The Heart of Yoga

Ryan Stanley is the Heart of Yoga in San Diego. He teaches from the heart to the heart of everybody. The message from UG Krishnamurti that "there is nothing to be liberated from" hit him like a tonne of bricks, and since then he has been restructuring his practice, yoga studio and teaching around this whole-body realisation.    Here he talks with Mark about the transition from 'yoga sales' to yoga instructor to an actual Yoga Teacher, sincerely caring about self and others. He has managed to bring all the other styles and put them into the context of the breath principles that Krishnamacharya, grandfather of modern yoga, actually taught. They discuss this and survival during the pandemic, and yoga in the midst of family life.    Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a voice question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast

Mark sits down with long-time friend and German Yogini Sybille Schlegel to reflect on many things, including the dreadful shadow of war in Europe, with its grim echoes of the past. Sybille draws on her background in history and present role as co-founder and teacher of Hatha Vinyasa Parampara Studio in Mainz. A student of Sanskrit, she talks about the journey from conscientious western academic to whole-body understanding.  Sybille speaks about discovering the principles of Krishnamacharya and the implications for her teaching and community, the influence of the sage Nisargadatta Maharaj, and the impact of yoga on all relationships.  As well as co-founding and teaching at her yoga school in Mainz, Sybille writes a monthly column for Yoga Journal Germany, and has co-facilitated the 'Good Vibes' Yoga Festival in Darmstadt. She has hosted Heart of Yoga teacher trainings in Mainz for many years & has been instrumental in introducing so many good people to their breath & embodied experience.  More info on the school at www.hathavinyasa-schule.de

From the banks of the holy Ganga to the East Village, Manhattan, Jeremiah Brimlow and Mark’s friendship has flourished. Jeremiah is a bridge of the ancient world to the modern times, of east and west, but also of the early days of yoga arriving in New York City to the current situation. Mark and Jeremiah reflect on the shifts they have seen, on the legacy of the US counterculture, and staying in the pure essence of spirituality in a confused world of spiritual business. Jeremiah is the Urban Angel because he does just that.     In this episode you will hear...   03:00 Jeremiah and Mark talk of New York, Lineage and staying pure and true to the vision of truth.   11:00 Giving others opportunity to become greater, and to disappoint. Knowing and following your true path. A Hippie heritage.   21:00 Finding ways to work together, and change the paradigm of living. Getting caught in nonsensical systems, and the systems are down. Hope.   36:00 There was always Yoga, and a culture that could be. Being downwardly mobile, and relating to every human with openness.   50:00 Feeding only one third of the belly. The posture of gluttony. One arm up.   64:00 Teaching, shared energy and finding a new perspective on the practice.   Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Malika Warda is a mystic Yogini poet currently residing in the land of ancient light, Western Australia, and co-founder of the extraordinary yoga, meditation and sound healing studio Cntrspace in Perth. She is the author of a book of poetry by the same name, a photographer, and a deep explorer of the human experience, drawing on her Yogic, Palestinian and Australian Indigenous heritage. Malika and Mark speak about her journey to find the real depth Yoga offers, the impact of finding it on her relationships with self and others, the unfolding of a profound yogic sexuality, and healing the mass social repression of the feminine. You will hear how relatively quickly when a person receives yoga, transmission into local community can occur. Malika is a wonderful example of a yoga teacher of these recent times.  You can find Malika on IG @malika.abuwarda___ and in person teaching at her studio in north Perth at Cntrespace. In this episode you will hear... 03.30 How, where and why Mark & Malika met. A pivotal time in Malika's life. Finding more to Yoga. 08:00 Actual Yoga happening in and around Malika and her practice. Results and friendships. 12:00 Finding strength, beauty and form as the feminine. A process shown and shared. A feminine force repressed. 17:00 Empowered utterances of Yogic realizations. Sexual intimacy and freedom from patterning. 25:00 Spiritual wisdom was packaged as a mechanism of male authority. Adding value and actualization of a real Yoga practice. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

