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.
Episodes
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
There is something about John that strikes a person as wholesome. In a different age, we might've described him as an "All American." Of course, that’s before some of us were awakened to nativism and privilege. Still, watch Captain America and you can understand what allows him to hold Mjölnir. He has something pure and true about him that allows him to wield Thor’s hammer. He is selfless and leads through example. He brings all of us in the room together, which is essentially beautiful.
John was a preacher’s son quite dissatisfied with dogma though sought out, like his father, to know things. He trained as a classical vocalist and guitarist. And yet, he preferred, like Miles Davis, to make something different, a punk hand made “people’s music.”
Upon finding yoga, he approached the project of yoking his mind and body as a carpenter would approach a piece of wood. He cut away that which wasn’t necessary, bent the wood where he could, and efficiently created a work of art.
John has the natural humility of the craftsman. He brings that humility to his intellect, which allows him to survey the land in a disinterested fashion— that is to say, without mental projection. John would strenuously argue that he is furthest person from perfect, and that is why he tries with all his might.
Prior to joining the team at the University of Virginia in the Contemplative Science Center, John taught geology at a college for 7 years. He was an environmental geologist, who took on odd jobs painting murals and doing ceramics, while continuing to play and write music for an indie rock band. He's a skateboarder who would, on occasion, jump off bridges and howl back at the moon.
Although he has a tattoo, he refuses to admit to being even remotely close to "punk."
After a serious motorcycle accident in India, where he cracked his femoral head and broke his hand in several places. After only 18 months, he made an incredible recover and had relearned the practice, keeping a journal, and focusing his mind to the point where he was able to practice in a film project demonstrating primary and intermediate series with his teacher R. Sharath Jois.
He recounts his first impressions of being in the Shala in Mysore, India, and how his relationship with Paramaguru Sharath Jois has grown and changed over the years. He’s assisted Sharath Jois 4 times in the main Shala from 2012-2016, and continues to practice six days a week in a traditional way... Early morning hours, before teaching his classes and sharing his energy with his students.
Even though he’s a Fourth Series practitioner, John still feels inspired and hungry for more.
He met John Campbell in 2008 and quickly became his most devoted student. Years later he was invited by him to become Program Manager for the Contemplative Sciences Center where continues to manage the Ashtanga Mysore Yoga program.
He is one of only a few Certified Ashtanga teachers under Paramaguru R. Sharath Jois, and has made 12 trips to India. He has kept a daily Ashtanga Yoga practice for over 16 years, and humbly hopes to share this practice with the the same knowledge, strength, love, and humor as his teachers continue to share with him.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JOHN: WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM
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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. MAKE A DONATION
Sunday Apr 04, 2021
Sunday Apr 04, 2021
You know it’s often possible to get the wrong impression about things.
Our minds do this to us constantly. The citta emotionally setting objects into their respective categories of understanding to “help us.”
There is a sutra for this of course, just like there is a sutra for everything!
Yogasutra 1.8
विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानमतद्रूप प्रतिष्ठम्
viparyayo mithyā-jñānam-atadrūpa pratiṣṭham
False understanding is mistaking something for something else.
This Patanjali verse speaks about the habit of misinterpreting. A kind of “knowledge” that does not correspond accurately to Reality. Something like mistaking a rope for a snake or misinterpreting a shy girl for a stuck up snob. Our minds deceive us so constantly that it is often quite difficult to discriminate fact from fiction. And now we can see how in this golden age of information, we’re drowning in a glut of false impressions.
“What is real?” — We must constantly ask ourselves.
It’s true as well that we get the wrong impression about people. And, especially, in as virulently racist a society as ours, with an accumulation of negative stereotypes, it is distinctly likely to have implicit bias buried like seeds of samskara (unconscious impressions and habits)… And from whence they came — we have no idea.
For example, we just assume that Larry Bird is a supremely intelligent basketball player and that Serena Williams is a naturally gifted athlete. And forgetting to examine this thought-construct, we go on constructing the rest of our assumptions based upon this initial premise.
When cross examined (as any good philosopher should do when positing an argument or counter-argument) we come to learn that there was no greater conditioned athlete than Larry Bird and his natural hand eye coordination was truly a gift from god, while Serena Willams is one of the most hard working and cerebral tennis players who ever lived.
So, it is with great pleasure that we introduce Laruga Glaser to you.
Of course you know her already!
