Keen on Yoga Podcast

From the very young age of 13, Doug Swenson began his study of yoga in 1964. He has studied and practiced with many amazing teachers including Ernest Wood, the highly respected British Yoga Master, theosophist, and Sanskrit scholar. Doug's other mentors include Pattabhi Jois, Ramanand Patel, BKS Iyengar and Swami Satchidananda. Many of Doug's students have become highly celebrated teachers, including his younger brother, David Swenson. Doug is a master yoga practitioner, philosopher, poet and dedicated health advocate. He has incorporated influences from several different yoga systems along with his passion for cross-training, elevated nutrition and healthy lifestyle. Over the years he has authored four books and 23 videos on Amazon. The book list includes: Yoga Helps, Power Yoga for Dummies, Mastering the Secrets of Yoga Flow, and Pioneering Vinyasa Yoga. His educational videos, for all levels of practice, include topics of Yoga practice and philosophy, enhanced nutrition, and cross-training between challenging and more restorative yoga styles. Doug's Sadhana Yoga Chi is a holistic balance between learning and teaching, power and softness, intellect and fitness. The goals of Sadhana Yoga are achieved by striving to create a body of enhanced health and fitness, a mind with pure clarity, true intellect and focus, all woven together with a heart filled with peace and harmony. Sadhana Yoga Chi does not restrict your intelligence, or put limits on expanding your knowledge. Instead, we encourage the freedom to study and practice positive aspects of other different holistic techniques. This includes other systems of yoga and alternate body and mind expansion concepts. Doug is one of the original yoga teachers in the West and has quietly been living as a yogi for decades. You can find him on his website

The Dalai Lama befriended Bob in 1964, ordained him as a Buddhist monk, then later forgave him for returning to lay life. Bob Thurman is known in the academic circles as Professor Robert A.F. Thurman. He is a talented popularizer of the Buddha's teachings. In addition, Bob is the first Westerner Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, He is a charismatic speaker and author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture. Bob was named by The New York Times as the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism. In 2020 he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award for his help in recovering India's ancient Buddhist heritage. Time Magazine chose him as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997. They describe him as a "larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, from Asia to America." Bob served as the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University for 30 years, until 2020. A very popular professor, students always felt his classes were "life-changing". Tibet House Bob is the founder and active president of Tibet House US, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan culture. And of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, a non-profit affiliated with the Center for Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and dedicated to the publication of translations of important artistic and scientific Tibetan treatises. His own search for enlightenment began while he was a university student at Harvard. After an accident in which he lost the use of an eye, Bob left school on a spiritual quest throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He found his way to India, where he first saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1962. After learning Tibetan and studying Buddhism, Bob became a Tibetan Buddhist monk and the first Westerner to be ordained by the Dalai Lama. Some years later, however, he offered up his robes when he realized he could be more effective in the American equivalent of a monastery: the university, returning to Harvard to finish his PhD. Long-term Commitment As part of his long-term commitment to the Tibetan cause, at the request of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Bob co-founded Tibet House US in 1987 with Tenzin Tethong, Richard Gere, and Philip Glass, a non-profit organization based in New York City and dedicated to the preservation and renaissance of Tibetan culture. Inspired by his long-time good friend the Dalai Lama, Bob takes us along with him into an expanded vision of the world through the prisma of Tibetan Buddhism. He shares with us the sense of refuge in the Dharma, which unfailingly helps us clear away the shrouds of fear and confusion. He sustains us with the cheerfulness of an enriched gift, and opens a door to a path of realistic hope for a peaceful, kind, and wise future. Bob has a prolific podcast of 287 episodes to date, which you can find on his website Instagram @bob__thurman @tibethouse.us @menlaretreat

