In this episode, Mark sits down (over Zoom) with his dear long-time friend Ana Berry: musician, media presenter, actress, Yoga teacher and mother.

Ana describes growing up in Oklahoma and the saving influence of jazz and gospel, and the imprint of culture upon her mother as a beauty queen and TV personality.

From Hollywood to New York, her search for Yoga that didn’t just exacerbate body self-hatred culminated in meeting Mark in a class in LA, followed by initiation into the ancient roots of Yoga with Mark at the Kumbh Mela in India.

What does Yoga look like when taken out of these deep usual patterns of “I’m not good enough, I need to be skinnier / fitter / stronger / younger / smoother / more flexible / happier / better”?
What is missing from the vast majority of Yoga classes in terms of NOT breaking these social patterns?
Ana tells the story of becoming a mother and embracing the unexpected twists and turns of life — how when it doesn’t go to plan, sometimes it goes better.
Yogis are not made on assembly lines — what does it look like to be a genuine teacher and practitioner in Oklahoma?
What does it look like to release the mind’s plans, and embrace the unexpected?
And the thing that everyone needs to know, how do we communicate Yoga to our partners, and why is that so important?

Ana Berry Yoga Teacher, Singer, Mantrika and co-owner of the Bhakti House, Tulsa IG and FB: @wholebodyprayer

Video version on YouTube

Encounters at the Kumbha Mela with Mark Whitwell:

Bali moments

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