She is extremely famous in our little world. She, is someone who might be thought of as an athlete or an “asana-jock.” Some might jealously (in their small little minds assume she is stuck up) where in fact — if they took the time — would discover her to be reserved, poised, extremely thoughtful, philosophical and discerning.
We tried to probe into past offenses or micro-aggressions she may have experienced; Yet, incredibly so, we learned that Laruga herself isn’t into carrying baggage. She's moved on.
She is, in fact, a Swedish citizen.
Listen with us and learn what a “Brutus” is from one of the most celebrated Ashtanga Yoga masters of our time.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LARUGA
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JOIN HARMONY ON APRIL 11 - Reset, Refocus, Reboot Your Personal Practice
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
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. Make A Donation
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Our guest today has her own story.
She, like her absolutely gorgeous mother, is a being suffused with Love.
In the midst of Portugal’s insane epoch changing civil war: one that transformed the nation from an autocratic dictatorship to a freedom loving Democracy, Isa Guitana was born to naturalists on the Ocean. Almost as if Aphrodite arose out of her Shell right there on the beach in Lisbon, our beautiful Isa came into being.
Isa’s story is shaped by her affection for depth, song, movement, water, wildness, and her love for family and children. She adores Pattabhi Jois and is not embarrassed by it. She loved him dearly, and he continues to hold a place in her heart.
Isa spoke to us about her introduction to seminal Spanish Ashtanga yoga pioneer Tomas Zorzo. After meeting him, she made her first trip to Mysore, India in 2002, to practice at the “old shala’ with Sri. K Pattabhi Jois. She traveled alone and fell in love with India. And still today, India holds a very special place in her heart. It is the country where she first lived alone, where she met her Guru, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, where she conceived her first child, and where she met her now husband, Jay Wong.
She opened the first dedicated Ashtanga Yoga School in November 2003 in Lisbon, Portugal, with her partner at the time Tarik van Prehn, while she was pregnant with her first child, Arjuna, who was born right inside the yoga school two months later.
As a practitioner and mother of three, Isa shares with us how her experience of practicing through pregnancy was very different with each of her children. Arjuna was born 2004 when Isa was in her twenties, her daughter Kailani was born 2014 when Isa was in her thirties, and baby Koa was born last year in 2020 at age 42.
Isa shares with us her different approaches to practice that naturally took place with each pregnancy, as well as her different approaches to giving birth. We talked about the miracle of life, and how the practice of motherhood and the practice of Ashtanga yoga work together to bring us to a place of surrender and awe.
Both are a constant reminder that can connect us to the present moment, the breath of life, and the realization that so much is beyond our control.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ISA
WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I CASA VINYASA INSTAGRAM
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY
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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.
Make A Donation
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 - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.
Sunday Mar 21, 2021
Sunday Mar 21, 2021
Today we have a delightful conversation for you with one of the few Certified teachers of Ashtanga yoga, Luke Jordan. We learn about his on-going journey, which has taken him all around the world seeking out experts, gurus and teachers in the field of Yoga and spirituality.
We speak about things like the value of learning to surrender, freewill verses determinism, and the relationship between Sankhya and Yoga. Discover whether the nature of the Self is a Full-Emptiness or an Empty-Fullness.
Luke Jordan began a formal study of Eastern mysticism while at University during the 1990s, feeling a sense that there must be something more to life, Luke began experimenting with Psychedelics. During this period, after a relationship break up, Luke had a life-altering experience where the identity he had so carefully crafted as a means of coping with life completely fell apart.
He was plunged into a frightening world of hidden meanings and dark forces. As he lay in bed, tormented by his extreme mental chaos; Suddenly, out of nowhere, a silence descended and stopped it all.
He felt truly alive for the first time. Free from his conditioning, free from his thoughts, beyond name and form. The doctors were not as impressed by his new-found insight and his adamant refusal to conform to a limited personal identity. And decided he had experienced an “acute psychotic episode”. Luke was immediately hospitalized and medicated.
This deeply existential experience (that many might call a psychotic break, while others might call spiritual awakening) brought Luke to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga in the year 2000.
Today, Luke seeks to ground his practice and teachings in the wider Yoga philosophical tradition. He holds a Master’s degree in Indian Religion and remains an avid student of several mystical spiritual traditions, peppering his teaching with insights drawn collectively from many different mythologies.
But in the end, we ask, "What’s all this yoga really for?"
