FINDING HARMONY PODCAST
What is a spiritual practice? How does it work? How will it improve my life? How will deepening my self-care transform me? What strategies can I use to improve my life, increase my health, and create wellness? How can craft a life that I love?
The Finding Harmony Podcast gets to the root of all these questions. Each episode is full of inspiration, humour, honest observations, and actionable steps that you can integrate to enhance your experience of self-love, develop a connection to Spirit, and create a life you truly love.
Show Notes Below:
Being, Nothingness & Suchness with Jivana Heyman
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.
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.
Erik Jacobsen: Yoga, Philosophy, and Art
Erik became passionate about art making from a very early age. A place of refuge and contemplation, that encouraged him to turn over ideas in visual ways allowing for intuitive integration and learning. A mix of meditation and exploration, his work is infused with spiritual and philosophical inquiry. Asking deep questions has always been a primary driver in his life, and various contemplative traditions have been parallel and complementary to his artistic process.
Escape the Meatrix with Stuart Waldner
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!
Christmas with Kino Yoga
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.
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.
Zeena Kalisperides: A Greek Warrior Princess?
During the course of this morning’s conversation we touched on the subject of authenticity. How does someone become real we asked? 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.
Electric Man : Stan Woodman
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.
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.
Elizabeth Ball: Science & Yoga
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.
Karyn Grenfell: A Hero's Journey
Karyn Grenfell 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…
Michael Baidoo: The Beginner's Mind
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! 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.
The Undersea World of Daniela Ceccarelli
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… I LOVE this interview… and I know you will too!
Alex Medin: Relax into Life
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. Not only will you hear his story, but his entire interview is threaded with yoga philosophy and ancient wisdom for the modern human condition.
Sparky's 9th Life
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. Sparky’s first life took shape as a student of the guitar and aspiring musician. Currently, he’s a sailboat captain, who took our Ashtanga yoga teacher R. Sharath Jois and his family out on a boat trip around the San Francisco Bay during his last U.S. tour in 2019.
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!
Yoga, Philosophy, and Favelas
Those pursuing the path of Yoga should understand that it is to be experienced and expressed off of our mats and beyond acrobatic poses. The position we ought to strive towards the most, is practicing the stance of caring for others as if we were all One... every day. At least that's what Yoga teaches us. We know we can't experience completeness as long as others are still suffering and deprived of basic needs.
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. This inspired Marcos Silva to initiate 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.”
Laura's Dharma
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.
When Miles Smiles
Sarah Miles, a Hypno-Therapist, an Ashtanga yoga teacher, a Celebrant, and Mortician. She was also Russell’s apprentice in Brighton! We discussed Sarah’s harrowing knee story, and how she has a tendency to run directly into the face of what she fears. Finding ways to 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 partly how she's ended up regularly bearing witness to both death and new beginnings.
Life Beyond Power Yoga
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.
Yoga and Social Activism
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.
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. 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.
Lost Angels Yoga Club
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.
Ashtanga Yoga Chile: In Living Colour
We sat down with our close friend Loreto Cortés, who was the first Chilean to be Authorized by the KPJAYI, and the first person to open a fully dedicated Ashtanga Yoga school in Santiago, Chile, over 20 years ago, which continues to thrive even today! We probed Loreto about her experience as an activist, artist and yogi. We were fascinated by her universe. We are so delighted to shares her radiant life and story with you.
The Art of Yoga
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, walking 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 talk about this and so much more like the the ephemeral quality of the asana practice and how it can be seen as making art with your body, and like dance or music, it appears and then it’s gone… in this juicy episode of Finding Harmony.