CHITHEADS with Jacob Kyle (Embodied Philosophy)

In this episode, Philipp and Jacob discuss his research on classical Indian literature and the historiography of yoga.  You will learn about: The role of British colonization and yoga history The Patanjali Yoga Shastra (Yoga Sutra) authorship and its connection to other texts The attempts to translate the text The difference between the original authorial intention and our contemporary relationship to it The relationship of the modern asana practice and the Yoga Shas Philipp André Maas is currently a research associate at the Institute for Indology and Central Asian Studies, University of Leipzig and was previously an assistant professor at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. He received his M.A. (1997) and Dr. phil. (2004) degrees from the University of Bonn, Germany, where he studied Indology, Comparative Religious Studies, Tibetology and Philosophy. His first book (originally his PhD thesis) is the first critical edition of the first chapter (Samādhipāda) of the Pātañjala Yogaśāstra, i.e. the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjalitogether with the commentary called Yoga Bhāṣya. He published, inter alia, on classical Yoga philosophy and meditation as well as on the textual tradition of the Pātañjala Yogaśāstra. For the last couple of years, he worked in several research projects directed by Prof. Karin Preisendanz (at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and at the University of Vienna, Austria) that aim at a critical edition of the third book (entitled Vimānasthāna) of the oldest classical text corpus of Āyurveda, the Carakasaṃhitā. Since 2009 he is a member of the “Historical Sourcebooks on Classical Indian Thought” project, convened by Prof. Sheldon Pollock, to which he contributes with a monograph on the development of Yoga-related ideas in pre-modern South Asian intellectual history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Pranada and Jacob discuss Bhakti philosophy and theology.  You will learn: The connection of Vedanta teachings with Bhakti teachings. What is Wise Love (Bhakti Vedanta) and the difference between the love with others? The relationships with others as a vehicle to fully express highest love with each other and as a practice for our individual relationship with the Supreme. The acknowledgment of the small self and the creation of a dynamic, magical, spiritual, irrevocable and strong connection with source. How the yoga system provides tools to control the mind and go beyond the mind to transcend the platform of self. The difference between faith and belief. The important distinction between the divine feminine and the feminine divine. Pranada’s work on gender inequality and education, the absence of gender in the concept of soul, and everyone’s equal access to the full spiritual realm, practices, and services regardless of gender. The harmonization and oneness of the head and the heart and how to transcend and become our full potential as spiritual beings. Pranada Comtois is a devoted pilgrim, teacher, and award-winning author of Wise-Love: Bhakti and the Search for the Soul of Consciousness. Her writing sheds light on bhakti’s wisdom school of heartfulness with a focus on how to culture wise-love in our lives and relationships so we can experience the inherent, unbounded joy of the self. “Mindfulness and meditation alone can never satisfy the self. Joy comes from an awakened heart, not from a controlled or stilled mind.” At sixteen she met her teacher A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and began her lifelong study and practice of bhakti. The wisdom of her teaching grows from living for twenty years as a contemplative in bhakti ashrams, and another twenty years raising a family and running two multi-million dollar businesses. Pranada is an activist in women’s spiritual empowerment. She has always been deeply affected when witnessing the de-humanizing of women. She was the first to speak up for gender harmony in the modern bhakti tradition and successfully organized global steps against gender injustice. Her writing has appeared in Integral Yoga, Rebelle Society, Elephant Journal, Tattooed Buddha, Urban Howl, and the books Journey of the Heart, Bhakti Blossoms, and GODDESS: When She Rules. She is a featured speaker in the film Women of Bhakti.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amy Matthews, CMA, IDME, BMC Teacher, RSMT/RSME has been teaching movement since 1994. She is a Certified Laban Movement Analyst, a Body-Mind Centering® Teacher, an Infant Developmental Movement Educator, and a movement therapist and yoga teacher. Amy leads the Embodied Developmental Movement and Yoga and the Embodied Anatomy and Yoga BMC℠ programs in the United States. She co-taught with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen in Berkeley, CA for five years and was on the faculty of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies for ten years. She has taught embodied anatomy and movement workshops for programs in New York, Philadelphia, Berkeley, and Nebraska, and internationally in Canada, Switzerland, Ireland, England, Israel, Slovakia and Japan. Amy co-authored with Leslie Kaminoff the best-selling book Yoga Anatomy, and together Amy and Leslie teach The Breathing Project's Advanced Studies courses. Amy also works privately as a movement therapist and yoga teacher, integrating Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, yoga, Body-Mind Centering® and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF). Amy is certified as a yoga teacher by Yoga Union and Heart of Yoga, and as a Motherhand Shiatsu practitioner. She is registered with ISMETA as a Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator, with IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists) and with Yoga Alliance as an E-500 RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher). Amy has studied with a range of inspiring teachers: dissection workshops with Gil Hedley, neuro-muscular reeducation with Irene Dowd, Body-Mind Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, full-contact karate with Michelle Gay, and yoga with Alison West, Mark Whitwell, Genny Kapular and Kevin Gardiner.