Finding Harmony Podcast

Reduce Anxiety + Increase Calm
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A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And Don’t Forget To Breathe… With Nick Heath The Breathing Diabetic

29 oktober 2023 | 97 min

Did you know that how you breathe can help to regulate blood sugar levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce the risk of complications from diabetes?

But that’s only a fraction of what a conscious slow breathing practice can do for you!

Today, we dive into the fascinating world of breathwork and its profound impact on managing diabetes, reducing stress, and enhancing our overall health and well-being, whether you’re a diabetic or not!

Nick Heath, famously known as The Breathing Diabetic, joins us today to share valuable insights, not only from his own personal experience, but also from his extensive research in the area of breathing and how it effects us on every level.

Stress reduction is a critical focus point for almost every person alive on the planet today. Stress can have a significant impact on our health and is an underlying cause for many physical and mental health conditions.

Nick dives into the science behind why it’s so important to develop a breathwork practice, how it helps to activate the body's relaxation response, lower stress hormones, helps us sleep better, and promote a greater sense of calm.

We talk about some of differences between mouth breathing verses nose breathing and the natural affiliation a conscious breathwork practice has with mindfulness meditation. We learn the science behind why, when we focus on our breath, we effortlessly increase our ability to concentrate, and this changes how we perceive the world.

More often than not, we take for granted the fact that we’re breathing.

But HOW we breathe significantly influences our mental, emotional and physical health and developing a regular slow breathing practice can change our physiology, increase our ability to focus, modulate emotional states, and regulate our nervous system.

Don’t wait another year!

Learn more about mindful breathing and how to include a conscious breathwork practice into your daily routine.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NICK HEATH

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A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

On Top of The Mountain with Elizabeth Kadetsky

22 oktober 2023 | 105 min

Today we explore the epic yoga battle between the Iyengar school and the Ashtanga school, as we sit down with author, yoga practitioner, three-time Fullbright fellow to India, researcher, editor, and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Penn State University, Elizabeth Kadetsky!

Elizabeth’s took up the study of yoga when she was a teenager (back in 1984, but who’s counting?) and she continues to practice yoga today. After twelve years studying in Iyengar studios, she finally met BKS Iyengar at a talk he was giving in New York City in 1996.

You may have hear of her very popular book, First There Is a Mountain (published in 2004). This book was intended to be the original “Eat, Pray, Love.” As early yoga students, it was the first of it’s kind.

This book chronicles a year where Elizabeth worked directly with the great Yoga Master, BKS Iyengar, while she was researching his role in the history of Indian Independence and the complicated dance between East and West.

Later her practice evolved to include many forms of Hatha Yoga and also Ashtanga yoga, which is how she first met Russell, while practising with Guy Donahaye, in New York city.

Today, we’re learning about her research around the authenticity of the origin stories we were told about the yoga practice and how yoga’s being weaponized by the Right-Wing politics of India. We look at how the idea of anything as a “Pure Tradition” can become a toxic premise upon which racism festers.

The world has always been a global place and we should celebrate the continuation of cultural exchange. Building bridges instead of walls.

We’re also diving into her current and ongoing research about a set of stolen goddess sculptures from India, and the great debate around whether these recently found stolen works of art should be returned back to their place of origin or not.

What is the difference between a temple, a church, or a museum?

Should great works of art belong to a more universal collective or to a particular group or person?

Does the repatriation of art, actually right a colonial wrong? And what happens to these works of art once they are returned back to their native land? What kind of transparency and accountability is required of a government who takes back their stolen works of art to the rest of the global community?

If you’re ready to examine the intersection of politics, art, and yoga and what’s our responsibility is as conscious leaders and yoga practitioners… This is the conversation for you!

LEARN MORE ABOUT ELIZABETH KADETSKY

WEBSITE. I FACEBOOK

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Dancing In My Dreams with Dr. Ralph Craig III

15 oktober 2023 | 113 min

When Tina Turner, often dubbed the “Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll,” died at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, on May 24, 2023, what many did not know is that Ms. Turner had practiced Soka Gakkai International Nichiren Buddhism for the last 50 years.

Nichiren taught that chanting the title of this scripture in the form of the mantralike phrase “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” was the way for all people to reveal their inherent potential for awakening and attain buddhahood.

Turner explained: “As I began studying Buddhist teachings and chanting more, it led me to take responsibility for my life and to base my choices on wisdom, courage, and compassion. Not long after I started chanting, I began to see that the power I needed to change my life was already within me.”

Russell had proposed titling this episode “Big Wheel Keeps on Turnin’ with Dr. Ralph Craig” but this title works better as our guest today is the the eminent author of a new spiritual biography of Tina Turner.

So it is with great humility and delight that we sat down and discussed all things yoga, growing up Louisiana, and Mick Jagger’s appropriation of Ms. Turner’s Dance Moves.

“Moves like Tina Turner” should have been the damn song, but alas, yet again our African American progenitors miss out on their due.

But not today, Lord!

We’re talking Ashtanga yoga, philosophy, and the importance of discipline in attaining true wisdom from your spiritual practice.

This is basically a class in history, philosophy, Sanskrit and culture all wrapped up into one delicious conversation that we know will enrich your lives!

Our guest, Dr. Ralph H. Craig III received his BA in Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University, where his studies included comparative theology and Yoga Studies. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Stanford University, where he specialized in Buddhist Studies and in American Religions. His dissertation explored medieval representations of Buddhist preachers across South Asian Buddhist literature. He is also the author of Dancing In My Dreams: A Spiritual Biography of Tina Turner, which will be released in November 7, 2023 by Eerdmans Press in the Library of Religious Biography Series.

Other interests include philosophy, metaphysical religion, religious experience, African American religious history, and religion and popular culture.

Be sure to order your copy of Dancing in My Dreams!

LEARN MORE ABOUT RALPH CRAIG III

INSTAGRAM I PRE-ORDER DANCING IN MY DREAMS I LINKEDIN I FACEBOOK

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Love Your Body, Love Your Life with Anna Surrey

1 oktober 2023 | 67 min

Today we’re diving deep into the secret feelings of guilt and shame we often carry -- but don’t dare to speak about or admit… not even to ourselves.

We're sitting down with Anna Surrey, an Intuitive Eating & Positive Body Image Coach to openly explore some of the very deep patterns we carry around eating, dieting, and food.

Anna grew up in Germany and moved to Australia at the age of 20, where she taught Pilates and was seemingly a beacon of healthy eating, with the body to show for it. But, there was still some secretly lingering patterns of anorexia and binge-eating that lurked in the shadows, cloaking hidden feelings of self-loathing and shame.

One night, she had a breakthrough (disguised as a breakdown, which they often are) when she became fully present to the hellish experience tangled up inside her relationship to food, to her own body, and all the behaviours associated with it.

This moment led her on the deepest spiritual journey of her life and brought her to the work she’s doing now. She began the process of excavating and facing her deepest fears and insecurities — and realizing that this unconscious body shame is actually here to be a profound teacher in our lives.

Anna teaches a non-diet approach to overcome food challenges such as binge, over- and emotional eating. She assists women to re-learn how to trust their bodies to make food choices that feel good- without self judgment or shame.

Anna struggled for 20 years with a wide range of disordered eating behaviours, health & weight obsession, exercise addiction and body-dysmorphia.

This all changed once she discovered how to trust her body through the freedom of intuitive eating.

For the first time, she experienced confidence, well-being, and feeling truly at home in her body like ever before.

Since then she has been working with women in her 1:1 mentorship program: Food Freedom Solution.

Anna combines a wide range of techniques and tools to help her clients overcome their own personal food and eating challenges- without dieting or food restrictions.

If you’ve been struggling with your relationship to your body, food, or exercise obsession, then this is one conversation you won’t want to avoid.

We’re exploring how these sneaky, self-destructive patterns can show up in unconscious ways that slowly erode our confidence and sense of worthiness, stealing joy from all areas of our lives, and some specific things you can do to free yourself from this trap!

LEARN MORE ABOUT ANNA SURREY: INSTAGRAM

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Helena Rosenthal: Mystic, Mama, Musician

17 september 2023 | 89 min

Helena first stepped onto the Ashtanga mat when she was 19 years old. Coming out of her rebellious teen years, filled with drug abusing and running away from home.

She was instantly bewitched by the method and has been practicing asana along with self-inquiry, ever since.

In 2008, after 6 years of daily practice and studying Ayurveda to become a therapist, Helena made her first trip to KPJAYI in Mysore, India, and also spent time in Kerala to further her studies in Ayurveda.

In 2010, after a one month training with Sharath Jois, (director of KPJAYI in Mysore) she was granted Authorisation Level 1 and received Level 2 in 2014.

While practicing and teaching in Brazil, Helena learned from many famous teachers including Fabio Sayão, Matthew Vollmer, and Osnir Cugenotta. For almost a decade she taught daily Mysore in São Paulo, offering classes in many different centers before founding her own Yoga Shala, Ashtanga Pitanga, where she directed and taught the Mysore program for 2 years.

A huge shift in her life happened when she moved to London in 2016, where she ran the Mysore Program at Triyoga Chelsea for the next two years. She began teaching internationally in other countries like Portugal, France, Germany and Purple Valley, Goa (while assisting Mark Robberds - listen to our episode #57 with Mark Robberds HERE). Helena continued to deepen her yoga studies with an intensive period of study with Gregor Maehle and Monica Gauci.

In 2019, she gave birth to her beautiful little boy Leornado and they decided to move to Valencia, Spain, with her partner. She’s now living in Palma de Mallorca, and has opened up EARTH YOGA in Santa Catalina.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT HELENA ROSENTHAL

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I MUSIC ON SPOTIFY - helenarosenthal.com

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Nourished Evolution with Lia Huber

10 september 2023 | 81 min

Creating a Sustainable Spiritual Wellness Practice

3 september 2023 | 24 min

Finding A Stillpoint with Scott Johnson

27 augusti 2023 | 107 min

The Buddha counsels a grieving mother unable to come to terms with her son’s death to visit her neighbors door-to-door, and to collect a mustard seed from each household untouched by death. By the evening, her empty hands and new understanding enable the grieving mother to bury her son and become a disciple of the Buddha.

The Lily Pad Sutra

We’ll cherish this interview with our dear friend, the lovely Scott Johnson. We do try to find parallels with our guests, of course, as a regular listener - you know. And, certainly we explored misspent youths, broken childhoods, and our inevitable slide down a windy road that eventually turns into a spiritual path.

Scott is a sensitive soul. His gentle, compassionate, kind energy is transmitted not only through his teaching style, but you’ll feel it in the way he speaks.

The space we enter around him is saturated with loving kindness.

And yet.. some things are not so easy to share.

It goes without saying that we all have experienced loss to some degree or another.

To be sure, we would give up quite soon if we were tasked with looking for our own mustard seeds. Loss is inevitable.

Still, the passing of a dear friend, a joyously beautiful spirit, like Scott’s partner Ozge, is soul tearing, and spirit breaking. It’s quite hard to find common ground there. Even if we have experienced the loss of close friends ourselves. Each experience of loss is so unique.

That said, we’re grateful to Scott for sharing his story, his friendship, his wisdom, and his time with us. Somehow we came away encouraged about our community and the transformative power of the Ashtanga yoga practice.

We hope you enjoy this episode and find your own sense of encouragement, hope, and healing through absorbing and also integrating a new approach to your breath and movement practice. Maybe you’ll even find a Stillpoint amidst the chaos of an ever changing world.

Come practice with Harmony in person in 2023 - ⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/events⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Find Harmony & Russell in Cleveland, OH: November 3 - 6, 2023

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LEARN MORE ABOUT SCOTT JOHNSON:

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I YOUTUBE I STILLPOINT IG I STILLPOINT PODCAST - stillpoint.yoga

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Jana Wilson: Wise Little One

20 augusti 2023 | 84 min

“What I have come to know in my personal life and the lives of all the people I've worked with is that every trauma, challenge, and wound comes bearing a gift and some wisdom our soul needs. Once I opened up to finding the wisdom (and lesson) of my very traumatic childhood that made me the strong, loving, compassionate and capable woman, wife, and mother that I am today, I began to live the life of my dreams.” - Jana Wilson

The real gift that comes from having your own podcast is sitting down to talk with someone who you don’t really know; who seems to have lived the same life as you, cut from the same cloth, experienced the same squalid violent conditions, and has come out the other side, and is well and whole and wants to talk about it.

It’s special. Every. Damn. Time.

And every time it’s like looking in a mirror, or meeting a new best friend, discovering the “Krishnaness of Krishna,” seeing the self in the other.

We sat down and read Jana’s beautiful book: Wise Little One: Learning to Love and Listen to My Inner Child.

She has a fabulous story to tell—if not one that’s filled page to page with some horrific and also sublime stuff.

It’s something you’ll be able to relate to. It’s the stuff we’ve all felt in different ways — because we’re all human.

O.K. maybe Elvis never invited us up to his suite, and maybe our fathers weren’t themselves Elvis impersonators… But, perhaps you have your own great aunt who was murdered by her husband, or several incarcerated relatives— experienced a litany of abuse, physical or chemical… It certainly felt like we knew Jana.

She is our people.

It was a pleasure to get to know her better and share her journey of transformation, one of moving from darkness to light with you here in this episode.

That said, (and Malcolm X said the same in his autobiography), “it’s easy to get deliciously trapped in the vile details, and miss the spiritual ascendancy that arose out of that life.”

Jana’s miracle is that she has become like the lotus, flowering out of the fetid swamp. It’s unusual.

Like David Williams said “I was used to folks getting old and sick. Not older and wiser. I wanted to see how that was done.”

Jana exemplifies just that. She’s getting older and wiser and has a story to tell. Her openness and willingness to come face to face with her own demons and shadows is something we can all learn from.

Give this podcast a listen, folks.

We love you for being here on this journey with us!

Come practice with Harmony in person in 2023 - ⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/events⁠⁠⁠

Barcelona: September 22 - 26, 2023

⁠⁠⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

Madrid: September 27 - October 1, 2023

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find Harmony & Russell in Cleveland, OH: November 3 - 6, 2023

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - www.janawilson.com

LEARN MORE ABOUT JANA WILSON:

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Eternally Youthful with David Garrigues

13 augusti 2023 | 128 min

You might know David Garrigues as a Certified Ashtanga yoga teacher, but today you’ll hear all about what spurred him into the Seattle punk scene, and how music pulled him out of a very difficult time in his life, where he was homeless and starting to sink into a very dark place.

How did he go from a homeless young punk rocker to practicing yoga in Mysore, India, with Pattabhi Jois? You’ll find out in this episode.

David has a deep dedication to the practice, music, poetry, and art.

We discussing the evolution of his practice and teaching over the years and how it’s culimated in his newest book: Ashtanga Yoga Vinyasa: Movement, Breath, and Posture in the Primary Series.

It takes courage to write a book, let alone six of them!

It takes courage to put yourself out there on YouTube consistently (if you haven’t checked out Asana Kitchen with David Garrigues - be sure to) and to create over 20 video courses!

And it takes courage to get on your mat every day.

David talks about some of the motivations that continue to bring him to his mat daily, some deep emotions that continue to linger, like shame, anger, and resentment. This need for constant purification and ongoing evolution, is what continues to spur him to gather up all his courage each day to face himself on his mat!

We’re examining both the shadow and the light aspects of the asana practice today with David Garrigues, and his particular approach to practice within this deeply explorative conversation.

Come practice with me in person in 2023 - ⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/events⁠⁠

Barcelona: September 22 - 26, 2023

⁠⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠ ⁠⁠

Madrid: September 27 - October 1, 2023

Cleveland, OH: November 3 - 6, 2023

LEARN MORE ABOUT DAVID GARRIGUES

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I YOUTUBE - davidgarrigues.com

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The Tao of Dreams with Kari Hohne

30 juli 2023 | 68 min

Meeting up with Kari Hohne in Lake Tahoe was a true joy! As we dive into a fun-filled conversation about how she left her glamorous position in the high-fashion industry to follow a deeper soul calling.

She’s talking with us today about Taoism, the I Ching, and dream interpretations. These are just a few of the areas she’s passionate about. It’s her mission to keep this ancient wisdom relevant during our modern times and we’re diving into not only her personal story but also asking her to share her skills with us!

Kari has four decades experience analyzing dreams for people around the world, and joined philosopher Ken Wilber as the dream expert during a Spiritual Technology Summit in 2017.

You can find on her website, Cafe Au Soul, a virtual database of dream symbols, ancient oracles and archetypal information.

We know this episode will be both interesting and informative for you!

Come practice with me in person in 2023 - ⁠harmonyslater.com/events⁠

Barcelona: September 22 - 26, 2023

⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠ ⁠

Madrid: September 27 - October 1, 2023

You can listen to our podcast with Dr. Emma Bragdon *episode 164

Cleveland, OH: November 3 - 6, 2023

⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT KARI HOHNE:

⁠INSTAGRAM ⁠ I ⁠WEBSITE⁠ I ⁠YOUTUBE⁠ - ⁠cafeausoul.com

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Awaken with Susan Klein-Holmen

23 juli 2023 | 92 min

Susan Klein-Holmen is a multi-passionate entrepreneur. The Founder and Creative Director STELLdesign, and Yoga Teacher and Mentor at her own school: Kosha Yoga Shala.

She grew up in the prairies of the mid-west. Her Scandanavian heritage continued to call her soul back to her native land. So in 2004, she moved to Norway with her Norwegian husband.

She started an interior architecture company, working with clients in two languages, both Norwegian and English, all while raising 3 children, and doing her absolute best to do everything right!

Susan shares with us a very intense and terrifying experience that changed her life forever.

It happened to her while at a yoga retreat. Her story is one that maybe you can relate to?

We’re sharing it because there needs to be more awareness around how these types of powerful spiritual practices can open up the mind to the movement of transcendental energy.

As more and more people in the West are practising different types of chanting, meditation, breathwork and yoga, it seems more important than ever that teachers are aware of what can happen. It’s essential as a yoga teacher to know how to support students around these powerful energetic transformations and how to create safe spaces for them. This is something that isn’t being taught on your typical yoga teacher training.

Susan is particularly qualified to support others who are experiencing this type of awakening, as she’s been there herself. And she knows just how disorienting it can be!

Her mission is to continue to educate and create more awareness in yoga communities around the topics of spiritual emergence, and emergencies, so that yoga teachers and practitioners know what to look for when seeking out spiritual teachers, and can clearly identify the red flags!

Susan completed her Spiritual Emergence Coach training with Dr Emma Bragdon the founder of IMHU.

She is offering peer support to others having challenging awakening experiences.

Susan is offering an Immersion training called Awaken this fall. It’s a special program for women in perimenopause and menopause who are experiencing low energy, low mood, overwhelm, anxiety and burn-out who want feel a sense of joy, energy and creativity again.

Keep an eye on her website for more details.

SUMMER B-SCHOOL CLOSES JULY 28th! - harmonyslater.com/b-school-marie-forleo⁠

Come practice with me in person in 2023 - ⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/events⁠⁠⁠

Barcelona: September 22 - 26, 2023

⁠⁠⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

Madrid: September 27 - October 1, 2023

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cleveland, OH: November 3 - 6, 2023

Learn About B-SCHOOL SUMMER 2023
OPENING JULY 18th! - harmonyslater.com/b-school-marie-forleo

LEARN MORE ABOUT SUSAN:

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I INTERIOR DESIGN - yogasusan.com

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

A Stroke of Insight with Meghan Marshall

16 juli 2023 | 93 min

This conversation with Meghan had all of us laughing about something that's no laughing matter!

Maybe it's Meghan's dry Canadian sense of humor, but Russell kept throwing her little balls of wonderful wit and she just kept catching them and throwing them right back.

For nearly 20 years, Ashtanga has sustained Meghan through life's ups and downs and she's been teaching for over fifteen of those years. She's had quite the journey from her humble introduction to the practice in Montreal, Canada, then moving to San Jose, California, having four children, and continuing to practice and teach there. And finally, now, to opening her very own Mysore program in South Philly!

Meghan is affectionately named "The Benevolent Ashtanga Overlord" by her students, as she teaches way that is both empathetic and humorous, while still holding space for challenge and growth with her gentle guidance and encouragement.

As a mother of four young girls, Meghan knows what it's like to practice through all different stages of life and how difficult it is to maintain a practice through the hectic demands of wearing so many different hats. As an entrepreneur, fully stepping into her role of building a thriving Mysore program, she also is deeply involved with her family and continues to find time to explore her own studies of yoga philosophy as a spiritual seeker.

Meghan also knows just how quickly it can all be taken away. And that's what we're talking about today.

In August of 2019, Meghan had a stroke, right in the middle of her Ashtanga yoga practice! This random event changed her perspective on life completely. She realized, time is short. And that the peripheral community drama wasn't important to her personal practice. She decided to boldly step forward on her path, recognizing she didn't have time to wait for permission to teach. Instead, she made the resolve that if she recovered, she would claim her own authority. And we're so glad she did.

Come practice with me in person in 2023 - ⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/events⁠⁠

Barcelona: September 22 - 26, 2023

⁠⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠ ⁠⁠

Madrid: September 27 - October 1, 2023

Cleveland, OH: November 3 - 6, 2023

LEARN MORE ABOUT MEGHAN + MYSORE PALO SANTO:

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I MYSORE PROGRAM - meghanyoga.com

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

When Love Beckons You with Delara Tiv

9 juli 2023 | 107 min

"Come, come, whoever you are, a pagan, an idol worshiper or an infidel. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come."

- Rumi

Delara Tiv grew up with Sufi traditions throughout her family. However, it wasn't until she turned 22 that she became drunk with love and fell headfirst into the Sufi Mystic path as a disciple of Sufi Master Javad Nurbakhsh. Her spiritual practice is graced by his guidance and this Mystic teaching is a parallel practice to the path of Yoga.

As a Certified Advanced Rolfer and yoga teacher Delara's goal is to lead practitioners of all levels to develop a safe and sustainable self-practice; to grow by mindful embodiment and to overcome past injuries and limitations.

Ashtanga Vevey was founded in 2018 by Delara Tiv, with the intention to hold space for a community to emerge and to support yoga practitioners of all abilities on their path of self discovery in this deeply transformational practice.

Come practice with me in person in 2023 - ⁠harmonyslater.com/events⁠

Barcelona: September 22 - 26, 2023

⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠ ⁠

Madrid: September 27 - October 1, 2023

FIND OUT MORE - https://myogashala.com/product/la-armonia-del-balance/

Cleveland, OH: November 3 - 6, 2023

⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT DELARA:

⁠INSTAGRAM ⁠ I ⁠WEBSITE⁠

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Waiting For Grace with Nina Rao

1 juli 2023 | 81 min

It is with great pleasure that we introduce our esteemed and most honorable guest: the beautiful, humble, and one might say, divinely inspired human, Nina Rao!

What Nina enchants us with is an opportunity to reflect more deeply on what it means to cultivate a spiritual practice.

And, the shadow side, which is to examine just how often we fail at this noble endeavor. As she reminds us, this too is OK -- even part of the path. We all have families, obligations, children, and the whole point is that we keep trying to do better every day. Even when we can’t always be at our best.
We also had a wondrous opportunity to talk about cultural appropriation and our earnest efforts to have an authentic experience in a post modernist world of self construction.

For those of us not born into a specific lineage, we have the gift and freedom to resonate and choose different spiritual paths and practices.

However, there is something to be said about digging a single well and going deep. Discovering what insight lays buried within the repetition. True learning. And, in the end, we touch something beyond this behavioral reality — we begin to transcend our ego-selves

As Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji) said, “Go on chanting your false “Ram, Ram” some day you’ll get it right.” And, perhaps you’ll also find yourself running across the lake after your guru seeking to get the pronunciation exactly correct as you embark on your chosen path to enlightenment.

Spiritual practice is something that’s continually evolving as we grow and change as ‘spiritual beings having a human experience.’ And it's our birthright -- It's our dharma!

(A side note: The movie referenced in the beginning of our conversation was For the Benefit of All Beings.)

Come practice with me in person in 2023 - harmonyslater.com/events

Barcelona: September 22 - 26, 2023

⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠

Madrid: September 27 - October 1, 2023

⁠⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠⁠

Cleveland, OH: November 3 - 6, 2023

⁠FIND OUT MORE⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT NINA RAO:

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I YOUTUBE - ninaraochant.com

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

All of You is Welcome

25 juni 2023 | 18 min

¡Hala Madrid! ...y nada más

18 juni 2023 | 81 min

"¡Hala Madrid! ...y nada más" means "Go Madrid and nothing more!"

During the course of this interview a smile started to slowly etch itself into our very souls. Some people are built different. Some people hide themselves away, only revealing who they are little by little. Then, over the desert course, possibly after uncorking another bottle of wine, they mention the unmentionable and blow your fucking mind.

That’s our guest today, Carmen Yagüe.

You could say Russell sort of circled her, with his sense of humour, like a hammer head shark wondering where the comedy would be. Carmen you’ll see is quiet, composed, and poised, she sits back taking it all in. But, what we didn't know is that she’s also someone that thinks about death. Muerte.

Like us, she thinks about it all the time. And, we find that delicious.

Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath found that the unifying dimension to their friendship. They understood the immediacy of its appeal, the finality of its solution. The way death winds around us and presents to us as a kind of rising whistling cobra.

We know you’ll enjoy this episode as spinning gravitational bodies slowly come to observe one another within the same orbit.

Carmen Yagüe is an authorized teacher of Ashtanga yoga by Sharath R. Jois with close to 15 years of experience in the method. Ashtanga yoga's systematic, gradual approach appealed to her from the beginning, and she’s experienced the transformative power of the practice within her body, mind, and approach to life. Carmen supports her student's practice from a space of dedicated perseverance, integrity, and self-confidence.

Come practice with me in Madrid September 27 - October 1, 2023!

DONATE $5 and doTERRA will MATCH the funds so it becomes $10! All money goes to YOGA GIVES BACK

Plus you'll be invited to join me June 25 for a special online class!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠yogagivesback.info/givetogirls⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Listen to Carmen's PODCAST: ⁠https://youtube.com/@vocesdelyoga⁠

For more information about Carmen Yagüe Website - ⁠http://carmenyagueashtanga.com/⁠

IG - @carmenyagueashtanga

LinkedIn - ⁠https://es.linkedin.com/in/carmenyague⁠

YouTube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@yogishelpinyogis⁠

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Journey to Mysore Tenerife with Viviane Simon

11 juni 2023 | 97 min

Our guest today was born in Germany, growing up on her family’s farm in Bavaria. *side note BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke or Bavarian Auto Works... and that's where Harmony will be teaching this week, in Munich!

When Ashtanga yoga found Viviane Simon she was going through a difficult period of depression, ending a seriously toxic relationship, and struggling with her weight, being 130kg (286 pounds). She enrolled in a “rebirthing training” course (which used a type of breathwork) and this led her into an Ashtanga yoga class.

This was back in April 2013, and since then, Ashtanga became her main focus because it helped her fall in love with herself again. After her third class she had a feeling of belonging, "THIS is it!"

What we loved most about our conversation with Viviane is that any discussion about her weight is nearly immaterial to her. Her success in yoga was totally based on the way her mind and emotions were changing, opening up new perspectives. She has zero interest in doing before and after pictures. For one: they do not showcase nor demonstrate her happiness! Two: they simply feed into a culture of body obsession and dysmorphia.

Viviane started to prioritize her practice as a way of prioritizing her self-care. This simple act changed everything. Her first teacher, Griselda, always encouraged her to practice, telling her it wasn’t necessary to change anything about her physicality, she never suggested that her body size, shape, or weight would be an impediment to any asana.

JOIN ME IN JUNE!

JUNE 16 - 18, 2023 - WORKSHOP in Munich, Germany - ⁠⁠⁠⁠GET DETAILS⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠- harmonyslater.com/events⁠⁠⁠⁠

DONATE $5 and doTERRA will MATCH the funds so it becomes $10! All money goes to YOGA GIVES BACK

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠yogagivesback.info/givetogirls⁠⁠⁠⁠

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Being, Nothingness & Suchness with Jivana Heyman

3 juni 2023 | 72 min

What a beautiful podcast to kick off Pride month!

This is an important month to celebrate our common humanity, diversity, and unconditional love and acceptance of one another.

Jivana coined the phrase, “Accessible Yoga,” over ten years ago, and it has now become the standard appellation for a large cross section of the immense yoga world. He brought the Accessible Yoga community together for the first time in 2015 for the Accessible Yoga Conference, which has gone on to become a focal point for this movement.

Russell’s tendency of over-relating to our guests has been noted. And this episode is no exception. It might seem he’s attempting to “out gay the gays,” so to speak. But it opens this conversation into an incredibly intimate and deep portrait of a young man stepping into a cultural identity during a particularly traumatic time in our collective history, the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Jivana talks about his anger as an activist and how it informed his beliefs. It gave insight to some very important decisions around how he could best serve, offering a unique way to practice yoga within a community of practitioners of varying identities, capacities, or abilities.

You see, this world is not a one way mirror. We are all reflections of one another. When we are angry, we project and see anger in the other, and that’s who we become.

Jivana has specialized in teaching yoga to people with disabilities with an emphasis on community building and social engagement. Out of this work, the nonprofit Accessible Yoga Association was created to support education, training, and advocacy with the mission of shifting the public perception of yoga. Accessible Yoga offers Conferences, Community Forums, a Podcast, and a popular Ambassador program

He’s the author of Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body (Shambhala Publications), and Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage & Compassion (Shambhala Publications, Nov. 2021).

FOLLOW JIVANA HEYMAN:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠yogagivesback.info/givetogirls⁠⁠⁠

JOIN ME IN JUNE!

JUNE 7 - 12, 2023 - All-Inclusive Turkey Retreat!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GET DETAILS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ harmonyslater.com/yoga-retreat-turkey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

JUNE 16 - 18, 2023 - WORKSHOP in Munich, Germany - ⁠⁠⁠GET DETAILS⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠- harmonyslater.com/events⁠⁠⁠

DONATE $5 and doTERRA will MATCH the funds so it becomes $10! All money goes to YOGA GIVES BACK

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Sally Parkes Yoga School For Life

28 maj 2023 | 102 min

We start off this episode with a cautionary tale about what happens when you experience debilitating back pain and don’t listen to your body, but try to work through the pain.

Our guest Sally Parkes, began her journey in the health and fitness industry in 1998 after qualifying as a personal trainer and gaining a bachelor in Sport Science in the year 2001.

Soon after, she experienced a deep calling to explore a more holistic approach to movement and breath, which led to Sally certifying as a yoga and pranayama teacher, training with Paul Dallaghan and Sri O.P.Tiwari at Yoga Thailand, where Harmony first met her during the time she was living and teaching there.

We dive deep into the troubling beginnings of what brought Sally to the this path of yoga in the first place. A path which she believes wholeheartedly saved her life.

Since then, Sally has gone on to train as a doula with Michel O’Dent and as a Pilates teacher with A.P.P.I. (Australian Pilates Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute), and has established her own yoga teacher training school The Sally Parkes Yoga Academy in 2010, training over 1500 yoga teachers to date. Now specializing in solely women’s wellness, Sally’s academy offers yoga that honors the cycles of menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, postnatal and menopause.

FOLLOW SALLY PARKES:

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I YOUTUBE I SALLY PARKES YOGA CLUB I TEACHER TRAINING - sallyparkesyoga.com

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠yogagivesback.info/givetogirls⁠⁠

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Spiritual Emergence with Dr. Emma Bragdon

21 maj 2023 | 125 min

We have an incredible conversation to share with you today!

Introducing our new friend, the eminent Dr. Emma Bragdon. Emma has been a pioneer in body-mind-spirit wellness for 50 years. She has written 7 books and co-produced two documentary films on topics related to mental health and healing. In fact, she’s been a teacher in experiential learning for adults since 1985.

Dr. Bragdon is the Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for Energy Therapies, Inc (FET), a not for profit dedicated to education and research. Integrative Mental Health University, IMHU, is a project of FET.

Prior to graduate school, Emma trained with some of the best bio-energetic and neo-Reichian therapists in the San Francisco Bay area!

Her advanced training in breathwork, bodywork and energy work became central in her understanding of how to support personal growth and wellness.

