Episodes
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In this week's episode of the Heart of Yoga Podcast, Mark and Andy Raba explore the world of psychics, seers, shamans and sages.
As director of the Yoga Education in Schools Charitable Trust in New Zealand, Andy leads initiatives to bring yoga-based health programs to young people in NZ and abroad.With a Master's degree and over a decade of experience fostering literacy in NZ schools, Andrew has extensively published on yoga and meditation and is dedicated to bringing yoga's benefits to students' wellbeing.They discuss how to discern truth from charlatanry, the ethics around predicting the future, and why embodiment through yoga is key.
Mark emphasizes the importance of maintaining autonomy through daily yoga practice rather than seeking escape or solutions from spiritual leaders. He shares perspective on how psychics and seers should serve the community without claiming special powers.
Mark and Andy also talk about relating to the subtle realm, trauma healing, and keeping ourselves safe from disempowerment on the spiritual path. Tune in for an insightful discussion about navigating the mystical with open eyes and an empowered heart.
Key Points:
There are genuine psychics and seers who have special abilities to perceive realms beyond normal perception. However, there are many more charlatans who falsely claim such abilities.
To discern truth from falsehood, it's important to have your own direct participation and intimacy with reality through yoga practice. This gives you autonomy and empowerment.
Making predictions about the future is unethical. It implies you don't have access now to deeper knowledge about your life.
Psychics and seers should be ordinary, humble people, not claiming to be special or different. Their abilities should be used to serve the community, not for ego or profit.
For people with trauma, the subtle realm can seem an escape. But yoga brings embodiment and healing, not escape. Wake down into the body, don't go up into the subtle.
The gross tangible world and the subtle intangible world are one, not separate. Through embodiment and intimacy with the tangible, we access the intangible.
Keep yourself safe from disempowerment by spiritual leaders. With yoga practice for autonomy, you can discern who to learn from without losing yourself.
Connect with Any Raba :
Instagram: @_andyraba_
www.yogainschools.org.nz
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogaofheart
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and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/markwhitwell
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In this episode, Mark interviews Eva about her journey discovering Yoga and music. Eva shares how she was classically trained in cello as a child but hated the competitive pressure. She dropped music for 18 years until finding Yoga, which helped her rediscover enjoyment and presence. A few years into Yoga, Eva spontaneously picked up guitar and started playing purely for pleasure, posting videos online.
Mark and Eva explore how yoga catalyzed Eva's musical reawakening. Yoga helped Eva let go of striving for perfection and future attainment, and instead play music for the joy of each moment. Eva discusses how Yoga taught her to receive support and gave her courage to be vulnerable sharing imperfect musical videos. She also describes realizing Yoga isn't about achieving a thoughtless state, but being fully immersed in each experience.
Eva offers an inspirational example of how Yoga provided the foundation to rediscover her musical self by cultivating presence, receptivity and relationship.
Keypoints:
[00:03:00] Discovering yoga helped Eva find enjoyment and presence [00:05:00] Yoga was the catalyst that allowed Eva's musical talent to emerge
[00:08:00] Eva learned to receive support and be vulnerable through Yoga
[00:12:00] Eva rejected the competitive classical music system as a teen
[00:18:00] Finding a Yoga teacher who respected Eva as an individual was pivotal
[00:20:00] Yoga felt like the opposite of Eva's prior athletic yoga experience
[00:25:00] Eva played music purely for enjoyment rather than future goals
[00:30:00] Eva had to unlearn criticism and perfectionism around mistakes
[00:40:00] Simple Yoga helped a depressed musician rediscover her artistry
[00:50:00] Eva realized Yoga wasn't about achieving a thoughtless stateMemorable Quotes
"Yoga as a system should adapt to the individual, not the other way around."
"It's not to get to the end, to the grand crescendo of the great symphony. It's every note along the way in harmony with every other note."
"There's no state like that, that I should be striving towards. What I have right now and what I'm doing right now is it."
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Missing episodes?
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In this episode of the Heart of Yoga podcast, Mark has an insightful conversation with his student Irina Esposito about her journey with Yoga.
