Finding Harmony Podcast

Yoga Talks on Pirate Radio with J. Brown

We caught up with J Brown, podcast creator, and host of Yoga Talks for the last seven years. With tears shed all around, J shared with us the story of how he lost his mum as a very young man. It's a heart rending story. And, for all of us when our heart rends it is an opportunity for healing. To heal is a blessing. We just don’t often do it. I think for most of us when we are slapped in the face we take the wound, and we smoulder and burn. We thicken and take long stares.
Our guest today chose to heal, and he is more beautiful for it. We explored his roots today and heard how the loss of his mother as a teenager was an important event that recalibrated the entire trajectory of his life.
J. Brown talked to us about his early life as a professional actor, dancer, and musician; yet ultimately, yoga was the discipline where his heart took root. Where he saw real truth which required no audience. The whole world is the audience for when you shine like he does. The whole world is his stage. His podcast is certainly out there in the world. And, he has been burned a few times. So we asked for his council as we haven’t been hurt like that.
We also looked at how his philosophy of teaching yoga has evolved over the years from one that was highly centered around strong and advanced Vinyasa style classes with a kick-ass play list, filled with loads of handstands and tricks, to one that embodied his lessons learned from a Swami he met during his first and only trip to India: “Slower is Stronger.”
For more than twenty-five years, J. Brown has been developing techniques to teach people how to practice yoga in a deeper and more fulfilling way. Enjoy this episode!
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT J BROWN YOGA:
INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE I YOGA TALKS PODCAST
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.
Make A Donation
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY and become an INNER CIRCLE MEMBER - harmonyslater.com
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!
We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!
Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”
Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Stoking The Inner Fire with Sarah Hatcher

From skiing and horseback riding to fighting fires and then throwing herself fully into her Ashtanga Yoga practice, after being stuck in Marichyasana-D (a difficult twist in the Primary Series) for 4 years, she continued on with dedication and determination, to become a Fourth Series practitioner under the guidance of David Garrigues and Dena Kingsberg.
Sarah Hatcher began her Ashtanga practice with an eclectic collection of teacher from which she continues to draw inspiration from.
In this episode we talk about how the practice changes through pregnancy and whether students should take time off after giving birth or press on.
We explore what has sustained Sarah’s passion for practice over all these years. You'll learn her tips for making your morning ritual happen day after day, even while being a mom of two energetic boys, or holding down an assortment of different jobs, or opening a new Mysore program in a brand new city.
Near the end we get into a discussion about the balance of masculine and feminine energies within and how it shows up in life, as well as in our yoga practices.
Last, but certainly not least, Sarah expresses her sincere thoughts on the value of receiving Authorization from the Institute in Mysore these days, and why she chose to follow a different path.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SARAH:
INSTAGRAM I MYSORE I YOUTUBE I WEBSITE
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.
Make A Donation
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY and become an INNER CIRCLE MEMBER - harmonyslater.com
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!
We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!
Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”
Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here. To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Long Way Home with Vikram Jeet Singh

Armed with Pasasana as a superpower our guest today, Vikram Jeet Singh joins us to talk about the evolution of the asana practice and our attachment to the physicality of it and how we can begin to embrace a wider scope of practice.
Mr. Singh is a natural intellectual and easily speaks to any subject related to yoga. He has a clear, disciplined mind and is a joy to sit next to in the inimitable fashion of parampara. There is an exquisite vibration of gentle being that comes with sitting next to our new friend Vikram and we are sure you will enjoy this space and time with us.
You find we touch upon interesting and somewhat difficult topics of racism, cultural appropriation, fascism, the relationship between yoga in the West vs East, and how our mind, higher intellect, and ego interface to make sense of our experiences in life.
We also talk about our upcoming panel for Yoga Gives Back happening Sunday June 5th, where we’ll be talking about “Yoga for Mental Wellness at Challenging Times” with other guest panellists: Seane Core, Anouk Prop, Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VIKRAM
INSTAGRAM I YOGA GIVES BACK: A GLOBAL GATHERING FOR INDIA JUNE 3, 4, 5
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.
Make A Donation
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY - harmonyslater.com
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!
We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!
Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

A Golden Journey with Diana Christinson

“Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love.”
Leonard Cohen
Diana Christinson takes us on quite a journey. It reminds us of Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me To The End of Love, a sacred vision of love and life that reflects our Hero’s quest to find meaning in both. As a fellow student in Mysore, like so many of us, we know Diana by virtue of having been there together. Perhaps like saying ‘I was at Woodstock’ or having a bit of the Berlin Wall on your shelf, we can assume so much about strangers. Diana, we always considered a friend, but through this conversation we’ve come to know her more intimately.
She tells us about her Irish Catholic upbringing in Michigan City, Indiana — a small town where Russell lived with his mom, and probably dined at their family restaurant. We learned about Diana’s journey to California, her inner experience of mind-psychology and her outward journey to the Far East… Not N.Y, but Japan and Thailand.
Diana has a wonderful quality of goodness about her, steadiness in the midst of turmoil. We talk about death of loved ones and the space loss leaves; yet, Diana maintains a balance of mind and spirit of loveliness. She is an inspiration and a testament that yoga actually does work.
Diana Christinson is an Author, Ashtanga Teacher, Psychologist, Founder of Pacific Yoga in Dana Point, California, and Inspirational Guide to many.
Having experienced and witnessed the power of inspiration on people’s ability to grow and transform, Diana's years of living and teaching health practices has reaffirmed her belief that we can choose to change, heal, and grow from the inside out.
She opened a yoga school in 2004 where she combines physical, energetic, and mindful practices inspired by her studies of philosophy, world religions, psychology and neurophysiology.
In Your Golden Journey, she shares a collection of some of her favorite teachings, practices, and tools to guide readers in discovering their most golden self within.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DIANA
WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE I YOUR GOLDEN JOURNEY
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY - WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.
Make A Donation
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!
Music by NICK EVANS

