The Heart of Yoga

From The Archives: Are You Born In The Wrong Body?

The Heart of Yoga

Show Notes

Teaching at Liliana Lakshmi's teaching training, this question arises.. hear the response. In this episode, Mark explores how Yoga can provide a sense of unity and belonging amidst conflict and division in the world. He emphasizes that Yoga is not about seeking or trying to get somewhere, but recognizing and participating in the beauty, power and extraordinary intelligence that is always there, the wholeness and the harmony.

Mark argues that religious seeking and presumption of separation are the root of conflict, and Yoga dissolve this illusion. He shares the principles from Krishnamacharya on adapting Yoga to each person's needs, and the recognition of the Tantras of life's inherent unity. His position is that teaching Yoga is the necessary, cultural shift required to end conflict in separation, to end trauma, destructive tribalism and disconnection.

They discuss:

- Why Yoga is needed as the response to divisiveness and terror.

- Krishnamacharya's emphasis on Yoga as embracing 'what is' rather than seeking some future state

- How religious doctrine has been used to create division, but true religion needs Yoga as its practical means

- The end of spiritual seeking and ideas of a perfect future state - wholeness is already here

- The tantric recognition and response

- Adapting Yoga to each person's body, age, health and cultural background

- Teaching Yoga as a stand against trauma and disconnection in the world

Favorite phrases:

"The yogas of participation in the given reality."

"Your body is in a profound unity with the total cosmos."

"Yoga is the practical means by which individuals actualize the great ideals of their culture, of their religion."

"Trying to come into union implies the two are separate."

"Your body is the extraordinary intelligence that is the cosmos happening as you." Bali teacher training www.heartofyoga.com/bali-ytt Timestamps: [00:00:00] Introduction [00:02:00] Krishnamacharya's emphasis on adapting Yoga to the individual [00:05:00] Already being the beauty - no need to get somewhere [00:10:00] Yoga as actualizing the ideals of religion and culture [00:15:00] Division created by religious doctrine and seeking [00:20:00] The body as already in unity with the cosmos [00:25:00] Yoga as participation versus seeking [00:30:00] Personal examples of transformative effects of simple Yoga [00:35:00] Science, religion and Yoga as three stabilizing forces [00:40:00] Consciousness and objects as a unity [00:45:00] No separate self or other [00:50:00] Being beyond gender identification [00:55:00] Introducing principles of Krishnamacharya's Yoga

More from The Heart of Yoga

Dec 3, 2025

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Nov 26, 2025

You're locked in a cell, in handcuffs, with no way out. Not just physically, but mentally too. That's where Sofie Chi found herself, and it's also where her daily Yoga truly began. In this conversation, Sofie speaks about being detained and how, in that moment of intense restriction, she turned to her breath and body. From within that birdcage-like balcony, she began participating in the given reality, and it changed everything. Sofie is a teacher from Austria of Polish descent who travels the world sharing Facial Rejuvenation. Her story and presence bring deep clarity to the question of beauty, how it's been distorted by culture, and how Yoga reveals that we are the beauty itself. This episode moves through trauma, power structures, aging, sexuality, and what it means to be truly intimate with life. Sofie speaks from direct experience and with real humility. I'm grateful to walk this path alongside her. Key Takeaways Yoga in Crisis - True practice begins when there's no escape from mental and physical restriction. The Body is the Cosmos - Real Yoga is participation in the beauty and unity of life itself. Beauty Is Not Performance - We are not meant to chase beauty. We are it, inherently and already. Aging with Integrity - Aging is not a decline but a return to natural wisdom and strength. Sexuality as Presence - Intimacy begins with the breath, the body, and receptivity to life. From Comparison to Compassion - We must unlearn the societal patterning that pits women against one another. Where to Find Our Guest Sofie Chi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starfaceyoga Links & Resources You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it. Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

Nov 12, 2025

For Mark Whitwell, music was always a temple. In the jazz clubs of New York such as Village Vanguard, Blue Note, and Sweet Basil, he felt the power of true presence. In this conversation, Mark is joined by Tony Glausi, a trumpet player and composer who carries the living jazz tradition with profound originality. Over the course of a month practicing together in Bali, a friendship formed through daily Yoga, shared breath, and an unshakable love for music. Tony opens up about the journey that brought him here. From his roots in a large Mormon family to years of exploring Buddhism, psychedelics, and the creative highs and lows of the music industry, he shares how Yoga has become his ground. Mark and Tony speak candidly about sobriety, the myth of the tortured artist, and what it means to truly merge with the music. Tony Glausi is a New York-based musician devoted to the jazz tradition. Through trumpet, piano, and composition, he explores the meeting point of Yoga and sound for the real life of every person. His most recent album, Awaken, came from a time of injury, reflection, and a deep return to what matters most. Key Takeaways Yoga of Breath and Sound – Music and Yoga meet in the breath, in the steady exhale, and in the felt experience of being fully alive. Sobriety and Clarity – Letting go of substances isn't a loss. It is the return to real perception and sustainable joy. From Dogma to Direct Experience – Yoga isn't a belief system. It's how we are with what is. Horizontal Intimacy as the Foundation for Art – Real artistry comes through being fully with the life around us. The End of the Tortured Artist – Art does not need to come from suffering. With real Yoga, artists can thrive and create from wholeness. Concerts as Ceremony – Tony envisions a new kind of performance that begins in silence, in practice, in true receptivity. Where to Find Our Guest Tony Glausi's Website: http://www.tonyglausi.com Tony Glausi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyglausi Links & Resources Tony's Latest Album 'Awaken': http://www.tonyglausi.com You are the beauty. You are the intelligence. You are already in perfect harmony with life. You don't need to seek it. You need only participate in it. Learn more and access the course at https://www.heartofyoga.com Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation. This podcast is sustained by your donations.

Nov 5, 2025

OM is the mantra of all mantras, the expression of perfect perfection of life that is happening as every person and every form of the cosmos. Including you, the reader. Pronunciation of OM reveals this to the whole body and mind. This conversation is between two devotees of the OM: Sybille is a Yoga teacher, student of Sanskrit and the wisdom traditions, mother, historian, and co-founder of Hatha Vinyasa Parampara Studio in Mainz, Germany. She is also a lover of the vibration of the OM. We explore the beauty of Om, its sonic completeness, and how Sanskrit, practiced rather than merely studied, can cleanse the doors of perception. Key Takeaways Om Is The Breath Of The Universe – It includes all other sounds, and contains the same rhythm of expansion and return found in life and nature. Sanskrit Is An Embodied Practice – Beyond signifier and signified, it is a sonically intelligent language that includes the whole body nervous system. Sound Is Real, Not Just Symbolic – In Sanskrit and in Yoga, sound actually exists, it wriggles through the air, it ripples through us; it's not just a vehicle of conceptual meaning. Precision In Mantra Creates Harmony – Subtle shifts in pronunciation affect energy, and pleasure leads the way. Chanting Is Subtle Asana – Just like postures, refining sound in the instrument of our body involves subtle adjustments, in devotion to the flow of prana Silence Is Part Of Om – The fourth part of Om is silence, the natural state, what is the base of all sound and form. Links & Resources Learn more and access resources to practice at https://www.heartofyoga.com Support the Heart of Yoga Foundation! This podcast is sustained by your donations.

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