://www.amazon.com/Recognition-Sutras-Illuminating-000-Year-Old-Masterpiece/dp/098976138X/  The Vātūlanātha-Sūtras: https://hareesh.org/blog/2023/7/30/the-sutras-of-the-intoxicated-lord-vatula-natha  Christopher Wallis YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@christopherwallis751  Christopher Wallis Blog: https://hareesh.org/blogpage  Tantra Illuminated Online: https://www.tantrailluminated.org/  

Adam completed the advanced A series with Sharath in Mysore in 2012, the same year he was authorised, and yet he believes that the practice is meant to be individualised for each student.  F Support Us  Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ 

Kranti (Renato Libanati) - Love of Ashtanga (Krantivira.com |@kranti.yoga.movement) Certified Ashtanga Teacher since 2012 | India 1991 – Osho | Meditation at age 14 | Finding Ashtanga | Mysore in 2005 | Richard Freeman, Maty Ezraty | Changes in Mysore | Managing injuries | Keeping motivated | Guilt in practice | Teaching in Japan v Europe | The future | Teaching relationship (more info below) ******************************************** Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ ********************************************* Kranti was born in Italy, under the sign of Cancer in 1970, in Chinese astrology’s Year of the Dog. Since childhood, he’s had an instinct for expansion and growth. His interest in the human mind and self-inquiry ignited at age 14, after reading his first book on meditation written by Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh).   Eventually, Kranti developed an interest in Yoga. In 1991, he travelled through India, and a few years later, he started a daily practice.   In Milan in 1996, he took a one-year teacher training with Carlo Patrian, one of the yoga pioneers in Italy. A few years later, while in Berlin, he was introduced to the Ashtanga method and fell in love with the practice. Since then, although Kranti’s yoga experience was complimented with the Iyangar method, Ashtanga became his daily practice and passion.   Kranti moved to Copenhagen a few years later, teaching Ashtanga and Hatha Vinyasa. He taught different yoga enthusiasts, dancers, actors, and athletes; one of his regular students was the Crown Princess of Denmark, Mary Donaldson.   In Paris in 2002, Kranti attended a workshop with Richard Freeman. He was deeply inspired by Richard’s versatile and open approach to yoga and yoga philosophy, and the following year he traveled to Boulder, Colorado, for Richard’s one-month intensive teacher training. This experience further deepened his understanding of the Ashtanga method, meditation, and philosophy.   In 2004, he attended a course in Yoga Therapy at the Yoga Biomedical Trust of London, England. He worked with students with heart disease and was moved by the powerful healing aspect of yoga as a complementary alternative therapy.     Since 2005, Kranti has routinely studied in Mysore, India, under the guidance of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath Jois. He received Authorization Level 1 to teach Ashtanga Yoga from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in 2008, and on July 5th, 2010, Kranti received Level 2 Authorization.   In 2012, Kranti was Certified by the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Institute (KPJAYI) – the only official institute in the world able to certify students to teach the traditional Ashtanga Yoga method by the Jois family.   Kranti & Gabriele Severini, who teaches in Rome, are the only two certified teachers from Italy. As of 2012, only 38 certified teachers were recognised globally by KPJAYI.   Kranti is also a registered teacher with the Yoga Alliance (RYT and E-RYT 500 hours), and he completed the Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Sarah Powers.   Through his teachings, Kranti will help you tap into your own true, unique potential. “In addition to Yoga studies, Kranti has trained and self-studied ‘Life Coaching,’ NLP, Body Language and psychology, incorporating aspects of these fields in his daily teaching and private lessons.”  

 Zoë Slatoff - The Practice of Sanskrit  (www.ashtangayogasanskrit.com | @yogasankrit ) Introduction to yoga | One month of led Intermediate with Pattabhi Jois in NY | Qutting school for Mysore at 21 years old | Falling in love with Sanskrit | Interest in he texts | Integrated study with practice | Giving up neuroscience | Inspiration | Sanskrit for yoga students book | Sanskrit classes online | The stilling of thoughts | Deeper understanding of Sanskrit Online classes: https://ochsonline.org/learning-pathways-sanskrit/ Zoe’s Book https://www.amazon.com/Yogavataranam-Translation-Integrating-Traditional-University/dp/086547754X/ About Zoe Slatoff-Ponte Zoë teaches Sanskrit and Yoga Philosophy in the Yoga Studies M.A. program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, as well as online courses for the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. She has a PhD in Religion and Philosophy from Lancaster University and an MA in Asian Languages and Culture from Columbia University.  Zoë is the author of Yogāvatāraṇam, a Sanskrit textbook for yoga students, which uses extracts from classical yoga texts to integrate traditional and academic methods of learning the language. Zoë is also the Sanskrit editor for Pushpam, and has done Sanskrit editing for Nāmarūpa and Robert Svoboda's book Vāstu. Zoë also taught for many years at her yoga shala in NYC, Ashtanga Yoga Upper West Side. She discovered yoga at the age of 15 and has been devoted to a daily practice ever since. She first traveled to Mysore in 2000 to study with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath and has returned almost annually. She is honored to have received Guruji's blessing to teach in 2002, and level 2 Authorization in 2009. Her PhD centers around a translation of the Aparokṣānubhūti, an Advaita Vedānta text attributed to Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, which is particularly relevant to yoga practitioners. It explains how we get caught up in illusions about our bodies and the world and how we could instead use practice to help us discover and be more connected to our essential nature.  

In this solo episode, Adam shares his thoughts on physical assists in teaching yoga.  Once thought of as the only way to teach this method, things are gradually shifting. Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time.   Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/   Keen On Yoga Podcast Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keen-on-yoga-podcast/id1509303411 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5iM9lcw52JskHUZ2eFvVxN Full Guest List: https://keenonyoga.com/podcast-guests/  

Nicki Doane (www.nickidoane.com | @mayayogastudio ) Nicki lives in Maui and she recorded this episode from her studio sharing her story of yoga as well as the devastation caused by the fires in the last few days.  Links to donate and help the people of Maui are below. Maui Strong Fund Maui Rapid Response - the hub for verified donation links What’s happening on Maui | Mind Blown from Yoga | Yoga via The Grateful Dead | Yoga feeling familiar | Tim Miller | Mysore in 1991 | Thoughts on Pattabhi Jois | Yoga was fun, but it gets deeper | Not being ready for The Yoga Sutras | Teaching style | Ashtanga on Maui | Fires on Maui Nicki Doane is an internationally recognized yoga teacher, known for her ability to make the practice of yoga accessible to every body. She began her study of yoga at the age of 18 while attending the University of Massachusetts. From her first class, she knew she had found something special and deeply familiar. While she began to practice yoga on a purely physical plane and because it felt good, it became apparent some years later that there was more to Yoga than she originally thought. In 1991, Nicki traveled to Mysore, India to study with Sri K Pattabhi Jois, the master of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. She fell in love with the practice and continued her studies with Pattabhi Jois until his death in 2009. What she experienced on that first trip was a radical realization that yoga is much more than a physical practice. The yoga affected her deeply on an emotional and spiritual level. After that she was hooked! As she delved deeper into the Ashtanga practice she became curious about her teacher’s teacher and his lineage. She learned that Tirumalai Krishnamacharya had been Pattabhi Jois’ teacher and also the teacher of BKS Iyengar. This led her to study Iyengar Yoga with Mr. Iyengar, his children and with many of his senior teachers as well including Gabriella Giubilaro and Patricia Walden, at his institute in Pune, India. Nicki has always believed that her practice continued to grow and evolve due to her study and practice of both of these systems of Yoga. Nicki continues to study to study yoga with senior teachers and believes that a great teacher must always remain a dedicated student. Nicki’s teaching has grown out of her practice and her deep faith in yoga and she chooses to honor her students as individuals first and foremost. Nicki’s style combines asana, pranayama, philosophy, and poetry and her classes are strong and accessible to everyone. Nicki uses humor in her teaching to set her students at ease and she is considered to be very relatable and down to earth. She is known as a Teacher’s teacher and loves igniting the spark of yoga in her students. Nicki lives on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii, where she owns and directs the Maya Yoga Studio on the North Shore of Maui. She has been featured in numerous articles and has graced the cover of Yoga Journal magazine. She is featured in 2 Ashtanga Yoga videos available through Gaiam and in 9 videos entitled Maya Yoga Vinyasa on her youtube channel. She is currently finishing a book on Yoga for beginners. Nicki teaches workshops and teacher training courses at her studio on Maui and travels all over the world conducting workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats.

Jahnavi Jethmalani - Authentic Yoga & The Modern Human @jahnavi.jethmalani Adam met Jahnavi at Purple Valley Yoga in Goa in April and they started a dialogue, this is a follow-up conversation to that original one.  Adam will be back at Purple Valley Goa teaching with Edwin Bryant in October 2024. How do we balance yoga transmission for modern life? | Yoga is suited to the context of the West | When yoga goes too far from its roots makes it uncomfortable for Indians | How to move toward a more authentic expression | Is yoga union? | Going beyond the physical asana | Grounding the practice in yoga philosophy | Overtake of the sutras | Can you do yoga sadhana without looking at the original texts? | What is the sadhana grounded in? | How to a space of sincerity and authenticity | Physical movement and mind mastery | What do you use your mind for? | The trap of authoritarianism in the yoga world The problem comes when you are taking the culture as an identity to what you are doing. If I practice yoga then I also have to wear the clothes and the beads and the whole set up as a costume. Yoga is not anything you do externally. Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time.   Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/

Clayton Horton – Living the Yamas & Niyamas  (www.greenpathyoga.org |  @shivaburns) Asian philosophy | Hippy San Francisco | Hatha yoga | Baptiste yoga | Iyengar yoga | Brian Kest | Tantra, meditation | Teaching in Asia | Body types | Individualised teaching | Living the yamas and niyamas | Changes in teaching | Meditation | Diet | Pattabhi Jois | Current practices Clayton Horton is the Director of Greenpath Yoga. He has been a student of yoga for over 30 years and began teaching in 1996. Clayton is an experienced and internationally known KPJAYI Certified Ashtanga yoga teacher born in Oklahoma, USA. He discovered yoga at age 21 whilst living in San Francisco, California, when his mother took him to a pranayama class. After several years of practice and a long trip to India, he began teaching in 1996. To Clayton, yoga is a healing path back to the Self, allowing us to experience true peace and happiness. Being kind and living in balance with nature continue to guide his life. Clayton studied with masters Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and the Greensufi for 14 years, both of whom gave him great inspiration to practise daily and develop a yogic lifestyle. Clayton received formal authorisation to teach Ashtanga Yoga from the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute of Mysore, South India in 2003 and he received Level Two Authorisation in 2010. While attending a course for teachers in Mysore during the summer of 2016, Sharath Jois awarded Clayton with the blessing of ‘Certification’ – the highest level of accreditation for teachers at the institute. Clayton’s teaching style is traditional, yet light-hearted and relaxed. He believes that by practising and living yoga, we can transform ourselves and the world around us. According to Clayton, Ashtanga Yoga is a complete and well-balanced system in which an experienced and skilled teacher can help any student ‘find their place’ within its structure regardless of individual challenges, aptitude, and constitution. From 2001-2006, Clayton operated Greenpath Yoga Studio in San Francisco, California, USA. The studio was one of America’s first Green and Environmental–Friendly yoga studios. It was an inspiration with its progressive yoga programs, philosophies, events, and authenticity. The studio helped to inspire awareness of Earth Friendly yoga practices, philosophies, and products. Currently, Clayton teaches Daily Ashtanga classes at Pure Yoga in Hong Kong. He teaches workshops, retreats, and courses and presents at yoga conferences internationally. His favourite hobbies are surfing, swimming, singing, and playing guitar. He is committed to making the world a better place by living with eco-awareness, teaching yoga and meditation, serving others with charity work (karma yoga), and offering music & Kirtan chanting (bhakti yoga).

Judith Hanson Lasater – Founder of Yoga Journal  (www.judithhansonlasater.com | @Judithlasater ) Starting out in yoga in 1971| Passing the bucket of water | Teaching comes through us, not from us | The necessity of our own practice | BKS Iyengar | Yoga was a spiritual practice in the 70s | Confusing the asana with the yoga | Yoga as action then reflection | Yoga is what you do when you leave the class | Everyone is already whole | Words really matter in yoga | Opening the practice up to all people | Practice should be required before teaching | Setting up Yoga Journal | Demystifying yoga | All bodies are yoga bodies *********************************************************** This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/  Keen On Yoga Podcast Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keen-on-yoga-podcast/id1509303411 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5iM9lcw52JskHUZ2eFvVxN Full Guest List: https://keenonyoga.com/podcast-guests/  ********************************************************** Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, PT is a noted yoga instructor, physical therapist, and leader in the yoga community. She has been teaching since 1971, and was a founder of the San Francisco Iyengar Yoga Institute as well as Yoga Journal, where she wrote the “asana” column for 13 years. Lasater holds a degree in physical therapy and a doctorate in East-West psychology. She is the author of ten books, including Restore and Rebalance;  Yogabody: Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Asana; Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life; Yoga Myths; and most recently, Teaching Yoga with Intention. Find out more about her live events and digital courses at judithhansonlasater.com.                  

Sarah Powers - Lit From Within (www.sarahpowersinsightyoga.com | @sarahpowersinsightyoga) Yin Yoga with Ashtanga background | Restorative yoga teacher | Adapting Ashtanga | Teaching at Maty & Chucks | Yoga, food & digestion | Yoga Works first days | Paul Grilley | What is Yin yoga? | Yin & meditation | Accessing chi | Pranic cultivation | Mind training | Viniyoga | What does energy feel like? | Yoga breathing | Insight Yoga Institute (more info below) _____________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, it’s ideal for multi-site studios and self-employed teachers. With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”  __________________________________________________________ Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/   ____________________________________________________________ Sarah Powers is the co-founder of the Insight Yoga Institute as well as the author of Insight Yoga and Lit from Within, which interweaves Yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, and Transpersonal psychology into an integrated practice to enliven the body, heart, and mind. Sarah began teaching Yoga in the mid-’80s. Today, her yoga style blends a Yin sequence of long-held floor poses to enhance the meridian and organ systems. She often engages in inquiry practice, with an alignment-based slow flow, or yang movement practice.  Sarah has completed all levels of the Internal Family Systems Therapy training and has been a student of spiritual psychology for over 35 years. She also draws from her in-depth training and long retreats in the Vipashyana, Tantric and Dzogchen practices of Buddhism. Sarah and Ty Powers created the Insight Yoga Institute (IYI) in 2010. Having both interwoven Yoga, Buddhism and Psychological approaches for three decades in their retreats and trainings, they decided to create a more formal umbrella to draw people together in a like-minded community. Of particular interest to Sarah and Ty is that participants learn how to commit to an integrated daily home practice for the body, heart and mind through yogic, Buddhist and psychological teachings and methods. IYI retreats bring together the dynamic and receptive aspects of yoga, the three schools of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana) and the skilful methods of psycho-dynamic personal and relational work and are held in social silence. The teachers on retreat are not silent but will be leading classes and seeing people individually.  The program can be enjoyed as independent retreats or as a path to Yoga Alliance 500+ hour certification. If you would like to apply for the 500+ hour Yoga Alliance certified program please refer to Program Overview.  

Stefanie Symon author of The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America The stages of evolution | In 1898 it was crazy and scandalous for whites | Theos Bernard | Vivekananda | Indra Devi makes it more normal | Staying away from metaphysics | Making yoga palatable for the West | Differences in UK | Yoga in the 60s | Psychedelics | The Beatles | Gurus & ashrams | 1970s | Therapeutic yoga | Marshmallow yoga | Transition to Ashtanga & Bikram | Asana as a Trojan horse | What is next for yoga? (more about Stefanie below) Support Us  Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ Stefanie is an author and company builder. She’s practised (mostly) Ashtanga Yoga for 25+ years. She is the author of The Subtle Body, The Story of Yoga in America Yoga's history in America is longer and richer than even its most devoted practitioners realize. It was present in Emerson's New England, and by the turn of the twentieth century, it was fashionable among the leisure class. And yet when Americans first learned about yoga, what they learned was that it was a dangerous, alien practice that would corrupt body and soul. A century later, you can find yoga in gyms, malls, and even hospitals, and the arrival of a yoga studio in a neighbourhood is a signal of cosmopolitanism. How did it happen? It did so, Stefanie Syman explains, through a succession of charismatic yoga teachers, who risked charges of charlatanism as they promoted yoga in America, and through generations of yoga students, who were deemed unbalanced or even insane for their efforts. "The Subtle Body," tells the stories of these people, including Henry David Thoreau, Pierre A. Bernard, Margaret Woodrow Wilson, Christopher Isherwood, Sally Kempton, and Indra Devi. From New England, the book moves to New York City and its new suburbs between the wars, to colonial India, to postwar Los Angeles, to Haight-Ashbury in its heyday, and back to New York City post-9/11. In vivid chapters, it takes in celebrities from Gloria Swanson and George Harrison to Christy Turlington and Madonna. And it offers a fresh view of American society, showing how a seemingly arcane and foreign practice is as deeply rooted here as baseball or ballet. This epic account of yoga's rise is absorbing and often inspiring - a major contribution to our understanding of our society.

 Bernie Clark - Does yoga cause hip replacements? (yinyoga.com @bernieclark7528) No pain no gain? | Practice and all is not coming | Your Body Your Yoga | Rubber hip | What is available for all? | Meniscus tears | Tensile resistance v compression Getting a few more degrees rotation | Cultural differences | What stops me? | Self-selecting | Nobody is average | What is fascia? | Mobility v stability | Your body’s energetic shape | Does yoga cause hip replacements? Bernie Clark has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1998. He has a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Waterloo and combines his intense interest in yoga with an understanding of the scientific approach to investigating the nature of things.    His ongoing studies have taken him deeply inside mythology, comparative religions and psychology. All of these avenues of exploration have clarified his understanding of the ancient Eastern practices of yoga and meditation. His teaching, workshops and books have helped many students broaden their own understanding of health, life and the source of true joy.   Bernie’s yoga practice encompasses the hard, yang-styles, such as Ashtanga and Power Yoga, and the softer, yin-styles, as exemplified in Yin Yoga. His meditation experience goes back to the early 80’s when he first began exploring Zen meditation. During those days, while he struggled with the conflict between practice and theory, Bernie also worked as a member of the executive team of one of Canada’s oldest and largest Hi-Technology companies. Bernie is the author of Your Body, Your Yoga amongst others.

Adam shares his view on teaching postures that you can't do yourself. Adam Keen completed the Advanced A sequence of Ashtanga yoga in 2013 with Sharathji in Mysore (authorised level 2 in 2012). He has been a yoga practitioner since 1999, starting with hatha yoga while studying philosophy at university. He has taught internationally and spent over ten years running a Mysore program in his native London, UK. His style is open, non-dogmatic and eclectic while remaining rooted in an appreciation of the tradition as taught in Mysore. He has a unique way of making everyone welcome and meeting students where they are with humour and kindness. This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios.   2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL:  https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”  Support Us  Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/

Danny Paradise Part 2 Teacher to the Stars & Creator of Music ( www.dannyparadise.com @danny_paradise108) Travelling & Sharing yoga | Doorways opening to countries | Teaching Sting, Madonna & other celebrities | Freedom Fighters | Love Will Rescue You | Children of The Forest | A Song For a Revolution | Ashtanga is not just for kids (more about Danny below)  ******************************************* This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. For our online, in-person and hybrid classes and events. There are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: ·  ·        Manage your class and workshop schedule ·       Organize your appointment types and availability ·       Create marketing and win-back campaigns ·       Organize your on-demand videos and courses ·       See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. ·       Have customers self-check-in via kiosks ·       Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale  With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”   ************************************************************* Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/  __________________________________________________________________ Danny has been practising Ashtanga Yoga since May 1976 and teaching publicly (and occasionally privately) worldwide since 1979. He teaches all levels of students and teachers and was in one of the earliest groups of Westerners to learn all the classical sequences of Ashtanga Yoga. His first teachers were David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff. David was the first western Ashtanga adept. He began teaching with David Williams in 1979 and was asked to assist him at that time. Danny introduces the forms to beginning students, experienced, advanced practitioners, and teachers. Many people he has taught are now teaching others and have their own schools. He also introduced the Ashtanga forms to many people who were Yoga teachers in other traditions and styles. He's taught numerous well-known artists, musicians, dancers, and sports champions and studied with K. Pattabhi Jois in 1978 in Hawaii and 1980 in Hawaii in the USA. This included K.P. Jois' first advanced series of public classes in 1980 which were in Maui, Hawaii. He's also studied and practised with numerous teachers of other Yoga forms as well as various martial arts including Karate, Kung Fu and Tai Chi. His influences in Spirituality have come from Krishnamurti, teachings of Buddha, Jesus, Shiva, Yoga, as well as numerous Shamanic traditions of Native North and South Americans, from indigenous cultures of the Pacific, Tibet, Africa and Southeast Asia. Some of these traditions also include Mayan, Egyptian, and Hawaiian. His main objective is to help people develop a sacred, personal, private, safe, healing, meditative, consistent, non-dogmatic Yoga practice.  

Danny Paradise Part 1: A Life of Yoga ( www.dannyparadise.com @danny_paradise108) Early days in Hawaii | Cliff Barber | Discovering yoga in 1976 | Nancy Gilgoff & David Williams | Music career | No guru / Personal authority | Original Maui Crew | Learning v Perfecting | Good teachers don’t do intense adjustments | There were no full vinyasas | Modify daily | No break between primary and intermediate | The Origins of asana (more about Danny below) ******************************************* This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. For our online, in-person and hybrid classes and events. There are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: ·  ·       Manage your class and workshop schedule ·       Organize your appointment types and availability ·       Create marketing and win-back campaigns ·       Organize your on-demand videos and courses ·       See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. ·       Have customers self-check-in via kiosks ·       Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”  ************************************************************* Support Us  Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/  ********************************************** Danny has been practising Ashtanga Yoga since May 1976 and teaching publicly (and occasionally privately) worldwide since 1979. He teaches all levels of students and teachers and was in one of the earliest groups of Westerners to learn all the classical sequences of Ashtanga Yoga. His first teachers were David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff. David was the first western Ashtanga adept. He began teaching with David Williams in 1979 and was asked to assist him at that time. He introduces the forms to beginning students, experienced, advanced practitioners, and teachers. Many people he has taught are now teaching others and have their own schools. He also introduced the Ashtanga forms to many people who were Yoga teachers in other traditions and styles. Danny has taught numerous well-known artists, musicians, dancers, and sports champions and studied with K. Pattabhi Jois in 1978 in Hawaii and 1980 in Hawaii in the USA. This included K.P. Jois' first advanced series of public classes in 1980 which were in Maui, Hawaii. He's also studied and practised with numerous teachers of other Yoga forms as well as various martial arts including Karate, Kung Fu and Tai Chi. His influences in Spirituality have come from Krishnamurti, teachings of Buddha, Jesus, Shiva, Yoga, as well as numerous Shamanic traditions of Native North and South Americans, from indigenous cultures of the Pacific, Tibet, Africa and Southeast Asia. Some of these traditions also include Mayan, Egyptian, and Hawaiian. His main objective is to help people develop a sacred, personal, private, safe, healing, meditative, consistent, non-dogmatic Yoga practice.  

Manuel Ferreira & Yan Ong (@yanyoga | @manuel8ferreira ) Catching up after a long time | Assisting in Mysore | How is Mysore now? | A place to heal | Changes with age? | Communication | Projecting your ego | The new shala space | Teaching together | Sharath’s teaching | Space to work on your practice | Differences in teaching | Catching ---------------------------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: ·      Manage your class and workshop schedule ·       Organize your appointment types and availability ·       Create marketing and win-back campaigns ·       Organize your on-demand videos and courses ·       See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. ·       Have customers self-check-in via kiosks ·       Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale       With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”  ---------------------------------------------------- Support Us  Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/    

Ruth Westoby Baking the Body in the Fire of Yoga (www.enigmatic.yoga | @ruthwestoby )  The Relationship Between Academic Study & Practice | Learning Ashtanga Yoga | Entering into the academic study of yoga | Reading the Bhagavad Gita | Getting obsessed with details | Mark Singleton’s & Norman Sjoman’s books | Are the myths being busted? | The Sritattvanidhi | The transformation of practice enriches interest in the texts | Practising to techno | Cultural appropriation | Can we separate mind & body? | Use of critical theory in yoga | Yoga necessary for doing the contemplation elements *************************************************** This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: ·  ·       Manage your class and workshop schedule ·       Organize your appointment types and availability ·       Create marketing and win-back campaigns ·       Organize your on-demand videos and courses ·       See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. ·       Have customers self-check-in via kiosks ·       Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”  Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ *************************************** Ruth Westoby is a doctoral researcher in yoga and an Ashtanga practitioner. As well as offering workshops and lectures at studios and conferences, Ruth teaches on some of the principal teacher training programmes in the UK and beyond. Ruth is on the steering committee for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies. Ruth collaborated with the Haṭha Yoga Project’s ‘embodied philology’, interpreting postures from an 18th-century text teaching a precursor of modern yoga, the Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati, in 2016 and 2017. Ruth began to explore yoga practices in 1996 and started teaching postural yoga in 2004. In 2010 she received an MA in Indian Religions from SOAS, University of London, with Distinction.   Ruth has studied closely with Hamish Hendry and Richard Freeman. In 2015 she was authorized by Sharath to teach Ashtanga level 2. Ruth does not practice at studios which display images of Pattabhi Jois on altars in solidarity with those who were sexually abused by him. For resources and dialogue on this please contact Ruth directly.   Ruth is researching for a doctoral thesis on ‘Bodies in Haṭhayoga: Gender, Materiality and Power’ at SOAS under the supervision of James Mallinson.  

