Live from Varanasi! The Gently Down Project on Talismans, Ritual Objects, and Ashtanga Yoga

In the latest episode of Escaping Samsara, I sit down with Spiros Antonopoulos and Barry Silver in person on the banks of the Ganga River in Varanasi to explore their incredible project, Gently Down: Bathed, Beaten, and Blessed — a 20-year journey of artistic and spiritual collaboration rooted in the sacred energies of the Ganga and the Maha Kumbh Mela festival.

Spiros and Barry first met as yoga students in New York City, unaware that their paths would intertwine for decades, leading them back—again and again—to the ancient flow of India’s most sacred river. 

We discuss: 🔹 The power of consecration—how objects, spaces, and even moments can be transformed into sacred vessels 🔹 The ritual journey of Bathed, Beaten, and Blessed 3.0 at the Kumbh Mela festival 🔹 How purification, intention, and devotion anchor us in deeper realities 🔹 The intersection of yoga, esoteric traditions, and artistic expression