Dr Lauren Tober is a Clinical Psychologist, Senior Yoga Teacher and author of Mental Health Aware Yoga: A Guide for Yoga Teachers, based in Mullumbimby, Australia.

With a passion for health, healing, happiness and awakening, Lauren integrates the best of Western psychology with ancient yogic wisdom, both on and off the mat.

Passionate about the life-changing benefits of yoga, Lauren is the founder of the Yoga Psychology Institute and the Mental Health Aware Yoga training. This professional development training for Yoga Teachers is designed to educate teachers about mental health so they can support their yoga students experiencing mental health challenges with compassion, confidence and skill.

Lauren is also the founder of the Centre for Mind Body Wellness, an integrative health practice in Mullumbimby, Australia.

Her work is soulful without being new-agey.  It’s evidence-based, without being clinical.  It’s authentic, heartfelt and life-changing.

IN THIS EPISODE:

—How Lauren came to yoga, India, and her work in the field of psychology and mental health

—Lauren’s book writing process

—What Mental Health Aware Yoga actually is (and its immense relevance to all)

—How Mental Health Aware Yoga pertains to and overlays subtle and deeper aspects of the yogic teachings (such as the five koshas)

—What a “safe container” is, and what yoga teachers need to consider

—The shadow side of meditation

CONNECT WITH DR LAUREN:

Website: https://www.laurentober.com/

YPI trainings and courses: https://www.yogapsychologyinstitute.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drlaurentober/ & https://www.instagram.com/yogapsychologyinstitute/ 

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ABOUT YOUR HOST, AMY LANDRY:

A beacon for those craving a connection to tradition and timeless wisdom, Amy has cemented herself as a global yoga teacher, ayurvedic practitioner, mentor, podcast host, speaker, and facilitator of the Study Yoga Summit. Based in Australia and renowned for her sold-out international retreats, Amy has contributed extensively to Australian Yoga Journal, Om Yoga & Lifestyle magazine, YOGA Magazine (UK), and Nature & Health magazine (AU). She has presented at Wanderlust, Evolve Festival, Byron Spirit Fest, and Ekam Yoga Festival. You can listen to her Living In Alignment podcast on all major platforms. A registered senior yoga teacher, Amy aims to amalgamate several Indian disciplines into daily life with the hope of inspiring her community to have a tangible relationship with living yoga–rather than seeing it as an isolated practice.

WEBSITE: https://amyelandry.com/ 

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amyelandry/ 

Savira Gupta comes from a family of strong women rooted in the Arya Samaj Tradition; founded in April 1875 by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, who wanted to revive the Vedic way of life and the need to create a just society for all. 

She spent her childhood in Malaysia, formative years in India, teenage years in France and adult years in the UK, Europe and the USA, and this has given Savira the foundation to relate to people from all walks of life and culture.

With over 20 years of teaching experience, Savira approaches yoga through the lens of a sadhaka and seeker. Her approach to teaching invites exploration, and understanding how yoga is a way of life not just modern postures. 

Her holistic style of teaching encompasses the understanding of the physical, subtle and causal body.

Her classes are interactive; combining the key principles of the teachings with a dash of humour.

IN THIS EPISODE:

--Savira's path living yoga, and moving from student to yoga teacher

--Fascinating insight and wisdom from the Arya Samaj tradition that empowers women

--Considerations around what Westernised yoga is lacking

--Unpacking the role of a yoga teacher

--Essential reflections when considering what is behind the aspiration to teach yoga for so many people

--Savira's personal guidance for more depth on your path

CONNECT WITH SAVIRA:

Website: https://www.saviragupta.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savvirag/

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ABOUT YOUR HOST, AMY LANDRY:

A beacon for those craving a connection to tradition and timeless wisdom, Amy has cemented herself as a global yoga teacher, ayurvedic practitioner, mentor, podcast host, speaker, and facilitator of the Study Yoga Summit. Based in Australia and renowned for her sold-out international retreats, Amy has contributed extensively to Australian Yoga Journal, Om Yoga & Lifestyle magazine, YOGA Magazine (UK), and Nature & Health magazine (AU). She has presented at Wanderlust, Evolve Festival, Byron Spirit Fest, and Ekam Yoga Festival. You can listen to her Living In Alignment podcast on all major platforms. A registered senior yoga teacher, Amy aims to amalgamate several Indian disciplines into daily life with the hope of inspiring her community to have a tangible relationship with living yoga–rather than seeing it as an isolated practice.

