It is with great pleasure we introduce to you the contagiously ebullient Hanne Sydanmaa from Helsinki, Finland. We asked Hanne to share a bit about the birth of Ashtanga Yoga in Finland, which continues to this day to have the most practitioners per capita over any other country in the world!

We tried, in our way, to get Hanne to open herself to us… So that you could see the Real Hanne, with her zestful and sparkling personality.

Alas, like all Fins, they are hard to coax out from their safe, cold, woodland, hidden away in a forgotten corner of the North. They are quite like the Children of the Forest in that regard who, with great mirth, created that calamity of White Walkers!

So this tendency towards shyness is what we’ve learned about the Fins. And, is something we share with you here in today’s episode.

We learn about Hanne’s prior occupation as a flight attendant, her family, and her youth; how she learned Ashtanga yoga, and how her body collapsed on her in the middle of 3rd series.

After only a few years of practice, Hanne had to go back to square one, and relearn this practice in a completely different way than the rest of us.

This is a very special episode that will help anyone dealing with injury or looking for hope in how to rehabilitate their body and practice.

Now you will find Hanne handstanding all over the world, teaching pilates, and enjoying ballet classes - just for fun!

When the question came up "Where were you on 9/11?" we explored our stories and how that fateful day changed our collective history forever. Not only will September 11th never be forgotten, but it is also Saraswathi’s birthday. Twenty years ago she was celebrating her 60th birthday in New York City when the towers fell, which means this year she turned 80 years old!

Thank you so much to all who follow us and listen to these stories that we share in our living historiography of our Ashtanga Culture. We adore you and hope they continue to enrich your days and lives!

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Opening & Closing Music by Nick Evans from the album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.

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