Whole Life Yoga Podcast

James Boag

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Bringing the ancient, timeless, perennial teachings of yoga to vivid life. Unscripted talks on whole life yoga. Considering life through a yogic lens. Exploring the yoga of the whole human being with reference to the classic Sanskṛt texts of the yoga tradition, mythology, poetry, literature and music, and to movement, meditation, kīrtan and the yoga of sound and song, language and communciation. www.jamesboagyoga.com

DEC 3

Hanuman's adventures in Laṅka

The Rāmāyaṇa is one of the most treasured stories in the history of humanity. It was my privilege to soak in the teachings of this great epic of the yoga tradition during an autumn 2025 online course. This was also part of a yoga education program at ashtangayogavevey. During the 12 hour course, we explored the extraordinarily rich story of Rāmāyaṇa and gave speical attention to some key episodes, including Hanuman’s traversing the ocean to Lanka and in the example shared in this episode, Hanuman’s adventures in Lanka. Next semester, spring 2026 from late February until early June, I’ll be giving the culminating course of this education program which will be on the Bhagavad Gītā and you are welcome to join. ENROL HERE: https://jamesboagyoga.thinkific.com/courses/BG26 READ MORE about the course here: https://jamesboagyoga.com/bg26/ The course will run in English on Mondays and French on Wednesdays 18:30-20:00 Switzerland time. All participants receive all sessions recordings and notes and will have access to all course resources for at least a full calendar year after the course culminates in June 2026. This podcast episode features session seven from the recent Rāmāyaṇa course. In the previous session we had considered Hanuman’s great feat of crossing the ocean to Laṅka. In this session, Hanuman continues to gloriously, charmingly and meaningfully take centre stage as he continues his mission, with so much rich practical teaching along the way.

1h 36m
AUG 28

Šuka interviews James - on yogic movement

Ahead of the October 17-19 weekend workshop, Moving with Integrity - A Yogic Perspective for the Dance of Life, facilitators Šuka and James sat down to discuss the motivations and perspectives behind their distinct and complementary work. Here Šuka asks James about how his approach to yoga and yogic education is perhaps different from what many people might experience in 'yoga classes', about his journey as student of yoga and Sanskrit and the principles that underpin his teachings. You can also watch James interviewing Šuka here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9ptBC71TZs&t=49s Read more about the 17-19 October workshop here: https://jamesboagyoga.com/leipzigmovingwithintegrity/ And sigh up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12HvPXuAC67RbtGHcog1AwHH_L0cInVHAp6sq8G-ApOk/viewform?edit_requested=true

1h 10m
AUG 27

Šuka Horn - Moving with Integrity in the Dance of Life

Ahead of this October's Moving with Integrity Weekend Workshop in Leipzig, Šuka and I sat down to share a little about our perspectives and approach to work. Šuka is a movement educator, who has integrated his passions for movement and music in the exploration and discipline of dance. A former professional dancer, Šuka now devotes himself to sharing and teaching his ongoing research into movement as a means to more richly experience what it means to be alive. Šuka's dance career began when he started practicing breakdance at the age of twelve in his hometown in Germany. Having had a strong fascination for music and sports from an early age, dancing offered him a way to combine these two passions and he started to dedicate his time and energy in developing a dance practice with a group of friends. Soon Šuka’s curiosity led him to explore a variety of movement styles and he went to study at Codarts Rotterdam to turn dancing into his profession. Since then, Šuka has danced professionally in international productions including with 18 Monkeys Dance Theatre in Bangkok, choreographed by Jitti Chompee and more recently with Dimitri Papaioannous. Having experienced what all his contemporaries at dance school were aiming for and performed at the top level touring internationally, Šuka realised more and more that it was actually teaching, working both with others steeped in the craft and with the general public that he found greater joy and satisfaction. These days, Šuka gives regular teachings where he lives in Germany as well as being a regular guest teacher at several dance festivals and extended workshops around the world. October 17-19, James and Šuka will offer a weekend together in Leipzig, Moving with Integrity: A Yogic Perspective for the Dance of Life: Read more here: https://jamesboagyoga.com/leipzigmovingwithintegrity/ Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12HvPXuAC67RbtGHcog1AwHH_L0cInVHAp6sq8G-ApOk/viewform?edit_requested=true