The cosmos and everything in the cosmos is obviously a pure intelligence, energy and an intrinsic harmony. In religious language of ancient India it is Shiva Shakti… or all that is, and there are no problems. This was Irina’s sudden realization. It hit her “like a done of bricks”. This is the realization of an ordinary life of anybody when the Hatha Yoga Tantras are practiced daily, actually, naturally and non obsessively.
Life is unity, an indivisible condition of no separation, no difference, unique individuation in the context of utter singularity. Thank you Irina for your Yôga realization and sharing this, your self with the world Here.
Irina shares how the simple daily yoga practice Mark taught her is transformative.
She began to feel more connected to herself and worry less. The conversation explores pivotal moments of recognition Irina experienced through her practice, as well as how yoga shifted her perspective on body image and food.
An illuminating part of the talk is when old family patterns came up after a vacation with a parent, showing there are still habitual conditionings even after deep insights. Overall, the episode offers a beautiful glimpse into the power of dedicated yoga practice.Timestamps:
3:55 - They discuss Irina's experience in yoga teacher training with Mark and how she started a daily practice.
12:55 - Irina talks about how yoga helped her feel more connected to herself and her body.
28:35 - Irina describes a moment of recognition where she deeply felt that the whole universe is female and male energy.
38:50 - Irina shares how yoga changed her relationship to food and body image.
55:15 - Irina talks about going on vacation with her mother after her recognition and how old patterns came up again.
Quotes:
"You gave us the simple practice and I just tried to do it every day. And this is so different to the practice I did before."
"I don't overthink that much. The crown is open and receiving."Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML
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In this episode, I'm joined by Joseph Lauricella. We dive into Joseph's journey on The Yoga Bus, making yoga accessible to everyone. It is truly inspiring.
We talk about the power of yoga for newcomers and the limitations of the popular styles. Joseph shares his motivation behind his book, "Miracle of Body Wisdom," and his vision for authentic yoga education for all.
We discuss the discipline of writing a book. Also the function of yoga in dealing with anxiety in tough times. We explore how whole body breathing can boost our well-being and making yoga suitable for everyone, regardless of beliefs or body type. We discus the YES program, Yôga Education in Schools. How Yoga isn't just an exercise; it's vital for our future, a subject as vital as any other subject taught in schools, such as mathematics or physics!
We discuss unity, authenticity, and the healing journey after loss. Joseph shares his personal story of loss and healing, and the positive impact of recent gatherings and upcoming retreats in Mexico. We're all in this together.
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In this episode, we dive deep into Mark's transformative journey to India. Mark shares his personal experiences and first impressions upon arriving in this vibrant and diverse country. He discusses how The Beatles' presence in Rishikesh influenced his interest in Indian wisdom traditions, making it a global phenomenon.
Mark reflects on the powerful impact of rock music from England and the U.S. on his life, particularly highlighting the musical genius of Ray Davies from The Kinks. He opens up about his initial moments in India, painting a vivid picture of the sights, sounds, and emotions that overwhelmed him.
We explore the challenges and insights of being a white minority in India, contrasting it with Mark's observations as a part of the white majority in New Zealand. Mark shares his candid thoughts on India's lack of a social welfare system and how survival takes on a unique meaning in this bustling country.
Throughout our conversation, Mark takes us on a spiritual journey, recounting his encounters with Bhakti Vedanta Swami and the worldwide temple movement initiated through chanting in Hyde Park. We delve into the essence of India's holy cities, bringing to light the blend of spirituality and commerce that characterizes them.
Mark's trip to India serves as the central narrative, intertwining with various topics such as colonialism and the preservation of authenticity in a rapidly changing world. Mark's personal experiences and insights offer a captivating window into his adventure and the profound impact it had on his life.
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Our guest today is our wonderful collaborator in Japan, Minami Takashima.
Minami is a yogini and heart of Yôga teacher, teaching in the traditions of the hathayoga non dual Tantra. She has written the introduction to the Japanese second edition of Mark Whitwell’s Yôga Heart and teaches throughout Japan and the world.Born in Sapporo, Japan, she found that early life spiritual awakenings were not really helping with the pain of corporate life and socialization, but were rather making society’s misalignment with nature’s flow even more obvious and miserable.
