Sista Shree, born Regina French, in the First Nation State of Sequoyah (what is now referred to as Oklahoma— okla humma) is an embodiment of the benevolent magic Earth-Mother figure that we all need in our lives.

She is a kind of blue-skinned Krishna who vibrates peace and love and makes all beings in her vicinity feel friendship towards her.

For us, we’ve always felt a kinship with her - an immediate friendship was formed - since we first met twenty years ago.

Sista Shree came on the podcast to discuss her new book, an autobiography called SEVA (selfless service) The Memoir of a Modern Day Yogi.

This is her epic tale full of love, trysts, incredible encounters with living Saints, and a clear factual account of the racist institutions that make up American life. All of this is interwoven within the context of the Yoga, each chapter of her life accounted for in one of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga.

She says “Yoga allows us to go into the womb of humanity and the earth and relearn the stuff that we actually came here with.”

Speaking about Sri K.Pattabhi Jois she said, “Through his eyes, through his soul, through his smile, he taught us how to awaken the interior self. He was sort of like a guide. He was a guide who gave you wings to fly.”

Sista Shree’s autobiography is dedicated to Nina Simone.

And like her inspiration, this mystic woman is first and foremost a powerful soul singer. She spoke to us of the power of music to heal people, and how it's always been used as a healing and uniting force for the soul. You will feel it.

Like all great Guru’s of Jazz, Soul, Funk, and all the great musicians like Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Sister Pearl, Sly Stone, Bill Withers, and even newer singer songwriter like Sona Jobarteh… what makes them great is their connection to something beyond the self, “There is a devotion, and energy, and this takes you straight to God.”

Learn about the practice of chanting God’s name all day long and getting high on life and high on love in this week's episode with Sista Shree.

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case. Your contributions have allowed us to keep our podcast ad and sponsor free. Creating, editing and producing each episode takes a lot of time. It is a labor of love. And would not be possible without your kind support.

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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 - Click Here