By 1988, Emma was licensed as a Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist, had earned her PhD in Transpersonal Psychology, and specialized in private practice around issues of Spiritual Emergency. She continues to coach individuals online from all continents in the world, as well as consult with organizations regarding identifying and managing spiritual emergencies.

And in fact, we’re considering training with Dr. Bragdon on how to become a spiritual emergence coach at her online Integrative Mental Health University. There is an increasing need for this work in our communities.

And, we artists, yogis, and podcast listeners are ripe for the exchange!

FOLLOW Dr.Emma:
WEBSITE I INTEGRATIVE MENTAL HEALTH UNIVERSITY I INSTAGRAM

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DONATE $1 and doTERRA will MATCH the funds! All money goes to YOGA GIVES BACK

⁠⁠⁠⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠yogagivesback.info/givetogirls⁠

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Lady Lucinda on Solsbury Hill

8 maj 2023 | 117 min

Well… we certainly didn’t expect that. We didn’t expect to be talking to Peter Gabriel’s niece. We didn’t expect her to actually be living beside Solsbury Hill. We didn’t think we’d be talking about all that much about Ben Folgle and the Animal Park show broadcast from her hometown of Bath. We didn’t think we we’d be talking that much about drugs and co-dependency and “good enough” mums and adult children of alcoholics.

Well… maybe that’s not such a surprise, as Russell does like to typically go in that direction, and it seems to be a theme amongst many Ashtanga practitioners.

We have to say that this wild episode is one of our personal favorites.

The drugs and name dropping is one thing… Twee references to the Royal family compound our glee!

But, what gets us the most is when someone has a sincere relationship to the healing power of practice. And Lucinda Leachman is the first to attest to how it’s helped her immensely. Using it as a somatic therapy, it’s helped her to process the past, let go of shame, and move confidently into an unknown future.

Lucinda is also no stranger to injury, pain, and frustration within the practice itself. As a mother, she’s learned to release perfectionism and embrace the blessings that practice brings, so she can show up more fully in her life.

⁠FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LUCINDA ON IG - @lucindaleachmanyoga⁠

JOIN ME IN JUNE!

JUNE 1 - 12, 2023 - All-Inclusive Turkey Retreat!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GET DETAILS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ harmonyslater.com/yoga-retreat-turkey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

JUNE 16 - 18, 2023 - WORKSHOP in Munich, Germany - GET DETAILS - harmonyslater.com/events

DONATE $1 and doTERRA will MATCH the funds! All money goes to YOGA GIVES BACK

⁠⁠⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠⁠⁠ - yogagivesback.info/givetogirls

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Kyra Weinberger: The Burlesque Queen of Kansas City

30 april 2023 | 92 min

Kyra tells us, “All good things in my life are because of my parents.”

Her parents were dancers, they’re liberal, kind-hearted humans, who found Ashtanga yoga first. They brought Kyra to her first class.

However, at that time, Kyra was deeply struggling with bulimia and anorexia. And although the class made an imprint, a spark was lit. It wasn’t until after she left treatment that she was fully able to return to it. Diving headfirst with an openness to receiving it's healing effects.

Today we’re talking about identity, hidden wounds, and how sometimes, even with the best upbringing and family, we struggle with our own darkness. The good news is there’s freedom when we compassionately embrace our shadows, find the courage to bring it into the light, and invite them to dance!

Kyra Weinberger grew up with dance, music, and yoga filling her home. She took the path of musical theater and ballet performing with professional companies from the age of 8. It was her first love and career, but it was not a forever love. Kyra knew at 19 years old, walking out of her first Intro to Ashtanga class she had found something that had always been missing. Unfortunately, the path wasn't exactly simple. Having dealt with an eating disorder and the anxiety for many years, it was not until recovery that a real practice was possible. The practice of Ashtanga has given Kyra tools to create a life of discipline and love.

JUNE 1 - 12, 2023 - All-Inclusive Turkey Retreat!⁠⁠⁠⁠ GET DETAILS⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠ harmonyslater.com/yoga-retreat-turkey⁠⁠⁠⁠

MAKE A DONATION TO YOGA GIVES BACK

doTERRA will MATCH dollar for dollar the funds raised here:

⁠⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠https://doterrahealinghands.org/match-program/fundraiser/479/higher-education-for-girls-in-india⁠⁠

LEARN ABOUT KYRA: ⁠INSTAGRAM⁠ - @kyralyn

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Life after Death with Nadia Stinga Rihani

23 april 2023 | 83 min

Nadia Stinga Rihani is a mother of two, a yoga teacher (ashtanga level 2 authorised in 2014), a former gymnast, and a qualified strategic psychotherapist and clinical hypnotherapist.

In 2019 Nadia was hit by a car, which left her unable to walk for many months, and she had to learn to start again completely. This accident resulted in the loss of her career and so, after taking off a period of time to focus on physical and mental rehabilitation, and also to have her second child (carrying the baby on a broken pelvis).

Nadia is currently studying nutrition and building a business that will help women manage the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause through diet, movement, meditation and observed rest.

Nadia is passionate about all things health and well-being, and although the car accident has been devastating, it has taught her a lot about physical movement and it’s power to help with grief and trauma. Nadia can usually be found in the ocean in Sydney where she lives, and she tries to swim every day possible.

JUNE 1 - 12, 2023 - All-Inclusive Turkey Retreat!⁠⁠⁠ GET DETAILS⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠ harmonyslater.com/yoga-retreat-turkey⁠⁠⁠

MAKE A DONATION TO YOGA GIVES BACK

doTERRA will MATCH dollar for dollar the funds raised here:

⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠ - ⁠https://doterrahealinghands.org/match-program/fundraiser/479/higher-education-for-girls-in-india⁠

LEARN ABOUT NADIA: INSTAGRAM

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Spiral Journey of Spirit

16 april 2023 | 32 min

What is the spiritual path and how does it change us?

This is a solo episode with some thoughts and reflections on what it means to have a spiritual practice and discipline.

I offer a reading from the book: "Ritual As Remedy" by Mara Branscombe, ⁠a guest from back in January, episode 148⁠, and speak to how my own practice has shifted and changed over the years.

“Your faith may be found inside the quiet of daily meditation practice or in your evening prayers. Be it fire ceremony, sweat lodge, tea ceremony, yoga practice, playing music, ecstatic dance, or kitchen dance parties. Be it your journal practice, turning pottery, or summiting a mountain.
What is your conscious practice where you build your house of faith?

Where do you fill yourself up on a soul level?
What consciously and wholeheartedly lights you up and brings you lasting joy?”
- Ritual as Remedy, by Mara Branscombe

These are important questions to reflect on when you’re cultivating a life of spirit.

How best can you honour this spiritual quest of life?

What makes you come alive and feeds your soul?

This is what I’m diving into today.

JUNE 1 - 12, 2023 - All-Inclusive Turkey Retreat!⁠⁠ GET DETAILS⁠⁠ -⁠⁠ harmonyslater.com/yoga-retreat-turkey⁠⁠

MAKE A DONATION TO YOGA GIVES BACK

doTERRA will MATCH dollar for dollar the funds raised here:

Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India - https://doterrahealinghands.org/match-program/fundraiser/479/higher-education-for-girls-in-india

FOLLOW ME on SOCIAL:⁠ INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠.

Paloma: No Woman, No Cry

9 april 2023 | 65 min

“I am my own muse, I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.”— Frida Kahlo

Youthfulness. What a beautiful blessing. Here we are met today by such openness to life, and all that her future has to offer, Palmoa Tamayo, graces us with her purity of spirit and sublime optimism.

From her early years, being introduced to the Ashtanga yoga practice, to studying in Mysore, and then being called upon as Eddie Stern’s assistant, Paloma has crossed a chasm to touch into the depth of her yoga practice.

It’s no small feat to be born in Mexico to a middle class family, forsaking the obvious path, to step outside one’s designated station to make new roads into a future yet defined.

It is here in the land of the unknown that we meet Paloma, in all her brilliance, to talk about where she has been and where she might go as she steps into an undermined future.

How wonderful it is to feel like the world is your oyster and that all good thing lay in wait.

Today, you’ll be reminded of the joyfulness of youth and the purity of the practice. What beauty. What innocence. What joyfulness there is to behold on the other side of cynicism and age.

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PALOMA: ⁠Instagram

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠- ⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠Here⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠Here⁠⁠.

Anita Cunha: Vegan Chef Extraordinaire!

2 april 2023 | 66 min

May the universe never abuse food.
Breath is food;
the body eats food,
this body rests on breath.
Breath rests on the body;
Food is resting on food. The one who knows this
becomes rich in food and great in fame."
- Taittiriya Upanishad

Anita Cunha, our dear friend and beautiful Vegan Chef joins us today. She specializes in creating perfectly balanced Ayurvedic cuisine. We’re learning about her journey down the path of self-discovery through her love for spice and food. She has a beautiful book called, “VEGAN INDIA: My Love Affair With The Land Of Spice” in which she shares much of her story along with incredibly delicious recipes.

Anita believes it’s possible to gain esoteric knowledge of our body and mind through changing our eating habits. Flavors and smells have the power to bring transformation and change our consciousness. And today we’re hearing all about her love affair with India, how she learned Hindi, and eventually after traveling for several years, found herself working as the head chef at the Purple Valley Yoga Center in Goa.

In her view, language, culture, religion, and food are intimately linked together and it’s impossible not to touch all these aspects of a culture when we decide to be a part of it. We’re able to understand others through stepping into their lived experiences through food and culture.

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ANITA: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - chefanitacunha.com

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠ Make A Donation ⁠- ⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠Here⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠Here⁠.

Life and Death with Ty Landrum

26 mars 2023 | 106 min

Eros is the drive of life, love, creativity, and sexuality, self-satisfaction, and species preservation. Thanatos, from the Greek word for "death" is the drive of aggression, sadism, destruction, violence, and death.”

- Sigmund Freud

It’s with great pleasure we sit down to speak with Ty Landrum to talk about his passion for Philosophy and the interplay of Eros and Thanatos. What creates the desire to thrive?

We examine the existential pointlessness of enduring our own suffering… And how to end it? A question that’s plagued humanity since the dawn of time, birthing the disciplines of Yoga and Buddhism.

You see, like all animals are caught in the chewing maw of the lioness’s embrace, eventually, we too will ultimately relax and sink into the void— Yet, we have the unique ability to anticipate this event and give up decades before we ever step into the jungle.

Ty was incredibly generous with us on this subject and we are grateful to him for sharing.

He speaks about how Ashtanga Yoga, quite literally, saved his life.

His PhD was an emotional response to this transformation. An elevation to a higher purpose. You can feel it still in his devotion to the practice.

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois would often quote Patanjali Yoga Sutra verse 12 in the first chapter, “practice yoga every day, with enthusiasm, for a long, long, long time.”

When you hear these stories of how yoga has saved, transformed, created a whole new way of being and seeing the world, you can’t help but feel the pull of the practice… rolling out your yoga mat for one more day, one more time.

A Poem. A Bio. A Life.

“Ty Landrum.

learned yoga from pain and heartache, loss and confusion, old books, lost tapes, full moons, long bouts of silence, cold winds, simplicity, forgiveness, surrender, and the caring words of a few good friends.

He draws inspiration from children, saffron, sage, carob, almonds, chocolate, wise women, gnarled old men, olive trees, deep rivers, steep mountains, quaking aspen, honeybees, love songs, sunrises, laughter and deep breath.”

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A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠ Make A Donation ⁠- ⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠Here⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠Here⁠.

Rachel White’s Tapestry Of Creation

19 mars 2023 | 60 min

What a fun episode we have today! As many already know, I loooooove astrology, both Western and Vedic, as well as some of the more “woo-woo” esoteric studies, like Human Design.

That said, my favorite personality typing tool is the Enneagram, which I use to help my coaching clients explore more deeply their unconscious patterning.

However, today we have a unique guest who’s offering us a different kind of grand synthesis to help us uncover a deeper understanding of ourselves. Although you might think you know who you are already (which is understandable as you do live with yourself every day)… This Gene Key reading with our guest Rachel White blew us away!

Rachel White is an Australian author, speaker, coach, gene keys guide, and artist of life.

Rachel is what you might call a “witchy women” who is sharing some profound insights regarding our unique gifts and essence, and she’s here to help guide you too! You’re going to hear us enthusiastically jump head first into this hilarious and insightful discussion. We can’t hold back today, spontaneously asking what each line and number means.

Before pursuing her creative path, Rachel worked as a professional accountant for eight years, so she has a special affinity for numbers, as well as a talent for reading into and remembering the deeper meanings behind them.

March 31 - April 2 - Come practice with me in Kansas City! - harmonyslater.com/events

JUNE 1 - 12, 2023
All-Inclusive Turkey Retreat!
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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RACHEL WHITE

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - byrachelwhite.com

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify Here. Purchase your own copy Here.

Erik Jacobsen: Yoga, Philosophy, and Art

12 mars 2023 | 103 min

Mind–body dualism is a philosophical view which holds that mental phenomena are, at least in certain respects, not physical phenomena, meaning that the mind and the body are distinct and separable from one another.

Of course… If you practice yoga, you know this is definitely not the case.

We feel, think, and often remember through our body. Our body is a part of Prakriti “primary subatomic particles.” Our minds are also a part Prakriti. And what is left after prakriti is gone is simply awareness: Purusha, what we might call “Presence.”

We are awareness you and I. We are linked. This is Paramatman. We are joined this way.

False dichotomies are rife in our society. Red Blue. Body Mind. Them Us. High Brow Low Brow. Our guest today, our dear friend, Erik Jacobsen is a student. Self taught. In that he’s a life long learner with a passion for understanding being and demonstrating right action.

Erik is a tattoo artist. He’s punk. He’s self made. He went to art school (but that is not exactly school) and has buried his art in the ground. And he’s buried it inside this impermanent flesh — another kind of ground.

But Erik is also this: He’s an artist whose material, whose ground, is the the body. And nothing more so activates his art then his audience… The flesh. Flesh which itself represents the consciousness waking up, aware of itself housed inside a body.

In painting we often refer to the ground as two things: First, it’s the treatment of the canvas or wood with a preservative that keeps the oil from eating away at it. Second, it’s the space in which the subject sits—an apple for example. The mistake a young artist often makes is to say that two are separate. That is to say, the subject becomes an object with no context. And to suggest that the context doesn’t affect the subject is a lie. That the light is not a part of the being of the apple is an untruth.

The apple is light.
Absolutely everything is made of stardust.
And this is where we're meeting Jacob today... somewhere amongst the stars.

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ERIK JACOBSEN

Practice with me in person in March 2023

Kansas City: March 31 - April 2

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ERIK JACOBSEN

DONATE HERE - yogagivesback.org

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Turning It All Upside Down with Lotta Sebzda

11 mars 2023 | 93 min

We have such a joyous person to share with you today! We have the Handstanding Grandma!! Surprised to find out she’s almost the same age as us tho. Weird.

Seeing a lot of guys out there OUR AGE just dying off. Having heart attacks and brain aneurysms. Normal end of life stuff (rip Tom Sizemore). So Stop it!! Roll out your yoga mat out, get your chai all warmed up. We are going to spend this Sunday morning having the most delightful time.

Lotta Sebzda has been practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa since 1999 and is a 56 year old grandmother as well an inspiring teacher both in person as well as on her online platforms! The secret to Lotta’s continued love for the physical and spiritual practice… CURIOSITY!

If you don’t think Ashtanga yoga is for you… if you’re feeling too old, too tired, too fat, too stiff… This is one episode you won’t want to miss!

Lotta shares her story and experience on how to continuing practicing through injuries and aging.

Yoga students always tell her that they “can’t wait to be like her when they’re old" and this is greatly motivating!

In honour of International Women’s Day!

YOGA GIVES BACK - WOMEN IN YOGA CONFERENCE - Make A Donation. Watch the replay!

Practice with me in person in March 2023

Tenerife, Spain: March 11 - 21

Kansas City: March 31 - April 2

>>> Listen to our past episode with Mariela where we talk about her journey to Ashtanga yoga.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LOTTA SEBZDA - INSTAGRAM - @lottasebzdayoga

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify Here. Purchase your own copy Here.

Honouring The Wisdom of The Divine Feminine with Mariela Cruz

26 februari 2023 | 80 min

It is with great pleasure that I got to sit down and connect with my dear friend Mariela Cruz. Mariela is one of those phenomenal human who’s devotion and dedication is palpable.

She’s heart-centered and gifted with supreme powers of intelligence, wit, and physical prowess!

With 7 children, a lawyer, a gifted solo pianist, she’s also and Advanced Asana practitioner, studying with Sharath Jois in Mysore, India for the past twenty years. She was an ambassador to India on behalf of Costa Rica…. and the list of accomplishments goes on and on… and she still has half a lifetime more to live.

We’re diving into the power of the feminine energy, how the different Ashtanga yoga series embody different types of energy, and calling upon the goddess archetypes as a guide during different phases of life.

With International Women’s Day approaching on March 8th, this is the perfect way to reflect on the powerful experience of being born as female and what it means to embody this energy.

YOGA GIVES BACK - WOMEN IN YOGA CONFERENCE - March 4th

JOIN HERE - yogagivesback.org

Practice with me in person in March 2023

Tenerife, Spain: March 11 - 21

Kansas City: March 31 - April 2

Find Out More About My B-School Bonus Experience - harmonyslater.com/b-school-marie-forleo

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARIELA CRUZ

Instagram I YouTube I Women of Ashtanga I Yoga Gives Back

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify Here. Purchase your own copy Here.

Connect & Protect with Marque Garaux

19 februari 2023 | 110 min

Halfway through this episode Russell exclaims, “Goodness, you are just a really nice, wholesome person, Marque!”

And, our guest today well and truly is! You’ll find him somewhere in the woods, far away from the hustle of city life, enjoying a solitary life near lake Erie in Ohio. As it turns out, it’s near what must be God’s country, I’m sure. Where if you bathe in snow, drink fresh spring water, sleep on top of a coffin, and eat grilled beef liver (but only once a month), you might too become a master of the esoteric arts of ancient yoga.

There is something just marvelously endearing about Garaux’s pursuit of perfection.

Marque discovered Ashtanga Yoga while seeking different ways to alleviate his lower back pain. After noticing an almost immediate physical change, Marque then slowly began to see other positive changes happening in his life as well. With no Ashtanga teachers in the area, he found himself with no choice but to get up early and practice on his own before work everyday. During this time Marque also attended a 200 teacher training and several Ashtanga workshops and intensives to deepen his understanding of this beautiful system.

Marque is the owner of Great Lakes Ashtanga Yoga which is located on 8 wooded acres in Geneva, Ohio. He offers a traditional Mysore program, private lessons and workshops.

B-School Closes THIS WEEK! Thursday Feb.23 - Find Out More

Practice with me in March 2023

Tenerife, Spain: March 11 - 21

Kansas City: March 31 - April 2

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARQUE

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify Here. Purchase your own copy Here.

How To Become Trauma Informed with Lara Land

12 februari 2023 | 99 min

A Helluva Lotta Fun with Ellie Smith

5 februari 2023 | 92 min

Right in the middle of this episode Harmony said to Russell “We need to get to the yoga part!” He said “Everybody does the yoga part! Ellie is a Cultural Studies professor. Lets ask about that!

Deconstruct Orientalism or Japan or her personal experience with colonialism and being the Other!”

Harmony sighed and said “Fine” “So.. Dr. Smith, what are Cultural Studies?” And Ellie said, “Oh gosh. I haven’t a clue.”

So begins our absolutely scintillating conversation with the effervescent and gorgeously insightful Ellie Smith: A recovering academic, now yoga teacher, entrepreneur, and writer with a persistent curiosity about the world, both natural and human, Ellie Smith is an absolute delightful human to spend time with.

Born and raised in Cornwall, U.K, after completing University in 2005, Ellie took a “gap year” and has ended up spending the last 17 years living in Japan becoming an Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies, teaching at a university in Nagoya.

Ellie is passionate about helping yoga beginners and the yoga curious navigate their way into the often confusing realm of yoga, using the methods she’s learned through her Ashtanga practice, becoming certified in the traditions of Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Trauma-sensitive Yoga teaching.

Come Join the FREE Dream Business Bootcamp Challenge!

Save Your Spot

Practice with me in March 2023

Tenerife, Spain: March 11 - 21

Kansas City: March 31 - April 2

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ELLIE SMITH

WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - elliesmithyoga.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify Here. Purchase your own copy Here.

Bella’s Little Sanctuary, Come Find Refuge

29 januari 2023 | 80 min

A meta critique came up in our conversation about the mythic “Hero’s Journey.” The Hero, which so often gendered male, is larger than life (think Brad Pitt—super cut with deliciously sumptuous lips.)

The Hero symbolizes an impossible reality. And yet, somehow, we are surrounded by quiet heroes every single day.

Bella is one of these quiet heroes.

Overshadowed on Instagram (a different Meta altogether) by images of bodies demonstrating superhuman feats that appear impossible by any “normal” standards. Somehow our mind is tricked into connecting these Superhuman displays of prowess to symbolize a successful inner quest culminating in God Realization.

Bella Sarna is interested in creating a different kind of space. She’s focused on cultivating a little sanctuary to come home to. A sanctuary that’s as much a sacred place inside her heart, as it is a beautiful room to step into.

Isn’t that after all the true purpose of Yoga?

To find refuge within ourselves. To come home to a quiet integration of our mind, body, and spirit. Our guest today is doing just that.

Bella Sarna is a Yoga facilitator and deeply devoted student of Ashtanga Yoga. She is also a mother, an Entrepreneur, and works as the Marketing Director and Owner of boutique Interior Design business, where she creates beautiful residential and retail spaces.

Read more... harmonyslater.com/finding-harmony-podcast Come Join the FREE Dream Business Bootcamp Challenge!

Save Your Spot

Practice with me in March 2023

Tenerife, Spain: March 11 - 21

Kansas City: March 31 - April 2

FOLLOW BELLA ON INSTAGRAM I INTERIOR DESIGN INSTAGRAM

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ANNABELLA SARNA

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify Here.
Purchase your own copy Here.

Mara Branscombe: Ritual as Remedy

22 januari 2023 | 69 min

We had the sense today that we were speaking with a soul who has a transcendent sense of confidence in herself. Not in any way an arrogant sense of entitlement, nor in a narcissistic way.

But, someone who has the confidence that comes with not fearing death. Death being that slow cool release from a lifetime of bubbling growth, in the way that water must fall off a mountainside. The water has to fall eventually. So why not bathe yourself in it?

Mara Branscombe is a mother, writer, yogi, artist, teacher, mindfulness leader, ceremonialist and spiritual coach. She is the author of “Ritual As Remedy: Embodied Practices For Soul Care.”

Mara is passionate about weaving the art of mindfulness, self-care, creativity, mind–body practices, and earth-based rituals into her life and work, and she’s been leading community ceremony since 2000.

An adventurous spirit, Mara has sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, trekked across the Himalayas, studied yoga in India, planted trees in Canada’s north, lived off the grid in a remote cabin in the woods, worked as a Waldorf (Steiner School) teacher, and then found her passion for dance and choreography.

Ritual as Remedy: Embodied Practices for Soul Care

In this evocative and inspiring guide to ritual as healing balm for the psyche and soul, Mara Branscombe shares potent self-care and soul-care rituals that awaken freedom, joy, depth of spirit, and wild, untamed self-love.

Harnessing the power of imagery and poetry, she shows how ritual can serve as a way to ground yourself, invite in the new, let go of what needs to be shed, and tap into your own inner powers.

Practice with me January 28: Sacred Cycle Sequence: Save Your Spot - harmonyslater.com - keenonyoga.com/events/harmony-slater-sacred-cycle-sequence/?occurrence=2023-01-28

Practice with me in Kansas City Feb.3-5 Learn more - mayayoga.com/workshops-1/harmony-slater

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARA BRANSCOMBE

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - marabranscombe.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Sign Up & Get My Bonus Experience - harmonyslater.com/time-genius

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Designing Humans with Adriana Keefe

15 januari 2023 | 83 min

We’ve signed up for something special today! Harmony’s had us get our human design charts done by a specialist, and guess what? We’re really compatible! Hell, we already knew that! But it sure was cool to hear how a Manifesting Generator with ‘sacral authority’ matches so beautifully with a Projector with SPLENIC AUTHORITY!

What a fascinating conversation. Please curl up with your cup of tea or roll out the kinks on your Yoga Wheel and meet Adriana Keefe!

Adriana is mom to three young children, a human design coach and spiritual strategist, lover of wine, and salt-of-the-earth woman.

She’s committed to helping high achieving women create harmony in life without sacrificing their goals. (Harmony loves creating more harmony in her life!)

As a small business owner multiple times over, Adriana also knows what it’s like to have many competing demands on her time and attention.

Her mission is to support other women to listen deeply to their energy, by leaning into their unique human design strategy, so they can step into their authentic energetic flow, where life becomes easy and less forceful.

(Russell, for example has floated around for 47 years only doing exactly what feels natural to him. He’s always felt a bit guilty about how easy his life is. Learn how he doesn’t have to anymore! - LOL)

Madame Keefe combines spiritual and emotional techniques with tangible skill and logical steps to create a life of harmony and balance using the philosophy and tools she’s learned from studying Human Design.

Time Genius CLOSES This Week! Get it before it’s gone!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ADRIANA

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - adrianakeefe.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Katie Silcox: Southern Shakti to Keep You Healthy, Happy & Sexy

8 januari 2023 | 84 min

Katie told us that ours was the “single most fun podcast she’d ever been on. Bar none!” High praise to be sure. We were SO delighted!

Getting to know Katie Silcox is like unwrapping a beautiful gift that keeps revealing more lovely surprises hidden inside the layers and folds:

The Southern Belle as Mystic who shares openly about her journey and struggles, what brought her to seek out the wisdom traditions of the East and ultimately what’s inspired her to explore the philosophical teachings of the West.

We’re exploring many of the fascinating intersections of Katie’s life, from teaching computers (human robots) to feel, to losing herself inside the weird, wonderful, and wild world of the Indian subcontinent, to writing a book that translate the ancient teachings of Ayurveda into something fun and sassy that any modern woman would enjoy as much as picking up a Cosmo magazine.

We’re exploring the connection between Western philosophy and Eastern mysticism, and how we’re living in a world where we’re trapped inside a selfie, taking a picture of a selfie, taking a picture of a selfie.

How can we get out?

Find out the answer in today's Finding Harmony episode... You'll discover it has something to do with making that which is unconscious, conscious. And piecing ourselves together in a way that we become “whole” or “holy,” unbreakable, and sacred.

Time Genius Opens January 9th!
Sign Up & Get My Bonus Experience - Harmonyslater.com/time-genius

The Shakti School is offering an exclusive discount to the Finding Harmony audience to study with Katie Silcox and many other incredible teachers in the year-long Ayurveda School program.

Please use discount code POD100 at checkout for $100 off any of the payment options.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KATIE & SHAKTI SCHOOL

INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE I WEBSITE - theshaktischool.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

SAVE YOUR SPOT - harmonyslater.com/new-year-yoga-workshop

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Escape the Meatrix with Stuart Waldner

1 januari 2023 | 81 min

Happy New Year!

Our guest Stuart, was born and bred in Kentucky. He mentioned that he had met Babita Shrestha, our guest from episode #141, who’s a Nepalese vegan chef, back in Kentucky, years ago. This made us smile, thinking about the deep desire we share to connect with each other.

Our guest today shares with us his deeply integrated sense that all beings deserve space for life. And pulls back the curtain on how, like Mr.Anderson (before he becomes Neo in the Matrix) we’ve been living in a constructed illusion where our food is concerned!

Author and activist Stuart Waldner didn’t set out to be an animal welfare or plant-based spokesman. But, after two decades of exploring Earth’s greatest wonders and connecting with sacred sites around the globe, he transitioned fully to a completely vegan lifestyle in 2008.

Stuart says, “Like Neo in the Matrix, the Meatrix hooked my brain and my body on what it force-fed me since birth. Since taking the red pill and becoming plant-based, I see how I was living in a world of speciesism, brainwashed by the Meatrix and hooked on its products. I believe the Meatrix held this power over me because it is a cult I was born into and never questioned.”

The better he felt, not consuming animal-based products, the more he learned about the statistical connections between our dietary choices and the worldwide crises we’re about to face on a global scale. He felt called to wake people up—for our health and for the planet!

Our survival as a species is intimately tied to every other living creature on the planet. The choices we make around the ways we treat and consume other beings is having a devastating effect on our precious earth, and a catastrophic price will be paid by all, if we don’t make some serious efforts to alter the course we’re on!

JANUARY 7, 2023
AWAKEN YOUR SPIRITUAL VISION FOR 2023! ONLINE RETREAT

MY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP IS CLOSING SOON!

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN - harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

Struggling with burnout and exhaustion? Looking to reconnect to your passion, find greater purpose, and tap into that unlimited source of creative energy?

I have 3 spots inside my 2023 coaching program. I’d love to connect with you to see if we would be a good fit to work together.

Fill out an application form - harmonyslater.com/coaching

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT STUART

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - stuartwaldner.com

If you've been enjoying our podcast, give us a 5 star rating on iTunes! Our podcast is produced, edited, and hosted by Harmony Slater, make a donation to support our continued efforts to bring you the best guests and content!

Christmas with Kino Yoga

25 december 2022 | 106 min

It’s a very special Christmas episode!

On this festivus morning, in the dark, on your mat, as you do your lonely yoga practice before your children awake, please feast your ears and bask in the wondrous splendiferousness energy that is Kino MacGregor!

Enjoy this relaxed, informal, conversation between old friends chatting about old times, as if we were catching up at the local Coconut Stand in Gokulum after a challenging led class.

We’re talking about just how hard this practice is and how hard it is to be human, to do all the things, and still have time for your spiritual growth.

The real charm of Kino though, besides her effortless ability to be vulnerable, as well as her deep and critical intelligence (which might be a somewhat delightful and unexpected surprise for the average IG doomscroller) is her down to earth, straight-up honesty.

She brings to the conversation an ease in describing just how hard it is be her and what she has to do in the morning to feel normal, or even able to engage with other human beings. I think you’ll find that even though she is somewhat supernatural her abilities (not to mention super famous within the yoga world), she’s very much still human, and not afraid to lean into the fragility of her humanity.

As we did, please be charmed with this very Special Christmas episode on a cheerful Sunday morning. We wish you the very best during this holiday season!

JANUARY 7, 2023 AWAKEN YOUR SPIRITUAL VISION FOR A NEW YEAR! - ONLINE WORKSHOP

SAVE YOUR SPOT - harmonyslater.com/new-year-yoga-workshop

MY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP CLOSING SOON!

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN - harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

Struggling with burnout and exhaustion? Looking to reconnect to your passion, find greater purpose, and tap into that unlimited source of creative energy?

I’m opening up 3 spots inside my 2023 coaching program. I’d love to connect with you to see if we would be a good fit to work together. Fill out an application form. - harmonyslater.com/coaching

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KINO

INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE I FACEBOOK I WEBSITE - kinoyoga.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

SAVE YOUR SPOT - harmonyslater.com/new-year-yoga-workshop

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Kia Miller: Radiant Body, Integrated Life

18 december 2022 | 52 min

Kia Miller is someone who lives a radiant and integrated life! She brings the inside to the outside world and in her meditations she brings the outside into her room. Sometimes that’s as simple as opening a window, even on the coldest of winter mornings.

Kia describes her childhood as a paradise on the Falkland Islands amidst millions of sheep and a handful of shepherds and children. A paradise broken by tracer fire and the simple act of soldiers dying in front of her.

Death is such a common denominator to life; yet somehow continues to mystify and shock us all at once.

Beginning her journey with a deep dive into the Ashtanga method, Kia started to explore other forms of asana practice, Iyengar, Vinyasa, and finally immersed herself fully into the Kundalini Yoga lineage. She’s integrated her experiences to create a radiant body and deeply integrated life through her study and practice of asana, meditation, and dynamic vibrating pranayama, she not only spends time on her mat, but lives the yoga each and every day.

At any rate, she had to run, giggling and delighted with our quick chat. She promises to come back and chat again about her rip roaring life of modelling shoots, documentary film, and kundalini classes with supermodels in LA. What a cosmic creature!