One day, she came across Mark’s book Yoga of Heart, and says “this changed my life completely.” “There’s no steps to be taken”. “Everything you are seeking to become, you already are.” “You are the power of the cosmos”— the book was a great statement of your life’s actual worth.Minami has had victory over the oppressive misogyny of society that restricts women, and men, and all of life. In this victory she understands the difficulties of the usual life, so can be extremely helpful to others going through what she has had to go through herself. In Yôga such a person is called the “Acharya”, one who can teach.
Minami found that traditional heart of Yoga, Hathayoga practice bridges spirituality and tangible reality, allowing our masculine and feminine aspects to find their natural harmony. Knowing herself and her students to be Reality itself (“divine existence” itsel.) Minami teaches from the authority of her own experience and power. She lives in Japan and New Zealand with her yogi-musician husband Rey.
Teaching mainly one on one in an intimate, traditional way, Minami serves others to find their innate power, intelligence and beauty.Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML
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Clayton Joseph Scott is a singer, songwriter and master Yoga Teacher. Born in Los Angeles, California, he attended Santa Monica High School. Clayton lived most of his life as a street hustling native of Venice Ca. He was raised in the culture of musicians and pioneers of the counter culture.
Clayton speaks clearly about over coming addiction of every kind. He was in his own words, a gourmet addict, masterful at keeping addictions finely counteracting each so as to hold them in all in place. Until…. ?
As a Yôga enthusiast (one of his addictions) for many years Clayton mastered all the popular styles of the yoga industry. In this context he discovered the principles of the modern founder of Yôga, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and was then able to make sense of it all.
Clayton’s own music career is highlighted by his touring band Brightside. He has a number of notable albums of poetic depth and beauty.
Albums and EPs include Heavy Rest, More Love, West of Lincoln, Let Go and View from the Moon.Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML
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Liliana Lakshmi and her husband Satya are renowned yoga teachers, whose influence extends from India to the Americas, and from Berlin to Bali. Liliana, born into tribal culture of indigenous shamans of Colombia was quickly able to understand the shamanic cultures of ancient India, their yogas of participation and the profound realization of their ancient cultures, both of India and the Americas. Liliana is the hope of humanity, and she will not be exploited by any mere belief systems or point of view. She embraces all life and all cultures in the samyama of truth, the spotlight of absolute reality. Liliana is a bridge for humanity of cultures, ethnicities, of East and West, and of ancient to modern. Mark shares some time with Liliana discussing their time together over the years and their mutual purpose to bring the Yoga of intimacy to the entire world.
They discussed the lost teaching of the Tantras that flourished for a thousand years prior to the 14th C. Liliana shares her early life in shamanic culture, and her eventual pilgrimages to India and Europe.In this episode you will hear...
''... I went to to see a doctor and ... I was asking ... how does it look if I want to remove these implants? And I remember ... he would tell me ''but you're a very young woman. You don't want to look like a man''...''
''...There is a beautiful tribe in the north and I feel my ancestors land coming from there...they're quite famous because they have the ability to connect through space and time with all the tribes in another parts of the world...''
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Ernessa Bergman is a world-travelling Yogini, Mother and Biosynthesis / Somatic Body Psychotherapist who is currently living and working in Tel Aviv, Israel. She reflects on her long friendship with Mark at trainings around the world and her life as a mother and yoga teacher.
In this episode you will hear...
'' ...you torture yourself with the insanity of trying to get enlightened or something, or the insanity of trying to get to God. It is completely insane. It creates the separate self that is seeking.''
''...In the heart, that's where it says you break your heart, you start to cry because you realize that everything you've been doing up until now, at least mentally ...consciously, has not been putting your attention in the place that can give you more joy..."
"...This yoga of participation in the given reality, the power of the cosmos that is factually their condit. Just like it happened to you and you pass it on to every kind of person there, and you do it without drama, without theater. You just do it consistently and you just stood your ground. You bloom in your own garden..."
