Keen on Yoga Podcast

Luke Jordan is a Certified Teacher in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition and holds a Masters in Indian Religions. He is a writer, story-teller, vedic-chanter, sanskritist and consummate student of yogic and spiritual culture. Always feeling that there was something more to life, Luke first began formal study of Eastern mysticism in the 1990s while at University and plunged headlong into the practice of Ashtanga Yoga in the year 2000. This began an on-going journey that would take him around the world seeking out experts, gurus and teachers in the field of Yoga and spirituality. Luke first made his way to Mysore, India in 2001 to study with Sri Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath and is one of a very small number of teachers worldwide to have been granted the honour of Certification within the Ashtanga tradition. Drawn to the deeper philosophical dimensions of Yoga, Luke loves to share the inquiry that springs from the chants, myths and conceptual underpinnings which form Yoga's wider tradition. He now lives in Portugal where he is the founder of the Colares Yoga Club and each year gives the intensive Ashtanga Yoga Summer School. In this episode Luke talks to Adam about: Samkhya & yoga Yoga as a form of experiential enquiry Moving from gross level of experience to subtle levels of experience Spiritual seeking Tattvas Karma Purusha Do we have freewill? Connect with Luke: Website: https://lukejordanyoga.com/luke-jordan Instagram: @lukejordanyoga

Norman E. Sjoman is the author of the 1996 book The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace. The book contains an English translation of the yoga section of Sritattvanidhi, a 19th-century treatise by the Maharaja of Mysore. It contributes an original view on the history and development of the teaching traditions behind modern asanas. According to Sjoman, a majority of the tradition of teaching yoga as exercise spread primarily through the teachings of BKS Iyenger and his students. He claims this "appears to be distinct from the philosophical or textual tradition of hatha yoga. In addition, it does not appear to have any basis as a genuine tradition as there is no textual support for the asanas taught and no lineage of teachers." Sjoman studied at the University of British Columbia and Stockholm University before obtaining a PhD from the Centre of Advanced Studies in Sanskirt at Pune University. In addition, he holds a pandit degree from the Mysore Maharaja's Mahapathasala. Sjoman spent 14 years in India studying four different shastras n Sanskrit, with several pandits. In the mid 1980s, while doing research at the Mysore Palace, Sjoman made copies of the yoga section of the Sritattvanidhi. This was a "colossal" illustrated compendium, authored in the 19th century by the then Maharaja. The book included diagrams of 122 yoga asanas. Unlike the few other known historical yoga treatises, the emphasis was solely on the physical activity. Some appeared based on Indian wrestling and other gymnastic exercises. In that aspect more closely resembling modern yoga as exercise forms such as Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Both B. K. S. Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, who are major influences on modern yoga forms, themselves studied under teacher Tirumalai Krishnamacharya at the Mysore Palace in the 1930s. Sjoman discovered that the royal family, in the early 1900s, had employed a British gymnast to train the young princes. When Krishnamacharya arrived in the 1920s to start a yoga school, his schoolroom was the former gymnasium complete with ropes. Sjoman argues that several exercises detailed in a purposely written western gymnastics manual were incorporated into Krishnamacharya's syllabus, resulting in his vinyasa style, and further passed on to Iyengar and Jois. The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace was published in 1996 including the 122 asana illustrations and extracts from the gymnastics manual. Naturally, the radical, perhaps heretical, idea that some of the practice of modern yoga as exercise is based on something as mundane as British gymnastics caused a stir in the yoga world.

Sravana Borkataky-Varma is a historian, educator, and social entrepreneur. As a historian, she studies Indian religions focusing on esoteric rituals and gender, particularly in Hinduism (Śākta Tantra). As an educator, she is currently a lecturer at Harvard Divinity School and at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. In the past she has taught at the University of Houston, the University of Montana, Rice University, and DaLian Neusoft University, China. Sravana's current project includes a co-edited volume titled Living Folk Religions (under contract with Routledge, 2022), Digital Tantra, a co-edited special issue journal by International Journal of Hindu Studies (under contract with Springer, 2022), and her monograph titled Spotlight and Shadow: Superwomen, Women, and Hijṛās (2023). In addition, book chapters such as "Taming Hindu Śakta Tantra on the Internet: Online Pūjās for the Goddess Tripurasundarī," in Digital Hinduism (Routledge, 2020), "The Yogic Body in Global Transmission," in The Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (Routledge, 2021), and "WhatsApp Bagalāmukhī:! The Social Life and Experiences of a Tantric Goddess" in The Ethnography of Tantra: Textures and Contexts of Living Tantric Traditions (State University of New York Press, 2022). Also, sample titles of her published articles are: "Red: An Ethnographic Study of Cross-Pollination Between the Vedic and the Tantric" (2019), "The Dead Speak: A Case Study from the Tiwa Tribe Highlighting the Hybrid World of Śākta Tantra in Assam" (2018). In a previous non-academic avatar, Sravana worked in customer service in the financial and IT industries. As a social entrepreneur, she is the co-founder of a nonprofit, Lumen Tree Portal. Sravana invests in building communities with individuals from various faith backgrounds who believe in kindness, compassion, and fulfillment. Find Sravana on her website: https://hds.harvard.edu/people/sravana-borkataky-varma