JANUARY 7, 2023 AWAKEN YOUR SPIRITUAL VISION FOR A NEW YEAR! - ONLINE WORKSHOP

MY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP CLOSING SOON!

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN - harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

Struggling with burnout and exhaustion? Looking to reconnect to your passion, find greater purpose, and tap into that unlimited source of creative energy?

I’m opening up 3 spots inside my 2023 coaching program. I’d love to connect with you to see if we would be a good fit to work together. Fill out an application form. - harmonyslater.com/coaching

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KIA

INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE I FACEBOOK I WEBSITE - kiamiller.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

SAVE YOUR SPOT - harmonyslater.com/spirit-centered-self-care-retreat

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Compassion In Action with Elena Brower

11 december 2022 | 52 min

Mama, Humanitarian, Artist, Poet, Bestselling Author, Entrepreneur, Teacher, and Mentor… Elena Brower has woven together a transcendental tapestry of conscious awareness through myriad diverse roles and interests, all of which bring her joy, to create a life that exemplifies compassion in action.

It was such a true honor and blessing to have this time to sit alongside Elena this morning. We learn how her journey along the path of yoga began, how it’s continued to blossom into a study and practice of Zen Buddhism, and how the full spectrum of spiritual awakening has bathed every aspect of her life in radiant light.

We feel we’ve asked some important questions, like how we can turn every action, conversation, responsibility, or thought into an opportunity for spiritual awakening. And as you’ll hear all throughout this episode… Elena has some deep and delicious wisdom to share.

Elena has taught yoga and meditation since 1999. Her first book, Art of Attention, has been translated into seven languages, and her second, Practice You Journal, is a bestseller. Her third book, Being You Journal, was released in early 2021. Elena has two books coming in 2023, Nurturing You Journal and Softening Time, a collection of her poetry.

DECEMBER 18, 2022
SPIRIT-CENTERED SELF-CARE ONLINE RETREAT

MY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP CLOSING SOON!

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN - harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

Struggling with burnout and exhaustion? Looking to reconnect to your passion, find greater purpose, and tap into that unlimited source of creative energy?

I’m opening up 3 spots inside my 2023 coaching program. I’d love to connect with you to see if we would be a good fit to work together. Fill out an application form. - harmonyslater.com/coaching

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ELENA

INSTAGRAM I Practice You Podcast I FACEBOOK I WEBSITE - elenabrower.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN - harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Plant Based Himalaya with Babita Shrestha

4 december 2022 | 117 min

Today, we are absolutely delighted to present to you an amazingly self made woman. Babita comes from one of those rare villages in modern life, so ubiquitous in the developing world with hard-baked Nepalese mud floors and kerosene burners for cooking. And, that is in fact, how Babita learned to cook by her grandfather’s side.

Listen in amazement as she tells the story of how she became an art and film student studying in Minnesota, and now a Barnes and Nobles best selling cook book author.

Babita Shrestha is a plant-based chef, photographer, graphic designer, and the author of 'Plant-based Himalaya.'

As the oldest child of the family, it was her responsibility to cook and it quickly grew into a true passion. Later, as an entrepreneur, she started Vegan Nepal in Lexington, Kentucky in 2017. In 2019, Babita put her full focus on her passion project, a beautifully photographed cookbook titled “Plant-Based Himalaya”.

Every recipe, photo, illustration, and even layout is of her own fabrication. Featuring 250 beautiful full-color photos, ‘Plant-Based Himalaya,’ is designed to inspire you to cook and eat exquisitely vegan home-style Nepali cuisine. Make it exceptional, and share it with your loved ones!

MY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP IS NOW OPEN!

Struggling with burnout and exhaustion? Looking to reconnect to your passion, find greater purpose, and tap into that unlimited source of creative energy?

I’m opening up 3 spots inside my 2023 coaching program. I’d love to connect with you to see if we would be a good fit to work together. Fill out an application form. - harmonyslater.com/coaching

DECEMBER 18, 2022
SPIRIT-CENTERED SELF-CARE ONLINE RETREAT

SAVE YOUR SPOT - harmonyslater.com/spirit-centered-self-care-retreat

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BABITA

INSTAGRAM I Plant-based Himalaya I FACEBOOK I WEBSITE

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN - https://harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Tantra Flow with Jeanne Heileman

27 november 2022 | 115 min

When Jeanne Heileman became a yoga teacher in 1996, there was no career for this field. She had the intention to teach once a week as a work supplement in the non-profit arts world to pay off her graduate school student debt.

Three months after taking her first teacher training she found herself teaching 20 classes a week! A total life transformation that continued to evolve into her own style of yoga called Tantra Flow, which combines her 35 years of study in the practices and science of yogic disciplines, combining her love for asana, meditation, pranayama, mantra, Ayurveda, Buddhism, and Tantra in the living lineage of Sri Vidya, from Himalayan Institute under Swami Rama and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait.

In this episode, we’re talking about what makes a good yoga teacher and some of the insights Jeanne has gained through her years of practicing under the guidance of many different teachers. Experience bring wisdom and Jeanne has a depth of perspective that is rare in teachers today.

MY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP IS NOW OPEN!

Are you struggling with burnout and exhaustion? Looking to reconnect to your passion, find greater purpose, and tap into that unlimited source of creative energy?

I’m opening up 3 spots inside my 2023 coaching program. I’d love to connect with you to see if we would be a good fit to work together. Fill out an application form - https://harmonyslater.com/harmony-slater-coaching

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JEANNE

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I YOUTUBE - jeanneheileman.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Gopi Kallayil: The Happy Human

20 november 2022 | 92 min

Dear Happy Humans!

It is with great pleasure that we introduce you today to an old friend, Gopi Kallayil! He’s an old friend of Russell’s. They met during his Silicon Valley yoga-missionary days during a very special dinner with Rep. Tim Ryan, “the Mindful Congressman,” at a time when it seemed that mindfulness and yoga would inevitably pervade every aspect of American life. Now though, Russell is a bit more bearish on the future of human civilization. Let’s see if Gopi can talk some sense in him!

Gopi Kallayil is the Chief Evangelist, head of Digital Transformation and Strategy at Google. What that exactly means… We’re going to unpack it inside this episode!

In addition to being an avid yoga practitioner and teacher, Gopi is a triathlete, public speaker, global traveler, and Burning Man devotee. He has spoken at TEDx, The World Happiness Summit, and Wisdom 2.0.

He is the author of two books, “The Happy Human” and “The Internet to the Inner-net,” published by Hay House.

He has released three music albums titled “Kirtan Lounge.”

Gopi holds a guest faculty position at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He serves on the Board of Directors of Grameen Foundation, USA. He’s also a Board Advisor to several venture funded startups in Silicon Valley.

MY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP IS NOW OPEN!

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN - https://harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

Are you struggling with burnout and exhaustion? Looking to reconnect to your passion, find greater purpose, and tap into that unlimited source of creative energy?

I’m opening up 3 spots inside my 2023 coaching program. I’d love to connect with you to see if we would be a good fit to work together. Fill out an application form - https://harmonyslater.com/harmony-slater-coaching

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GOPI

INSTAGRAM I THE HAPPY HUMAN I THE INTERNET TO THE INNER-NET I MYSTICAL AWAKENING ON SPOTIFY

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Sunshine Nights with Amy Priya

13 november 2022 | 98 min

After 20+ years in any business or doing any practice, it’s easy to become cynical…

But try taking the cynical view with our guest today, Amy Priya Santos. Ha! She’s having none of it.

Listen and see how yoga is working. Simply put, Amy is a very nice person. She’s full of love and grace and encouragement. She’s full of music, dance, and being in a flow state. She embodies, in her self effacing way, Mystic moments of consciousness— a fully immersive state with no attachments to any sense of separate self or identity.

Amy talks us through her childhood as an immigrant to this country from the Philippines to upstate NY, becoming found (or possibly losing herself) in the state of flow through her early years of dance. Becoming a yoga student in NY in the 90’s and then taking up music and forming a band. She became a follower and a devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma), “the Hugging Saint.” There couldn’t be a better metaphor for how nice Amy Priya is… We’re sure you’ll feel her energetic hug over the airwaves.

MY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP IS NOW OPEN!

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN - https://harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

Are you struggling with burnout and exhaustion? Looking to reconnect to your passion, find greater purpose, and tap into that unlimited source of creative energy?

I’m opening up 12 spots inside my coaching program. I’d love to connect with you to see if we would be a good fit to work together. Fill out an application form - https://harmonyslater.com/harmony-slater-coaching

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AMY

YOGA IG I INSTAGRAM I MUSIC IG I YOGA WEBSITE I SUNSHINE NIGHTS MUSIC - https://www.8limbsflow.com/home

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - https://harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Michelle El Khoury and YogaMazia

6 november 2022 | 85 min

Michelle El Khoury is not only a wellness entrepreneur with a PhD and over twenty years of healthcare experience, but she’s also a wife and mother to three beautiful daughters.

Her journey took her from Trinidad to the U.S, where she climbed the corporate ladder in a successful career as a pharmaceutical executive. All the while, becoming more aware as she grew up in America, how our society here is less of a creole melting pot and more like a segregated tiffin box.

During her second pregnancy, she felt a strong desire to find a natural, therapeutic, way to make her birthing experience more pleasant, which led her at five months pregnant to step into her first yoga class (which coincidentally happened to be Ashtanga) at the YMCA.

As she describes, “I asked the instructor if yoga was appropriate for me to try while I was pregnant. And she asked, “Can you breathe?”
“Yes” I replied.
“Well, then you are already doing yoga,” she responded. And I never forgot that.”

From that moment on, something deep within Michelle changed. She began to experience the transformative effects of the practice, which inspired her to dedicate her life to sharing these teachings, and seven years later, she opened a healing space dedicated to bringing yoga to pregnant persons, children, and families.

YogaMazia serves as a sanctuary for students to embrace their feminine energies and realize their inherent peace through the practice of yoga and their values of G.R.A.C.E - gratitude, respect, authenticity, community and equity.

Michelle was named, along with Harmony and two other teachers, as Ambassador of the Year in 2022 for their work with Yoga Gives Back.

Michelle also serves as a wellness educator with Integrative Health at Children’s Health of Philadelphia, and is a collaborating author of the book “We Rise in Power: Amplifying Women of Color and Her Voices for Change,” which will be released in March 2023.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MICHELLE & YOGAMAZIA

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - yogamazia.com I YOGA GIVES BACK - yogagivesback.org

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - harmonyslater.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Sexual Healing with Sophie Cleere

30 oktober 2022 | 100 min

Today we’re speaking with Sophie Cleere. A vibrant woman who’s paving the way forward to for middle-aged women everywhere. She’s a body-positive coach and conscious sexuality educator. Sophie’s on a mission to end body-shame and help women feel confident, sexy and alive, no matter what their age!

After leaving behind her career as an Authorized Ashtanga yoga teacher, running a successful yoga business, Sophie recreated herself by reconnecting to her intuition and learning to listen more attentively to the signs and messages she was receiving from her body.

She shares her wisdom with us today, and why she’s made female self-empowerment a pillar of her coaching practice. You’ll hear about her personal journey and some of the ways she works with clients to reclaim a connection with sensuality, and find freedom from society pressures to look younger or slimmer, while supporting them to step into the next chapter with a greater sense of confidence and beauty.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SOPHIE

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - sophiecleere.com

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT COACHING WITH HARMONY -WEBSITE I IG - harmonyslater.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Wellness Near & Far with Tarin Calmeyer

23 oktober 2022 | 52 min

South African born, Tarin Calmeyer, is a Virtual Corporate Wellness Specialist. She’s the founder and chief wellness office of Los Angles-based company: Remote Team Wellness.

We catch up with her living her dream life in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

Today, we’re talking about the importance of taking time for self-care and some easy ways to improve your mental health.

After traveling extensively as a young girl with her missionary parents, she moved to the U.S for for high school and immersed herself into becoming a professional dancer. However, that dream suddenly ended when she experienced a debilitating injury at a critical stage in her career. Tarin was forced to carve out her own path of healing turning to yoga and osteopathy, where she discovered a new passion for mind-body integration. Recognizing that the body has an innate ability to heal, she trained as an Osteopath herself.

All of this has contributed to the work she’s doing now, consulting for huge, well-known companies such as Netflix, Meta (Facebook) and Cisco to support their employees’ mental health. She continues to promote remote wellness today.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY

WEBSITE I IG - harmonyslater.com

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TARIN & REMOTE TEAM WELLNESS

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I TARIN’s IG - remoteteamwellness.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Cycle Syncing with Briana Villegas

16 oktober 2022 | 96 min

Do you want to experience the next level of freedom? Then learn to merge your analytical brain with your intuition in a systematic way through syncing your life with your menstrual cycle. Learn to predict your energy so you can reliably know when it’s a “hell yes” or a “hell no!”

Menstruation is a topic we seem to talk a lot about as Ashtanga yoga practitioners. Our personal “moon days” as women, whether to take rest, or practice, whether this is a misogynistic tradition or something truly helpful, is a long debated subject.

But did you know that lifestyle, exercise, and productivity research is almost entirely based on what is optimal for male bodies.

And you know what?

The Yoga tradition is no different!

In today’s episode we’re talking with Cycle-Syncing coach, Briana Villegas. We’re learning what benefits we might discover (as women), when we start to align our to-do list with our biologically driven energy shifts, so we can spend more time being in flow-state, rather than feeling trapped in hustle-culture.

But this conversation isn’t only for women… You see, men will learn a lot too about their own hormonal cycling that happens over a 24 hour period and how to utilize the natural ups and downs of their energy each day.

Social awareness around menstrual health is on the rise, but it’s not enough for the conversation to stop at normalizing symptoms. We have to learn to listen deeper to our innate wisdom.

Briana Villegas has combine her background as a behavioral scientist and her personal experience with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), to create a powerful cycle-syncing formula.

We’re so excited to share her wisdom and experience with you in this episode!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BRIANA & CYCLE SYNCING

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I PODCAST - brianavillegas.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT MORE - harmonyslater.com/time-genius

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Kerri Kelly: American Detox

9 oktober 2022 | 91 min

The last time Russell saw Kerri Kelly they were getting robbed together on Chamundi Hill outside of Mysore, India. For Russ it was the best trip he ever had to India. Imagine an episode of West Wing where one of the communications staffers working for Josh Lyman took a yoga side-trip while on an important diplomatic tour, and got stuck in India with no money, passport, or visa. No way to leave the country and no way to stay. “DONNA!!!” Listen to this #funnynotfunny tale, as Kerri and Russell pulled every string and lever they knew to get this staffer out of the country!

Ten years later, Kerri has written an amazing book that speaks to our times Part of our self-care is how we talk care of one another. American Detox: The Myth of Wellness And How we can Truly Heal.

What we understand to be wellness now, has become divorced from it’s origin, commodified, and sold as a luxury items that even the 99% struggle to afford.

Wellness isn’t just self-care rituals, like yoga or meditation, but it’s a living wage, a home, food, and basic human needs. It’s not just what you buy in lululemon, it’s all the ways we fight and advocate for healthy living conditions, so that all can get what they truly need.

“The myth of wellness is a lie. And until we learn to confront and dismantle its toxic systems, we can’t ever be well.” -Kerri Kelly

The industry soars upwards of $650 billion a year, but we’re still isolated, insecure, and inequitable. “Wellness” isn’t making us well; it’s making us worse!

It diverts our attention and holds us back from asking the questions that do help us heal: Who gets to be well in America? Who’s harmed--and who's left out? And what’s the real-life cost of our obsession with self-improvement?

Join my Time Genius Mastermind & Bonus Half-Day Retreat when you join Marie Forloe's Time Genius before October 13th!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KERRI KELLY

CTZNWELL I INSTAGRAM I AMERICAN DETOX I KERRI KELLY IG - americandetox.co

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free.

FIND OUT MORE - harmonyslater.com/time-genius

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans - Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Marie Forleo is A time Genius… How About You?

28 september 2022 | 53 min

We’re living in a world full of constant pressure and distractions with a zeitgeist that reinforces “more, more, more!”

In this episode of Finding Harmony, I’m talking with author, entrepreneur, business coach and thought leader for a new generation, Marie Forleo, about how she manages time, what self-care practices she personally prioritizes, and how she balances creativity and structure to optimize her innate sense of flow.

If I told you that you could decrease your stress in only 5 days, that you can feel better and cut your stress levels in half, would you drop everything to learn how?

You bet you would!

This is exactly what we’re talking about today… Real world results using Marie’s Time Genius program.

If you’re feeling resistance to stepping into this life-transforming course, if you are saying to yourself, “I have no time for Time Genius” - I’m asking you to Trust that you will experience the deepest most profound shifts, because Time Genius was created with your exact situation in mind.

Studies show that stress causes or amplifies over 90% of all disease that we experience: sleep problems, inflammation, headaches, digestive issues, or body pain, and when you start to make those inner shifts around your relationship to time, you can actually melt your stressful feelings away.

But don’t just take my words for it, as I share some deeply personal experiences here in this episode, and Marie shares her own experience, as well as the experiences of others who’ve made the investment in themselves to become Time Geniuses!

You can join Marie in her Free Masterclass this week and next week!

This Masterclass is full of practical, actionable tips, that you can start using to get into your own Time Genius Zone right now!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARIE & TIME GENIUS

WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I SIGN UP FOR TIME GENIUS I WANT REVIEWS? READ THEM HERE I WATCH MARIE T.V

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT MORE - harmonyslater.com/time-genius

Kintsugi with Mae Yoshikawa

25 september 2022 | 151 min

Kintsugi means “golden journey.” It’s the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by binding the pieces back together with lacquer mixed with powdered gold. As a philosophy, it treats the breakage and repair of something as part of the history of an object, rather than something to be disguised, discarded and forgotten.

This is exactly what Mae Yoshikawa has courageously done with the pieces of her life’s story, time and time again. And what remains is the most exquisite work of art to behold.

We dive into a discussion of what feminine spirituality looks like. Just as her inspiration, the late guru Sri Anandamayi Ma, our guest today, Mae Yoshikawa, also embodies this eternal nature of divine joy.

One of the most pleasurable things about speaking with Mae, besides that ineffable joy mentioned above, is her acute insight into her own personality, and her own pain.

She speaks eloquently about how much she embraces the delicious rudeness of the American side of her personality when speaking English; which is quite different from the modest, proper clarity that comes from speaking Japanese. And, how now she seeks to integrate the two sides of herself into one professional person of the world.

Late in today’s episode, Mae speaks about her status as a widow and what that means for her as well (be sure to listen all the way… so not to miss both the beautiful and tragic events that broke her heart wide open).

Her ability to recognize her suffering and orchestrate her healing, and then to unfurl that joy in her and in all of us, is an absolute inspiration to us humans.

Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner, teacher, and mother. In 2006, Mae became the first Japanese woman to be authorized by KPJAYI, the founding school of Ashtanga Yoga in India. Having graced 42 consecutive covers and penning a widely popular column for Japanese Yogini magazine from 2003~2013, Mae helped to spearhead a cultural shift in Japan—making sure that yoga would not be seen merely as physical exercise, but rather as a holistic practice and lifestyle that would restore health and balance to the busy lives of modern people. Currently, she is known as the face of adidas yoga as well as being the founder of vedatokyo.com, a premier online studio that offers yoga, zazen, and a variety of other wellness programs.

Learn to become a time genius… Doors Open September 27th!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MAE & VEDA TOKYO

MAE’s WEBSITE I FOLLOW MAE on IG I VEDA TOKYO I VEDA on IG

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free.

Learn more - harmonyslater.com/ancient-breathing-2-0

Kayoko Mitsumatsu: Yoga Gives Back

18 september 2022 | 90 min

Kayoko was born in Tokyo as the country was rebuilding after WWII. She moved many times with her family to different parts of Japan, as her father was transferred to various jobs within the banking industry. She grew up in a very traditional Japanese family, which meant she intimately experienced the differences between how girls were treated compared with boys. For example, she explained her dismay to her mother as her brother was put in a far superior school then she was, and he mother simply said “this is the way it is.”

In 2006, Kayoko became fascinated with yoga asana and philosophy. It occurred to her that she could use her abilities to help others. Her heart was calling her to reach the under-served women and children of India, those who lived in the motherland of her dear Yoga.

In the beginning it started off as simply an idea of offering one yoga class to help raise money to support women and children in India. At the time, Kayoko had no idea that this tiny calling of her heart would expand and grow into a global movement that is now called “Yoga Gives Back.”

Her passion to give voice to the voiceless has changed the lives of so many women and children, and birthed the mantra — “For the cost of one yoga class, you can change a life. “

After doing a documentary on Microfinancing with Dr. Muhammad Yunus, from Bangladesh (who was the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize) she realized that if you give $10/month to women in India through small loans (which the traditional banking industry would never offer) you could not only change the life of the woman who received the money, but the future of her children, and her community, because she will employee other women, who will reinvest in their children.

Now, her dream has become a non-profit organization called: Yoga Gives Back. It has supporting communities in over 30 different countries. Over the last 15 years, Yoga Gives Back has empowered over 2400 mothers and children in India. Their programs advance women’s rights and interrupt the cycle of poverty by empowering women and children in India with basic education, scholarships for higher education, and microloans for businesses.

Buddha Nature is something Kayoko embodies and we are so happy to share her benevolence and abundantly open-heart with you here today!

LAST CHANCE TO JOIN ANCIENT BREATHING 2.0!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOGA GIVES BACK

WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - yogagivesback.org

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

JOIN THE FREE CHALLENGE - harmonyslater.com/5-day-ancient-breathing-challenge

Back to the Future with Krista Shirley

11 september 2022 | 108 min

We are delighted to introduce you to our dear friend Krista Shirley. Currently residing in Orlando, Florida, Russell met her years ago, while recruiting teachers for the Jois Foundation. Harmony insists she knew her first (and evidently all our friends knew Harmony first and better!) - LOL

Krista is a voracious learner and she takes this infectious energy, AAA-type personality, to her whole life, business, motherhood, and Ashtanga yoga practice. If it can be said of anyone, it has never been more true when it comes to Krista: She embodies the energy of Wonder Woman.

It’s always a shock for a lady like this to be confronted with a truly obliterating obstacle. Krista incurred a debilitating should injury. She tried many therapeutic interventions, nothing worked. She couldn’t lift her arm. She went through a series of seven surgeries in the time span of a year, which left her paralyzed by pain, and completely without any ability to practice the physical aspect of yoga.

And so… What does one have left after that? Who are you? What are you? What’s next?

In this episode, Krista answers all these questions and we find out so much more!

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE 5-DAY ANCIENT BREATHING CHALLENGE!

SEPTEMBER 8-12 JOIN ME ONLINE!

ANCIENT BREATHING COURSE IS NOW OPEN!

JOIN THE COURSE STARTING SEPT.18 - harmonyslater.com/ancient-breathing-2-0

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KRISTA

WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE I PERSONAL IG - olotita.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Music by Nick Evans - Listen on Spotify

Kaitlyn rose: Somatic Alchemy & Healing Trauma

4 september 2022 | 92 min

Kaitlyn Rose Holsapple believes that the body is our most sacred guide. Her work now is focused on helping others integrate their past pains so these hidden shadows no longer subconsciously drive the choices in life. As a Somatic Yoga Therapist, she helps clients connect with the innate, intuitive wisdom of the body. This wisdom is present in “every” body, and helps up to organically move stages of healing.

Our guest today, Kaitlyn, is someone who recovered from PTSD as a result of being victimized by sexual assault. Prior to this she had always felt disassociated from her body, due to experiencing sexual abuse as a young child, which surfaced through her healing journey through yoga and somatic therapy. The steps she took on her own healing journey has informed her understanding that the path of personal integration can often feel confusing and dark. As a teacher of somatic yoga therapy, she knows intimately how we need experienced guides to help us shine light onto the painful shadow side of ourselves and many of those experiences we would rather not look at.

We’re talking about sexuality, pleasure, intimacy, plant medicines, trauma, healing, and what it takes to become whole.

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE 5-DAY ANCIENT BREATHING CHALLENGE!

SEPTEMBER 8-12 JOIN ME ONLINE!

JOIN THE FREE CHALLENGE - harmonyslater.com/5-day-ancient-breathing-challenge

ONLY DAY LEFT TO JOIN THE INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP - Doors Close September 5th!
GET BONUS PODCAST EPISODES!
PLUS PRE-RECORDED & LIVE CLASSES WITH HARMONY - Weekly, Monthly & Special Workshops!

BECOME A MEMBER ♡ - harmonyslater.com/inner-circle-membership

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KAITLYN - hertemplehealing.com

WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Music by Nick Evans - Listen on Spotify

Miranda Mitchell: Human Design

28 augusti 2022 | 78 min

Miranda Mitchell is an Energetic Alignment Coach and Traditional and Quantum Human Design™ Specialist who helps thought leaders align energetically so that they step into creating more impact with sustainability and ease. Before becoming a Human Design Coach, Miranda was a personal trainer and Ashtanga yoga professional, assisting with Krista Shirley in Orlando Florida!

In today’s episode you’ll learn about Human Design and how it can help you in your life. We’re also talking about injuries, recovery, and knowing when it’s time to let go.

Miranda followed a jagged path to personal freedom. Eventually escaping an abusive relationship with her two young boys in tow, she found strength in weight-training and emotional healing through her Ashtanga yoga practice.

It wasn’t an easy road that guided her into leadership coaching and Human Design, but it was exactly the path she needed to develop an internal sense of ease and love for herself, which she now so skilfully offers to others.

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MIRANDA & HUMAN DESIGN

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I HUMAN DESIGN CERTIFICATION - miranda-mitchell.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

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Music by Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” album “for Morgan.” Listen on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase - Click Here.

John & Julia Scott: Stand Fast Together in Love

21 augusti 2022 | 100 min

If you thought you knew John and Julia Scott, you’re going to get a whole new look into their personalities here on our podcast today. You’ll hear about John Scott’s roots growing up in New Zealand and the similarities between clans, even from different parts of the world. Our conversation looks at how ancient rituals from different cultures effect us still to this day.

We’re asking some difficult questions, like can anyone ever really teach you anything? And how can you claim your own sovereignty and self-responsibility?

John talks about how when we’re in alignment with our natural selves we coexist with nature, but when we live from a place of ego we can’t help but destroy the planet. We need to stop ‘the doing’ and start ‘the being.’

We’re all programmed to be something, or do something, but this creates a sense of separateness. Like actors lost in playing a part and creating a separate reality we’ve lost site of who we truly are.

What is the key to connecting back with our true self?

The sound.

If we can listen on a pure level, we will understand that everything is already perfect.

Come sit with us by the proverbial campfire, as we tell stories and discuss philosophy, there is always something new to share… And we’re still learning. ❤

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JOHN & JULIA

WEBSITE I JOHN SCOTT INSTAGRAM I JULIA GRANT SCOTT INSTAGRAM - johnscottyoga.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening & Closing music by Nick Evans.

Sophia French: Sanātana Yoga

14 augusti 2022 | 71 min

Born in India, growing up in Dubai, and then returning to India for college, our guest today might have a name that sounds like she’s from Europe, but she deeply connected in mind, body, and spirit to her native roots as a Christian-Muslim Indian.

Some of our questions today are centered around how we can honour the roots and history of yoga while it’s become a global movement being absorbed into many different cultures and contexts. How do we keep yoga authentic, without becoming fanatical?

We look at how different cultures make monuments (or not) to themselves and how as “Westerners” we approach things quite differently from the attitudes found in the East.

Giving up her prestigious position as managing editor of Elle India, Sophia French left the modern city of Mumbai to go live in Mysore. Although she’s made it her mission to elevate and uplift traditional Indian culture, it’s people and voices, she, herself, is throwing off many of the cultural expectations that no longer support her feminist sensibilities, like making a conscious choice not to have children, or to live in common-law, unmarried for the past eleven years. These choices could be considered quite radical from a more orthodox cultural context; but as you’ll discover, Sophia is an embodiment of many divergent parts coming together in perfect harmony.

Sophia is deeply devoted to the philosophy of Sanātana Dharma, translated as “the natural and eternal way to live" referring to universal and axiomatic laws that are beyond our limited, transient sectarian belief systems. It’s no wonder that she was drawn to Ashtanga yoga and Vipassana meditation and is passionate about preserving the authentic yoga teachings, while being inclusive and diverse, so that the practice and philosophy can belong to anyone who has a genuine interest in transformation.

She tells us Dharma is a faith and it’s a way of life. But the deeper question is: Where does spirituality start and religion end?

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SOPHIA

INSTAGRAM I THE YOGA LIFE I INDICA YOGA

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening & Closing music by Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Un-Layering with Philippa Asher

7 augusti 2022 | 88 min

Yoga is a journey of un-layering that we embark on again and again, each time we peel back another covering of our inner light the process of transformation takes place. It’s shedding the masks we wear to navigate our way in the world and place down the “airs and graces” we often take up to make ourselves feel superior to others. It is becoming who we truly are. More natural. More simple. More real.

In this episode you’ll hear Philippa Asher and I peel back the layers of the Ashtanga yoga practice. As two of twenty Certified women who teach this method, we’re talking about unique issues that relate to female practitioners. We explore what it takes to become a Certified teacher? And what are some of the pitfalls, obstacles, and challenges you may encounter along the way.

We touch upon the similarities between ballet and Ashtanga yoga, as well as what Philippa’s first trip to Mysore was like. You’ll find out what it was that continued to pull her back again and again, year after year, until she finally moved to India permanently, building a retreat centre in the jungle to host students of her own.

After going through eight rounds of IVF and tragically miscarrying twins, Philippa has learned a lot about letting go, as well as when it’s most important to hold on.

Philippa reminds listeners that Ashtanga yoga is actually a life choice. A state of being and a state of mind to help guide how you live your life. The practice is about so much more than simply collecting asanas, it includes the integration of all eight limbs into your day-to-day experience.

Two years back, Philippa returned to London, England, and you can find her teaching students in person as well as in online classes, workshops, and retreats around the world.

“If you want to speed up the process of yoga, slow down.” - Philippa Asher

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PHILLIPA

WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - https://ashtangaphilippa.com/

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening & Closing music by Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

From Norway to Nepal with Ellen Johannesen

31 juli 2022 | 109 min

Our guest today is a lovely Elvish woman, who could’ve easily descended from a family of Wood Nymphs. Ellen Johannesen was born in Norway but has spent many years living abroad, mainly in India and Nepal. She was first introduced to yoga during her career as a professional dancer and has been teaching now for over 20 years.

In 2002, she co-founded the first Ashtanga studio in Oslo, Norway, where she headed up the Mysore program. However, her time in India led to a growing interest in Buddhism, which brought her back to live and study for three years in Bylakuppe, at a Tibetan Monastery and Tibetan refugee settlement. She subsequently moved to Kathmandu where she became a Tibetan translator and earned a Masters degree in Buddhist studies and Himalayan Languages from Kathmandu University. During this time she founded the first Mysore program in the center of Kathmandu where she lived and taught for seven years.

Ellen also studied Sanskrit, which was traditionally widely used among the Nepali Brahmin population and the Newar Buddhists. More recently, she has returned to Norway, but continues to take students on transformational retreats, where you can practice Ashtanga yoga and go trekking in the spiritual hub of the Himalayas. She loves sharing some of her favourite places around and beyond the Kathmandu valley, while introducing students to the sacred sites and natural beauty that is Nepal.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ELLEN

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I On Yoga Norway

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WEBSITE

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation

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Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Dominic Corigliano Part 2: The Trance State

24 juli 2022 | 64 min

PART 2 with Dominic Corigliano

A "Trance State" is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli. It is also a state of mind that we can enter into through Yoga Practice. We're talking about Trance States with Dominic Corigliano in this Part 2 continuation of our Part 1 (Episode 65 - Listen on iTunes) conversation.

Whether you call it an auto-hypnotic state or a trance state, yoga can be used as a technique that we use to change the mind's ability to filter information, which can result in a more efficient use of the mind's resources. This form of self-hypnosis, or "Trance-like" experiences, is probably a state you're familiar with if you've ever been so absorbed in an activity, like yoga, that it actually takes a moment or two to reorient yourself back into the existing time-space continuum.