Lara Miguel - A Lifelong Practice  (www.ashtangayogaportoalegre.com.br | @laurashtanga) Finding Ashtanga | Everything starts to work | Giving up a law career | Rediscovering herself in India | Going to Mysore | Shashadri to Sharathji | Teaching in Brazil | Changes in Mysore | Ayurveda & yoga for a long life | Don’t push for asana | The importance of sleep _____________________________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can:  ·       Manage your class and workshop schedule ·       Organize your appointment types and availability ·       Create marketing and win-back campaigns ·       Organize your on-demand videos and courses ·       See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. ·       Have customers self-check-in via kiosks ·       Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale       With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ________________________________________________________________________ Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ Keen On Yoga Podcast Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keen-on-yoga-podcast/id1509303411 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5iM9lcw52JskHUZ2eFvVxN Full Guest List: https://keenonyoga.com/podcast-guests/ Laura Miguel is an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga teacher, authorized by Sharath Jois in Mysore-India. Ayurvedic therapist graduated by Suddha Dharma in Uberlândia-MF and specialized in nutrition by the International Institute of Ayurveda in Puna-India. Trained in astrology with Gunesvara Das. Author of the book Gestando com Ashtanga Yoga. Teaches the traditional method in Porto Alegre and all over Brazil in retreats and workshops. She works as an ayurvedic therapist helping her students in their search for knowledge. Laura believes that this method can be applied to all people interested in deepening their knowledge of Yoga.  

Aime MacDonald – Dubai | Greg Barker – UK | Joanne Conway – UK | Lisa Robbins – Italy | Meggy Roussel – France | Nani Vinken – Germany | Nicola Nixon – UK | Paloma Villela – Spain How did you get into Ashtanga? | Benefits of online Mysore | The shift to self practice | How has the practice changed your life? | How do you keep motivated? | Aims for the future? This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: ·  ·       Manage your class and workshop schedule ·       Organize your appointment types and availability ·       Create marketing and win-back campaigns ·       Organize your on-demand videos and courses ·       See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. ·       Have customers self-check-in via kiosks ·       Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”   Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time.  Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/             

Day Christensen Choose Yourself (https://day1yoga.com/ | @day1yoga) Being an ‘Ashtangi’ | Impact of back pain | Hooked on Ashtanga | Saving herself from herself | Not being a rule follower | Embracing the system | The desire for certificates | Wanting to feel good | Posterior v anterior pelvic tilt | Giving a happy alternative | Current practice | You can’t do what you can’t do | Building strength | Finding the spiritual aspect in every moment | Connecting with yourself | What's optimal? | I am not Ashtanga & Ashtanga is not me | I commit to me / my health This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: ·   ·       Manage your class and workshop schedule ·       Organize your appointment types and availability ·       Create marketing and win-back campaigns ·       Organize your on-demand videos and courses ·       See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. ·       Have customers self-check-in via kiosks ·       Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale  With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”  Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/  Drawn to the elusive peacefulness and glow that so many yoga practitioners seemed to have while connecting with yogic philosophy, Day Christensen took up the practice of yoga in 2004. Starting out, she took classes that fit her schedule, but quickly became drawn to the Mysore-style practice of Ashtanga yoga, where students were taught in a relatively silent room with one-on-one instruction. There, in this environment, she recognized that the student’s potential for growth superseded what she had experienced in other styles of yoga that utilized the more typical “guided” method of teaching.  It was then that she began to schedule around her yoga practice, and her life of late nights and unhealthy habits did a 180. After immersing herself in Ashtanga and the Mysore method, taking trips to Mysore, India to study where the practice was born within the lineage of those who created it, on her third trip to India, Day was given the blessing to teach as an Authorized Level 2 teacher.   However, shortly after that time, suffering from persistent back pain, Day found that the system with its hierarchy of postures and repetitive movements could be more harmful than helpful. Through the process and years of learning to heal and recover from back pain, Day finally was able to break free of the cookie-cutter method of giving all students the same sequences of postures meant to be learned and repeated 6 days a week, sometimes for years and years on end with no variation in asanas or movement patterns. With this new perspective due to her own pain caused by repetitive movement, she recognized that the system of learning yoga asanas can be improved: groups of asanas should be given according to each student’s current and developing postural needs. “The how” being the Mysore Method of one-on-one instruction where each person in the room is able to work according to their own needs, ability, and pace, was and is the most effective way to learn and grow. But “the what” of specific series and order of postures MUST be re-assessed.   Thus, The DAY1YOGA Method was born: A tailored and customizable practice, minus posture- or series-hierarchy, (zero delineation between “advanced” and “beginner” students), just students, people with issues, all there for the healing and strengthening modality that yoga should be.  

Talia Sutra - Love And All is Coming  (@talia_sutra | https://taliasutra.com/ ) Ritual and practice | Using your body to generate well-being | Karma yoga | Yoga To The People | Hot yoga | Ghosh | 26 and 84 asanas | Love of teaching | Living her dream | Asana championships | Impact of social media | Pain-free backbends | Finding her voice | Love of sharing the practice | Teaching is not about you | A disciplined life | Yoga lifestyle | Motherhood | Making a living as a teacher | Physical and material development __________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: ·          Manage your class and workshop schedule        Organize your appointment types and availability        Create marketing and win-back campaigns         Organize your on-demand videos and courses         See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting.         Have customers self-check-in via kiosks         Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” Support Us Subscribe, like, comment and share with your friends Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ ________________________________________________________________ Born in Israel, Talia, along with her family relocated to New York early in her life. Curious by both nature and nurture, Talia was brought up by soulful, caring parents. She was first introduced to yoga and meditation at age 6, when her mom integrated these practices into her lifestyle to beat lymphoma. Love has always been the flame lighting the way. Talia sees nothing as external to her studies: She has learned impeccable skill and technique from masters of ballet, yoga, and art. Equally, she finds sensitivity, intuition, and insight are to be found through stillness, silence, and connection with the seemingly ordinary world around us and that ultimately no teacher is greater than the one within. Talia recently relocated to Tel Aviv where she lives with her husband Ezra and their son Akiva. She is excited, humbled and honored to spread her love of yoga worldwide and is grateful for all her teachers and students.  

Gerald Disse & Linda Munro Bringing Mysore to Paris (www.ashtangayogaparis.fr | @ashtangayogaparis Bringing Mysore to Paris | Teaching as a married couple | Finding Ashtanga in the early 90s | Changes from yoga | Looking for meaning | Being in class with Madonna | Giving up a career in fashion | Becoming a teacher | Teacher-student relationship | Yoga Lifestyle | Building a community in Paris | Pattahbi Jois 1991 | Sharing with other teachers | Eating more chapatis | Start of the Paris shala | Mysore v Led class | Changes in practice | Importance of the series | Importance of leaving the Ashtanga rules | Impact of “Me Too” with teaching This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” Support Us Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ GÉRALD DISSE Gérald has been practicing yoga since 1989 and teaching since 1996. He discovered Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in 1991 with Sri K Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. He spent 8 years traveling to Mysore spending 4 – 6 months per visit to learn more of the system, then going off to some other exotic location to practice daily what Guruji had taught him. Gérald was taught up to the third series and was one of the first French students to have been personally authorized to teach by Sri K Pattabhi Jois.  In addition to his Ashtanga practice, Gérald continues to cultivate a meditation practice in the tradition of Kriya Yoga. He has a daily pranayama practice and has been certified to teach kriya and pranayama by his teacher, Sri O.P. Tiwari. LINDA MUNRO Linda took her first yoga class in 1995 in Toronto, Canada with Ron Reid. But a couple of months later she was in a fairly serious car accident and had to have physical therapy. This is when she decided to use the yoga as a way to compliment the therapy. Soon after she realized that the yoga would be a life time practice. A practice of asana, pranayama and meditation but also a practice of being truthful, a practice of being kind, a practice of being fearless, peaceful and happy. She believes that the practice of “yoga” is continuous; the practice does not stop when you roll up the yoga mat. The practice of yoga includes the way you live your life, the way you relate to your family, friends, co-workers and to the strangers on the street. This is the life long practice of developing yogic awareness. In 1997 she moved to New York City with her work in the fashion business while continuing a daily ashtanga practice studying under Eddie Stern. The year 2000 brought her to Paris, France. After thirteen years in the world of fashion she decided it was the time to move fully into the direction she had been moving since her first yoga class. She studied yogic scriptures and philosophy, having completed a 250 hour study program of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, and a 120 hour course on the Bhagavad Gita under the supervision of Georg Feuerstein. She was one of his 10 mentoring students until he passed away in 2012. Linda is also a student of Sri O.P. Tiwari and is certified by him to teach pranayama. As well she has completed the anatomy for yoga training with Leslie Kaminoff and is a junior yoga anatomy trainer. Not to mention she has studied with the late guru of Ashtanga Yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India and NYC. In 2019, Linda and Gerald opened Ashtanga Yoga Golfe Juan, a new location to share their precise teaching of yoga on the Côte d’Azur, in the south of France, their new home.      

Dr Suzanne Newcombe History of Asana in the UK (https://www.open.ac.uk/people/shn44 | @faithoutsidethebox) Modern yoga classes | Importance of physical well-being post WW2 | Impact of UK due to past imperial past with India | Desmond Dunn teaching yogism | Theosophical society early human potential movement | Watkins book shop & first translations of Yoga Sutras | Hari Shastri | Krishnamurti | Annie Besant Rhodes Theosophical Society of India focus on improvement of Indians | Paul Brunton In Search of Secret India | Christmas Humphries | The intertwined history of Buddhism and Yoga in Britain | Gerald York shift toward physical experience | Pierre Bernard teaching yoga in New York | Paul Dukes first person to teach yoga on UK TV 1949 | Yogini Sunita 1960s Birmingham | Wilfred Clark British Wheel of Yoga | BKS Iyengar Light on Yoga | Yehudi Menuhin | Sivananda Yoga | Yogi Bajan | 1990s Pattabhi Jois | Godfrey Deveraux & Shandor Remete ****************************************************************************************** This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ****************************************************************************************** Support Us Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/  *******************************************************************************************  Dr Suzanne Newcombe is a Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the Open University (UK) where she researches modern yoga from a sociological and social historical perspective. She is also the Director of Inform, a registered charity that researches and provides information on new and minority religions and spiritualities using social scientific methodology which is based in Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London. Between 2015-2020 she was part of a 5-year project funded by the European Research Council (Horizon 2020) entitled ‘Medicine, Immortality and Moksha: Entangled Histories of Yoga, Ayurveda and Alchemy in South Asia’, see: http://www.ayuryog.org/ for more details. Suzanne’s focus for 2023 is coordinating a British Academy funded conference with Karen O'Brien-Kop from 26-27 May 2023 entitled 'Public Health after COVID: Beliefs, Religion and Competing Epistemologies.'  https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/british-academy-conferences/public-health-after-covid/ Publications (2019) Yoga in Britain: Stretching Spirituality and Educating Yogis. Sheffield, Equinox. Edited Books and Journals: (2020) ed. with Karen O’Brien-Kop. Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351050753 (2017) Special Issue of Religions of South Asia: Yoga Darśana, Yoga Sādhana: traditions, transmissions and transformations. Religions of South Asia. 11: 2-3. Introduction to the volume available here. Substantive articles and book chapters relating to modern yoga: (2020) with Karen O’Brien-Kop ‘Reframing Yoga and Meditation Studies’ Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies. Routledge, pp. 3-12. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351050753 (2020)  ‘Yoga and Meditation as a Health Intervention’ in Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies. Routledge, pp. 156-168. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351050753    

Marque Garaux Yoga as a Lifestyle ( http://www.greatlakesashtangayoga.com/ | @yogamarque) Connection with nature | Spending time outside | Moderation in all things | 2 basic principles of decisions | Connecting to oneself, others or nature | Protecting to avoid toxins of the world | Moderation is important | Asana is only one piece of the puzzle | Quiet time to quiet the mind | Paying attention to food choices | Making small changes a priority | Shift from what's good for me to what's good for all | Do your best | Cold baths | Outdoor practice | Sleep | Incorporating pleasure This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ***************************************************************************************************** Support Us Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect With Keen On Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/

Shandor Remete (www.shadowyoga.com/ | @shdow_yoga) Series of seven full moon discourses: https://shadowyoga.com/product/light-upon-taranyali-tridha-dhyanam All courses: https://shadowyoga.com/courses Book: Taraṇyali Tridhā Dhyānam: The Threefold Meditations of the Thunder Dragon Pashupatis | Tantra | Mula bandha | Sadhana | Mastery vs Ability & availability | Asana is for preparatory steps | Bringing the blind spots into focus | Becoming conscious of programming and free from them | The pranic force | Developing the sensitivity of the mind | The penny drops | Asanas become mudras | Angaharas | Mantra sadhana | Real ujjayi breath | Use of mantra | What is behind the mind | Soma chakra | 5 Human Gurus _________________________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” _________________________________________ Support Us Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ KEEN ON YOGA PODCAST Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keen-on-yoga-podcast/id1509303411 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5iM9lcw52JskHUZ2eFvVxN Full Guest List: https://keenonyoga.com/podcast-guests/   Please remember to Subscribe, Follow & Share  ______________________________ Sundernath (Shandor Remete) was fortunate to be born into a household at the southeastern tip of the great Hungarian plain where the art of yoga was a daily presence. From this seed, his destiny on the path of yoga unfolded. He is an initiate of the Kanpatha Hatha Yogins of Nepal, descendants of Sri Gorakhnath, and his Guru Sri Matsyendranath. These great Yogins were the forefathers of Tantrik Hatha Yoga, the heart of which is Hatha Yoga – the science bestowed upon humanity by Adinatha (Lord Shiva). Shadow Yoga Shadow Yoga is a modern term that encompasses the ancient practices originating with the Pashupata tantrika yogins. These practises preceded and gave rise to Hatha Yoga.  The Pashupata tantrika yogins are the oldest known ascetic yogins, even pre-dating Patanjali. The name Shadow Yoga is derived from the sixth chapter (entitled ‘Yoga of the Shadow Man’) of the ancient tantrika treatise or writings titled ‘The Shiva-svarodaya’ (the birth of the breath of life revealed by the god Shiva). The teaching of the Shadow School is based upon the ancient Hatha Yogic texts which state that ‘all fixed forms should be designed to develop the practice of freestyle’. Freestyle is a necessary step in the cultivation of longevity and enlightenment. The required tools are the Shadow Yoga prelude forms, Nrtta (pure dance of Shiva), Asana (posture), Pranayama (inner breath control) and the mental practices through the concentrated power of will termed Samyama (even restraint). The basis for all is Nrtta which in its light form is the legacy of the Pashupata tantrika yogins. Through this pure form, devoid of any gymnastic or theatrical embellishments, the sadhaka (aspirant) rediscovers the natural rhythmic currents hidden within the body. Most of the asanas used in contemporary Hatha Yoga schools are adaptations of the standing and squatting karanas. The important difference is that in the original practice the placement of the legs was achieved through the energy of the legs whereas nowadays the legs are manipulated with the hands to achieve the same shapes. Through Samyama the essence of these activities are drawn into a single point that acts as the gateway into the immensity better described as ‘the unknown’. The Shadow Yoga teachings encompass different stages of learning. There are various paths from which to choose as one ascends to the heights of knowledge and experience. Each individual will choose the path that they feel most drawn towards. Preparatory forms (Introduction to Shadow Yoga) 2. Nrtta Sadhana– pure dance of shiva 3. Shadanga Yoga– six limbs (asana, pranayama etc.) 4. Individual Yogasana – personalised one-to-one teaching based on the individual’s needs  

David Swenson (www.ashtanga.net | @davidswensonashtanga) David is teaching his first ever workshop on yoga short forms over Zoom with Keen on Yoga, details of the workshop are here: https://www.keenonyoga.com/events/david-swenson-ashtanga-short-forms/ In this podcast David talks about Pattabhi Jois short form | Western students driving for more | All or nothing mentality | Permission to shorten practice | 10-minute practice can be enough | What time is accessible? | Asana families | Intelligence behind sequences | Something is better than nothing | Being Doctors of our own body | What is happening today? | Feel good about yoga ***************************************************************************************** This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale   With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ******************************************************************************************  Support Us Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/      

Ty Landrum (https://www.tylandrum.com/ @tylandrumyoga) The impact of the awareness of yoga | Yoga for struggles with depression | Bringing awareness to the body | Awareness of the breath | Yoga opens doors to hidden emotions | Stiff beginnings | Acceptance of pushing in yoga | Being present with whatever is arising | Wanting to feel like Richard Freeman | Following the questions | Prana and Apana impact on asana | Energetic based alignment | Roles of inhale and exhale | Varying the Ashtanga sequence | Qualities a good teacher This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale Best of all, with live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ********************************************************************************************************************************  Support Us Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Become a Patron:  https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Connect with us: Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ ***************************************************************************************************************************** Ty is running Intensives in Europe and in Goa, for bookings and info see here: https://www.tylandrum.com/events Ty has an unwavering love for this unique somatic discipline, which he began practicing back in 2005. Drawing on his formal background in philosophy (PhD University of Virginia), Ty has an unusual power for illuminating the internal dynamics of yoga. He sees yoga as conscious participation in archetypal patterns of human development, which he is ever drawn to explore. Many inspiring people taught Ty about yoga, but the deepest and most lasting imprints have been made by Jennifer Eliot (his first teacher), David Garrigues (his second), Mary Taylor and Richard Freeman (his most recent), to all of whom he is forever grateful. These teachers all did something remarkable, which is to disappear, and allow the spirit of yoga to stand forth from within. Ty now shares his love of yoga in studios and retreat centers around the world. His passion is to share the brilliance of yoga with anyone who wants to learn. learned yoga from pain and heartache, loss and confusion, old books, lost tapes, full moons, long bouts of silence, cold winds, simplicity, forgiveness, surrender, and the caring words of a few good friends. He draws inspiration from children, saffron, sage, carob, almonds, chocolate, wise women, gnarled old men, olive trees, deep rivers, steep mountains, quaking aspen, honeybees, love songs, sunrises, laughter and deep breath.              

Kino MacGregor (https://kinoyoga.com/ | @kinoyoga) Changes to practice in Mysore over the years | Sharathji in Mysore now | Use of consent cards | Relationship with Guruji and Sharathji | The intention of teaching | Being an innovator on YouTube | Consent violations | Trauma survivor | Evolution of the Ashtanga community teaching | Softening after dogma | Social justice and teaching | Integrating practice of Vipassana | E-how yoga | Morning routine & personal practice | Spirituality of the practice | New book Act of Love | Travel tips (bio below) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://www.keenonyoga.com/momence/ or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ********************************************************* SUPPORT US Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ MEMBERSHIP: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I first met Kino in Crete in 2004 at one of her first international workshops where she taught a small group of students along with life coaching sessions in the afternoon. She has done a lot since then but remains the inspiring and highly energetic presence I first met almost 20 years ago. A unique and household name in Ashtanga yoga, Kino has a wealth of experience to share, not least her own personal journey - which she speaks about most candidly in this podcast as well as her new book ‘Act of Love’. A Miami native, Kino relentlessly travels the world sharing her knowledge as well as having released several books prior to her new one as well as many popular practice videos. With over 1 million followers on Instagram and over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube and Facebook, Kino’s message of spiritual strength reaches people all over the world. Sought after as an expert in yoga worldwide, is an international yoga teacher, inspirational speaker, author of four books, producer of six Ashtanga Yoga DVDs, writer, vlogger, world traveller, co-founder of Miami Life Center and the founder of Omstars—the world’s first yoga TV network

Prasad Rangnekar  (www.prasadrangnekar.com IG: @yogaprasad_institute YouTube: Yogaprasad Institute) What is our project as yogis?  Unyoga yourself | Asana practice v following yogic principles | Going into silence practices | Bodybuilding as an entry to the mind | Importance of devotion | Namaskar = Hindu push-up | Asana is not purely physical | Yoga of the west vs India | The role of a teacher v guru | 7 layers of teacher | Importance of finding ‘your’ teacher | Guru is similar to therapist | Teaching focused on simplification, deepening of faith, creation of patience | Silence & surrender | Faith matures into surrender | Grateful for the positives, humbled by the negatives | Life is simple but the mind is complicated | Let your breath be the guide Prasad Rangnekar, E-RYT500, is a Yoga Educator based in India who teaches in over 15 countries for the past 27 years. He has been a student practitioner of Yoga for the last 37 years, studying both in traditional lineages and academically, with a master’s degree in Philosophy.   As a transformation guide using Yogic methods he is regularly invited to speak at Indian Embassies, The European Commission, Yoga conventions, Schools, Corporate bodies, and Charity organizations. He has established multiple close-knit student communities globally and is engaged in various social initiatives, especially through his ‘Women Yogis of India’ seminars that raise funds for women-focused charities.  Prasad has been conducting 200- & 300-Hour Teacher Training for over a decade and also runs a free student resource YouTube channel that has over 350 videos with hundreds of hours of content. 

Daniel Simpson ( www.danielsimpson.info | IG @danielcsimpson | The Roots Of Modern Yoga Online Course) History of modern yoga | What is yoga? | First modern yoga class 1918 | The East / West exchange | Swami Vivekananda | Yogendra | Kuvalayananda | The role of direct experience | Hinduism and yoga | The umbrella of oneness | Impact of Krishnamacharya, Iyengar, Jois, Desikachar | Indian bodybuilding cross over | Mark Singleton’s Yoga Body | Using the physical to reach the subtle levels | Harmonic gymnastics and breathwork | Yoga and politics | Hatha Yoga Pradipika | The business of yoga | Are tapas necessary? This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Momence facilitates online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, and there are packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ********************************************************* SUPPORT US Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ MEMBERSHIP https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more.  €10 per month, cancel at any time. Daniel presents ancient texts for modern times. He is the author of The Truth of Yoga, a comprehensive guide to the history of practice. His approach combines scholarly knowledge with humour and insight, making yoga philosophy accessible and relevant to practitioners today. Daniel teaches courses online, at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, at triyoga in London, around the UK and internationally. He also offers private tutoring. Drawing on a master’s degree from SOAS (University of London), and two decades of experience, he aims to help students explore their own path. He supplements his teaching with work as an editor. His latest offering is The Roots Of Modern Yoga Online Course

Lara Land (www.laraland.us IG: @laralandyoga) Trauma therapy and yoga | Losing our agency | Trauma stored in the body | Yoga releases it | How to create a safer space | Addiction to stress | Trauma can feel normal | It can drive you forward | The truth wants to come out | Signs of suppression | Using yoga to work through trauma | Yoga as a tool of self-discovery |Teaching students with trauma | Use of tristana | Importance of closing sequence | Phraseology | Physical adjustments *********************************************************************************************************************** This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we use and highly recommend. Use Momence for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events, there are packages to suit all from self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ********************************************************* SUPPORT US Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ MEMBERSHIP: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more. €10 per month, cancel at any time. ********************************************************************************************************* Lara Land is a deeply compassionate life coach, consultant and yoga teacher trainer specializing in trauma sensitivity. Her work is in helping to heal trauma both subtle and significant and train others using trauma-sensitive yoga, meditation, mindfulness and breathing practices. She has spent the last 25 years studying Ashtanga yoga and sharing yoga asana, chanting, meditation, and philosophy directly from her teachers in India. Her commitment is to honor the traditions of yoga by responding to the needs of each individual, using a unique combination of practices and techniques that are appropriate for their personal growth. Some of her many certifications include: trauma-informed mindfulness, life coaching, therapeutic fasting, and mindfulness in nature. Lara has been featured in and contributed to New York Magazine, Huffington Post, Yoga Journal, Apartment Therapy and on Fox5, CBS, NY1 and SiriusRadioXM. Lara’s book The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga is coming out in the new year.  

Cathy-Louise Broda (purpleyoga.com | @cathy.louise.broda ) An honest talk about menopause and practice through it. As well as loving the colour purple. Learning with John Scott in 2000 | 7 years of primary series | The original Ashtanga community in the UK | Practice with joy | Moving into the middle and older phases of the body | Body recovery after giving birth | Change in cycles | Hot flashes & talking yourself out of them | Hormonal changes in the body | Going crazy before neutral | Flexible then stiff | The importance for male teachers to understand | Practising during menstruation | Effects of nutrition on the body | Craving quiet space | Changes in diet | Celebrate being a woman This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we’ve been using for the last year and highly recommend. Momence is a booking system for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events with packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on the link https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ********************************************************* Support us: Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Connect with Keen on Yoga Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ Membership: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more. €10 per month, cancel at any time. Cathy Louise has been teaching Ashtanga Yoga for 31 years. Her first teacher was Beryl Bender Birch, who she did a two-year apprenticeship with in New York in the late 1980s. Cathy Louise's early studies with Beryl still inform her teaching today. Cathy Louise met Pattabhi Jois during his first visit to New York and received his blessing to teach Ashtanga in 2000. Known for her transformative hands-on adjustments, Cathy Louise's teaching style also owes much to John Scott. In the late 1990s, she assisted John in his Mysore classes in London and then inherited her own Mysore style classes at Astanga Yoga London. While in London she taught vinyasa yoga at Triyoga, did a year-long apprenticeship in Pregnancy Yoga with Lynne Pinette, and met Nancy Gilgoff who was pivotal in empowering Cathy Louise as a female Ashtanga teacher. Cathy Louise's Pregnancy and Mom & Baby classes draw on her experience as a mother of three. In her Ashtanga classes too, she openly shares her journey as a woman so students may learn how best to adjust the practice of yoga in all stages of their lives. Perimenopause is the time before menopause. A woman’s hormone levels start to change causing symptoms like: Irregular menstrual cycles – ovulation becomes less regular. Flow can be lighter or heavier Hot flashes – hormone changes can start to create hot flashes. Sleep problems – due to hot flashes or “night sweats”. Mood changes – hormone levels change meaning some women have more mood swings, irritable. Decreased fertility – ovulation becomes less regular so it’s harder to conceive. Changes in sexual feeling – less interested in sex. Loss of bone density – with lower oestrogen bones lose density faster than you can replace bone. Changes in cholesterol levels – lower oestrogen levels can make you start to have “high cholesterol”. Other symptoms can be vaginal dryness, weight gain, slow metabolism, thinning hair, and dry skin. Menopause is when you have not had a menstrual cycle for at least a 12-month period. Menopause can happen in your 40s to 50s. The average age in the US of menopause is 51 years old. Symptoms can continue as with “perimenopausal” symptoms, and you can also experience: Fatigue, difficulty concentrating or memory loss, dizziness, weight gain, incontinence, bloating, changes in body odour, depression and anxiety, breast pain, headaches, joint pain, burning tongue, muscle tension, dry itchy skin, osteoporosis, gum problems, anxiety, brittle nails, tingling in the legs/arms. Early Menopause or Premature Menopausecan happen any time before the usual age of 40s-50s. Early menopause can come with having a hysterectomy (removal of ovaries), chemotherapy (cancer treatment) or stress. It’s important if you have early menopause that you have a balanced diet and take medical advice to make sure you remain healthy.  