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Mark Whitwell interviews Rosalind Atkinson about her life with yoga and realisations. In particular, Mark asks about her academic studies of english literature, especially the mystic poet William Blake, and the relevance of these studies to her life in yoga.
This episode will be of interest to anyone with a mixed experience in academia or poetry, who is interested in the yogic process of making inspiration relevant to our lives right now.
We also discuss the last two years of teaching around the world through zoom, and end with a little teaser about a new project, called "Wardrobe Dharma".
In this episode you will hear...
''And I got to the end of this research project ... and I was trying to write a conclusion that summed up what I had learned in the process. And I came across a line by Blake that said something like ... the true faculty of knowledge is experience... And it was a very unsettling phrase to me because I realized in that moment that of everything I'd written about passionately, it wasn't my experience I was writing about Blake's experience.''
''I fell straight into the spiritual seekers trap of hungrily seeking experience...for myself...''
''It's like if my mind was the king and the body was the peasants of the kingdom. Even if the king ignores the peasants, they're still there. And they're still feeding him. But he's just not acknowledging them... Abusing them, mistreating them, not appreciating their work. ''
"Blake's poetry speaks in and as that force of life that is beyond the mind. And that's why obviously people from different cultures resonate with it. If it was just culturally constructed, then the English would love Blake the best. But they didn't, they thought he belonged in a straight jacket."
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What is natural movement for a human being? In this episode we are graced with the presence of Anne-Tyler, yogini of the Americas and her profound story of evolving movement patterns from the strictures of ballet into the natural forms for a human body. Mark and Anne-Tyler discuss learning to dance from a young age in the UK and developing her skills when moved back to the US, and how it wasn't obvious that ballet is a very unnatural way of movement. They discuss abuse of power in the world of ballet and the feeling of being replaceable at any minute. Tapping into pure beingness sheds a light while still being in the trap. Learning how to breathe. Getting through the stranglehold of thought, seeking and performance. Returning to the truth, returning to the heart, returning to the breath and to nature. Real yoga for real people, not performance, not gymnastics. ''I came here to disrupt patterns''. The breath enables the shedding of layers of old patterns and reveals one's true being. There is no denial or suppression in Yoga. Teaching people how to help themselves. Yoga as an empowerment and embodyment practise.
Anne-Tyler's teachings and online gatherings are here at www.bloss-om.com or on social media @theecstaticblossom
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Mark and his dear friend Patrick collude at the beach in Australia to discuss Patrick's life of Yoga and insight. They unpack the lie of "trying to get there" through Yoga. Get where? We are already here!
Patrick breaks down the regular Australian conditioning of beer and sport, and relates how one sentence from a partner inspired a quest for change.
They chart the murky waters of addiction to asana, and transforming it to participation in reality.
Patrick teaches Yoga and Tai Chi in Australia, Sri Lanka and Fiji, and has been the heart and soul of Fiji teacher trainings for nearly a decade. His teaching is characterised by wisdom, humour and the unexpected.
Explore Patrick's website at https://www.bodyawareness.com.au
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This podcast tells the story of Maja’s transition from social activism to Yoga revelation. How Yoga becomes the means to enacting the change we want to see. As Gandhi said.. “be the change you want to see.”
In this conversation we hear once again the process to become an actual Yoga teacher in real life and community. From Sloviana Maja’s background and society has had its own traumas and horrific trials. Life has been difficult.
Maja speaks of her personal victory in the midst of societal patterning, hostility and despair. As a government public health professional working in the struggles of social policy Maja has been conscientious and ambitious to improve the difficult conditions of the world. She speaks of how her Yoga has enabled her to do this, while transcending conflict with society and in herself.
Maja speaks of the various vehicles in which she has learned to teach Yoga effectively. At her work in very large groups of colleagues, in smaller intimate circles of friends, and in one-on-one private tuition.
Maja is the hope of humanity.
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In this episode we are graced by world-friend & yogini without borders Manisha Lebel. Yoga Teacher, Naturopath, Herbalist & Wisdom Holder.
Manisha and Rosalind discuss how Manisha's extensive yoga practice, teaching and academic research backgrounds resonated straightaway with the breath principles Mark was passing on.