And his answer is going to surprise you!
The empty mirror is Consciousness and the reflection within the mirror is Prakriti. You can never actually see the empty mirror. Whenever you look you only see yourself. We only know the mirror exists because of what is existing within it. What we see points us back to the space where existence is happening.
The very fact that you’re having an experience, means that there is an empty space within which an experience is happening.
How can you have any experience, if there wasn’t a space within which experience was happening?
This is an illuminating, beautiful conversation, filled with deep philosophical teachings disguised as lighthearted banter. Our hearts and minds were lifted to new heights spending time with Luke Jordan and we’re sure that you will discover new openings within yourself too!
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
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. Make A Donation
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT Harmony Slater: Website I Instagram
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT Luke Jordan: Istagram I Ashtanga Yoga Summer School
Sunday Mar 14, 2021
Sunday Mar 14, 2021
Despite her extravagant appearance, party-girl reputation, and naturally rebellious nature, Deepika Mehta is deeply devoted and one of the most sincere practitioners we know.
In 1997, Deepika Mehta’s life was forever changed by a near-death rock climbing accident. Doctors told her she would never walk again. As someone with a love for dance and movement, she also had a deep trust in a higher power. While bedridden, she somehow found the book an Autobiography of a Yogi, which sparked her interest to begin delving into spiritual practices collectively called “yoga” and gave her a sense of hope, inspiration, and control over her rehabilitation.
Not one to allow obstacles to deter her spirit and enthusiasm for life, Deepika sought alternative approaches and methods of physical and emotional healing including meditation, pranayama, dance and yoga. She began her yoga journey with Sivananda Yoga, which eventually led her to Ashtanga Yoga and her future Guru, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois in 2002. Deepika told us that she saw Ashtanga Yoga for the first time in Kerala. An Isreali student was there doing the practice. We asked her “Did it look like Yoga to you? Or was it European gymnastics?” She said… For sure it was yoga. What she saw was concentration and flow. And, she knew immediately that it was something she wanted.
In today’s hilarious episode we spoke to Deepika about her genuine rebellion against traditional cultural gender roles as an Indian woman and the patriarchy in India.
During the episode she used Durga as an example of how to describe herself and we believe she is quite right. Durga’s rage at the demon Mahisha-Asura upsets the balance of the Universe, so much so that the male gods beg to soothe her, in attempts to calm her violent vibrations. Likewise, when Deepika is constrained in any way she is furious, enraged at her captivity, whether bedridden and broken as a young woman, or as a new mother at the age of 42, Deepika seeks freedom in all things, and quite like her daughter, howls at confinement and loves to move.
You’ll hear about her challenges in balancing all of the many obligations of maintaining her practice, being an attentive mother, daughter, wife, all while striving to sustain her career as a highly sought after yoga teacher... And how life requires you to make little compromises along the way.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DEEPIKA
WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK I VOGUE ARTICLE
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
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
WORK WITH HARMONY
Opening and closing music by Nick Evans. Click HERE to listen.
Sunday Mar 07, 2021
Sunday Mar 07, 2021
Our guest today is the American Aristocrat, Robbie Cavallero. There is something ineffable but unmistakable in the effect he has on people directly in his sphere of reach. He’s a bit like Lord Krishna really, attracting Gopies with his sweetness. And the ardent admirers of this gentleman will notice that even the rocks melt, ever so slightly, in his presence.
Robbie is a strange American archetype: The Aristocrat. He is the scion of an Italian Noble Family (his uncle was the Field Marshall for Erwin Rommel); and yet, surprisingly, his family came to America with very little - immigrants - self made. They arrived in Oakland, and within a few generations, their brilliant little child ‘Robbie’ was married to the bluest of bluebloods - the “ancient régime” of Republican Californians. Robbie soon found himself sitting at the illustrious Pacific Chapter of the Union Club, with the Rockefellers, Nixons, and Weinbergers.
Yet, Robbie is something else altogether.
He is like a star-child that has no use for any of these social trappings. He seeks harmony in all things and with all people. He has Wu or the impression of realness in his character. Robbie flows like water through your hands when you try to grasp hold of him — the gentlest of creatures.
All we sought in this interview was to discover if the hole in his chest actually occurred when traveling to Esalen to study Buddhism and Self-Actualization, (in the 70’s) where he ran his father’s Mercedes into a light pole.
We’re still not sure.
Please have a listen and discover for yourself.
