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:
Music is the Space between Sound
If you’ve had the pleasure of tasting Andrew Hillam’s idlis then you know he has a special talent for cooking Indian food. However, that is not his only interested. Andrew is fascinated with all kinds of aspects of Indian culture. Besides being a Certified Advanced A Ashtanga Yoga teacher in the Mysore stye, he was a classical guitarist, who had previously pursued a PhD in immunology. We had a “quiet is the new loud” type of conversation with him on topics such as raising children in India, cooking in the flow state, and the comparison of playing music and chanting the Vedas. Something that Andrew says creates a peculiar vibration in his skull.
Développés with Shelley Washington
In Ballet, the term développé means to "unfold," or open outwards in a “developing movement.” In this episode of the Finding Harmony Podcast, we sit down with Shelley Washington, where she gracefully unfolds different aspects of her journey. At the age of 45, after a stunning career as a world class modern dancer, where she would train for 8-10 hours a day, Shelley accidentally ends up in a yoga class, and has to find an entirely new way to relate to her body and approach this new physical discipline. How her practice has evolved over the past 20 years will surprise you!
The Only Way Out Is In
Whether it’s politics, pandemics, protests, or Ashtanga yoga, we’re all unavoidably immersed within a world of duality, or maya, meaning illusion, and it’s a game we cannot truly escape. Yoga however, teaches us to move through our lives as gracefully as possible, accepting the positive and negative, the accolades and losses, while rebalancing and reclaiming our sense of inner equanimity.
We speak to Prem and Radha Carlisi, who speak to us about their personal history and how they’ve grown into the people they are today, and some of the events and circumstances that shaped their positions within our global Ashtanga yoga community.
The Art of Yoga
A decade after the death of Pattabhi Jois, the bubble exploded in the wake of #metoo. The chintzy shine was tarnished. The “now” big boss was humbled and, controversially, avoiding the proverbial elephant in the room. And, it was at this point that Timothy felt propelled to sacrifice his place within the lineage, walking away from the official “authorized list” of recognized teachers. A very sincere, and conscious choice, a stance taken as a personal protest to authoritarianism. We talk about this and so much more like the the ephemeral quality of the asana practice and how it can be seen as making art with your body, and like dance or music, it appears and then it’s gone… in this juicy episode of Finding Harmony.
A Round Table on The Advanced Practice
When we’re at home, most of us practice with a different intensity than we do in Mysore, whether it turns out to be more or less postures is another story. We spent an afternoon discussing what this looks like and why we do what we do with power couple Kate O’Donnell and Rich Ray from Ashtanga Yoga Portland Maine. We talked about Advanced Asanas and our relationship to them both personally, as well as collectively… Listen Now!
On The Other Side Of Darkness
We were blessed today to catch up with our dear friend Todd Boman. Todd and Russell were both born in the Pontiac Memorial Hospital in the 70’s. Probably right along side Madonna Ciccone, a neighbor. Todd has a unique story to share. Growing up in Michigan as a young gay male is its own peculiar hellscape. He understood immediately (and by that I mean junior high school) that being gay in the 80’s and 90’s likely meant death from HIV/AIDS. Surviving the darker side of this AIDS crisis in America was fraught with escapist behavior and that became yet another damned issue to try and survive.
Grass Roots with Robert Moses
We were absolutely blown away when Robert Moses related the current pandemic of the Coronavirus to a powerful transformative goddess: Ma Corona Devi.
In this way, we most certainly felt like it was a blessing of the Mother Goddess Corona Devi, that this esteemed teacher of yoga, Robert Moses, came on our podcast to share with us personal stories from his incredible lifetime on the spiritual path.
Kiki Says It All
From her early origins in a full Opus Dei Catholic school in England to landing the part of Ariel Sharon the Israeli stripper in the blockbuster movie Striptease to becoming a leading figure in the Ashtanga yoga community and now holding the Guinness World Record for the longest held downward facing dog, Kimberly “Kiki” Flynn has lived a fantastical life. This is one podcast interview you won’t want to miss!
Time For A Breathing Break
In this episode of Finding Harmony, we’ve decided to take a little Breathing Break. We wanted to share some funny stories and talk about our experience with the fourth limb of the eight-limb yoga path: Pranayama. During these especially stressful times, we felt it was important to share with you some of the many benefits that cultivating a regular breathing practice can have on your body and mind. If you want to learn more about practicing the 4th limb of yoga: Register for my online Pranayama Course that starts Sunday September 13.
Peel Back The Layers with our Autumn Retreat October 2-4. Join myself, Russell Case, Lara Land and Thimo Wittich for our AUTUMN YOGA RETREAT ONLINE. Registration is NOW OPEN!
