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:
Eddie Stern: I'll Be Your Mirror
We have someone we have wanted to speak to ever since we first initiated this Podcast: The Inimitable Eddie Stern! 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.
Manuel Ferreira: The Brazen Bull
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…
Niki Baratta: Earth Angel
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.
Alex South: No Pelvis Left Behind
“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.” Please sit with us on this beautiful Sunday as we join our friend Alexandra South in a deeply personal story.
Jeanette Keane: Dance Me to the End of Love
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. Jeanette was fortunate enough to be introduced to yoga at a very young age through her mother. She’s an artist, a professional dancer, and 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.
The Ever Ebullient Yan Ong
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… And So Much More!
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.
Saraswati the Goddess of Learning with Tara Mitra
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.
Coming Full Circle with Nea Ferrier
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.
A Trip Towards the Self with Barry Silver
Today we interview Barry Silver, traveling artist, explorer of the mystic and esoteric realms. 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… His work is comic, genius, and generous in a wondrously mysterious way.
IKEA, ABBA and Lisa Lalér
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!
Joey Solano: Accountant to the Bollywood Stars
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.
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!
That's How I Got To Moscow... with Anna Guryeva
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 enslavement, is to see the miracle of Anna’s ecstasy.
Geoff Mackenzie: Man of the World
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.
The Odyssey of Kristina Karitinou
If you ever wondered how gods are made, our guest today will tell you they start out as heroes. 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). 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.
Ann Svärdfelt: A Field of Swords
It is our pleasure to introduce you to Ann Svärdfelt. Her experience of Mysore is unique. She came to Ashtanga Yoga later in life, already with small children, and as a responsible adult. Many of you know her as the proprietor of the Santosha Cafe. Her experience of Mysore is unique. 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.
A Delicious Poison with Kate
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.