Tara has been a dedicated practitioner of yoga for over 18 years. She has been blessed to practice with some of the most dedicated ashtanga teachers in the world. Studying with Johnny Smith, Tim Miller (completing both his primary and intermediate series trainings), R. Sharath Jois & R. Saraswathi Jois. She has apprenticed with only certified teachers (6 years) with R. Saraswathi Jois for 4 of those years in her very busy Mysore shala where she assisted up to 200 students a month for nine months of the year. Tara has a special bond with Saraswathiji and is one of the few students authorised by her to teach. Tara is also a Certified Yoga Therapist in the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya & his son T.K.V. Desikachar 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 learn to understand their bodies while bringing back health and stability through yoga therapy, diet and lifestyle changes. She has studied Pranayama with Sri O.P. Tiwari, Philosophy with Prof. Nagaraja Rao and Vedic chanting with Dr. Vigneshwar Bhat and Madhavi Kotha in the lineage of T. Krishnamacharya. Tara has been studying ritual, chanting and Vedic chanting for the last 7.5 years and is a long time Vipassana Meditator. Both R. Saraswathi Jois, Saraswathi Vasudevan & Vigneshwar Bhat have given her blessings to share the teachings as taught to her through parampara. Other interests Tara's curiosity for understanding the mind and body led her to study psychology (since 1993) and nutrition (since 1999). She is a trained Chef, has worked with many healing modalities, and has recently spent 5 years living in Mysore, India in order to seek and learn pure knowledge directly from the source and continues to visits India every 6 months to be with her teachers. Tara has also studied classical Carnatic music with two of Mysore's greatest teachers and she has and continues to study Ayurveda with Dr. R. Padmini. Tara believes that to be a good teacher one needs to be a good student. Therefore, she continually expands her knowledge on the subjects of yoga, health, nutrition and healing through sound and other methods. She teaches in a traditional yet playful manner incorporating the teachings of her teachers. Tara now lives in Sicily with her husband Dr. Rob Lamport of @morethananatomy You can find Tara on Instagram @taramitrayoga and on her website.

Yan Ong tested at the top 2% of worlds IQ at the age of 16. Joining the Mensa Society, sparked an interest to discover the purpose of intellect. She sought out to gain knowledge through university degrees in science graduating with honours in Biotechnology from the world's 5th ranked university. In attempt to balance both left and right brain function took a second university course in the arts. Although she found solving problems and creating ideas fun, there was still something that corporate life was not fulfilling. 6 years of working in business and I was over it, there had to be more to life. She hit the road for 2 years of backpacking on her own from South America, Africa and ending up in Bali. She discovered Ashtanga yoga in 2001 with a book and a class for 4 years. In 2008 everything fell into place and the Ashtanga Yoga became her life. In 2010 she found her teacher, Paramagruru Sharath Jois and moved to Mysore. Living in Mysore for 4 years Yan practicing under his guidance and privately studied sacred texts constituting the Upanishads and Yoga Sutras with renowned philosophy expert Professor Najarajao Rao. Yan and Mysore In 2012 she was authorised by Paramaguru Sharath Jois to teach Ashtanga Yoga and was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and teach across the globe in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines & more. I'm blessed to be Malaysia's first Level 2 qualified Ashtanga Yoga teacher. In the 20 years since she found Ashtanga Yoga, she has learned to heal her own spinal, ankle and wrist injuries, manage stress and hypothyroidism within the practice. Thus having a more thoughtful, accepting and compassionate approach towards asana and its ability to be therapeutic. In conjunction with having dealt with both physical and health struggles during her journey, 10 years study of yoga philosophy scripture which the practice is built upon, has given her understanding of the practice from a deeper yet wider perspective. Yan is also largely influenced by non-denominational spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle. She has time with him on retreat and completed his 6-month advanced School of Awakening course. She teaches with her husband Manuel and now plans to spend time between their native countries, Malaysia and Portugal. You can find her at @yanyoga or on her website https://www.yanong.me/

Ross Stambaugh is an Ashtanga yoga teacher who is Authorized Level 2 by Saraswati Jois. He has made many annual trips to India to continue his studies and has assisted Saraswati on multiple occasions. Ross seeks to preserve the traditional Ashtanga method by maintaining a daily practice and teaching his students with the same integrity and patience that was taught to him by his teachers. Ross teaches Ashtanga yoga workshops internationally and welcomes a chance to work with you and your yoga practice. Ross is a 20+ year veteran of the Ashtanga lineage. Apart from having a daily Ashtanga yoga practice, Ross has been a collegiate swimmer, judoka, and mountain climber. He is a public school teacher and holds a post-master's degree in education. He enjoys walking his dogs, Kali and Brie and is an avid motorcyclist. You can find him on Instagram @ashtanga.yoga.ross

