29. It's a big project to steady the mind, with Swami Asokananda The Weeks Well

This episode is such a great reminder of how great a practice Integral Yoga is—how deep, earnest, and sincere its roots. Swami Asokananda embodies this practice in all of his being, in every syllable. My conversation with him here, which we recorded about a year ago and I'm releasing for the first time, is amazing for teachers and for anyone seeking to deepen or better understand their yoga practice. We talked about many things, including how the reward of teaching is the act of teaching itself and what a master class is. We also talked about how every practice can be a revelation if you let it happen and how silence can be the teacher. One thing I found so compelling is the idea of the information-silence ratio: the idea that a teacher in a yoga class is masterful when she/he/they knows how to balance the "ha" of the teaching and the "tha" of the learning ("Ha" meaning the sun or action side of the practice and "tha" being the moon or receiving side).

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Terms:

1. Prana: the vital energy

2. Asana: postures, the third of the eight limbs of yoga

3. Hatha yoga: the physical aspect of yoga practice, including postures, breathing techniques, seals, locks, and cleansing practices

4. Samadhi: contemplation or ultimate freedom, the final limb of the eight limbs of yoga

5. Apana vayu: energy in the pelvis and lower abdomen, one of the five vayus (subdivisions of the life force)

6. Parampara: transmission of knowledge from one to another

7. Rajas: activity

8. Guru: remover of darkness, spiritual guide

9. Shisya: a succession of teachers and disciples

10: Karma yoga: performing actions as selfless services without attachment to the results

11. Satya: truth

12. Hatha: “tha” is the surrender part, “ha” is the activation part

13. Bandha: lock

14. Kriya: action, practice

15. Mudra: sign, seal

16. Pranayama: breath control, the fourth of the eight limbs of yoga

17. Vinyasa: a method of yoga in which movements form a flowing sequence in coordination with the breath

18. Yin: a slow-paced style of yoga

19. Pratyahara: withdrawal of the senses, the fifth of the eight limbs of yoga

20. Yama: abstinence, the first of the eight limbs of yoga

21. Niyama: observance, the second of the eight limbs of yoga

22. Dharana: concentration, the sixth of the eight limbs of yoga

23. Dhyana: meditation, the seventh of the eight limbs of yoga

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References:

1. Integral Yoga

2. Yoga Lineages series

3. Patanjali

4. Swami Satchidananda

5. Yoga Alliance

6. Sivananda Yoga

7. Iyengar Yoga

8. Viniyoga

9. Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Swami Muktibodhananda

10. The Yoga Sutras, Swami Satchidananda

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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