Finding Harmony Podcast

Yoga and the Art of Porsche Maintenance

We had the great pleasure to interview our good friend, partner of Harmony’s dear friend Lara Land, the amazing Thimo Wittich. What strikes people about Thimo is his wonderful kindness and good humor. He is very much a sadhaka, like Rolf Naujokat and Swami Agehananda—all Good Germans. Ultimately, just good people that seek to heal the world through mindfulness practice.
Thimo sat and discussed a wide range of topics with us: The Ancient Catholic Carnival of his home town Cologne “Köln”, the anti-religious upbringing he shared with his widowed mother, and the ethics of being a Good Porsche owner. Throughout all of this he seeks to bring Bhavana—the cultivation or “bringing into being” of mindfulness to all aspects of his life, including how he cares for his baby daughter, Hannah.
“We are cultivating all the time, bringing things into being.” He says. You must create a clear intention in what you want to cultivate and use Metta — loving-kindness, as a practice to help heal our brokenness as individuals in society and as a global community.
As a Jew, Russell was initially very apprehensive about even having a German on the show. (This is very much tongue in cheek!)
We did, however, ask of Thimo on how we, as Americans, can learn from the racist upheaval of Post-War Germany and what was it like for Lara’s old German-Jewish family to bring Thimo in their lives and vice versa. These very personal topics are approached from a spirit of true curiosity and with much mutual love.
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.
Thimo Wittich is a writer, publisher and a yoga and mindfulness meditation teacher. He has been studying Yoga and Buddhism for over 13 years. His main field of interest is the study of the Dharma as found in the earliest Buddhist texts and the transmission of these valuable teachings into this day and age.
Thimo has taught Meditation and Yoga at Land Yoga and assisted his teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.
Thimo is the co-founder and editor of evidero.de a German online magazine for a conscious, sustainable and healthy lifestyle.
This fall he is teaching an online Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course for Land Yoga as well as a social distant, limited enrollment in person MBSR course at Streamside Yoga. He is also leading daily meditation and a special course on early Buddhism for our online Autumn Peel Back the Layers Yoga Retreat.
For further information about his schedule please see his website.
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.

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.
As student of Lee Strasburg’s “Method” School of Acting in NYC, she also began learning Kundalini yoga in 1982. Shortly afterward, she was recruited by the CIA for her linguistic skills (the first of three attempts). Kiki became a student and teacher of Ashtanga yoga in the early 90s at Jivamukti Yoga. Shortly after Sri K. Pattabhi Jois came to visit on at teaching tour in 1993, she made her way to Mysore and quickly became the Doyenne of an ever growing group of new students who continued to gather year after year to learn from Pattabhi Jois. She was our personal Sanskrit tutor and guide to all things culturally appropriate in India.
Ms. Flynn presciently opened her first yoga school in chic Silverlake, Los Angeles in 1996. She has since led workshops and events throughout North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
As a wellness coach and private yoga teacher, her clients include Oscar and Grammy award winners, Pop Queens and crowned royalty.
Kiki also creates transformational yoga programming for individuals and communities with Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injury, TBI, PTSD and other neurological and mobility related concerns. She has taught and coached 1000s of students, and 100s of teachers and yoga school owner/entrepreneurs.
She recently launched and produces Kiki TV, a cloud based center for Wellbeing, Yoga, and Optimal Living with 100s of hours of video-on-demand, live Zoom classes, Sanskrit, chanting, tutorials and inspiration. Try a Free 10-Day Trial.
She is also passionate about coaching yoga teachers and wellness professionals to entrepreneurial success and 6-figure incomes. Find out more here.
Learn More About Kiki:
Personal Website I Kiki Says YouTube Channel I Instagram I Facebook
DON'T FORGET!
Registration closes for my upcoming Pranayama Course Friday September 11. Sign up for this unique opportunity to deepen your practice with me and receive 1:1 coaching.
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.
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.
Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating!