What is the relationship between Yoga and religion? Following on from last week’s episode with Janet Marshall talking about Yoga and Catholicism, this week we are honoured to be joined by Devaraj from Chennai, speaking from his perspective about the relationship between religion and Yoga.  Is Yoga Hinduism? How do the two intersect? Devaraj was born and lives in the city where Krishnamacharya and his son TKV Desikachar taught for many years, and where they established the Krishanamacharya Yoga Mandiram, there to this day. He holds a fascinating perspective on Yoga and how it has empowered his devotional life. Mark and Devaraj discuss what happened once he started practicing yoga. In Krishnamacharya’s scholarly view, the entire Hindu world should be given yoga as the most vital part of their devotional life. They discuss the lineage from Ramanuja Acharya to Krishnamacharya and the temple in Chennai. 04:00 What got a man from Krishnamacharya's home town involved with The Heart of Yoga. Discovering the practice of the unitary movement. In this episode you will hear... 13:00 ''The whole of Hindu India should be given Yoga as the most vital part of devotional life''. From a life of seeking to a life of being present. How subtle changes affected home and work life. 28:00 Mark and Devaraj discuss stories of how aspects of Hindu society combined with Yogic ideas affect life and family relations. 39:00 Devaraj takes Krishnamacharya and Desikachar's book to the ancient temple of Ramanujar for blessing, as a Yoga participant and not a seeker. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Mark Whitwell discusses with Yoga Teacher Janet Marshall of California the process of becoming a Yogini and Transmitter of Yoga. Janet talks about how Yoga helped her to actually understand for herself what was being talked about in the sacred text of her religious culture. They discuss going beyond the restrictions of the usual life, and surviving getting lost in the sea of Yoga knowledge and coming back to the simplicity of the heart.Janet Marshall is a mother of three and Yoga Teacher in Southern California, and is deeply versed in Yoga philosophy and the Yoga therapy traditions that grew from Krishnamacharya and Desikachar’s work. She is a full-time teacher of Yoga,  cares deeply for all her students and is a profound force of nurturing in her community. She co-founded the Heart of Yoga non-profit in the US back in the 2000s and has worked tirelessly to help make Yoga accessible to all. Thank you Janet. In this episode you will hear... 04:00 Discovering Yoga from the position of a ''faithful'' person. Conflict with the church. 16:00 Truth is not a point of view. 25:00 No longer being attracted to the promise of salvation. Spirit baptism. 40:00 Innocently born into a very restricted world. Leaving a marriage of 20 years. 55:00 The importance of repetition. ''Pain is healing.'' 60:05 Working with advanced aging people. Be who you are and teach what you know. Yoga therapy. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.  

Ilil is the Heart behind Tali Tali collective, a social enterprise to nurture indigenous weaving traditions (tali tali means weaving) and create income for rural women, including here on Taveuni island, Fiji. Rosalind speaks with her about Tali Tali, the extraordinary hand made Yoga mats they are helping bring to the world, and the "Woven Village" program just completed, which included teaching yoga in the rural indigenous villages of Taveuni Island. Ilil talks about the joys and challenges of adapting Yoga to the needs of the women, being sensitive to Christian culture and traditional village culture.  We also talk about the new (ancient) way of being of service, beyond the "do-gooders high" or imposing anything on communities, and how instead it can be about learning together, sharing tools.  This will be a fascinating listen for anyone working with communities new to Yoga or suspicious to Yoga, as well as anyone suspicious of the plastic commodity known as the "yoga mat" and wondering what to do about that. And just inspiring in general as a story of having a positive dream, and making it happen despite all obstacles (like no planes going to Fiji).  Please go to www.talitali.org to see/order the beautiful mats, read more about the project, and donate if you have the means! You can also follow on Instagram @talitali_tribe. In this episode you will hear... 02:00 Ilil Lunkry's background, weaving, living and being. The birth of Tali Collective. Creating an empowerment program. 11:00 Working around the suspicion of Yoga as witchcraft, Christian sides of the community, putting the program together starting with Yoga. 29:00 Tantra, to weave and to bring things together, sacred gestures. What is weaving? How to weave Yoga mats from plants. 40:00 The community response to the program. Bringing the sexes together. Empowered women speaking their minds, and bring the program to the rest of the world. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.  