Robbie tells us that a Bull’s horn may have contributed to the hole in his heart, during a disturbing incident where he was attacked by a Holy Cow in Mysore, India.
How perfect.
We would include a bio of Robbie here, but nothing about him is writ or known or published.
He cannot even be found.
Follow ROBBIE ON 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.
Make A Donation
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave 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 - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.
Sunday Feb 28, 2021
Sunday Feb 28, 2021
Sixteen years ago Russell called Hamish from Brighton and asked for his much needed help...
“What I am doing wrong, Hamish? I’ve only got 6 students. I don’t know if I can do this.”
Hamish answered with his usual affable enthusiasm, “You’re doing great! 6 students is great!” That he even took the time to take the call is an example of Hamish’s heart. He really, truly cares for people.
A year later Hamish went to Russell’s wedding in Essex and read this poem there from the Isha Upanishad:
“The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all.
The Lord is the supreme Reality.
Rejoice in him through renunciation.
Covet nothing. All belongs to the Supreme.”
This sacred verse describes our beloved international treasure to a tee. Hamish Hendry is a friend to all of us. He’s so effortlessly dedicated to yoga and to the practice itself, that he makes his unearthly personal discipline both seem easily attainable and endlessly enjoyable.
He has a mesmerizing and rich intelligence that makes yoga sound like it’s something easily explained down at the pub. And, as Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t really understand it.” What’s clear, is that Hamish most certainly does.
He explains yoga, Sanskrit, philosophy, and his innumerable adventures with ease. Our particularly favorite story was how he recounted being possibly the only person in the universe shot during an Ashtanga yoga practice:
“I think I’ve been shot, Derek!” he exclaimed one morning in Greece during his studies with the Man of Bronze, the legendary Derek Ireland.
It was a great privilege and pleasure to spend time with Mr. Hendry and we're sure you'll feel as we did, that it all comes to an end much too quickly. We hope you enjoy being a part of our conversation with this unique, humble, and goodhearted man.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HAMISHASTANGA YOGA LONDON I PUSHPAM MAGAZINE 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. Find out more about HARMONY.
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.
MAKE A DONATION
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Leave 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 - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
This week we have a really good story for you. Most folks we talk to on the Finding Harmony Podcast seem hell bent on making an interesting life for themselves. Perhaps anytime you sit down with a friend and carefully examine why they are the way they are, their story and life becomes scintillating, effortlessly so, as they are just quite simply unique when being themselves.
Sarah Miles, a Hypno-Therapist, an Ashtanga yoga teacher, a Celebrant, and Mortician.
She was also Russell’s apprentice in Brighton. You might hear it in Russell’s accent (as he can’t help himself) — He’s quite impressionable and their meeting came at a formative time for them both.
We learned how she likes to directly face and immerse herself in those activities that scare her most, so she can explore and understand why it makes her feel a certain way, and ultimately, overcome that sense of fear or dread. This is, again, the main reason she is great teacher: She has touched the center of fear that this practice can bring up and is able to compassionately guide others through the darkness.
We talked about her work as a Hypno-Therapist and the value it has in helping folks visualize through their own suffering, to be with themselves on the mat or otherwise.
And of course ultimately, we talked about death.
Mortality frightened Sarah and so in her typical fashion, she explored it by becoming a Mortician. She describes the first time she felt the flood of sensation overwhelm her when washing a dead body, and how it eventually became a spiritual ritual which she embraced. And what an enormous privilege it has become to care for the dead, and to help those who’ve lost their loved ones.
Sarah is also a Celebrant, who not only walks beside those who are experiencing great loss, but also holds hands with those who are celebrating new life and love, officiating weddings, and helping to join lives together.
She is the real salt of the earth - U.K. style - and we think you will find sitting with her to be a delight!
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SARAH MILES
YOGA WEBSITE I CELEBRANT WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HARMONY
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
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 - Simply Click Here.
To purchase your own copy - Click Here.
Sunday Feb 14, 2021
Sunday Feb 14, 2021
Today’s episode is a lovely heartfelt conversation with an old friend in our Community Treasure, the ever elusive Dr. John Campbell.
John did us a valuable kindness in opening the program with a Tibetan prayer for the Dead. It is with a deep sadness that a mentor to Russell and dear friend Eugene Ruffin passed away of CoVid, shortly before this podcast was recorded. Valentine’s Day is Gene’s Birthday. So we honor him with this prayer.