WEBSITE: https://amyelandry.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amyelandry/

Jivana Heyman, C-IAYT, E-RYT500, is the founder and director of Accessible Yoga, an organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings and supporting yoga teachers. He’s the author of Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body; Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage & Compassion; and The Teacher's Guide to Accessible Yoga: Best Practices for Sharing Yoga with Every Body. His books, classes, and trainings support yoga teachers and yoga therapists in finding ways to bring creativity and collaboration into their teaching while still respecting the ancient yoga tradition.

IN THIS EPISODE:

-Insight into Jivana's extensive history of teaching yoga and advocating within communities in the US, along with the inspiration of his Grandmother

-Some major misunderstandings of what accessible yoga actually is

-How ethics create accessibility

-The core ABC's of accessible yoga

-Financial accessibility, financial ethics, and the white saviour complex

CONNECT WITH JIVANA:

Website & books: https://www.jivanaheyman.com/

Courses: https://www.accessibleyogaschool.com/

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ABOUT YOUR HOST, AMY LANDRY:

A beacon for those craving a connection to tradition and timeless wisdom, Amy has cemented herself as a global yoga teacher, ayurvedic practitioner, mentor, podcast host, speaker, and facilitator of the Study Yoga Summit. Based in Australia and renowned for her sold-out international retreats, Amy has contributed extensively to Australian Yoga Journal, Om Yoga & Lifestyle magazine, YOGA Magazine (UK), and Nature & Health magazine (AU). She has presented at Wanderlust, Evolve Festival, Byron Spirit Fest, and Ekam Yoga Festival. You can listen to her Living In Alignment podcast on all major platforms. A registered senior yoga teacher, Amy aims to amalgamate several Indian disciplines into daily life with the hope of inspiring her community to have a tangible relationship with living yoga–rather than seeing it as an isolated practice.

WEBSITE: https://amyelandry.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amyelandry/

WELCOME TO SEASON THREE!

Tova Olsson is a scholar of religion, author and yoga teacher with over 20 years of experience in educating. She is appreciated for her deep knowledge, her ability to explain esoteric ideas and philosophical concepts in an accessible way, and for her skillful storytelling and humorous approach. As a scholar-practitioner, she strives to combine academic, critical understanding with the dedicated experience of a long-term practitioner, offering courses that provide liberating knowledge - on many different levels. Tova holds an MA in religious studies from Gothenburg University and is currently working on her PhD at Umeå University, where she researches gender constructs in contemporary tantra in Europe. She lectures internationally on the history, philosophy and mythology of yoga and tantra and runs the online school Saraswati Studies. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

-Tova's story of how she came to yoga, tantra, shaktism and scholarship

-Meanings of the Sanskrit word, Shakti

-Insight into the revered goddesses, Saraswati and Matangi

-Tova's book, a resource for serious practitioners and yoga teachers

-Stories, symbolism, and a wealth of more wisdom!