Find The Sweet Spot with Alyson Stover

This morning it is our delight to present one of the most interesting people alive: The lovely Alyson Stover! With these people its always one near death experience after another and then some… Please enjoy your morning as our guest today entertains us with insider stories about DC, cross Atlantic ocean travel, Hollywood, big studio executive jobs, Ashtanga yoga in the 90s, and of course, harrowing health scares.
No good life is complete with almost dying a few times!
“Water flows continually into the ocean
But the ocean is never disturbed:
Desire flows into the mind of the seer
But he is never disturbed.
The seer knows peace…
He knows peace who has forgotten desire.
He lives without craving:
Free from ego, free from pride.”
(Bhagavad-Gita)
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ALYSON: INSTAGRAM
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.
Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.
If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - Harmonyslater.com
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!
We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!
Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

A Mother’s Devotion with Pranidhi Varshney

Happy Mother’s Day! We are so delighted to share this conversation with you this morning. This is an important week and an emotional one.
Pranidhi Varshney is the founder of Yoga Shala West, a community-supported Ashtanga Yoga studio in West Los Angeles. She is also mother to two children who she describes as “courageous and wise little beings.” The thread that runs through all her work is the desire to build community and live from the heart.
Of all the things she is, a mom, a business owner, a daughter, a sister, and a yoga practitioner, it hardly seems that it need be pointed out that Pranidhi is also a legally autonomous being, who has sovereignty over her own body.
We spoke about this of course, but also all of the beautiful and unique attributes that make someone human. Pranidhi is a deeply insightful person, someone who is constantly seeking knowledge, wisdom, and insight. We know that our time with her was well spent and we are better for it, and you will be as well.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PRANIDHI & YOGA SHALA WEST
INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK I WEBSITE I YOGA JOURNAL ARTICLE
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support.
Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com
Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Caño Cristales of Emilia Arenas

Buenos Dias, mis amigas! We hope you settling in to your Sunday morning. It is our honour to share with you all a conversation with our dear friend Emilia, who teaches Ashtanga Yoga in Miami. We met her many years ago on tour with Paramaguru R. Sharath Jois, and we are excited to talk with her again. We found out about her childhood in Bogatá and the impact of the Medellín Cartel on her family, and we talked about the American appetite for narcotics that sewed that destructive force in her life. This led quite naturally to a frank conversation about NA and AA and the role those positive communities had in getting her clean and sober and becoming now a “mamá caliente.“
Emilia is an Ashtanga Yoga teacher in Miami Beach. She started her journey in Yoga nearly 20 years ago and she embarked on a long research of different styles and teachers until she found Ashtanga yoga and decided to move to Miami to learn from her teachers Kino Macgregor, Tim Feldmann and Greg Nardi.
Her passion is showing her students the beauty and transformative aspects of the practice of Ashtanga yoga. Her classes are filled with joy and enthusiasm and her goal is to pass onto them the devotion that has been passed to her by her teachers.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EMILIA ARENASINSTAGRAM
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.
If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation
Find out more about Harmony: harmonyslater.com
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!
We love to read and respond to your comments - So drop us a note in the comments below and give us a shout out on IG!
Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

The Facts of Life with Nicola Nixon

This is a lovely conversation! We’re pleased to introduce our dear friend from North England—our Yorkie friend Nicola Nixon!
Nicola is finance executive who, very like everyone’s favourite adoptive mom, Mrs. Garrett (from the Facts of Life), is a Certified Nutritionist! There is something terribly reassuring for Jo, and Blair, Natalie, and Tootie that the one woman in their life who they can turn to is the lady that manages their diet. When you think about it… it’s so incredibly wholesome.
Diet is something that every yoga practitioner is passionate about. Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, eating fish or meat, Keto, Paleo, following a Mediterranean Diet, Sattvic, Rajasic, or Tamasic we’re obsessed about how we’re feeding our bodies to help our health and advance our yoga practice.
Nicola Nixon is a mom of two, Yoga Teacher & Ashtangi, Nutritionist (MSc) (ANutr), Yorkshire Gardener, Finance Exec (FCA), and Cancer Survivor. Today we're talking about how diet can heal your body. How important is the microbiome is and how rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, along with a whole host of other disorders, can be influenced for good or ill through dietary choices.
We’re also talking about some of the themes related to our diet as yoga practitioners as well.
What’s very special about this episode is that Nicola is speaking not only from an educated point of view, but also from her personal experience. She and her husband made a life long effort to stabilize, if not cure, his rheumatoid arthritis.
It’s a fascinating story and we believe you will enjoy sitting with us and and learning from Nicola as much as we did!
Join Harmony Saturday April 30th
FINDING HARMONY RETREAT - Online - Sign Up Today! harmonyslater.com/findingharmonyretreat
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NICOLA NIXON - INSTAGRAM - @theyummyyogi
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations.
Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.
If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!
Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.”
Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.To purchase your own copy - Click Here.