Jason Birch (DPhil, Oxon) is a senior research fellow for the 'Light on Hatha Yoga' project, hosted at SOAS University of London and the University of Marburg. Jason is also a visiting researcher on the Suśruta Project at the University of Alberta. He is well known for his important paper on the meaning of haṭha in early Haṭhayoga, which has reshaped our understanding of the origins of this term by locating it within Buddhist literature. His dissertation focused on a seminal Rājayoga text called the Amanaska. Through extensive fieldwork in India and the reconstruction of primary sources, Birch has identified the earliest text to teach a system of Haṭhayoga and Rājayoga, namely the twelfth-century Amaraugha. His most recent publication has defined a corpus of Sanskrit and vernacular texts that emerged during Haṭhayoga's floruit, the period in which it thrived on the eve of colonialism. Jason has published articles in academic journals and critically edited and translated six texts on Haṭhayoga for the Hatha Yoga Project 2015–2020; taught Masters courses and Sanskrit reading classes at SOAS and given seminars on the history of yoga for MA programs at the Università Ca' Foscari in Venice, Won Kwang University in South Korea and Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the Centre of Yoga Studies SOAS and the Journal of Yoga Studies, and combines his practical experience of yoga with academic knowledge of its history to teach online courses with Jacqueline Hargreaves on The Luminescent.

Daniel presents ancient texts for modern times. He is the author of The Truth of Yoga, a comprehensive guide to the history of practice. His approach combines scholarly knowledge with humour and insight, making yoga philosophy accessible and relevant to practitioners today. Daniel teaches courses online, at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, around the UK and internationally. He also offers private tutoring. Drawing on a master's degree from SOAS (University of London), and two decades of experience, he aims to help students explore their own path. He supplements his teaching with work as an editor. In this episode Daniel talks to Adam about: Sanatarma Dharma The Vedas Upanishads Shruti Family Vedas Rig veda The quest for satisfaction in the outside world Origins of Hinduism Aryans Brahma and Brahmins Advaita vedanta Darshanas Sadhus Vaishnavism Shivaism The ultimate oneness Dualism Patanjali's yoga sutras Ashtanga yoga where did it come from The eight limbs as a way to remove suffering One pointed focus Yamas and niyamas Use of asana Find Daniel: Website: https://www.danielsimpson.info/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielcsimpson/ If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation . We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.

Kate O'Donnell is the author of three Ayurvedic Cookbooks, including The Everyday Ayurveda Guide to Self-Care, The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well and Everyday Ayurvedic Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind: 100 Sattvic Recipes. She is a nationally certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and the founder of the Ayurvedic Living Institute. An authorized Ashtanga yoga instructor, she teaches yoga in Boston and Portland, Maine, and still travels to India annually for study. Kate began yoga by accident in South India at age 20. More than a dozen extended trips to India and twenty years studying the wisdom traditions of the sub-continent support Kate's understanding of Ayurveda and Yoga. After years of dedication to the Ashtanga system, Kate has experienced great benefit from this practice and was authorized by her teacher Sharath Jois to teach the Primary and Intermediate series of Ashtanga yoga. She teaches week-long mysore immersions annually in Portland ME, Boston, and abroad. Kate also specializes in Ayurvedic education, cooking skills, and cleansing programs, offering on-line programs, residential immersions and trainings, and individual consultations. Her Ayurveda and yoga offerings aim to help others come closer to their true nature. Find Kate: Website: https://www.kateodonnell.yoga/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateodonnell.ayurveda/