Andrew McGonigle aka Doctor Yogi (www.doctor-yogi.com  / @doctoryogi) Andrew McGonigle is a medically trained yoga anatomy teacher empowering yoga teachers to teach from a more science-informed perspective. He talks to Adam about: The Physiology of Yoga | Evidence-based thinking/research | Where is our information coming from? | What is anecdotal information? | What is expert opinion? | Systematic reviews/meta-analysis | Does yoga cause injuries? | Critical thinking | Muscle fascia & yin yoga | Does muscle shorten or lengthen over time? | Stretch tolerance | Role of the nervous system | Can you have short hamstrings? | Importance of hypermobility | Micromanaging teachers | The use of teaching language | Movement is medicine | Not moving is worse than moving | Lower back issues | Yoga for stress | Menstruation and shame in yoga | Parasympathetic system | Role of the diaphragm | Is yoga all you need? | What is bandha? | Detoxification, diet and yoga | When to step away from the rules This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we’ve been using for the last year and highly recommend. Momence is a booking system for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events with packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · • Manage your class and workshop schedule • Organize your appointment types and availability • Create marketing and win-back campaigns • Organize your on-demand videos and courses • See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. • Have customers self-check-in via kiosks • Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: for more information click on this link https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga”    

Gregor Maehle (www.8limbs.com | @gregor.maehle) Yoga is for the mind, not the body | Yoga is the Vedic system of psychology | Treating trauma via breath and body | A healing modality | Importance of yoga philosophy | Using yoga to prove your validity | Include self-love and self-esteem in yoga | Spiritual bypassing | Acknowledging your own shadow | Making your mind sattvic | Pranayama | Being in service of the divine This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we’ve been using for the last year and highly recommend. Momence is a booking system for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events with packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL:  click on the link for more information  https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” ********************************************************* Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ MEMBERSHIP: https://keenonyoga.com/membership/  Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more. €10 per month, cancel at any time. Gregor is the international author of eight textbooks covering all eight limbs of yoga. His latest publication is How to Find Your Life’s Divine Purpose – Brain Software For a New Civilization. He is a mystic and a profuse blog writer covering topics on yoga and beyond. He travels the globe educating with passion, humour, insight and wisdom. Today he teaches an anatomically sophisticated interpretation of traditional vinyasa yoga, integrated into the practice of the higher limbs in the spirit of Patanjali and T. Krishnamacharya. His zany sense of humour, his manifold personal experiences, and his vast knowledge of scripture, Indian philosophies and yogic techniques combine to make his teachings applicable, relevant and easily accessible to all his students. Apart from offering Teacher Trainings online and face-to-face in Byron Bay, Bali Europe and Mexico, Gregor also teaches workshops in various locations around the world. 

Rachel Scott (www.rachelyoga.com | @ rachelscottyoga) Teaching yoga teachers | Physical assists | Mixing Ashtanga & Iyengar | Inner breath experience | The role of the teacher | Sage on the stage v guide on the side | Facilitating yoga v creating a show | Skeletal variations | Injuries | Moving in a pain-free motion | Trusting practical wisdom This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we’ve been using for the last year and highly recommend. Momence is a booking system for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events with packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers.  2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL:  click on the link below for more information or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga Rachel Scott took her first yoga class and was hooked. She enjoyed the practice that got her out of her head and into her body. Yoga became a safe space to feel, challenge myself, and reconnect. Since 2003, she’s immersed herself in education and the yoga business: managing studios and teachers. Rachel creates and leads teacher trainings, hires and coaching faculty, auditioning and mentoring teachers.  In addition, she creates new programs and workshops, supporting the growth of two multi-location, national yoga companies (Yoga Works and YYoga). Her mission is to share what she knows – about education, yoga, and business – to help teachers and studios elevate their offerings, share their passion, and bring more yoga into the world. ********************************************************* SUPPORT US Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ MEMBERSHIP https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet-ups & more. €10 per month, cancel at any time.        

Magnus Fridh (www.magnusfridh.com @magnus_fridh @ about_yoga) Tibetan Buddhism What does meditation do? |Expansiveness of mind | Direct benefits of calm and space | Space between stimuli and response | The mind watching the mind | Focused concentration | Welcome stress and worries | Experience nirvana now | The muscle of awareness | Handling suffering This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we’ve been using for the last year and highly recommend. Momence is a booking system for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events with packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: click on the link below for more information or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga Magnus Fridh, author of The Art of Stillness in a Noisy World , grew up in southern Sweden. He discovered meditation in his teenage years, and through academic studies in Indology, specialising in Tibetan language and culture, he gained an in-depth knowledge of the subject. He regularly teaches group Ashtanga yoga, mindfulness and meditation classes. Magnus is also one of the founders of the Mindfulness app. The app has become wildly popular around the world, having been translated into 13 languages and involved in a number of ongoing research projects.

Michael Baidoo (@bay_jitsu @ashtanga_breakfast_club) The Beauty of Waking up at 5 am | Learning Ashtanga Online | Social Media Networking | Humour in Dynamics |Jujitsu to Ashtanga | Making Guy Donahaye Smile | Ashtanga for Mental Health via Self-discipline | Leaving a Sheltered Family | The Personification of a Man This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we’ve been using for the last year and highly recommend. Momence is a booking system for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events with packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · • Manage your class and workshop schedule • Organize your appointment types and availability • Create marketing and win-back campaigns • Organize your on-demand videos and courses • See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. • Have customers self-check-in via kiosks • Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL: click on the link below for more information or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga Michael is a purple belt Jiu Jitsu practitioner who began practising Ashtanga yoga during the pandemic lockdown as he lost his job. His sensei was his inspiration and motivation to get up each day at 5 am. He began as self-taught through books and videos. Soon afterwards, Michael took to social media to share his experience in the most hilarious way and found connections with other practitioners. As they got in touch with their experiences, Michael became king of the Ashtanga memes as he brought light and laughter to students around the globe. His sheltered upbringing gives Michael a unique insight and appreciation for discipline which served him well. ********************************************************* SUPPORT US Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ MEMBERSHIP https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet ups with Adam & more. €10 per month, cancel at any time. 

Matt Ryan @mattryanyoga | www.yoga-manchester.co.uk |  DJ to Yogi | Panic Attacks | Depersonalisation | Kissing the Guru’s Feet | Advaita Experiences | Tradition or Trend? | Hard Core Zen | The Love of Helping People | New Beginnings in Manchester | Always Maintaining a Practice This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we’ve been using for the last year and highly recommend. Momence is a booking system for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events with packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. With Momence, you can: · Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale With live support by chat, phone and email Momence is easy to use for yourself and your customers. 2 MONTHS FREE TRAIL:  click on the link below for more information or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga Matt Ryan traded in the life of a DJ, including a stint at Manchester’s famous nightclub The Hacienda, for the life of yoga. He was introduced to Ashtanga yoga to deal with anxiety and depersonalisation disorder, and it helped him immensely. Soon afterwards made the trip to Mysore at the Laxmipurum shala with Pattabhi Jois. He was granted Level 2 authorisation from the AYRI, as it was known at the time. That was over 23 years ago, and he’s remained immersed in yoga.  Matt complements his Ashtanga practice with Zen Buddhism and the daily sitting practice of Zazen. He finds in this combination an immediate effect resulting in a steadier, more focused mind whilst moving through the asana sequences.  The result is a sense of in-the-moment presence coupled with a solid flexible mind & body. In 2015 Matt created the ‘Nee-Ji’, safe knee support for yoga & meditation. (nee-ji.com).  He is also the father of 4 children. Matt has taught internationally and has established yoga studios in Manchester, London and Los Angeles. In 2023 he is looking forward to new beginnings for Yoga Manchester, and we look forward to seeing him thrive. SUPPORT US Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ MEMBERSHIP https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet ups with Adam & more. €10 per month, cancel at any time.        

Damien de Bastier (https://www.ubuntubali.com/ @ubuntu_bali). Ashtanga With Knee Injuries | Teaching to Student’s Individual Needs | Ashtanga in France | Importance of Meditation | The 20% Rule | Yoga As a Therapy | Myofascial Release | Chitta Vritti Nirodaha This episode is sponsored by Momence, the booking system we’ve been using for the last year and highly recommend. Momence is a booking system for online, in-person and hybrid classes and events with packages to fit self-employed teachers to multi-site studios. To try Momence for two months at no cost click on the link below for more information or book a demo and quote “Keen on Yoga” https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga With Momence, you can: Manage your class and workshop schedule Organize your appointment types and availability · Create marketing and win-back campaigns Organize your on-demand videos and courses See exactly how your business is doing through insightful reporting. Have customers self-check-in via kiosks Sell products and services with a fully integrated point of sale It’s easy to use for yourself and your customers and you can manage everything in one place. ************************************************************* Damien has been practising and studying yoga for over 30 years. As a struggling teenager, he was introduced to transcendental meditation and has followed the path of yogic wisdom ever since. On his journey to more balance, joy and understanding, Damien gained degrees in clinical psychology, Ashtanga yoga, yoga therapy and various forms of bodywork that he integrates into his teachings. After teaching all these years, what inspires Damien the most is watching people use yoga to transform themselves and grow into their fullness. It’s an honour to be a part of that process and guide them. Ubuntu, his yoga centre in Bali, was born from that inspiration. It’s a haven where people can find the tools to work on themselves and go deeper into their unfolding. Ubuntu provides yoga practice and courses in philosophy, anatomy, breathwork, meditation, permaculture and creative arts, all in a beautiful garden setting in Canggu. *********************************************************** SUPPORT US Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ Workshops: https://keenonyoga.com/workshops/ MEMBERSHIP https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet ups with Adam & more. €10 per month, cancel at any time. KEEN ON YOGA PODCAST  Full Guest List: https://keenonyoga.com/podcast-guests/    

Our sponsor for this episode is Momence, the booking system we use for yoga classes, workshops, events, etc.  From independent teachers wanting to take bookings and payments online to multi-site studios wanting to replace outdated and expensive systems, Momence is easy to use for you and your customers.  It reduces hours of admin and offers live chat help.  For a 2-month free trial, click the link:  https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga  James Mallinson is Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical and Indian Studies at SOAS, University of London. His interest in yoga grew out of a fascination for India and Indian asceticism – he spent several years living with Indian ascetics and yogis, in particular Rāmānandī Tyāgīs. His MA thesis, part of a major in ethnography, was on Indian asceticism. He became frustrated, however, with (to quote Sheldon Pollock) the “hypertrophy of method” that afflicts much of the humanities, and anthropology in particular, so sought to ground his future research in philology. The one aspect of ascetic practice that is well represented in Sanskrit texts is yoga, so for his doctoral thesis he chose to edit an early text on haṭhayoga, the Khecarīvidyā, which teaches in detail khecarīmudrā, one of traditional haṭhayoga’s most important practices, and he used fieldwork among traditional yogis in India to shed light on the text’s teachings. As he worked on his thesis he became more and more unsure that the received wisdom on the origins of haṭhayoga (whose practices form the basis of much of modern yoga) was correct, in particular its blanket attribution to the Nāth sect, based as that wisdom was on a very small selection of the available texts and modern oral history (which is rarely a reliable source in India). But it was clear that to put his work in the broader context was going to be impossible while working on his thesis. When he was revising it for publication a few years after completing it, he was asked to contribute to a volume on the Nāths and their literature. He agreed and decided to concentrate on the corpus of texts of haṭhayoga. It soon became apparent that this was going to be too big a task for a single chapter of a book and he apologised to the volume’s editor but continued with his research. Four years on he has identified a corpus of eight works that teach early haṭhayoga and about a dozen more that contribute to its classical formulation in the Haṭhapradīpikā. With this philological basis established it has been possible at last to put all of haṭhayoga’s aspects into context, which is what he is doing in the monograph on which he is currently working, Yoga and Yogis: The Texts, Techniques and Practitioners of Early Haṭhayoga. Many of the conclusions that can be drawn from the corpus and the other sources he uses (from Mughal miniatures to his fieldwork amongst traditional yogis) overturn what was previously thought about yoga’s formative period. Although he has decided to present the bulk of the findings in a single monograph (because its parts are all so interdependent), in the course of working on it he has written various spin-off articles and reviews on specific aspects of haṭhayoga. Between September 2015-2020, Mallinson was the Principle Investigator of The Haṭha Yoga Project (HYP), a five-year research project funded by the European Research Council and based at SOAS, University of London which aims to chart the history of physical yoga practice by means of philology, i.e. the study of texts on yoga, and ethnography, i.e. fieldwork among practitioners of yoga. From January 2021, Mallison has been the lead on three year project entitled “Light on Hatha Yoga: A critical edition and translation of the Haṭhapradīpikā, the most important premodern text on physical yoga” funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the German Research Foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). He has been interviewed on yoga for BBC Radio on Beyond Belief and for the Secret History of Yoga. More information about Dr Mallinson’s work, his CV and publications, many of them downloadable, can be found here, and on his website: www.khecari.com ************************************************************************ SUPPORT US Donate: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf CONNECT WITH KEEN ON YOGA Instagram Keen on Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram Adam Keen: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/ Workshops: https://keenonyoga.com/workshops/ MEMBERSHIP https://keenonyoga.com/membership/ Exclusive content, yoga & lifestyle tips, live Zoom meet ups with Adam & more. €10 per month, cancel at any time.

Jenna Longoria – The Period Guru – Women’s Cycles, Ashtanga Yoga Practice & Time Off For Periods,  Period Pain Is Not Inherent, Time Your Practice with Your Cycles Our sponsor for this episode is Momence, the booking system we use for yoga classes, workshops, events, etc.  From independent teachers wanting to take bookings and payments online to multi-site studios wanting to replace outdated and expensive systems, Momence is easy to use for you and your customers.  It reduces hours of admin and offers live chat help.  For a 2-month free trial, click the link:  https://momence.com/lp/keen-on-yoga  Jenna Longoria, “The Period Guru” (@theperiodguru), is a Board Certified Functional Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P) passionate about women’s hormonal health.  She is also an authorised Ashtanga yoga teacher. Growing up, she struggled with weight gain, painful and irregular periods, PMS, digestive discomfort, and intense mood swings. At the time, she didn’t realise that all these symptoms were part of PCOS and Endometriosis. The only “solution” doctors gave her was to take the birth control pill, but she wasn’t keen on the host of horrible side effects. Jenna returned to school to study functional medicine, nutrition, and women’s health. She ran the right labs, changed her diet and lifestyle to support her body and started taking targeted supplements. Today, she’s 20 pounds lighter, has regular periods, and her mood swings and sugar cravings no longer get the best of her. Her mission is to empower all women with the knowledge to be their best health advocates to achieve pain-free periods, abundant energy, healthy digestion, and optimum fertility.

Paul, a Master of breath-mind-body, scholar & entrepreneur, talks to Adam about his life of yoga. Paul has devoted the last three decades to developing expertise in the breath-mind-body lifestyle. He has received a PhD from one of the leading universities in the US, covering both the tradition and science of yoga and breath practices. He has been uniquely acknowledged in the Yoga tradition by “Master Yogi-Prānācharya (breath expert)”. He has been a dedicated teacher for 25 years and a pioneering entrepreneur establishing the first sustainably-based yoga-breath-meditation retreat centre in Asia, Samahita Retreat, in 2003. As a teacher, researcher, and presenter, Paul’s continuous effort is to help people improve their mental and physical health. He is a highly natural and gifted speaker who has taught and spoken at events worldwide. CONNECT WITH PAUL Website: https://samahitaretreat.com/teachers/paul-dallaghan/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/samahitaretreat/    

Rod Stryker is a world-renowned meditation teacher, yoga educator, and thought leader. One of the world’s leading yoga and meditation teachers, Rod Stryker, has dedicated the last 40 years of his life to improving the lives of others through his teaching, lectures, writing, leadership, and service.  Rod is the founder of ParaYoga®, and the author of two books—his first, The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom, and his second, Enlightened Sleep, soon to be released. He is the creator of one of the world’s most comprehensive online yoga training programs and, most recently, Sanctuary with Rod Stryker: the meditation & yoga nidra app with deep sleep, yoga, and pranayama (breathing) practices.  Rod has also written numerous articles on yoga and meditation, has been featured in countless interviews, and has been a keynote speaker and presenter at a multitude of conferences internationally. Rod Stryker is renowned for making ancient wisdom and practices accessible to modern audiences. He continues to share the gifts of his practice, discipleship, and life with diverse audiences beyond the yoga world––which is to say, anyone wanting to experience the tools (such as meditation and deep relaxation) that help them successfully navigate an ever-changing world, or those simply looking to improve their quality of life and well-being.  Raised in Los Angeles, California, Rod attended Beverly Hills High School and the University of Denver, in addition to studying abroad. He was 19 years old when he began his study of yoga. He taught his first class in 1980 and led his first teacher training seven years later. In addition to mentoring hundreds of teachers and thousands of students worldwide, Rod Stryker also serves on the board of Give Back Yoga Foundation and is a featured faculty member of Yoga International. Rod is father to four amazing souls and currently lives in Boise, Idaho.     https://www.instagram.com/rodstrykerofficial/

Dr Mikel (Mik) Burley is an Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy Philosophy of religion; religious ethics; comparative and cross-cultural philosophy and religion; South Asian religious and philosophical traditions (esp. Hindu and Buddhist). BA (Essex) MA (Nottingham) PhD, MA (Leeds) PhD (Bristol) Research Interests Philosophy of religion Religious ethics Comparative and cross-cultural philosophy and religion South Asian religious and philosophical traditions (esp. Hindu and Buddhist) Philosophical and interdisciplinary research methods Death, illness and emotion Conceptions of immortality and eternal life Rebirth and reincarnation Wittgenstein and Wittgensteinian approaches  

Dr Stacie CC Graham (pronoun: she) is a management consultant, executive coach, founder, speaker and writer. Finding herself often as the only person of colour at yoga retreats led Stacie to create her to create her holistic wellness brand, OYA: Body-Mind-Spirit Retreats. OYA is dedicated to underrepresented communities typically underserved by the mainstream wellness industry. OYA Retreats creates holistic wellness experiences for Black women and women of colour to support on mental-emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing levels. OYA seeks to co-create spaces in which shared practices are steeped in diverse cultural and wisdom traditions. Yoga as Resistance Stacie is the author of the book Yoga as Resistance Equity and Inclusion On and Off the Mat.  The book outlines a dynamic programme of social justice reform within the yoga industry. The majority of teachers in North America and Europe are white, able-bodied and cisgender. What does that signal to people differently identified about their place in yoga? This book will inspire and welcome all to take part in questioning the status quo and learn how to move toward equity, and why it matters. Diversity and inclusion within the wellness industry has been increasingly under the spotlight. The book responds to the appetite for guidance on how we actively create change. The mission of Yoga as Resistance is to educate and empower yoga practitioners and professionals to take action in aligning their practice on the mat with their lives off the mat. Stacie is also the founder of Colour Balance Images, a digital media platform empowering local creative communities to tell their own stories by delivering images and footage to media and advertising. In her first profession as a management consultant, Stacie supports companies, teams and individuals in reaching their fullest potential with the help of practices and tools such as mindful leadership, intersectional attunement as well as emotional and social intelligence. Stacie holds an MS in economics and a PhD in psychology as well as experience living and working in different parts of the world. She continues to cultivate a nuanced understanding of underlying drivers of human motivation and behavior in true Scorpio fashion. Her work has been featured in countless digital and print publications including BBC, Essence, Huff Post, i-D, and Refinery 29. Find Stacie: https://www.oyaretreats.com/ https://www.instagram.com/oyaretreats/ https://stacieccgraham.com/index.html

Andrew Eppler has been practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga for over 3 decades and is the director of Ashtanga Yoga Studio where he offers a variety of courses, classes and trainings both online and in person. He has grown up with the practice and witnessed its evolution into world culture first hand. Andrew has spent many years studying the philosophy of the Nathamuni Sampradaya tradition that Sri Krishnamacharya belonged to. Andrew is also the producer and director of the film Mysore Yoga Traditions.  If you are interested in the history and culture that Ashtanga Yoga has come from Mysore Yoga Traditions film will be a beautiful experience! You can listen to the elders, scholars, spiritual leaders and even the Queen of Mysore herself telling the story of the yoga of Mysore. With the help and support of senior Sanskrit professors in Mysore Andrew has developed an approach to teaching physical postures that fits the modern paradigm. While staying grounded in traditional ideas about philosophy and the sequences of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, Andrew believes that there is inevitable evolution in yoga practice and uses a "global fusion" of techniques. Connect with Andrew Website: https://www.ashtangayogastudio.com/ Instagram: @andrew_eppler_yoga   https://www.instagram.com/p/CgT9776FDfk/

Luke Jordan is a Certified Teacher in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition and holds a Masters in Indian Religions. He is a writer, story-teller, vedic-chanter, sanskritist and consummate student of yogic and spiritual culture. Always feeling that there was something more to life, Luke first began formal study of Eastern mysticism in the 1990s while at University and plunged headlong into the practice of Ashtanga Yoga in the year 2000. This began an on-going journey that would take him around the world seeking out experts, gurus and teachers in the field of Yoga and spirituality. Luke first made his way to Mysore, India in 2001 to study with Sri Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath and is one of a very small number of teachers worldwide to have been granted the honour of Certification within the Ashtanga tradition. Drawn to the deeper philosophical dimensions of Yoga, Luke loves to share the inquiry that springs from the chants, myths and conceptual underpinnings which form Yoga’s wider tradition. He now lives in Portugal where he is the founder of the Colares Yoga Club and each year gives the intensive Ashtanga Yoga Summer School. In this episode Luke talks to Adam about: Samkhya & yoga Yoga as a form of experiential enquiry Moving from gross level of experience to subtle levels of experience Spiritual seeking Tattvas Karma Purusha Do we have freewill? Connect with Luke: Website: https://lukejordanyoga.com/luke-jordan Instagram: @lukejordanyoga  

Norman E. Sjoman is the author of the 1996 book The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace. The book contains an English translation of the yoga section of Sritattvanidhi, a 19th-century treatise by the Maharaja of Mysore. It contributes an original view on the history and development of the teaching traditions behind modern asanas. According to Sjoman, a majority of the tradition of teaching yoga as exercise spread primarily through the teachings of BKS Iyenger and his students. He claims this “appears to be distinct from the philosophical or textual tradition of hatha yoga. In addition, it does not appear to have any basis as a genuine tradition as there is no textual support for the asanas taught and no lineage of teachers." Sjoman studied at the University of British Columbia and Stockholm University before obtaining a PhD from the Centre of Advanced Studies in Sanskirt at Pune University. In addition, he holds a pandit degree from the Mysore Maharaja's Mahapathasala. Sjoman spent 14 years in India studying four different shastras n Sanskrit, with several pandits. In the mid 1980s, while doing research at the Mysore Palace, Sjoman made copies of the yoga section of the Sritattvanidhi. This was a "colossal" illustrated compendium, authored in the 19th century by the then Maharaja. The book included diagrams of 122 yoga asanas. Unlike the few other known historical yoga treatises, the emphasis was solely on the physical activity. Some appeared based on Indian wrestling and other gymnastic exercises. In that aspect more closely resembling modern yoga as exercise forms such as Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Both B. K. S. Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, who are major influences on modern yoga forms, themselves studied under teacher Tirumalai Krishnamacharya at the Mysore Palace in the 1930s. Sjoman discovered that the royal family, in the early 1900s, had employed a British gymnast to train the young princes. When Krishnamacharya arrived in the 1920s to start a yoga school, his schoolroom was the former gymnasium complete with ropes. Sjoman argues that several exercises detailed in a purposely written western gymnastics manual were incorporated into Krishnamacharya's syllabus, resulting in his vinyasa style, and further passed on to Iyengar and Jois. The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace was published in 1996 including the 122 asana illustrations and extracts from the gymnastics manual. Naturally, the radical, perhaps heretical, idea that some of the practice of modern yoga as exercise is based on something as mundane as British gymnastics caused a stir in the yoga world.  