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mauro Zappaterra graduated from Harvard Medical School with an MD and PhD and now specializes in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with a particular focus on regenerative medicine, neuro-rehabilitation, neuroplasticity, musculoskeletal medicine, and pain. He completed his PhD doing work with neuronal stem cells and the effects of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in brain development and in the adult. He is published in numerous scientific articles on the CSF and his work was chosen as the cover image for the prestigious Neuron Journal. He is also featured in the New England Journal of Medicine in teaching medical students about living with life threatening diseases and in Psychology Today on an article titled “Joy: The art of loving life.” Dr. Zappaterra was nominated by his peers and staff to be Chief Resident at the UCLA / VA Greater Los Angeles Residency Program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and won the Outstanding Senior Resident Award. He will be working as Director of Regenerative Medicine and Clinical Research, incorporating prolotherapy, platelet rich plasma (PRP), and stem cell therapy into patient care for a multitude of musculoskeletal ailments to help create an optimum healing and regenerative environment. He combines his training in rehabilitation medicine, research, nutrition, and various complementary and alternative medicine modalities such as polarity therapy, Reiki and Craniosacral therapy to work holistically with individuals to optimize their potential and improve their quality of life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phil Hine is an independent researcher and occult practitioner of over 40 years. Initiated into both Western and Indian Spiritual traditions, he has practiced a hybridised form of Tantra for over twenty-five years. His writing has appeared in a wide number of Journals and anthologies, including Abraxas, Chaos International, and Pagan News. He has three books in print - Condensed Chaos, Prime Chaos, and The Pseudonomicon and has just released three chapbooks in a series exploring the history of the Chakras. He lives in London with his partner Maria. His current writings can be found at http://enfolding.org.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lama Tsultrim Allione is founder and resident lama of Tara Mandala, located  in Colorado.  She traveled to India in her late teens and at the age of twenty-two, was the first western woman to be ordained as a Buddhist nun. After living in the Himalayan region for several years she returned her vows and became the mother of three, while continuing to study and practice Buddhism. She has been awarded the international “Outstanding Woman in Buddhism” by a panel of distinguished scholars and practitioners in Bangkok, Thailand. She is author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons and her new book Wisdom Rising: A Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swami is an atypical monk. He trained as a monk in Himalayas for 20 years then came to USA and studied physiology & health then went on to medical school and is currently a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University studying business with focus on entrepreneurship, healthcare management and organizational leadership. Drawing upon his diverse Background and unique set of experiences Swami designed Deep Mindfulness Training for high performance and work life harmony. Swami takes a very hands on no-fluff, engaging and fun approach to help his clients develop high performing cognitive abilities, emotional and social intelligence, deep motivation and resilience. Swami believes that all individuals, teams and groups of people are unique and have unique needs and learning aptitudes. Therefore he creates customized DMT programs with hand selected training tools, frameworks and strategies to maximize clients performance and satisfaction. Deep Mindfulness Training is a custom mix of mindfulness practices and Emotional Quotient (EQ) training tools, strategies, frameworks and lifestyle recommendations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan, MD, is the author of Shakti Rising: Embracing Shadow and Light on the Goddess Path to Wholeness. She became drawn to the Direct Path through the teachings of Greg Goode and Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon. She has studied yoga, Sri Vidya Sadhana, Vedanta, and tantra through Chinmaya Mission and the teachings of Sri Premananda, Sally Kempton, and Paul Muller-Ortega. Chinnaiyan blends her expertise in cardiology with her knowledge of Ayurveda, yoga, Vedanta, tantra, and the Direct Path in her program for patients to discover bliss amid chronic illness. She is an integrative cardiologist at Beaumont Health System, and associate professor of medicine at Oakland University Beaumont School of Medicine in Rochester, MI.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William K. Mahony is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Religion and Chairman of the Religion Department at Davidson College, where he teaches courses on the religions of India. He also teaches workshops, trainings and retreats on yoga philosophy across the US and abroad. His books include The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination (1997) and Exquisite Love: Heart-Centered Reflections on the Narada Bhakti Sutra (2014).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrea R. Jain, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, editor of the Journal of American Academy of Religion, and author of Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture (Oxford University Press, 2014). She received her doctorate degree in religious studies from Rice University in 2010. Her areas of research include religion in late capitalist society; South Asian religions; the history of modern yoga; the intersections of gender, sexuality, and religion; and methods and theories in the study of religion. She is a regular contributor to Religion Dispatches on topics related to yoga in contemporary culture and co-chair of the Yoga in Theory and Practice Group of the American Academy of Religion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.