This is a beautifully deep and honest conversation had between old friends, who love and admire one another, and here we are inviting you into this intimate setting to sit with us.

Spending time with Dominic will transform your understanding of the practice of Ashtanga yoga. His perspective is absolutely unique and spans many generations.

We feel this conversation is also relevant to shifting sands in culture right now in the context of empowering women to continue speaking out, using their voice, claiming their power, and not standing down in the face of oppression or abuse.

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Dr. Rob: More Than Anatomy

17 juli 2022 | 131 min

Dreams of becoming a Professional Golfer crushed by debilitating back pain sent Rob Lamport on an epic search in Secret India for the esoteric teachings that could free him from his body pain.

He lived in Mysore and practised with B.N.S Iyengar as well as Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois.

Learn why you might want to be careful eating too many bananas!

After his first trip he swore to never go back to India (like so many of us!) but after a few months away, he began to miss it and so decided to return and spent the next three years living there. (like so many of us!) Dr. Rob became a fixture in the Gokulu, community as our go too guy for putting overzealous yoga folks back together!

You’ll find Rob is a pretty humble and private guy. Now living in Italy, he continues to be fully dedicated to his yoga practice with a strong focus on pranayama, learning from Sri. O.P Tiwari (as Harmony has also done). He loves to cook, especially with his wonderful wife Tara Mitra, who was also a guest on our show (episode 91).

He offers online yoga anatomy courses for complete beginners and for those yoga instructors with previous experience. They offer insights into muscular and joint movement learned through modern medical research and clinical experience. Each course includes a basic understanding of anatomy and function, describes the most common conditions, and how to manage them through yoga medicine.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ROB LAMPORT

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I YOUTUBE

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Solidarity with Basia Lipska Larsen

10 juli 2022 | 112 min

Our guest today is a dear friend. She is so delightfully effervescent and youthful in her attitude that she could’ve been sprouted out into the world like an Athena parading out of Zeus’s skull!

Basia Lipska Larsen is a passionately cheerful person, so much so that one cannot help but smile in her presence. When we know someone as well as we do Basia, our conversation becomes much more casual. You’ll hear Russell teasing Basia recklessly as he does, and getting a few verbal pokes back as well. The charm for us occurs when we dive into questions that we would have never think to ask in person if we were just hanging out at the chai stall, or having lunch at a cafe in Mysore, India. Where we’re more likely to be caught gossiping about who got what posture that day or who was caught riding on who’s scooter (the most glaring tell in all Mysore).

We spoke to Basia about her childhood in Canada, and her own child currently growing up in Thailand; the difficulties of developing a yoga practice alongside motherhood and what shape this takes.

Russell tried very hard to talk about his Polish ex-girlfriend (which was loudly and quickly shouted down! LOL). All in all, we had such a fun time time talking to our old friend that we hope you enjoy sitting with us as well.

Basia is an artist and respected yoga icon in Poland, Norway, and Japan who has been involved with creative yoga concepts, yoga training programs and wellness collaborations in the form of production, illustration, performance, art direction, styling, yoga sequencing, and authoring. As a certified yoga professional with over two decades of experience in her field, she has created and developed training programs and held numerous retreats and workshops. From 2015- 2020, as Yoga Product Manager and Master Trainer, she was involved in the development of HiYoga of SATS - the largest fitness chain in Scandinavia.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BASIA

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY and become an INNER CIRCLE MEMBER - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Homeward Bound with Michael Schabort

3 juli 2022 | 105 min

Today our guest is South African born Michael Schabort, an indubitable ‘child of the wind.’

Michael is an interesting person, who ever so naturally goes with the flow. Someone who floats through space and time like a salmon swimming up river. There are bears. There are female salmon. But there is also the journey home. And the journey for the sake of journeying itself.

We had the sense of speaking to someone with that beautiful combination of both water and air, a unique balance of a kapha-vata constitution, in Ayurvedic terms. So often embodying the qualities of air and space, but measured with a slow, watery quality that keeps them moving, sliding in and out of locations, spaces, and postures. This constitution lends itself to a soft, supple body and sweet disposition.

Boundless open space is where Michael prefers to live. Not getting caught in a trap, like a category or a name, is of utmost importance to him. The Sanskrit term “parampara” is about sitting next to someone and receiving their transmission. Not unlike the Sanskrit word “Upanishad,” which is composed from the roots meaning “nearness” and “to sit.” This is how we learn. By feeling. By sitting near to someone. And, we believe you will get the feel of Michael by sitting next to him today, and listening. That this, by itself, can transform your consciousness in some unspeakably profound way. We trust that you are in good hands here today.

From his Instagram: Michael Schabort. Artist. Curious, wild & free ~ Earth warrior~ made in Africa.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MICHAEL

INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY and become an INNER CIRCLE MEMBER - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Prana For Life with Siobhan Fitzgerald

26 juni 2022 | 118 min

We are delighted to share with you today a conversation— a chai stall chat, with a dear friend in the pranayama teacher Siobhan Fitzgerald. A woman who is presumptively Scottish, but we soon learn who is from nowhere and every where all at the same time.

Russell and Siobhan are both affected by the same distinction of personality, say, that comes with the constant movement, the traveling of the nomad. A nomadic child can write off a person, never speak to them again. For often in their lives the nomad did just that, and had too. But, a nomadic child can also selflessly merge into a group like a chameleon, taking on the trappings and customs of the people in their milieu. Alienated as they are they can be real joiners.

Sibhan has taught Ashtanga Yoga as a led practice and Mysore drop in sessions and Traditional Hatha Yoga since 2004 and specialises in breathing practices in Yogic therapy. She has been teaching within Yoga teacher trainings in this specialist area the past 5 years. Her own Breath master has been her mentor since 2005. Recently due to his age he opened up the knowledge on a 3 year programme for his lifelong students at this amazing research Institute in India .....She completed these studies in India 2015-2019, with her guru Sri O. P. Tiwari and his son Sudhir Tiwari.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SIOBHAN

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I Workshop on Ayurveda and Yoga July 2

Find out more about HARMONY

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY and become an INNER CIRCLE MEMBER - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Life As Art with Asta Caplan

19 juni 2022 | 113 min

Yoga Talks on Pirate Radio with J. Brown

12 juni 2022 | 113 min

We caught up with J Brown, podcast creator, and host of Yoga Talks for the last seven years. With tears shed all around, J shared with us the story of how he lost his mum as a very young man. It's a heart rending story. And, for all of us when our heart rends it is an opportunity for healing. To heal is a blessing. We just don’t often do it. I think for most of us when we are slapped in the face we take the wound, and we smoulder and burn. We thicken and take long stares.

Our guest today chose to heal, and he is more beautiful for it. We explored his roots today and heard how the loss of his mother as a teenager was an important event that recalibrated the entire trajectory of his life.

J. Brown talked to us about his early life as a professional actor, dancer, and musician; yet ultimately, yoga was the discipline where his heart took root. Where he saw real truth which required no audience. The whole world is the audience for when you shine like he does. The whole world is his stage. His podcast is certainly out there in the world. And, he has been burned a few times. So we asked for his council as we haven’t been hurt like that.

We also looked at how his philosophy of teaching yoga has evolved over the years from one that was highly centered around strong and advanced Vinyasa style classes with a kick-ass play list, filled with loads of handstands and tricks, to one that embodied his lessons learned from a Swami he met during his first and only trip to India: “Slower is Stronger.”

For more than twenty-five years, J. Brown has been developing techniques to teach people how to practice yoga in a deeper and more fulfilling way. Enjoy this episode!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT J BROWN YOGA:

INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I YOGA TALKS PODCAST

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY and become an INNER CIRCLE MEMBER - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Stoking The Inner Fire with Sarah Hatcher

5 juni 2022 | 101 min

From skiing and horseback riding to fighting fires and then throwing herself fully into her Ashtanga Yoga practice, after being stuck in Marichyasana-D (a difficult twist in the Primary Series) for 4 years, she continued on with dedication and determination, to become a Fourth Series practitioner under the guidance of David Garrigues and Dena Kingsberg.

Sarah Hatcher began her Ashtanga practice with an eclectic collection of teacher from which she continues to draw inspiration from.

In this episode we talk about how the practice changes through pregnancy and whether students should take time off after giving birth or press on.

We explore what has sustained Sarah’s passion for practice over all these years. You'll learn her tips for making your morning ritual happen day after day, even while being a mom of two energetic boys, or holding down an assortment of different jobs, or opening a new Mysore program in a brand new city.

Near the end we get into a discussion about the balance of masculine and feminine energies within and how it shows up in life, as well as in our yoga practices.

Last, but certainly not least, Sarah expresses her sincere thoughts on the value of receiving Authorization from the Institute in Mysore these days, and why she chose to follow a different path.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SARAH:

INSTAGRAM I MYSORE I YOUTUBE I WEBSITE

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

INSTAGRAM I YOGA GIVES BACK: A GLOBAL GATHERING FOR INDIA JUNE 3, 4, 5

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Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Long Way Home with Vikram Jeet Singh

29 maj 2022 | 97 min

Armed with Pasasana as a superpower our guest today, Vikram Jeet Singh joins us to talk about the evolution of the asana practice and our attachment to the physicality of it and how we can begin to embrace a wider scope of practice.

Mr. Singh is a natural intellectual and easily speaks to any subject related to yoga. He has a clear, disciplined mind and is a joy to sit next to in the inimitable fashion of parampara. There is an exquisite vibration of gentle being that comes with sitting next to our new friend Vikram and we are sure you will enjoy this space and time with us.

You find we touch upon interesting and somewhat difficult topics of racism, cultural appropriation, fascism, the relationship between yoga in the West vs East, and how our mind, higher intellect, and ego interface to make sense of our experiences in life.

We also talk about our upcoming panel for Yoga Gives Back happening Sunday June 5th, where we’ll be talking about “Yoga for Mental Wellness at Challenging Times” with other guest panellists: Seane Core, Anouk Prop, Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VIKRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

A Golden Journey with Diana Christinson

22 maj 2022 | 95 min

“Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love.”

Leonard Cohen

Diana Christinson takes us on quite a journey. It reminds us of Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me To The End of Love, a sacred vision of love and life that reflects our Hero’s quest to find meaning in both. As a fellow student in Mysore, like so many of us, we know Diana by virtue of having been there together. Perhaps like saying ‘I was at Woodstock’ or having a bit of the Berlin Wall on your shelf, we can assume so much about strangers. Diana, we always considered a friend, but through this conversation we’ve come to know her more intimately.

She tells us about her Irish Catholic upbringing in Michigan City, Indiana — a small town where Russell lived with his mom, and probably dined at their family restaurant. We learned about Diana’s journey to California, her inner experience of mind-psychology and her outward journey to the Far East… Not N.Y, but Japan and Thailand.

Diana has a wonderful quality of goodness about her, steadiness in the midst of turmoil. We talk about death of loved ones and the space loss leaves; yet, Diana maintains a balance of mind and spirit of loveliness. She is an inspiration and a testament that yoga actually does work.

Diana Christinson is an Author, Ashtanga Teacher, Psychologist, Founder of Pacific Yoga in Dana Point, California, and Inspirational Guide to many.

Having experienced and witnessed the power of inspiration on people’s ability to grow and transform, Diana's years of living and teaching health practices has reaffirmed her belief that we can choose to change, heal, and grow from the inside out.

She opened a yoga school in 2004 where she combines physical, energetic, and mindful practices inspired by her studies of philosophy, world religions, psychology and neurophysiology.

In Your Golden Journey, she shares a collection of some of her favorite teachings, practices, and tools to guide readers in discovering their most golden self within.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DIANA

WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE I YOUR GOLDEN JOURNEY

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY - WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

JOIN HARMONY Saturday April 16th
Purpose, Planning & Breathwork Workshop - Online - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Music by NICK EVANS

Find The Sweet Spot with Alyson Stover

15 maj 2022 | 121 min

This morning it is our delight to present one of the most interesting people alive: The lovely Alyson Stover! With these people its always one near death experience after another and then some… Please enjoy your morning as our guest today entertains us with insider stories about DC, cross Atlantic ocean travel, Hollywood, big studio executive jobs, Ashtanga yoga in the 90s, and of course, harrowing health scares.

No good life is complete with almost dying a few times!

“Water flows continually into the ocean
But the ocean is never disturbed:
Desire flows into the mind of the seer
But he is never disturbed.
The seer knows peace…
He knows peace who has forgotten desire.
He lives without craving:
Free from ego, free from pride.”
(Bhagavad-Gita)

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ALYSON: INSTAGRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - Harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

A Mother’s Devotion with Pranidhi Varshney

8 maj 2022 | 103 min

The Caño Cristales of Emilia Arenas

1 maj 2022 | 89 min

Buenos Dias, mis amigas! We hope you settling in to your Sunday morning. It is our honour to share with you all a conversation with our dear friend Emilia, who teaches Ashtanga Yoga in Miami. We met her many years ago on tour with Paramaguru R. Sharath Jois, and we are excited to talk with her again. We found out about her childhood in Bogatá and the impact of the Medellín Cartel on her family, and we talked about the American appetite for narcotics that sewed that destructive force in her life. This led quite naturally to a frank conversation about NA and AA and the role those positive communities had in getting her clean and sober and becoming now a “mamá caliente.“

Emilia is an Ashtanga Yoga teacher in Miami Beach. She started her journey in Yoga nearly 20 years ago and she embarked on a long research of different styles and teachers until she found Ashtanga yoga and decided to move to Miami to learn from her teachers Kino Macgregor, Tim Feldmann and Greg Nardi.

Her passion is showing her students the beauty and transformative aspects of the practice of Ashtanga yoga. Her classes are filled with joy and enthusiasm and her goal is to pass onto them the devotion that has been passed to her by her teachers.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EMILIA ARENAS
INSTAGRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation

Find out more about Harmony: harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Facts of Life with Nicola Nixon

24 april 2022 | 104 min

This is a lovely conversation! We’re pleased to introduce our dear friend from North England—our Yorkie friend Nicola Nixon!

Nicola is finance executive who, very like everyone’s favourite adoptive mom, Mrs. Garrett (from the Facts of Life), is a Certified Nutritionist! There is something terribly reassuring for Jo, and Blair, Natalie, and Tootie that the one woman in their life who they can turn to is the lady that manages their diet. When you think about it… it’s so incredibly wholesome.

Diet is something that every yoga practitioner is passionate about. Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, eating fish or meat, Keto, Paleo, following a Mediterranean Diet, Sattvic, Rajasic, or Tamasic we’re obsessed about how we’re feeding our bodies to help our health and advance our yoga practice.

Nicola Nixon is a mom of two, Yoga Teacher & Ashtangi, Nutritionist (MSc) (ANutr), Yorkshire Gardener, Finance Exec (FCA), and Cancer Survivor. Today we're talking about how diet can heal your body. How important is the microbiome is and how rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, along with a whole host of other disorders, can be influenced for good or ill through dietary choices.

We’re also talking about some of the themes related to our diet as yoga practitioners as well.

What’s very special about this episode is that Nicola is speaking not only from an educated point of view, but also from her personal experience. She and her husband made a life long effort to stabilize, if not cure, his rheumatoid arthritis.

It’s a fascinating story and we believe you will enjoy sitting with us and and learning from Nicola as much as we did!

Join Harmony Saturday April 30th
FINDING HARMONY RETREAT - Online - Sign Up Today!
harmonyslater.com/findingharmonyretreat

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NICOLA NIXON - INSTAGRAM - @theyummyyogi

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Sara Intonato: Learning To Thrive

17 april 2022 | 140 min

Our guest today is heroic. Not in the mud defending your country from oligarchic fascist kind of way, but no less important and no less difficult. Sara is an old friend whom we met in Mysore, India, back in 2005. Approximately five years after this first trip to Mysore, she gave birth to her oldest child, who is now just over 12 years old. All was typically normal… in a typical new mom, “this is insanely impossible” kind of way. But, then Rocco developed symptoms of autism. Doctors informed her that he was “nonverbal” and may never interact in an understandable way. Sara, of course, will be the first to tell you that her child makes himself perfectly clear and has breezed past many thresholds that were once deemed impossible.

It’s one thing to manage your own life, and another to do it in an emotionally intelligent, and self regulated way; Even more so, to embody the spirit of the bodhisattva, to serve and lead other parents through their own journey with Neurodiverse children.

Sara is someone all can learn from. We believe you will love hearing her story and you may even take away some gems for how you can manage, cope, and thrive as a parent.

Sara Intonato (Level 2 Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher) has been committed to a daily yoga practice in 2001 as a means of coping with debilitating anxiety attacks. Just 20 years old, yoga provided Sara with the tools to manage her anxiety attacks and a renewed sense of clarity in her life. Instead of working on Wall Street or applying to law school, the recent college graduate embarked on the journey of entrepreneurship and began freelance work as a yoga teacher.

Last year, Sara launched her consulting practice for Autism families. She used to worked diligently to keep her two worlds as a mom and yoga teacher separate, carefully curating different social media channels and podcasts for each audience.

But she started to realize, if yoga can help the average person to live a better life, why can’t it also help people with Autism (including non verbal individuals), to do the same? Of course it can! You simply need to teach them differently.

Join Harmony Saturday April 30th
FINDING HARMONY RETREAT - Online - harmonyslater.com/findingharmonyretreat

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SARA INTONATO
INSTAGRAM I YOGA IG I TOOLS FOR PARENTS

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Urban Yogi Ben Eckett: Gloves Not Guns

9 april 2022 | 94 min

Quite a few years ago, Russell was tasked with helping out with a documentary film crew in Mysore. Not sure what his title would’ve been? Chief Gopher or Assistant Talent Manager? Basically, he was there to make sure the film crew interacted with the Jois family in a positive way. The whole point of the documentary was to promote SEVA, the work of helping others and devoting your life to selfless service.

Sevā is a Sanskrit word that describes the act of selfless service. Its meaning is said to be embodied by the root words saha, meaning "with that," and eva, meaning "too," which together mean "together with."

So the film crew, in its inimitable way, asked Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, “Guruji, is seva necessary to spiritual growth?” What a softball question, right?

How easy it could’ve been for a modern, socially intelligent, person to riff off of this question… “Yes, of course, helping others is crucial to our own development and care for society in general…” (that’s what everyone there expected him to say).

He could’ve said something like that. So easy…

Except that’s not all what he said. His mission perhaps, was more focused vertical enlightenment, teaching impermanence and God in all things. So instead, he said simply, “No. Not necessary.”

And, Russell had no response but to hide his head in hands.

No, of course its not necessary. Or is it?

The answer will be coloured according to your unique point of view.

The ancient king turned sage, Visvamitra, reached enlightenment through blind hate for his neighbour the preeminent sage, Vasishta. Perhaps this is an example of how Seva isn’t necessary — It’s just something we appreciate from our modern, Judeo-Christian influenced, perspective.

Our guest today, Ben Eckett, is fairly new to Ashtanga, starting back in 2016; but he’s lived a life devoted to serving fellow humans and his constantly focused on increasing good in the world. He’s super charming and full of passion and emanates love for his life’s mission.

He’s a “Devon man,” and like his yogi grandfather, devilishly handsome. We asked him about the contradiction in teaching boxing and yoga to kids and prison-mates. Is there a contradiction to teaching martial arts as a tool towards the betterment of a more loving society?

And, what it seems to come down to is engagement, selfless action, the breath, and love.

And, in the end… Love is all you need.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BEN ECKETT:

URBAN YOGIS U.K I GLOVES NOT GUNS I INSTAGRAM I JUST GIVING EVENT
URBAN YOGIS UK IG I GLOVES NOT GUNS IG

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Music by Nick Evans.

Vegan Vitality with Kathleen Kastner

3 april 2022 | 111 min

It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to our guest today, Kathleen Kastner. A devotee of Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship, an adopted child of Kansas, Deepak Chopra’s personal trainer, a philanthropist, and a published author many times over. Her passion was fuelled by working with clients who were struggling with obesity and helping them lose weight. Through these experiences, she realized they needed more emotional and therapeutic tools and support them, beyond diet and exercise. She is certified in plant-based nutrition with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and has her own Vegan cooking YouTube channel.

Her book, Yoga’s Path to Weight Loss: A Mind Body Spirit Guide to Loving Yourself Lean, includes recommendations for asana, meditation, walking in nature, praying, and affirmations as some suggested emotional and spiritual tools to help readers tap into connecting with radical self-love to enhance the results of adopting a plant-based diet along with regular exercise.

She shares some sage advice for all of our listeners:

“You have to trust that it’s all divinely perfect, even if you don’t understand it, and keep moving forward.”

Our podcast has a predictable structure. We ask where our guest is from and how bad it got before yoga, atha yoga nusashasam, “Now, Yoga is Revealed,” and we discover how it was revealed withing their unique life circumstance. Each time we discover how beautifully original each human being is and how wonderfully exotic their decisions have been in the face of it all. How do we cope? How do we manufacture a life? How do we make an authentic living?

We believe Kathleen will inspire you. She inspired us with her willingness to share and her enthusiasm for all things life-giving. She's a woman who's been courageous in her attempt to make sense of it all and paints a beautiful, compassionate, picture through all of her life experiences. Her love for other beings is absolutely infectious!

Join Harmony April 10th for Spirit-Centered Self-Care Retreat - harmonyslater.com

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ABOUT KATHLEEN KASTNER: kathleenkastner.com WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE I GoDS IN SHACKLES I YOGA GIVES BACK The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - www.harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Zeena Kalisperides: A Greek Warrior Princess?

27 mars 2022 | 111 min

During the course of this morning’s conversation we touched on the subject of authenticity. How does someone become real we asked?

And it was said that Sunny Boy Williamson whispered this to John Lennon once about the Rolling Stones, “They’re plastic soul, John.”

So, he called Paul, and named his album “Rubber Soul.” After a long time of practice and effort the Rolling Stones became real and they made Gimme Shelter… and nothing has been more real since.

This said, our guest today is not a Greek Warrior Princess. She is neither Greek nor a Princess!

She is, in fact, Mauritian, speaks Creole, was born in London to nurses and very seriously grew up destined to be a Dentist.

Though she had her dharma firmly in hand, she got a little hunched in the shoulders from bending over all those open-mouthed patients, and a little frustrated holistically let’s say, with the narrowness of that profession.

And so, she decided to pursue a new dharma, one more aligned with her true self. She became a yogi. Much like her mother and in harmony with the heritage of her grandparents and great-grandparents.

We spoke with Zeena on some surprisingly hot topics. We went looking for answers to some difficult questions regarding appropriation and appreciation? What is the difference? Does appropriation have to do with breaking ahimsa (non-harming)?

We talked about privilege, racism, and defining our present understanding of past experiences — as uncomfortable as that new understanding might be… like our work with the transgressions of Pattabhi Jois.

It was incredible that these typically uncomfortable and very difficult topics became easy to discus with Zeena — Her infectious humour and grace allowed us to flow with ease and gentleness.

She is a rare gem.

“Wherever there has been pain and some form of practice or reverence has been born from that pain… We feel protective around it.” FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ZEENA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I ASHTANGA YOGA CLUBHOUSE
JOIN HARMONY APRIL 10th - Spirit-Centered Self-Care Retreat

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - www.harmonyslater.com

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Eddie Stern: I’ll Be Your Mirror

20 mars 2022 | 86 min

Oi ga vay and Jesus Christ!

Happy Purim and Passover! Oh boy, do we have a special interview for you today!

We have someone we have wanted to speak to ever since we first initiated this Podcast: The Inimitable Eddie Stern!

But man, we had so many problems with this recording! Ha!

Just booking the time, some unexpected delays, so we just jumped right in without any introduction. Then we stopped so abruptly we lost the damn interview for weeks, only recovering the recording with a bit of technological magic.

You’ll feel absolutely transported as you jump right into our conversation with the iconic Eddie Stern… Talking about rectangles of all things and their place of importance in our world!

Around 3 minutes in, you’ll get to hear why (or why not) we always do postures to the right side first!

And, of all the outrageously unorthodox things we said in this interview, “jumping to the left” seems to epitomize how unconventional we’ve all become.

So listen now, as Eddie speaks to the origins of Revolved Side-Angle (parivrtta parsvakonasana) in the Ashtanga Sequence, and to the larger context of “Listening” within the yoga tradition.

What is it that we, as students, can learn from surrendering our own beliefs and desires to a steadier mind found in the teacher? Is this even necessary?

These days, Eddie is, surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), directing his attention away from Pattabhi Jois’ lineage, no longer wanting to engage in that world and all that it represents. We ask him to speak about how we, as students, might find our way moving forward in a post-guru world.

It gets emotional.

Spoiler Alert!
Be sure not to miss the celebrity name drops at the end and a beautiful story about Lou Reed passing from life to death.

LEARN MORE ABOUT EDDIE: INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - www.eddiestern.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Hidden Gem that is Kathy Cooper

13 mars 2022 | 121 min

We had such a good time talking to an old friend in Kathy Cooper. For Russell it reminded him of Anne Rice’s vampire Lestat’s recounting of his origins in New Orleans. Lestat wrote that at every corner he was continuously surprised to find another stronger older vampire coming out of the ground and shadows. Each time like pulling back yards of history. These Ashtanga yoga students from the 70’s are each one a surprise fascinating in their strength and wisdom.

Is there no where else in history where we find these old guard spiritual aspirants who are such emotionally intelligent savants, house holders, and yet intensely physically disciplined champions?

We’d argue that acolytes like Kathy Cooper can only be found in Ashtanga Yoga, and works of science fiction.

Please sit and enjoy with us this bright Spring Sunday morning as we hear how yet another sun child of the sixties became like a living Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother so modestly hidden to history.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MANUEL WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Manuel Ferreira: The Brazen Bull

6 mars 2022 | 89 min

Today we have the infamous Bull Fighting Manuel Ferreira on the show for you. We are delighted that such an old friend would agree to come on to tell us about his life and family growing up in Portugal. It’s literally true that he was a bull fighter, though perhaps just as a student and not so much a professional. He’s an interesting person to sit with as he has lived his life with so much joie du vivre or alegria de viver as one might say in Portuguese.

You may remember him mentioned by his ever ebullient wife Yan Ong, in our podcast with her a few weeks back!

"I am nothing.
I shall never be anything.
I cannot even wish to be anything.
Apart from this, I have within me all the dreams of the world."
- Fernando Pessoa -

The poem above is from Portugal’s most famous poet, Fernando Pessoa, whom Mani’s mother studied in great detail. It says a lot about how a wild, beach loving, Portuguese surf-fanatic could eventually become a dedicated student of Ashtanga yoga.

“I am nothing. I shall never be anything. I cannot even wish to be anything. Apart from this, I have within me all the dreams of the world.” This very well could have been said to Arjuna by Krishna himself.

You will enjoy this sunny afternoon chai stand chat, as old friends reunite again in merriment. How wonderful it would be to sit on surfboards together gazing at the sea, mountains in the distance, the coolness of salt water against our skin.

Needing nothing, wanting nothing, sitting in balance like the arrow on the bow.

Ashtanga Community Stands with Ukraine - SATURDAY MARCH 12th - harmonyslater.com/charity-class-ukraine FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MANUEL: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - manuel8ferreira.com The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Niki Baratta: Earth Angel

27 februari 2022 | 83 min

We are delighted to share with you this beautiful conversation with Niki Baratta, who may potentially qualify as one of the most interesting people alive!

Niki comes from the U.K. (quite coincidentally, like many of our recent guests); However, she has a very unique story about creating herself, raising up in the world of fashion, to launching her very own line of jewelry, before moving into teaching yoga and coaching woman.

After attending fashion school she was invited into an internship at Victoria’s Secret and turned that into a 30 year career, moving up through the company, playing an integral role in creating the famous Angel campaign along with all the images for this innovative launch as VP Director of Photography in New York.

Currently, Niki is an exquisite designer of hand crafted healing crystal jewelry, Whole-Life Coach, and Yoga Teacher. She shares with us some of the difficult decisions she had to make in her life and career that helped her to step into a place where she could truly own her space, and remake herself.

It all started with a much needed “Niki Pause.”

You will love meeting this incredibly inspiring woman and hearing her person journey to finding harmony in both her professional and personal life.

Side Note: On this week’s podcast, Russell, in jest, suggested that Redtube, (an adult themed website) had paid for adspace on the Finding Harmony Podcast. That isn’t true at all. However, in light of the conflict happening in Ukraine, we invite our listeners to give to the Red Cross. They’ve announced matching dollars for contributions in Canada: https://www.icrc.org/en/donate

Ready to Bring Your Dream Business to Life?
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JUMP INTO B-SHCOOL NOW!

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NIKI: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - www.nikibaratta.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - www.harmonyslater.com/donate

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans. Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Alexandra South: No Pelvis Left Behind

20 februari 2022 | 96 min

“From menstruation, pregnancy, miscarriage, pelvic pain, endometriosis and fibroids, every pelvis has a story, and more often than not, we’re quite disconnected from it.” - Leslie Howard -

Have you ever heard someone say something that completely changed your life?

Come sit with us on this beautiful Sunday as we join our friend Alexandra South in a deeply personal story of triumph and transformation.

Today, our teacher is Alex South, a contemporary Dancer from Warwick, currently living in Texas. She’s the mother of 3 children, sharing her experiences of recovering after each birth and watching her children grow, learn to roll, crawl, walk, run… Reminding her of the organic development of movement mirrored in her modern dance training.

Alex is a Pelvic Floor Yoga Teacher.

Yoga found her just in time to help her heal from an extremely traumatic event. After giving birth to her second child, she suffered from a severe diastasis recti, the separation of her abdominal muscles, that didn’t heal properly, and caused her to temporarily lose the ability to walk.

This experience encouraged her to explore how yoga could be used to reawaken and reintegrate her abdominal muscles and pelvic floor. What she discovered was an entirely new path to deeper healing, which she now shares with her students.

It’s vital to learn to use the breath to connect more directly to the pelvic floor and creates awareness. Then we can use this new awareness to realign and strengthen the pelvic floor.

No Pelvis Left Behind!

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ALEXANDRA SOUTH: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Music by Nick Evans listen on Spotify - Click Here or Purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Jeanette Keane: Dance Me to the End of Love

13 februari 2022 | 91 min

The Finding Harmony Podcast has always been a play on words. How to find harmony in your life?

Uncovering that point when one hits rock bottom and discovers yoga as the secret key to ending suffering… Sometime after everything else has failed.

Its written right there in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. The first one: Atha Yoga-Anushasanam.

“Now, yoga is revealed.”
The implication being that Yoga is first of all, not being invented here. It’s being revealed. In the way that, say Indiana Jones, pulls back the tarp on the Ark and sees it for the first time.

(The egoist who seeks to look directly at this thing will be blinded folks, the skin melt off his face. The awareness of the finite nature of existence is revealed here! Immutable consciousness. Mutable prakriti!)

So, finally… After you’ve tried everything, the pilates class, the parties, the college degrees, the shopping, and even leaning in... Finally, we come to Yoga.

And so did Jeanette. However, Jeanette was fortunate enough to be introduced to yoga at a very young age through her mother.

She’s an artist and professional dancer, skilled in Public Relations, Digital Communication, Marketing, and Arts Administration. But even Jeanette explored many different avenues, looking for answers, before realizing that yoga held the perfect space for her to cultivate inner-peace.

Last year, unhappy with her current career, she sought out B-School to help her create her own consulting business centered around her artistic life. Wanting to spend more quality time with her children and have control over her schedule and hours, she made the big bold step to go out on her own. We spoke with her about building a business, and what that looked like for her.

It’s not glamorous or romantic. Its not being “discovered.” It’s a lot of work, actually. But, there is such a precious joy within it.

Being self made.

And, ultimately, this is what Yoga is.

Cultivating your authentic connection to the Self.

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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The Ever Ebullient Yan Ong

6 februari 2022 | 103 min

Yan, like a good champagne, has a sparkling personality. We very much enjoyed chatting with her in Portugal about her life, Injuries with the practice, and learning to thrive despite suffering from an autoimmune disorder.

Keeping in mind that the vast majority of yoga practitioners are female, we asked Yan what it’s like to be a female teacher in the Mysore room, and her personal experience with the unconscious bias towards women (or against women) that we all seem to continue to carry.

