Fantastic discussion

Ramesh's interview was such a joy to watch. I find Ramesh's explanation of the history of yoga, and the relationship of Vedanta, Tantra and Classical Patanjali Yoga to be clear and grounded. As an Ashtanga yoga practitioner and teacher, it is great to have Ramesh explain his perspective on textural knowledge and experiential knowledge, dualism / non-dualism, universal & Secret mantras, Tantra's right & left-hand paths. The interview also had a special meaning and insight for me since I am an Ananda Marga initiate and practice the same Sahaj meditation as Ramesh described in such an simple, eloquent way. I listened to it twice and took notes ;-)

Thank you Adam, really helpful 🙏🏽

I love them! What a great couple! The respect, the kindness, the lucidity, the curiosity…. I can keep going forever… lots of admiration for Mary & Robert ❤

terrible video, terrible speaking, no real practice.....

I have been guided to associate yoga with unity. It’s a huge construct. Apart from my regular Vinyasa practice, what should I be reading, or how should I guide myself? Thank you, I suppose Namaste would be polite? 🙏✌️

Very interesting chat!!! I wish I could speak with people alike in my day to day life. If you have more content on Tummo practice, please let me know! Also it would be interesting to interview a woman speaker like Lama Allione who teaches the chod practice of Feeding your demons ! Thanks a lot for this sharing

21:00 36:30 transform energy

Back in the 90's in I took classes with Richard when I was first starting yoga. To this day, I tell myself, as he would say, 'Go out into the streets of New York City and SHINE!' I live in LA now, but the way he said them left a lasting impression on how to go out into the world everyday. I also remember the class being mostly women and thinking that aside from the yoga, they were there because of how handsome he was and still is.

Thanks. I have James on my podcast later so appreciated

again & again, you are searching answers in the wrong text. Ashtanga vinyasa & all postural yoga is Hatha Yoga - Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the text for it, Hatha aims for preparation on spiritual path & sound health in a specific way, energetically balanc d, kundalini energy refined, gross obscurations & illusions purified. Patanjali Sutras is similar to Buddhism, both originated in Hindu culture & influenced by Sankhya philosophy. In Buddhism no one practices Hatha except in Vajrayana Buddhism, because in those days health was much better. Yoga chitta vritti nirodhah can not be associated with Hatha as that is “Nirvana” - end of suffering. I know all this can sound very confusing but it’s actually very simple.

Thx for this podcast covering most of modern yoga teacher challenges objectively & honestly from personal experience. Imo this is all new era for yoga, yoga teachers, yoga schools, yoga traditions, yoga alliances because it is a completely new situation with 300 million yoga consumers market, a billionaire industry, few remaining traditional sources, thousands of new yoga certified teachers every year, huge chains of studios & festivals. Not all teachers are good practitioners & not all practitioners are good teachers. One thing I noticed is fixed type sequences are much easier to teach of course: Sivananda, Bikram, Mysore. At my peak career as full time teacher in the biggest Shanghai (China) yoga center, I completed a 3 year contract embracing the challenge. Local competition was all fitness instructors highly competitive shredded ambitious youngsters (not a judgement but an observation), students being 95% women & housewives just wanting to rejuvenate & look fit n beautiful. I embraced the challenge & did quite well but it felt quite lonely. Anyhow, the experience brought me to understand yoga industry from within, gain 7000 teaching hours quickly, learn to manage stress in a huge city like Shanghai sometimes teaching classes up to 100 people often many not understanding English instruction, still I found the way to manage with it. What an experience! My message is the Guru is the appropriate sadhana, appropriate way of teaching without extremes, also appropriate yoga studio ethics are essential for the good future of yoga. Currently corporate brands have more power than anybody, yoga studios have more power, I believe in the process of returning the power to yogic practice itself. I have dedicated more than two decades of practice than more than a decade to teach, now I found myself stuck & not wanting to depend financially on yoga teaching at all even though it is my passion. Let’s see

Please talk to Emi Tull!