Sravana Borkataky-Varma is a historian, educator, and social entrepreneur. As a historian, she studies Indian religions focusing on esoteric rituals and gender, particularly in Hinduism (Śākta Tantra). As an educator, she is currently a lecturer at Harvard Divinity School and at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. In the past she has taught at the University of Houston, the University of Montana, Rice University, and DaLian Neusoft University, China. Sravana’s current project includes a co-edited volume titled Living Folk Religions (under contract with Routledge, 2022), Digital Tantra, a co-edited special issue journal by International Journal of Hindu Studies (under contract with Springer, 2022), and her monograph titled Spotlight and Shadow: Superwomen, Women, and Hijṛās (2023). In addition, book chapters such as “Taming Hindu Śakta Tantra on the Internet: Online Pūjās for the Goddess Tripurasundarī,” in Digital Hinduism (Routledge, 2020), “The Yogic Body in Global Transmission,” in The Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (Routledge, 2021), and “WhatsApp Bagalāmukhī:! The Social Life and Experiences of a Tantric Goddess” in The Ethnography of Tantra: Textures and Contexts of Living Tantric Traditions (State University of New York Press, 2022). Also, sample titles of her published articles are: “Red: An Ethnographic Study of Cross-Pollination Between the Vedic and the Tantric” (2019), “The Dead Speak: A Case Study from the Tiwa Tribe Highlighting the Hybrid World of Śākta Tantra in Assam” (2018). In a previous non-academic avatar, Sravana worked in customer service in the financial and IT industries. As a social entrepreneur, she is the co-founder of a nonprofit, Lumen Tree Portal. Sravana invests in building communities with individuals from various faith backgrounds who believe in kindness, compassion, and fulfillment. Find Sravana on her website: https://hds.harvard.edu/people/sravana-borkataky-varma

Jason Birch (DPhil, Oxon) is a senior research fellow for the ‘Light on Hatha Yoga’ project, hosted at SOAS University of London and the University of Marburg. Jason is also a visiting researcher on the Suśruta Project at the University of Alberta. He is well known for his important paper on the meaning of haṭha in early Haṭhayoga, which has reshaped our understanding of the origins of this term by locating it within Buddhist literature. His dissertation focused on a seminal Rājayoga text called the Amanaska. Through extensive fieldwork in India and the reconstruction of primary sources, Birch has identified the earliest text to teach a system of Haṭhayoga and Rājayoga, namely the twelfth-century Amaraugha. His most recent publication has defined a corpus of Sanskrit and vernacular texts that emerged during Haṭhayoga’s floruit, the period in which it thrived on the eve of colonialism. Jason has published articles in academic journals and critically edited and translated six texts on Haṭhayoga for the Hatha Yoga Project 2015–2020; taught Masters courses and Sanskrit reading classes at SOAS and given seminars on the history of yoga for MA programs at the Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice, Won Kwang University in South Korea and Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the Centre of Yoga Studies SOAS and the Journal of Yoga Studies, and combines his practical experience of yoga with academic knowledge of its history to teach online courses with Jacqueline Hargreaves on The Luminescent.  

Daniel presents ancient texts for modern times. He is the author of The Truth of Yoga, a comprehensive guide to the history of practice. His approach combines scholarly knowledge with humour and insight, making yoga philosophy accessible and relevant to practitioners today. Daniel teaches courses online, at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, around the UK and internationally. He also offers private tutoring. Drawing on a master’s degree from SOAS (University of London), and two decades of experience, he aims to help students explore their own path. He supplements his teaching with work as an editor. In this episode Daniel talks to Adam about: Sanatarma Dharma The Vedas Upanishads Shruti Family Vedas Rig veda The quest for satisfaction in the outside world  Origins of Hinduism Aryans Brahma and Brahmins Advaita vedanta Darshanas Sadhus Vaishnavism Shivaism  The ultimate oneness Dualism Patanjali’s yoga sutras Ashtanga yoga where did it come from The eight limbs as a way to remove suffering One pointed focus Yamas and niyamas Use of asana  Find Daniel: Website: https://www.danielsimpson.info/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielcsimpson/ If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation .  We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.

Kate O’Donnell is the author of three Ayurvedic Cookbooks, including The Everyday Ayurveda Guide to Self-Care, The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well and Everyday Ayurvedic Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind: 100 Sattvic Recipes. She is a nationally certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and the founder of the Ayurvedic Living Institute. An authorized Ashtanga yoga instructor, she teaches yoga in Boston and Portland, Maine, and still travels to India annually for study.   Kate began yoga by accident in South India at age 20. More than a dozen extended trips to India and twenty years studying the wisdom traditions of the sub-continent support Kate’s understanding of Ayurveda and Yoga. After years of dedication to the Ashtanga system, Kate has experienced great benefit from this practice and was authorized by her teacher Sharath Jois to teach the Primary and Intermediate series of Ashtanga yoga. She teaches week-long mysore immersions annually in Portland ME, Boston, and abroad. Kate also specializes in Ayurvedic education, cooking skills, and cleansing programs, offering on-line programs, residential immersions and trainings, and individual consultations.  Her Ayurveda and yoga offerings aim to help others come closer to their true nature. Find Kate: Website: https://www.kateodonnell.yoga/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateodonnell.ayurveda/

Gregor is the international author of eight textbooks covering all eight limbs of yoga. He is a mystic and a profuse blog writer covering topics on yoga and beyond. He travels the globe educating with passion, humour, insight and wisdom. Gregor Maehle began his practice of Raja Yoga in 1978 and added Hatha Yoga a few years later. In the mid-1980s he commenced annual travels to India, where he studied with various yogic and tantric masters, traditional Indian sadhus and ascetics. After practising with BKS Iyengar he spent fourteen months in Mysuru, and in 1997 was authorised to teach Ashtanga Yoga by K. Pattabhi Jois. In India Gregor also received eight months of mostly one-on-one instruction in scripture and the higher limbs of Yoga through B.N.S. Iyengar, a student of T. Krishnamacharya. He also studied Sanskrit under Professor Narayanachar and Dr Chandrasekhar. He lived for several years as a recluse, studying Sanskrit and yogic scripture and practising yogic techniques. This is the third time Gregor joins Adam, this time talking about his latest book How To Find Your Life’s Diving Purpose.  Including the talking points below. Human aspects of the divine Bhakti yoga within asana Surrendering to the diving through practice, asana, pranayama, meditation Is concentration devotion? Co-creating with the divine what aspect you were here to express Importance of your Swah dharma - your own dharma Pancha kosha - teaching of the 5 layers, cleansing of impact of past traumas on your body, breath and mind Objective and objectless samadhi Shiva pure consciousness, eternal awareness Shakti female aspect of the divine What is your role in the play & how far can you go with your gift? Life is the child of the divine The divine is here and now How you act in this world matters Everything you see is the crystallised body of God Indigenous practices, walkabouts Vijnanamaya kasha Your duty in society, giving to the world Self love as a pure spiritual state Accepting that state within you We are all children of the divine   Find Gregor: Instagram: @gregor.maehle Website: https://8limbs.com/about/gregor-maehle/ If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation .  We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.      

This is the second time Adam has hosted Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor on the Keen on Yoga Podcast.  In this episode they focus the discussion on the Bhagavad Gita.  Richard & Mary have been studying and practicing yoga since the early 1970s and were some of the very first students to discover the Ashtanga yoga method. Together they co-founded the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, have produced several highly regarded yoga audio and video recordings, as well as authoring several books, both together and individually. Their latest title, When Love Comes to Light, is a guide to the Bhagavad Gita and interweaves insight into how these classic teachings are relevant for modern readers struggling with what it means to live responsibly in challenging times. In this talk with Adam they cover such topics from the book as   Sounds of the battleground We’re all in this together There is more to things than the conflict we feel Identification with the body Action gives information Ashtanga yoga giving the embodied experience of karma Tending to the mind Identification with the mind The question of Renunciation Using our practice for the good of the world Your responsibility Right attitude and duty What is our dharma Action without attachment to fruits Devotion Practice as sacrifice Expectations Children and practice Motivation You can find Richard and Mary on Instagram @ freemantayloryoga or on their website www.richardfreemanyoga.com If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation .  We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.

Deepika Mehta has been on the forefront of Yoga, fitness and wellness in India since 2001. She is a Level 2 Authorised Ashtanga Yoga Teacher and a mom to her daugther Devi Tara. Because Deepika used Yoga to heal herself from an accident she had several years ago, she believes deeply in the power of the healing process of the practice. Deepika is known for her motivational and inspirational style of teaching, believing that anyone can achieve what they want if they put their mind to it. It’s hard to fit all her achievements into one write up. She has had several television shows of her own like Yoga City on NDTV Good Times, Tata Sky Active Fit and Biggest Loser. She has been featured in various publications in India including Vogue, India Today, Elle Magazine etc.Been on the cover of India Today. In addition, she was awarded Yoga Expert of the Year by Vogue India in 2018 and been in the Wellness Powerlist, 2021 in Hello Magazine, India. Some of India’s top celebrities and actors including Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone have been taught by Deepika.   She has given a Ted Talk at the UN Headquaters in NYC. Deepika loves to incorporate dance and various other forms of movement and healing practices into her teaching mix. She now lives in Bali with her husband Mark Robberds and daughter Devi. Instagram:  @deepikamehtayoga Website deepikamehtayoga.com If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation .  We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.    

Andrea Pennington is an integrative medicine doctor, acupuncturist, TEDx speaker and author of several books including I Love You, Me! and The Orgasm Prescription for Women. She specializes in self-love, mindfulness and authentic self-expression. She is nationally recognized as an expert in meditation, resilience and positive psychology with multiple appearances on Oprah, Dr. Oz, CNN, The Today Show and LUXE-TV. Andrea has also been a luxury lifestyle, beauty and wellbeing reporter and a proud TV host and producer, including her role as Medical Director and Spokesperson for Discovery Health Channel. She is the author and contributor to 10 books including #1 bestseller, The Orgasm Prescription for Women, Time to Rise, How to Liberate and Love Your Authentic Self, Daily Compassion Meditation, The Pennington Plan : 5 Simple Steps for Achieving Vibrant Health, Emotional Wellbeing and Spiritual Growth and the Pennington Plan For Weight Success. She helps people create and enjoy a life filled with passion, purpose and ageless vitality by eliminating the cause(s) of their ‘dis-ease’ and creating a personalized lifestyle plan that promotes health, prevents disease, increases happiness and slows aging. Her specialty is taking people from drowning in tragedy to fulfilling their destiny.  Her goal is to get to the root cause of their condition and set them on the road toward living a full life which is in alignment with their values and ideals.  www.AndreaPennington.com IG: @drandreapennington If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation .  We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.    

Govinda Kai has studied and dedicated himself to martial arts, meditative disciplines and yoga for over 20 years. At the age of 30, Govinda discovered the practice of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga and immediately fell in love with the practice. He is one of the select individuals in the world who are certified to teach the Ashtanga Yoga Method by its founder, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. In 1995, Govinda made his first trip to Mysore, India to practice with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. From 1995 to 2015, Govinda made over 20 trips to Mysore to practice Ashtanga, with each trip lasting an average of 3-4 months. He is of Japanese-American descent, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. From a very young age, Govinda took a passionate interest in meditation, yoga and spiritual philosophy. Govinda’s father, Edward Yamaguchi, was a highly respected practitioner and teacher of martial arts (he held a high ranking in both Judo and Aikido) and like Govinda, nurtured a strong attraction to spirituality and philosophy from a very young age. Govinda began the practice of martial arts while in high school and began yoga, meditation, and devotional chanting at age 18, studying with respected teachers such as Swami Muktananda and Sogyal Rimpoche. Govinda’s father died of colon cancer at the age of 49 years old, when Govinda was only 16. The passing of his father affected Govinda deeply and inspired him to begin reading books on spirituality and meditation at the age of 16. After university, Govinda considered becoming a Buddhist monk, but was advised by his teacher Sogyal Rimpoche to enter into a more worldly career. Thus, Govinda became a practicing professional in the area of real estate, all the while still devoting much of his time to spiritual practice. He is currently teaching in Bellingham, Washington state and you can find him at @govindakai If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation .  We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.  

This is the second time that Taylor has been on the Keen on Yoga Podcast, this time talking about the role of the yoga teacher. Taylor believes that Ashtanga yoga is for everyone and that it can be tailored to fit each individual’s needs. He encourages others to find a practice they can commit to and make it a part of their daily routine. After years of practice, he is amazed how it continues to teach him so much about life. Taylor teaches daily Mysore classes at Ashtanga Yoga Columbus and offers workshops around the world. He is also the author of A Way From Darkness and director of the Trini Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the life-changing practice of Ashtanga with those suffering from addiction. He continues to inspire others through his story of personal transformation and accessible approach to the practice. To learn more about Taylor’s story and life’s work, please visit www.awayfromdarkness.com and www.trinifoundation.org. Follow Keen on Yoga Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keen_on_yoga/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adam_keen_ashtanga/ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infoRf Support Us: https://keenonyoga.com/donate/ Website: https://keenonyoga.com/  

The journey started in the late 60’s, Krishna Das met spiritual seeker Ram Dass. He traveled across the country with Ram Dass as his student. And was captivated by the stories of his recent trip to India where he had met the legendary guru Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji.  Finally, following his heart, in August 1970, Krishna Das left behind his dreams of being a rock star and made his way to meet this remarkable Being. Basking in the love of Maharaj-ji in the three years that followed, KD’s heart was drawn to the practice of Bhakthi Yoga – the yoga of devotion and after two and a half years with Maharaj-ji, he returned to USA – alas, six months after his return, word came that Maharaj-ji had died. “I will sing for you in the west” he had promised his beloved Guru in his own heart. This did not come easily. If you listen to KD in one of his many workshops or read his book ‘Chants of a Life Time’ you will know that it took almost 20 years for KD to sing with groups of people around the USA. In his book Chants of a life time, KD writes about his journey over all the years. If you would like to know more straight from Krishna Das himself, we invite you to read his book. KD TODAY In 1994, he started leading chant at Jivamukti Yoga Center, NYC. Over the years, he continued chanting, developing his signature style, fusing traditional kirtan of the east with western harmonic and rhythmic sensibilities. The audiences have been ever growing. With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das – known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD, has been called yoga’s “rock star.”  He has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling western chant artist of all time. KD now travels the world sharing his kirtan practice and wonderful stories of his life, of Maharaji-ji, of his life on the Path, and discusses bringing chanting into our lives through retreats and workshops. To date, KD has released 16 well received albums, including Live Ananda (released January 2012)  that was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category. In February 2013, Krishna Das performed at the Grammy awards in Los Angeles, CA streamed online to millions of viewers. The award-winning film ‘One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das’ has been in over 100 US cities, over 10 countries worldwide and is available on DVD everywhere. In 2014 the Kirtan Wallah Foundation was formed. This 501c3 is dedicated to spreading the teachings of KD’s guru and spiritual teacher, Neem Karoli Baba, Lovingly called Maharjji, his teachings can be summed up by his saying: ‘Love Everyone. Serve Everyone. Remember God” To visit the website click here. IG: @krishnadasmusic YouTube: Krishna Das Music

From the very young age of 13, Doug Swenson began his study of yoga in 1964. He has studied and practiced with many amazing teachers including Ernest Wood, the highly respected British Yoga Master, theosophist, and Sanskrit scholar. Doug’s other mentors include Pattabhi Jois, Ramanand Patel, BKS Iyengar and Swami Satchidananda. Many of Doug’s students have become highly celebrated teachers, including his younger brother, David Swenson. Doug is a master yoga practitioner, philosopher, poet and dedicated health advocate. He has incorporated influences from several different yoga systems along with his passion for cross-training, elevated nutrition and healthy lifestyle. Over the years he has authored four books and 23 videos on Amazon. The book list includes: Yoga Helps, Power Yoga for Dummies, Mastering the Secrets of Yoga Flow, and Pioneering Vinyasa Yoga. His educational videos, for all levels of practice, include topics of Yoga practice and philosophy, enhanced nutrition, and cross-training between challenging and more restorative yoga styles.  Doug’s Sadhana Yoga Chi is a holistic balance between learning and teaching, power and softness, intellect and fitness.  The goals of Sadhana Yoga are achieved by striving to create a body of enhanced health and fitness, a mind with pure clarity, true intellect and focus, all woven together with a heart filled with peace and harmony. Sadhana Yoga Chi does not restrict your intelligence, or put limits on expanding your knowledge. Instead, we encourage the freedom to study and practice positive aspects of other different holistic techniques. This includes other systems of yoga and alternate body and mind expansion concepts. Doug is one of the original yoga teachers in the West and has quietly been living as a yogi for decades.  You can find him on his website    

The Dalai Lama befriended Bob in 1964, ordained him as a Buddhist monk, then later forgave him for returning to lay life. Bob Thurman is known in the academic circles as Professor Robert A.F. Thurman. He is a talented popularizer of the Buddha’s teachings.  In addition, Bob is the first Westerner Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, He is a charismatic speaker and author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture. Bob was named by The New York Times as the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism. In 2020 he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award for his help in recovering India’s ancient Buddhist heritage. Time Magazine chose him as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997. They  describe him as a “larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, from Asia to America.” Bob served as the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University for 30 years, until 2020. A very popular professor, students always felt his classes were “life-changing”. Tibet House Bob is the founder and active president of Tibet House US, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan culture. And of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, a non-profit affiliated with the Center for Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and dedicated to the publication of translations of important artistic and scientific Tibetan treatises. His own search for enlightenment began while he was a university student at Harvard. After an accident in which he lost the use of an eye, Bob left school on a spiritual quest throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He found his way to India, where he first saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1962. After learning Tibetan and studying Buddhism, Bob became a Tibetan Buddhist monk and the first Westerner to be ordained by the Dalai Lama. Some years later, however, he offered up his robes when he realized he could be more effective in the American equivalent of a monastery: the university, returning to Harvard to finish his PhD. Long-term Commitment As part of his long-term commitment to the Tibetan cause, at the request of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Bob co-founded Tibet House US in 1987 with Tenzin Tethong, Richard Gere, and Philip Glass, a non-profit organization based in New York City and dedicated to the preservation and renaissance of Tibetan culture. Inspired by his long-time good friend the Dalai Lama, Bob takes us along with him into an expanded vision of the world through the prisma of Tibetan Buddhism. He shares with us the sense of refuge in the Dharma, which unfailingly helps us clear away the shrouds of fear and confusion.  He sustains us with the cheerfulness of an enriched gift, and opens a door to a path of realistic hope for a peaceful, kind, and wise future. Bob has a prolific podcast of 287 episodes to date, which you can find on his website Instagram @bob__thurman   @tibethouse.us  @menlaretreat           

Tara has been a dedicated practitioner of yoga for over 18 years. She has been blessed to practice with some of the most dedicated ashtanga teachers in the world. Studying with Johnny Smith, Tim Miller (completing both his primary and intermediate series trainings), R. Sharath Jois & R. Saraswathi Jois. She has apprenticed with only certified teachers (6 years) with R. Saraswathi Jois for 4 of those years in her very busy Mysore shala where she assisted up to 200 students a month for nine months of the year. Tara has a special bond with Saraswathiji and is one of the few students authorised by her to teach.  Tara is also a Certified Yoga Therapist in the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya & his son T.K.V. Desikachar in Chennai, India. Her interest in yoga therapy is a focus to help heal others from injury and imbalances within the body. She has helped many students learn to understand their bodies while bringing back health and stability through yoga therapy, diet and lifestyle changes.  She has studied Pranayama with Sri O.P. Tiwari, Philosophy with Prof. Nagaraja Rao and Vedic chanting with Dr. Vigneshwar Bhat and Madhavi Kotha in the lineage of T. Krishnamacharya.  Tara has been studying ritual, chanting and Vedic chanting for the last 7.5 years and is a long time Vipassana Meditator. Both R. Saraswathi Jois, Saraswathi Vasudevan & Vigneshwar Bhat have given her blessings to share the teachings as taught to her through parampara.  Other interests Tara’s curiosity for understanding the mind and body led her to study psychology (since 1993) and nutrition (since 1999).  She is a trained Chef, has worked with many healing modalities, and has recently spent 5 years living in Mysore, India in order to seek and learn pure knowledge directly from the source and continues to visits India every 6 months to be with her teachers. Tara has also studied classical Carnatic music with two of Mysore’s greatest teachers and she has and continues to study Ayurveda with Dr. R. Padmini. Tara believes that to be a good teacher one needs to be a good student. Therefore, she continually expands her knowledge on the subjects of yoga, health, nutrition and healing through sound and other methods. She teaches in a traditional yet playful manner incorporating the teachings of her teachers. Tara now lives in Sicily with her husband Dr. Rob Lamport of @morethananatomy  You can find Tara on Instagram @taramitrayoga and on her website.

Yan Ong tested at the top 2% of worlds IQ at the age of 16. Joining the Mensa Society, sparked an interest to discover the purpose of intellect. She sought out to gain knowledge through university degrees in science graduating with honours in Biotechnology from the world's 5th ranked university. In attempt to balance both left and right brain function took a second university course in the arts.  Although she found solving problems and creating ideas fun, there was still something that corporate life was not fulfilling. 6 years of working in business and I was over it, there had to be more to life.  She hit the road for 2 years of backpacking on her own from South America, Africa and ending up in Bali. She discovered Ashtanga yoga in 2001 with a book and a class for 4 years.  In 2008 everything fell into place and the Ashtanga Yoga became her life. In 2010 she found her teacher, Paramagruru Sharath Jois and moved to Mysore.  Living in Mysore for 4 years Yan practicing under his guidance and privately studied sacred texts constituting the Upanishads and Yoga Sutras with renowned philosophy expert Professor Najarajao Rao. Yan and Mysore In 2012 she was authorised by Paramaguru Sharath Jois to teach Ashtanga Yoga and was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and teach across the globe in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines & more. I’m blessed to be Malaysia’s first Level 2 qualified Ashtanga Yoga teacher. In the 20 years since she found Ashtanga Yoga, she has learned to heal her own spinal, ankle and wrist injuries, manage stress and hypothyroidism within the practice.  Thus having a more thoughtful, accepting and compassionate approach towards asana and its ability to be therapeutic.   In conjunction with having dealt with both physical and health struggles during her journey, 10 years study of yoga philosophy scripture which the practice is built upon, has given her understanding of the practice from a deeper yet wider perspective. Yan is also largely influenced by non-denominational spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle. She has time with him on retreat and completed his 6-month advanced School of Awakening course.  She teaches with her husband Manuel and now plans to spend time between their native countries, Malaysia and Portugal.  You can find her at @yanyoga or on her website https://www.yanong.me/

Ross Stambaugh is an Ashtanga yoga teacher who is Authorized Level 2 by Saraswati Jois. He has made many annual trips to India to continue his studies and has assisted Saraswati on multiple occasions. Ross seeks to preserve the traditional Ashtanga method by maintaining a daily practice and teaching his students with the same integrity and patience that was taught to him by his teachers.  Ross teaches Ashtanga yoga workshops internationally and welcomes a chance to work with you and your yoga practice.   Ross is a 20+ year veteran of the Ashtanga lineage. Apart from having a daily Ashtanga yoga practice, Ross has been a collegiate swimmer, judoka, and mountain climber. He is a public school teacher and holds a post-master’s degree in education. He enjoys walking his dogs, Kali and Brie and is an avid motorcyclist. You can find him on Instagram @ashtanga.yoga.ross

The "Yoga Doc" - Dr. Ronald Steiner is the founder of the AYI method. This method links traditional Ashtanga Yoga with innovative Yogatherapy. Body and mind connect with each other and together create a harmonious balance. Ronald is a sports physician, researcher with focus on prevention and rehabilitation as well as one of the most well-known practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga. Ronald Steiner is one of the very few yoga teachers authorized in the traditional way by both the Indian grand masters Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and BNS Iyengar. You can find more about Dr Steiner on his website https://www.ashtangayoga.info/ Listen to the Keen on Yoga Podcast via link in bio, all usual outlets & now on YouTube. If you enjoy our show and would like to support continued free content click Donate link in the Instagram bio or visit our website https://keenonyoga.com/donate/

Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011). In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior.  This emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. The theory is leading to innovative treatments based on insights into the mechanisms mediating symptoms observed in several behavioral, psychiatric, and physical disorders. Stephen is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™ , which currently is used by more than 1400 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, to improve language processing and state regulation. Also written by Stephen: The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, (Norton, 2017) and co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018).  Stephen is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. In addition, he is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland.  He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. Your support of the Keen on Yoga Podcast is greatly appreciated.  https://keenonyoga.com/donate/      

David Jackson a Master Instructor with the Oxygen Advantage and a breathwork coach. He is a former professional rugby player, accredited UKSCA Strength & Conditioning coach, NASM performance enhancement & corrective exercise specialist. His mission is to make breathwork a normal part of our everyday lives. David retrained his own breathing after a brain injury in 2013 forced him to retire from professional rugby.  He’s passionate about helping others change the way they breathe to improve the way they feel, move and perform. He believes that there is something for everyone in breathwork. David has worked with professionals seeking better stress management or those suffering with anxiety to professional athletes looking to improve performance and everything in between. He knows how your breath can impact all areas of our body and mind. This is the reason he is so passionate about helping people use breathwork to fulfil their true potential. Having felt the benefits personally, he wants to share it with others. Find more about David: Website: https://www.rootedlife.co.uk/ YouTube: David Jackson Instagram: @ jackohumanflag