Yan has a fun and interesting story, being invited to join Mensa as a young teen, her time as a Viagra saleswoman, and finally spending 80 months practicing in Mysore, India, with Sharath. You’ll love hearing about how she invited him and his family out for Christmas mimosas on her first trip to Mysore! And her journey of becoming his student all the way to having him perform her marriage ceremony in Portugal.

Yan is ebullient. And, this bubbly effervescence does define her well. We sincerely hope you enjoy spending time with her as much as we did!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YAN ONG INSTAGRAM I YAN’s WEBSITE - YanOng.me

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Sat Inder Khalsa The Kwisatz Haderach

30 januari 2022 | 126 min

In this week’s Finding Harmony Podcast episode, you’ll come to the confluence where Kundalini and Ashtanga yoga meet…
In the heart of Sat Inder Khalsa: the Kwisatz Haderach.

In this episode, we learn that in Frank Herbert’s Dune Universe, a Kwisatz Haderach would be a male Bene Gesserit, who would have access to the memories of both his male and female ancestors, as well as an ability to bridge space and time with prescient ability... In other words, He would be Bene Gesserit, Reverend Mother, Mentat, and Guild Navigator, all in one.

Our beloved Sat Inder is a devotee of the Divine Mother and shishya to her servant Yogavidananda. Sat Inder is an Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher, lover of mythology, a great storyteller, and a retired “Kundaloonie” (as he likes to say).

No podcast historiography of Ashtanga Yoga would be complete without him as a guest!

Enjoy this spectacularly irreverent take on what also happens to be a most sincere interest in spiritual paths and practices.

Sat Inder tells us of his days as a Kundalini Yoga Teacher, leaving the practice of Ashtanga yoga behind, only to have it come back to him again, calling him to Mysore, India. We talk about the Law of Attraction, his visit to the Kamakhya Temple in Assam, where he reset his energy and altered his understanding of devotion forever.

Interestingly, he often contemplates death and mortality. And has found that this morbid obsession with impermanence has become a doorway to liberation and a constant reminder to live more fully.

We hear of Sat Inder sitting on the Manikarnika ghat, (one of the two cremation sites in Varanasi), where visits with Aghoris, members of the mystical Hindu sect known for extreme rituals, devotees of Shiva manifested as Bhairava, as they illuminate his mind.

Finally, we talk about the paradox inherent within the Ashtanga system: The attachment to the body, and yet the goal of becoming non-attached to the body.

This episode may be triggering for some listeners, as we also asked Sat Inder about his personal experience of receiving the “mulabandha adjustment” from Pattabhi Jois on tour in 2000.

This episode is a pot boiler, a bodice ripper, and a barn burner all in one!! Enjoy!

And if you think this episode is good… you should catch the BONUS episode with Sat Inder!

You can listen to it when you become a Finding Harmony Inner Circle Member.

BECOME A MEMBER ♡

Enrolment Closes January 31 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SAT INDER KHALSA: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans.

On Tour with Jens Bache

23 januari 2022 | 110 min

Jens Bache is not your ordinary Ashtanga yoga practitioner or teacher. He came to yoga as a highly celebrated Engineer, in the middle of a very normal career trajectory, yet he was looking for more…

Life had to have more meaning. He felt isolated and stressed. Then in 1997, on a work-study trip in Berkeley California, Jens Bache experienced yoga for the first time.

“A daily yoga practice at home gave me the peace of mind I was looking for.”

When he returned to Copenhagen he participated in his first workshop in 1999, and quite unexpectedly, he became the main instigator in creating an Ashtanga Yoga grassroots community in Copenhagen. As Jens said, he had a unique set of ‘process oriented skills’ from his Business degree in Project Management, which were badly needed in the yoga community. And so, this kind of self reliance in Jens grew into the first Mysore-style school that he nurtured along with Susanna Finocchi for 18 years.

In 2003, Jens traveled to Mysore to learn from Guruji at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute and continued returning annually since this first visit. He enjoyed expanding his knowledge about Indian philosophy, culture, and all things yoga. And, quickly, yet not surprisingly, Jens was soon relied upon by the Jois family themselves to run their European Tour stops!

So, luckily for you, in this episode, you’ll find out exactly what it might be like to host a tour stop with Sharath Jois and his family!

Jens has been the primary catalyst in bringing Sharath Jois to Copenhagen 6 times now, the first tour being in 2006 with the whole family, including Guruji (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois) and Saraswathi.

He has risen to the occasion again and again and hopes to have the honour once again this summer, in conjunction with his partner Lisa Lalér, co-owner of the Yoga Shala Stockholm, to host Sharathji on tour.

Jens translated Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’ book ”Yoga Mala” into Danish and is one of the masterminds behind the documentaries ”Guruji in Copenhagen” and ”Sharath in Copenhagen.”

Jens obtained a Masters degree in Indology – the study of Indian history, literature, philosophy and culture – from the Copenhagen University, and now acts as a “Cultural Broker” mediating between companies in Denmark and India to facilitate a greater understanding between organizations, through cultural translation.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JENS - WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK I Talk with Eddie Stern - FEB.11, 2022 JOIN THE FINDING HARMONY INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP TO LISTEN TO BONUS EPISODES!
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Enrollment Closes January 31!

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Electric Man : Stan Woodman

16 januari 2022 | 92 min

What makes someone electric?

In today’s episode we’re going to find out.

Stan Woodman joins us in conversation. He has that beautiful esprit de corps that comes from overcoming adversity with a team in fellowship, even in the face of great tragedy there's still Love in the group.

Good parenting does that.

Stan has a confidence in him that he is loved and will always be loved. Not in an arrogant way whatsoever, but as a man who loves all beings and naturally sees Love within them.

Not many men grow up saying that what they want most from the world is to be a dad.

This is a testament to his gentle and kind nature.

As a very young man, Stan conceived a daughter, who was given up for adoption. His story is so inspiring, in that, over the years that followed, a relationship developed between them and she became very much a part of his life.

Stan was once Beryl Bender Birch’s apprentice and he assisted her as a travelling teacher. This was his introduction to the world of yoga. A beginning only imagined by most of us!

Some people say that we, as Westerners, will never grow to be more than gym teachers in the field of yoga; But, even with that, this practice somehow does work, in a spiritual way, to make us more compassionate and integrated. If we do the work.

“I want to be a kinder, more loving, compassionate human, so this is why I do and will continue to practice and teach Ashtanga Yoga. I have great respect for all the teachers of this lineage who have come before me, stand alongside me, and have yet to come."
- Stan Woodman

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT STAN: INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - ashtangayogastan.com

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Elizabeth Ball: Science & Yoga

9 januari 2022 | 87 min

Dr. Elizabeth Ball is a unique teacher within our community. She's akin to the Neuroscientist Meditator or the Warrior Poet… A person uniquely situated to watch reality, as the seer residing in herself. She observes with awareness. As water gives life to the ten thousand things; yet does not strive to do so. She simply does. And so, with her PhD in immunology, Liz is uniquely situated to observe the physiological process of becoming whole as she dips her toe into the water of serenity.

Come sit with us and dear Liz, as we chat over a "cuppa" in full "hygge" coziness, and giggled with mirth over all things "Elizabeth." explains, the way to interrupt the problems caused by chronic stress is not to lessen stress, but build more resilience. One way to do so is to engage with discomfort—to practice.

Our bodies are actually hardwired to adapt, we have a natural ability to utilize low doses of stress to generate a favorable response. Typically this refers to a bundle of biological responses, such as the way we react to vaccines—receiving a small sample of a toxin, mounting a defense, and thereby building up an immunity. Or the way our muscles respond to the stress of lifting weights by growing stronger.

Putting ourselves in conditions where we prime the immune system to help make it stronger is paramount to building greater levels of health and resiliency, the ability to bounce back after a stressful situation. We'll discover why the practice of yoga is the perfect way to do this!

Elizabeth first began practicing Yoga at aged 16 in her home town of Derby, England. Elizabeth’s dedication to practising Yoga was a constant companion in all her years of school and university. Upon moving to Lisbon, Portugal in 2008 to study for her Ph.D., Elizabeth continued her Yoga path, practicing at the traditional Ashtanga Yoga Shala, Casa Vinyasa, under her mentor and teacher Isa Guitana Wong.

Finally fulfilling her dream trip to Mysore, India in 2015, Elizabeth became a devoted student to her dear teacher Paramaguru R. Sharath Jois. In 2018 Elizabeth was given the Authorisation to teach the Primary Series.

Elizabeth is now focused primarily on rejoining the circle of Medical Science with the Traditional Science of Yoga.

Elizabeth’s research into Immunology influences her teachings and workshops, as she unifies her background and strengths in science with her ever present exploration of the body through Ashtanga Yoga.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LIZ: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE - www.elizabethannball.com

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Enrollment Closes January 31.

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you enjoyed today's episode, please consider making a Donation. www.harmonyslater.com

Rebirth, Restart, and the New Year with Guy Donahaye

2 januari 2022 | 130 min

Happy New Year, Thundercats!

(That’s the name Russell’s come up with for “the Finding Harmony fanclub.” Shout out to Valerie Swift for setting this up! hint hint…. lol!)

To start your year, here’s wonderful interview, with the one person who made Russell the most nervous to talk to!

Yet, like all things, the experience of actually sitting down with Guy Donahaye was an absolute delight.

Guy Donahaye was Russell’s first Mysore style Ashtanga teacher in NYC, his mentor, and the last man certified by Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois — and possibly the first Certified teacher to publicly reject him as “Guruji.”

Guy has a very natural and shy reticence about him. It’s one of his strongest characteristics and is something his students would all immediately ascribe to him. So we were absolutely thrilled to have him join us and talk so much! He was loving, humble and engaged with our conversation in a sincere way, with the intention of cultivating a deeper understanding around why we do the things we do, what’s the true purpose for practicing yoga, and how this might be approached in different ways.

We believe that he very much appreciated our work and we are honored to add his voice and point of view to our collection of esteemed perspectives from practitioners and teachers all over the world.

With Guy, we spoke about regret a great deal, and whether regret and learning are both possible.

For example, can you regret getting into a bad marriage and subsequently a divorce, if you, as a person, learned so much from the experience?

Isn’t this what the Dalai Lama teaches us when he says that China’s treatment of Tibet is and was his greatest teacher?

Still, Guy seems to regret his treatment of Russell in his Mysore room 20 years ago. Whereas Russell was deeply grateful for his experience, and regrets ever leaving him.

So here we are. Now. Where we are.

And really, what regrets can we truly carry when we look deeply into the turbulent stillness of our hearts with kindness, humour, and compassion?

All our love to you, with the dawning of new days, in 2022!

Thunder, Thunder, Thundercats Ho!

Fire up your sword of Omens!

LEARN MORE ABOUT GUY - FACEBOOK I INSTAGRAM - https://www.integralashtanga.com/

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support: Make a donation

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Music by Nick Evans - Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Magic and the Mysore Yoga Tradition with Andrew Eppler

26 december 2021 | 124 min

Merry Christmas! For this year-end special we have a little present for you all. Some Magic!

We would like to introduce you to an incredibly interesting practitioner and teacher, Andrew Eppler. At one time, he was a kind of young-prince in the Ashtanga Yoga culture. Introduced to the practice by the late Cliff Barber as a 14 year old. He was Guy Donahaye’s first Ashtanga teacher in Oxford when he was assisting Danny Paradise, as a 19 year old.

Andrew has given us all an incredible gift. He has made and produced the documentary film: The Mysore Yoga Traditions. This film is a deep dive into the myriad practices and teachers, who are alive, available, and relevant in Mysore today.

“Tradition” is a funny word. It comes from the Latin Tradere: to hold on to. And so, quite literally means attachment.

But it begs the question: How can we have a system to reproduce enlightenment without being attached to certain things?

Does enlightenment arise spontaneously? Or do we need to cultivate and nurture the conditions to support this arousal?

Andrew Eppler began practicing yoga with his father, Ray Eppler, at age 14. Cliff Barber was their first teacher. Three years later, Andrew began travelling the world, studying with many teachers including Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Mr. BNS Iyengar, Cliff Barber, David Williams and Danny Paradise.

In 1992, Andrew lived with David Williams for several weeks, and continued to visit and practice with him over the next 18 years. Enjoying a friendship forged in yoga, trust and admiration. David's views on yoga were very influential for Andrew.

Andrew continued to journey to Mysore to study pranayama, philosophy, and mudras with Sri BNS Iyengar. The ascetic lifestyle and unconventional views of Cliff Barber, which included living outdoors, going barefoot, practising in nature, and cooking on an open fire, have also been one of the main influences in Andrew’s understanding of yoga.

And then there was Danny Paradise, who convinced Andrew to travel to India for the first time at the age of 18, opening Andrew's eyes to a new way of seeing the world. He stoked the fire of Andrew’s strong nomadic tendencies: "I think through his guidance, perhaps more than anyone else, I came to see myself as a citizen of the world."

Andrew also studied magic and enjoys diving into anything that seems to be impossible. He is well known as The Yogi Magician. He’s the owner and director of Ashtanga Yoga Studio in Oklahoma, founded in 1999.

Join the Mysore Yoga Conference with Andrew and many other teachers online: February 8-18, 2022

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ANDREW INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I MYSORE YOGA TRADITIONS DOCUMENTARY I Mysore Yoga Conference The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com

Saraswati the Goddess of Learning with Tara Mitra

19 december 2021 | 95 min

What does cooking, painting and yoga all have in common?

Listen to this week’s episode of Finding Harmony with Tara Mitra to find out.

Tara is a life long lover of learning, discovering new ideas, people, and places. It seems no accident that her mentor, Guru, and main teacher was named after the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning: Saraswati.

Growing up in an abusive situation, she searched for different therapies to help heal from the past trauma. She found herself in cooking. After spending years in the food and beverage industry, becoming a distinguished sommelier, Tara Mitra started searching for a difference kind of solace.

She made her way to Mysore, India, where she found immediate resonance with Sri Saraswathi Jois, the daughter of Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, and mother of Sharath Jois, who soon became her main teacher, and mentor in the art of teaching yoga.

Tara is also a dedicated student of traditional Yoga Therapy, studying within the lineage of Krishnamacharya, with his son T. K. V. Desikachar’s longest standing students in Chennai, India. Her interest in yoga therapy is a focus to help heal others from injury and imbalances within the body. She has helped many students return back to health and stability through yoga therapy.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TARA - taramitrayoga.com
WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com

Coming Full Circle with Nea Ferrier

12 december 2021 | 99 min

The truly bizarre thing about living in an intentional ‘spiritually aspirant’ community (for decades) is that you share profound memories with a select group of folks who you know only incidentally. Yet, those shared memories are quite intense and emotional for both of you.

You can imagine a professional athlete might feel the same or a developer in Silicon Valley. You watch from afar sometimes as friends you’ve known for 20 or 30 years develop “Google” or win an NBA championship; and yet, understand exactly what they are going through.

With our guest today Nea Ferrier, Harmony and Russell also share this very personal history. For example, it came out that Nea had stayed in Russell’s apartment in Taiwan for a weekend and they had climbed a sacred Buddhist mountain together, prostrating each length of the journey. Russell had only a dim memory of this event, but remembered it in color as Nea described it.

Accessing the deepest, most personal parts of herself, and bringing them into the light is at the heart of Nea’s practice.

Like Bhuvaneshwari, the great cosmic mother of the universe, who represents space and who creates space for all things. Nea herself, has become a cosmic womb. She creates space within her own consciousness for beautiful experiences to grow and flourish, and is focused on giving birth to her very own divine nature.

This goddess become her guide in the creation of Nilaya House and through her metaphysical womb she embraced her role as a mother to many.

Listening to Nea now, you’ll be fascinated to hear she was once a wild child. In early adult life, she came face to face with some pretty self-destructive tendencies, which brought her to the practice of yoga. Over the years, she has deepened her connection to the goddess energy and intimately observe how the female cycle can become profoundly transformative, not only to one’s practice, but to one’s whole personality.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NEA - INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I ASHTANGA YOGA DUBAI - neaferrieryoga.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. MAKE A DONATION - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

A Trip Towards the Self with Barry Silver

2 december 2021 | 119 min

New York, New York. If you can make it there you can make it anywhere.

Today we interview Barry Silver, traveling artist, explorer of the mystic and esoteric realms.

Although Barry is currently based in Mexico, we met him back in Mysore, India, as one of the “Cool Kids” from a thriving New York Ashtanga scene. At the time he was assistant to the revered Eddie Stern. And intimidatingly self-composed.

Looking back at those times in the quiet suburb of Gokulum, Barry has shared with us new insights into the trap of the “Super Cool.”

Now, with time and distance, he’s able to see his participation in it for what it was: A giant ego trip of self flattery and self flagellation, and opportunity to self masticate his own gloss.

Barry is astonishingly self aware of his own pursuit of cool, and seeking to be cool in the myriad communities he merged with.

Whether it was Disco, Kundalini Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, or the “Burner Community,” he has come back to being himself again and again, finding comfort in acknowledging who he is.

Like the Alchemist’s journey, he’s realized that there was nothing to strive for or become, and he oozed cool all along.

From altar building to cathartic scrapbook journaling, Barry Silver has traveled an interesting path to becoming a full-time artist.

It’s always super interesting to figure out who an audience is for a particular kind of art. How do you want them to react? What do you want them to perceive?

Do you want them to scrunch their eyes and stoop their shoulders as they peer closely at your surfaces?

Or do you want them to dance ecstatically, yoked in the embrace of a loving community?

Barry’s work seems to tie together the inter-connectedness of all the dynamic individuals and experiences he’s had within in his life. He is fascinated with these weird dudes and seeks to share his fascination with you.

His work is comic, genius, and generous in this wondrously mysterious way.

His dharma has led him to find the “Barry-ness” in all things. Whatever he creates, he does so with intention and spirit, drawing from his history, and a wide variety of very personal, spiritual experiences in different modalities.

His newest project is called: Nuestro Tarot. A Trip Towards the Self.

Pledge, support, participate, and take the trip.

“Like much of my art, I used this project as a vehicle to express and integrate the various aspects of myself. It has been an extremely healing and cathartic process.” - Barry Silver

LEARN MORE ABOUT BARRY SILVER
INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I Nuestro Tarot Kickstarter I GBSK SHOP - barrysilverstudio.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans.

IKEA, ABBA and Lisa Lalér

28 november 2021 | 84 min

Sweden is famous for IKEA, ABBA, Minecraft… and Spotify!

Today we speak with the lovely Lisa Lalér, who was born and raised in Stockholm in Sweden.

We’re extremely grateful that Lisa opened up to us about her turbulent childhood and the trauma accumulated in her body which manifested as stiffness; so much so, that when she came to the practice of Ashtanga yoga she was praised as the stiffest student Maria Boox had ever seen!

We spoke to Lisa about leaving her marriage to pursue her dreams, and the social issues with travelling to Mysore without either of her two young children, and how she processed many of the emotions that came up through the practice with the help of therapy.

We were struck with how life can take us in such unexpected directions and how love can come to us at any age!

Lisa Lalér is the head teacher and co-owner alongside her sister Lotta Lalér of the Yoga Shala Stockholm.

She is an Authorized Level 2 Ashtanga Yoga Teacher and devout student of R.Sharath Jois in Mysore, India.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LISA
WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I YOGA SHALA STOCKHOLM - yogashalastockholm.se

Practice with Harmony Dec.19 for the ‘Three and a Half Acres Yoga’ Non-Profit Foundation - a non profit that broadens access to yoga, breathing, and mindfulness techniques, focusing on communities who have experienced trauma.

FIND OUT MORE - harmonyslater.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labour of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Karyn Grenfell: A Hero’s Journey

21 november 2021 | 97 min

We were engrossed in conversation with our dear friend, Certified teacher Karyn Grenfell, Founder of Ashtanga Yoga Melbourne, when she mentioned a hilarious old trick... Karyn recounted, while backpacking (back in the day, before cell phones and the internet) how she planned to meet a friend at a particular time, on a particular date, in a particular city neither had been to, on the corner of two streets... Months in advance!

These days, we’re so inured to the constant flow of information and communication, it’s difficult to remember a time (not so long ago) when we would have to use books as guides, public phone-booths for calls, Travelers Cheques for cash, and paper maps for directions.

Can you imagine opening a book to determine if a country you are trapped in takes Travelers Cheques?

Karyn has a very particular and idiosyncratic way of living her life. She is not dissimilar to a Tibetan nun, simply here and present, offering goodness to all beings.

She’s not bored. Or at least she’s come to terms with a certain pace of life. And, she’s inculcating that same quality of patience and peacefulness in her child. Karyn is keeping alive traditions that feel as if they belong in another century, a predigital age, activities that keep her refreshingly grounded and self-aware.

If you’re at all in doubt about the value of an Ashtanga Yoga practice, or if you’re fretting and insecure, be assured that the 20 years of practice in a dark room at 3:00 in the morning DOES HAVE an effect.

It changes a person.

And, for the better.

You can become someone that doesn’t need anything from anyone, but simply wants to help others with their suffering.

FIND OUR MORE ABOUT KARYN - WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK

Sign up for Harmony’s Workshop: Yoga Beyond Asana - November 27

harmonyslater.com/yogabeyondasana

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Donate Here - harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Joey Solano: Accountant to the Bollywood Stars

14 november 2021 | 79 min

Grab a coffee, brew your tea, crack a coconut, because this is a real “chai-stand” conversation!

In today’s episode you’ll hear story after story about different people and events within our global yoga community, including celebrity encounters, and funny stories about our time in Mysore, both together and separately.

Our guest is not a professional yoga teacher, but is someone known and loved far and wide within our global yoga family.

Joey Solano is an accountant.

He is someone who finds great benefit from his regular practice, but has never had any intention to teach. This makes his perspective on the practice and the community in Mysore particularly unique. Growing up in Cebu, in the Philippines, Joey Solano moved to America to pursue his studies, where he found Ashtanga Yoga in Florida before moving to L.A to practice with Noah and Kimberly.

Joey made his first trip to Mysore in 2004, and he continued to return to India annually to practice with the Jois family, quitting his job each year to embark on another adventure!

He’s practiced with Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Jois, and Saraswathi. He continued returning year after year, not only because he fell in love with the Shala, but he fell in love with India and it’s many paradoxical ways.

Joey told us about his experience with Water-Fasting, the benefits he personally experienced, and the findings of the Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on how cells recycle and renew their content, a process called “autophagy.”

This was super interesting, so we took the opportunity to ask Joey about body image, and how he felt about being a larger sized person in a world of freakishly thin yogis.

You’re going to love spending time with our old friend Joey Solano!

Join Harmony in Palm Desert next weekend November 18-22. Find Out More - desertyogashala.com

Online Workshop with Harmony: Yoga Beyond Asana - Nov.27 - Register Now! - harmonyslater.com/yogabeyondasana

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Susanna Finocchi: Transitions Through Time and Space

7 november 2021 | 96 min

Similar to Ganesha the elephant-headed deity in India, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings in ancient Roman mythology. He is usually depicted as having two faces. Susanna Finocchi, (our first Italian guest!) is a woman who knows these transitions well.

Susanna expounds on the weirdness of being a Southerner in the North. You become a kind of “in-between person,” neither here nor there, but like all these mythological figures you are given a special insight to human nature. And Susanna, in her loving and enthusiastic way, gifts us with her wisdom today.

Susanna’s mother was a Herbalist, and her father Dionysus was a connoisseur of wine, so it’s no surprise that she would grow to hold space for transformation and health. She details her childhood for us and her first encounter with Ashtanga Yoga, and her subsequent emigration to Denmark.

Together, with Jens Bache, she co-founded Astanga Yoga Copenhagen and was the main teacher there for almost 18 years, teaching hundreds of students.

In 2006, she hosted the entire Jois family in Copenhagen and in 2009 she had the honor of being the first school to invite her teacher Sharath Jois, as the incumbent Guru, on his debut tour, and has since hosted him 6 times since that year.

She made her first pilgrimages to Mysore in 1995 and 1996 and since 2003 has returned yearly to KPJAYI (now Sharath Yoga Centre) to practice and study.

Susanna studied Sanskrit at the University of Copenhagen and continues to learn together with chanting and Indian Philosophy during her trips to Mysore.

She currently is living in Rome, her place of birth, and travels all over Italy and Europe teaching the Ashtanga Yoga method.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SUSANNA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM

FIND HARMONY WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - harmonyslater.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Emma O’Neill on this Samhain

31 oktober 2021 | 106 min

Samhain or All Hollow’s Eve is an ancient festival of the northern Gaelic islands. It’s a celebration meant to honor the beginning of winter when the demarcation between this world the other is thinned. On this day the Aos Si (the Fairies! as they say) travel more easily into our world, and we must disguise ourselves or risk being taken by them!

And so... to celebrate this day and these celestial beings, we present our friend and fellow Canadian, an Irish born lass, Emma O’Neill.

She’s a lady who’s quite touched by the gifts that come from a long lineage of Pagan Irish Women. We explore what it means to have these psychic instincts and how they relate to what we call gut-instinct or a tingling of intuition.

We also explored the transitions we make between this world and that, between Canada and the far east, her late transition from the closet to out, which she hilariously describes in detail, her mother and sisters simply responding… “Why are you eating chicken? You said you were vegetarian. Pass the potatoes, would you.”

Emma O’Neill is a voice actor who in her own words, “was born and placed on stage.”

She’s also a Mala-Magician, a true artist with beads, imbuing them with her Witchy Irish intuition and Sanskrit incantations to enhance the sacred stone properties. This artistic work, in addition to her yoga practice, keeps her connected to the earth through deep listening and awakens healing energy.

The iconic Ashtanga legend, Nancy Gilgoff (another Wonderful Witchy Women) along with someone who turned out to be a kind of natural sister, Vanessa Gilgoff (Nancy’s daughter) were a significant influences for Emma on her spiritual path when she first met them in Goa, India. It was Nancy who told her to go to Mysore to meet Pattabhi Jois. Nancy connected with her on a deep heart level, and for Emma she will always be her “yoga mom.”

In this episode, you will also hear Russell and Emma reconnect on a shared time in Taiwan, where they spent many years working at Space and Pure Yoga in Asia, during a unique period in our history, that was quite unlike yoga at any other place or time before or after. Luxurious. Abundant. Extraordinary.

You can find Emma teaching Ashtanga Yoga Mysore Classes in Toronto, Canada.

Mysore Toronto’s classes run every Saturday at 7am (last Saturday of the month is Led Primary at 7:30am).

ALL CLASSES ARE AVAILABLE ON ZOOM.

For custom Mala design contact Emma directly.

For voice bookings email Emma here.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EMMA: MALAS BY EMMA IG I MYSORE TORONTO IG I PERSONAL IG I YOUTUBE - www.mysoreto.com I www.malasbyemma.com I emmaoneillvo.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and Russell Case. If you enjoyed today's episode, please make a DONATION to help us continue our work: harmonyslater.com

Lu Duong: The Western Wing

24 oktober 2021 | 112 min

It is probably no secret to you all that we (Harmony & Russell) enjoy watching television together (shhh…!).

After finishing over 21 seasons of Hell’s Kitchen, we moved on to prestige dramas like The Handmaid’s Tale and Mrs. America, and our current obsession, Succession… and often you’ll find references to these narratives percolate in conversations with our guests. We’re in the Golden Age of Television, but the real prototype of our time is the “Walk and Talk” by Aaron Sorkin, The West Wing, which is absolutely beloved. For many of our generation it was the show that precipitated an interest in sincere and earnest political activism.

Our guest today, Lu Q. Duong, is both a result of that movement and quite coincidentally an example.

Lu’s father, a French Vietnamese chef, was founder of a restaurant in DC that became the center for Republican Beltway work lunch.

It was not uncommon, for example, to see former GOP VP Dick Cheney eating there on any given day. Lu’s father remains a dynamic example of the immigrant experience: An indefatigable worker and idealist for the American way of life.

Lu is now Principal Director for the Tech and STEM Initiatives unit for The United Negro College Fund and a former communications lead at the very influential education initiative the Aspen Institute. He took his degree in Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University and applied his expertise in growth and marketing to his interest in Ashtanga Yoga (in his spare time!).

He created Ashtanga: Parampara, an online magazine, which sought to build on and develop the stories told in Guy Donahaye’s book “Guruji” with long form interviews from other teachers within our global Ashtanga yoga community.

We think it’s fair to say, Lu is kind of a big deal (not to mention a incredibly talented, thoughtful, empathetic and all-round fabulous human being).

In today’s episode we asked Lu his professional opinion to the question... “What would you do with the Ashtanga Yoga brand?”

Listen along as he reluctantly explains his opinion from the perspective of a political marketing expert.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LU - ASHTANGA PARAMPARA I INSTAGRAM - ashtangaparampara.org The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. ❤ Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Find out more about Harmony - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!
We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening & Closing Music by Nick Evans - purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Michael Baidoo: The Beginner’s Mind

17 oktober 2021 | 103 min

We can not wait to introduce you to our guest this week: Michael Baidoo. Michael is very unique in that he’s what we might call a “CoVid phenomenon.” He is completely self taught through online resources, social media, and Zoom. And, he is amazing!

It’s a delight for us personally as older, less awestruck, students (Harmony and Russell have been doing Ashtanga Yoga for over 50 years combined!) to encounter such an enthusiast for yoga, and for the Ashtanga Yoga in particular.

For someone like Michael, in fact, the horrific issues entangling the #metoo movement and Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois’s transgressions are in distant past. They, simply are not relevant to his education. What he seeks is a sangha, a community to connect with and lift up!

We loved the levity and profoundly positive approach he brings to the practice that radiates through his Instagram videos. His humor and vivacious personality are infectious, so we brought him on the shown to share his fresh perspective on Ashtanga yoga.

Listen as Michael tells us about his early life growing up as a first generation American, in a fundamentalist Pentecostal, Ghanaian home in New Jersey… And how he used Brazilian Juijitsu and Computer programming to organize his life. Something, he said, (similar to other programmers we’ve had on the show like Lee Seung Eun) is that the system and order of Ashtanga Yoga compliments a programmer’s approach.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MICHAEL INSTAGRAM I Bay Jitsu Yoga - bayjitsuyoga.com The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments Nick Evans, band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

The Undersea World of Daniela Ceccarelli

10 oktober 2021 | 128 min

Observe this seeming contradiction:

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans. - Jacques Cousteau -

Today we are taking a deep dive into the ocean of yoga with Dr. Daniela Ceccarelli as our guide. We’re learning about coral reef ecology, the purpose of counting fish, and what this ultimately has to do with the health of our oceans. While we're down there... we discover the intricate complexities of Ahimsa, and what, if anything, we might do to save our planet.

This interview with Dr. Daniela Ceccarelli reminds us a little of the interview we did with Bethany Mclean where, she spoke about her Ashtanga story, but also gave us an extremely informative picture of the fracking industry.

Dr. Dani is an independent marine ecology consultant with extensive training and experience in tropical marine ecosystems. She is also a long time student of Ashtanga yoga and Level 2 Authorized teacher.

In today’s episode, she gives us an extraordinary window into the state of the sea and her fascinating life. From growing up in Italy, to living abroad as a young girl between Europe and the Middle East, moving to Australia as a young woman, and becoming a mother (while still working on her undergraduate degree)… as well as everything else that unfolds from there.

Krishna mentions to Arjuna on the battlefield, “you have a right to action alone and never at any time to its fruits.” And so, we like Arjuna find ourselves battling with the complexities of how we can act with care and consciousness; but realizing ultimately, that all things pass into nothingness anyway.

It’s such a delight to listen to Dani. She has not only an enormous intellect, but a broad sense of humor, which allows her to contain these kinds of contradictions with joy and ease. She both sincerely cares about the Great Barrier Reef and its impact on humanity; yet, wryly notes our impending extinction.

She is a true sage poised in equanimity.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DANI INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support!

Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans.

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

That’s How I Got To Moscow... with Anna Guryeva

3 oktober 2021 | 114 min

It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to our friend Anna Guryeva. She graces us a with a marvelous little window into the Russian soul. From the heart of Siberia, she reveals a path to joy.

To see the beauty of the Russian spirit, one must understand the generational hardship of the people, and Anna’s narrative, though particular to her, shares this ancestral trauma. To know the horror of the last century, and the centuries of slavery that came before, and Anna’s own personal enslavement, is to see the miracle of Anna’s ecstasy.