The "Yoga Doc" - Dr. Ronald Steiner is the founder of the AYI method. This method links traditional Ashtanga Yoga with innovative Yogatherapy. Body and mind connect with each other and together create a harmonious balance. Ronald is a sports physician, researcher with focus on prevention and rehabilitation as well as one of the most well-known practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga. Ronald Steiner is one of the very few yoga teachers authorized in the traditional way by both the Indian grand masters Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and BNS Iyengar. You can find more about Dr Steiner on his website https://www.ashtangayoga.info/ Listen to the Keen on Yoga Podcast via link in bio, all usual outlets & now on YouTube. If you enjoy our show and would like to support continued free content click Donate link in the Instagram bio or visit our website https://keenonyoga.com/donate/

Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011). In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior. This emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. The theory is leading to innovative treatments based on insights into the mechanisms mediating symptoms observed in several behavioral, psychiatric, and physical disorders. Stephen is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™ , which currently is used by more than 1400 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, to improve language processing and state regulation. Also written by Stephen: The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, (Norton, 2017) and co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018). Stephen is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. In addition, he is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. Your support of the Keen on Yoga Podcast is greatly appreciated. https://keenonyoga.com/donate/

David Jackson a Master Instructor with the Oxygen Advantage and a breathwork coach. He is a former professional rugby player, accredited UKSCA Strength & Conditioning coach, NASM performance enhancement & corrective exercise specialist. His mission is to make breathwork a normal part of our everyday lives. David retrained his own breathing after a brain injury in 2013 forced him to retire from professional rugby. He's passionate about helping others change the way they breathe to improve the way they feel, move and perform. He believes that there is something for everyone in breathwork. David has worked with professionals seeking better stress management or those suffering with anxiety to professional athletes looking to improve performance and everything in between. He knows how your breath can impact all areas of our body and mind. This is the reason he is so passionate about helping people use breathwork to fulfil their true potential. Having felt the benefits personally, he wants to share it with others. Find more about David: Website: https://www.rootedlife.co.uk/ YouTube: David Jackson Instagram: @ jackohumanflag

Ana Forrest is an inspiration and has been changing people's lives for over 45 years. She is an internationally recognized pioneer in yoga and emotional healing. She is the Creatrix of Forrest Yoga, a mystic, visionary, philanthropist, author, and Medicine Woman. Ana crafted Forrest Yoga while working through healing from her own life's traumas – abuse and addictions, the feeling of helplessness around the addictions, and the ongoing suffering from chronic injuries & illnesses. Ana took her first yoga class at age 14 and became a certified instructor in 1975. Ana used yoga and Native American ceremony to save her own life. It is her intent to pass that lifesaving ability forward. The process of healing herself inspired her to teach others to heal themselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Forrest Yoga is a powerfully physical, internally focused practice that emphasizes the integration of transformative experiences from the mat into purposeful daily life. Ana is at heart a woman of the wilderness. She has spent many years in the mountains and forests learning from the animals, trees, rocks, water, and the seasons. Prior to becoming a yoga teacher, Ana spent her early years training horses, dogs, cats, birds, and the occasional snake. She brings her deep understanding of the animal kingdom to her teaching with humans. Jose Calarco is Ana's co-director of Forrest Yoga. Jose comes from a long history of shamanism, the arts, music and healing, bringing his decades of experience as an artistic prodigy to Forrest Yoga. He is also Director of the legendary Australian Indigenous company Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theatre www.descendance.com.au. Descendance won the UNESCO (United Nations) competition as the world's best Indigenous live show. Jose Calarco is a bridge to the spirit world. As Ceremonial Leader for Forrest Yoga and co – teacher with Ana Forrest, he creates and teaches ceremonies, tells creation stories from the traditions of the First Peoples of Australia and other shamanic traditions and weaves these into the yoga practice His experience as a faith healer and Medicine Man spans over 30 years. He has collaborated with Indigenous wisdom keepers like Medicine Woman and Australian cultural treasure Kathy Marika of the Yirrikala People of central Northern Australia, and he co-created Descendance Aboriginal with Indigenous elder and Song Woman Imelda Willis of the Yidinji and Kandju tribes. Imelda is Jose's Spiritual Mother, and was a rare woman who had been fully initiated. She adopted him as an equal into her tribes in Far Northern Australia, sharing knowledge and hope with each other and with the world. Also available on YouTube