  Ana  Forrest is  an inspiration and has been changing  people’s lives for over 45  years. She  is an internationally recognized  pioneer in yoga and emotional healing. She is the Creatrix of Forrest Yoga, a mystic, visionary, philanthropist, author, and Medicine Woman. Ana crafted Forrest Yoga while working through healing from her own life’s traumas – abuse and addictions, the feeling of helplessness around the addictions, and the ongoing suffering from chronic injuries & illnesses. Ana took her first yoga class at age 14 and became a certified instructor in 1975. Ana used yoga and Native American ceremony to save her own life. It is her intent to pass that lifesaving ability forward. The process of healing herself inspired her to teach others to heal themselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Forrest Yoga is a powerfully physical, internally focused practice that emphasizes the integration of  transformative experiences from the mat into purposeful daily life.  Ana is at heart a woman of the wilderness. She has spent many years in the mountains and forests learning from the animals, trees, rocks, water, and the seasons. Prior to becoming a yoga teacher, Ana spent her early years training horses, dogs, cats, birds, and the occasional snake. She brings her deep understanding of the animal kingdom to her teaching with humans. Jose Calarco is Ana’s co-director of Forrest Yoga. Jose comes from a long history of shamanism, the arts, music and healing, bringing his decades of experience as an artistic prodigy to Forrest Yoga. He is also Director of the legendary Australian  Indigenous company Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theatre www.descendance.com.au. Descendance won the UNESCO (United Nations) competition as the world’s best Indigenous live show. Jose Calarco is a bridge to the spirit world. As Ceremonial Leader for Forrest Yoga and co – teacher with Ana Forrest, he creates and teaches ceremonies, tells creation stories from the traditions of the First Peoples of Australia and other shamanic traditions and weaves these into the yoga practice His experience as a faith healer and Medicine Man spans over 30 years. He has collaborated with Indigenous wisdom keepers like Medicine Woman and Australian cultural treasure Kathy Marika of the Yirrikala People of central Northern Australia, and he co-created Descendance Aboriginal with Indigenous elder and Song Woman Imelda Willis of the Yidinji and Kandju tribes. Imelda is Jose’s Spiritual Mother, and was a rare woman who had been fully initiated. She adopted him as an equal into her tribes in Far Northern Australia, sharing knowledge and hope with each other and with the world. Also available on YouTube      

Sir James Mallinson, 5th Baronet of Walthamstow (born 22 April 1970) is a British Indologist,  writer and translator. He is recognised as one of the world’s leading experts on the history of medieval Hatha Yoga. Mallinson became interested in India by reading Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim as a teenager; the book describes an English boy travelling India with a holy man. Mallinson is described as “perhaps the only baronet to wear dreadlocks. He let his hair grow out from 1988 on his first visit to India during his gap year. He is the co-author with Mark Singleton of  Roots of Yoga. Penguin Classics. (A commented collection of translations of yoga practice texts from the Sanskrit traditions). Currently Dr Mallinson is Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical and Indian Studies at SOAS, University of London. His interest in yoga grew out of a fascination for India and Indian asceticism. He spent several years living with Indian ascetics and yogis, in particular Rāmānandī Tyāgīs. Background He took his BA in Sanskrit and Old Iranian at the University of Oxford, followed by an MA in Area Studies (South Asia), with Ethnography as his main subject, at SOAS. His doctoral thesis, submitted to the University of Oxford, was a critical edition and annotated translation of the Khecarīvidyā, an early text of haṭhayoga. Dr Mallinson has published eight books. All of which are editions and translations of Sanskrit yoga texts, epic tales and poetry. His recent work has used philological study of Sanskrit texts, ethnography and art history to explore the history of yoga and yogis. Projects Between September 2015-2020, Mallinson was the Principle Investigator of The Haṭha Yoga Project (HYP), a five-year research project funded by the European Research Council and based at SOAS, University of London which aims to chart the history of physical yoga practice by means of philology, i.e. the study of texts on yoga, and ethnography, i.e. fieldwork among practitioners of yoga. From January 2021, Mallison has been the lead on three year project entitled “Light on Hatha Yoga: A critical edition and translation of the Haṭhapradīpikā, the most important premodern text on physical yoga” funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the German Research Foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). He has been interviewed on yoga for BBC Radio on Beyond Belief and for the Secret History of Yoga. More information about Dr Mallinson’s work, his CV and publications, many of them downloadable, can be found here, and on his website: www.khecari.com If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, subscribe and give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation .  We appreciate your help to keep this going.

Stephen Cope is a best-selling author and scholar who specializes in the relationship between the Eastern contemplative traditions and Western depth psychology. Among his seminal works in this area are: Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, The Wisdom of Yoga, and The Great Work of Your Life.  His most recent work, Deep Human Connection, is an examination of the psychology, neurobiology, and spirituality of deep human connection, and the imperatives of human attachment—an issue of great importance to both the Eastern and Western traditions. For almost thirty years, Stephen has been Scholar-in-Residence at the renowned Kripalu Center—the largest center for the study and practice of yoga in the Western world. Kripalu hosts almost 50,000 guests a year in its many yoga, meditation, and personal growth programs. It is located on a sprawling 200 acre estate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. In addition to his role as Scholar-in-Residence, Stephen is the founder and former director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living—one of the world’s most influential research institutes examining the effects and mechanisms of yoga and meditation, with a team of researchers from Harvard Medical School, University of Connecticut, University of Pennsylvania, and many more. Stephen is the recipient of both a Telly and an Apple award for his work. In its twenty-fifth anniversary edition, “Yoga Journal” named him one of the most influential thinkers, writers, and teachers on the current American yoga scene.

Protima Rodrigues is the founder of True Bay India - India’s first homegrown Ashtanga Yoga Workshop and Retreat Organiser, bringing top International Ashtanga yoga teachers to India, since January 2019.  Protima creates awareness as a yoga practitioner, on mental health, social justice, inclusivity, equality, diversity and believes that, yoga is for all, devoid of any barriers. She discovered Ashtanga Yoga in early 2015, in a chance last-minute plan, to go to a Himalayan Ashtanga Yoga retreat. She was a Vice-President in a Private Equity Company at the time. She connected with the practice deeply and fell in love with it. The practice in tandem with the guidance of her teachers, helped her heal, manage her stressful job better and connected her, to her true self. Through the course of the journey of the practice, as she went through her personal and professional transformation, she would travel to study from India, ironic as it sounds from the Land of Yoga, with teachers in North America. This was the seed that led her to eventually founding True Bay India - the frustration of not having access to senior teachers of the ashtanga tradition in India, coupled with the fact, that the few seasonal retreats or workshops that used to happen in India, were primarily meant for the western audience (where Indians were not a part nor particularly welcome). Protima felt that there was a whole set of Indian practitioners who were being denied the opportunity to learn from senior teachers, and that not everyone in India, had the privilege to travel. Most importantly, she wanted more people to experience the transformative practice of Ashtanga Yoga so it could enrich their lives, as it did to hers. As someone who has high-functioning depression, Ashtanga Yoga in conjunction with CBT and medication, helped in a significant way with the healing process. The lessons on the mat, breath and the mindfulness aspect of Ashtanga Yoga are those that she finds transformative and appreciates why it is called a “moving meditation”. True Bay India is the first platform in India, to focus on Premium Ashtanga Yoga Workshops & Retreats with the purpose of making Ashtanga Yoga & its Teachers more available to practitioners in India; something that was not the case when Protima discovered it. True Bay India is actively working with teachers and yoga seekers in building this Sangha (community) in India. True Bay India is an independent Indian (POC) woman-owned small business, and is in no way, affiliated to any institution, religion, race, caste, nationality or gender. True Bay India is committed to doing its part in making our community, more inclusive and accessible in India through its Yoga Outreach Program. Truth, Transparency and Trust are what is at the core of her being. True Bay India stands for these principles. True for Satya or truth and Bay for Bombay (Mumbai). True Bay is a solo, POC, woman-owned small business, based in Mumbai, India. https://www.truebayindia.com/our-story Website: https://www.truebayindia.com Instagram: @truebayindia

Bryan Kest has been practicing yoga since 1979 and has been teaching since 1985. He developed his unique, distinctive style of yoga, called Power Yoga, in 1979. Over the years, this style, an amazing workout for the body, mind and spirit, has made him a well-known, popular teacher across the country and around the world. His mainstream popularity is matched by an authentic foundation in the ancient practice of yoga and a long path of development as a yogi (a practitioner of yoga). At age 15, Bryan uprooted from his native Detroit home to make a life change in Hawaii. He moved to live with his father, a doctor, who understood the benefits of yoga. Like many of us, Bryan originally thought yoga was nothing more than strange contortions, but that changed when his father introduced him to a physical style of yoga called Ashtanga. This appealed to him immediately, and he soon observed great changes in himself, both physically and mentally. Yoga quickly became his passion, one that would take him to India for a year to study with one of the greatest yoga masters of the world, Pattabhi Jois. He has been continuing on his yoga path ever since. Bryan founded two studios in Santa Monica, CA. He also teaches at workshops and retreats around the world; provides an intensive Teacher Training program; and is featured in his own Warner Brothers video series from 1995, as well as a newer video series and audio CD series. His most recent endeavor is Power Yoga Online. This online tool features streaming videos of Bryan’s classes, along with programs and series including a Teacher Training meant to help support and deepen one’s yoga practice. These are usually recorded live and streamed to students around the world.  For articles by Bryan and more information about Power Yoga, visit Power Yoga.

Edward Clark is the creator of Tripsichore, the London-based yoga performance group that has delighted audiences around the world. The performance company was created to explore the possibilities of a form of theater that would celebrate yoga philosophy and extraordinary physical prowess. Edward began studying yoga in 1978. Notable among his teachers are Narayani and Giris Rabinovitch, but he also admires Ashtanga vinyasa, Sivananda, Iyengar, and viniyoga practices. The Tripsichore group has practiced daily for the past 20 years. Constantly devising and refining its techniques for asana, pranayama, pratayahara, dharana, and dhyana. Edward fuses his keen artistic vision with a deep understanding of the essential pursuit of yoga practice. His classes are entertaining, demanding, and exhilarating. Vinyasa Applied to Yoga Philosophy Edward says, “The concept of vinyasa as applied to yoga philosophy could either be considered very ancient or radically new. In either case, vinyasa seems to be one of the great contributions to yoga of this particular generation of yogis. VINYASA in our definition, is the evenly metered flow of movement, breath and thought. This resulting in a smooth, uninflected state of being. The vinyasa techniques are pursued to bring about clarity and stability to one’s thoughts and actions. Tripsichore endeavours to do this in class and onstage. Most yoga discipline has worked on refining one’s self in the direction of greater stillness – an absence of movement in the mind and body. Superficially, vinyasa would seem to contradict this. However, the mental focus and physical technique needed to bring about continuous fluid movement can also bring one to a “seat” of great stability and clarity. The stability is not only in the posture. It is in addition in the transition between postures – to the point where there is no distinction between movement and stillness. Yoga Choreography Tripsichore began in 1979 as a company devoted to creating full length dance narratives.  They explored a variety of stylistic forms including punk ballet, conventional modern dance and strict neo-classical technique.  They used masks, performed with rock bands and did pop videos.  While yoga was always a part of their training, it wasn’t until 1992 that they realised the expressive potential and choreographic viability of yoga postures.  Once they began to devise works using yoga asanas, their extraordinary artistic logic became evident.  Surprisingly, it would seem that there has been no orthodox tradition for using yoga technique to create dances in the 5000 year history of the discipline.  The postures are the ideal vehicle to express the themes of harmony, balance, spirituality, ecstasy, bliss and mysticism because they are exactly about these subjects in and of themselves.  See more about Edward and Tripsichore on the website here.

Bessel van der Kolk MD is author of the seminal book The Body Keeps The Score. He spends his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences, and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults. In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical / research centers in the US dedicated to study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He did the first studies on the effects of SSRIs on PTSD; was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes brain processes, and did the first research linking BPD and deliberate self-injury to trauma and neglect in early childhood. Much of his research has focused on how trauma has a different impact at different stages of development, and that disruptions in care-giving systems have additional deleterious effects that need to be addressed for effective intervention. In order to promote a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma and to foster the development and execution of effective treatment interventions, he initiated the process that led to the establishment of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a Congressionally mandated initiative that now funds approximately 150 centers specializing in developing effective treatment interventions, and implementing them in a wide array of settings, from juvenile detention centers to tribal agencies, nationwide. He has focused on studying treatments that stabilize physiology, increase executive functioning and help traumatized individuals to feel fully alert to the present. This has included an NIMH funded study on EMDR and NCCAM funded study of yoga, and, in recent years, the study of neurofeedback to investigate whether attentional and perceptual systems (and the neural tracks responsible for them) can be altered by changing EEG patterns. ​His efforts resulted in the establishment of Trauma Center (now the Trauma Research Foundation) that consisted of a well-trained clinical team specializing in the treatment of children and adults with histories of child maltreatment, that applied treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studied the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policy makers, and law enforcement personnel. You can find out more about him on his website here.  

It actually strikes one as quite funny, that despite Zoe’s reputation, she is hardly unruly. Actually, during this podcast she and Adam spend a good majority of their time praising Mysore and Sharathji’s ability to make the general rule specific to individuals. In fact, neither of them are ultimately rebellious. They like the system, its traditional aspect (respecting the sequences); what they are both outspoken on is the kind of dogma and polarity Ashtanga yoga often enters into when it makes its way out of Mysore, which treats individuals as generalisations, to be fitted into ideal structures. When, instead, what they really require out of yoga is a practice that serves one’s life and doesn’t cause injury. One that respects the demands of your own circumstances. That is, real life, when we have jobs, families and health issues, as opposed to the idealised picture painted of how Ashtanga should be practiced and taught in Mysore. Adam and Zoe talk along these lines then. Having met many years ago in Mysore, they re-connected in the online world through their similar opinions  Zoë is a US based cynical observer, writer, and comedian. After a decade of Ashtanga practice in Mysore and around the world, she now directs the sharpness of mind cultivated by the method toward critiquing the policies and politics of the community on her Instagram account, @unrulyascetic. 

This is the first part of Ashtanga Yoga 2021 & Beyond online panel webinar held in June 2021. We brought together two groups of teachers spanning decades of teaching to discuss the future of Ashtanga yoga. Hosts Adam Keen and Eddie Stern moderated the issues. Discussion was around the best way to move forward from various points of view. The aim of this panel discussion was to look to the future. As any living tradition, Ashtanga Yoga must also evolve as a living and working method. A skillfull look to the future, does not demolish the past, the smarter move is to build upon it. We are brought together respected voices of Ashtanga yoga into dialogue with a newer generation of teachers. Those perceived to be taking it into the future. Bringing the experienced and new together for the first time in the Ashtanga community to share and learn from one another. The discussion was a most exciting and ground breaking one touching upon issues such as inclusivity. Culturally and individually, the role of the teacher and the meaning of tradition for current times to name but a few of the fundamental topics that now require our further, collective reflection. In order that each teacher’s voices was properly heard, the panel was divided into two groups with a short interlude. The event will be of respectful and thoughtful tone, and promises to be unique in the history of Ashtanga so far in offering such an open and collective, communal reappraisal. To watch a recording of the full webinar click Ashtanga Yoga 2021 & Beyond

Russell is one of the most interesting characters I’ve interviewed. Sometimes painfully self-aware, the discussion gives you a good idea of the nuanced world of yoga in utter technicolour honesty as Russell is well known for now as co-host of the Finding Harmony Podcast with his wife Harmony Slater. Russell was one of the fairly old batch of student who studied directly with Pattabhi Jois. We chat about the yoga scene back then, amongst other things as well as his own evolution as a student and a man. We discuss his practice now as he deals with the results of pushing his body too hard over the years. Russell has been practicing and teaching Ashtanga yoga for more than 25 years. He is a humble and refined teacher, he was given Authorization by Sri K Pattabhi Jois in 2005. Case is known for his joking spirit, and his perpetual eye toward social justice work. When Pattabhi Jois invited him to his pranayama class in 2007, he considered this distinction to be the highest grade.  Russell has been teaching Ashtanga Yoga in the Mysore Method since 2001. He has taught programs in NYC, Brighton - England, Taipei - Taiwan, San Francisco, and was Director of the Ashtanga Yoga Mysore program at Stanford University for nine years. He worked as the Director of Partnerships for the Pure Edge Foundation, a non-profit company that brings yoga-based exercises and mindfulness programs into schools throughout the USA. Russell is known for his creative delivery of experiential presentations on neuroscience for social and emotional learning. Russell Case brings to life the teachings of yoga and mindfulness in a very colorful and scientific way that makes it easy for students to understand the deeper dimensions of why yoga works and how. Follow Russell on Instagram @russell_altice_case

Kimberly Ann Johnson is a Somatic Experiencing™ Practitioner, educator, and author. She helps women heal trauma, awaken their power and feel at home in their bodies. So they can then start living life on their own terms. She’s always had a deep knowing that she was in this world to change things for the better. All of that came into sharp focus when she became a mother. Her whole life changed completely in that moment. She had to learn a new way of being in the world. She believes that if you can learn to speak your body’s language, and transmute trauma into positive, reparative experiences in the present, if you can make the shift into acting from a stance of your deepest, truest self … everything changes. Your relationships, sex, and love get infinitely better. Your decisions come from a place of true agency, rather than fear and conditioning. And you tap into a level of power inside yourself that’s deeper than you would have ever believed to be possible. She is the author of two books. Call of The Wild, It’s not just you — women all around the world are experiencing record levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and autoimmune issues.  The truth is, many women are stuck in a cycle of trauma, with no idea how to heal from it. What’s worse, most of the resources out there for healing trauma are written from a male perspective, which makes them ineffective for women, because they heal differently. Call of the Wild is the answer.  And The Fourth Trimester, a holistic guide that offers practical guidance for women making the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual transition into motherhood. Deeply impactful on both the individual and global level, it’s shifted the experience of motherhood for women all over the world — and helped make this universal, yet widely-ignored experience of postpartum healing a priority in national policy. See more about Kimberly Ann on her website  

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast Adam talks to Carlos Pomeda.  Originally from Madrid, Spain, Carlos has been steeped in all aspects of the yoga tradition during more than 40 years of practice and study. He spent 18 of those years as a monk of the Saraswati order, under the name Swami Gitananda, including 9 years of traditional training and practice in India.  During this time he learned the various systems of Indian Philosophy and immersed himself in the practice of yoga, becoming one of the senior monks of the tradition and teaching meditation and philosophy to tens of thousands of students around the world. He combines this experience and traditional training with his academic background, which includes two Masters Degrees: one in Sanskrit, from U.C. Berkeley (where he has taught) and another one, in Religious Studies, from U.C. Santa Barbara. He is currently working on a book on the topic of “Karma and the Journey of the Soul”, as well as a new translation of the Śivasūtra, an important Tantric text of the Kashmiri tradition .  Carlos currently lives in the US, and travels extensively around the world conducting a variety of retreats, courses, seminars, workshops and lectures on the Wisdom of Yoga and related subjects.  As a teacher, Carlos is renowned for the breadth of his knowledge and the clarity with which he conveys it. His great love of the Indian yoga traditions, his insight, his humor and his deep connection with his audiences give him the ability to transmit the deepest scriptural teachings in a way that is clear, meaningful and applicable. Studying with Carlos is an enjoyable and transformative experience.  You can see more about Carlos on his website. If you would like to support the Keen on Yoga Podcast you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or make a donation at www.keenonyoga/donate

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast Adam talks to Dr Yogi (Andrew McGonigle) Andrew attended Medical School at The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne but struggled with the non-holistic approach often adopted by western medicine. He graduated in 2005 at the young age of 23 and worked for a brief period as a junior doctor in Sunderland Royal Infirmary. However, for many reasons he knew that this career was not suited to him and he finally made the decision to leave the medical world. In 2004 he started to practise Transcendental Meditation as a coping mechanism for stress and this had opened a gateway into spirituality. He began a new life in Sydney in 2006 working for the British fashion brand Paul Smith and regularly attended hatha yoga classes. After a few years of dedicated practice I decided to embark on an Ashtanga Yoga teacher training course at Yoga Thailand with Paul Dallaghan. Teaching is in his blood and is something that has always come naturally to him. His parents were both keen teachers during their working lives and early on in his life he set up an after school homework club to help younger students with their studies.  Having moved to London in 2009 he started working at the Triyoga headquarters where he remained in a Managerial role for almost 9 years. He began to set up my own small yoga classes in a local church hall and completed a holistic massage diploma. While assisting on a massage course someone asked why he wasn’t teaching anatomy and he had had a true light bulb moment! From that point onwards I focused all his attention on establishing himself as an anatomy teacher. Having studied anatomy in great detail during Medical School he now needed to look at this incredibly vast subject from a completely different angle and create ways to make it relevant to yoga.  He enrolled in hands-on dissection classes that focused on fascia (a word that he had never come across at Medical School!) and spent all of his spare time re-reading anatomy books, listening to podcasts and talking about anatomy to anyone who would listen. In recent years he has become a keen writer contributing chapters to the popular Yoga Teaching Handbook: A Practical Guide for Yoga Teachers and Trainees and Yoga Student Handbook: Develop Your Knowledge of Yoga Principles and Practice. His new book, Supporting Yoga Students with Common Injuries and Conditions, was published in March 2021. And his second book, focusing on yoga physiology, will be published in early 2022 Above all, Andrew is one of the most humble yogi’s Adam has interviewed and a really nice guy.  Enjoy this Keen on Yoga Podcast with Dr Yogi.  If you would like to support us please like, share and review the podcast.  We gratefully accept donations in any amount you choose on our website at Keen on Yoga.

Jimmy started meditation as his life enjoyment was crippled by insomnia. he heard that meditation was a scientifically valid way to treat that problem. He had already tried to fix it with courses on mindfulness, books and guided meditation CDs, but nothing got me to that deep place I'd heard about. Then he found a teacher from the ancient Vedic tradition. After four days of meditation training in a little room in London, his life was on a new path (and he was sleeping like a baby). Since then he’s been hooked. He has spent years training, exploring and testing meditation techniques. Jimmy is fascinated by the science and philosophies of these ancient practices. Now he teaches busy people the most powerful technique he knows for connecting to deep inner silence and stillness. The technique is an ancient one from the Himalayas that is scientifically proven to deliver transformative benefits. This is completely different from mindfulness and other styles of meditation which you might have tried before. He shows how to get into a deep state of meditative absorption in just 20 minutes. This melts away stress and leaves you feeling happy, energised, and clear-headed. A skill for life you'll be delighted to practice.  It takes you beyond the thinking mind into a place of peace, stillness, calm and silence. Life becomes easier when you delve into this altered state each day. It doesn't involve focussing on your breath or body sensations. It doesn't involve witnessing your mind or visualising anything. Nor does it involve mindless chanting. The technique leads to an altered state of consciousness. This shows up as highly organised and synchronised alpha waves in both hemispheres of your brain. This is a sign of deep relaxation for the body and rejuvenating rest for the mind. This is the mechanism that delivers the benefits of meditation.   It's a marvellous stroke of luck that getting into this state is fairly quick and extremely enjoyable once you know how to do it.  You can find him at Delve Deep  If you would like to support the Keen on Yoga Podcast please give us a review, or make a donation.     

Simon Borg-Olivier is a polymath of the movement world. A forerunner of yoga in Australia and a teachers' teacher. He also holds two BSC's an lectures regularly for a number of University science departments.  This is his second time on our podcast, expressly this time to talk about the impact of breath upon movement in preparation for an upcoming workshop on breath at Keen On Yoga to accompany this podcast. In this conversation Simon gets quite technical as to how to utilise the diaphragm for the sake of connecting breath to the inner functioning of the body. Not exclusively referring to the yoga-model he synthesises modern science with the yoga-perspective in a way unique to him. Equally, he explodes yoga myths - such as bandha with a hard abdomen and how this actually freezes the diaphragm and hence the prana in the body.  All this is done with characteristic energy and lucidity and Simon himself in his early sixties is a living example of the power of a breath-based practice.

Liz Koch comes from an academic background as a teacher of sculpture. However, her speciality in this is the spacial element of sculpture. One day she happened upon a yoga class and realised this was what was actually being denied in the dissemination of yoga.  The space for one’s own experience of being, outside notions of alignment focussing on the rigid column of the spine. Soon after Liz was asked to writing for yoga journal, and these articles ended up turning into the book Core Awareness. This was really the first serious discussion of the psoas, published in the 90s when hardly anyone had heard of it. We covered this  in our 1st podcast together, episode 59. More recently, Liz has released Stalking Wild Psoas.  This is by way of an answer to the mistaken attempts in the yoga world after helped bring the psoas into general awareness here. Liz feels the yoga students are busy again dominating, essentially ­re-colonising their bodies. Here we spread out from the physical body.  We look at our attitudes to our own individuation to our socio-economic attitudes to the world, and others in it. Having reduced our own experience of ourselves to something we can isolate, know, control and often commoditise. This is why I really wanted to do a second session with Liz as the implications of her work on the psoas go deeper than the body. In embodying ourselves in this more visceral, non-linear manner, we notice the kind of narrative of repression and restraint we – generally in the West – have been living under. I found our talk highly inspiring. There is no time when we might not better look for other perspectives – non colonial established and patriarchal narratives on our own experience than now!