We gently coaxed Anna to talk about serfdom in Russia and her own travails. Though it isn’t easy. Anna is ready to move on, you see. And, the Russian ethos in general, isn’t one to dwell on, or speak about their tragedies.

What does suffering mean to a culture when a third of their population was forcibly married and held in servitude for life? You see, around 23 million Russians were held in slavery until 1863.

People carry that kind of wound throughout the generations. Anna spoke to this and growing up in Siberia, now living in St.Petersburg.

We dug into Russian history through Anna’s eyes and her personal experience with being indoctrinated into a religious cult, where she lived as a domestic slave for three years.

After living in Moscow for a year and seriously exploring the option of becoming a Christian Nun, she moved to St. Petersburg and started on an entirely different spiritual journey exploring esoteric practices within Kabbalah, the teachings of the Russian Mystic Gurdjieff, and finally found her teacher in Tibetan Buddhism, and eventually began practicing Ashtanga yoga.

With all this in her personal history Anna has given us a beautiful book the titled: “Space and Bliss: Yoga and Buddhism for Life in the Modern World.”

The title of her book comes from a Tibetan monk’s conversation with her. He was telling her about the evolution of her spiritual practice and offered her this exotic mind-blowing gem.

“Space and Bliss are Inseparable and Now You Are Going to Die.”

Anna Guryeva is the Founder of the Ashtanga Yoga Shala in St. Petetersburg, Russia and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ANNA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I ANNA’S IG The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. www.harmonyslater.com

Geoff Mackenzie: Man of the World

26 september 2021 | 132 min

It is such a joy to meet a human being dedicated to evolution, self discovery, and insight. It’s our pleasure to introduce to you the accentless Englishman, now profoundly Canadian, Geoff Mackenzie!

Citizen of the world, swimmer, rugby player, and avid skier… Mysore teacher and Yogic Health Coach. He tells us how his practice has evolved over these past few year, becoming less strict. He’s created a more adaptive approach, more personal, and not dependent on needing to “show your practice off” in Mysore, India. You’ll hear us talk about how to maintain your practice as you age.

What was particularly touching was listening to Geoff speak about his blossoming awareness to the unique issues facing men around connecting to their masculinity in a “non-toxic” kind of way.

He touches upon the need for men to relearn how to speak to one other openly and honestly and hold each other accountable. He facilitates such a gathering within the container of an organization called “The Samurai Brotherhood.”

Geoff Mackenzie has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and teaching classes since 2004. His guidance is informed by his extensive study with the Jois family in Mysore, India, combined with occasional input from veteran Western practitioners. Modern approaches to strength, mobility, and breath-work training feature in his own practice too.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GEOFF - INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - https://www.firstlightyoga.ca/ The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - http://www.harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Living Yoga with Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor

19 september 2021 | 101 min

Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor need no introduction.

In this episode, we talk about the dissolution of our minds, bodies, and practices in the face of time. How do we let go of the physicality of the practice?

We were curious after 50 years of yoga, how they’ve maintained their enthusiasm in the face of age.

What we heard was extremely enlightening, and surprisingly heart-opening.

Your whole body and mind are an offering. You are never throwing it away… But rather, allowing it to shine no matter what state it’s in.

Practice itself is an offering. The whole idea of offering is sacrifice. It means you’re giving something of value to others. And when you really do this deeply, it effects your body and mind in a profound way.

To give it all away as an offering to others is the whole purpose of the practice.

These two beautiful souls have an incredible way of grounding their spiritual experiences in the present moment and anchoring them in reality.

We may be seduced by dissolution, but if we follow Arjuna’s example, we will continue to do our dharma, without being motivated by any sense of accomplishment, on our quest for unity — to live in love.

We invite you to spend some time with us, watching nature unfold and reality drip through the cracks, with Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor. Their insights and presence is a true joy to be treasured in the face of impermanence.

“The basic mistake is that we’ve reduced ourselves and we’ve reduced others to just ideas about ourselves and others, and that’s really sad… What we are is way beyond the ideas we have about who we are.” - Richard Freeman

We spoke about Lojong meditation practice (often translated into English as “Mind Training”) from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Mary explains that when religion is working well it allows us to feel our vulnerability.

Trusting in something bigger than oneself is a vital part of becoming more of a whole human being.” - Mary Taylor

We spoke about the difference between “taking refuge” and “surrendering,” what the Bhagavad Gita and the Wizard of Oz have in common, as well as how they’ve keep love alive within their relationship after all these years… and how you can too!

Time is running out, apparently it’s a good thing, because it gives us the motivation to pull ourselves off center stage and find out who we really are, why we’re in this body, and what we can do to help others.

“The practice that’s appropriate for you in any given moment is the one that helps you be authentic. To join together the disparate parts of who you are and show up. And show up, not in order to be the star of the show, but to show up to be a servant. To be there and be of service to others.” - Mary Taylor

If you’d like to keep learning and going deeper into the esoteric teachings inside the Bhagavad Gita, we would invite you to register for Richard and Mary’s upcoming online course: Living Yoga: Embodying the Teachings of the Bhagavad Gita

I'm offering a couple of amazing bonuses when you join the course through me! - harmonyslater.com/richard-freeman-mary-taylor-living-yoga

Registration opens this TUESDAY, September 21st!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RICHARD FREEMAN & MARY TAYLOR: INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE I WEBSITE - richardfreemanyoga.com

Where were you on 9/11, Hanne Sydanmaa?

12 september 2021 | 75 min

It is with great pleasure we introduce to you the contagiously ebullient Hanne Sydanmaa from Helsinki, Finland. We asked Hanne to share a bit about the birth of Ashtanga Yoga in Finland, which continues to this day to have the most practitioners per capita over any other country in the world!

We tried, in our way, to get Hanne to open herself to us… So that you could see the Real Hanne, with her zestful and sparkling personality.

Alas, like all Fins, they are hard to coax out from their safe, cold, woodland, hidden away in a forgotten corner of the North. They are quite like the Children of the Forest in that regard who, with great mirth, created that calamity of White Walkers!

So this tendency towards shyness is what we’ve learned about the Fins. And, is something we share with you here in today’s episode.

We learn about Hanne’s prior occupation as a flight attendant, her family, and her youth; how she learned Ashtanga yoga, and how her body collapsed on her in the middle of 3rd series.

After only a few years of practice, Hanne had to go back to square one, and relearn this practice in a completely different way than the rest of us.

This is a very special episode that will help anyone dealing with injury or looking for hope in how to rehabilitate their body and practice.

Now you will find Hanne handstanding all over the world, teaching pilates, and enjoying ballet classes - just for fun!

When the question came up "Where were you on 9/11?" we explored our stories and how that fateful day changed our collective history forever. Not only will September 11th never be forgotten, but it is also Saraswathi’s birthday. Twenty years ago she was celebrating her 60th birthday in New York City when the towers fell, which means this year she turned 80 years old!

Thank you so much to all who follow us and listen to these stories that we share in our living historiography of our Ashtanga Culture. We adore you and hope they continue to enrich your days and lives!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HANNE - INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK I WEBSITE - https://hanneyoga.com/

Be sure to register for Harmony's FREE Breathwork Masterclass - http://www.harmonyslater.com/free-breathwork-master-class

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation - http://www.harmonyslater.com/

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening & Closing Music by Nick Evans from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

The Odyssey of Kristina Karitinou

5 september 2021 | 100 min

If you ever wondered how gods are made, our guest today will tell you they start out as heroes. They become big enough to thrust out at Brad Pitt and decide the fate of thousands of women and children. Hector must have been like that… a giant like Priapus or Goliath standing in the way of Achilles.

Probably a good sized lad. Maybe even 6 foot 4 and full of muscles.

Our guest today is very much like this. She is larger than life and it makes sense that she married a Golden God like Derek Ireland and bore him two children. They used to make statues of people like them (think Venus de Milo). These two took a heroes journey that the rest of us just read about or gaze at in museums.

Kristina Karitinou sits with us today and talks about her epic life story, including her true romance with Derek Ireland, nursing him through cancer, and her subsequent depression upon his death. The pain of this event along with their two small children, shaped the rest of her journey.

Is there one of us in the Ashtanga Yoga culture more wrapped into the fabric of this legendary tapestry?

Derek looms larger than life. He who practiced in Mysore, India wearing body, ankle, and wrist weights; he who ran up and down Chamundi Hill every morning like Lester Dent’s “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze!” (Russell’s wouldn’t have been surprised at all to find Doc Savage practicing Ashtanga Yoga next to Derek and Kristina in a cave on the island of Crete, recovering from some epic adventure).

The Ashtanga yoga practice is a method that brings the maximum beauty to both the male and female body. - Kristina Karitinou

Kristina is an Ashtanga Yoga teacher and Zen practitioner from Athens, Greece, who’s been teaching in the tradition of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois since 1991. She was qualified as an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga teacher by her late husband Derek Ireland, authorized by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and Certified by his son, Manju Pattabhi Jois in 2012.

After many years of assisting Derek Ireland around the world, Kristina became one of the first Ashtanga yoga teachers in Europe.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KRISTINA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK - https://yogapractice.gr/

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. http://www.harmonyslater.com/

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music by Nick Evans. Listen to entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Taylor Hunt: In Recovery

29 augusti 2021 | 95 min

September is National Recovery Month. This national observance has been held every September since 1989, to educate and increase awareness around mental health and substance use disorders. It’s also a month to celebrate the people who have recovered and honor their strength in living healthy and rewarding lives.

We are reminded of Malcolm X when he wrote in the forward to his autobiography that 'the lurid gossipy details of his misspent youth were not meant to simply entertain but to educate those on the rewards of a spiritual life.'

Taylor came on our podcast with great patience as he explains just how different an addict’s life is from a “normie.”

It’s really different. Harmony and Russell share deeply traumatized, addictive personalities, where sobriety was rare in their family. And, strangely enough the family behaviour modeled for them was actually quite different from Taylor; yet, unlike him, when they have a drink, or use substances they likely won’t, as Taylor said, “Burn Mysore to the Ground.”

We invite you to sit with us today as we explore Taylor’s life and ask him about the inspiring work of his non-profit organization, the Trini Foundation, which is dedicated to sharing the life-changing practice of Ashtanga Yoga with those suffering from addiction. Their mission is to provide yoga as a tool to aid in the recovery process and help people who are suffering, maintain long-term sobriety.

They partner with treatment centers, recovery programs, and yoga studios nationwide to help offer yoga classes to individuals in early recovery.

Harmony will be offering a class on Saturday September 18th in support of the Trini Foundation and their initiative to bring Ashtanga Yoga to those recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.

REGISTER NOW - http://www.harmonyslater.com/trinifoundationrecoveryclass

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TAYLOR - https://www.taylorhuntyoga.com/ & TRINI FOUNDATION - https://www.trinifoundation.org/ ASHTANGA YOGA COLUMBUS I TAYLOR HUNT WEBSITE I TAYLOR HUNT IG I TRINI FOUNDATION I TRINI FOUNDATION IG I BOOK: AWAY FROM DARKNESS

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

MAKE A DONATION - http://www.harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!
We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shoutout on IG!

Lee Seung-Eun: Lost in Translation

22 augusti 2021 | 93 min

You know her as Lee. We know her as 이성은

It is with great honor and joy that we introduce you to our very special friend, Lee (this is her last name of course). In the Korean language the last name is introduced first before the first name. Why would that be? What kind of culture believes that family is more important that the individual?

The answer is a Confucian culture.

Or Kong Ja Nim in Hangul which is of course Korean for the their Language and alphabet: 콩자님 한글

We discussed at length the impact a Confucian society has on our individual decisions like how to treat your elders in school or society, how to pay respect to the individual, how to be respectful to your life goals and education, or whether Russell is heart centered or a comedian.

To Lee, Russell is heart centered, nor does she recognize him as rude, but sees him as a very polite person.

Russell points out, “You are the second girl, second oldest. You could do absolutely anything with you life and no one would care, right?”

Lee doesn’t hesitate. “That is correct.” She says.

Knowing Lee as we do, and Russell having been immersed in the deeply traditional and Confucian culture of the city of Andong in middle of South Korea, allows us a picture of Lee. You cannot know her without understanding her in the context of Confucius, which is very deeply Korean to say that you cannot know someone without their cultural and environmental circle.

With that in mind we explored concepts about being in someone’s debt, whether sadness and melancholy “Han” 한 is still a Korean virtue or rather something held nostalgically for one’s grandparents.

We talk about K-Pop, and whether it’s a counter cultural revolution in Korea, antagonistic to melancholy and “Han.” To which, Lee responded “I know nothing about K-Pop. So I cannot answer that question.”

This is out first episode making use of a translator.

But, it will not be our last.

It was a deeply personal and intriguing window into another culture. Yet, here we all are, passionately invested over a long period of time, daily practicing Patanjali’s yoga of transformation.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LEE: INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE - https://www.instagram.com/ashtanga_pranayoga/

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. Make a Donation - http://www.harmonyslater.com/

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Ann Svärdfelt: A Field of Swords

15 augusti 2021 | 71 min

It’s our pleasure to introduce you to Ann Svärdfelt. Many of you know here as her the proprietor of the Santosha Cafe. Her experience of Mysore is unique. She came to Ashtanga Yoga later in life, already with small children, and as a responsible adult. She stepped into the practice from a very different space than many of us, who were in somewhat of a state of arrested development, bugged out drop outs, wannabe hippies, overgrown, and still living with our parents.

Ann didn’t have these advantages (if you could call them that) but had all of the sincerity and devotion, and most certainly Sharath saw this in her and you could say that’s what’s most important to him — the heart of his student.

So, especially for Ann, balancing practice with renunciation was critical. It’s important to practice and at the same time let go of the outcome. That’s easier when there is no low hanging fruit, no golden fleece to achieve. Jason sailed across the Seas with his giants, his Argonauts, with every expectation to spectacular achievement. That was many of us — we thought.

We thought 3rd Series would be an easy win. Would bestow us with some special powers.

But what of the meek tho?

What of tender of the hearth, the provider of a family, who is seeking the humble lesson of learning to let go through their personal experience inside their simple yoga practice?

Comparing one’s own practice with other people is a complete waste of time, since we are all different.

Ann emphasizes that it’s good to just listen to oneself and try to follow the energy that rises.

Ann is also an Ayurvedic consultant prescribing remedies based on pulse diagnosis and principles of holistic life balance. We hope that sitting with her will allow you a gentle space to value the little victories of a life cherished for what it is.

Find Out More About Ann Svärdfelt: ASHTANGA YOGA AHUS I INSTAGRAM

Join Harmony & Ashtanga Yoga Ahus ONLINE Workshop October 9th - https://www.ashtangayogaahus.com/event-details/harmony-slater-online-class-conference

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. We are truly grateful!

Make A Donation - http://www.harmonyslater.com/

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of Nick Evans - Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Casey Palmer: A Proto Punk Pioneer in Portland

8 augusti 2021 | 112 min

As you’re quickly becoming aware, We, in our little Ashtanga Yoga Land, have a culture. This word stems from the Latin meaning “to cultivate or to toil over.” And, this cultivation of the soil, slowly became a cultivation of the mind.

This is were we get the word ‘cult’ from... which is to say, “cultivated, or inhabited.”

In a way, our work in yoga, leads our mind to become inhabited. We become Self-possessed.

Without really sitting down to talk with Casey Palmer before now, what we noticed immediately, is that we share a common experience and culture. In fact, meeting him in this podcast was like meeting a family member, a twin, a lost older brother. Something akin to when Arjuna meets Karna for the first time and recognizes him immediately.

Casey is a ‘Gen-Xer’ — a punk, ‘Do-It-Yourselfer.’ Fiercely independent and skeptical of hierarchies and monetization of that which is pure and authentic.

You see, we Gen-Xers often adhere to this ethos in spite of ourselves — we’re armed and ready to cut off our nose to spite our face.

Why do we do this?

Well, let me introduce you to Lloyd Dobler.

The quote from the movie, Say Anything, “I don’t want to produce anything sold, bought or produced” is so woven into the fabric of our personality that Harmony and Casey didn’t even register it as a pop culture quote (and really, what could be more Gen-X?) - It is simply who we are.

As the Buddha says “Nothing is permanent, except change”

Please sit and listen to a fascinating discussion on a number of different topics like the culture in Mysore, holding multiple frames of consideration for Pattabhi Jois, growing up in Alaska, leading a yoga community as as an anarchist collective, and whether we can really hold onto anything for more than a passing moment in time.

Or as Lloyd Dobler, our fearless Gen-X archetype says,

“I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. I just want to love your daughter, and I think Kickboxing might be the sport of the future.”

As we all now know… Lloyd’s vision has come true.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CASEY & NEAR EAST YOGA: WEBSITE I FACEBOOK - neareastyoga.com THE FINDING HARMONY PODCAST IS HOSTED, EDITED AND PRODUCED BY HARMONY SLATER AND CO-HOSTED BY RUSSELL CASE.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

MAKE A DONATION - harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music from Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven - Nick Evans - To purchase your own copy - Click Here

The Three Stigmata of Mariela Cruz

1 augusti 2021 | 100 min

It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to our great friend Mariela Cruz. Mariela is one of those phenomenal human that you might find in an Alexandre Dumas classic like ‘The Count of Monte Christo’ or ‘The Man in the Iron Mask.’

Someone who’s heart-centered and gifted with supreme powers of intelligence, wit, and physical prowess!

With 7 children, a lawyer, a gifted solo pianist, she also happened to finished Advanced A Series with Sharath Jois in Mysore, India. She was an ambassador to India on behalf of Costa Rica…. and the list of accomplishments goes on and on, reading like an epic novel. All this, and she still has half a lifetime more to live.

Mariela recounts her life growing up in beatific peace loving Costa Rica, where as a young child she was immersed into a yoga practice with her mother and developed a lifelong passion for music.

Richard Freeman once said, “Obstacles are the bread and butter of Ashtanga Yoga” and Mariela has faced her fair share.

In the face of life’s challenges, Mariela’s accomplishments are extraordinary. Her patience, love, humour, self effacement, devotion, and discipline color every aspect of her life.

The most recent chapter of her story is deeply tragic and harrowing. Yet, she fights on like Durga, with the energy of her yoga practice fueling her current legal battle. We are sure that dharma will lift her and she’ll rise victorious, chasing away the darkness with her light.

“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself”
― Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARIELA: YOGA PROFILE I INSTAGRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. Make a Donation - Harmonyslater.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments Nick Evans. Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

A Delicious Poison with Kate Winter

25 juli 2021 | 92 min

Today we’ve created a Venn diagram of interesting listening…. Here you’ll find the intersection of the dedicated The Last Kingdom fan (secretly in love with Uhtred of Uhtred; and Aethelfled her personal hero), mixing with a keen interest in True Crime Detective procedurals, along with a curiosity in what it might take to become a female weight lifter, or body building champion (and this may or may not have nosedived into an obsession with professional wrestling, who’s to say really).

All this crosses over with a love for tea, running, meditation, yoga and nutrition.

Recovered from an eating disorder? Practicing Ashtanga Yoga? British?

If even three quarters of these things are true about you then we would like to introduce you to Ashtanga Yoga Practitioner, Detective Kate Winter, former body builder. She is going to talk to us about eating disorders, gun violence, tea, and Warwick—a settlement within the kingdom of Mercia.

Obviously, Russell kind of loses his mind a little and can’t keep track of what accent he is going to put on…

But, by all means — Do listen. And, put the kettle on.

FOLLOW KATE ON INSTAGRAM @bimswinter

FOLLOW HARMONY ON INSTAGRAM @harmonyslateryoga

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Music by Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Dena Kingsberg: That’s Where The Light Gets In

18 juli 2021 | 136 min

"By the practice of the limbs of Yoga, the impurities dwindle away and there dawns the light of wisdom, leading to discriminative discernment."

“Dukham evam sarvaam vivekinaha.” For a viveki, a person with discriminative knowledge, everything is painful and also, simultaneously, full and sweet.

As epic poet, Leonard Cohen wrote,

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.”

When you allow yourself to break and you see your cracks for what they are, you cease to develop the painful pattern of grasping for perfection. In fact, when we embrace those painful cracks, we transform what was painfully imperfect into something supremely beautiful. Truly, if we read just that one sutra of Patanjali, and realize that everything manifests from pain, then there’s little more we need to know.

Our guest today shares her deep wisdom with us and it’s a tremendous honor.

Dena Kingsberg has seen things. She is a Viveki to be sure. She can anticipate the worst, while envisioning the best, and clearly discerning the cracks in the facade of those who come to her for teaching. Harmony shares this kind of understanding of the world, and recognizes the same mystic wonder, strength, courage, and discipline that Dena embodies through her teachings.

“Yoga Is Not Pretty.” — But we’re going to keep persevering anyway, because as Dena reminds us, “No one is going to help you heal yourself.”

And if you don’t do the work to sort out your citta vriti (thought patterns), samskaras (action patterns), and vasanas (unconscious desires) you’re going to live trapped with whatever you get.

We are blessed today to share our conversation with Dena about her personal transformation from an awkward child into an artist, poet, and rock-goddess architect. She built her home using her own hands and she’s built her life in much the same way.

It’s challenging to be a deeply introverted person, while also being called to publicly share the sacred wisdom gleaned from time spent inwardly looking. As a popular Australian cartoonist, Leunig, has shared in his poem…

Let it go
Let it out
Let it all unravel
Let it free
And it shall be
A path on which to travel

Between this breaking and unraveling, both Dena and Harmony have come to feel that the weight of life is Full and Sweet.

Knowing how painful things can be in this world, while honoring each simple blessing, and recognizing the flow of grace in every day life, is a kind of miracle in and of itself… And that’s where the light comes in.

Because after all, “It’s the sameness in each of us that makes us truly special.” - Dena Kingsberg FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DENA: WEBSITE I FACEBOOK I INSTAGRAM - dena.net.au

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing, and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com

Opening and closing music compliments of Nick Evans - To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Alex Medin: Relax Into Life

11 juli 2021 | 135 min

It is our great pleasure to introduce you to our old friend (and living legend) Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, Alex Medin. Unfortunately this sentence doesn’t do him justice!

He’s an excellent and exceptional student in so many walks of life: a boxer, ballet dancer, a Sanskrit scholar, entrepreneur, and humanitarian to name but a few. In fact, if there is one allegory to describe Alex, it's that after our interview he immediately wanted to do it over so we could do it better the second time around!

Alex Medin is a native of Olso, Norway, and is the byproduct of an unstable and violent home. Discipline, breakdancing, and boxing began to transform his life from one that was recklessly circling around drugs and crime, to one that led him on an unexpectedly beautiful adventure of self discovered. The impact of this unfolding of Self, is a man who is focused on helping youth recovering from their own substance abuse issues and inmates in prison through his charity organization, Back in the Ring.

Alex stressed to us the importance of freewill as it imparts the weight of responsibility to make good choices. “We are spiritual beings trapped in our karmic patterns,” he said, threading in verses from the Yoga Sutra and Bhagavad Gita to contextualize our present-day circumstance effortlessly through this ancient wisdom like a kind of Sanskrit-Sage Savant (though, we’re pretty sure he would insist otherwise.)

“There’s plenty of madmen in the world and the enlightened ones are few. We live in dualism and although we sometimes feel glimpses of the purity of Supreme Consciousness, we are still ruled by our inner psycho-physio patterning, and this is our starting point for yoga.
We interpret life through our various samskaras.”

Taking ownership, being responsible, doing the very best we can is our starting place in life.

Prakriti (material nature) is for our enjoyment, development, and benefit. The patterns are always changing and through exploration it's up to us to figure out what creates lasting happiness. This is why we have to start with the patterns that drive us to work. It’s this urgency in Alex that makes him strive to be his best self.

“The only way to find freedom is through finding harmony within ourselves. Yoga is finding unity within diversity.”

The real grace of yoga happens in the letting go.

When yoga meets the man of Action, all good things flow towards him.

Alex holds his MA Thesis at SOAS University of London on the lineage of Krishnamacharya, which included interviews with T. K. V Desikachar, B. K. S. Iyengar, and K. Pattabhi Jois, as well as their lineage holders, Kausthub Desikachar, Prashant Iyengar, and R. Sharath Jois.

Towards the end of our lovely interview, Alex mentioned the multiple schisms that occurred within the Ashtanga Yoga Community near the end of 2017, and the deep heartbreaking disappointment that he felt when Sharath Jois removed of a whole generation of teachers from the “official” KPJAYI’s Recognized Teacher List.

“Yoga is a release. A cure for a pain we have not yet fully accessed or discovered.”

And, here we have discovered yet another wound…

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ALEX WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I PERSONAL I BACK IN THE RING

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY & B-SCHOOL: HarmonySlater.com

Sparky’s 9th Life

4 juli 2021 | 89 min

It is with great pleasure to introduce you to our dear friend Mark Stephen Pomianowski, known only as Sparky. He is a kind of Bay Area legend, infamous for his sense of humor, and his constant confrontations with wild (and quite literal) death defying situations.

“Sparx” (for short) was Russell’s Ashtanga Yoga student in San Francisco, as well as a great master of Chinese Medicine who helped cure Russell’s sciatica. Later, he became Russell’s teacher in acupuncture.

Sparky plays bass and classical guitar. His teacher is Jack Casady, the bassist for Jefferson Airplane—who in turn was the childhood friend of Jorma Kaukonen (the guitarist for Jefferson Airplane and the composer of their Embryonic Journey) and Sparky’s classical guitar teacher. If you listen to the end of the show you will hear Sparky give an impromptu, unrehearsed rendition of that song that left us breathless and speechless.

Sparky’s first life took shape as a student of the guitar and aspiring musician. Currently, he’s a sailboat captain, but first, many years ago, he somehow became a midshipman engineer (with no training and nearly died in by electrocution on a Sheik’s yacht in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean).

In another life he traveled as a roadie for R.E.M and became their lighting technician along with the Feelies. Also a Greenpeace rep, who Michael Stipe told in no uncertain terms to quit chasing a rock band and get on following his purpose as an acupuncturist. This sent him to China where he trained as a Chinese Medical doctor—and returned to practice acupuncture in the Bay Area, where he met Russell.

Sparky is also a surfer (who nearly died just last week by a great white shark attack), a yogi, and most of all a father of three, who you’ll hear crawling all over him, in the background during this insanely hilarious episode!

THE FINDING HARMONY PODCAST IS HOSTED, EDITED AND PRODUCED BY HARMONY SLATER AND CO-HOSTED BY RUSSELL CASE.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

harmonyslater.com

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Maria Boox Love Goddess

27 juni 2021 | 93 min

In Norse mythology, Freyja (from Old Norse meaning "the Lady" is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, and gold. Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers.

Today we interviewed a woman, who in our opinion, most embodies this Freya sex goddess energy.

Longing for a life of adventure since a small girl this desire took her across the world and after many years, she eventually created a permanent home in Goa, India.

Maria Boox became a Certified Iyengar teacher before seeking out a practice of Ashtanga Yoga with her beloved Guruji, Pattabhi Jois, whom she was a devoted student of for thirteen years. She opened up the first fully dedicated Ashtanga Yoga School in Stockholm, which continues to thrive to this day.

After 2009, she continued to seek out guidance in pranayama and yoga philosophy from Sri. O.P Tiwari (a teacher she also shares with Harmony). All these experiences have added a lot of depth to Maria’s approach to teaching and to her whole practice.

We spoke to Maria about what it means to be a truly wild child growing up in conservative Sweden and how she came to be fully embodied sexually, emotionally, spiritually.

Now, as a grandmother, she in turn, has become a guide for the younger generation and inspiration to many fellow travellers along the path of yoga.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARIA: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - mariabooxyoga.com

FOLLOW HARMONY: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - harmonyslater.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make A Donation & Attend Class

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Dominic Corigliano: On The Road

20 juni 2021 | 100 min

For a particular generation of Ashtangi, Dominic Corigliano represents that paternal “cool dad” who knows everything that’s going on in your family and is more than happy to tell you too much about it.

He’s like that cool uncle who’s not condescending and knows about the dope hiding in your room. Dom may smoke it with you, but he’s also going to be real honest about the side effects.

He’s the first guy you call when you need bail money… But he’s also going to reinforce, “You really need to tell your mom, you know?”

Sitting with Dominic, feels very much like you’re part of his family. As a father of five, family has turned out to be a focal point of his life. We touched upon our Ashtanga family foibles, but no one is going anywhere in this large Italian like circle… And look, we’re going to sit together at Christmas anyway, so we might as well forgive and forget and get on with loving each other again.

To that end we spoke about Dom’s childhood that was unfortunately littered with abuse and trauma. His interest in beat poetry and the beat life, and how, like Kerouac, he took to the road. Somehow, in the midst of all this chaos, he ended up as a computer engineer in Encinitas, married with three children before stumbling upon yoga with Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois.

Dom is quite frank about his guru, our teacher— what can be loved about him and what needs to be acknowledged about his failings as a man. This was something Dom knew a lot about as he had to do the same with his own father. He had to learn to forgive in order to continue to be able to love.

“You can’t really understand someone else’s pain, don’t act like you can.” - Dominic Corigliano

Enjoy your time listening to this episode about Dom’s life, which is really another rich story embedded within the living history of the greater Ashtanga Yoga context.

Finding Harmony is about reclaiming balance in a life that has been fractured in some way. For so many of us, Ashtanga Yoga was a vehicle to find balance. Within that structure there were, of course, inevitable frustrations and contradictions along path. To this end, Krishna suggests:

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

Give up all technique and come to me
I shall deliver you from negative reactions
Do not worry

(Bhagavad Gita chapter 18 verse 66)

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DOMINIC - Facebook I INSTAGRAM The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Make A Donation - http://www.harmonyslater.com/donate

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans. Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

Sista Shree: Gotta Serve Somebody

13 juni 2021 | 80 min

Sista Shree, born Regina French, in the First Nation State of Sequoyah (what is now referred to as Oklahoma— okla humma) is an embodiment of the benevolent magic Earth-Mother figure that we all need in our lives.

She is a kind of blue-skinned Krishna who vibrates peace and love and makes all beings in her vicinity feel friendship towards her.

For us, we’ve always felt a kinship with her - an immediate friendship was formed - since we first met twenty years ago.

Sista Shree came on the podcast to discuss her new book, an autobiography called SEVA (selfless service) The Memoir of a Modern Day Yogi.

This is her epic tale full of love, trysts, incredible encounters with living Saints, and a clear factual account of the racist institutions that make up American life. All of this is interwoven within the context of the Yoga, each chapter of her life accounted for in one of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga.

She says “Yoga allows us to go into the womb of humanity and the earth and relearn the stuff that we actually came here with.”

Speaking about Sri K.Pattabhi Jois she said, “Through his eyes, through his soul, through his smile, he taught us how to awaken the interior self. He was sort of like a guide. He was a guide who gave you wings to fly.”

Sista Shree’s autobiography is dedicated to Nina Simone.

And like her inspiration, this mystic woman is first and foremost a powerful soul singer. She spoke to us of the power of music to heal people, and how it's always been used as a healing and uniting force for the soul. You will feel it.

Like all great Guru’s of Jazz, Soul, Funk, and all the great musicians like Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Sister Pearl, Sly Stone, Bill Withers, and even newer singer songwriter like Sona Jobarteh… what makes them great is their connection to something beyond the self, “There is a devotion, and energy, and this takes you straight to God.”

Learn about the practice of chanting God’s name all day long and getting high on life and high on love in this week's episode with Sista Shree.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SISTA SHREE - sistashree.com BOOK I WEBSITE I FACEBOOK

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

MAKE A DONATION - www.harmonyslater.com

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here

Keen On Adam

6 juni 2021 | 101 min

Sitting with Adam is a bit like sitting with David Beckham — they are both from Essex you understand — and are whirlwinds of energy!

When Adam isn’t practising yoga, he’s talking, recording his Keen On Yoga Podcast, writing his book, and after all that, asks “what else can I do today?”

To which he cheerfully answers, “I know, I’ll cook for them!”