We talk about being an outsider, New Zealand colonial patterning, people pleasing (especially as women), and how we can cut through indoctrination and authoritarianism of all kinds and stand in our own ground.
We cut through the illusions of generational barriers to express our heartfelt gratitude for the friendship of each other.
“Everything that I have been seeking is where I am”. Manisha describes experiencing the breath as the central feature in the Heart of Yoga practice, everything else falls away and loses significance. Not a rejection of life’s roles, but a releasing of projections on one’s self, and an acceptance of reality as it is.
We discuss the falseness of the mind/body split and how the breath provides the doorway to realization that there is no such split between the heart, mind and body.
“What an opportunity to live before we die”. A discussion about the pain that the body goes through during life and how this often makes us disassociate the mind from the body to avoid feeling pain.
Manisha teaches both private and group sessions in her communities in rural NZ, and she talks about making relationship and breath the centre of every teaching occasion, and how this changes our relationships. And how, exactly?
We talk about moving away from the commercial Yoga industrial complex, and learning to deal in diverse forms of exchange. Beyond the money economy.
Manisha also tells the story of how she met Mark for the first time, and the profound effect that meeting had on her.
We also touch on the resonance of the yoga wisdom with Māori culture.
Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you have a question for a future episode, you can record it here:
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How do we make the shift from practitioner to teacher? Who should become a teacher? How do we make sure we don't become "One more monkey" in the yoga industrial complex? How to keep the heart in yoga?
Mark interviews Andrew about his experience of this process and emergence from the middle-class massage into a life of meaning, play, & subversive subtlety as a practitioner & teacher.
Andrew talks about his current project offering yoga in high schools for both students and teachers, drawing on his own experience as a disillusioned teenager chafing against the restrictions of school and family.
They discuss getting free of the search for an intangible distant realm of happiness, or a distant god, and instead coming home to the local and our immediate environment in time and space.
Mark and Andrew talk about the natural movement to wish to share yoga after feeling the doors it has opened in one's own life, and how this gradually becomes the most important thing in one's life.
How do we find teaching opportunities? When shoudl we teach? What if no-one is interested? What if they just want stimulating gymnastics?
Mark and Andy also discuss the resonance between aspects of yoga and of the indigenous Māori culture of Aotearoa / New Zealand.
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''How to find a good yoga teacher? How do you find a teacher that you trust, and can generate a connection with? Not only that, but find a teacher that does not see themselves in a position of power and does not have your monetary value as student in their ’business’ as a priority?"
In this episode Mark and Rosalind talk about this most basic of questions, along with the even more basic questions of why we would even want a yoga teacher, and what that is anyway.
Some aspects we cover:
- The origins of yoga as a practice of mutual respect and care for others and the community, without authority and power.
- the change in student-teacher relationships to power dynamics and business interest as the norm
- The three qualifications of a good yoga teacher according to Krishnamacharya.
- Cultism in spiritual practice; how to sense someone who is driven by social hierarchy, power and money.
- The use of knowledge as a means to create seniority and power in the modern world of spiritual practice. And the contrasting experience had by Mark with his teachers Krishnamacharya and Desikachar.
- “Yoga is not a salvation cult”. A good teacher should not be promising any method or secret knowledge that will get you to where you think you want to go. Any promises of this nature should be treated with caution as the promise is most likely more of a product to be sold than a spiritual practice.
- A conversation about the ironic inflexibility of modern yoga, how it pushes people into predefined patterns regardless of the differences between individuals, and how this is a reflection of the patterning seen in modern society.
- What to look for: the breath as THE central element of asana practice. The unity of body, mind and breath must be present from the first moment of the yoga lesson, yet is often not given precise or any attention in modern yoga teaching.
- “You don’t do yoga, yoga does you”. Participating in the flow of life and being in the moment, as opposed to using spiritual practice to try and get somewhere you think you need to go, and how a good teacher can help thwart the latter tendency.
- Yoga as a method to release the mind from habitual thought. A symptom of modern living that affects most people in negative ways. Yoga can be a way to free yourself of unnecessary thought and be in the world's beauty.