Theresa is delightful!! Would love to see her on more often … thank you for your work and great content ❤ Happy New Year 🎉

That's not why we suck in our belly on an inhale. You stabilize your core with your breathing. What an idiotic thing to say.

Very interesting interview. We laugh about it, of course (or turn away), when these sadhus twist their penises around iron rods. But this practice by some sadhus to physically manipulate or damage the penis in an attempt to curb sexual desire is counterproductive and misguided, of course. Sexual desire originates in the brain, activates hormones, and then the genitals. Attempting to destroy erectile function or desensitize the penis does not address the root cause of sexual urges. Similarly, thinking that through kechari mudra manipulation alone one will stimulate amrta is equally misguided, as again it's mainly a result of a psycho-spiritual state. Hatha yoga (forceful yoga) needs to be blended with the deeper dimensions of yoga, and the best of the hatha yogis knew that.

Great Video

Thank you for this very interesting podcast.

may i know the name of the song that you play at the beginning of every episode?

This all looks a bit like triads to me

This is such an interesting reflection! Thanks a lot🙌

What is the specific Kirtan recording at the end of the interview?

Thanks for this interesting talk. What particularly stood out for me was the idea of ritualizing repetition. As someone more at home in Western philosophy, I asked an AI to search for resources in the Western canon for further reading. I have pasted an edited version of it below in case someone else may find it useful: The following are two examples of Western theoretical approaches to understanding rituals, particularly as they may apply to individual practices like yoga. Not all rituals are communal or religious; some arise from individual practices, where repetition creates meaning and structure. Philosophical approaches from the Western tradition highlight how repetition alone can elevate everyday actions into rituals, making them deeply personal and transformative. 1. Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Ritual and Embodiment Merleau-Ponty, a phenomenologist, examined how rituals are deeply rooted in human bodily experience. Although he did not explicitly use yoga as an example, his phenomenology could be relevant to the ritualistic aspects of a yoga practice. Yoga is fundamentally an embodied activity that connects the physical, mental, and emotional states of an individual. Through repeated physical movements, breathwork, and meditative focus, yoga transforms ordinary actions into meaningful rituals by: - Anchoring the practitioner in the present moment through embodied awareness. - Using repetition to integrate mind and body, turning each session into a ritual of self-connection. Looking through the lens of Merleau-Ponty, the habitual and sensory engagement of yoga practice could be seen to align with how humans find meaning through embodied rituals. 2. Richard Sennett: Ritual and Craftsmanship The sociologist and cultural theorist, Richard Sennett, explores ritual as a form of craftsmanship. Again, Sennett did not explicitly use yoga as an example. However, yoga practice requires discipline, intentionality, and repetition-qualities akin to what he understood as craft. Establishing a yoga practice as a ritual could be understood in terms of: - Refining the “craft” of movement and mindfulness through daily repetition. - Creating a structured, deliberate process that promotes self-awareness and mastery over time. - Treating yoga not as a goal-oriented activity but as a ritualistic journey of exploration and refinement. Sennett’s ideas on the pleasure and politics of structured repetition may align with the development of a yoga practice as a personal ritual.

This is great, thanks Adam 🙏

Honest. Raw. Real. Thank You.

❤ 🙏 Karen

What a fascinating and full of rare pieces of historical analysis interview. it's a gift for anyone interested in yoga - a perspective-shifting and enriching flow of questions and comprehensive answers which weave an engaging introduction into the evolution of Tantra. Absorbed every part of it and was left yearning for more...

Really enjoyed the interview. Ramesh explains things clearly so a non scholar can follow, and the interviewer is also very skilled with incisive questions and observations that also help keep the conversation coherent. Thanks both!

According to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, Tantra is the origin of spirituality. It predates the Vedic tradition by several thousand years and serves as the foundation for all spiritual paths, including Vedic, Buddhist, Jain, and even Abrahamic traditions. The notion that Tantra and yoga developed alongside Vedic traditions is not accurate. Vedic practices emerged much later and absorbed aspects of Tantra, such as mantra and meditation, over time.