Adam has a wonderful lightness to him. His nature is a living example of a powerful creative energy, he embodies the quality of vata (in Ayurvedic terms) a bundle of moving, swirling ideas, ready to spring to life, and of course this energy is naturally infectious.

He’s really quite punk in his inclination and seems to have a distaste for authoritarianism, which has transformed and shaped his worldview.

You’re going to love listening to his story and how he is continuing to help evolve the conversation around Ashtanga yoga as a living, working, yoga methodology, building upon the experience of the past to shape a new, more thoughtful future.

Adam’s teaching is committed to facilitating the individual’s experience of yoga. Teaching is approached with a lightness of touch and an open mind. Outside the sphere of yoga, Adam is a continuous student of philosophy as well as having worked previously to teach as vegetarian chef.

You can find him teaching on Keen on Yoga, an online platform offering workshop and classes that he started with his wife Theresa.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ADAM and Ashtanga Yoga & Beyond: www.keenonyoga.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

www.harmonyslater.com/donate

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”

Listen to the entire album on Spotify

Yoga, Philosophy, and Favelas

30 maj 2021 | 76 min

In this episode, we speak with an exceptional Brazilian. He’s a Professor of Philosophy and an Ashtanga yoga practitioner. We catch up with Marcos Silva, who is the chief organizing force behind a beautiful initiative to help the forgotten mothers within the Brazilian favelas.

Marcos explains how a majority of the Brazilian population is of African Ancestry predestined to live out their lives within the confines of these slums, with little hope for a way out.

These mothers, Maes de Favelas, are the descendants of the enslaved people brought over to work the sugar plantations that fueled the Triangle Trade of Rum, Sugar, and Human Beings.

Recently, he’s turned his attention towards the hunger crisis arising in Brazil due to the ever increasing Covid pandemic and lack of proactive government response. Last month, he with some others, began a projected called Rede Yoga Contra a Fome. A teaching network offering charity classes to support CUFA — Mães da Favela as he explains, the“Mothers of the Slum.”

The pandemic in Brazil has gotten much worse and most of the population already lives in precarious conditions. These people are now facing extreme poverty and hunger, as the Brazilian government actions are very weak or nonexistent.

Listen to Dr. Silva as he passionately describes how small minded ideologies like Nativism and racism can create excessive chaos and suffering. Just as in Trump’s America, so it is now in Bolsonaro’s Brazil.

Join Harmony on Saturday June 19th at 7am ET in support of Rede Yoga Contra a Fome help fight

1. Donate any amount the week before the class you wish to attend.

2. Take a screenshot of your donation.

3. Send your payment confirmation via Direct Message on Instagram @redeyoga before 5 pm Eastern Time the day before the class!

3. You’ll receive a zoom link for the class.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARCOS & MYSORE YOGA RACIFE INSTAGRAM I REDE YOGA I MAKE A DONATION TO REDE YOGA I MARCOS SILVA PHILOSOPHY I TWITTER I YOUTUBE

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments Nick Evans. Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

All In The Family with Greg Nardi

23 maj 2021 | 105 min

If you have sensitive ears around please use earphones! The beauty of this episode is that Greg loves to go a little meta!

He enjoys questioning and looking at our Ashtanga yoga practice, culture, shared history, and all the accompanying assumptions from a slightly higher perspective, being self-reflective, rather than continuing to perpetuate unhealthy patterns and unhelpful belief systems.

We’re sure you will enjoy coming along this journey of inner exploration as we share our unique perspectives and the mixed bag of contradictory feelings that arise from being a member of a particular spiritual community— a post-guru community— trying to find its way through.

Those of us who “grew up” in Mysore together, were like members of a family. We all made that same extreme (and somewhat obscure choice at the time) which compelled us to spend months upon months out of every year living in a small suburb of the southernmost city in Karnataka, India.

In each idiosyncratic interview on the Finding Harmony Podcast we learn, as we do here with Greg, what was it for them that made a choice like this seem reasonable.

From Wicca to Yoga you will hear about Greg’s personal journey of self-discovery. We fearlessly dig into the darker, shadow side of the Ashtanga culture, including the allegations of sexual assault that came into the public eye against Sri K. Pattabhi Jois during the Me Too movement in 2017; as well as the perpetual “Fat Shaming” that somehow came to be viewed as normative behaviour within our community. These issues, for many of us, were either experienced firsthand or witnessed, and although we felt somewhat ill at ease with what we saw, heard, or experienced, we also firmly held to the belief that our Teacher(s) held our best interest at heart, were acting in a way to help us evolve spiritually, and any uneasiness we may have felt was simply our own misunderstanding.

Ashtanga Yoga Worldwide will be starting an eight-month 300 Hour Teacher Training on June 1st, 2021.

In addition to the usual philosophy, chanting, anatomy, and alignment principles, this training will have you examining models of presumed “correctness” or “incorrectness,” while deconstructing the assumptions we make around the practice itself, how it’s taught, and it’s methodology.

You’ll be encouraged to reflect on how we might change the implicit power dynamics within the student-teacher relationship, and the importance of holding space to create an atmosphere where students can safely explore the depths of their own consciousness. You’ll learn how to debunk the idea of “injury versus opening,” and what it means to teach people to listen to their body, rather than continuing to perpetuate a disembodied practice.

Registration is now open! FIND OUT MORE

JUNE 6th join Harmony’s Workshop: The Secrets of Yoga: The Marriage of Shiva-Shakti Register Now

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JOIN GREG & HARMONY & SCOTT JOHNSON ON CLUBHOUSE ON TUESDAYS

The Goddess Solution

16 maj 2021 | 84 min

We had a delightful morning interviewing Lisa Marie about her new book: The Goddess Solution: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Life. As it turns out, Lisa Marie is a Goddess, named after the King’s daughter, Miss. Presley. We discovered through our conversation that you are a Goddess too… And that even Russell could use this book (if so inclined).

You’ll want to hear at what point Lisa Marie finally broke down and said “To hell with it, I’m changing my life and burning it all down. Then I’m gonna do some yoga.”

Getting divorced and quitting her job was her initiation into The Path of the Goddess.

For you, like Lisa, that means activating the energy of the Goddess Lilith in your life to have the confidence to pursue a path less travelled, the path of unconvention. When it comes to sex, Lilith is a goddess that likes being on top, and you’ll hear that someone else does too.

Or like a lot of Ashtangis, you might find that the Goddess Morrigán is more your style. The Goddess of difficult emotions can help us pursue physically challenging activities like mountain climbing, Ashtanga Yoga, or even wild sex to work out stress and anxiety.

Ultimately, this book is about self-empowerment and how to imbue our lives with magic and intention. As Lisa Marie says poignantly when you sit down to write, try not to edit. That kind of self-criticism in that moment inhibits creativity and expression. “Write Now, Think Later” she says.

Remember, the Goddess has an inherent sense of worthiness that isn’t looking outside of herself for validation.

We think you will look forward to sitting with Lisa, and be charmed by her effusive Goddess energy.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LISA MARIE: THE GODDESS SOLUTION I WEBSITE I FACEBOOK COMMUNITY I INSTAGRAM Sign up for Harmony’s OMSTAR Workshop JUNE 6: The Secrets of Yoga: The Marriage of Shiva-Shakti Register Now harmonyslater.com

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

Laura’s Dharma

9 maj 2021 | 102 min

Laura Miguel is founder of Casa Leela and AYPOA, and is a teacher of ashtanga vinyasa yoga, one of the few authorized to teach the method in Brazil by the institution KPAYI, in Mysore - India. Ayurvedic therapist graduated from Suddha Dharma, in Uberlândia - MG, and with a specialization in nutrition from the International Ayurveda Institute in Puna - India. She teaches the ashtanga vinyasa yoga method in Porto Alegre and also teaches in workshops throughout Brazil.

We caught up with her in Porto Alegre and asked her about how she came to be an Ashtanga Yoga teacher. Its a wild and incredibly cute story the way she tells it; but, actually, she’s quite serious. She gave up her life, legal career, and car when she decided to move to India to study. Her father disowned her, but then took her back, after she founded an orphanage in Nepal, and put an abuser of young children in prison.

Laura told us about her ongoing passion for developing expertise in Ayurveda and gives our listeners many excellent tips on diet, and practice. Russell is convinced that in 2003 he gave her a nude “Osho-Ayurvedic” massage (although, we’re still not sure there such a thing?!). Laura says “No.”

But wait for it… by the end of show she’s looking to book herself in for a future appointment.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LAURA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM - ashtangayogaportoalegre.com.br

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. Make A Donation - http://www.harmonyslater.com/donate

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Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” dawn-song.bandcamp.com/album/for-morgan

Mark Robberds: God of Thunder

25 april 2021 | 134 min

Obviously, Mark Robberds isn’t actually the ancient Norse God of Thunder. He is actually quite soft spoken and has a gentle moderate spirit.

This deep heartbeat of a vagal tone is derived from his pitta-kapha nature, which has allowed him to pursue great Athletic feats. Mark spoke to us about his anger issues as a child and what continues to drive him to succeed in everything he sets his mind to… as well as all the stuff in between. We explored themes around his naturally inquisitive and existential side, which led him to seek out instruction and teachings from many different paths, like a bee collecting honey from many different flowers amalgamating these teachings into a delicious nectar.

Now, as a new father, the energy of the goddess, Devi, rules his life. This new role has challenged any prior sense of consistency, which to his surprise has brought a sense of unexpected joy and freedom from the regimented routine of a “traditional” Ashtanga yoga practice.

We touch upon several historical incidents that reinforced patterns of normative behavior in our global community and how these somewhat dramatic events effected each of our lives.

This conversation is a lively one!

We are exploring issues of psychology, science, physiology, and philosophy.

If you ever wanted to spend two hours chilling and getting real with the legend that is Mark Robberds… This is your opportunity to dive in and enjoy his charming and electrifying presence.

PLUS… We have a fun game for you to play near the end of the podcast…

Heads Up... Whoever is the first to answer to our trivia winning question, will receive a surprise gift in the mail!

So be sure to listen to the end! ❤️

Join Harmony’s Ancient Breathing 2.0 Course - Sign Up Now… Classes Begin MAY 8 or 9 FREE Breathwork Masterclass with Harmony - Save your seat for May 1 or 2 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARK WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I MOVEMENT IG I FACEBOOK FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Sonja and The Mind Monsters

18 april 2021 | 96 min

It’s been said that if you can’t explain something to a 5 year old, you don’t really understand it. Perhaps apocryphally that quote refers to quantum mechanics and general relativity theory. Albert Einstein was doing his level best to explain these concepts to a nervous public. Equally as difficult to understand is the prism of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and yet our guest today, Sonja Radvila, explains it effortlessly in her Yoga Sutra book written especially for children.

We had the pleasure to speak with Sonja about her book and the massive effort it takes to get something like that off the ground.

Sonja talks about her negative first experiences in travelling to Mysore to practice. And the trouble that comes with equating advancement in asana with “Spiritual Specialness.”

After travelling and teaching around the world for the past thirteen years, Sonja felt ready to settle down on the coastline of Portugal with her beloved—the mercurial Luke Jordan.

Inspired by the culmination of creativity, consciousness, ancient traditions, self-study, and a yearning to understand, Sonja wrote her first book. An imaginative interpretation of the first chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras as a children’s story called ‘Young Yogi and the Mind Monsters.’

We also talked about how her practice has changed over the years and how her approach has dramatically shifted with time and age.

In Addition, Sonja has a jewelry company named Rasa Malas that was born out of her love for Indian culture, creativity and jewelry. Rasa aesthetics refer to the “essence, mood, flavour, or dominant feeling” evoked from Indian art forms such as dance, theatre or music. All of Sonja’s malas are handmade and one of a kind created specifically to match the individual’s personality, as a response to or an expression of their energetic needs.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SONJA:
YOUNG YOGI AND THE MIND MONSTERS I RASA MALAS I INSTAGRAM

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FREE Breathwork Masterclass with Harmony -- Save your seat for May 1 or 2

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love.

And would not be possible without your kind support. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY I INSTAGRAM

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review and 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans.
Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

John Bultman: Captain America

11 april 2021 | 92 min

There is something about John that strikes a person as wholesome. In a different age, we might've described him as an "All American." Of course, that’s before some of us were awakened to nativism and privilege. Still, watch Captain America and you can understand what allows him to hold Mjölnir. He has something pure and true about him that allows him to wield Thor’s hammer. He is selfless and leads through example. He brings all of us in the room together, which is essentially beautiful.

John was a preacher’s son quite dissatisfied with dogma though sought out, like his father, to know things. He trained as a classical vocalist and guitarist. And yet, he preferred, like Miles Davis, to make something different, a punk hand made “people’s music.”

Upon finding yoga, he approached the project of yoking his mind and body as a carpenter would approach a piece of wood. He cut away that which wasn’t necessary, bent the wood where he could, and efficiently created a work of art.

John has the natural humility of the craftsman. He brings that humility to his intellect, which allows him to survey the land in a disinterested fashion— that is to say, without mental projection. John would strenuously argue that he is furthest person from perfect, and that is why he tries with all his might.

Prior to joining the team at the University of Virginia in the Contemplative Science Center, John taught geology at a college for 7 years. He was an environmental geologist, who took on odd jobs painting murals and doing ceramics, while continuing to play and write music for an indie rock band. He's a skateboarder who would, on occasion, jump off bridges and howl back at the moon.

Although he has a tattoo, he refuses to admit to being even remotely close to "punk."

After a serious motorcycle accident in India, where he cracked his femoral head and broke his hand in several places. After only 18 months, he made an incredible recover and had relearned the practice, keeping a journal, and focusing his mind to the point where he was able to practice in a film project demonstrating primary and intermediate series with his teacher R. Sharath Jois.

He recounts his first impressions of being in the Shala in Mysore, India, and how his relationship with Paramaguru Sharath Jois has grown and changed over the years. He’s assisted Sharath Jois 4 times in the main Shala from 2012-2016, and continues to practice six days a week in a traditional way... Early morning hours, before teaching his classes and sharing his energy with his students.

Even though he’s a Fourth Series practitioner, John still feels inspired and hungry for more.

He met John Campbell in 2008 and quickly became his most devoted student. Years later he was invited by him to become Program Manager for the Contemplative Sciences Center where continues to manage the Ashtanga Mysore Yoga program.

He is one of only a few Certified Ashtanga teachers under Paramaguru R. Sharath Jois, and has made 12 trips to India. He has kept a daily Ashtanga Yoga practice for over 16 years, and humbly hopes to share this practice with the the same knowledge, strength, love, and humor as his teachers continue to share with him.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JOHN: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. MAKE A DONATION

Live In Stockholm

4 april 2021 | 110 min

You know it’s often possible to get the wrong impression about things.

Our minds do this to us constantly. The citta emotionally setting objects into their respective categories of understanding to “help us.”

There is a sutra for this of course, just like there is a sutra for everything!

Yogasutra 1.8
विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानमतद्रूप प्रतिष्ठम्

viparyayo mithyā-jñānam-atadrūpa pratiṣṭham

False understanding is mistaking something for something else.

This Patanjali verse speaks about the habit of misinterpreting. A kind of “knowledge” that does not correspond accurately to Reality. Something like mistaking a rope for a snake or misinterpreting a shy girl for a stuck up snob. Our minds deceive us so constantly that it is often quite difficult to discriminate fact from fiction. And now we can see how in this golden age of information, we’re drowning in a glut of false impressions.

“What is real?” — We must constantly ask ourselves.

It’s true as well that we get the wrong impression about people. And, especially, in as virulently racist a society as ours, with an accumulation of negative stereotypes, it is distinctly likely to have implicit bias buried like seeds of samskara (unconscious impressions and habits)… And from whence they came — we have no idea.

For example, we just assume that Larry Bird is a supremely intelligent basketball player and that Serena Williams is a naturally gifted athlete. And forgetting to examine this thought-construct, we go on constructing the rest of our assumptions based upon this initial premise.

When cross examined (as any good philosopher should do when positing an argument or counter-argument) we come to learn that there was no greater conditioned athlete than Larry Bird and his natural hand eye coordination was truly a gift from god, while Serena Willams is one of the most hard working and cerebral tennis players who ever lived.

So, it is with great pleasure that we introduce Laruga Glaser to you.

Of course you know her already!

She is extremely famous in our little world. She, is someone who might be thought of as an athlete or an “asana-jock.” Some might jealously (in their small little minds assume she is stuck up) where in fact — if they took the time — would discover her to be reserved, poised, extremely thoughtful, philosophical and discerning.

We tried to probe into past offenses or micro-aggressions she may have experienced; Yet, incredibly so, we learned that Laruga herself isn’t into carrying baggage. She's moved on.

She is, in fact, a Swedish citizen.

Listen with us and learn what a “Brutus” is from one of the most celebrated Ashtanga Yoga masters of our time.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LARUGA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK JOIN HARMONY ON APRIL 11 - Reset, Refocus, Reboot Your Personal Practice

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. Make A Donation

Come With Me To The Sea Of Love

28 mars 2021 | 92 min

Our guest today has her own story.

She, like her absolutely gorgeous mother, is a being suffused with Love.

In the midst of Portugal’s insane epoch changing civil war: one that transformed the nation from an autocratic dictatorship to a freedom loving Democracy, Isa Guitana was born to naturalists on the Ocean. Almost as if Aphrodite arose out of her Shell right there on the beach in Lisbon, our beautiful Isa came into being.

Isa’s story is shaped by her affection for depth, song, movement, water, wildness, and her love for family and children. She adores Pattabhi Jois and is not embarrassed by it. She loved him dearly, and he continues to hold a place in her heart.

Isa spoke to us about her introduction to seminal Spanish Ashtanga yoga pioneer Tomas Zorzo. After meeting him, she made her first trip to Mysore, India in 2002, to practice at the “old shala’ with Sri. K Pattabhi Jois. She traveled alone and fell in love with India. And still today, India holds a very special place in her heart. It is the country where she first lived alone, where she met her Guru, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, where she conceived her first child, and where she met her now husband, Jay Wong.

She opened the first dedicated Ashtanga Yoga School in November 2003 in Lisbon, Portugal, with her partner at the time Tarik van Prehn, while she was pregnant with her first child, Arjuna, who was born right inside the yoga school two months later.

As a practitioner and mother of three, Isa shares with us how her experience of practicing through pregnancy was very different with each of her children. Arjuna was born 2004 when Isa was in her twenties, her daughter Kailani was born 2014 when Isa was in her thirties, and baby Koa was born last year in 2020 at age 42.

Isa shares with us her different approaches to practice that naturally took place with each pregnancy, as well as her different approaches to giving birth. We talked about the miracle of life, and how the practice of motherhood and the practice of Ashtanga yoga work together to bring us to a place of surrender and awe.

Both are a constant reminder that can connect us to the present moment, the breath of life, and the realization that so much is beyond our control.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ISA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I CASA VINYASA INSTAGRAM

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Empty Mirror

21 mars 2021 | 91 min

Today we have a delightful conversation for you with one of the few Certified teachers of Ashtanga yoga, Luke Jordan. We learn about his on-going journey, which has taken him all around the world seeking out experts, gurus and teachers in the field of Yoga and spirituality.

We speak about things like the value of learning to surrender, freewill verses determinism, and the relationship between Sankhya and Yoga. Discover whether the nature of the Self is a Full-Emptiness or an Empty-Fullness.

Luke Jordan began a formal study of Eastern mysticism while at University during the 1990s, feeling a sense that there must be something more to life, Luke began experimenting with Psychedelics. During this period, after a relationship break up, Luke had a life-altering experience where the identity he had so carefully crafted as a means of coping with life completely fell apart.

He was plunged into a frightening world of hidden meanings and dark forces. As he lay in bed, tormented by his extreme mental chaos; Suddenly, out of nowhere, a silence descended and stopped it all.

He felt truly alive for the first time. Free from his conditioning, free from his thoughts, beyond name and form. The doctors were not as impressed by his new-found insight and his adamant refusal to conform to a limited personal identity. And decided he had experienced an “acute psychotic episode”. Luke was immediately hospitalized and medicated.

This deeply existential experience (that many might call a psychotic break, while others might call spiritual awakening) brought Luke to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga in the year 2000.

Today, Luke seeks to ground his practice and teachings in the wider Yoga philosophical tradition. He holds a Master’s degree in Indian Religion and remains an avid student of several mystical spiritual traditions, peppering his teaching with insights drawn collectively from many different mythologies.

But in the end, we ask, "What’s all this yoga really for?"

And his answer is going to surprise you!

The empty mirror is Consciousness and the reflection within the mirror is Prakriti. You can never actually see the empty mirror. Whenever you look you only see yourself. We only know the mirror exists because of what is existing within it. What we see points us back to the space where existence is happening.

The very fact that you’re having an experience, means that there is an empty space within which an experience is happening.

How can you have any experience, if there wasn’t a space within which experience was happening?

This is an illuminating, beautiful conversation, filled with deep philosophical teachings disguised as lighthearted banter. Our hearts and minds were lifted to new heights spending time with Luke Jordan and we’re sure that you will discover new openings within yourself too!

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support. Make A Donation

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT Harmony Slater: Website I Instagram FIND OUT MORE ABOUT Luke Jordan: Istagram I Ashtanga Yoga Summer School

Deepika Rebel Rebel

14 mars 2021 | 94 min

Despite her extravagant appearance, party-girl reputation, and naturally rebellious nature, Deepika Mehta is deeply devoted and one of the most sincere practitioners we know.

In 1997, Deepika Mehta’s life was forever changed by a near-death rock climbing accident. Doctors told her she would never walk again. As someone with a love for dance and movement, she also had a deep trust in a higher power. While bedridden, she somehow found the book an Autobiography of a Yogi, which sparked her interest to begin delving into spiritual practices collectively called “yoga” and gave her a sense of hope, inspiration, and control over her rehabilitation.

Not one to allow obstacles to deter her spirit and enthusiasm for life, Deepika sought alternative approaches and methods of physical and emotional healing including meditation, pranayama, dance and yoga. She began her yoga journey with Sivananda Yoga, which eventually led her to Ashtanga Yoga and her future Guru, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois in 2002. Deepika told us that she saw Ashtanga Yoga for the first time in Kerala. An Isreali student was there doing the practice. We asked her “Did it look like Yoga to you? Or was it European gymnastics?” She said… For sure it was yoga. What she saw was concentration and flow. And, she knew immediately that it was something she wanted.

In today’s hilarious episode we spoke to Deepika about her genuine rebellion against traditional cultural gender roles as an Indian woman and the patriarchy in India.

During the episode she used Durga as an example of how to describe herself and we believe she is quite right. Durga’s rage at the demon Mahisha-Asura upsets the balance of the Universe, so much so that the male gods beg to soothe her, in attempts to calm her violent vibrations. Likewise, when Deepika is constrained in any way she is furious, enraged at her captivity, whether bedridden and broken as a young woman, or as a new mother at the age of 42, Deepika seeks freedom in all things, and quite like her daughter, howls at confinement and loves to move.

You’ll hear about her challenges in balancing all of the many obligations of maintaining her practice, being an attentive mother, daughter, wife, all while striving to sustain her career as a highly sought after yoga teacher... And how life requires you to make little compromises along the way.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DEEPIKA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK I VOGUE ARTICLE The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

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Opening and closing music by Nick Evans. Click HERE to listen.

The Yogi Aristocat

7 mars 2021 | 85 min

Our guest today is the American Aristocrat, Robbie Cavallero. There is something ineffable but unmistakable in the effect he has on people directly in his sphere of reach. He’s a bit like Lord Krishna really, attracting Gopies with his sweetness. And the ardent admirers of this gentleman will notice that even the rocks melt, ever so slightly, in his presence.

Robbie is a strange American archetype: The Aristocrat. He is the scion of an Italian Noble Family (his uncle was the Field Marshall for Erwin Rommel); and yet, surprisingly, his family came to America with very little - immigrants - self made. They arrived in Oakland, and within a few generations, their brilliant little child ‘Robbie’ was married to the bluest of bluebloods - the “ancient régime” of Republican Californians. Robbie soon found himself sitting at the illustrious Pacific Chapter of the Union Club, with the Rockefellers, Nixons, and Weinbergers.

Yet, Robbie is something else altogether.

He is like a star-child that has no use for any of these social trappings. He seeks harmony in all things and with all people. He has Wu or the impression of realness in his character. Robbie flows like water through your hands when you try to grasp hold of him — the gentlest of creatures.

All we sought in this interview was to discover if the hole in his chest actually occurred when traveling to Esalen to study Buddhism and Self-Actualization, (in the 70’s) where he ran his father’s Mercedes into a light pole.

We’re still not sure.

Please have a listen and discover for yourself.

Robbie tells us that a Bull’s horn may have contributed to the hole in his heart, during a disturbing incident where he was attacked by a Holy Cow in Mysore, India.

How perfect.

We would include a bio of Robbie here, but nothing about him is writ or known or published.

He cannot even be found.

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Share Knowledge Share Power

28 februari 2021 | 97 min

Sixteen years ago Russell called Hamish from Brighton and asked for his much needed help...

“What I am doing wrong, Hamish? I’ve only got 6 students. I don’t know if I can do this.”

Hamish answered with his usual affable enthusiasm, “You’re doing great! 6 students is great!” That he even took the time to take the call is an example of Hamish’s heart. He really, truly cares for people.

A year later Hamish went to Russell’s wedding in Essex and read this poem there from the Isha Upanishad:

“The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all.
The Lord is the supreme Reality.
Rejoice in him through renunciation.
Covet nothing. All belongs to the Supreme.”

This sacred verse describes our beloved international treasure to a tee. Hamish Hendry is a friend to all of us. He’s so effortlessly dedicated to yoga and to the practice itself, that he makes his unearthly personal discipline both seem easily attainable and endlessly enjoyable.

He has a mesmerizing and rich intelligence that makes yoga sound like it’s something easily explained down at the pub. And, as Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t really understand it.” What’s clear, is that Hamish most certainly does.

He explains yoga, Sanskrit, philosophy, and his innumerable adventures with ease. Our particularly favorite story was how he recounted being possibly the only person in the universe shot during an Ashtanga yoga practice:

“I think I’ve been shot, Derek!” he exclaimed one morning in Greece during his studies with the Man of Bronze, the legendary Derek Ireland.

It was a great privilege and pleasure to spend time with Mr. Hendry and we're sure you'll feel as we did, that it all comes to an end much too quickly. We hope you enjoy being a part of our conversation with this unique, humble, and goodhearted man.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HAMISH

ASTANGA YOGA LONDON I PUSHPAM MAGAZINE I INSTAGRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. Find out more about HARMONY.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

When Miles Smiles

21 februari 2021 | 73 min

This week we have a really good story for you. Most folks we talk to on the Finding Harmony Podcast seem hell bent on making an interesting life for themselves. Perhaps anytime you sit down with a friend and carefully examine why they are the way they are, their story and life becomes scintillating, effortlessly so, as they are just quite simply unique when being themselves.

Sarah Miles, a Hypno-Therapist, an Ashtanga yoga teacher, a Celebrant, and Mortician.

She was also Russell’s apprentice in Brighton. You might hear it in Russell’s accent (as he can’t help himself) — He’s quite impressionable and their meeting came at a formative time for them both.

We learned how she likes to directly face and immerse herself in those activities that scare her most, so she can explore and understand why it makes her feel a certain way, and ultimately, overcome that sense of fear or dread. This is, again, the main reason she is great teacher: She has touched the center of fear that this practice can bring up and is able to compassionately guide others through the darkness.

We talked about her work as a Hypno-Therapist and the value it has in helping folks visualize through their own suffering, to be with themselves on the mat or otherwise.

And of course ultimately, we talked about death.

Mortality frightened Sarah and so in her typical fashion, she explored it by becoming a Mortician. She describes the first time she felt the flood of sensation overwhelm her when washing a dead body, and how it eventually became a spiritual ritual which she embraced. And what an enormous privilege it has become to care for the dead, and to help those who’ve lost their loved ones.

Sarah is also a Celebrant, who not only walks beside those who are experiencing great loss, but also holds hands with those who are celebrating new life and love, officiating weddings, and helping to join lives together.

She is the real salt of the earth - U.K. style - and we think you will find sitting with her to be a delight!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SARAH MILES YOGA WEBSITE I CELEBRANT WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Chasing Dragons with Dr. John Campbell

14 februari 2021 | 122 min

Today’s episode is a lovely heartfelt conversation with an old friend in our Community Treasure, the ever elusive Dr. John Campbell.

John did us a valuable kindness in opening the program with a Tibetan prayer for the Dead. It is with a deep sadness that a mentor to Russell and dear friend Eugene Ruffin passed away of CoVid, shortly before this podcast was recorded. Valentine’s Day is Gene’s Birthday. So we honor him with this prayer.

John, Russell, and Gene founded the Jois Foundation together in 2011 with the hopes of providing under-served children with tools and techniques of yoga to help regulate their lives.

Of course the three of them (and Harmony too for that matter) all deeply struggled as children and it wasn’t until they were adults that yoga became available to salve their childhood wound. It is an irony that the damaged are often the best healers.

We spoke to John about his life, and how it all fell apart for him as he found himself seeking and using external substances to change the way he felt. And, of course the only way one can truly do that is is to sit and wait it out. Things move of their own accord, especially if we stop adding twigs to the flame. Certainly pouring gasoline on the fire doesn’t help either.

Even after practicing for decades, and finishing Advanced Series in Mysore with Pattabhi Jois, John found himself isolated, studying and writing his Ph.D thesis in Varanasi. Feeling alone, and confused in an alien environment, John found himself attracted to the darkness… And eventually lost himself in cycle of addiction. After returning to the States he turned to alcohol, once again seeking to alter and change the feelings that were arising to the surface. He was pulled into the downward spiral of secrecy and shame, hiding his growing addiction.

We explored together the mind-body connection in relation to substance use and addiction, gurus, the big Self, and how the practice can create a cycle of chasing dragons. Often, when we are involved deeply in a physically transformative practice like Ashtanga yoga, we experience deep openings that can leave us feelingly raw, slightly ungrounded, or destabilized. This might make one vulnerable to all kinds of unhealthy habits. In part, the value of the practice boils down to reducing our violent interaction within the world, and learning to cultivate more compassion towards ourselves as well as to others.

Hang on until the end because you’ll get the delicious treat of hearing John’s Ashtanga Yoga Origin Story (which is a true delight!).

LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. JOHN CAMPBELL INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Make a Donation

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify, simply click Here.

A Rebirthing of Self

7 februari 2021 | 89 min

On today’s podcast we are extremely delighted to welcome back Bibi Lorenzeti. Bibi came to us with an interesting topic that we were intrigued to explore: What happens to your self of self when you, as a new mother, become two people instead of one?

Becoming a mother is often a difficult transition. Especially for women who are dedicated Ashtanga yoga practitioners before becoming pregnant. We gain a beautiful baby, but our bodies go through a very intense process, not only from the nine months of pregnancy, but also through delivery, and also with a sometimes longer than expected period of recovery. Our physical self changes dramatically, and our spiritual, emotional and psychological selves are all undergoing a significant transformation also.

If your identity was wrapped up in being an Olympic level athlete and your entire day was absorbed with getting enough rest to combat excess inflammation so that you could improve your practice and perform your asanas again the next day, then it can feel like a bit of a struggle when you are suddenly consumed by the daily activities of feeding, nurturing, observing, and holding a child. Your main focus suddenly shifts and you’re left with the question: Who Am I Now?

Bibi and Harmony describe this process of letting go. Letting go of your idea of who you are, how you feel or look in your body, releasing your imaginary ideal birthing plan, along with any anticipation of how your body might feel after giving birth. They speak to how the practice changed for them and the importance of finding time for yourself.

Ashtanga Yoga gives us a set structure; yet, once we become mothers, we have to let go of the structure so the practice becomes then a fluid moving thing. Which any serious practitioner knows is counter-constructive to that growth that comes with an organized and consistent lifestyle.

Before pregnancy we tend to use the practice to transcend our current state, to reach some ideal goal, whether it’s enlightenment or fitness or purification. After giving birth, the focus shifts to a more internal space. We practice to find peace, contentment within the present moment, and to hold space for ourselves where we can learn to accept that things can never the same. We must create a place where we, ourselves, can feel nourished internally and cultivate the strength to build ourselves up again.