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.
Some benefits to lengthening your exhalation are:
It slows down your breathing pattern and releases tension in the body
It relaxes the Nervous System by stimulating the parasympathetic response
It tones the vagus nerve and stimulates the vagal break, which is responsible for slowing down the heart rate, and thereby helps to lower and normalize blood pressure.
It can reduce anxiety and depression and help to regulate your mood.
It ensures that your blood pH is maintained at an optimal level, thereby reducing inflammation in the body.
It improves our immune system functioning and supports healthy digestion.
It will slowly increase your lung capacity so you can breathe bigger, deeper breaths more naturally.
It trains you to feel comfortable with retaining the breath, thereby giving you greater breath-control.
Simple Breathing Practice:
To begin you can start with a practice of Simple Breathing. If you are new to this kind of breathing, start with three minutes. Inhale for three seconds and exhale for six seconds. Continue this pattern of lengthening the exhalation to be twice as long as your inhalation. If the 3:6 (inhale:exhale) ratio feels too fast or easy, then the next day you can extend both your inhalation and exhalation by one second, to create a breath rate of 4:8 (inhale:exhale).
If it is comfortable for you slightly tighten the glottis muscle at the back of your throat to create that “ujjayi” sound as you breathe, you might find you have more control over your ability to elongate your inhalation and exhalation.
When you slow your breathing down and consciously regulate your breathing pattern to a four second inhale and an eight second exhale, you are effectively restoring balance to the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, in this case you would be slowing your breath rate to five breaths per minute.
Even with a three second inhale and six second exhale, your breath rate slows to just under seven breaths per minute, which is a significant drop from the normal, every day, breathing rate of fifteen to eighteen breaths per minute. This slowing of the breath in turn slows down your brain-wave patterns so they can drop into a more contemplative frequency.
Remember to breathe with a feeling of kindness towards yourself and patience with the process. You are doing something tremendously beneficial for yourself by taking a breathing break.
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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.
Bethany’s gift is understanding where the bullshit is, and uncovering it. As Russell said “To put Bethany McLean in context, imagine if in Die Hard Jon McClane takes down Hans Gruber in a cowboy no due process kind of way, then its Bethany who uncovers the rampant embezzlement at Nakatomi Plaza!”
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.
She co-author with Peter Elkind, the bestselling book: The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron .
Her second book, which she co-authored with Joe Nocera, is called: All the Devils are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis. And her third book also co-authored with Joe Nocera, is Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants.
Bethany has a particular talent for following the numbers, exposing illusions, and popping bubbles to reveal where the truth lays hidden. This notion is of particular interest to Harmony and Russell as the Alberta economy is on the brink of collapse as Covid-19 exposes the pitfalls of cheap money in a dead service: Fracking. Alberta prides itself as the Saudi Arabia of North America, but as Bethany says, its not just a dollar spent and a dollar earned: “It’s much worse than that.”
In her most recent book titled, Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It’s Changing the World, journalist Bethany McLean digs deep into the cycles of boom and bust that have plagued the American oil industry for the past decade, and turns an eye to the mysterious death of fracking pioneer Aubrey McClendon.
Find out more about Bethany McLean and listen to her podcast Making A Killing on iTunes.
As always, keep exploring my website and all my online offerings.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review ❤ and give us a 5★ rating.

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.
We walk through Larry’s chaotic childhood — his mother doesn’t speak English and he doesn’t speak Italian, a tour in Vietnam, (his discovery that he didn’t have PTSD from the war, he had it from home), and his practice of martial arts. After his discovery of Ashtanga Yoga he learned from many senior teachers, notably the legendary Annie Pace, and ultimately found himself in Mysore, India, the bedrock of Ashtanga yoga, in 2008.
Now, nearing 70, 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. As Larry was just in Mysore earlier this year, you will hear about his impressions of the New Sharath Yoga Shala and the younger community that continues to flourish there.
Learn more about Larry and his yoga shala: Hanuman Ashtanga Yoga
Find Larry on Facebook
As always, keep exploring my website harmonyslater.com and book your private yoga lessons with me online.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤
Give us a 5★ rating!

Rediscovering Joy

In this episode we interview Russell’s mother, Michael Carol Case, an exquisite and passionate woman who has lived a fabulous life, in every sense of the word. Michael’s journey to founder and CEO of the largest Urology Niche Recruitment company in the States was a convoluted one. Frustrated by a lack of opportunity for women she entered nursing school in 1965, but quickly dropped out, promoted the Woodstock rock bands at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, and raised two children by herself moving from place to place across the midwest, working at first as a reporter and then an economic developer. However, we want to warn you… This particular episode explores the darkest chapter in her life.
She shares with us her courage and grit in retelling her story of being raped in her own home while her young children were asleep. Over the next thirty years she went through a process of crisis and self care, experimenting with different healing modalities including MDMA and EMDR Therapy, to help overcome severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Her exploration teaches us the value of learning to give up fear and rediscover our capacity for love and joy.
*Content warnings for this episode are listed here:
Please note that this episode comes with a trigger warning for some listeners. Michael’s personal story contains depictions of violence, drug use, adult themed topics and language. Some listeners may find the events described here particularly disturbing. We encourage our listeners to practice self-care, and seek out appropriate resources to support you if needed. Also, if there happens to be other listeners around with sensitive ears, please use your headphones, as this episode is not intended for children.
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.
For more incredible information on yoga check out my website harmonyslater.com
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Please give us a 5★ rating on iTunes.