Fracking Yoga
In this episode we catch up with dedicated Ashtangi, mother of two, and highly acclaimed jouranlist, Bethany McLean. She is also an author and contributing editor to Vanity Fair, who lives in Chicago. Many of you might remember her from the 2012 Vanity Fair article entitled: Who’s Yoga Is It Anyway? where she explored how the global Ashtanga yoga community grapples with the death of Guru, Pattabhi Jois, and the complicated response to Sonia Jones launching a chain of yoga studios under the “Jois” name. A name copyrighted and paid for, but a purchase that rankled the prickly egos of senior students who preferred their status just where it was: On Top…
Ashtanga Yoga Tiger Training
Larry Hobbs is an Italian American who grew up in North Carolina. He is an Army Veteran who considers himself a late bloomer, coming to the practice of yoga after turning 50… Now, in his 70s, Larry has learned about how to maintain his practice through a spinal surgery, a hip replacement, and has adjusted his practice to accommodate an aging body. You’ll love listening to Harmony, Russell and Larry colloquially reminisce their memories from Mysore and about some of the idiosyncratic Senior Ashtanga teachers they’ve met along the way.
The Only Way Out Is Through...
In this episode we interview Julie Choi Trepkau. We dig into what it was like growing up in a traditional Korean family transplanted in America when she was four years old, and how becoming a parent herself has given her a fresh perspective on generational karma, trauma, and a newfound compassion in understanding her own parents and their struggles… Find out how this high-powered high achieving business lady at the Wall St. Journal pivoted to teaching Ashtanga yoga, actively working as a doula, and now enrolled in midwifery school in Encinitas, California.
Everyday Ayurveda with Kate O'Donnell
What exactly is the yogic diet? What should we eat to align ourselves with the principles of yoga? Learn the answers to these questions and so many more on this episode of Finding Harmony!
From her first trip to India, to living on Nancy Gilgoff’s front porch, to becoming a published author three times over and ending up on Fox News as an expert on Ayurveda, Kate O’Donnell has had a fascinating journey combining the Ashtanga yoga practice with a deep wisdom from the ancient science of Ayurveda.
Kate offers some simple and easy ways for you to integrate the ancient principles of Ayurveda into your diet and daily life, which can help to increase your energy and enrich your yoga practice!
What's it gonna take? From Addiction to Ashtanga
In this episode we interview the wild woman herself, Santina Giardina-Chard.
Santina shares with us with her incredible journey. She experienced extraordinary childhood wounds, had a tumultuous early adulthood struggling with an addiction to heroine, lawlessness and eating disorders. Love had a way of finding her though, and a transformation started to happen through the connection with her (now) husband, Shane, the practice of Ashtanga yoga, and digging deep with Gestalt therapy.
We’re lucky to know her and she's lucky to be alive!
Planting Seeds To Breathe
We are delighted to share this episode featuring an interview with my dear friend and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher, Lara Land. As many of you may already know, Lara is the founder and director of the non-profit organization, Three And A Half Acres, whose mission is to teach yoga, breathing and mindfulness techniques to underserved communities.
This podcast touches upon some important topics like diversity (or lack thereof) within the Ashtanga yoga community. And how we, as practitioners and teachers, can learn to become more inclusive in our approach and attitudes to help support populations that would otherwise not be exposed to this practice.
Aging, Injuries and Ashtanga Yoga
In this episode, Harmony and Russell explore the topic of aging, injuries, and how to adapt the yoga practice for many different phases of life and the obstacles that can arise as the years go by.
The After Birth Experience
In this episode, I speak about what my personal experience was like after giving birth and how the practice of Ashtanga yoga helped to put the pieces of myself back together again.
Russell and I discuss different approaches to the practice postpartum, and how (after becoming a mother) your life will never be the same… Listen Now
Demystifying Ashtanga Yoga and Pregnancy
In this episode, I speak about my personal experience practicing Ashtanga yoga during my pregnancy and how I like to guide other women who are practicing while pregnant.
If you are imagining what it might be like to practice during pregnancy, or if you are a teacher wondering how to instruct pregnant students, this is an episode of Finding Harmony that you won’t want to miss!
Take A Trip to VAGUS Without Leaving Your Home
Russell Case describes the Vagus Nerve and how it effects your mood. Learn why the yoga practice works at a physiological level and things you can do to increase it's effectiveness. You will love hearing stories about Richard Freeman, and Barak Obama, and more of Russell's fascination about how different narcotics act on the brain.
A Potpourri of First Impressions
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel to India? Hear about Harmony's first trip to Mysore, and what it was like traveling to a completely different culture as a young women in her early 20s. You will love hearing about the surprise she received at her first astrology reading, the cultural differences between the East and West, and some tips and tricks to staying healthy, while living in an environment with less than optimal conditions.