John, Russell, and Gene founded the Jois Foundation together in 2011 with the hopes of providing under-served children with tools and techniques of yoga to help regulate their lives.
Of course the three of them (and Harmony too for that matter) all deeply struggled as children and it wasn’t until they were adults that yoga became available to salve their childhood wound. It is an irony that the damaged are often the best healers.
We spoke to John about his life, and how it all fell apart for him as he found himself seeking and using external substances to change the way he felt. And, of course the only way one can truly do that is is to sit and wait it out. Things move of their own accord, especially if we stop adding twigs to the flame. Certainly pouring gasoline on the fire doesn’t help either.
Even after practicing for decades, and finishing Advanced Series in Mysore with Pattabhi Jois, John found himself isolated, studying and writing his Ph.D thesis in Varanasi. Feeling alone, and confused in an alien environment, John found himself attracted to the darkness… And eventually lost himself in cycle of addiction. After returning to the States he turned to alcohol, once again seeking to alter and change the feelings that were arising to the surface. He was pulled into the downward spiral of secrecy and shame, hiding his growing addiction.
We explored together the mind-body connection in relation to substance use and addiction, gurus, the big Self, and how the practice can create a cycle of chasing dragons. Often, when we are involved deeply in a physically transformative practice like Ashtanga yoga, we experience deep openings that can leave us feelingly raw, slightly ungrounded, or destabilized. This might make one vulnerable to all kinds of unhealthy habits. In part, the value of the practice boils down to reducing our violent interaction within the world, and learning to cultivate more compassion towards ourselves as well as to others.
Hang on until the end because you’ll get the delicious treat of hearing John’s Ashtanga Yoga Origin Story (which is a true delight!).
LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. JOHN CAMPBELL
INSTAGRAM I FACEBOOK
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. 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
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, simply click Here.
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
On today’s podcast we are extremely delighted to welcome back Bibi Lorenzeti. Bibi came to us with an interesting topic that we were intrigued to explore: What happens to your self of self when you, as a new mother, become two people instead of one?
Becoming a mother is often a difficult transition. Especially for women who are dedicated Ashtanga yoga practitioners before becoming pregnant. We gain a beautiful baby, but our bodies go through a very intense process, not only from the nine months of pregnancy, but also through delivery, and also with a sometimes longer than expected period of recovery. Our physical self changes dramatically, and our spiritual, emotional and psychological selves are all undergoing a significant transformation also.
If your identity was wrapped up in being an Olympic level athlete and your entire day was absorbed with getting enough rest to combat excess inflammation so that you could improve your practice and perform your asanas again the next day, then it can feel like a bit of a struggle when you are suddenly consumed by the daily activities of feeding, nurturing, observing, and holding a child. Your main focus suddenly shifts and you’re left with the question: Who Am I Now?
Bibi and Harmony describe this process of letting go. Letting go of your idea of who you are, how you feel or look in your body, releasing your imaginary ideal birthing plan, along with any anticipation of how your body might feel after giving birth. They speak to how the practice changed for them and the importance of finding time for yourself.
Ashtanga Yoga gives us a set structure; yet, once we become mothers, we have to let go of the structure so the practice becomes then a fluid moving thing. Which any serious practitioner knows is counter-constructive to that growth that comes with an organized and consistent lifestyle.
Before pregnancy we tend to use the practice to transcend our current state, to reach some ideal goal, whether it’s enlightenment or fitness or purification. After giving birth, the focus shifts to a more internal space. We practice to find peace, contentment within the present moment, and to hold space for ourselves where we can learn to accept that things can never the same. We must create a place where we, ourselves, can feel nourished internally and cultivate the strength to build ourselves up again.
Harmony and Bibi discuss the inner turmoil of wanting things to be like they used to be, and recognizing that they will never be that way, coming up against obstacles of time, obligations, responsibilities, and fatigue. Yet, here they are, mothers, yogis, businesswomen, and beautiful beings.
Bibi Lorenzetti is a Level 2 Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher & Holistic Health Coach, and now a Doula.
Harmony Slater is a Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, Life & Wellness Coach, and host of the Finding Harmony Podcast.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BIBI:
PERSONAL WEBSITE I INSTAGRAM I Birth with Bibi I ASHTANGA YOGA NEWBURGH
The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. 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.
Please make a donation and FIND OUT MORE at HARMONYSLATER.COM