CONNECT WITH TOVA:

Online courses: https://saraswati-studies.teachable.com/

"Taste" course: https://anjabergh.com/taste

India retreat: https://www.mysticart.org/retreats

Purchase Tova's book: https://www.motilalbanarsidass.com/products/yoga-and-tantra-history-philosophy-mythology?srsltid=AfmBOopLNOuw9zKGDqVENHuEInm-GXlRX8LkkUi7RhqaT5uiNxbghH4o

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ABOUT YOUR HOST, AMY LANDRY:

A beacon for those craving a connection to tradition and timeless wisdom, Amy has cemented herself as a global yoga teacher, ayurvedic practitioner, mentor, podcast host, speaker, and facilitator of the Study Yoga Summit. Based in Australia and renowned for her sold-out international retreats, Amy has contributed extensively to Australian Yoga Journal, Om Yoga & Lifestyle magazine, YOGA Magazine (UK), and Nature & Health magazine (AU). She has presented at Wanderlust, Evolve Festival, Byron Spirit Fest, and Ekam Yoga Festival. You can listen to her Living In Alignment podcast on all major platforms. A registered senior yoga teacher, Amy aims to amalgamate several Indian disciplines into daily life with the hope of inspiring her community to have a tangible relationship with living yoga–rather than seeing it as an isolated practice.

WEBSITE: https://amyelandry.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amyelandry/

Sophie Duncan is the founder of Aaoka Beauty, which was born from a desire to raise beauty consciousness through the lens of Ayurvedic wisdom.

A mother of two young children, Sophie’s holistic work promotes a deep connection to nature, nourishment, and natural, luminous ageing. 

She provides offerings that empower women to remember their innate radiance through all stages of life so they can take beauty back into their own hands.

Creating a new paradigm within the community, her content and teachings enable all to apply Ayurvedic wisdom in a tangible and time-accessible way.

Sophie offers an online membership called The Radiance Rhythms, as a means to working more intimately to discover many holistic ways to nourish you from within.

IN THIS EPISODE:

- Sophie's story, how she came to Ayurveda and the invaluable approach to ageing and beauty

- The key reframe and shift in paradigm that occurs through the Ayurvedic approach to beauty

- Unpacking how the face is a mirror for the mind

- Sophie's recommended tools and ingredients to get started on this path

- Her guidance for simple ways to support nourishment during the postpartum window for mothers

- What we need to understand in order to age radiantly

- Sophie's recommended reading

- The opportunity to join the Radiance Rhythms membership to work closely with Sophie

MENTIONED:

- Absolute Beauty by Pratima Raichur

- The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf

Sophie's website: Aaoka Beauty

Join the Radiance Rhythms HERE.

Born in Texas in 1953, Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India.

After being ritually initiated into the Pokot tribe of northern Kenya as its first white member in June 1973 he moved to India, where he lived from during the 70’s and 80’s, receiving his Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery from the University of Poona in 1980. 

In his final year of study at the Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya he won all but one of the University of Poona’s awards for academic excellence in Ayurveda, including the Ram Narayan Sharma Gold Medal.

During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda.

Author of over a dozen books, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively In the years since 1986, spending three months per year on average in India.

You can find out more about his work and study online with Robert at www.drsvoboda.com and follow him on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

IN THIS EPISODE:

RESOURCES:

Learn from Robert via his huge library of online courses: https://drsvoboda.teachable.com/

Laura Poole is a Vedic meditation teacher and founder of Mahasoma – supporting Vedic meditators and teachers with feminine-led Vedic wisdom, embodiment practices, and community.

Laura has trained intensively over the past 15 years with great masters in Australia and India.

She currently resides in Noosa on her 3-acre homestead, growing a syntropic food-forest and biodynamic vegetable garden. 

Laura shares the transformative wisdom of Vedic meditation, Vedanta, and Ayurveda, in an engaging, relevant, and humorous way that allows people to make deep discoveries about themselves and their purpose. 

She is a dedicated leader in the meditation space. Passionate about community and aware of its transformative power, Laura brings people together in uplifting shared experiences through Vedic meditation courses, events, and India retreats.

Her intention is to share simple ‘how-to’ techniques for creating awakening, balance, and harmony while supporting people to live a heart-based life in flow with nature.

Laura was also an original co-founder/co-creator of 1 Giant Mind Australia and its free Learn to Meditate app.