41 min
AUG 21

I am not ONLY this body

I am not ONLY this body In certain circles, one sometimes hears repeated pronouncements like ‘I am not this body’, ‘I am not this mind’, ‘I am not this ego’. These phrases are often derived from much more precise teachings encoded in the Sanskrit language. Phrases like ‘I am not this body’ can be useful in helping us to open up or reconsider our perspetive, but they can also be misinterpreted. Here I share ideas to suggest that it may be more useful to consider the teaching more like, ‘I am not ONLY this body’. The teachings of yoga ultimately aim to integrate and unify our understanding of ourselves - I, of the other - you, and of everything between and beyond - that! Otherwise stated, yoga which means amongst other things ‘to connect’ or ‘integrate’, means to disconnect us from our attachment to limited ideas and false beliefs so we may connect to the greater wholeness and vastness that we are really part of. But this does not mean ignoring, suppressing or repressing the body! The body is our faithful, most intimate companion. It is endowed with so much intelligence. It too is part of THAT - that intelligence which animates the all! When we savour, appreciate and harness the gifts of embodied consciousness, we can refine our understanding of ourselves and existence. It is not that we want to obsess with the body or become a slave to its whims and fancies. However, if we inhabit it with gratitude and cherish its gifts, we may come to recognise the perspective that as well as a heap of matter bound to decay, the body is also a miraculous divine vehicle and our means to recognise our deeper, subtler essence, here and now. To read more about and sign up for the autumn 2025 online course on Living Rāmāyaṇa, use this link: https://jamesboagyoga.com/ramayana2025/

21 min
JUL 3

Sacred Stories, Timeless Teachings

Sacred Stories, Timeless Teachings - Myth, Mantra & Self-Inquiry in the Yogic Tradition In Conversation with Nadine Szumilas: - Why is story such a central and potent part of the yoga teaching tradition? - Why is Sanskrit so powerful, and what's different about reciting in Sanskṛt? - What is special about yogic mythology? And: what will we do in the Sacred stories - Timeless Teachings sessions? Sacred Stories, Timeless Teachings - Myth, Mantra & Self-Inquiry in the Yogic Tradition Autumn sessions 2025 at Ikigai Praha - “It all begins with Gaṇeśa” Saturday 27th September 2-6pm Saturday 25th October 2-6pm Book here: https://www.ikigaipraha.com/events/sacredstories-ganesa More about the series: On hearing the word yoga, people often think of movement, flexibility, or postures on a mat. But yoga is — and always has been — so much more than that. Long before it became a modern practice of physical well-being, yoga was passed on through the spoken word, through story, song, and shared experience. It was a way of living, of seeing, of remembering what truly matters. This spirit will guide the special series of gatherings that will start this autumn at IKIGAI Praha, returning to the heart of yoga’s oral tradition — a space where myth, sound, and meaningful reflection come together as tools for inner clarity, balance, and transformation. These sessions are for anyone who senses that life holds deeper meaning — for those who carry questions, who long to grow, who wish to move forward without repeating old patterns. You don’t need to be a yoga practitioner to take part. This space is open to all who feel drawn to explore, reflect, and widen their perspective through timeless stories that speak to the human experience. Whether you’re seeking clarity, resilience, inspiration, or simply a quiet space to connect inwardly — these stories and teachings offer accessible and nourishing wisdom for real life. In these initial autumn gatherings, we will focus on the mythology and symbolism of Gaṇeśa, Lord of Beginnings and great icon of yoga. As we do this, we’ll discover and learn more about: -What yoga really means and how it relates to all aspects of life -Practical supports to face the unknown and embrace the mystery and majesty of life -Why in yoga and Indian mythology is it traditional to ‘start with Gaṇeśa’? -How stories of Gaṇeśa offer a guide for our own life and practice. -How we can work to actually ‘change our minds’, renovate our habits and free ourselves from patterns that no longer serve us. Each session will include: • work with sound and song, • live storytelling, • unpacking of the practical treasure and real life application of the myth. • inquiry and discussion to deepen our understanding. Each session works as a stand alone unique offering, though it is optimal to attend both. Participants will also receive thorough notes, readings and exercises for continued practical engagement with the stories and teachings we explore in the sessions. The material offers insights and tools that continue to resonate long after. What you take with you can gently shape how you move through life, one moment at a time. Fees: 3200czk for both sessions 2000czk for a single session Autumn sessions 2025 - “It all begins with Gaṇeśa” Saturday 27th September 2-6pm Saturday 25th October 2-6pm Book here: https://www.ikigaipraha.com/events/sacredstories-ganesa