Harmony and Bibi discuss the inner turmoil of wanting things to be like they used to be, and recognizing that they will never be that way, coming up against obstacles of time, obligations, responsibilities, and fatigue. Yet, here they are, mothers, yogis, businesswomen, and beautiful beings.

Bibi Lorenzetti is a Level 2 Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher & Holistic Health Coach, and now a Doula.

Harmony Slater is a Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, Life & Wellness Coach, and host of the Finding Harmony Podcast.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BIBI: PERSONAL WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I Birth with Bibi I ASHTANGA YOGA NEWBURGH

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

Please make a donation and FIND OUT MORE at HARMONYSLATER.COM

Life Beyond Power Yoga

31 januari 2021 | 85 min

Very often our podcasts are a coming together of old friends, conversations which sometimes unravel into talking about something funny, strange, a little bit weird, or “culty,” just like we would be sitting at a chai-stand in Mysore, India. Sometimes though, we call on a person who looms much larger in our minds, a giant in our industry, whose life experience, we know, has fundamentally altered ours; just by the sheer courage of the choices made in their era.

Beryl Bender Birch is one of those people. Without her, and without her books, Power Yoga and Beyond Power Yoga, how could we possibly “be here now” doing any kind of yoga at all?

Yet, so magically and with great kismet, we find out that Beryl, and others like her, are just like you and I.

That they came before us is an accident of birth only. The richness of their experiences mirror our own.

Beryl told it like it was, and continues to tell it like is, and we were thrilled to have her acerbic sense of humor and enjoyed her salt-of-the-earth presence. Beryl tells us about meeting, traveling, and meditating with her spiritual guide, Munishree Chitrabhanu, a Jain monk. She also speaks candidly about Pattabhi Jois’ indiscretions while teaching in the classroom, as well as how she began her Ashtanga yoga studies with Norman Allen in NYC.

You’ll hear finally, Beryl and Russell recount a time sitting with the Mindful Congressional Rep. Tim Ryan in San Francisco and being publicly harangued for cultural appropriation. With some side bars on the value of mind altering substances, Beryl congratulated Russell on being sterile… ‘a good start,’ she said, ‘on our population and environmental problems.’

This interview is provocative, historical, and sprinkled with a bit of magic.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BERYL BENDER BIRCH WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Yoga and Social Activism

24 januari 2021 | 67 min

If there is one thing we have learned this year it’s that no matter how uncomfortable we are, it’s always better to try and engage in conversation whereby we can learn our neighbor’s perspective.

We should, whether it be our Trans or Trumpist family members, attempt to reach deeply into the wound that’s created a particular pattern and find compassion and understanding for hearts, that like our own, experience fear, grief, and pain.

To that end, we’ve asked the ebullient Shanna Small onto our program to answer some very personal questions regarding her perspective on multicultural ethnicity and implicit biases.

This sincere conversation will leave the listener in a precarious position of having to make different choices. And, these choices can impact one’s very sense of self and identity.

Who I am? Where do I fit in? Am I doing enough to subvert white supremacy? How do I take a stand for justice and equality? How do I present myself on social media? Do I eat ice cream or no? Vegan or vaccinated?

Shanna very graciously allowed us a moment to be curious and sincerely engaged in a conversation about MLK Jr. and performative activism, what sits at the heart of ahimsa and social justice; whiteness, ethnicity, gendered language; and her passion for making the practices and teachings of yoga accessible to anyone who wants to learn regardless of age, income, ability, ethnicity, or mobility.

If we look naive, we are. However, we’re deeply grateful to Shanna for her generous spirit and enthusiasm, and for gentle, patient instruction. Shanna has a powerful voice that speaks to our highest truth as human beings.

There was a time when the deeply racist phrase “white man’s burden” was acceptable. Not ever any more.

Today, you might say, the “Black Woman’s Burden” is this: Holding our civilization together.

Shanna Small is a writer and Yoga teacher who speaks to the intersectionality of yoga and social justice. She has practiced Ashtanga Yoga and studied the Yoga Sutras since 2001. She has studied in Ashtanga in Mysore with Sharath Jois and finds joy in making the Ashtanga practice accessible for all.

She is a founding member of Yoga For Recovery Foundation, a non-profit that helps those recovering from addiction, trauma, and systemic oppression.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SHANNA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I YOGA FOR RECOVERY FOUNDATION I Yoga & Social Justice Immersion with Shanna

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

Lost Angels Yoga Club

17 januari 2021 | 98 min

In our 43rd episode we sit down with Spiros and Erica. On the surface this is an unlikely pair. What is perversely intriguing however, on speaking with these two, is how uniquely suited they are to each other.

What shines through their every interaction is intelligence and insight. With every topic we brought up whether it was Los Angeles, the criminal justice system, the State of Ohio, the Tarot, or the Trumpist identity, they brought a profound sense of layered self-aware contextual discernment to their own thoughts, which compassionately penetrated to the heart of each complicated issue.

This was truly one of the weirder interviews we’ve ever had the delight to showcase, if only to count the number of times Harmony and Russell were gobsmacked silent by revelations to cultural contexts and deeper meanings uncovered.

We delved deep into Erica’s story and learned that she has been practicing yoga since she was a teenager. The practice has been the thread that has stitched together her adult years. She trained as a social scientist in Medical Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley; and spent over a decade at the intersection of yoga and social justice teaching yoga, mindfulness, meditation, writing and art to incarcerated and at-risk teenage girls in the San Francisco Bay Area where she and Russell worked together on occasion.

Spiros is a little harder to nail down. Not because he is Christian, but rather he is reticent and too humble to speak of himself. He is most fascinated by the nature of consciousness and speak eloquently on this subject, in addition to examining the culture and context of language, thoughts, and pretty much everything.

We did learn that he began studying yoga and consciousness in his teens and initiated a diligent daily practice in 1993 in Taos, NM, under the tutelage of a Western Magickal group focused on yoga, breathwork, meditation, and chanting. During this time he used psychedelics to steer explorations, discovery, and reality.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SPIROS & ERICA

WEBSITE I ALMANAC I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK I TWITTER

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Mayor of Mysore

10 januari 2021 | 93 min

Every once in a while on this show we like to pull the blinds down (or the pull the curtain away) and show you what it really sounds like at the Chai Stand gossiping on Gokulum High Street in India.

Tim Feldmann is hilarious (unfortunately for him not quite Jewish) and shares a very similar sense of humor to Russell. The two of them create their own little giggling world together and we are delighted to share this hour exploring Tim’s life with you!

Tim appears to be a Dane. He comes from a nice, boring, Danish town that is unpronounceable to North Americans (believe us, we tried!) and he is a shining an example of how good and wonderful a boy can grow up to be when raised with loving parents.

Tim is full of charm, and unlike most of our guests, had a childhood free of trauma or other secondary causalities. He became a dancer as he loved movement and was an energetic child, who had a fabulous mother that encouraged him in every way. His father, despite being an engineer, was astonished that his son got paid to work as a dancer in Australia, and thus, supported his dream wholeheartedly.

However, after a fall of some 6 stories down a mountainside cliff, Tim found himself finally having to change things up and discovered yoga as an avenue for self healing. You do sometimes have to hit rock bottom, and in Tim’s case, that was quite literal.

Tim found that Ashtanga Yoga was a unique and interesting form and pursued it with hungry passion every since his first introduction. He was set on the yoga path by his first teacher Lino Miele and was Authorized to teach directly by the founder of the Ashtanga Yoga Method, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and his grandson, R. Sharath Jois.

Tim’s humorous, straight forward yet profound teaching style makes him a cherished teacher in the Ashtanga yoga lineage, traveling extensively throughout Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. He also founded the Miami Life Center with his wife Kino MacGregor, which continues to expand to this day!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TIM FELDMANN WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I MIAMI LIFE CENTER The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

When Love Comes To Light

3 januari 2021 | 81 min

For the New Year and for the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius that it seems we’ve now fully entered… We have done the impossible for you!

We’ve nailed down the spinning melodic kites that are Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor.

What is truly incredible about these two is their enormous sense of self-awareness to the fishbowl world in which we all live.

They know themselves and they see you, seeing them, and within this awareness Love comes to light.

They become (as one of Richard’s books suggests) “The Mirror of Yoga.” It’s deeply uncomfortable to be human and to know our own weaknesses; yet, they manage to emanate grace and compassion throughout the kaleidoscopic lens of their lives. And in turn it reflects back on ours… Because, sitting next to someone— ‘Upana’ is how we learn. And we are able to raise our own vibration simply by being near these two souls.

Richard Freeman has been a student of yoga since 1968, beginning with one simple sitting posture in the Zen tradition. He spent nine years in Asia studying yoga asana, Sufism, Sanskrit language, and Indian philosophical texts; contextualizing them within the turbulent political times of that period in history. In 1974 Richard began working with B.K.S. Iyengar, with whom he studied precise alignment principles, applying them to his own internally rooted experience of the forms. Drawing from this variety of contemplative traditions, and from Buddhism, in which he cultivates a deep interest, Richard teaches the Ashtanga Vinyasa method of yoga as taught by his principal teacher, the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India

Mary tells us about developing an eating disorder during her time in College, which led her to embrace the culinary arts as a way of mastering the beast that is anorexia, through food itself.

With both Richard and Mary we discus at length our Ashtanga Yoga culture and the pitfalls. We believe that you will find this hour with them as fascinating and engrossing as we did. Somehow time in their presence is never enough.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RICHARD FREEMAN & MARY TAYLOR WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

DONATE NOW

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

David Swenson: Surf and Turf

27 december 2020 | 85 min

David Swenson is someone in the Ashtanga yoga circle who needs no introduction. He began his journey of Yoga in 1969 when he and his brother Doug were arrested for stretching in a small park at the end of their street in Houston, Texas. There were few sources for yoga at that time so they practiced from whatever books they could find.

He tells us about how he met David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff in Encinitas, CA in 1973 following in brother’s spiritual yoga-surf journey. This naturally flowed into making a trip to Mysore, India, in 1977 to study directly with Pattabhi Jois, after subbing classes for David and Nancy in Maui.

We ask David about the behind the scenes of writing his book and making The Practice videos, from which he became recognized as one of the world's foremost practitioners and instructors of Ashtanga yoga.

We ask some questions about his early experiences with the practice, and the reason why he continues to practice yoga each day, even after 50 years!

David has been traveling and teaching workshops around the world for the past 30 years, and he is a genius for making the practice accessible to all levels.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DAVID SWENSON WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Becoming Whole

20 december 2020 | 118 min

In the decades that followed the Korean War, over 250,000 Korean children were sent abroad, to be adopted by foreigners, for many reasons, but most prominently was the incredible weight of economic hardship facing these parents, and all of South Korea during those years. It is referred to as the Han Diaspora.

Born in Daegu, South Korea to Korean parents, Hojung was given up for adoption at a very young age. She was adopted and raised by Flemish-Belgian parents in Europe, who, shortly after her adoption, moved to Madison, Wisconsin.

And although she’s traveled extensively all over the world, and speaks several languages fluently, Hojung reveals that she has never truly felt like she belonged to any people, place, country, or nationality.

Her initial introduction to yoga, as you’ll hear, was astonishingly cathartic. At the age of 16, she discovered Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, which led her to explore various Hatha Yoga traditions for the next 10 years, before beginning Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga in 1999 in New York City, with Guy Donahaye.

Hojung shares with us her incredible story about her personal search for identity and meaning. And her eventual somewhat tragic reunification with her birth parents. You can listen to a full account of her adoption story on a podcast episode recorded back in December 2018, on a podcast called: ADAPTED.

We spoke also of the emotional concept called “Han” in Korean, which refers to a deep nearly indescribable feeling of sorrow, melancholy, or grief that seems to be an essential element of Korean identity. A feeling Hojung felt her whole life, without being able to give it a name, until she began returning to her motherland, and reunited with her birth family between the years 2012-2017. Hojung mentions a Korean film, Seopyeonje, where the story indirectly depicts this Han quality to the viewers.

Hojung’s own story forces us to ask deeply profound questions like: What happens when your spiritual practices are unable to nourish you during a time of crisis? Where do you turn? What do you do?

In this extra long Holiday Special, we are taken through an incredible journey of self-discovery. We catch glimpses into how culture works to construct one’s identity, and how yoga can work to heal deeply unconscious wounds, when we become present to what’s arising.

Hojung’s story is a deeply moving and emotional journey, where we are given the opportunity to come face to face with the reflection of our own self.

Grab a warm cup of chai because this is one episode that will touch your heart and open your mind.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT hojung BROKEN WHOLE I WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation.

Listen to Opening & Closing music on Spotify Here.

Ashtanga Yoga Chile: In Living Colour

13 december 2020 | 76 min

We sat down with our close friend Loreto Cortés recently. Russell asked her what it was like living in Chile during Pinochet and fascism. (Something that has been on his mind recently). Loreto said of that time in her childhood that: “In that time everything lacked colour. After Pinochet our world became brighter and filled with light.”

We probed Loreto and her experience as an activist, artist, and yogi. We were fascinated by her universe. Loreto is an actor and as such she can reach her emotions easily. She lifts them and throws them up into the sky for us all to see like a kaleidoscopic prayer to the One True Goddess: the River of Time.

We hear about one of her interactions with a manifestation of the Three Fates, who came in the form of a visiting stranger, traveling through Chile, who introduced her to Ashtanga yoga, right in her living room. And in that moment she knew that this is what she would do in her life. Soon after she happened to meet Paramaguru R. Sharath Jois, in Santiago, he handed her a business card (which she still has) and so like this in the dream time, the mountain girl came to Mysore. And, there she felt at home again.

Now 49 years old, Loreto reflects back on her years of practice and the early days when she opened the first fully dedicated Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Santiago, Chile, 20 years ago. We are so delighted to share her radiant life and story with you.

Loreto was the first Chilean authorized by KPJAYI, becoming a benchmark for Ashtanga Yoga in Chile and South America.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LORETO & ASHTANGA YOGA CHILE

WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I ASHTANGA YOGA CHILE

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

YES! I WANT TO MAKE A DONATION

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Moon Yoga

6 december 2020 | 83 min

Today it is our distinct honor and pleasure to introduce Sharon Moon. This is a one of Russell’s most revered friends, colleagues, his mentor, and teacher. Russell met Sharon in 1998 when he was 23 years old (younger than her grandchildren are now).

Sharon was instrumental in pushing Russell towards studying the traditional method of Ashtanga Yoga in a real Mysore Room in NY. She has an enormous heart and has guided him over the years in his decisions. Sharon tells us about studying with David on the second floor of the the first Whole Foods Store in Austin, Texas in 1993!

Sharon shares with us an incredible story of her first harrowing marriage to an abuser, her subsequent unwanted pregnancies, what an illegal abortion was like in the 60’s, and how she made it out alive. Her next husband died in a tragic car crash that she witnessed firsthand. She spent the next chapter of her life getting strong, real strong, and cultivating deep inner healing on every level.

She recounts meeting Swami Satchidananda, her initiation into Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self Realization Fellowship, and attaining a double Black Belt in Taekwondo.

Sharon shares with us some of her experiences during her travels to Mysore, the UK, and Taiwan. But one of the most meaningful years of her life was the one she spent in the Kibera Settlements of Nairobi, Kenya, working for Russell as a yoga teacher, training new indigenous yoga teachers, and teaching 10,000 children a week. Something that Manju Jois, upon visiting her in Nairobi, catalyzed him to award her an Ashtanga Yoga Authorization on the spot.

Sharon is an interesting duality, a Texan, Jewess, street fighter, and a deeply maternal great-grandmother full of a giant well of loving kindness. We think you’ll enjoy this trip.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SHARON ON HER WEBSITE

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to leave a review! ❤ And a 5★ Rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Rogue Yogi: Escaping Samsara

29 november 2020 | 81 min

We are delighted to share with you a conversation with our fellow podcaster Nathan Thompson: Poet, Journalist, Buddhist Practitioner, and self-taught Ashtangi, as well as the host of the Escaping Samsara Podcast.

Nathan is a peculiar sort of Englishman. In that he is entirely self made. He seems to have created a career for himself by weaving together a colorful tapestry, in the way that Americans used to (or were assumed to have done in the old days). The English, as Russell will tell you, have the distinct notoriety of being quite class bound. Karl Marx himself said there was no nation more bound for revolution than Great Britain, or words to that effect.

And yet, that is exactly what Mr. Thompson has done in remaking himself.

He grew up near London, surprisingly in an Evangelical Christian culture, with many other thousands in his familial community to gather in the happy-clappy spirit. However, coming down from these singularly peak experiences was humiliating in its own way. Russell pointed out that it resembled Peter Gabriel’s annunciation in Solsbury Hill. How do we live in the meantime? How do we just fold laundry after all that?

Subsequently, in his teens Nathan tumbled headfirst down the deep tunnel of drug use and sank into a pattern of addiction. After a decade of darkness, he found his feet again through the practice of Vipassana Meditation in the lineage of S.N Goenka, a tradition that both he and Harmony share a connection with. Nathan again forged his own path creating a career as a traveling Poet, which helped propel him on his ongoing spiritual quest to taste the nectar of pure, eternal, unadulterated bliss: the kind of thing you can fold laundry with.

A friend asked him to teach English and so you will hear how he moved to Cambodia with a nonprofit organization, and found himself living in a Buddhist Monastery. Here wildly, out of this little hut, he flourished as a Journalist and head of the Foreign Press Club of Cambodia.

Likewise, Nathan, taught himself the Ashtanga yoga practice in an idiosyncratic way, watching videos and trying all the postures from a single series all at one time. We touch upon the differences between being self-taught as a practitioner in this tradition verses having a teacher who will give you a pose and guide your practice, and how the desire to accumulate postures can become an addiction in itself.

One of Nathan’s favourite interviews on his podcast is with Ajahn Achalo, an Australian Buddhist monk living in Northern Thailand, who emphasizes the importance of cultivating Metta Meditation, so that you can call upon loving kindness whenever you need to.

FOLLOW Nathan & the Escaping Samsara podcast

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Yoga and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

22 november 2020 | 84 min

It’s American Thanksgiving this Thursday and we have so much to be grateful for. This conversation with Samantha Lucas reminds us all just how much we tend to take for granted every day and how an entire life can be forever altered within mere seconds.

From polyglot to major (major league) baseball fan to motorcycle enthusiast, Samantha Lucas has a plethora of interests that have taken her on adventures across the globe. Her Ashtanga yoga practice though, never became more valuable than when she was laying in a hospital bed, face to face with a questionable future of whether she would ever be able to physically practice again.

In the summer of 2016 Samantha suffered a catastrophic accident, losing her right leg below the knee. Nonetheless, Samantha has continued to practice and teach Mysore style Ashtanga yoga, finding strength and balance throughout the trauma and recovery. Depression was something that she had always struggled with; and yet, we heard the voice of someone who was completely focused on the process of recovery. A process that informs how she continues to seek improvement in her practice to this day.

Her philosophy is that this practice is for everyone and through daily, consistent practice, everyone can grow and find strength no matter what challenges one might face. She believes that yoga is experiential and one can only grow through taking action.

Truly focusing on the process of 'work without attachment to success or failure' is what Krishna advises Arjuna to attune his mind to when he becomes paralyzed with despair seeing the battle before him. Samantha’s personal approach to Ashtanga yoga as a vital practice with this same vision is an inspiration for all of us to keep facing our own struggles, no matter what obstacles we face. Something Samantha refers to as “inspiration porn.” We think you will be delighted listening to this incredibly upbeat Lady, who has a world of experience and hard-earned wisdom to share.

FOLLOW SAMANTHA LUCAS

INSTAGRAM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Music Is The Space Between Sound

15 november 2020 | 72 min

This week we had the pleasure of sitting with one of our oldest friends, Andrew Hillam. It is always a surprising thing to chat in public and this conversation was no different. We expected that Russell and Andrew would slide into familiar scatological tropes but instead Andrew’s insular and introspective nature shined through.

We had a "quiet is the new loud" type of conversation with him on topics such as raising children in India, cooking in the flow state, and the comparison of playing music and chanting the shastras. Something that Andrew says creates a peculiar vibration in his skull.

If you’ve had the pleasure of tasting Andrew Hillam’s idlis then you know he has a special talent for cooking Indian food. However, that is not his only interest... Andrew is fascinated with all kinds of aspects of Indian culture. Besides being a Certified Advanced A Ashtanga Yoga teacher in the Mysore stye, he was a classical guitarist, who had previously pursued a PhD in immunology. if you can believe it! (He recommends wearing a mask by the way).

Andrew is eccentric in his obsessively charming pursuit of perfection.

For Andrew, diving deeply into Sanskrit chanting filled a space for musical expression and his love of sound. It contains both a devotional and philosophical layer that connects chanting to the practice of yoga. Chanting helps Andrew clear his subtle energy channels and increase that Sattvic quality (purity) within.

Finding Ananta (infinity) in the space of the center of the heart, which is a birth place of sound and filled with the substance of bliss. The Mantra rises up from our awakened center. This was the profound heart of our conversation, learning that Andrew believes it is the friction between consciousness and matter that creates reality. Thus, music or chanting, is an opportunity to resolve the inherent conflict of our manifest reality.

Yoga, says Andrew, is about relationship. God is what exists in all relationships, that’s where God lives between people.

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Développés with Shelley Washington

8 november 2020 | 72 min

In Ballet, the term développé means to "unfold," or open outwards in a “developing movement.” In this episode we sit down with Shelley Washington where she gracefully unfolds different aspects of her journey.

When you are in Shelley’s presence you feel you are sitting with a star. Someone who is deeply reflective and her essence shines through in every way. We were also love crushed by her in Mysore, India, even more so, because of her enormous heart and generosity towards us.

In this episode, we spoke about what it means to be a star and how her remarkable career unfolded quite organically. Shelley touches upon how her parents and grandparents made conscious personal sacrifices to create opportunities for their children, knowing that growing up in America would mean being marginalized as an African Americans. She shares with us some of her experiences growing up in a military family in American during the 1950’s and 60’s and the incredible grit she cultivated, which sent her soaring onward to receive some of the highest accolades one can attain within the world of dance. She also shares with us how the practice of Ashtanga yoga shifted the way she now teaches choreography to other dancers.

At the age of 45, after a stunning career as a world class modern dancer, where she would train for 8-10 hours a day, Shelley accidentally ends up in a yoga class, and has to find an entirely new way to relate to her body and approach this new physical discipline. How her practice has evolved over the past 20 years will surprise you!

Read more about Shelley Washington on my website: HARMONYSLATER.COM

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.

Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.

DONATE NOW

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
And give us a 5★ rating!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Only Way Out Is In

1 november 2020 | 88 min

Whether it’s politics, pandemics, protests, or Ashtanga yoga, we’re all unavoidably immersed within a world of duality, or maya, meaning illusion, and it’s a game we cannot truly escape. Yoga however, teaches us to move through our lives as gracefully as possible, accepting the positive and negative, the accolades and losses, while rebalancing and reclaiming our sense of inner equanimity.

We speak to Prem and Radha Carlisi, who speak to us about their personal history and how they’ve grown into the people they are today, and some of the events and circumstances that shaped their positions within our global Ashtanga yoga community.

Prem and Radha very graciously spoke to us about their decisions to change their birth names, and introduced us to the story of their lives.

What shines through their epic hero’s journey is how to come terms with tragedy and disappointment. We spoke about the illusion of legitimacy… What can be seen as “the Game.”

Fear is our greatest controller. And understanding that we are all afraid… Afraid of loss, afraid of humiliation, afraid of the future; yet, when we choose to face and interact with these myriad situations we choose to get on the court and play the game.

Radha spoke to us about the disappointment she felt about being caught between two worlds that were growing further apart. Finding herself located somewhere between the “old school” and the “new school” these factions within the global community ultimately lead her to rescind her listing on Sharath’s “official list,” after her husband (and Certified teacher) was excluded from the updated listing of recognized teachers in 2018.

We are not the physical body, but we are so attached to it, and nothing demonstrates our attachments to this human birth more than losing something or someone we love. Prem, like anyone who has lived a full and adventurous life reaching the age of 65, has experienced several losses throughout his life, but nothing can compare to the awful, unexpected loss of his daughter. Prem shares with us his profoundly moving story about how the practice saved his life, and not only allowed him to forgive, but to befriend the one who was at the helm when the devastating accident took place.LEARN MORE ABOUT PREM & RADHA WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I RADHA ON IG I FACEBOOK I DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF PREM’S BOOK

Don't miss out on downloading my free Yoga-Mythology e-book! Click HERE to get your copy!

Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ And give us a 5★ rating!

We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!

Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Art of Yoga

25 oktober 2020 | 79 min

The Chinese have a curse “May you be blessed to live in interesting times.”

Today we spoke with Timothy Lynch, an artist, father, philosopher, husband, activist, and deeply connected human being. One thing we could all agree on was that these were certainly “interesting times!”

Timothy Lynch spoke to us about the personal sacrifice he made.

Like in a giant cyclical wheel, the bubble of energy expanded… Ashtanga Yoga was triumphant and golden at the turn of the millennium, and all things seemed to arise and live inside of her as within Krishna’s cosmic bosom.

Then, a decade after the death of Pattabhi Jois, the bubble exploded in the wake of #metoo. The chintzy shine was tarnished. The “now” big boss was humbled and, controversially, avoiding the proverbial elephant in the room. And, it was at this point that Timothy felt propelled to sacrifice his place within the lineage, and walk away from the official “authorized list” of recognized teachers. A very sincere and conscious choice, a stance taken as a personal protest to authoritarianism.

"We were all punks first," Timothy said. And so he reminded us of our punk ethos when he took his name away.

Throughout our conversation with Timothy, we were reminded of what Krishna says during his last teachings to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita:

sarva dharmaan parityajya maamekam sharanam vraja
aham twaa sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami maa shuchah (BG 18.66)

“Completely relinquish all forms of dharma, come to me as your only shelter. I shall grant you freedom from all misfortune — do not despair!”

Timothy received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in Painting in NY and quickly became a gallery assistant at the world renowned (actually) Pace Wildenstein Gallery. In the midst of this quite intense little job, which he describes as being akin to an emergency medical technician for paintings he came to Yoga.

We touched upon the ephemeral quality of the asana practice and how it can be seen as making art with your body, like dance or music, it appears and then it’s gone.

“Love is being able to see the qualities in someone else that they can’t see in themselves, and as a Mysore teacher it’s our job to support individuals to grow into a space where they can see themselves for who they truly are. “

Timothy publicly renounced his Authorization and liberated his consciousness to continue practicing on his own terms.

We’re all in this together and love is what will get us through in the end.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TIMOTHY

Find out more about Harmony Slater on her WEBSITE and join her Online Inside Membership.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ And give us a 5★ rating!

A Round Table on The Advanced Practice

18 oktober 2020 | 91 min

When we’re at home, most of us practice with a different intensity than we do in Mysore, whether it turns out to be more or less postures is another story. We spent an afternoon discussing what this looks like and why we do what we do with power couple Kate O’Donnell and Rich Ray from Ashtanga Yoga Portland Maine. We talked about Advanced Asanas and our relationship to them both personally, as well as collectively.

The first aspect we discussed is what sacrifices a person must make to practice Advanced Series on a regular basis, and barring those sacrifices, what then is Yoga and what is it for?

Not all people can do these complex advanced postures. And yet, all people can practice Yoga.

We discussed how exploring the minutia within a single posture can allow for the time and space to fully examine oneself within a posture, and how using asanas as benchmarks creates hierarchies of status (for better or worse). One thing we all seemed to agree upon is that all aspects of the body and mind can be examined in Surya Namaskar. Even simply examining your tongue might be enough to send your consciousness to other planes of reality.

Rich Ray has been practicing meditation and yoga for over 20 years. He trained as a resident monk for 4 years at a silent monastery. He taught yoga and meditation at state prisons in California and New Hampshire and started a meditation program at a women’s county jail in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the director of Ashtanga Yoga Portland Maine.

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.

Harmony Slater is a Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, who has been teaching in the Mysore method for close to 20 years. Harmony is a strong presence in the Ashtanga community worldwide having founded two Yoga Schools in Canada. She has shared her experiences with the practice, pregnancy and childbirth in the books: ‘Yoga Sadhana for Mothers’ and ‘Strength and Grace: A collection of Essays by Women of Ashtanga Yoga.’

Russell Case was the Founding Director of the Stanford Mysore Program for the last ten years. Prior to this he was the founder of the largest Mysore program in East Asia from 2005-2010, while living in Taipei, Taiwan. Since then Russell was project manager for the Jois Foundation collaborating with the child psychiatry team at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University in undertaking the largest and most comprehensive longitudinal study on the effect of mindfulness and yoga on school age children in history. Currently he is focused on cultivating a robust career as a painter because yolo.

On The Other Side of Darkness with Todd Boman

11 oktober 2020 | 75 min

Grass Roots with Robert Moses

4 oktober 2020 | 89 min

We were absolutely blown away when Robert Moses related the current pandemic of the Coronavirus to a powerful transformative goddess, Ma Corona Devi.

In this way, we most certainly felt like it was a blessing of the Mother Goddess Corona Devi, that this esteemed teacher of yoga, Robert Moses, came on our podcast to share with us personal stories from his incredible lifetime on the spiritual path.

Starting with being born in South Africa into a Jewish family, growing up during apartheid, to traveling through Europe in the 60’s on an architectural tour in a secondhand VW bus plastered with Lakshmi posters, and moving to Israel to become a renunciate Swami with the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Organization.

He was first introduced to the method of Ashtanga yoga, as taught by Sri K Pattabhi Jois, by the pioneer Norman Allen, in 1982. Norman had called him gruffly out of the blue, after twelve years of living in India. The rules of the Sivananda “Yoga Ranch” were that Robert was to teach Norman, until it became clear that Norman had something different to teach Robert. Robert began practicing with Norman in a small loft in NYC, along with another pioneer, Beryl Bender-Birch, who was learning this novel style of asana — something that was completely foreign to North America at the time.

Robert Moses was the first person to show Derek Ireland Surya Namaskara, which started him on his journey to Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, and Derek in turn, taught John Scott and Hamish Hendry, propagating the Asthanga yoga community in Europe.

Robert Moses shares with us the wisdom he’s learned about holding strong to the middle path, staying true to oneself, and connecting to something greater.

I’m sure you will find this interview as historically fascinating and personally enlightening as we did.

If you are interested in joining Robert Moses for one of his Pranayama Classes, his course on Vedanta or Hatha Yoga, he will be beginning a new session of classes THIS WEEK!

Find all the details on his website.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ROBERT MOSES

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FOLLOW SATYA MOSES ON INSTAGRAM & PURCHASE HER CREATIONS FROM HER WEBSITE

Find out more about Harmony Slater and Russell Case and their upcoming offerings at harmonyslater.com and download my free e-book on Yoga Mythology.

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Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Can’t Cheat Karma

27 september 2020 | 84 min

Harmony and Russell are at heart amateur archivists of the emerging yoga punk scene that grew up in the heart of Generation X. For us Lisa Schrempp embodies everything that is cool about how we did things. Angry, disaffected, latchkey kids, having to make dinner by ourselves; we made everything in our world by hand because no one else was around. That’s punk. And that is Lisa Schrempp to a T.

Lisa was a 17 year old human gazelle and modern dancer in Chicago. She received a scholarship to dance with the Alvin Ailey dance company, so she left Chicago and took off to the East Village Alphabet city (Needle Village), finding odd jobs, like working as a bartender, to help pay the bills. She didn’t take any shit and partied hard -- living the way she wanted. Eventually, she found her way to a 10 AM yoga class, (although 10 AM was a little early for her) and found herself practicing next a couple of sincere seekers: David Life and Sharon Gannon. Through her journey of over 35 years, in the ancient sciences of yoga and Ayurveda, Lisa found what she was searching for all along.

“If I’m prepared for the world, I can be a healing balm.” - Lisa Schrempp

Lisa walks us through her NY story and so much more in our podcast called “Can’t Cheat Karma.”

Hear her thoughts on Gurus, Cancel Culture, Yoga Scandals, and the importance of the weekly oil bath, she weaves a beautiful lesson of how we each have our own Karma to live out and how it effects our behaviors, but also gives us agency in the world to change our actions.

Find out more about Lisa Scrempp: