Wisdom of Yoga Podcast

In Episode 20 of the Yoga of Wisdom Podcast, Saraswati interviews best-selling author and media expert, Harriette Cole.

Harriette shares with us :

• How to unlock your greatness and align with your dreams

• What holds us back from living a fulfilling life

• How the practice of meditation and self-care support our journey

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About Our Guest:

Harriette Cole is a veteran in the field of communications. Currently, she hosts live-streaming content for AARP. She also hosts a weekly radio show called DREAMLEAPERS. Harriette is a bestselling author, motivational speaker, media trainer, and professional public speaking coach. She began her career at Essence Magazine where she ran the lifestyle department and the fashion department. Cole was the founding editorial director of Uptown Magazine, founding creative director of Savoy Magazine, creative director and editor-in-chief of Ebony Magazine. Cole has written seven books, including Jumping the Broom: The African American Wedding Planner, How to Be, Choosing Truth, and 108 stitches: words we live by. Cole is a trusted voice in the space of how to live an honorable life. She was a contributor to the Today Show for many years and a regular guest on Inside Edition, BET, and other shows. She has offered leadership training, executive coaching, and media training to CEOs, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and students.

Where to find Harriette:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Youtube

In Episode 19 of the Yoga of Wisdom Podcast, Saraswati interviews Deane Juhan who is one of core faculty at Yogakula. You’ll find his courses on our website.

Deane Juhan may be best known as the author of Job’s Body: A Handbook for Bodywork.  As an expert in the field of body therapeutics, Deane shares with us the latest scientific developments in body-mind research:

• The polyvagal nerve functions effecting our autonomic nervous system and how to optimally shift from active state to relaxed state

• The emerging research on neuroplasticity, and how the brain and all of the nervous system are continually changing themselves through our beliefs, our intentions and our actions.

• The scientific developments impacting our recovery from injuries, the healing of traumatic events and responses, the reversal of degenerative conditions, and the many processes of healing that effect all of our tissues.

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About Our Guest:

Deane Juhan is the author of Job’s Body: A Handbook for Bodywork. Deane has been a bodyworker for 30 years. He was a member of staff at Esalen for 18 years and a Trager practitioner and instructor for 24 years.  He has taught classes in anatomy and physiology for bodyworkers, yoga practitioners, and therapists of all kinds in the US + internationally.  Deane has a private practice in the Bay Area in Northern California.

Where to find Deane:

• Website

• Facebook

In episode 18 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Darren Rhodes shares his experience of inner and outer transformation through yoga.

Darren shares with us:

• The benefits of yoga practice – body, mind, and in life.

• What is alignment and balanced action in yoga

• How to avoid injury

Workshop with Darren: The Art of Alignment

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About Our Guest:

Darren Rhodes has been the director of Yoga Oasis in Tucson, Arizona since 1999. He is the founder of YogaHour, an accessible, flow yoga class that offers clear and specific alignment instructions for each pose. He is the author and model of the Yoga Resource Practice Manual eBook featuring photographs of Darren in 400 yoga poses with instructions.

Darren, while known for his ability to perform all yoga postures, is dedicated to making yoga accessible. Darren's classes are innovative and authentic, focusing on making the doable difficult and the difficult doable.

Where to find Darren:

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

In episode 17 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Richard Miller talks about the journey of awakening through meditation

Richard shares with us :

• How the yogic practices help us to heal and transform

• The deeper promise of the yoga practices and how this practice can affect all other aspects of our lives.

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About Our Guest:

Richard Miller, PhD, spiritual teacher, yogic scholar, and clinical psychologist, has devoted 46 years to integrating Western psychology and neuroscience with the Eastern nondual wisdom teachings of yoga, Taoism, Buddhism, and the Judeo-Christian traditions.

Developer of the research-based Integrative Restoration iRest Meditation program, Richard is founding president of the Integrative Restoration Institute, cofounder of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, past founding president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology, and author of iRest Meditation, The iRest Program for Healing PTSD, and Yoga Nidra: The Meditative Heart of Yoga. Richard leads retreats and trainings internationally, emphasizing enlightened living in daily life.