Gregor is the international author of eight textbooks covering all eight limbs of yoga. He is a mystic and a profuse blog writer covering topics on yoga and beyond. He travels the globe educating with passion, humour, insight and wisdom. Gregor Maehle began his practice of Raja Yoga in 1978 and added Hatha Yoga a few years later. In the mid-1980s he commenced annual travels to India, where he studied with various yogic and tantric masters, traditional Indian sadhus and ascetics. After practising with BKS Iyengar he spent fourteen months in Mysuru, and in 1997 was authorised to teach Ashtanga Yoga by K. Pattabhi Jois. In India Gregor also received eight months of mostly one-on-one instruction in scripture and the higher limbs of Yoga through B.N.S. Iyengar, a student of T. Krishnamacharya. He also studied Sanskrit under Professor Narayanachar and Dr Chandrasekhar. He lived for several years as a recluse, studying Sanskrit and yogic scripture and practising yogic techniques. This is the third time Gregor joins Adam, this time talking about his latest book How To Find Your Life's Diving Purpose. Including the talking points below. Human aspects of the divine Bhakti yoga within asana Surrendering to the diving through practice, asana, pranayama, meditation Is concentration devotion? Co-creating with the divine what aspect you were here to express Importance of your Swah dharma - your own dharma Pancha kosha - teaching of the 5 layers, cleansing of impact of past traumas on your body, breath and mind Objective and objectless samadhi Shiva pure consciousness, eternal awareness Shakti female aspect of the divine What is your role in the play & how far can you go with your gift? Life is the child of the divine The divine is here and now How you act in this world matters Everything you see is the crystallised body of God Indigenous practices, walkabouts Vijnanamaya kasha Your duty in society, giving to the world Self love as a pure spiritual state Accepting that state within you We are all children of the divine Find Gregor: Instagram: @gregor.maehle Website: https://8limbs.com/about/gregor-maehle/ If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation . We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.

This is the second time Adam has hosted Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor on the Keen on Yoga Podcast. In this episode they focus the discussion on the Bhagavad Gita. Richard & Mary have been studying and practicing yoga since the early 1970s and were some of the very first students to discover the Ashtanga yoga method. Together they co-founded the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, have produced several highly regarded yoga audio and video recordings, as well as authoring several books, both together and individually. Their latest title, When Love Comes to Light, is a guide to the Bhagavad Gita and interweaves insight into how these classic teachings are relevant for modern readers struggling with what it means to live responsibly in challenging times. In this talk with Adam they cover such topics from the book as Sounds of the battleground We're all in this together There is more to things than the conflict we feel Identification with the body Action gives information Ashtanga yoga giving the embodied experience of karma Tending to the mind Identification with the mind The question of Renunciation Using our practice for the good of the world Your responsibility Right attitude and duty What is our dharma Action without attachment to fruits Devotion Practice as sacrifice Expectations Children and practice Motivation You can find Richard and Mary on Instagram @ freemantayloryoga or on their website www.richardfreemanyoga.com If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation . We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.

Deepika Mehta has been on the forefront of Yoga, fitness and wellness in India since 2001. She is a Level 2 Authorised Ashtanga Yoga Teacher and a mom to her daugther Devi Tara. Because Deepika used Yoga to heal herself from an accident she had several years ago, she believes deeply in the power of the healing process of the practice. Deepika is known for her motivational and inspirational style of teaching, believing that anyone can achieve what they want if they put their mind to it. It's hard to fit all her achievements into one write up. She has had several television shows of her own like Yoga City on NDTV Good Times, Tata Sky Active Fit and Biggest Loser. She has been featured in various publications in India including Vogue, India Today, Elle Magazine etc.Been on the cover of India Today. In addition, she was awarded Yoga Expert of the Year by Vogue India in 2018 and been in the Wellness Powerlist, 2021 in Hello Magazine, India. Some of India's top celebrities and actors including Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone have been taught by Deepika. She has given a Ted Talk at the UN Headquaters in NYC. Deepika loves to incorporate dance and various other forms of movement and healing practices into her teaching mix. She now lives in Bali with her husband Mark Robberds and daughter Devi. Instagram: @deepikamehtayoga Website deepikamehtayoga.com If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation . We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.

Andrea Pennington is an integrative medicine doctor, acupuncturist, TEDx speaker and author of several books including I Love You, Me! and The Orgasm Prescription for Women. She specializes in self-love, mindfulness and authentic self-expression. She is nationally recognized as an expert in meditation, resilience and positive psychology with multiple appearances on Oprah, Dr. Oz, CNN, The Today Show and LUXE-TV. Andrea has also been a luxury lifestyle, beauty and wellbeing reporter and a proud TV host and producer, including her role as Medical Director and Spokesperson for Discovery Health Channel. She is the author and contributor to 10 books including #1 bestseller, The Orgasm Prescription for Women, Time to Rise, How to Liberate and Love Your Authentic Self, Daily Compassion Meditation, The Pennington Plan : 5 Simple Steps for Achieving Vibrant Health, Emotional Wellbeing and Spiritual Growth and the Pennington Plan For Weight Success. She helps people create and enjoy a life filled with passion, purpose and ageless vitality by eliminating the cause(s) of their 'dis-ease' and creating a personalized lifestyle plan that promotes health, prevents disease, increases happiness and slows aging. Her specialty is taking people from drowning in tragedy to fulfilling their destiny. Her goal is to get to the root cause of their condition and set them on the road toward living a full life which is in alignment with their values and ideals. www.AndreaPennington.com IG: @drandreapennington If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation . We appreciate your help to us keep creating free content for all.