Sara Intonato: Learning To Thrive

Our guest today is heroic. Not in the mud defending your country from oligarchic fascist kind of way, but no less important and no less difficult. Sara is an old friend whom we met in Mysore, India, back in 2005. Approximately five years after this first trip to Mysore, she gave birth to her oldest child, who is now just over 12 years old. All was typically normal… in a typical new mom, “this is insanely impossible” kind of way. But, then Rocco developed symptoms of autism. Doctors informed her that he was “nonverbal” and may never interact in an understandable way. Sara, of course, will be the first to tell you that her child makes himself perfectly clear and has breezed past many thresholds that were once deemed impossible.
It’s one thing to manage your own life, and another to do it in an emotionally intelligent, and self regulated way; Even more so, to embody the spirit of the bodhisattva, to serve and lead other parents through their own journey with Neurodiverse children.
Sara is someone all can learn from. We believe you will love hearing her story and you may even take away some gems for how you can manage, cope, and thrive as a parent.
Sara Intonato (Level 2 Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher) has been committed to a daily yoga practice in 2001 as a means of coping with debilitating anxiety attacks. Just 20 years old, yoga provided Sara with the tools to manage her anxiety attacks and a renewed sense of clarity in her life. Instead of working on Wall Street or applying to law school, the recent college graduate embarked on the journey of entrepreneurship and began freelance work as a yoga teacher.
Last year, Sara launched her consulting practice for Autism families. She used to worked diligently to keep her two worlds as a mom and yoga teacher separate, carefully curating different social media channels and podcasts for each audience.
But she started to realize, if yoga can help the average person to live a better life, why can’t it also help people with Autism (including non verbal individuals), to do the same? Of course it can! You simply need to teach them differently.
Join Harmony Saturday April 30thFINDING HARMONY RETREAT - Online - harmonyslater.com/findingharmonyretreat
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SARA INTONATOINSTAGRAM I YOGA IG I TOOLS FOR PARENTS
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who’ve generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. Make A Donation - harmonyslater.com/donate

Urban Yogi Ben Eckett: Gloves Not Guns

Quite a few years ago, Russell was tasked with helping out with a documentary film crew in Mysore. Not sure what his title would’ve been? Chief Gopher or Assistant Talent Manager? Basically, he was there to make sure the film crew interacted with the Jois family in a positive way. The whole point of the documentary was to promote SEVA, the work of helping others and devoting your life to selfless service.
Sevā is a Sanskrit word that describes the act of selfless service. Its meaning is said to be embodied by the root words saha, meaning "with that," and eva, meaning "too," which together mean "together with."
So the film crew, in its inimitable way, asked Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, “Guruji, is seva necessary to spiritual growth?” What a softball question, right?
How easy it could’ve been for a modern, socially intelligent, person to riff off of this question… “Yes, of course, helping others is crucial to our own development and care for society in general…” (that’s what everyone there expected him to say).
He could’ve said something like that. So easy…
Except that’s not all what he said. His mission perhaps, was more focused vertical enlightenment, teaching impermanence and God in all things. So instead, he said simply, “No. Not necessary.”
And, Russell had no response but to hide his head in hands.
No, of course its not necessary. Or is it?
The answer will be coloured according to your unique point of view.
The ancient king turned sage, Visvamitra, reached enlightenment through blind hate for his neighbour the preeminent sage, Vasishta. Perhaps this is an example of how Seva isn’t necessary — It’s just something we appreciate from our modern, Judeo-Christian influenced, perspective.
Our guest today, Ben Eckett, is fairly new to Ashtanga, starting back in 2016; but he’s lived a life devoted to serving fellow humans and his constantly focused on increasing good in the world. He’s super charming and full of passion and emanates love for his life’s mission.
He’s a “Devon man,” and like his yogi grandfather, devilishly handsome. We asked him about the contradiction in teaching boxing and yoga to kids and prison-mates. Is there a contradiction to teaching martial arts as a tool towards the betterment of a more loving society?
And, what it seems to come down to is engagement, selfless action, the breath, and love.
And, in the end… Love is all you need.
JOIN HARMONY Saturday April 16th
Purpose, Planning & Breathwork Workshop - Online - harmonyslater.com
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BEN ECKETT:URBAN YOGIS U.K I GLOVES NOT GUNS I INSTAGRAM I JUST GIVING EVENTURBAN YOGIS UK IG I GLOVES NOT GUNS IG
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Music by Nick Evans.