Where to find Richard:

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

In episode 16 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Amy Ippoliti shares her understanding of alignment in yoga.

Amy shares with us :

• How to keep the body moving safely in asana practice

• Helpful alignment instructions

• Alignment instructions that are not so helpful or could create injury

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About Our Guest:

Amy is known for her genuine teaching style, intelligent sequencing, clear instruction, and engaging sense of humor. She is a teacher, author and activist who uses innovative methods to bring yoga wisdom to modern day life. Amy shares her passions for health and conservation through her writings for publications such as Yoga Journal, Prevention and Mind Body Green. A pioneer of advanced yoga education, Amy co-founded 90 Monkeys, an online and in-person school that has enhanced the skills of yoga teachers and studios in 65 countries. She is the co-author of the book, The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga, which has become a staple in yoga teacher trainings across the globe. Amy currently resides in Boulder, Co, where she teaches workshops and trainings when she is not traveling.

 Where to find Amy:

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Twitter

• Pinterest

In episode 15 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Miranda Macpherson shares the process of ego relaxation ad how to open to grace.

Miranda shares with us :

• The process of surrender and ego relaxation

• How to open to grace and become more graceful human beings

• Healing practices for stressful times

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About Our Guest:

Miranda Macpherson is a spiritual teacher and author who shares a feminine approach to surrender and nondual realization based on the practice she calls Ego Relaxation.  Her wisdom and palpable transmission invites others to become more graceful human beings through inquiry, meditation, devotion and psychological integration.  Grounded in extensive study of the worlds’ wisdom traditions, and inspired by Sri Ramana Maharshi, A Course in Miracles and the Diamond Approach, Miranda has been guiding others into direct experience of the sacred for thirty years.

Today Miranda leads the Living Grace Sangha in northern California, leads retreats internationally.

 Where to find Miranda:

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Youtube

In Episode 14 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Barrie Risman, shares her with us her life-long love of yoga.

Barrie shares with us :

• What is exactly Restorative Yoga and the misconceptions

• Why restorative yoga is the best kept secret

• The benefits of Restorative Yoga

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About Our Guest:

Barrie Risman is widely regarded as one of Canada’s most highly skilled yoga educators, teacher–trainers and mentors. Her best-selling book, Evolving Your Yoga: Ten Principles for Enlightened Practice, is a guide for teachers and continuing students to deepen, expand, and integrate the benefits of yoga in their lives. She's the creator of online classes, courses, and trainings that fuel the inner journey of yoga teachers and students from around the globe.

Barrie is well known for her ability to convey the essence of the wisdom teachings of yoga with exceptional clarity, insight, and relevance to students of all levels and from all walks of life. As unpretentious and down-to-earth as she is wise and inspiring, Barrie teaches with a remarkable combination of rigor and challenge balanced with sensitivity, humor, and compassion.

Where to find Barrie:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

In episode 13 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Bill Mahony shares with us how yogic teachings can help us navigate our lives

Bill shares with us :

• How he discovered yoga and the effects on his life

• An overview of the teachings of yoga

• How these teachings are the perfect support for these times.

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About Our Guest:

Bill Mahony, PhD, is a Professor of Religion at Davidson College, North Carolina. Bill integrates his knowledge of Indian philosophy gained through his discerning and informed scholarly study with insights refined through over four decades of his own yogic practice.  He shares what he himself experiences  the  expansive and transforming wisdom held in ancient texts of yoga Bill is the author of two books  Exquisite Love:  And The Artful Universe.

Where to find Bill:

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

In episode 12 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Charles Zook shares with us ways to navigate challenges and difficult situations in our lives

Charles shares with us :

• Approaches and techniques to align more deeply with our values and vision

• Ways to relieve stressful thinking patterns

• How to experience more compassion for ourselves and others

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About Our Guest:

Charles Zook, MBA, CPCC is a masterful Life and Business Coach, who puts his heart, soul, intellect and experience into coaching hundreds of people for over 15 years. His joy is empowering people to feel self-determined in their personal and professional relationships, and in their relationship with themselves.

harles Zook, MBA, CPCC is a masterful Life and Business Coach, who puts his heart, soul, intellect and experience into coaching hundreds of people for over 15 years. His joy is empowering people to feel self-determined in their personal and professional relationships, and in their relationship with themselves.

Charles brings a practical “toolbox” approach, encouraging his clients to become ever more capable and confident in their ability to create the life experience they envision.

He was one of the founders of Quantum Teams, a system for measuring and improving Team Effectiveness. His work in professional settings includes Unilever, Stanford Medical Center, and governmental agencies, such as the State of California.

Where to find Charles:

• Website

In episode 11 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Eddie Stern shares with us his study and research into the science of yoga and how it transforms your life.

Eddie shares with us :

• The research and science behind yoga

• How practices enable balance and strengthen the operations of the body and mind.

• How yoga helps him to navigate the challenges of life

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About Our Guest:

Eddie Stern is a renowned Yoga teacher, and best-selling author of One Simple Thing – A New Look at the Science of yoga and how it can transform your life. This book examines from both a Western scientific perspective and an Eastern philosophical perspective the underlying mechanisms that make yoga an amazingly effective practice for health, wellbeing, and spiritual development.

Eddie has been practicing Yoga since 1987, Eddie has a passion for seeking out diversity in all aspects of his work and uses a multidisciplinary approach of combining technology, and scientific research, to help further understanding, education, and access to yoga.

Where to find Eddie:

• Website

• Instagram

Eddie’s YOGA365 App is a sequence of daily breathing aand stretching practices that can be done in small doses, to create a more balanced lifestyle

The Breathing App, a free app which guides the user in a paced breathing exercise that balances the nervous system, helping to improve sleep, and reduce stress and anxiety.

International Yoga and Science Conferences, an ongoing forum for presenting rigorous scientific evidence on yoga and meditation which is accessible, inspiring, and actionable; created with Dr. Marshall Hagins.

In episode 10 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Saraswati interviews Sue Elkind. Sue shares with us:

• How breath practices effect our mind and body

• Advice for keeping optimal health in challenging times

• How yogic practices transformed her life

• The effects of rest and relaxation

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About the Guest:

Sue Elkind is recognized internationally in the yoga community as a teacher’s teacher, with over 25 years of yoga experience. Her in-depth knowledge of alignment and biomechanics, along with her passion to teach from her heart, allows her students to expand their potential both physically and spiritually. Sue is an expert in prenatal and postnatal yoga and skilled in meditation. As an activist, Sue is dedicated to empowering women through yoga in all stages of life. She and her husband Naime Jezzeny founded Dig Yoga in New Jersey.

Where to find Sue:

• Website

• Instagram

Sue Elkind’s book Dig Pregnancy, Birth and Baby is a comprehensive resource for pregnant women, new moms, yoga students and instructors. The book includes wonderfully illustrated prenatal and postnatal yoga sequences, as well as detailed sections on prenatal yoga essentials, what's happening with mama and baby, prenatal nutrition and pregnancy conditions. This text moves far beyond simply prenatal and postnatal fitness, providing women with empowering knowledge for a lifetime.

In episode 9 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Saraswati interviews Tara Stiles who shares with us how we can bring yogic principles into our daily life. We cover:

• Advice for navigating challenging times

• Realignment in body, mind and life.

• Realigning with nature and the seasons

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About the Guest:

Tara Stiles is the founder of Strala, the revolutionary approach to being, moving and healing. Strala teaches yoga, tai chi, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, to help people release stress, let go of bad habits, and move easily through all kinds of challenge. Tara has authored several best-selling books and her latest book is called Clean Mind-clean life. She has been profiled by The New York Times, Times of India, The Times (UK), and featured in many national and international magazines. Tara is a sought-after speaker on topics of entrepreneurship, health, and wellbeing. Tara supports The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an initiative with the American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation, to combat childhood obesity.

Where to find Tara:

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

Clean Mind, Clean Body: This best-selling book contains a life-changing 28-day detox for body and mind. Most of us are constantly plugged in and stressed out—tethered to our phones and e-mail, overworked and inactive at our desk jobs, and out of touch with what our bodies and our brains really need. Clean Mind, Clean Body is your reset button, an immersive experience in mental and physical self-care that will transform your daily routine and your habits

In this episode of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Saraswati interviews Doug Keller. Doug shares with us :

• His journey into yoga and how and when he discovered yoga

• The deeper promise of the yoga practices and the alchemical shift that takes place in the process of transformation and awakening through yoga

• He shares the deeper meaning of alignment in yoga  

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About Our Guest:

Doug Keller’s background reflects a lifelong commitment to studying, imbibing and sharing the vast field of knowledge and practice known as yoga.