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast Adam talks with Bettina Campolucci Bordi, wellness guru, retreat chef and creator of Bettina’s Kitchen.  She is the author of Happy Food and her second book 7 Day Vegan Challenge, out now, enables anyone to include as many plant based recipes into their repertoire as possible. Over the last few years she has appeared on Saturday Kitchen, has had recipes featured in the Telegraph and Sunday Times, been endorsed by Jamie Oliver and Conde Nast. Born in Denmark to a Bulgarian/Danish mother and a Norwegian father Bettina spent her first 11 years in Tanzania and after that in Sweden.  In Tanzania she learned from her mother how to pick the best quality fruits and vegetables from the local markets.  They would also visit a farmer with just a few cows for fresh milk that her mother would magically turn into butter, cream and yogurt. Her father also cooked and would spend hours preparing his ingredients and making sure each element of the dish was cooked properly and just right.  From these experiences she learned that good things take time. Holidays spent in Bulgaria included time with her grandmother and auntie who were both amazing cooks.  She recalls sitting at the kitchen table at her auntie’s house watching her make pineapple upside down cake, creme brulee, stews, and breads baked from scratch. Other summers were spent in Sweden with her paternal grandmother in a tiny summer house in the woods. Also a keen cook with green fingers who had all sorts of wonders growing in her garden, cordials and pickling were her specialty. The Beginning of Bettina’s Kitchen Following struggles with personal health issues including PCOS and endometriosis, she soon discovered that what she ate made a significant impact on her physical health.  She found that she was able to manage her conditions and discovered a profoundly positive effect on her mental wellbeing, too. For Bettina, cooking is a way of inspiring people to include and cook with ingredients that can sometimes be daunting. Her aim is to show others how food can be inspiring, where it comes from and that cooking from scratch is the single most powerful thing you can do for yourself and your family. In 2011 she entered into the wellness industry running health retreats in Spain as a way to spread her message. She began sharing recipes on Instagram and slowly but surely people wanted more and Bettina´s Kitchen was born. Food Philosophy Everything Bettina does is aligned with her philosophy around food and wellness: that we should eat seasonally, locally and from farm to table as much as we can. We should support small businesses within our communities; we must use roots, shoots and all! Cooking waste free is particularly important to her; and above all the best plant food is fuss-free, simple, easy, inexpensive. Find Bettina Combining healthy cooking with travel and wellness worldwide and you can find her cooking on and training local kitchen teams with Reclaim Yourself Retreats. Reclaim Yourself speciality is introducing people to remote, magical places including Mongolia, Iceland, and Zanzibar. She also hosts retreats in her favourite place in the world, Bali as well as her Retreat Chef Academies where you can cook with learn from her experience.

Mariela Cruz is quite a force.  She has been a student of Sharathji Jois since 2003. She first arrived in Mysore to Gokulam and there was no internet so she simply knocked on the door and Pattabhi Jois opened and invited her into the family terrace.  That same day she met her Guru Sharath and he asked her to stay for one month only. Busy with children and family responsibilities back in her then country Costa Rica she was not able to stay but tasted the honey and could only think about going back to India.  Mariela's favourite quote is practice and all is coming. She feels our lives will be completely transformed because our minds are made new with our practice. Our lives in samsara will be completely dismantled yet something precious it’s on its way. She has been to Mysore many times and finished third series in November 2019 with her Guru. She has also assisted him in his shala. Mariela is a lawyer with 3 masters and was appointed Ambassador of Costa Rica to India 2016-2018. Since then she is lucky to live in India close to her Guruji. Mariela is the mother of Hernan, Adriana, Ariel, Gabriel, Gael, Theo and Matias. She is blessed beyond the beyond with the magic of “Seventh Series.” She has plenty of experience sustaining the practice of Ashtanga through pregnancies and post partum and the creativity to raise a family and yet hold the demands of practice. She loves playing the piano. Her favourite composers are Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin.

Wambui Njuguna-Raisanen is a Kenyan-American based in Finland, passionate about making wellness through yoga and meditation seamlessly engaged in equity and justice so that more people of the global majority can live well and thrive. Wambui is deeply inspired by spiritual teachers and communities that seek ways to apply the insights from wisdom traditions to situations of social, racial, political, environmental and economic suffering and injustice. She would like to see wellness spaces engage more in social justice and collective change and activist spaces learn to breathe deeply and practice sustainable self-care in the midst of dismantling systemic oppression. This is her definition of community care.  Creating wellness spaces that feel more welcoming, inclusive and accessible is of utmost necessity and importance to Wambui. Together with her massage training (Chavutti Thirumal) and meditation advocacy, she strives to work at the intersection of social inclusion, equity and wellness. Wambui has an easy-going, unassuming way and demonstrates a willingness to be vulnerable and “less than perfect”; which makes others want to exhale deeply and release the pressure of what a spiritual life should be. She shares her life stories and struggles, triumphs and obstacles with an openness that makes you want to examine and tend to your own seeds of greed, hatred and delusion with care, honesty and acceptance. To learn more about Wambui and her offerings, visit wambuinjuguna.com and  @wellnesswithwambui (IG).  

Tyson Yunkaporta is an academic, an arts critic, and a researcher who is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland. He carves traditional tools and weapons and also works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University in Melbourne where he currently lives. His book Sand Talk was published in 2019 to resounding acclaim.  The paradigm-shifting book brings a crucial Indigenous perspective to historical and cultural issues of history, education, money, power, and sustainability - and offers a new template for living. As an indigenous person, Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems from a unique perspective, one tied to the natural and spiritual world. In considering how contemporary life diverges from the pattern of creation, he raises important questions. How does this affect us? How can we do things differently? In this thoughtful, culturally rich, mind-expanding book, he provides answers. Yunkaporta's writing process begins with images. Honoring indigenous traditions, he makes carvings of what he wants to say, channeling his thoughts through symbols and diagrams rather than words. He yarns with people, looking for ways to connect images and stories with place and relationship to create a coherent world view, and he uses sand talk, the Aboriginal custom of drawing images on the ground to convey knowledge.  In Sand Talk , he provides a new model for our everyday lives. Rich in ideas and inspiration, it explains how lines and symbols and shapes can help us make sense of the world. It's about how we learn and how we remember. It's about talking to everyone and listening carefully. It's about finding different ways to look at things. Most of all it's about a very special way of thinking, of learning to see from a native perspective, one that is spiritually and physically tied to the earth around us, and how it can save our world. 

Liz is an international teacher and author with 43 years of experience working with and specializing in the psoas. Educating both laypersons and professionals around the world, Liz is recognized by colleagues in the movement, wellness, and fitness professions as an authority on the “core muscle” of the human body. Stalking Wild Psoas is her passion and changing the language of body is her mission. Liz Koch is the creator of Core Awareness,™ a somatic approach to deepening the experience of the human core. Beginning with the core muscle, the psoas, Core Awareness™ focuses attention on sensation as a means for maturing and developing the proprioceptive nervous system, which is responsible for skeletal alignment, balance, and orientation. Liz is the author of The Psoas Book; Core Awareness: Enhancing Yoga, Pilates, Exercise & Dance; Unraveling Scoliosis CD; The Psoas & Back Pain CD; and she is a contributing author to Maiden, Mother, Crone: Our Pleasure Playlist and Stalking Wild Psoas: Embodying Your Core Intelligence. Her writing has been featured in Yoga Journal, Positive Health, Massage & Bodywork, Massage Magazine, Yoga & Health International, Midwifery Today, Vegetarian Times, and The Doula as well as numerous small health and wellness publications. Liz Koch is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education Approved Provider. The psoas is considered such an unknown muscle yet so important and powerful. Liz first discovered the psoas while attending a human potential class in Boston over 45 years ago. At that particular moment, the teacher, Robert Cooley, was fascinated with the psoas muscle. Having previously been a dancer, he was exploring how injuries and a lack of movement might be tracked back to the midline or core issues expressed in the iliopsoas complex. Between Liz’s in-depth inquiry and Bob’s encouragement, she eventually shifted my career from being a conceptual artist and sculpture instructor at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts to the healing arts profession. While working with her psoas, Liz discovered that she had released years of back pain and emotional distress which awoke within her a deep sense of pleasure. She became passionate that people should know what an extraordinary role the psoas plays in recovering health and gaining a sense of wholeness. When she moved to California in the 1970s, her personal explorations of the psoas catapulted her into her current profession. She began by teaching courses on the psoas muscle for local community colleges, dance departments, and massage school programs. Her vocation not only evolved throughout the years but also expanded into wider spheres of influence which included being a keynote speaker at two international conferences as well as teaching both national and international workshops and retreats. What began as a personal journey has continued as the psoas is no ordinary tissue, but a profound segway into the rich interior and exterior world of awareness.  

David, at 78 looks back over his rich life, already having outlived his prognosis with a terminal form of cancer. This episode was therefore extra special for us; deeply poignant and touching at moments, joyous at others, and, if nothing else, seriously thought-provoking. After growing up gay in a Georgia, USA, where it was not a welcome choice at the time, he escaped from military school (where his step father sent him – to make him a man), by faking a broken-jaw in a compulsory boxing match he was forced to undertake. From then on, he pursued his main love of dance. Studying under the foremost disciples of Martha Graham in New York, he became a professional dancer and then a teacher , finally moving to Adelaide, Australia where he ran the dance department. After deciding to marry and have a family, he finally stumbled upon Ashtanga late in the day – at 48 years old. This makes him probably one of the oldest teachers ever to achieve certification. For many years he travelled and taught – he was one of the first teachers to go on the road, His teaching incorporates the lessons gleaned from his career as a dancer, choreographer, and, artist. More recently, needing to settle down, he headed up the Jois Yoga Shala in Sydney whilst still visiting Mysore each year for 3 months (up until last year), to study and assist Saraswati teach. David is a highly sensitive and thoughtful individual, quite unique to this modern age, and it has been a pleasure to spend this time with him. We, in fact, recorded this episode twice, after technical issues got in the way of our first attempt.

Shanna Small is a writer and Yoga teacher who speaks to the intersectionality of Yoga and social justice.  She has practiced Ashtanga Yoga and studied the Yoga Sutras since 2001. She has studied in Ashtanga in Mysore with Sharath Jois. Shanna studied Sanskrit, the Yoga Sutras and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with Laksmish in Mysore, India.   Shanna finds joy in making the Ashtanga practice accessible for all.  She studied with Amber Karnes and Dianne Bondy and is Yoga For All certified. She is a regular contributor for Yoga International, OmStars and the Ashtanga Dispatch.     She teaches diversity and inclusivity, Yoga Sutras as well as accessibility trainings and workshops. She is a founding member of Yoga For Recovery Foundation, a non-profit that helps those recovering from addiction, trauma and systemic oppression.  Shanna is also certified in the Trauma Conscious Yoga Method. Shanna is a graduate of Georgia State University and holds a bachelor’s in business with a concentration in marketing. Before becoming a full time yoga teacher, Shanna was a recruiter and ad account executive. 

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 – 1983. (Information on all of his books can be found here) Dr. Svoboda was born in Texas in 1953, and in 1972 earned a B.S. from the University of Oklahoma in Chemistry with a minor in French. After being ritually initiated into the Pokot tribe of northern Kenya as its first white member in June 1973 he moved to India, where he lived from 1973-80 and 1982-86, receiving his Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (Ayurvedacharya) from the University of Poona in 1980. In his final year of study at the Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya he won all but one of the University of Poona’s awards for academic excellence in Ayurveda, including the Ram Narayan Sharma Gold Medal. The Aghori Vimalananda also owned thoroughbred race horses, and Dr. Svoboda served as his Authorized Racing Agent at the Royal Western India Turf Club in Bombay and Poona between 1975 and 1985. He later served as Adjunct Faculty at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, NM, and at Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA. In the years since 1986 Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending three months per year on average in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra and allied subjects in locales across the world. 

Nea established Ashtanga Yoga Dubai in 2013 and the yoga shala Nilaya House in 2017, a yoga studio offering a full range of yoga classes which she runs and teaches from. She received level 2 authorisation from Sharathji Jois in 2010. She also is an avid student of yoga philosophy as well as running an ethical textile business working with local Indian woman to ensure fair conditions and pay. In this podcast Nea and Adam are discussing the female menstrual cycle. As a man, you may notice him floundering at points. However, as a teacher of many women he thought it an extremely important subject to learn about. Nea has been personally involved in charting her own cycle for a number of years now to her own benefit. She discusses the importance of honouring her cycle and the natural ebb and flow of life it suggests. Therefore, instead of trying to gloss over these cycles, to homogonise our lives it makes more sense to use these natural, biological patterns of the body accordingly and follow their guidance. As they say, there is a season for everything. It appears through our conversation, it is only when you respect and even embrace the winter and spring, that you can also then enjoy the summer. Nea is currently completing a three-year Yoga History and Philosophy program (Traditional Yoga Studies) and one-year certificate in Ayurveda (American Institute of Vedic Studies).  Her aim is to empower and inspire students to learn, explore and grow along their own very personal path of yoga, uncovering what brings balance and joy and keeps the flame of yoga burning bright.      

Rupert Spira came across the poetry of Rumi at the age of fifteen, in 1975, and soon after this met his first teacher, Dr. Francis Roles, at Colet House in London. Dr. Roles was himself a student of Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the North of India. Under his guidance Rupert learnt mantra meditation and was introduced to the classical system of Advaita, or non-duality, which formed the foundation of his interest and practice for the next twenty-five years. At the same time he also learnt the Mevlevi Turning, a sacred Sufi dance of movement, prayer and meditation. During this time he read everything available by the Russian philosopher P. D. Ouspensky and learnt Gurdjieff’s Movements. In the late 1970s he attended Krishnamurti’s last meetings at Brockwood Park, close to his childhood home, and was deeply impressed and influenced by his intellectual rigor and fierce humility. Throughout these years Rupert also studied the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj on a continuous basis. In the same year that he discovered the poetry of Rumi, Rupert saw a retrospective exhibition of a well-known studio potter, Michael Cardew, at Camberwell Arts Centre in London, an event which was to change the course of his life. Already disenchanted with the scientific path on which he had embarked, he found that pottery provided a new avenue of exploration and experience, and one that was completely consistent with the questions evoked by his encounter with the non-dual understanding. As a result, in 1977 Rupert left school and enrolled in the Ceramics Department of West Surrey College of Art and Design, under Henry Hammond. In 1980 he moved to Wenford Bridge in Cornwall, where he lived and worked with Michael Cardew, then aged eighty, for the last two years of his life. Rupert once said that he was completely re-educated during the time he spent with these two founding fathers of the British Studio Pottery Movement, combined with his regular attendance at Colet House. In 1983 Rupert opened his own studio, and over the next thirty years he made pieces that are to be found in private and public collections around the world. A turning point in the mid-1990s led Rupert to the American teacher Robert Adams, who died two days after Rupert arrived in the US. However, on this visit he was told about another teacher, Francis Lucille, whom he met several months later. The first words he ever heard Francis say were, ‘Meditation is a universal “Yes” to everything’. Although it was the kind of statement anyone might encounter on the spiritual path, this moment was pivotal in Rupert’s life: ‘I realised that I had arrived home, that this encounter was the flowering and fulfilment of my previous thirty years of seeking’. When Rupert asked at that first meeting what he should do next, Francis replied, ‘Come as often as you can’. Over the next twelve years Rupert spent all the spare time that work and family commitments would allow with Francis, exploring the sense of separation as it appears in the mind in the form of beliefs and, more important, how it appears in the body as feelings of being located and limited. Francis also introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmananda Krishna Menon and the Tantric approach of Kashmir Shaivism, which he had received from his teacher, Jean Klein. Of the essence of these years, Rupert writes, ‘The greatest discovery in life is that our essential nature does not share the limits or the destiny of the body and mind. I do not know what it is about the words, actions or presence of the teacher or teaching that seem to awaken this recognition of our essential nature as it truly is, and its subsequent realisation in our lives, but I am eternally grateful to Francis for our friendship.’ Rupert lives in Oxford, UK, with his wife, Ellen Emmet, a therapist and yoga teacher in the non-dual tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, and his son, Matthew. He holds regular meetings in the UK, US, Netherlands and Italy, as well as online webinars and Retreats at Home.  

This is my second interview with Alexander Medin.  Alex has had many incarnations, many lives. However, the common thread I feel running through his history has always been the striving for self-understanding - nothing less than yoga. I would suggest, this was evident in his younger, unsettled years getting into trouble with the police, becoming Norwegian champion boxer, the professional ballet dancer, actor and finally a Certified Ashtanga yoga teacher. But, this episode focuses particularly on his most recent work; setting up “Back in the Ring”, a foundation teaching yoga to Norwegian prisoners; many of whom are serving long-term sentences. Even by Alex’s standards, what he has achieved with this is remarkable, leading to government funding to provide yoga teaching across the board in Norwegian prisons. In this podcast we discuss the practicalities of this, the difficulties and the achievements. Many of the prisoners have gone on to become yoga teachers in their own right. Some are employed in the running of Alex’s yoga hotel ‘Nosen’ high up in the Norwegian fjords.

Robert Sankara Moses has 50 years’ experience as a teacher of yoga and advaita vedanta. Born in South Africa, Robert studied architecture, travelled abroad and, in 1972, discovered yoga in the tradition of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, India. He served in the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers for 22 years, teaching yoga teacher training and advanced training courses worldwide. He founded and continues to co-publish Namarupa: Categories of Indian Thought, a magazine about the philosophies and arts of India. Robert leads annual pilgrimages to sacred places of India.  Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Robert has been teaching Pranayama and philosophy courses on Zoom to students from around the world.

Keen on Yoga Podcast with Peg Mulqueen, the forerunner of the Ashtanga podcast and blog with Ashtanga Dispatch. Starting in 2009 I would credit her for providing a general exposure of many of the well known Ashtanga teachers unique to the time. For, most of us, not lucky enough to attend their workshops, this was a democratising of the scene. Moreover it encouraged an unprecedented sense of community spirit. Peg is also a mother, teacher and dedicated student of Ashtanga in her own right. She has been practicing for almost 20 years. At the same time, bringing up her daughter and spending time as a writer for Yoga Journal. Living on a farm in rural Montanta, she presents to me the picture of a well-rounded, furthermore, accomplished individual. Peg has interviewed by now all the well-known ashtanga teachers. In addition she is a voice to be listened to in her own right. She is adamant about presenting the practice in a realistic and approachable light. Moreover to women and mothers who are all too often side-lined in their needs, or assumed to be taught the same as men. Meghan, Peg's daughter “officially” joined her work in 2017. Though she had always been a part of Ashtanga Dispatch, 4 years ago, she really because her right hand and often better half. Of course, also in this interview Peg shares a few anecdotes about her time running Ashtanga Dispatch. And we talk about the take home points from running a yoga podcast and how it has affected our own practice.

Welcome to the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Angela Jamison. Angela is the founder and director of Ashtanga Yoga Ann Arbor, located in Michigan, USA.  She grew up on an isolated farm / intentional community in rural Montana, a remote mountain area of the northern US. From there, she was lucky to receive a scholarship to attend college to study Philosophy and Journalism in Oregon. In the year 2000 Angela discovered ashtanga in Seattle. The primary series helped her to heal from severe intestinal parasites acquired while living in Central America.  In 2001 she moved to Los Angeles to attend grad school at UCLA. Soon afterwards she was hit by a car in a crosswalk. This near fatal accident resulted in a day of full body paralysis. Subsequently her commitment to ashtanga to heal from that trauma was firmed. She spent the rest of her 20s studying two very different topics with equal intensity – the sociology of American empire, and the practice of ashtanga yoga. It was a wonderful time and place for ashtanga. Of the many practitioners and teachers who helped her, the strongest influences were Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller. In addition, their student Heather, now Radha Carlisi. However, Dominic Corigliano is the teacher who most impacted her during that time. He taught her to assist him in 2007. Mysore In 2009, Angela moved to Ann Arbor for a visiting assistant professor position at the university there. In the same year she travelled to Mysore for the first time to study with R Sharath Jois. After strong encouragement from him, she finally left the university and started teaching yoga full time in 2011. She spent her 30s slowly building community and teaching, with 2-4 months each year in India studying the yoga tradition. Sharath gave her his blessing as a certified teacher in 2017. The best preparation she had for directing a shala was working a variety of jobs. Including union organizing, waiting tables, administrative positions at Amnesty International and a library, and teaching undergraduates at UCLA. This background led her to see her work both as directing a school – just as our teachers in India model  – and also as a form of community building. Growing up “off the grid” surrounded by survivalists has shaped her idea that ashtanga can be a key resource during times of social upheaval. This is because it helps us cultivate both robust physical health, and robust communities. Thereby allowing us to learn complex forms of empathy and cooperation, which help us in difficult times. Online Covid Impact During Covid, her work has mostly migrated online – to a digital platform students built to facilitate ongoing connection and learning. Dozens of students from the early years of the  her work have found their way back to what they call the shadowshala. In addition, new people have found it too. The chance to re-connect with early students who now live around the world, and see people learn to sustain a home practice in the midst of great challenges, has been extremely meaningful. But she is eager to return to the sort of real-live practice that can only happen in a Mysore room with everyone breathing and moving together.  You can find out more about Angela on her website.

Santina’s journey from suffering to awareness and understanding through yoga has led her to a rich and real study of yoga as a living practice. She holds degrees in Law/Arts from the University of Melbourne as well as a Master of Gestalt Therapy. Santina was given her Level 2 Authorisation to teach Ashtanga Yoga by KPJAYI in 2016. She believes there are many pathways into and towards healing and inner transformation. After years of anorexia, bulimia, heroin and other substance abuse, she came to understand that these compulsive behavioral patterns were just a means to escape the boxed-up feeling of terror, rage, shame, despair, grief and unworthiness deep within her psyche and physicality. San has developed an intimacy with the physiology and spirituality of our human form. Her commitment to a life of process, practice and courage cultivates rich soil from which to provide meaningful guidance as an Ashtanga yoga teacher. Her practice embodies the Ashtanga Yoga system, and she has diligently completed the Primary, 2nd and 3rd series of this method under the guidance of Mark Togni. Both Ashtanga Yoga and Gestalt methods helped her to realise that whenever she wanted to escape herself through compulsive behaviour, what she was really hungry for was a deep and abiding connection with herself that brings forth the joy of being comfortable in her own skin. It is through Santina’s theoretical and applied educational background that enables her to insightfully and compassionately work with students of all experiences and skills. “Personal Philosophy of Life, Practice and Process”  Santina believes that with each breath and in every moment we are in a process of evolving from who we have been to who we are becoming.  Blending yoga asana and the Gestalt Method, she works using an experiential, dialogical and integrative approach to self-discovery and embodied awareness. Through compassionate understanding, confirmation to present-moment experience and heightened awareness, we can complete what is unfinished from the past and open pathways to our emerging creative selves. Understanding how our inner processes can function to sustain disruptive patterns, as well as challenge and support the possibilities for creative problem solving, can lead to deliberate actions that transform our relationship to ourselves, to others and to life!

Breathing practice has become increasingly popular, partly at least, as we look for ways to help lessen the anxiety of these most uncertain times we are living through. Harmony is uniquely positioned to guide us in this having studied what she terms as ancient breathing (the subject of a new course she is soon to launch), with both Pattabhi Jois as well as the renowned Sri O.P Tiwariji; the then head of the Kaivalydam Institute for research on yoga near Mumbai in South India. In this interview, we discussed how best to build up a practice, what breath to start with and the signs or symptoms that we are doing it effectively.  We also talk about the fact that – even without dealing with anxiety – pranayama is most helpful to balance of the intensely stimulating affects of our ashtanga practice on our nervous systems. For, the practice itself often stimulates the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight), which can be helpful in resolving trauma. On the other hand, we also need to balance this with tapping into the calming effect of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), which is not adequately found addressed in the way most people practice, and want to practice (ie. with a certain speed and dynamism that is invigorating, yet, also needs balance for this reason). Finally, Harmony shares some of her own experience with using pranayama to fight inflammation, fatigue and digestive-issues. Here, we delve into the science behind it regarding oxygen and Co2 exchange, as well as considering how to commence breathing if you find yourself resistant or even frightened by the prospect of sitting quietly and focussing on your breath.

Welcome to the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Luke Jordan. Always feeling that there was something more to life, Luke first began formal study of Eastern mysticism in the 1990s while at University. He plunged headlong into the practise of Ashtanga Yoga in the year 2000. This began the on-going journey that would take him around the world seeking out experts, gurus and teachers in the field of Yoga and spirituality. Luke is always seeking to ground his practice and teaching in the wider Yoga philosophical tradition. He holds a Master’s degree in Indian Religion (his main focus being the deeper meaning of the Yoga philosophy). He remains an avid student of mystical spiritual traditions and peppers his ‘teachings’ with insights drawn from his readings of the worlds spiritual traditions and mythologies. We are sure you will enjoy this yoga podcast with Luke Jordan, you can find out more about him on his website.

Taylor Hunt is a devoted practitioner and teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. He makes yearly trips to Mysore, India to study under the guidance of his teacher, R. Sharath Jois. In 2013, Taylor was granted Level 2 Authorization to teach and has had the honor of assisting Sharath on several occasions. Taylor is dedicated to sharing the healing practice with others and providing a community where practitioners can find support in their practice and daily lives. Seeking to preserve the traditional method, Taylor teaches daily Mysore classes at Ashtanga Yoga Columbus and offers workshops around the world. He is also the author of A Way From Darkness and director of the Trini Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the life-changing practice of Ashtanga with those suffering from addiction. He continues to inspire others through his story of personal transformation and accessible approach to the practice. To learn more about Taylor’s story and life’s work, please visit www.awayfromdarkness.com and www.trinifoundation.org. PHILOSOPHY Taylors believes Ashtanga yoga is for everyone. Although Ashtanga is a set series of poses, it can be tailored to fit each individual’s needs. He encourages others to find a practice they can commit to and make it a part of their daily routine. Yoga is for transformation; it’s not just about the physical postures. It’s about acceptance and learning how to focus the mind. With dedication, change begins to occur ‐ physically, mentally, and spiritually. It’s important to find a teacher, someone you can listen to that inspires you to work to your full potential. Each day he shows up and leave it all on the mat; he doesn’t hold anything back. After years of practice, he is amazed at how it continues to teach him so much about life. He feels empowered each day when he finishes his practice and has come to realize that nothing is impossible. He feels that as his body became less rigid, so did his mind. He learned to stay present, not take himself so seriously, and to just enjoy life. He has found that happiness comes from within and is a choice that he makes every day.

