In this interview I am joined by internationally renowned yoga teacher Angela Farmer.

Angela recounts the story of her life in yoga, from her birth in 1939 pre-war England, to her studies under yoga guru BKS Iyengar, to her international teaching career spanning over fifty years.

Angela reveals how after a decade of rigorous training under Iyengar, she broke away from strict asana practice to find her own path of listening to the body. Despite the resultant blacklisting by the yoga community, Angela uncovered a radically different way of practicing yoga.

Angela also shares what it means to be receptive to life in the face of fear, trauma, and change, and offers her heart advice to women of all ages.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep117-angela-farmer-a-life-in-yoga/

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

00:45 - Angela’s childhood during WW2

04:37 - Differences between girls’ and boys’ education

08:02 - Major childhood injuries and surgeries

14:20 - Reading Huxley and discovering yoga

16:30 - Meeting B.K.S. Iyengar and time in India

22:01 - Challenges teaching yoga in English schools

25:37 - Teaching career in America and meeting Victor van Kooten

27:31 - Breaking from Iyengar and beginning to feel the body

31:25 - Injuries incurred practicing Iyengar yoga

35:34 - Radical change in teaching style

39:38 - Connecting to the woman inside

44:18 - How to be with the body

47:18 - Working with fear and trauma

53:17 - Do you really want to hug?

55:54 - Receptivity vs passivity

59:56 - Being a woman

01:05:34 - Being blacklisted by the Iyengar school

01:12:36 - Angela’s heart advice to women

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To find our more about Angela, visit:

- https://angela-victor.com/

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James