Sir James Mallinson, 5th Baronet of Walthamstow (born 22 April 1970) is a British Indologist, writer and translator. He is recognised as one of the world's leading experts on the history of medieval Hatha Yoga. Mallinson became interested in India by reading Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim as a teenager; the book describes an English boy travelling India with a holy man. Mallinson is described as "perhaps the only baronet to wear dreadlocks. He let his hair grow out from 1988 on his first visit to India during his gap year. He is the co-author with Mark Singleton of Roots of Yoga. Penguin Classics. (A commented collection of translations of yoga practice texts from the Sanskrit traditions). Currently Dr Mallinson is Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical and Indian Studies at SOAS, University of London. His interest in yoga grew out of a fascination for India and Indian asceticism. He spent several years living with Indian ascetics and yogis, in particular Rāmānandī Tyāgīs. Background He took his BA in Sanskrit and Old Iranian at the University of Oxford, followed by an MA in Area Studies (South Asia), with Ethnography as his main subject, at SOAS. His doctoral thesis, submitted to the University of Oxford, was a critical edition and annotated translation of the Khecarīvidyā, an early text of haṭhayoga. Dr Mallinson has published eight books. All of which are editions and translations of Sanskrit yoga texts, epic tales and poetry. His recent work has used philological study of Sanskrit texts, ethnography and art history to explore the history of yoga and yogis. Projects Between September 2015-2020, Mallinson was the Principle Investigator of The Haṭha Yoga Project (HYP), a five-year research project funded by the European Research Council and based at SOAS, University of London which aims to chart the history of physical yoga practice by means of philology, i.e. the study of texts on yoga, and ethnography, i.e. fieldwork among practitioners of yoga. From January 2021, Mallison has been the lead on three year project entitled "Light on Hatha Yoga: A critical edition and translation of the Haṭhapradīpikā, the most important premodern text on physical yoga" funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the German Research Foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). He has been interviewed on yoga for BBC Radio on Beyond Belief and for the Secret History of Yoga. More information about Dr Mallinson's work, his CV and publications, many of them downloadable, can be found here, and on his website: www.khecari.com If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, subscribe and give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation . We appreciate your help to keep this going.

Stephen Cope is a best-selling author and scholar who specializes in the relationship between the Eastern contemplative traditions and Western depth psychology. Among his seminal works in this area are: Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, The Wisdom of Yoga, and The Great Work of Your Life. His most recent work, Deep Human Connection, is an examination of the psychology, neurobiology, and spirituality of deep human connection, and the imperatives of human attachment—an issue of great importance to both the Eastern and Western traditions. For almost thirty years, Stephen has been Scholar-in-Residence at the renowned Kripalu Center—the largest center for the study and practice of yoga in the Western world. Kripalu hosts almost 50,000 guests a year in its many yoga, meditation, and personal growth programs. It is located on a sprawling 200 acre estate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. In addition to his role as Scholar-in-Residence, Stephen is the founder and former director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living—one of the world's most influential research institutes examining the effects and mechanisms of yoga and meditation, with a team of researchers from Harvard Medical School, University of Connecticut, University of Pennsylvania, and many more. Stephen is the recipient of both a Telly and an Apple award for his work. In its twenty-fifth anniversary edition, "Yoga Journal" named him one of the most influential thinkers, writers, and teachers on the current American yoga scene.