To learn Vedic meditation with Laura you can head to laurapoole.com and mahasoma.com

IN THIS EPISODE:

- Hear of how Laura came to Vedic meditation specifically

- Learn what Vedic meditation is, where it comes from, and its lineage and history

- Listen to Laura's experiences of India, and her time immersed in tradition

- Laura's recommended reading and upcoming offerings

MENTIONED:

— Tao Te Ching (translation by Stephen Mitchell)

— Bhagavad Gita (commentary by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi)

— Mahabharata (Ramesh Menon)

— The Ringing Cedars by Vladimir Megre

Author of the best-selling book Ayurveda Cooking For Beginners and creator of numerous courses and trainings on Ayurveda, Laura Plumb promotes sacred, sumptuous living through the Vedic sciences of Ayurveda, Jyotish, Mantra, and Devi Sadhana.

Laura is lead faculty for the Ayurvedic Integrated Nutrition 200-hour Professional Training and has studied with some of the great masters of our time, practicing and sharing what she has learned from the heart-centered wisdom schools of the world.

Laura’s blog is an inspirational resource for Ayurvedic nourishment and delight.

She is widely recognized for understanding and sharing the deeper principles of various Vedic traditions while making them accessible and relevant to modern life.

In this episode:

- Laura's story as to how she felt pulled to India and came to learn of the various Vedic traditions

- Laura's fascinating and pivotal first trip to India many years ago

- How we can amalgamate Vedic traditions into daily life

- How Ayurveda and Jyotish overlap

- The concept and approach to remedies through the Vedic lens

- The purpose behind Laura's first book, Ayurveda Cooking For Beginners

- Two of Laura's book recommendations

- Three of Laura's daily practices to align with Vedic wisdom

- So much beauty, metaphor, and more!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

The Upanishads

CONNECT WITH LAURA:

Website: https://lauraplumb.com/

Blog: https://food-alovestory.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraplumb/

USE CODE: Plumb10 for 10% off a Jyotish Vedic Astrology consultation with Laura.

Maya Tiwari is an Ayurveda Matriarch, Peace Leader, Humanitarian, and a best-selling author of multiple books. She has been in the field for more than 35 years.

Fondly called Mother Maya, or Maa, she established the first Ayurvedic school in North America in 1981 (the Wise Earth School of Ayurveda) and founded the Mother Om Mission, a charitable organization that works in the at-risk communities of New York. 

Among the many gems she has restored to the earth-based education of Ayurveda are the sadhana of food, breath and sound; the earth therapies of Pancha Karma, and the long-lost lunar education for women’s healing.

Maa has been meticulously trained in the Vedas, Vedanta, Ayurveda, Sanskrit, Vedic Chants, and also in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.

A life-threatening ovarian cancer survivor at age 23, she has personally helped thousands of women to heal from devastating disorders.

Maya served for two decades as a Vedic monk, belonging to India’s prestigious Veda Vyasa lineage. 

In 2010, Maya made the radical decision to renounce her monastic title to be of wider service to the populations in need.

Through her global work, Maya promotes practices that invite inner peace, ancestral wellness and that which creates harmony with Mother Earth.

Spiritual pioneer, Maya is a regular Featured Speaker at the Parliament of the World Religions.

Maa is also the recipient of the Dhanvantari Award and AAPNA’s Rishi Award for her outstanding work in Ayurvedic medicine.

BOOKS MENTIONED:

The Path of Practice

Ayurveda: A Life of Balance

CONNECT WITH MAYA:

Website: http://mayatiwari.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MayaTiwari

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiseearth/

Kate O’Donnell is an international speaker, Ayurvedic practitioner, long-time yoga practitioner, and the author of four books, including best-selling The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook.

She has been studying in US and India for 25 years. Her new book Everyday Ayurveda for Women's Health is available for pre-order now.

Find her online at: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/ and https://www.instagram.com/kateodonnell.ayurveda/

Within this episode:

Kate’s new book (Everyday Ayurveda for Women's Health) is due for release April 2024 with Shambhala Publications. Pre-orders available now.

Resources mentioned:

Ka by Roberto Calasso

Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life by Dr Claudia Welch

Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook by Kate O’Donnell