After receiving honors and graduate degrees in philosophy from Georgetown and Fordham Universities, and teaching philosophy at a college level for several years, he then pursued his ‘post-graduate’ education in the practical experience of yoga at the Siddha Yoga Ashram.

There he spent a total of 14 years doing service, practicing, training in and teaching hatha yoga in Siddha Yoga Ashrams worldwide. He received intensive training in the Iyengar system and practiced Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and became one of the first certified Anusara Yoga teachers. He then produced several highly respected books on asana, pranayama, yoga philosophy and yoga therapy.

Doug’s teaching is rooted in a vast and inclusive perspective of study and practice that honors the insights of the many streams of wisdom that flow into the river of yoga.

Where to find Doug:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

In this episode of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Saraswati interviews Richelle Donigan. Richelle shares with us:

• The powerful practice of visioning and how it is particularly important in this unpredictable and challenging time.

• She reminds us of the power of words and our focus. If we constantly focus on the negative, we draw more of that.

• She explains how we are always visioning consciously or unconsciously,

• She invites us to choose what we really want and to create a life by design, to align with our deeper longing, for our own lives and for the world.

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About the Guest:

Richelle Evelyn Donigan is a masterful Transformation Guide, Life Coach, Author, and Speaker. Richelle has an extraordinary gift for creating safe and empowering spaces for all people. She is passionate about bringing these extraordinary, ancient practices to communities that have been traditionally underserved. She has created and led numerous retreats and workshops across the US

Where to find Richelle:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

In episode #6 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Saraswati interviews Kenya Aissa. Kenya shares with us: 

• The impact of the practice for her as a social worker in the foster, adoptions and corrections systems.

• Why she recommends the practice to others for physical and emotional health.

• How the practice is the foundation for her work as a Diversity and Inclusivity Trainer in Oakland.

• Her advice  for staying grounded and empowered during challenging times.

Find this episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify.

Leave a review to help make it easier for others to find us and benefit from these discussions. Thank you!

About our guest:

Kenya Aissa, MS, is a Diversity Trainer, Holistic Empowerment Coach, and yoga instructor. Kenya spent 20+ years as a social worker, working within the foster, adoptions, and corrections systems.

In 2018, Kenya published her first book, “Sacred Girl: Spiritual Life Skills for Conscious Young Women”, and is a contributing author to “Coffee & Conversations”, a self-care book by women, for women.  She has been featured on various podcasts including Moments with Marianne, Tippy Talk, Dreams Unzipped, and Our Common Ground Radio. She currently serves as a co-host on the weekly web series "Taking Control of Your Health”, and she continues to work in the family court system as a consultant specializing in transracial adoption and interracial co-parenting.

Where to find Kenya:

• Instagram

• Facebook

• LinkedIn

In episode 5 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Saraswati interviews Beryl Bender Birch. Beryl shares with us:

• The deeper meaning and purpose of yoga and what are the most easily misunderstood aspects of yoga.

• How her teaching has transformed over the years

• How can yogic wisdom and practices support us during these challenging times

Find this episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify.

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About our guest:

Beryl Bender Birch is director and founder of The Hard & The Soft Yoga Institute and a founder of the Give Back Yoga Foundation, which provides yoga to underserved communities and offers developmental grants to yoga teachers for community service projects. A spiritual teacher and yoga therapist, Birch is the best-selling author of Power Yoga, the classic training manual for asana practice for Ashtanga Yoga; Beyond Power Yoga, which theorizes a relationship between the eight limbs of yoga and the chakras; Boomer Yoga, which illustrates how to create a yoga plan that works for maturing adults; and Yoga for Warriors, which provides yoga practices for veterans. A former neurofeedback researcher with a degree in comparative religion, Birch has been an avid student of yoga and the study of consciousness since 1971.