Bryan Kest has been practicing yoga since 1979 and has been teaching since 1985. He developed his unique, distinctive style of yoga, called Power Yoga, in 1979. Over the years, this style, an amazing workout for the body, mind and spirit, has made him a well-known, popular teacher across the country and around the world. His mainstream popularity is matched by an authentic foundation in the ancient practice of yoga and a long path of development as a yogi (a practitioner of yoga). At age 15, Bryan uprooted from his native Detroit home to make a life change in Hawaii. He moved to live with his father, a doctor, who understood the benefits of yoga. Like many of us, Bryan originally thought yoga was nothing more than strange contortions, but that changed when his father introduced him to a physical style of yoga called Ashtanga. This appealed to him immediately, and he soon observed great changes in himself, both physically and mentally. Yoga quickly became his passion, one that would take him to India for a year to study with one of the greatest yoga masters of the world, Pattabhi Jois. He has been continuing on his yoga path ever since. Bryan founded two studios in Santa Monica, CA. He also teaches at workshops and retreats around the world; provides an intensive Teacher Training program; and is featured in his own Warner Brothers video series from 1995, as well as a newer video series and audio CD series. His most recent endeavor is Power Yoga Online. This online tool features streaming videos of Bryan's classes, along with programs and series including a Teacher Training meant to help support and deepen one's yoga practice. These are usually recorded live and streamed to students around the world. For articles by Bryan and more information about Power Yoga, visit Power Yoga.

Edward Clark is the creator of Tripsichore, the London-based yoga performance group that has delighted audiences around the world. The performance company was created to explore the possibilities of a form of theater that would celebrate yoga philosophy and extraordinary physical prowess. Edward began studying yoga in 1978. Notable among his teachers are Narayani and Giris Rabinovitch, but he also admires Ashtanga vinyasa, Sivananda, Iyengar, and viniyoga practices. The Tripsichore group has practiced daily for the past 20 years. Constantly devising and refining its techniques for asana, pranayama, pratayahara, dharana, and dhyana. Edward fuses his keen artistic vision with a deep understanding of the essential pursuit of yoga practice. His classes are entertaining, demanding, and exhilarating. Vinyasa Applied to Yoga Philosophy Edward says, "The concept of vinyasa as applied to yoga philosophy could either be considered very ancient or radically new. In either case, vinyasa seems to be one of the great contributions to yoga of this particular generation of yogis. VINYASA in our definition, is the evenly metered flow of movement, breath and thought. This resulting in a smooth, uninflected state of being. The vinyasa techniques are pursued to bring about clarity and stability to one's thoughts and actions. Tripsichore endeavours to do this in class and onstage. Most yoga discipline has worked on refining one's self in the direction of greater stillness – an absence of movement in the mind and body. Superficially, vinyasa would seem to contradict this. However, the mental focus and physical technique needed to bring about continuous fluid movement can also bring one to a "seat" of great stability and clarity. The stability is not only in the posture. It is in addition in the transition between postures – to the point where there is no distinction between movement and stillness. Yoga Choreography Tripsichore began in 1979 as a company devoted to creating full length dance narratives. They explored a variety of stylistic forms including punk ballet, conventional modern dance and strict neo-classical technique. They used masks, performed with rock bands and did pop videos. While yoga was always a part of their training, it wasn't until 1992 that they realised the expressive potential and choreographic viability of yoga postures. Once they began to devise works using yoga asanas, their extraordinary artistic logic became evident. Surprisingly, it would seem that there has been no orthodox tradition for using yoga technique to create dances in the 5000 year history of the discipline. The postures are the ideal vehicle to express the themes of harmony, balance, spirituality, ecstasy, bliss and mysticism because they are exactly about these subjects in and of themselves. See more about Edward and Tripsichore on the website here.