Great interview and message. For me, even basic elements of strength training and strength based yoga asanas beside the Ashtanga sequences (for example side planks, bulgarian squats and bridge pose variations) have been essential to stop self-injuring myself in yoga asana. I think that would be true to many yogis, especially those hypermobile ones. Now I take first steps at the gym, and I only feel better and more stable in my asana. Thanks for a great episode ❤

Thank you so much! It was very insightful and compelling, like a good book that you cannot put down! 🙏🏼📿📿🙏🏼

It is always a pleasure to hear Ramesh teach or give interviews. I never get enough of learning from him. Always insightful and never set in a dogma. Thank you for the interview with Ramesh! We need him in this space more often.

Clear and incisive. Ramesh presents the "basics" in a way that is easy to understand. For those who are both interested, and more importantly curious, about the essence and history of yoga, this conversation is a must! Well done by both participants!

I have watched some Tibet Yogis practice look very similar to Ashtanga. The way they jump up and cross legs it’s very dynamic.interesting

Insightful conversation thanks for doing it 🙏

In the interview I discuss the Pashupati seal as proof Yoga is at least 4000 plus years old. Not all scholars agree with that, but these do: Edwin Bryant in his book on the Yoga Sutras. Thomas McEvilley agreed with John Marshall's analysis, noting that the central figure was in the Mulabandhasana or Goraksasana yoga pose. John Marshall, the archaeologist who first analyzed the seal, interpreted the figure as being in a "typical attitude of Yoga.” Karel Werner has used the seal to trace back the roots of Yoga to the Indus Valley Civilization. Georg Feuerstein in his book on The Yoga Tradition identifies the position as goraksaasana. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, an Indus Valley Civilization specialist, supported the interpretation of the figure as potentially ithyphallic in 2003, a characteristic often associated with yogic practices.

This is an excellent introduction to Tantra defining its purpose and function to explore spirituality and liberate one from ignorance. Mr. Bjonnes has a deep grasp of both the history of Tantra and its influences as well as the relationship between Tantra and Yoga. He is knowledgeable of both and, importantly, he describes in detail the eight limbs of yoga while recounting his own personal practices that inform his understanding and experiences. This is a deeper look at Tantra and Yoga, full of insight -- most western yoga practitioners and expounders rarely encounter its full foundational wisdom. I especially enjoyed the way he spoke on the Yoga Sutras as rooted in the oral tradition and teachings of Tantra. A rich and meaningful interview. Thank you.

Hello from Florida! My husband and I are very excited to find your channel which we stumbled upon whilst looking at some ashtanga resources! I was so surprised about the news of Sharath dying so young and while in Virginia on a hike! Such a shock! Nevertheless I can see what an amazing resource your channel will be for us as we go deeper into our yoga exploration together. We are 54 with three kids and while I have practiced a very mild and “substandard” tired mom version of the practice, my husband has now taken an interest and he’s very keen to learn more. Nice to finally have him interested so we can share it and maybe even go to India….Ive known about purple valley for a decade but hadn’t see your name before. Cheers and all best, Aimee

The main problem with vinyasa as opposed to staying longer periods in asanas is that going through asanas too fast doesn’t teach you much about your body and most importantly about the internals. That’s the baby lost with the bath water with astanga vinyasa. And again to say that staying in postures for long periods is too boring for modern people, well it just reinforces all kinds of bad mental and physical habits they have. Combine vinyasa and long stays. Don’t choose one or the other just because one guy from Mysore says so. Traditional yoga means understanding underlying principles and circumstances, and applying accordingly. It’s the opposite to rigid forms. 🙏