Where to find Beryl:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

In Episode 4 of the Yoga of Wisdom Podcast, Saraswati interviews Deane Juhan who is one of core faculty at Yogakula. You’ll find his courses on our website.

Deane Juhan may be best known as the author of Job’s Body: A Handbook for Bodywork.  As an expert in the field of body therapeutics, Deane shares with us:

• How can we best approach health and healing during challenging times.

• How to take better care of ourselves personally and our world

• How  the yogic practices of asana, breathwork and meditation support a healthy mind and body.

Find this episode on Apple Podcasts & Stitcher

Leave a review to help make it easier for others to find us and benefit from these discussions. Thank you!

About the Guest:

Deane Juhan is the author of Job’s Body: A Handbook for Bodywork. Deane has been a bodyworker for 30 years. He was a member of staff at Esalen for 18 years and a Trager practitioner and instructor for 24 years.  He has taught classes in anatomy and physiology for bodyworkers, yoga practitioners, and therapists of all kinds in the US + internationally.  Deane has a private practice in the Bay Area in Northern California.

Where to find Deane:

• Website

• Facebook

In Episode 3 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Saraswati Clere interviews Maria Alfaro. Together they discuss

• How to shake off your stress, tension, and trauma with the practice Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE)

• How the practice activates the body’s natural, therapeutic shaking response called Self Induced Therapeutic Tremors (SITT) to release tension and calm the nervous system, returning the body to a state of balance.

• How the practice is designed to assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of tension.

Find this episode on Apple Podcasts & Stitcher

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About the Guest:

Maria is a senior TRE® and Neurogenic Yoga™ certification trainer. She has a background in Yoga, Chinese martial arts and Esalen massage. Maria has been training with Dr. Berceli since 2004 and teaching his work ever since. Over the past 15 years she taught TRE to thousands of people in the US, in Europe, in Canada, Asia and the Middle East. She assisted Dr. Berceli in numerous trainings in the US, South Africa, Brazil and Japan and she led hundreds of public workshops and over 100 certification trainings worldwide. Maria is also one of two creators of Neurogenic Yoga, the sister method of TRE. She is known for creating a supportive, compassionate, and humorous learning environment.

Where to find Maria:

• Website

• Facebook

In Episode 2 of the Wisdom of Yoga Podcast, Heather Wertheimer shares

• How Mantra is a powerful resource to help us during the deeply challenging times we’re facing as a society.

• Her experience of mantra practices, including sacred chanting in kirtan, traditional mantras

• How this practice can increase your capacity for love, inner peace, and compassion and is a vehicle for transformation.

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About the Guest:

Heather Wertheimer is a kirtan artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist who combines her special love of both music and yoga to lead devotional chanting internationally. With a rare ability to sing directly from the heart, she infuses sacred chanting with a powerful sense of peace and depth. Heather has toured in the U.S. and abroad with her husband Benjy, Steve Gorn, Manose, and Deva Premal & Miten. Heather’s debut CD with Shantala, Church of Sky, was named by New Age Retailer as one of the top ten albums of the year. It has been aired on radio stations internationally. Heather brings the richness of her healing background as a therapist, meditation teacher, and yoga teacher into the practice of kirtan. Since 2017, Heather has been an authorized teacher of Neelakantha Meditation as taught in Blue Throat Yoga.

Where to find Heather:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

In the Wisdom of Yoga podcast, Saraswati Clere interviews Marc Holzman as he shares his journey of navigating stress and overwhelm through the lenses of Yoga, Ayurveda, an immersion into meditation and Yoga Nidra. He explains the ways in which these profound practices integrate and enable potent personal transformation. Together we explore how aligning to the rhythms of nature invites for deeper transformation and grounding this new era of uncertainty. Hear how Marc went from overwhelm to ease as he realized how to realign with his Dharma.  

Find this episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify.

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About our guest:

Marc is a certified Ayurveda practitioner and Amrit Yoga Nidra teacher with over 18 years' experience teaching Hatha Yoga and Meditation. He currently lives in both L.A. and Paris for greater access to the workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats he teaches across the globe.

Where to find Marc:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook