The Chai Sessions - Merchant City Yoga

This is Ema's third time on The Chai Sessions! I think that makes her a regular guest now. I'm thrilled she was able to join me again for a chat and a cuppa on the sofa.

Ema offers courses rooted in the classical texts associated with the yoga tradition. Her courses are designed to help us understand these texts a little better and challenge us to put some of what we learn into practice.

In this episode we discuss the Bhagavad Gita ahead of Ema's upcoming course in May 2024. I ask Ema...

What is the Bhagavad Gita?

Why is it relevant today in the modern world?

How can we approach the text and work with it?

Where has studying the Gita been helpful for you?

Ema explains we find the verses of the Gita in the middle of an epic story, a drama full of characters and circumstances. In the telling of the story, what it means to be human, what it means to be in this world is revealed. Like any good story we can recognise some of ourselves and our relationships in it. This can help us make sense of things.

Also in our conversation Ema talks about how much she loves the lively discussion that happens in a space where people are talking and sharing about their lives. This is reflected in her approach to teaching the Bhagavad Gita. She says, “It all comes down to life, we’re humans living.”

I hope you enjoy listening in.

Ema's course, The Bhagavad Gita: Living in the World will be live and in-person here at Merchant City Yoga. The course starts Sunday 5th May 2024 and runs for four weeks. Even if you can't commit to all four weeks, you can join each session individually. If you're interested in finding out more or joining her, all the details and booking are HERE

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When James joined me on The Chai Sessions (episode #28) to discuss the 8 limbs of yoga ahead of his weekend immersion here at MCY in March, we dived into a few conversations that didn't make it into the final episode. They were so good I just had to hit record and share them with you.

This second bonus bit explores yoga and religion...

Enjoy!

James will be here at Merchant City Yoga Friday 22 to Sunday 24 March. Join us for more exploration, unification, for more bringing it all together, more conversation and for loads of questions.

There'll be five sessions across the weekend. Find all the details and book your place HERE.

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When James joined me on The Chai Sessions (episode #28) to discuss the 8 limbs of yoga ahead of his weekend immersion here at MCY in March, we dived into a few conversations that didn't make it into the final episode. They were so good I just had to hit record and share them with you.

This first bonus bit explores one of the yamas, bramacharya...

Enjoy!

James will be here at Merchant City Yoga Friday 22 to Sunday 24 March. Join us for more exploration, unification, for more bringing it all together, more conversation and for loads of questions.

There'll be five sessions across the weekend. Find all the details and book your place HERE.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm delighted James Boag could join me on The Chai Sessions for a third time to chat about yoga and yoga philosophy.

For anyone who hasn't met James yet, he has been teaching yoga for over 20 years. I first met him in 2011 in Mysore, South India. He was not only sharing the teachings of yoga back then, he was also studying for an MA in Sanskrit! 

James brings a holistic approach to his practise and teaching and works in direct relationship with the original Sanskrit texts. Since meeting and studying with James in Mysore, he has been a very regular visitor here at Merchant City Yoga and also teaches on our 200hr Yoga Teacher Training programme.

Ahead of his visit this spring, where he'll be guiding an exploration of the 8 limbs, I thought it would be helpful to ask James why they are so important to us as modern yoga practitioners.

We could've talked for hours! I hope you enjoy listening in.

James will be here at Merchant City Yoga Friday 22 to Sunday 24 March. Join us for more exploration, unification, for more bringing it all together, more conversation and for loads of questions.

There'll be five sessions across the weekend. Find all the details and book your place HERE.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is a mindful approach to Ashtanga yoga? Scott Johnson joined me for a chat to explore this and chat about his upcoming visit to Merchant City Yoga on Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th February.

This is Scott's third time on The Chai Sessions! I think at this point he needs no introduction but for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure, Scott is the director and co-founder of Stillpoint Yoga London. He is invited to teach yoga all around the world and has his own podcast, Stillpoints.

I'm delighted to welcome him back to MCY again in February for what will be his sixth time teaching here in Glasgow at the studio!

We begin our chat by considering what it is to practise Ashtanga yoga with mindful awareness. Developing a quality of noticing and being aware of what you're doing rather than pushing through the practice.

Scott will be sharing THREE Morning Mysore Sessions and THREE Weekend Workshops during his intensive weekend in February. Find out more about his visit and book your place to join us HERE.

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Debbie is back! She joined me for a catch up and this time brought some very special guests to chat about Yogability.

Yogability is a local Glasgow-based charity who offer yoga to children and adults with special needs, their families and carers. We raise funds for them each Christmas here at MCY through our 108 Sun Salutations event.

Debbie's son Cameron, now a trustee of Yogability (AMAZING news!), and her friend and colleague Jane join her to update us on what's been going on at Yogability this past year.

You can get involved in this year’s 108 Sun Salutations event on Saturday 16th December. Sign up now, take on the challenge and help us raise much needed funds for this incredible charity.

Or make a donation on the GoFundMe page.

If a lot of us give a little, we can help Yogability provide a whole lot.

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Lucy Crawford is a very well known and respected international Ashtanga yoga teacher. I'm thrilled I got the opportunity to chat with her and so excited she'll be here at Merchant City Yoga this weekend! 

This chat is full of inspirational nuggets I know you'll love. We even get into chatting about teaching the practice, the role of the yoga teacher is to empower, and what it is to be Ashtanga practitioners as women.

Being present in time, to be with ease, practice with a sense of your wholeness...

I hope you enjoy listening in.

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Laura Breckenridge joined me for a chat about yoga for children.

If you haven't met Laura, she's a qualified child development officer and has worked in the education sector for many years. She's one of our CYS Glasgow yoga teacher training graduates too!

Laura will be bringing her knowledge and experience of both fields, yoga and education, together to offer a very special workshop here at MCY on November 11th introducing you to teaching yoga to children. Learn more and book here.

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Lucie and I are both very passionate about the benefits of yoga nidra. She regularly comes to MCY to share her beautiful seasonal practices with everyone.

If you haven’t heard yet, her late summer session on Friday 29th September (7-8.30pm) is now open for booking!

I think deep conscious relaxation is hugely underrated. I wonder if it might even be getting a bit lost in the modern yoga scene. That’s why I'm so excited to have the opportunity to geek out on the topic with Lucie.

I hope you enjoy listening in.

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If you haven't met Ranjana yet, let me introduce you. She's a Glasgow-based artist and lecturer. She's been a regular at Merchant City Yoga since 2016 and we've had many rich and diverse conversations over the years. She'll soon be offering a very special course here starting in September, "An Introduction to Self-Knowledge According to Advaitya Vedanta".

In this, my twenty-second Chai Session, Ranjana discusses her early experiences with yoga and how she was introduced to Advaitya Vedanta from a young age. We get into what Advaitya Vedanta is – understanding the universal Self within us, in all life and matter. Vedanta's knowledge is valuable when done as yoga, helping us engage with the divisions in our modern world.

Ranjana's 6 hour course, An Introduction to Self-Knowledge According to Advaitya Vedanta, begins on Tuesday 19th September, 7.30pm - 9pm. The course is really about collective enquiry. Everyone can bring their own experience to the conversation. Learn more and book HERE

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