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:
The New Wave of Yoga: A Fresh Voice in Ashtanga's Evolving Journey
Ashtanga Yoga, with its rigorous sequences and disciplined practice, traces its roots back to the lineage of Krishnamacharya and the Mysore Palace. Deeply embedded in the spiritual soil of India, many great teachers and key figures in our current yoga culture have origins that root back to the Ashtanga Yoga tradition. Our guest today, Sam Silversides, has enjoyed the benefit of eating the fruit from these great trees, and is now growing his own roots as he passes along the knowledge of yoga to students in different parts of the world.
The Body Remembers: How Yoga Can Release Stored Trauma
We sat down to speak with Anouk Prop, who's a trauma therapist and yoga teacher. And we're talking about how best we can approach yoga in a way that promotes healing.
For those who've experienced trauma, learning pranayama in a gentle, consistent, and sustainable way can be a profoundly transformative tool, working directly with the nervous system, allowing you to find greater sense of calm and ease within your life.
Prison Cells to Nordic Retreats: An Unconventional Path of Yoga
We associate aggression and harm with boxing. When we think of yoga we associate peace and harmony. So it might seem counterintuitive that boxing shares some profound similarities with the more popular practice of yoga asana.
Alex's extraordinary journey from boxer to Sanskrit scholar, ballet dancer to Certified Ashtanga yoga teacher, to becoming a lifeline for inmates and addicts, and founder of Nøsen Yoga Retreat in Norway, will leave you in awe of yoga's power to heal and transform.
The Evolving Yoga Practice of a Mother: Surrender, Growth, and Transformation
We’re talking about the ever evolving definition of yoga as it relates to motherhood. We going deep into the journey of learning to let go of perfect to find your true practice, both on and off the mat.
As a dedicated yoga practitioner, I always thought my practice would get "better" with time. More advanced postures, smoother transitions, deeper states of meditation. I had this ideal vision of what my yoga journey should look like. But then came motherhood. Today, we’re talking to Bibi about her journey both on and off the mat, especially when it comes to being a mom.
JC, Our Own Personal Jesus?
John brings a depth of knowledge and insight that illuminates our discussion on modern yoga, the cult of personality, and the essence of being present in the moment.
In the realm of modern yoga, the boundaries between what's considered “traditional” and what's labeled “contemporary” are often blurred, and we're left to navigate (without much guidance) a complex construct of spirituality, personal wellness, and self-discovery.
Amazing Ashtanga: Eye-Opening Insights on Yoga, Teaching, and Life - with Ross Stambaugh
Today we’re chatting with Ross Stambaugh, a travelling yoga teacher, who came to the practice to help him find freedom from the daily stress of working as a fine arts teacher in public schools. The conversation delves into Ross Stambaugh's unique yoga journey, including his choice to practice with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois' daughter, Saraswathi Jois, over making a more conventional choice to practice under her son, R. Sharath Jois.
From Injuries to Insights: Navigating Healing in the Yoga World - with Dan Fanthorpe
Join us on an epic journey with our guest, Dan Fanthorpe, (an experienced Osteopath and Ashtanga yoga teacher) and we venture into the realms of yoga, healing, and the transformative power of community as we navigate the ups + downs of injuries in yoga.
This insightful conversation goes far beyond a discussion of physical injuries to explore the spiritual and emotional dimensions of the practice.
Body Autonomy Is Punk: Breaking Free From Disordered Eating
Aimee began her career not as a Yoga teacher but a punk rock singer, recording several albums and touring the world with her band theSTART and performing guest vocals for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garbage, Teddybears and so many more. With complete candor, she shares how she has struggled with body image and disordered eating off and on throughout her life and the steps she’s taken to reframe her relationship with food and her body.
Unlocking the Mental Benefits of Yoga: A Scientific Perspective with Jean Bryne
Join us as we sit down with our dear friend and distinguished guest, Jean Bryne, to discuss the depths of yoga's impact on mental health. With her extensive background in both traditional practice and modern scientific research, Jean offers a rare and insightful perspective on the mental benefits of yoga, explored through a scientific lens.
¡Hala Madrid! ...y nada más
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.
Journey to Mysore Tenerife with Viviane Simon
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). 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.
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.
Paloma: No Woman, No Cry
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.
Anita Cunha Vegan Chef Extraordinaire!
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
Life and Death with Ty Landrum
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.
Rachel White’s Tapestry Of Creation
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.
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.
Connect & Protect with Marque Garaux
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.
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…
How To Become Trauma Informed with Lara Land
Lara Land speaks today about some of her personal experiences that brought her to this chosen path…
How she started off teaching yoga in Rwanda to survivors of genocide, and then after opening her yoga school in Harlem, NY, she recognized that her yoga space required a different kind of awareness and presence.
This guided her to create Trauma-Informed teacher trainings as well as write her new book: The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Learn why we need to be trauma informed in our teaching and as we facilitate wellness spaces, now more than ever.
A Helluva Lotta Fun with Ellie Smith
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…