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.
Julie’s love of movement began with dance lessons at age 4. Her first encounter with yoga was in 1992 as a student of art history at Columbia University in New York City. After completing an MSc at The London School of Economics and Political Science, she moved to Hong Kong to put her degrees to use.
There she became one of the pioneering students practicing in a newly formed grassroots Ashtanga yoga community guided by Michel Besnard.
In 2007, Julie began making trips to Mysore before moving to Germany and having two babies. These babies – who are now 11 and 8 years old – are both the backbone and fruit of her Ashtanga Yoga practice.
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.
You can follow Julie on Instagram and find out about her upcoming classes and events at Jois Yoga.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤

Ashtanga Yoga, The Human Reclamation Project

Aimee Echo began her career not as a Yoga teacher but a punk rock lead singer, recording several albums and touring the world with her band theSTART and performing guest vocals for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garbage, Teddybears and so many more. Seeking refuge from some toxic elements in rock, she took her first step into an Ashtanga Yoga class in 1999.
(As square as Russell is, he was very interested in Aimee’s career and asked a lot of inappropriate questions about what actually is punk. What is Authentic? Is Miley Cyrus Punk? Does she regret marrying Billy Ray Cyrus' drummer? What is Bad Religion? And, is Yoga the answer?)
Guided by teachers Noah Williams and Kiki Flynn, she developed a daily Mysore-style practice and became devoted to the Ashtanga Yoga method. After practicing with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his family in L.A. In 2002, she was inspired to make her first journey to Mysore, India in 2007 to study at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute.
Aimee is the owner, director and primary teacher at Ashtanga Yoga Long Beach. She is the only KPJAYI Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher in Long Beach, CA.
She still sings in her dance rock band, theSTART.
You can follow her on Instagram Aimee Echo and Ashtanga Yoga Long Beach.
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.

From Dusk To Dawn

Welcome to our anniversary episode! We are looking back at 2020 and the year so far, now half over, and taking stock in what our Podcast Finding Harmony is all about. For us, Yoga is about bringing union and balance to the opposite forces within each moment of pleasure and pain. Many of our episodes seem to deal with examining the point of crises and the resolution in the lives of our yogi friends. Buried within these moments of crisis though is the seed of liberation and from the darkness we find the light.
In this episode, we (Harmony and Russell) explore mind-altering states of consciousness and how sometimes these lost weekends deeply influence our past perceptions and also our future experiences of consciousness. Some drug use is mentioned in this episode - parental advisory is recommended.
"Push far enough towards the Void,
Hold fast enough to Quietness,
And of the ten thousand things none but can be worked on by you.
I have beheld them, whither they go back.
See, all things howsoever they flourish
Return to the root from which they grew." - Tao Te Ching (chapter 16)
Russell mentioned just now the autobiography of Malcolm X. In that book, Mr. Shabazz remonstrates his audience not to be titillated by the stories of his wild youth.
Remember that spiritual evolution is what is important. The Spirit is what is real.
To find out more about Russell Case, check out his website and instagram and from his art studio.
Follow Harmony Slater on instagram and for her health coaching on her website.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤

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!
Kate O’Donnell is the author of three fabulous Ayurvedic Cookbooks. She is a nationally certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and Authorized Ashtanga yoga teacher based in Portland, Maine. Kate began practicing yoga by accident in South India at age 20. With more than a dozen extended trips to India and over twenty years of study in these two ancient traditions, Kate teaches how to incorporate Ayurveda with a busy schedule and the practice of yoga. Kate specializes in Ayurvedic education, cooking skills, and cleansing programs, offering on-line programs, residential immersions, trainings, and individual consultations. Her Ayurveda and yoga offerings aim to help others come closer to their true nature.
Follow Kate on Instagram and find out more on here website.
Kate’s newest book, The Everyday Ayurveda Guide to Self-Care, will be released on July 28, 2020 from Shambhala Publications - PRE-ORDER your copy today!
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.