To find out if we know a good teacher near you, please email [email protected]
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A conversation between Rosalind and Alesha Keen, yogini & important teacher of the UK. Alesha is breaking new ground in England, drawing upon her decades of experience across yoga, psychotherapy, and numerous other modalities from West and East to help individuals "bloom in their own garden."
In our wide-ranging discussion, she offers us her first-hand yogic perspective on the initiations into embodied wisdom through our life, including the profound gateway into eldership of the menopause.
Some of the other things we discussed:
- The need for Yoga to be adapted to our bodies and lives as we ourselves and our needs change
- Benefits of Yoga one-on-one as opposed to group classes
- The barriers to Yoga created by its confusion with fashion, gymnastics and exercise, and how it can intersect with our already-pressured body image.
- The journey with yoga and menopause and how the latter has demanded a refinement in asana and breath
- How both Yoga and the initiation into wisdom of peri-menopause and menopause call us to slow down and listen to the body...
- Ageism and loss of intergenerational relationships... looking at some examples of reverence for the "wisdom of years" in non-western cultures.
- we discuss the unfortunate public perception of yoga as reflected in Ricky Gervais' new show 'Afterlife' and the painful yoga parody in it, and how to work with this
- The initiation that is motherhood is also woven into our discussion!
You can find more information about Alesha's work and teaching at www.aleshakeen.com and www.aleshakeenconsciousliving.uk
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Ryan Stanley is the Heart of Yoga in San Diego. He teaches from the heart to the heart of everybody. The message from UG Krishnamurti that "there is nothing to be liberated from" hit him like a tonne of bricks, and since then he has been restructuring his practice, yoga studio and teaching around this whole-body realisation. Here he talks with Mark about the transition from 'yoga sales' to yoga instructor to an actual Yoga Teacher, sincerely caring about self and others. He has managed to bring all the other styles and put them into the context of the breath principles that Krishnamacharya, grandfather of modern yoga, actually taught. They discuss this and survival during the pandemic, and yoga in the midst of family life. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML If you feel moved to submit a voice question for a future episode, you can do so here:
https://www.heartofyoga.com/podcast
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Mark sits down with long-time friend and German Yogini Sybille Schlegel to reflect on many things, including the dreadful shadow of war in Europe, with its grim echoes of the past. Sybille draws on her background in history and present role as co-founder and teacher of Hatha Vinyasa Parampara Studio in Mainz. A student of Sanskrit, she talks about the journey from conscientious western academic to whole-body understanding. Sybille speaks about discovering the principles of Krishnamacharya and the implications for her teaching and community, the influence of the sage Nisargadatta Maharaj, and the impact of yoga on all relationships. As well as co-founding and teaching at her yoga school in Mainz, Sybille writes a monthly column for Yoga Journal Germany, and has co-facilitated the 'Good Vibes' Yoga Festival in Darmstadt. She has hosted Heart of Yoga teacher trainings in Mainz for many years & has been instrumental in introducing so many good people to their breath & embodied experience. More info on the school at www.hathavinyasa-schule.de
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From the banks of the holy Ganga to the East Village, Manhattan, Jeremiah Brimlow and Mark’s friendship has flourished. Jeremiah is a bridge of the ancient world to the modern times, of east and west, but also of the early days of yoga arriving in New York City to the current situation. Mark and Jeremiah reflect on the shifts they have seen, on the legacy of the US counterculture, and staying in the pure essence of spirituality in a confused world of spiritual business. Jeremiah is the Urban Angel because he does just that. In this episode you will hear... 03:00 Jeremiah and Mark talk of New York, Lineage and staying pure and true to the vision of truth. 11:00 Giving others opportunity to become greater, and to disappoint. Knowing and following your true path. A Hippie heritage. 21:00 Finding ways to work together, and change the paradigm of living. Getting caught in nonsensical systems, and the systems are down. Hope. 36:00 There was always Yoga, and a culture that could be. Being downwardly mobile, and relating to every human with openness. 50:00 Feeding only one third of the belly. The posture of gluttony. One arm up. 64:00 Teaching, shared energy and finding a new perspective on the practice. Follow this podcast for new episodes here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS/XML
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