Welcome to the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Max Strom. A 3x TEDx speaker, author, and global breathing teacher, known for teaching breathing patterns for personal transformation worldwide. Max developed a groundbreaking system of breathing techniques designed to alleviate crippling anxiety, depression, PTS and sleep problems. His field-tested method focuses on the causes rather than the symptoms and is known to produce rapid results. Max has had a career as a lead singer in his own band, and then a screenwriter. He was 38 when I took the first step on his path as a yoga teacher. Pushed into it by friends he was still very insecure as he taught his first few classes. He's come a long way since then as a speaker and teacher and he credits this to the inner work he has done. Through breathing techniques, meditation, inspiring spiritual teachers and writing, Max has reconnected with his inner child and learned how to give him the love and understanding that he so desperately needed. Max has now found his voice. From feeling like an odd and insignificant loner, he has found the teacher, leader, and the storyteller in himself. Sharing his personal stories with people from different cultures, religions and backgrounds creates understanding and connection. Ultimately, we’re not that different from each other. Max believes that when we learn to understand one another, we learn to understand ourselves. We are all teachers in our own way, and we all matter. We hope you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Max Strom. You can find out more about him on his website.

Grischa was a hard-working young software architect in the exciting early days of the world wide web and raved through Berlin’s legendary techno scene on the weekends.  He was almost 30 when he dropped into a Shivananda Yoga class and confused his physiological fitness and flexibility with yogic qualities. Blessed be his ignorance! His hunger for more drove him to the only Aṣṭāṅga class in Berlin which left him sore for a week and completely hooked. He soon stopped partying and drinking and started teaching ashtanga to friends. He eventually gave up his IT career and opened Berlin’s first Aṣṭāṅga Yoga Shala. For the first years his excited ego kept rushing him “up” the ladder of the Aṣṭāṅga Yoga series’. However, he started to wonder if it was taking the right path. As he questioned the real meaning of yoga he began to question teachers’ techniques of strong adjustments etc.  He felt the unhealthy power structures did not meet traces of yogic ideals. Ready to give up on Aṣṭāṅga, Grischa met Richard Freeman whose unique teaching approach opened his eyes for the mind-blowing world of the ancient scriptures. In addition he saw how egotistical motivations taint our actions, even Yoga practice. Paradoxically he also realized the Aṣṭāṅga method needed to appeal to my ego to keep him engaged on the path towards self-inquiry. All this fundamentally changed the way he lived his life, practiced, and taught Yoga. Grischa loves the Aṣṭāṅga Vinyāsa Yoga method. Mysore Style could easily make it the safest traditional Hatha Yoga practice system. However, he feels this yogic toolbox has not always been used wisely. Injuries are the most obvious symptoms of an ego-driven practice and teaching approach. Just like learning to play an instrument well for music we must practice posture, breath, philosophy etc. with good technique. Yet, both music and Yoga can only arise from effortless concentration and introspection, not from blindly following rituals and rules. Yoga Sutras & The Environment Above all, two factors have initiated the most fundamental and most challenging transformation of all. Grischa started using Yoga Sūtra’s Sadhana chapter as the reference of all Yoga practice and teaching principles. Even more importantly the birth of his two children broadened his perspective on literally everything. He realized that an infinite number of beings will have to live with the effects of our collective war against the planet. Karma is unfailing. Yoga means looking at all our actions without filters, without ignoring or justifying any of it. He realized he had been fueling global warming with tank loads of kerosene for an obscene yogic self-improvement trip for decades. Grischa decided to completely stop air travel and started to fight against our collective irresponsibility. His dream is that all Yogis on the planet wake up and become models for a sustainable and selfless lifestyle. Preserving the planet for our children is more important than all yoga poses that have ever been practiced together. We hope you enjoy this yoga podcast with Grischa Steffin. You can find more about his on his website.  

Actions speak louder than words, and Adam Husler (E-500RYT) uses both to understand universal balance in the practice of yoga. Adam draws experience from a variety of lives lived off the mat, from law school, the boxing ring, the ultramarathon path and the non-profit sector. He brings a unique perspective to those who seek more from yoga than making pretty shapes. He offers creative, effective and clearly-sequenced teachings that focus on balancing flexibility and strength; physically and mentally. Inspired by a fascination with anatomy, Adam specialises in Alignment-Based Vinyasa Yoga, informed by years of study and with Jason Crandell, and assisting him on a number of advanced teacher trainings. Being further influenced by; the spiritual wisdom of renowned meditation teacher Michael Stone, the dynamic teachings of Cameron Shayne and the anatomical knowledge of Tom Myers, Adam consistently refines his teaching method both as instructor and student. Adam specialises in a signature style of Alignment-Based Vinyasa— fuelled by a fascination with anatomy and a desire to ask ‘why?’. Classes are less focused on dramatic postures as an end in themselves, but on becoming more engaged, attentive, integrated and focused in asanas, as we explore our breath, mind and body at our individual threshold. Each month, Adam’s public classes have a different theme and each week a difference sequence, all featuring; long holds, controlled yet dynamic movements, intelligent alignment, anatomical precision, non-absolutism and a focus on integrity, over depth, in postures. They’re also dogma free!  Adam seeks to remind all that an asana practice is a very subjective experience, and whether you are a yoga teacher or new to the practice, there’ll be plenty of options to challenge all in their journey of self enquiry. Early Roots Raised in Birmingham, Adam found his way north to the chilly hills of Durham to continue a path to a lucrative legal career. However, legal books soon got put aside and Adam began to work with underprivileged teens,  young offenders institutions; occasionally in other countries too, like Nepal and Hounduras. Managing 2 brand new youth-hubs and event spaces in Central London. Including theatre, recording studios, commercial catering business, event space, gym, dance studios and more. Specialising in Youth Leadership and Life Coaching for 13-25 year olds with Changemakers. Clients including Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital Agreed to run 5 marathons and an 100km ultramarathon in 3 months. Has a black belt in Shotokan karate. Physically ‘peaked’ as a 110kg weight lifting boxer with mutton chops. Doesn’t often read books twice, unless they’re by Albert Camus. Was briefly the face of Samsung Portugal. We hope you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Adam Husler. You can find more about him on his website.  

Eddie Stern is a Yoga teacher, author, and lecturer from New York City. He has been practicing Yoga since 1987, and ran his school in SoHo from 1993-2019. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s the school became a focal point for Ashtanga Yoga in New York with an eclectic mix of downtown artists and spiritual seekers practicing and meditating next to well-known personalities such as Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mike D, and Lou Reed, in what was also Manhattan’s first consecrated Ganesh Temple. Eddie has a passion for seeking out diversity in all aspects of his work and uses a multidisciplinary approach of combining technology, scientific research, and collaboration to help further understanding, education, and access to yoga. He continues to study philosophy, Sanskrit, ritual, science, and religion, as well as maintain a passion for the daily practice Yoga. Eddie learned Ashtanga yoga under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharath Jois, of Mysore, India. Undertakings: Black Yoga Teachers Alliance, Eddie is a newly appointed advisory board member to the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance. Author of One Simple Thing: A New Look at the Science of Yoga and How It Can Transform Your Life, a bestselling book that examines from both a Western scientific perspective and an Eastern philosophical perspective the underlying mechanisms that make yoga an amazingly effective practice for health, wellbeing, and spiritual development. The Breathing App, a free app which guides the user in a paced breathing exercise that balances the nervous system, helping to improve sleep, and reduce stress and anxiety. Created with his wife, Jocelyne Stern, and app programmer and collaborator Sergey Varichev. International Yoga and Science Conferences, an ongoing forum for presenting rigorous scientific evidence on yoga and meditation which is accessible, inspiring, and actionable; created with Dr. Marshall Hagins. Namarupa, Categories of Indian Thought, a Hindu philosophy and art journal, and a boutique book publishing house, with partner Robert Moses. Engineering Health, a free, online yoga and physiology program with the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, created with Alexandra Seidenstein and Dr. Erich Anderer. Urban Yogis, a yoga and meditation program for community transformation led by Juquille Johnston, Jaytaun MacMillan, Raheem Lewis, and Pastor NaRon Tillman, in South Jamaica, Queens. LIFE Camp is a gun violence reduction program in South Jamaica, Queens, started and run by Erica Ford. The program uses a multi-modality intervention model to interrupt violence before it can occur. It is a city-funded program and the instigator of the NYC Crisis Management System which has reduced shootings by 40% in NYC. Eddie is the current co-Chairperson of LIFE Camp. Set/Reset (previously Breathe, Move, Rest) Eddie was the co-founder of this health and wellness educational non-profit that has trained school teachers in 120 schools in the US in health and wellness practices based on yoga and meditation (reaching approximately 70,000 school kids, K-12.) He was a founding board member of Bent On Learning, nonprofit organization committed to teaching yoga to New York City public school children. As well, he led curriculum writing teams for Pure Edge, and other yoga/health and wellness in schools non-profits. Inner Peace Network, a new platform devoted to supporting the teachers and teachings of the great wisdom traditions, and the cultures that they have emerged from. Along with Jocelyne, Eddie founded The Broome Street Temple (2001-2015) Manhattan’s first Vedically consecrated Ganesh Temple.

Welcome to the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Annie Pace. With over 40 years of experience, Annie is one of the most adept practitioners of traditional Ashtanga Yoga. Guruji taught her the first four Ashtanga sequences completely and introduced her to the fifth (Advanced C Section). In 1995, he presented her with a rare “Advanced B” certification to teach. Annie has a very clear and compassionate teaching style. All levels of practitioners benefit from her ability to distill her decades of experience. Her skill in working therapeutically with students of compromised health, physicality or other adverse situations is one of her most profound gifts. Annie considers it a blessing and and honor to have been entrusted with carrying on this lineage. It is her primary intention to do so in authenticity.  Annie expresses her heartfelt gratitude to all of her teachers, in particular Guruji (the late Sri K Pattabhi Jois),  Aunti-ji (the late Smt Tapti Sinha), and Acharya (Dr KLS Jois). These human lights have exemplified unconditional love and devotion, and have generously provided clear and accessible guidance to so many. Sattvic Living Annie's immersion in yogic sciences also expands into Ayurveda, yogic cooking, and Hindustani music. Shakti Sharanam Yoga Shala is located in the mountain community of Crestone, Colorado, a place known for its many spiritual centers as well as its stunning natural setting at the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Shakti Sharanam is a Sanskrit phrase meaning 'a refuge for sacred energy'.  The center is dedicated to upholding the purity of yogic tradition and exemplifying it as a life practice. Shakti Sharanam embodies a rare synthesis of ancient yogic principles and contemporary environmental sustainability. The project was intentionally designed from the ground up to host students for custom courses of study. Unplugged from the electrical grid, Shakti Sharanam’s straw-bale structures are sustainably powered and heated by solar energy. The natural building materials provide an exceptionally pure environment conducive to study and practice. Shakti Sharanam has been a long-time feature of the Crestone Energy Fair home tour, as well as part of the Camino de Crestone pilgrimage tour. 

Welcome to the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Alexandria Crow.  Alexandria is an internationally respected teachers’ teacher who leads teacher trainings and workshops around the world. Through her Yoga Physics methodology she aims to clearly explain the what, why’s and how’s of asana, meditation and yogic philosophy making the practice approachable for everyone, of every level and of every walk of life. She shares this knowledge with her students and other teachers so they can practice and teach wisely, sustainably and mindfully. Her in-person continuing education workshops and online DeConstruct to ReConstruct Course, as well as her 300 hour teacher intensive train teachers to be better informed on yogic philosophy and history, the physical mechanics of the body and how to apply that knowledge to asana, as well as how to ethically lead group classes that are accessible and sensitive to all. Her Yoga Physics mentorship program is helping teachers build on their strengths, while discovering their own unique voices. As a former competitive gymnast, the physical challenges of a rigorous and highly technical yoga practice initially provided Alex with a natural familiarity, but it was yoga’s philosophical concepts and their application to one’s life that were and still remain her driving interest beyond the physical technique of asana. Through a series of significant and unforeseen injuries her practice and teaching has dramatically evolved towards sustainability and accessibility. Alex has spent years researching the reasons that yoga classes and poses are often unsustainable and carry risks for the population who can perform them while also being inaccessible to a large portion of the population.  Moving Forward Years of research, scientific inquiry, self inquiry/scrutiny, development and integration have gone into Alex’s work. The result is an evolved set of techniques and approaches that eliminate the problematic components of physical asana practices and group classes while providing an in-depth understanding of how individual teachers situate themselves within these dynamics. In order to move forwards from the current Western paradigm, Alex’s courses add techniques that retain the qualities students love about yoga classes but allow students to engage in personal inquiry with agency at a much greater depth. The class formats and teaching tools that Alex offers are sustainable and accessible for anyone that wants to take class regardless of circumstance and that teach yoga’s philosophy in real time in an experiential way. Alex’s emphasis on paying attention and her insistence on each individual respecting their own uniqueness encourages them to love and celebrate who they are. It’s this love of their own unique perfection that creates true change in her students so they can connect with more grace to themselves, to others and to the world.

Marque, a US Marine Veteran, long time rock climber and overall outdoor enthusiast, discovered Ashtanga Yoga while seeking different ways to alleviate his lower back pain. After noticing an almost immediate physical change, Marque then slowly began to see other positive changes happening in his life as well. With no Ashtanga teachers in the area, he found himself with no choice but to get up early and practice on his own before work everyday. During this time Marque also attended a 200 teacher training and several Ashtanga workshops and intensives to deepen his understanding of this beautiful system. In the fall of 2014 Marque decided to follow in the footsteps of the teachers that he most respected and applied for study at the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI). Marque was accepted and spent the first 2 months of 2015 in Mysore, India learning under the guidance of R. Sharath Jois. Marque has practiced with Sharath during multipe US tours and has also returned to India each year since and has practiced with both Sharath and Saraswathi. Marque received the blessing (Level 2 Authorization) from Sharath on December 12th, 2017 during his morning practice. Marque is the owner of Great Lakes Ashtanga Yoga, where he runs a full Mysore program, teaches private lessons and hosts workshops. He, his wife and their adopted Indian street dog travel as often as possible to climb or to share yoga with others.

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast with Mary Taylor Freeman Adam discusses food and diet to support a yoga practice. Mary began studying yoga in 1971, soon after she came home from France with a grande diplôme from Julia Child’s cooking school, L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes. She found yoga at first a means of finding equanimity during the stress of University, and it was that thread of balance that got her hooked. It was not until 1988 and finding her primary teacher, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and the Ashtanga Vinyasa system that she experienced the profound and transformative impact that a dedicated and daily practice can have on all aspects of life. She continues to study and practice yoga and Buddhist teachings with great enthusiasm and inquisitiveness, with an eye on how the residue that is produced on the mat (and cushion) through these teachings informs and supports all aspects of everyday life. Mary travels and teaches with Richard and also within the caregiver and hospital setting as part of the core faculty of the Being with Dying program (Upaya Zen Center) and the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Trainings. I In 1988 she co-founded with Richard the Yoga Workshop. Mary is also the author of three cookbooks and the co-author of What Are You Hungry For? Women Food and Spirituality (St. Martins Press) and The Art of Vinyasa (Shambhala Publications).

Dena Kingsberg has been studying and practicing traditional Ashtanga yoga for over 30 years.  She is a devoted long-term student of the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and is among the most respected and senior practitioners and teachers in the world. Dena has a disciplined, yet lyrical style of teaching. Her holistic approach looks beyond external form to inspire a passion for self-discovery and reflection.  She lives with her husband Jack, in the forest in the hinterland, beyond Byron Bay Australia in a stone and recycled timber home that they built with their own hands, over a few decades. Her ashtanga journey began at the age of 21 while she was spending from three to six months of each year in Mysore.  Transformation through the practice was her primary focus. Dena went from primary to intermediate, then all of advanced A with Guruji adding asanas one by one of advanced B until it was completed.  By this time she was the age of 33. Her practice took about 4 ½ hours. After 15 years practice she was blessed with the birth of her first child, Zoli and three years later followed by her brother Izac. Dena believes that the quality of breath relates to quality of life and that to breathe in leads to inspiration, creativity, illumination and awakening.  And that the development of breath capacity and control not only enhances respiratory function but sits at the heart of emotional well being and spiritual connectivity. Chanting is another important element to Dena, one which she has cultivated as a means to connect with divinity beyond and within as a spiritual practice unto itself.  Dena remains committed, deeply inspired and continuously amazed by the vast healing potential of Ashtanga as a life changing practice. She feels that yoga does not promise a life without hardship, sorrow, or pain, but it gives us tools to keep the mind steady through success and failure.

The Happy Pear are Irish twins David and Steve Flynn.  Travelling on opposite sides of the world, they both unknowingly switched to a plant based diet within a week of each other.  Proof of twin power and The Happy Pear seed was sown. They are all about a healthier, happier world. They absolutely love rising early and heading to Greystones beach in County Wicklow, Ireland to catch the sunrise and take a dip in the sea. They appreciate every day and really believe that the key to happiness is good health and a great support network. Now even their parents eat mainly planted based, although mum was first quite offended. The Happy Pear cafe in Greystones has been open for 14 years. The Happy Pear cookbook was a No. 1 bestseller for two years in a row, and outsold Jamie Oliver this Christmas. They now have four cookbooks, a sprout and wheatgrass farm, a coffee roastery, hundreds of employees’ and online courses. On top of that they've launched their own line of vegan food with Waitrose, and are filming for Jamie Olivers’ food channel. The mission is still the same, to create a healthier happier world and build community! Check out their newest book The Happy Pear: Vegan Cooking for Everyone.  You can see more about them on their website https://thehappypear.ie/

David Williams has been practicing yoga daily, without interruption, since 1971. In 1972 while he was at Dr. Swami Gitananda's Ananda Ashram in Pondicherry, South India, he met Manju, the son of K. Pattabhi Jois, and saw him demonstrate the Ashtanga Yoga Primary series. In 1973, he began learning Ashtanga Yoga from K. Pattabhi Jois at his home in Mysore, India. David was one of the first non-Indian students to be taught the complete Ashtanga Yoga system of asanas and pranayama directly from Jois and became one of the first to be certified to teach the Ashtanga Yoga asanas. He was also one of the very few people ever certified by Jois to teach the Ashtanga Yoga pranayama. In 1975 David, along with Nancy Gilgoff organized and sponsored Pattabhi Jois and Manju’s first visit to Encinitas, California and introduced them to America and the western world. David is responsible for teaching the Ashtanga Yoga system to many of the world’s leading teachers and practitioners, including David Swenson, Doug Swenson, Danny Paradise, Cliff Barber, Batiste Marceau, Bryan Kest, Jonny Kest, Clifford Sweatte, Tracy Rich, Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty, Kathy Cooper, and Andrew Eppler. David is 71 years old. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has lived on the island of Maui, Hawaii, since l976. His book My Search For Yoga was 10 years in the making and is his story as a yoga detective from the age of 20. Focusing on the years between 1970 and 1977 throughout Europe, two overland trips to India, and the early days in the Carolinas, Florida, California, and Maui. It includes crazy stories that he has shared in his classes over the years. and highlights the characters who were a part of his journey. The book contains 132 rare color images including photos, original documents of the Ashtanga syllabus and 12 letters from Pattabhi Jois.

Day Christensen took up the practice of yoga in 2004 when she was drawn to the elusive peacefulness and glow that so many yoga practitioners seemed to have. She quickly became drawn to the Mysore style practice of Ashtanga yoga as she recognized that the student’s potential for growth superseded what she had experienced in other styles. Soon began her life was scheduled around her yoga practice, and her late nights and unhealthy habits stopped. After 3 trips to Mysore, Day was given the blessing to teach as an Authorized Level 2 teacher. Due to years of suffering from persistent back pain, Day felt that that the system of learning yoga asanas could be improved. Rather than set the sequences of the Ashtanga system, groups of asanas should be given according to each student’s current and developing postural needs. The DAY1YOGA Method was born: A tailored and customizable practice without posture- or series-hierarchy. This incorporates the element of 1 to 1 instruction of the Mysore style, of 1:1 instruction with each person working according to their own needs, ability, and pace, but with a reassessment of the series and order of postures. There is zero delineation between “advanced” and “beginner” students. Day sees students as just people with issues, all there for the healing and strengthening modality that yoga should be.

Magnus Fridh grew up as a restless child in Karlshamn, Blekinge, in southern Sweden.  When he was seventeen, his life took a surprising and abrupt turn, his family received a visit from Karma, a Tibetan youth they were sponsoring. He was initially sceptical of anything that he deemed ”New Age”. It didn’t take long before he realized the power of both meditation and mindfulness, and as he grew more interested he travelled to India to practice yoga, and later on specialized in Indology. Today, Magnus is one of Sweden’s foremost experts on meditation and well-being. He regularly teaches group Ashtanga yoga, mindfulness and meditation classes. His book THE ART OF STILLNESS IN A NOISY WORLD is a beautifully-packaged, down-to-earth guide. Divided into three parts: The Everyday, in which we learn how to find moments of stillness in daily life; Nature, where we leave the city life behind to ease our tensions; and Meditation, a practical guide to the growing art of meditation. Magnus instils in us that we do not need to make drastic changes to change our lives, but small ones that will collectively increase our creativity, inspiration, and joy. He mixes personal reflections from his own wealth of experience with in-reading tips and suggestions—meaning, you can read and re-read this small guide to find inner calm and train yourself to become a master of stillness in your own life and surroundings. The book has a companion playlist of meditative instrumental music, recorded by Magnus and Night Gestalt, searchable on Spotify under the original Swedish title of the book. Magnus is also one of the founders of the Mindfulness app. The app has become wildly popular around the world, having been translated into 13 languages and involved in a number of ongoing research projects.

Celeste is a trained dancer and martial artist with a BS in Physiotherapy, and over 10 years yoga practice. Her passion has been movement since she was little.  She says she would skip around the living room like she was possessed and loved dance more than life itself. Dance provided her with a movement outlet that loved the fact that she was bendy.  However, as life progressed, however, she found herself in a lot of pain and discovered the cause was hyper-mobility. Celest completed her Yoga Teacher Training in India in 2009 and has been teaching full time since then. Just as hyper-mobility was glorified in dance, it was also glorified in yoga. During her degree in Physiotherapy, she learned simple tools to help make our bodies work at their best. Eager to see changes in the yoga world, she now uses biomechanics and strength training as the backbone of how she teaches. These days her yoga classes and workshops will definitely challenge you, but she believes it’s easier when it’s fun.    

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast Adam talks to Sri Dharma Mittra. A yoga master who has dedicated his life to the karma yoga or selfless service of sharing the accumulated wisdom gained through constant practice and teaching over a half-century at his school in New York and around the world. Sri Dharma Mittra has dedicated most of his life in service to humanity teaching yoga, the ancient knowledge of how to attain radiant health and develop spiritually. Since 1967, he has been teaching classical yoga: advanced postures, Yama and Niyama, and how to lead a content, simple and happy life. Sri Dharma was born in 1939 in the small, remote village of Pirapora, Brazil and was raised Catholic in a poor family of 5 children. In his early teens, he became involved in esoteric teachings and yoga through books his younger brother was studying. From 1958 through 1964, Sri Dharma served in the Brazilian National Air Force and practiced bodybuilding, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In 1962, he took top honors in a national bodybuilding contest, achieved second place in powerlifting and was awarded the title “Mister Minas Gerais” (the state in Brazil he is from). As above, Sri Dharma had only practiced yoga through books in his late teens when his younger brother Sattya went to New York City to meet and commence studies with their future Guru (teacher; spiritual preceptor) in 1962. Sattya wrote to Sri Dharma about Sri Swami Kailashananda a.k.a. Yogi Gupta, and extended an invitation for him to come to New York City, stay with him and meet the man they had both been hoping to meet. Sri Dharma took leave of his mother, left the Air Force, sold the bodybuilding gym he owned and managed, and he gathered together just enough money for the flight to the United States. On September 14, 1964, he and his brother met on MacDougal Street near Sattya’s Leroy Street apartment in the heart of Greenwich Village, filled with the colors of the 1960s. The very next day, Sri Dharma had a private consultation with the Guru with his brother serving as translator. After meeting his Guru, Sri Dharma immersed himself in intense study and practice of the classical Eight Limbs of Yoga and dedicated ten years of his life to the full-time practice of Karma Yoga. After three-and-a-half years, Sri Dharma was initiated as a Sannyasi (one who renounces the world in order to realize God). During his years as a renunciate, he had the esteemed honor of being the personal assistant to the Guru, attending to all his needs. In 1967, Sri Dharma was asked to teach intermediate and advanced classes in Asana (postures) and Pranayama (breathing exercises) at the Yogi Gupta New York Center both for his fellow disciples and the general public. He was also involved with preparing food, manning the juice bar and was the main handyman. Sri Dharma demonstrated Yoga Asana at the lectures the Guru offered to the public in the ’60s and ’70s in hotel ballrooms all around New York City. With Yogi Gupta’s blessings, Sri Dharma left the ashram in 1974 to found the Yoga Asana Center in 1975, known of now as the Dharma Yoga Center. Sri Dharma left the ashram to live his destiny — a life dedicated to sharing and spreading the truth, knowledge and light of God through yoga in the most humble and quiet of ways. Over the years, the Dharma Yoga Center was located at many locations throughout Manhattan. It is currently located on the 6th Floor of 61 West 23rd Street. For many years, Sri Dharma was the only yoga teacher in New York City teaching advanced yoga postures. Teachers from other schools and ashrams have always come to him to learn, practice, and then teach elsewhere. Sri Dharma is truly a sweet, gentle master who sets the greatest example of yoga by living what he teaches and asking nothing in return. He continues to be that same selfless, shining example today.

