Escaping Samsara

We are very happy to present to you this interview with Gregor Maehle that was recorded around a year ago. Gregor’s path is a remarkable example of limitless determination to find the Truth. While not attempting to gain popularity and fame his ideas and views can be polarising, provoking and challenging. He dismisses authorities, hierarchies, guru worship and other unhealthy group dynamics. By doing so he is not only living out authentically one of the fundamental yogic attitudes of willing to know, rather than to believe, but also plays an extremely important social role that is becoming more and more scarce in today’s poisoned with political correctness world – by not sweetening up his words, pointing out things that are broken, views that are wrong and actions that are unethical he invites all of us to question our assumptions of reality, so that we can finally wake up from our ignorant slumber and experience the true joy of being.

It is in sincere gratitude for his guidance on the path of Yoga that we release this interview.

Show notes

• First glimpses of infinity
• Doer mentality, surrendering and grace
• What led Gregor to the practice of the 8-limbed Yoga
• Immersing into teachings today vs in old times
• Tibetian Ngöndro, Six Yogas of Naropa, Dzogchen
• Purification practices within the Ashtanga Yoga tradition and the mechanisms behind them
• Why your meditation doesn’t work
• Happiness and robotic conditioning
• Gregor’s spiritual practice and the sense of freedom
• Breath waves
• Experience of Cosmic intelligence on different levels
• The differences and similarities of different spiritual paths
• Svadharma
• Gregor’s observation of the modern Yoga landscape

To find out more about Gregor’s teaching, learning materials, courses and in-depth blog article visit https://8limbs.com/

Check out new book by Gregor Maehle: “How To Find Your Life’s Divine Purpose: Brain software for a new civilization”

Head over to www.escaping-samsara.com to discover more episodes.

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Buddhist teachings deep dive episode 2 with Leigh Brasington.  Buddhist suttas, stream entry, interpretations of the jhanas, Daniel M. Ingram, 32 body types contemplations and much more. If you think this description is geeky, check out the episode to see what geeky really means  🤓

Show notes

• Studying Buddhist suttas and commentaries, Visuddhimagga and Abhidhamma
• Stream entry, interpretation, importance and application of buddhist models
• Pulling out mile markers
• Long-term practice, improvement and reduction of dukha and unshakable peace
• On Daniel M. Ingram's sub-jhanas, excitement about and usefullness of experience
• Contemplation on 32 body types

Head over to www.escaping-samsara.com for the full list of references from this interview.
You can find many more great references on Leigh's website.

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Leigh has been practicing meditation since 1985. He is the senior American student of the late Ven. Ayya Khema. He began teaching retreats in Europe and North America in 1997, and is the author of the book "Right Concentration - A Practical Guide to the Jhanas". This is first part of our in-depth exploration of different aspects of Buddhist teachings that Leigh generously took time and energy for.

Show notes

• The falling of the veil, spiritual hedonism and world trip
• The story of Theravada nun Ayya Khema
• Ways to look at Pratītyasamutpāda - dependent origination
• Five skandhas, Eckart Tolle and taking a nap 
• Emptiness or Śūnyatā, inherent existence and the deathless
• Immortality project
• Leighs process of studying the Suttas
• What are Jhanas or the stages of indestructible mind
• Morality, concentration, wisdom
• Jhanas as a spectrum of concentration states
• As you go deeper the space of observer gets smaller
• Don't get fooled by your concepts
• Leigh's and Nathan's take on the spiritual world of today
• How Buddhism translates into Western culture

Head over to www.escaping-samsara.com for the full list of references from this interview.
You can find many more great references on Leigh's website.

Feel grateful and would like to support us? Thank you!
Here is our PAYPAL or  PATREON account for contributions.

Norway-born, Kathmandu-based KPJAYI authorised level 2 Ashtanga yoga teacher, co-founder of the first Ashtanga studio In Oslo, buddhist practitioner and scholar of Himalayan languages and Tibetan philology - Ellen Johannesen shares with us her fascinating life story as we change between buddhist and yogic perspectives exploring the path to liberation.

Show notes

• From contemporary dance to yoga
• Movement patterns, innate animal logic and asana
• The act of balancing or playing with the forces outside of you
• Yogic Yamas & Niyamas vs. Buddhist Paramis
• Regaining subtle body awareness through asana 
• Relocating to Nepal and studying Buddhism, Himalayan languages, Tibetan philology 
• How studying sutras and scriptures slowly changes you
• Dependent origination and breaking the pattern
• Practices aiming at removing samskaras
• Reconciling Yogic and Buddhist perspectives
• 100.000 prostrations in Bodh Gaya
• Making merit

If you ever in Nepal and want to practice with Ellen or just curious to find out more about her work - visit Ashtanga Nepal website.