Bessel van der Kolk MD is author of the seminal book The Body Keeps The Score. He spends his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences, and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults. In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical / research centers in the US dedicated to study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He did the first studies on the effects of SSRIs on PTSD; was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes brain processes, and did the first research linking BPD and deliberate self-injury to trauma and neglect in early childhood. Much of his research has focused on how trauma has a different impact at different stages of development, and that disruptions in care-giving systems have additional deleterious effects that need to be addressed for effective intervention. In order to promote a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma and to foster the development and execution of effective treatment interventions, he initiated the process that led to the establishment of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a Congressionally mandated initiative that now funds approximately 150 centers specializing in developing effective treatment interventions, and implementing them in a wide array of settings, from juvenile detention centers to tribal agencies, nationwide. He has focused on studying treatments that stabilize physiology, increase executive functioning and help traumatized individuals to feel fully alert to the present. This has included an NIMH funded study on EMDR and NCCAM funded study of yoga, and, in recent years, the study of neurofeedback to investigate whether attentional and perceptual systems (and the neural tracks responsible for them) can be altered by changing EEG patterns. ​His efforts resulted in the establishment of Trauma Center (now the Trauma Research Foundation) that consisted of a well-trained clinical team specializing in the treatment of children and adults with histories of child maltreatment, that applied treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studied the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policy makers, and law enforcement personnel. You can find out more about him on his website here.

It actually strikes one as quite funny, that despite Zoe's reputation, she is hardly unruly. Actually, during this podcast she and Adam spend a good majority of their time praising Mysore and Sharathji's ability to make the general rule specific to individuals. In fact, neither of them are ultimately rebellious. They like the system, its traditional aspect (respecting the sequences); what they are both outspoken on is the kind of dogma and polarity Ashtanga yoga often enters into when it makes its way out of Mysore, which treats individuals as generalisations, to be fitted into ideal structures. When, instead, what they really require out of yoga is a practice that serves one's life and doesn't cause injury. One that respects the demands of your own circumstances. That is, real life, when we have jobs, families and health issues, as opposed to the idealised picture painted of how Ashtanga should be practiced and taught in Mysore. Adam and Zoe talk along these lines then. Having met many years ago in Mysore, they re-connected in the online world through their similar opinions Zoë is a US based cynical observer, writer, and comedian. After a decade of Ashtanga practice in Mysore and around the world, she now directs the sharpness of mind cultivated by the method toward critiquing the policies and politics of the community on her Instagram account, @unrulyascetic.

This is the first part of Ashtanga Yoga 2021 & Beyond online panel webinar held in June 2021. We brought together two groups of teachers spanning decades of teaching to discuss the future of Ashtanga yoga. Hosts Adam Keen and Eddie Stern moderated the issues. Discussion was around the best way to move forward from various points of view. The aim of this panel discussion was to look to the future. As any living tradition, Ashtanga Yoga must also evolve as a living and working method. A skillfull look to the future, does not demolish the past, the smarter move is to build upon it. We are brought together respected voices of Ashtanga yoga into dialogue with a newer generation of teachers. Those perceived to be taking it into the future. Bringing the experienced and new together for the first time in the Ashtanga community to share and learn from one another. The discussion was a most exciting and ground breaking one touching upon issues such as inclusivity. Culturally and individually, the role of the teacher and the meaning of tradition for current times to name but a few of the fundamental topics that now require our further, collective reflection. In order that each teacher's voices was properly heard, the panel was divided into two groups with a short interlude. The event will be of respectful and thoughtful tone, and promises to be unique in the history of Ashtanga so far in offering such an open and collective, communal reappraisal. To watch a recording of the full webinar click Ashtanga Yoga 2021 & Beyond

Russell is one of the most interesting characters I've interviewed. Sometimes painfully self-aware, the discussion gives you a good idea of the nuanced world of yoga in utter technicolour honesty as Russell is well known for now as co-host of the Finding Harmony Podcast with his wife Harmony Slater. Russell was one of the fairly old batch of student who studied directly with Pattabhi Jois. We chat about the yoga scene back then, amongst other things as well as his own evolution as a student and a man. We discuss his practice now as he deals with the results of pushing his body too hard over the years. Russell has been practicing and teaching Ashtanga yoga for more than 25 years. He is a humble and refined teacher, he was given Authorization by Sri K Pattabhi Jois in 2005. Case is known for his joking spirit, and his perpetual eye toward social justice work. When Pattabhi Jois invited him to his pranayama class in 2007, he considered this distinction to be the highest grade. Russell has been teaching Ashtanga Yoga in the Mysore Method since 2001. He has taught programs in NYC, Brighton - England, Taipei - Taiwan, San Francisco, and was Director of the Ashtanga Yoga Mysore program at Stanford University for nine years. He worked as the Director of Partnerships for the Pure Edge Foundation, a non-profit company that brings yoga-based exercises and mindfulness programs into schools throughout the USA. Russell is known for his creative delivery of experiential presentations on neuroscience for social and emotional learning. Russell Case brings to life the teachings of yoga and mindfulness in a very colorful and scientific way that makes it easy for students to understand the deeper dimensions of why yoga works and how. Follow Russell on Instagram @russell_altice_case