59 min
JUN 22

On satsang and inquiry

Yoga does not ask us to be anything we are not, but invites us on an unrelenting journey deeper into the heart of who we really are. This journey takes courage, honesty and an ongoing interrogation of our presuppositions, a willingness to explore how our perspectives are tinted and veiled by our particular experiences. When we gather with others in a confidential satsang - one in which we can explore honestly in confidence, without being shackled by fear of ostracisation or hasty condemnation - this is one of the most potent ways to accelerate the yogic process of looking in ways that reach beyond our habitual ways of looking. During this episode, I suggest how terminology often gets laden with associations that can exacerbate feelings of distance and otherness. I give a couple of examples of how the same term can come with vastly different associations for different people, associations that might usher people away from the reality that they actually share a lot of common ground. I also talk about how even our small and humble efforts may make more difference than we might ever know, and share a story that reminds us to never give up.

43 min
JUN 14

On the Nature of things

Despite the common dictionary definitions of nature as something separate from or other than human, really we are never separate from nature. We are nature. Nature is our very nature! We are born, we will die, and in between those two great changes, we will experience constant change, just like everything else in nature. Yoga works with human nature to practically invite us into the recognition and remembrance of our deeper, subtler nature. www.jamesboagyoga.com

24 min
MAR 22

On Dharma: beauty, death and the story of Rabbi Zuzya

Dharma - one of the most foundational principles in yoga and the broader Indic tradition. As a verb: that which supports, holds, sustains As a noun: the essential quality or property of a thing. For example, liquidity, the tendency to flow downwards and follow a path of least resistance, coolness and sweet taste are all dharma-s of water. Luminosity and warmth are dharma-s of fire. For humans: our capacity for self-reflexive awareness, our curiosity and our predilection for beauty are all intrinsic dharma-s. Like many words in the Saṁskṛta language, dharma can shine its meaning out in many different directions depending on the context. It indicates nature, law, the right, appropriate action or course of action. It sometimes refers to a body of practice or religious teachings intended to guide us in the direction of appropriate action. It is considered one of the foundational aims of life. Dharma is a vast topic. This episode makes reference to verses 2.31 and 3.35 of the Bhagavad Gītā, to teachings from Zach Bush https://zachbushmd.com/ and to a story of Rabbi Zuzya that I was intriduced to by storyteller Roi Gal-Or. https://www.roigalor.com/

27 min

Bringing the ancient, timeless, perennial teachings of yoga to vivid life. Unscripted talks on whole life yoga. Considering life through a yogic lens. Exploring the yoga of the whole human being with reference to the classic Sanskṛt texts of the yoga tradition, mythology, poetry, literature and music, and to movement, meditation, kīrtan and the yoga of sound and song, language and communciation. www.jamesboagyoga.com

Creator

James Boag
Years Active

2023 - 2025
Episodes

31
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2025 Whole Life Yoga Podcast
Show Website

Whole Life Yoga Podcast