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A lover of the ancient and obscure, Forrest Knutson is a yogi householder, writer and meditation teacher. He offers many great video instructions on Kriya Yoga and meditation on his YouTube channel, as well as through his courses and trainings.

Show notes

• Search for Truth, "Hamsa" meditation and first spiritual experience
• Joining monastic community
• Lahiri Mahasaya and Babaji
• Wondering up in the hills
• Kriya
• Enlightenment equasion, samadhi, layman vs monastic practice
• "Remedial teacher", heart rate variability and "3 cardial rules"
• Kechari Mudra
• Analogies with buddhist Jhana practice
• 7 Kriyasa of Lahiri, buddhist 5 breath states

Check out Forrest Knutson's YouTube Channel, his website  and his book "Hacking the Universe: The Process of Yogic Meditation".

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We are beyond excited to kick off the new year with these 2 beautiful guests - Deepika Mehta and Mark Robberds. Yoga couple, Ashtanga practitioners and movement specialists, teachers and successful Instagramers, humble and curious beings on the spiritual path - which of these labels come close to who they really are? Listen in - link in the bio!

Show notes

• Deepika's path to spirituality 
• Relationships, practice and parenthood 
• Pareto principle in Mark's approach to maintaining the practice
• Aging: Flexibility means fragility? 
• Movement exploration rooted in the yogic tristana 
• Benefits of a set sequence and creativity, yoga and surfing
• Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati
• Pranayama, Breathwork and Wim Hoff?
• James Nestor and Simon Borg-Olivier 
• Cultural appropriation and Mula Bandha underwear
• Mark's Instagram journey
• Meditation practice and personal challenges
• 3 new online courses 

Deepika Mehta – https://deepikamehta.in/
Mark’s website – https://markrobberds.com/

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Swami Jaya Devi Bhagavati is the Founder and Spiritual Director of Kashi Atlanta, a nonprofit urban yoga ashram that has served Atlanta for 21 years. She is an urban yoga monk, working to inspire people to live deeply, loving everyone along the way.

Swami has studied yoga, pranayama (yogic breath), meditation, and healing in-depth since 1985. She took her monastic vows in the Saraswati lineage of Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati and was given the title Yoga Acharya (master teacher of yoga) in 2007.

She taught at the 2004 Parliament of World Religions in Barcelona, Spain, and was Grand Marshal of the 2015 Atlanta Pride Parade in recognition of decades of work with the LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS communities. In our chat, we get deep on topics such as pranayama, kundalini and karma yoga.

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Nathan is joined by Marc Kate and Chad Lott from "Scary Thoughts Podcast" to discuss Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now."

Unless you've been stuck in a Twitter flame war for the last 20 years, you will know about Tolle's bestselling spiritual treatise. But is it a classic or a self-help rip off?  We discuss the book, it's flaws and strengths and come to some new conclusions.

We also discover Marc and Chad's meditation practices, the effect of nihilism and find out what Eckhart Tolle and Charles Manson have in common.

http://scarythoughts.org/
https://failingforms.bandcamp.com/

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Harmony Slater is Ashtanga Yoga practitioner and teacher based in Calgary, Canada. Her search for meaning led her from ballet dancing to studying philosophy, religion and psychology, travelling to China to learn Buddhist meditation and eventually meeting Sri. K Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. In this lively conversation we talk about her path and discuss many other topics: 

• Entranced by Sri Yantra - first mystical experiences
• Different internal drishtis during asana practice and the meditative aspect of it 
• Harmony's study of the mind in academical and practical setting
• Darkness, addiction and the light of knowledge as a ladder for the intellect 
• Anorexia, body dysmorphia, not good enough
• The strong remedy of Ashtanga Yoga
• On Pranayama and Kundalini

Harmony is also a host of Finding Harmony Podcast, where she interviews many interesting yogis and fellow seekers in a very entertaining and uplifting way.

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In this episode we talk with John and Julia Scott about the practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, their take on different aspects of yogic teachings, personal experiences and relationships. 

• Drishti, Pratyahara and the definition of concentration
• The story of Julia's first spiritual experience
• John's take on Tristana and introduction of a count as a further focus dimension
• Thoughts on structure and meditation in yogic vs. buddhist context
• About Advanced A / 3rd Series of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga
• Breathing dimensions, count and mantra
• "Ayahuasca is for everyone, but not everyone is for Ayahuasca" (Danny Paradise)

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