Kimberly Ann Johnson is a Somatic Experiencing™ Practitioner, educator, and author. She helps women heal trauma, awaken their power and feel at home in their bodies. So they can then start living life on their own terms. She's always had a deep knowing that she was in this world to change things for the better. All of that came into sharp focus when she became a mother. Her whole life changed completely in that moment. She had to learn a new way of being in the world. She believes that if you can learn to speak your body's language, and transmute trauma into positive, reparative experiences in the present, if you can make the shift into acting from a stance of your deepest, truest self … everything changes. Your relationships, sex, and love get infinitely better. Your decisions come from a place of true agency, rather than fear and conditioning. And you tap into a level of power inside yourself that's deeper than you would have ever believed to be possible. She is the author of two books. Call of The Wild, It's not just you — women all around the world are experiencing record levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and autoimmune issues. The truth is, many women are stuck in a cycle of trauma, with no idea how to heal from it. What's worse, most of the resources out there for healing trauma are written from a male perspective, which makes them ineffective for women, because they heal differently. Call of the Wild is the answer. And The Fourth Trimester, a holistic guide that offers practical guidance for women making the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual transition into motherhood. Deeply impactful on both the individual and global level, it's shifted the experience of motherhood for women all over the world — and helped make this universal, yet widely-ignored experience of postpartum healing a priority in national policy. See more about Kimberly Ann on her website

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast Adam talks to Carlos Pomeda. Originally from Madrid, Spain, Carlos has been steeped in all aspects of the yoga tradition during more than 40 years of practice and study. He spent 18 of those years as a monk of the Saraswati order, under the name Swami Gitananda, including 9 years of traditional training and practice in India. During this time he learned the various systems of Indian Philosophy and immersed himself in the practice of yoga, becoming one of the senior monks of the tradition and teaching meditation and philosophy to tens of thousands of students around the world. He combines this experience and traditional training with his academic background, which includes two Masters Degrees: one in Sanskrit, from U.C. Berkeley (where he has taught) and another one, in Religious Studies, from U.C. Santa Barbara. He is currently working on a book on the topic of "Karma and the Journey of the Soul", as well as a new translation of the Śivasūtra, an important Tantric text of the Kashmiri tradition . Carlos currently lives in the US, and travels extensively around the world conducting a variety of retreats, courses, seminars, workshops and lectures on the Wisdom of Yoga and related subjects. As a teacher, Carlos is renowned for the breadth of his knowledge and the clarity with which he conveys it. His great love of the Indian yoga traditions, his insight, his humor and his deep connection with his audiences give him the ability to transmit the deepest scriptural teachings in a way that is clear, meaningful and applicable. Studying with Carlos is an enjoyable and transformative experience. You can see more about Carlos on his website. If you would like to support the Keen on Yoga Podcast you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or make a donation at www.keenonyoga/donate