Ronan Tang and Xi Zhu are a bridge for humanity between East and West, master translators and facilitators of the Heart of Yoga in China. Together they facilitate the unity of ancient wisdom traditions. What is the relationship between Daoism and Veda, between Yoga and Chinese Traditional Wisdom practices? What is the relationship of ha-tha yoga to the yin and yang of the Dao? How does Tai Chi relate to Yoga? Ronan and Xi are the living examples of the answers to these questions in China, dear friends bringing together the wisdom traditions of their culture with those of their neighbour/sister country India. Together they speak with Mark and Rosalind about their process of "whole body translation", the story of working together for the last 15 years, why Chinese students adapt to "Yoga of participation" so easily, and their experience of how these teachings can bypass all techniques and bring harmony to relationship. They also discuss how Chinese characters such as 放松 (fàngsōng, relax) and 樂 (lè, yuè – joy, music) reveal insights especially relevant for Yoga practitioners.   If you are a Mandarin speaker/reader and would like more information on the community in China, online gatherings etc, get in touch with rosalind@heartofyoga.com.   In this episode you will hear... 02:30 Let go of the idea of relaxation. The Dao is precious. 06.00 What is the meaning of Yin and Yang. 11.00 Cutting through the panic for knowledge. Passing on the teachings in China. 19:00 Doubt, the power of the cosmos and realizations. 26:00 Working with B. K. S. Iyengar. Tools of needles, herbs and Yoga. 34:00 Yin, Yang and wisdom are deeply engrained in the DNA of the Chinese. 40:00 Ronan and Xi speak of Yoga and relationship(s). The Flower doesn't advertise it's own perfume. 48:00 Cultivating the best medicine from within, the intelligence of the body, and the students. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Jessica Patterson is the founder and director of Root Centre for Yoga and Sacred Studies, which she offers to the world from her home in Colorado Springs, USA. Jessica is someone who has managed to successfully keep the heart in Yoga. She escaped the "Yoga Industrial Complex," and continues to teach purely as the force of nurturing in local community — and beyond.   Jessica speaks with Mark about keeping the Centre going through the pandemic, whilst always acknowledging that "Yoga is Not Commercial Activity". This episode will be heart-food for all practitioners and teachers "swimming against the stream" of commercialism and hegemonic co-optation of the sacred traditions, and navigating the demands of students with warped expectations of what yoga is. She also explains her ground-breaking "Untrainings," and how Yoga functions for students as an unlearning process, rather than the hoarding of more knowledge.     Online educational programs and more information at https://www.rootdownandgrow.com/root-teachers/jessica-patterson/   In this episode you will hear...   01:00 The introduction. 05:00 Ancient arrowheads, wandering the ancient worlds. Trespassers and relationship. 12:00 A white trespasser v's indigenous wisdom. Traceable lines of trauma. The opposite of memory. 25:00 Pain is a function of mother nature. Don't meditate or meditate your way out of it. Un-training. 40:00 We should be falling on or knees on the mere sight of each other. Our bodies are not franchises. Yoga is not about the teacher. It's about the student. 50:00 The transition from instructor to teacher with a capitol T. Being here and being hair. When you're full you're a terrible consumer. Confronting patents. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Yoga is not seeking for a future idealism. Yoga is participation in the given Reality (capital R). The beauty, the wonder, the power, the harmony that is intrinsic to your life. Yoga is not to use the body or the mind to seek. Yoga is to give the body and all ordinary conditions over to the capital-R Reality, which is its context. The collaboration of great luminaries has freed yoga from the unnecessary struggle that leaves so many people injured or disappointed. Mark and Rosalind discuss the implications of Yoga without struggle.  In this episode you will hear... 01:20 Fish don't know what water is. What is reality? What is Yoga without struggle? 09:00 Yoga is giving over to life as it actually is. 16:00 Wandering around India. Finding authenticity. 24:00 Every movement taught by that system is like an expression, like a dance. 33:00 The body is for giving over to its actual condition...the cosmos. 44:00 Negative associations of sacred texts. 57:00 Yoga should be actual, natural and non obsessive. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a question for a future episode, you can do so here: https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast You can find more from the Heart of Yoga on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.