Kathy Cooper has a consistent daily Ashtanga Yoga practice since 1976. David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff were her primary teachers. They taught her all of the series’ and pranayama.  She studied with Guruji (K Pattabhi Jois) on many of his extended trips to the US, and in Mysore, India. The inherent wisdom of Ashtanga yoga led her on a transformative journey.  Being present in the body through the  connection to the breath and bandhas is the key which unlocks the blocks. Facing herself daily on the mat,  she has opened to the deeper Self releasing the conditioning of the mind and body. Her love of yoga keeps her on the mat daily.  It is my teacher, healer and her fountain of youth.  She feels strong, balanced and happy. The longing for the deeper truth of life has led her to explore  Sufism, Shamanism, Vipassana meditation, and  awake teachers. She has done many retreats over the years. Daily practice has supported this journey impeccably, both in integrating openings and in surrendering to the now. She practices jin shin jyutsu, a type of accupressure which is deeply harmonizing.  It is a perfect accompaniment to yoga. Kathy brings this informed, deep, long-time practice to my teaching, supporting practitioners to  strengthen their core/breath/alignment to correct and avoid injuries and move from the inside.

Richard Freeman has been a student of yoga since 1968, beginning with one simple sitting posture in the Zen tradition. He spent nine years in Asia studying yoga asana, Sufism, Sanskrit language, and Indian philosophical texts. In 1974 he began working with B.K.S. Iyengar, later stumbling upon the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India when he taught a week’s intensive at the Feathered Pipe ranch in Colorado. Richard is well known for being one of the most advanced practitioners of the system to date - having completed The 5th Series with Pattabhi Jois as well as the pranayamas and Sanskrit study. Richard is equally well known for his metaphorical, often humorous, teaching style.  He was the co-founder, with his Mary, of the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, as well as having produced many well regarded practice recordings More recently, he turned his hand to writing has co-authored with Mary, The Mirror of Yoga, The Art of Vinyasa, and Most recently When Love Comes to Light - a fantastic discourse on the Bhagavad Gita. Mary Taylor began studying yoga in 1971, soon after returning from France with a grande diplôme from Julia Child’s cooking school, L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes. She found yoga whilst at university, but in 1988 found her primary teacher, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. She continues to study and practice yoga and Buddhist teachings as well as being passionate about food and diet. Mary travels and teaches with Richard and also within the caregiver and hospital setting as part of the core faculty of the Being with Dying program (Upaya Zen Center) and the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Trainings.  She has authored three cookbooks and is the co-author of What Are You Hungry For?  Women Food and Spirituality as well as working with Richard on the yoga publications.  

Sundernath (Shandor Remete) was fortunate to be born into a household at the southeastern tip of the great Hungarian plain where the art of yoga was a daily presence. From this seed, his destiny on the path of yoga unfolded. He has spent over 60 years pursuing a depth of knowledge about the roots of yoga that very few modern scholars or practitioners have ever achieved. He is an initiate of the Kanpatha Hatha Yogins of Nepal, descendants of Sri Gorakhnath, and his Guru Sri Matsyendranath. These great Yogins were the forefathers of Tantrik Hatha Yoga, the heart of which is Hatha Yoga – the science bestowed on humanity by Adinatha (Lord Shiva). He is the founder of Shadow Yoga.

Anthony “Prem” Carlisi and Heather “Radha” Carlisi came together as a teaching team in Sri Lanka in 2007.  Soon afterwards they taught through Northern Europe and realized that together their combined energies created an even more powerful synergy. Prem had begun writing his book “The Only Way Out is In” in 2006, and with Radha’s help he completed the project in 2007. In 2008, they decided to explore Bali and quickly discovered that Ubud was their new OM away from home. The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute was born in Ubud in 2009. Prem and Radha both had the good fortune to study with Guruji personally for many years. They maintain the traditional system as taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, their beloved Guruji who passed away in May 2009. Prem began learning from Guruji back in 1978. Radha’s Ashtanga journey began by studying with Chuck Miller in 1990 followed by her first trip to Mysore in 1995. They bring to their teaching the individualization that Krishnamacharya taught and passed to Guruji. Working in a personable way, they make the needs of each individual student a priority. Prem is considered a “Doctor of Ayurveda” from his teacher Dr.Vasant Lad and has maintained a deep connection to the practice of Ayurveda as a lifestyle. Radha also has a deep interest in Ayurveda, particularly in the area of food and nutrition. She has studied with Maya Tiwari and Amadea Morningstar and she credits Paul Pitchford , the author of Healing with Whole Foods, as being a big inspiration. She shares her love of Ayurvedic cooking on a regular basis with cooking classes and as nutritional guidance in consultations. You can find them on their website at www.ashtangayogabali.com

David Keil was introduced to yoga in 1989 by his Tai Chi Chuan teacher. From 1999 to 2003 David was an instructor of Kinesiology (the study of movement and musculoskeletal anatomy) at Miami’s Educating Hands School of Massage where he developed a fun, informal and informative style of teaching. As he taught incoming students with no prior understanding of anatomy, David was confronted with the problem of making such a complex and beautiful system accessible and understandable to the average person. In 1999 he was introduced to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. It was in 2001 whilst presenting his anatomy workshops for the first time overseas in Penzance, UK that he first met John Scott. Two weeks practicing with John was transformational and he realized that he had found his teacher. This began a relationship of both teacher/student as well as a collaborative colleague relationship that continues today. John advised David to go to Mysore, India the following year, which he did. David arrived in Mysore in 2002 where he studied with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in the “old” shala. In fact, it was the last year that the old shala was used for practice. David was authorized in 2004 and returned yearly for extended visits to Mysore with his wife Gretchen Suarez. They are both Authorized Level 2

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast I talk to Kimberley Flynn, known as Kiki. Kiki began yoga practice in 1982 whilst she was studying for a degree in the moving Arts and theatre at NYU. In 1993 she discovered Ashtanga Yoga when Pattabhi Jois came to New York at the Jivamukti school where she was practicing and teaching.  His visit made a huge impact and in that same year she took her first trip to Mysore. Over the years she made 13 trips to Mysore, sometimes staying for up to 6 months, and once just for 3 days to see Pattabhi Jois the week he passed away. This was at a time when there were only a few students, maybe 14 in the shala and Kiki developed a close relationship with Pattabhi Jois and his family. She even took trips with the family including one back to his boyhood village. Kiki later moved to LA and opened her own shala where she hosted Pattabhi Jois twice.  She is also renowned for her chanting and has released 2 cds with her teacher Jayashree from Mysore. Kiki is now a mentor and coach to many.  She shares her perspective as yoga in the broadest sense spanning not only asana but also all things lifestyle. She is a remarkable person who has led a colourful life, including being approached 3 times by the CIA as a recruit. She now lives on a boat on the Hudson River and recently set the record for the longest held downward dog.  It was my pleasure to speak with Kiki. You can find more about her on her website www.kikinyc.com Instagram @kiki_says And her You Tube channel Kiki Says where she shares tips on just about anything you can imagine.

Andrew Eppler is the Director of Ashtanga Yoga Studio in Norman Oklahoma as well as the producer and director of the Mysore Yoga Traditions film. Yoga and been a life-long journey for Andrew and he has been practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga for over 3 decades. He had the unique experience of growing up with the practice and witnessed its evolution into world culture first-hand. Andrew has spent many years studying the philosophy of the Nathamuni Sampradaya tradition that Sri Krishnamacharya belonged to. He has developed an approach to teaching physical postures that fits the modern paradigm. He’s done this with the help and support of senior Sanskrit professors and the Royal Family of Mysore who began the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition. While staying grounded in traditional ideas about philosophy and the sequences of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, Andrew believes that there is inevitable evolution in yoga practice.  He uses a "global fusion" of techniques. Andrew is constantly researching different methods, comparing techniques from yoga communities around the world as he travels, and refining them to create the best approach possible in his own teaching. We hope you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Andrew Eppler. You can see more about him on his website.

Welcome to the  Keen on Yoga Podcast with Mark Robberds. Mark went to his first Yoga class in 1997 (it was a mix of Ashtanga and Iyengar) and was hooked from the first day. In 1998 he started to learn Iyengar Yoga from Nicky Knoff (at the time one of Australia’s most distinguished Iyengar teachers)and James Bryant, and this is where he committed to living the Yoga way of life. Later that year he started Mysore style classes with Eileen Hall and Peter Sanson in Sydney. In 1999 he travelled in north India for two months before going to Mysore to learn from Pattabhi Jois for three months. As fate would have it later that year he ended up back in Sydney and started his teaching apprenticeship with Mathew Sweeney, and then Eileen Hall until 2005. During that time he took courses in anatomy and physiology, practiced extensively with Simon Borg-Olivier. He made yearly trips to Mysore, and learned from other teachers like Shandor Remete and Dena Kingsberg. At the time he was teaching the biggest Mysore program in Australia, as well as beginners courses, corporate classes, and privates. In 2005 I turned down an offer to manage the Yoga studio and decided that in order to truly understand Yoga and to reach my full potential in life I needed more life experiences. I sold all my possessions and took to the road, first to Vipassana in Thailand and then to practice with Rolf Naujokat. Over the next eight years, he taught Mysore programs in Singapore, NYC, Sydney, and Tokyo, before moving on to teach retreats and workshops all over the world. He continued to make annual trips to Mysore to study with R.Sharath and was Certified by him in 2010. He was also doing yearly three-week silent retreats with his teacher, Hatha Yogi, Clive Sheridan in India. In 2013 he attended Richard Freeman’s teacher training in Boulder, Colorado. In that year he decided that it was time to focus more on teaching workshops so that he could reach and help more people and spent the next four years traveling extensively while continuing with the yearly trips to Mysore to practice and also to study Yoga philosophy with Prof. Nagaraj Rao. In 2015 he began to explore other movement practices – first gymnastics and handstands as a student of Ido Portal. In 2016 he began learning hand-balancing from Yuval Ayalon and Miguel Santana. He now integrates the movement approach into his teaching. In 2017, Mark and his wife taught their first one-month immersion in Bali and in 2018 made Bali home. Currently, he and his wife Deepika are in her native India due to the Covid-19 situation.  We hope you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast with Mark, you can see more details on his website and follow him on Instagram.

Adam talks to Kristina Karitinou.   Kristina has been teaching the tradition of Pattabhi Jois since 1991.  She was qualified as an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga teacher by her late husband Derek Ireland, authorized by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and certified by his son, Manju Pattabhi Jois in 2012. After many years of assisting Derek Ireland around the world, Kristina became one of the first Ashtanga teachers in Europe. While living in the UK she was the main teacher of the Ashtanga Yoga community at the Natural Health Centre in Brighton and the first to teach the method at Brighton’s Evolution Centre. In 2001, Kristina and Michael Anastassiades established the Yoga Practice in London. Upon her return to Greece, Kristina’s focus shifted to the education of future Ashtanga yoga teachers and has since spread Derek Ireland’s teachings all over Europe, Asia and Latin America. For the past few years she has been actively involved in the practice of Zen chanting and sitting under the guidance of Zen Master Hyon Gak Sunim. Brought up in an artistic family, Kristina keeps herself in touch with her creative side and believes that knowledge, practice, meditation, arts, music, therapy, healing, healthy relationships, nutrition, nature are the vital elements to a balance life. As a teacher, Kristina respects and appreciates the honest efforts of practitioners, their choices and the influence of their own teachers. Her mission is to support the Ashtanga method and community with honesty and devotion. Kristina considers herself honoured to belong to the Ashtanga Lineage. She believes that teachers and Gurus belong to the lineage and not the other way around. Kristina’s work is a continuation of Derek Ireland’s teaching principles and techniques. Derek Ireland was one of the first students of Sri K Pattabhi Jois and is considered one of the most important yoga teachers of our era, having spread the Ashtanga method to and across Europe. Kristina’s work is dedicated to him. Kristina is currently living on the beautiful island of Crete where her yoga studio is also located. She teaches the Primary, Intermediate and Advanced A Sequence of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and offers classes, workshops, retreats and teacher training courses all year long around the world. You can see more about Kristina on her website.

Joey Miles got into yoga early whilst studying for his degree in drama at Goldsmiths University in London. Starting practice in 1998, he assisted Hamish Hendry at Ashtanga YOGA London whilst also developing his practice with him. In 2004 he was authorised by Pattabhi Jois to teach Ashtanga and led the Mysore program at the well esteemed triyoga in Primrose Hill at that time. In 2009 he relocated to Leeds in the north of England where he established Ashtanga Yoga Leeds.  In 2014, after numerous trips to Mysore he competed the Advanced A series with Sharah, a remarkable and rare accomplishment.  Joey teaches with renowned enthusiasm and attention to detail. Outside of teaching his other passion is music. He has 3 children, combining a dedication to his own practice and teaching with a hectic family schedule.

Leslie has been described by himself as a ‘yoga educator’, and by others as a ‘yoga cowboy’.  This is a very appropriate term, as he really does interest himself in every aspect of yoga; its anatomy, practice, teaching as well as its philosophy. He is a courageous, honest and unconventional thinker in the yoga-world which is really needed now more than ever. Having started practice in the 1970s, he later spent a long period as a student of TKV Desikachar (the son of Krishnamacharya - father of modern toga). Having done his time within traditional studies, he went on to co-author with Amy Matthews ‘Yoga Anatomy’, a book that has sold over a million copies worldwide. He also founded the influential ‘The Breathing Project’, and New York Studio.  He now teaches from the wealth of his personal experience accumulated in a lifetime dedicated to yoga informed by his uniquely personal approach.

Lucy began her interest in a more holistic approach to life working from 1990 as a massage therapist and aromatherapist in London. On her way to work one day she was intrigued to see a long line of people queuing down the road with yoga mats to get into an adjacent building. She joined them and this is how she began her study of Yoga with the hugely popular Derek Ireland and Radha Warrell visiting London to teach an Ashtanga workshop.   Shortly after, Lucy travelled to Mysore, India to begin her studies with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. In 1995 Lucy received authorisation to teach. This was the same year she started a family with John Scott whom she met on her first trip to Mysore. Lucy was an instrumental contributor to the book Ashtanga Yoga with Lino Miele. Long before the internet, this was the first of its kind in recording the vinyasa count that so qualifies the practice. Lucy currently leads Ashtanga workshops in the UK and internationally.  She is baed in Devon where she is a craniosacral tutor at the Karuna Institute. Years of experience in holistic boydwork and ashtanga yoga define Lucy's gentle and profound energy when teaching.

Petri Raisanen is a well known figure in the Ashtanga yoga world. Practicing since 1989 and teaching since '91, this is not without reason. His wealth of experience is also based on his training in traditional Finnish folk healing he undertook from a young age in his native country.  His adjustments are the stuff of legend. Gently profound and without a hint of cliche - energetic. As well as this, he has co-authored 2 books with Pattabhi Jois and Sharathji, the first Ashtanga Yoga (2005) on the Primary Series, and Nadi Shodhana (2008), on the Intermediate. These are beautifully photographed as well as uniquely instructional - almost no one else has had the privilege or this rare collaboration.  Yet, Petri remains humble, quiet and self-effacing. He attributes this to his Finnish culture, but we still find him as a man, as well as a teacher, quite remarkable. 

Ajay grew up in a traditional Hindu family in Delhi where from a young age he was exposed to the yoga scriptures as well as visiting Sadhus. Intrigued by yoga as well as having developed a breathing difficulty. from his late-teens he sought out and practiced with many hatha yoga teachers. It was only 10 years later, around 2010 he finally found himself in Mysore, knowing nothing about Ashtanga yoga. But knowing he wanted a more methodical style of guidance in his practice. Since then he has progressed quickly through the Ashtanga series which he learnt with Sharathji Jois from the very beginning. And including a good part of advanced B series in his practice. He received level 2 authorisation from Sharathji. Ajay ran a regular Mysore program in Delhi until recently. He is currently residing in Siberia with his wife Olga and their young son. He now (when he can) teaches workshops internationally.

Yuval was a professional gymnast and member of the Israeli national gymnastic team. In his late 30s he retired from gymnastics and after trying his hand at corporate life, decided to put his skills to use as a circus performer. Having been turned down by Cirque de Soleil not for his gymnastic ability (even though he was unusually old for the auditions), but for his dance skills, he spent some time practicing this aspect as a street performer before landing a job with ‘La Reve’ a circus act based in Las Vegas.  This has flowed quite naturally after he retired from performing, through many request that he teach the art of handstands. He now travels around the world teaching on average one workshop a week. Across many different cultures and languages he brings people together through what seems almost an innate desire to balance on our hands.

Matthew Sweeney was introduced to yoga by his martial arts teacher and in 1994 he went to Mysore for the first time and returned there regularly up until 2006.  Since 1998 his personal practice has included “Advanced B", or 4th Series, and he has also explored much of Advanced C. He began teaching Ashtanga Yoga in 1996, however over time his teaching style has shifted somewhat from a standard orthodox approach to something that he feels is more holistic. He has developed his own vinyàsa sequences that he promotes and teaches as suitable alternatives to the standard series and are conducted to encourage students to apply a therapeutic approach to their personal practice and to encourage an adventurous heart. He has spent the last 20 years practicing different forms of self-inquiry, including meditation, tantra, Gestalt Therapy, Transpersonal Therapy, Transforming Cellular Memory, Buddhism and advaita vedanta. All of these have contributed greatly to his understanding of yoga and the connection between the body, Self, and the Divine. You can find more details about Matthew on his website.

Simon is a true innovator. His style of yoga, yoga synergy is a very thoughtful integration of a number of south-Asian practices under the roof of yoga. Having been introduced to the benefits of controlling breath at a very young age, he has spent his life learning and teaching sciences of movement - now for almost 40 years. He combines this work with a firm foundation in Western medicine; having completed his 3rd MSc, he lectures and researches on physiotherapy at a couple of Universities in his native Australia.

Gregor has had a profound influence on the modern practice of Ashtanga yoga through his seminal book Ashtanga Yoga Practice in Theory, published at a time when most of us thought technique in yoga was just pushing as hard as we could against our limitations. His anatomical approach to the Ashtanga system has been indescribably beneficial, as has his attempts to frame the asana part of Ashtanga that we often take as the sum-total of our yoga practice, back within its original, broader context as only one of Patanjali’s eight limbs. Gregor lives a life of yoga in earnest. Having embarked on this path whilst still a teen in his native Germany, his inquiry led him to many years of study in various yogic traditions travelling widely throughout the subcontinent of India. He now lives in Australia with his wife and fellow teacher Monica Gauci with whom he has co-written many of his books.  

Alex runs a yoga retreat for those in recovery from drug and alcohol addition up in the Norwegian mountains, which is where he was when I interviewed him, so excuse any small sound blips.  This is just another incarnation of what has been a most remarkable life, starting off as a national boxing champion in his teens he then became a professional ballet dancer, before finally discovering yoga and literally living in Mysore, India for many years, where he bought a house and completed a Masters in Sanskrit. Alex is both an advanced yoga asana practitioner, as well as a most knowledgeable yoga scholar. He was Certified in 2007 by Pattabhi Jois to teach the Ashtanga method.

Edwin is a professor of Indology at Rutgers University, New Jersey. He is the author of seven books including a highly popular translation of The Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali. He is also, unusually for an academic, a devoted practitioner of Bhakti Yoga in the Vaishnite tradition. Originally British, he travelled extensively around India in the late 1979’s after leaving University after only 1 year of study. Now an established academic, he has lived in the US for many years, teaching internationally as well as being involved in many charitable projects.

David is a legend within Ashtanga yoga.  Probably the inventor of the ‘yoga in nature’ photo with his seminal book Ashtanga Yoga Practice Manual’, he has been a shining light of inspiration spreading Ashtanga yoga across the globe for the last 30 years or so. He is well known for his formidable ability in practise, but equally so for the way he makes the complex and demanding practise of Ashtanga yoga appear possible, even fun. Speaking as one of the earliest students to arrive in Mysore, he is remarkably non-dogmatic about the tradition he learnt so early on. He refers to himself instead as an ‘asana waiter’ bringing students the help they need in the postures as opposed to following rigidly to rules.

Geeta is a wonderfully relatable teacher and guide in what is a highly complicated, subtle and ancient art. Having quit a corporate career, she returned back to her roots to consider and dive further into aspects of her upbringing that she had deeply connected with when young. Geeta's book Ancient Wisdom for Modern Wellbeing is an excellent and recommended overview of Ayurveda, and how you can use it in modern times. She is a highly sought after (and one of only a handful) of Ayurvedic therapists treating in London, UK, with a long list of clients who work with her as a lifestyle-guide in the widest sense as she incorporates Ayurveda into living in the modern world.

Stu is best known for his natural, humorous, and self-effacing interview style, interviewing the world's most loved yoga teachers whilst working as massage therapist at Purple Valley Yoga, in Goa, India. But, more than this he is an incredibly knowledgeable and engaging teacher of yoga anatomy as well as ashtanga yoga practitioner himself, making him much in demand on yoga teacher trainings around the world, including the Keen on Yoga YTT starting in October 2020. With a breath of knowledge as well as an open, nondogmatic approach, Stu is a wealth of information on how to best approach finding a way to maintain a traditionally based yoga practise, so as it still works for the particular demands of the individual.

Guy is a remarkably reflective practitioner and teacher of yoga in its widest context. He has been able to bridge the often gaping chasm of Ashtanga Yoga as taught in Mysore yoga as a particular method and reach into the territory of yoga as a deep way of looking and relating to life. A philosopher and deeply compassionate soul, his teaching carries the energy of the wish to bring out the deepest level of personal relation an individual can gain with themselves. To this end he has a practical and particular application of the practice to suit each person, his emphasis being finally always on the state of meditation that is the highest aim of Yoga. Guy teaches in New York having grown up in the UK. He has also spent many years in India and is certified to teach the Ashtanga method. He is passionate about nature, stating that it was the experience of the peace of being in nature that drew him to yoga and his focus with it.

Alessandro’s striking yoga images are now well known. But, it was never intentional, when I first met him in Mysore he had just quit his job in advertising to devote some time to studying yoga. It happened, however, he had a fantastic eye and a way to bring out the best in people, so he was soon inundated with yoga teachers wanting to work with him. However, he has never lost his humility, or neither his integrity. Over the years Alessandro has been outspoken on breaking down the divisions in showing the value in a whole range of body-centred modalities though working with top athletes across the globe. His openness and his wish for understanding and a deeper respect of the human body full-stop comes through strongly in his person as well as his work. His images of the human body are honest, compassionate and affirmative.

Known simply as ‘Darby’ to his students, it is truly his crystal-clear, paired-down delivery that makes him a uniquely effective teacher. With Darby there is no room for clutter or flourishes, he delivers his knowledge in the most precise and pragmatic way making the profound depth of insight he has profoundly accessible.    Having been one of the first students of Pattabhi Jois in Mysore in the 1970’s where he lived for 4 years along with his wife Joanne (and where they also had 2 children), the wisdom he has to share reflects his early contact with the Ashtanga system amongst Western-teachers, as well as his length of years he has now practiced it.   His insights speak as a testament to what the practice can do, opening out through a deep understanding of method into a space beyond the mind.

David Robson is a leading light amongst the newer generation of yoga teachers. He is uniquely gifted with an impressive technical knowledge and great ability, yet he balances that with a deep humility and respect for preserving the tradition of Ashtanga yoga. Not only this, he has a great sense of humour. He is then a deeply refreshing voice amongst teachers and very much his own person, with strong beliefs and conviction, yet tempered with a softness and self-awareness that marks him out as one to really listen to, as much for his ideas, as for his down to earth, relatable manner.

Laruga is one of few students to have achieved Certification in the Ashtanga yoga system after completing Advanced A with Sharathji in Mysore.     She is an internationally renowned practitioner and teacher known for her precise technical knowledge and profound strength of practice. On the other hand she is also a deep thinker and feeler; something that comes across strongly here, as she talks about her journey from cheerleading to Ashtanga yoga and applying yoga philosophy as to dealing with the challenges of everyday life.

David is an inspiring light of the Yoga world. He has been practicing yoga since he was 16 and has a breadth of knowledge that spans across yoga most generally. From his understanding of Bhakti Yoga shown in his well-known Kirtans, to his wildly personal and vibrant take on yoga-philosophy, and finally, to his open-minded and minutely thought-our approach to yoga-asanas and the science of vinyasa, he is a wholly unique and much-loved teacher. In this podcast we discuss a range of topics such as diet for yoga, what to do about injuries and the evolving nature of practice.

Harmony Slater is one out of two Female certified Ashtanga teachers in Canada. This means she has completed and has been accredited to teach advanced series - an honour very few teachers have achieved. Furthermore, she is a mother and graduate of Philosophy and Religion. She is therefore, well placed to help students of yoga on their journey; one that she herself has been on for the last 25 yrs, having also taught for most of those. She occupies a rare position with similarly unique insight on the subject of practice and teaching, combining a down to earth approach within a clear and thoughtful style of presentation.

Welcome to the Keen on Yoga podcast. Why do we need another yoga podcast? This offering is unique in presenting the practical wisdom of some of the most esteemed yoga-teachers, spiritual-thinkers and holistic practitioners. It is not an attempt at presenting information, ideology or pedagogy, but a sharing of how our attempts to live and love better; with more awareness, honesty and skill actually look and translate in the reality of the modern world.