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast Adam talks to Dr Yogi (Andrew McGonigle) Andrew attended Medical School at The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne but struggled with the non-holistic approach often adopted by western medicine. He graduated in 2005 at the young age of 23 and worked for a brief period as a junior doctor in Sunderland Royal Infirmary. However, for many reasons he knew that this career was not suited to him and he finally made the decision to leave the medical world. In 2004 he started to practise Transcendental Meditation as a coping mechanism for stress and this had opened a gateway into spirituality. He began a new life in Sydney in 2006 working for the British fashion brand Paul Smith and regularly attended hatha yoga classes. After a few years of dedicated practice I decided to embark on an Ashtanga Yoga teacher training course at Yoga Thailand with Paul Dallaghan. Teaching is in his blood and is something that has always come naturally to him. His parents were both keen teachers during their working lives and early on in his life he set up an after school homework club to help younger students with their studies. Having moved to London in 2009 he started working at the Triyoga headquarters where he remained in a Managerial role for almost 9 years. He began to set up my own small yoga classes in a local church hall and completed a holistic massage diploma. While assisting on a massage course someone asked why he wasn't teaching anatomy and he had had a true light bulb moment! From that point onwards I focused all his attention on establishing himself as an anatomy teacher. Having studied anatomy in great detail during Medical School he now needed to look at this incredibly vast subject from a completely different angle and create ways to make it relevant to yoga. He enrolled in hands-on dissection classes that focused on fascia (a word that he had never come across at Medical School!) and spent all of his spare time re-reading anatomy books, listening to podcasts and talking about anatomy to anyone who would listen. In recent years he has become a keen writer contributing chapters to the popular Yoga Teaching Handbook: A Practical Guide for Yoga Teachers and Trainees and Yoga Student Handbook: Develop Your Knowledge of Yoga Principles and Practice. His new book, Supporting Yoga Students with Common Injuries and Conditions, was published in March 2021. And his second book, focusing on yoga physiology, will be published in early 2022 Above all, Andrew is one of the most humble yogi's Adam has interviewed and a really nice guy. Enjoy this Keen on Yoga Podcast with Dr Yogi. If you would like to support us please like, share and review the podcast. We gratefully accept donations in any amount you choose on our website at Keen on Yoga.

Jimmy started meditation as his life enjoyment was crippled by insomnia. he heard that meditation was a scientifically valid way to treat that problem. He had already tried to fix it with courses on mindfulness, books and guided meditation CDs, but nothing got me to that deep place I'd heard about. Then he found a teacher from the ancient Vedic tradition. After four days of meditation training in a little room in London, his life was on a new path (and he was sleeping like a baby). Since then he's been hooked. He has spent years training, exploring and testing meditation techniques. Jimmy is fascinated by the science and philosophies of these ancient practices. Now he teaches busy people the most powerful technique he knows for connecting to deep inner silence and stillness. The technique is an ancient one from the Himalayas that is scientifically proven to deliver transformative benefits. This is completely different from mindfulness and other styles of meditation which you might have tried before. He shows how to get into a deep state of meditative absorption in just 20 minutes. This melts away stress and leaves you feeling happy, energised, and clear-headed. A skill for life you'll be delighted to practice. It takes you beyond the thinking mind into a place of peace, stillness, calm and silence. Life becomes easier when you delve into this altered state each day. It doesn't involve focussing on your breath or body sensations. It doesn't involve witnessing your mind or visualising anything. Nor does it involve mindless chanting. The technique leads to an altered state of consciousness. This shows up as highly organised and synchronised alpha waves in both hemispheres of your brain. This is a sign of deep relaxation for the body and rejuvenating rest for the mind. This is the mechanism that delivers the benefits of meditation. It's a marvellous stroke of luck that getting into this state is fairly quick and extremely enjoyable once you know how to do it. You can find him at Delve Deep If you would like to support the Keen on Yoga Podcast please give us a review, or make a donation.

Simon Borg-Olivier is a polymath of the movement world. A forerunner of yoga in Australia and a teachers' teacher. He also holds two BSC's an lectures regularly for a number of University science departments. This is his second time on our podcast, expressly this time to talk about the impact of breath upon movement in preparation for an upcoming workshop on breath at Keen On Yoga to accompany this podcast. In this conversation Simon gets quite technical as to how to utilise the diaphragm for the sake of connecting breath to the inner functioning of the body. Not exclusively referring to the yoga-model he synthesises modern science with the yoga-perspective in a way unique to him. Equally, he explodes yoga myths - such as bandha with a hard abdomen and how this actually freezes the diaphragm and hence the prana in the body. All this is done with characteristic energy and lucidity and Simon himself in his early sixties is a living example of the power of a breath-based practice.