This week we had the pleasure of sitting with one of our oldest friends, Andrew Hillam. It is always a surprising thing to chat in public and this conversation was no different. We expected that Russell and Andrew would slide into familiar scatological tropes but instead Andrew’s insular and introspective nature shined through.

We had a "quiet is the new loud" type of conversation with him on topics such as raising children in India, cooking in the flow state, and the comparison of playing music and chanting the shastras. Something that Andrew says creates a peculiar vibration in his skull.

If you’ve had the pleasure of tasting Andrew Hillam’s idlis then you know he has a special talent for cooking Indian food. However, that is not his only interest... Andrew is fascinated with all kinds of aspects of Indian culture. Besides being a Certified Advanced A Ashtanga Yoga teacher in the Mysore stye, he was a classical guitarist, who had previously pursued a PhD in immunology. if you can believe it! (He recommends wearing a mask by the way).

Andrew is eccentric in his obsessively charming pursuit of perfection.

For Andrew, diving deeply into Sanskrit chanting filled a space for musical expression and his love of sound. It contains both a devotional and philosophical layer that connects chanting to the practice of yoga. Chanting helps Andrew clear his subtle energy channels and increase that Sattvic quality (purity) within.

Finding Ananta (infinity) in the space of the center of the heart, which is a birth place of sound and filled with the substance of bliss. The Mantra rises up from our awakened center. This was the profound heart of our conversation, learning that Andrew believes it is the friction between consciousness and matter that creates reality. Thus, music or chanting, is an opportunity to resolve the inherent conflict of our manifest reality.

Yoga, says Andrew, is about relationship. God is what exists in all relationships, that’s where God lives between people.

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Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans, with his band “dawnSong” from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Simply Click Here.