No Such Thing as A Thoughtless State: Embracing Presence Over Ideals in Yoga with Eva Košćak

Nov 27, 2023

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

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

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

Keypoints:

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

Memorable Quotes

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

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

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

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