Hi Adam avid listener here! I 100% FEEL you on the episode about Sharath. I’d studied with Sharath in the gokulam shala back in 2014-16. I was just a novice back then and was pretty flexible so Sharath forced me quite a lot with the infamous “catching”. My back worsened with each trip and finally one day when he came assisting me with the catching I told him I had a pretty serious case of scoliosis( from years of cello playing)so could I please just catch my ankle instead of my calf /knee but he just smiled and nodded at me and just KEPT GOING at it. During my 3rd month there my back was hurting so much that I could hardly walk, plus my neck and arm were also getting numb. It took me about 1-2 years to heal my spine, and I gradually got back to practicing. Afterwards I started going to other ashtanga yoga shala in Gokulam (and that was when my KYJAYI friends started ostracizing me lol). I started focusing more on my diaphragm and deep breathing; it completely changed my practice and alleviated most of my lower back pain. Last year I felt I was ready for Sharath again so I went back. ( yes the big photos in the SYC threw me off too…) He remembered me immediately and had a big smile on his face when he saw me. But the CATCHING ugh! He insisted on me catching my knees :( But I was in a better shape than I was 10 years ago (thanks to deep diaphragmatic breathing) but I still don’t get this catching thing . His passing also hits me hard and I'm still processing. I missed how me always helped me in supta vajrasana and how he always smiled at me when my hand slipped and encouraged me to try again 😢

Wallis Book is must read for every ‘seeker’.

Thank you Adam for elaborating on this topic! 🙏🏻 It's quite a complex one that needs a lot of unpacking during the practice to understand skillfully. Vinyasa can help the practitioner to get deeper into the practice but it can also become a robotic movement. Obsessing over technicalities while holding postures can also become distracting but a little pause might help. Knowing when to apply vinyasa and when to surrender into stillness then becomes such a crucial part of practice. In the end, maybe it's all about presence of mind but not letting it get in the way. What a rabbit hole of a topic! Forgive my ramble! 🙏🏻🫠

Great Interview. Prasadji lives in the dynamic balance between traditional and modern yoga and thus can express yoga in everything he does.

I started practicing Yoga as a child, with my mother. As an adult I never thought the yoga teacher was the supreme anything but now that I have been a yoga teacher for a decade and I listen to this I fully understand why my students are so nice to me. I have been demonstrating that I'm just a regular person, for sure😅

Here I found serious problem with your channel 1. ✗ Less views 2. ✗Low SEO Score 3. ✗ No tag count 4. ✗ No tag volume 5. ✗ Title contains no keywords 6. ✗ No keywords in description 7. ✗ No triple keywords 8. ✗ No ranked tags 9. ✗ No high volume-ranked tags 10. ✗ Longer titles 11. ✗ Small tags 12. ✗ No video tags 13. ✗ No channel tags 14. ✗ No social media promotion This is why your video is not in the top results. Do you want to increase your channel's SEO score? And want to take your video to the top result?

great

Hidden not so hidden… Paramaguru which is the title he used apparently means „preceding guru or guru of the guru.“ 🤔

We lost a great teacher. Having so many travel workshops may have put a lot of pressure on Sharath. There may be a little pressure within him to take the torch from his grandfather, who most people regard as the master among masters.

Important because you go to yoga class and they don't understand that you're sore and have lost your flexibility and at the gyms they encourage you to go right after yoga and you don't know whether to give it days in between and it just seems counterproductive

Another great episode! Interesting how Prasad moves the language away from 'east vs west' when it comes to modern yoga (or popular yoga as he refers to it) - I've only been to India once, but I saw very much the popular yoga in Mumbai and Bangalore as well as the more devotional, bhakti, pilgrimage forms Prasad talks of in rural areas in south Kerala where I was staying. I think what's really coming through for me at the moment, following your podcasts, Adam, as well as conversations with others and wider reading, is that in the west we like to compartmentalise a lot more and divide things up, whereas in Hinduism and Indian culture, there's not as much of that going on - it's much more of a melting pot and everyone seems totally okay with that. Thanks again for helping me organise my thinking on all of this and keep up the great work out there! :)