Tantra

#33: Tantra Yoga with Mark Shveima

May 10, 2018 Hacking the Self Podcast 1:45:32
Mark Shveima and I discuss the rich world of Tantra Yoga, specifically through the collections of lineages that has come to be known as Nondual Shaiva Tantra. Through studying Anusara Yoga with founder John Friend, Mark encountered the teachings of Tantra Yoga. It was through the Anusara scene that Mark met the man who came to be his primary meditation and yoga philosophy teacher, Tantrik scholar Paul Muller-Ortega. Mark’s journey is one familiar to many others on the path of yoga: that postural yoga can serve as an entry point into the vast richness of what the yoga tradition has to offer.
Shownotes:

0:00-14:10: Opening Remarks

14:10-18:35: Mark’s initial entry point into yoga

18:35-24:48: How Anusara Yoga introduced Mark to Tantra and to Paul Muller-Ortega

24:48-31:12: What is Nondual Shaiva Tantra? What distinguishes it from the Classical Yoga of

                       Patanjali?         

31:12-34:21: The relationship between the Bhagavad Gita and later Tantric traditions

34:21-43:05: Expansion & Contraction of Consciousness in the Shaiva Tantra Viewpoint

43:05-51:05: Practical Ways for working with the contractions of consciousness to step into a

                       Patanjali?  

51:05-1:00:00: Committing to and prioritizing your practice.

1:01:50-1:07:57: Travel abroad as practice; Mark’s reflections on life as an expat  in Japan.

1:07:57-1:14:53: Myth of the Churning of the Milky Ocean

1:14:53-1:19:16: Importance of Lineage. Integrating various traditions into a coherent path in

                            today’s globalized marketplace of ideas.

1:19:16-1:37:15: Benefits of Qi Gong vs Hatha Yoga

1:37:15-1:42:28: Role of Initiation in Tantra

1:42:28-1:46:00: Closing Remarks

Guest Bio:
Mark Shveima is currently the Yoga Director of studio BiNDU, nestled within the quiet back streets of Kyoto, Japan, where he landed after making a Hanuman leap from San Francisco in 2008. He has been immersed in the study, practice and teaching of Yoga for over two decades. Mark is an Authorized Teacher of Neelakantha Meditation, as taught by Paul Muller-Ortega, the founder of Blue Throat Yoga, a school of non-dual Shaiva Tantra practice and study.
Mark has been a dedicated and assiduous student of this path for over a decade. He is a tireless presenter of courses, intensives and workshops throughout Japan, where he is widely regarded as a deeply knowledgeable and highly experienced teacher and practitioner of asana, meditation, and Indian philosophy.
Recently, he has entered into an immersive study of Qigong and Taoism, which has opened him to new vistas of communication of the workings of the subtleties of the body, mind and emotional center.
Mark`s practice and teaching have become an ever-evolving organic expression of his heart intention to assist people in re-discovering ease in their body, stillness in their mind, and the inherent creative power and beauty of their awakened heart.
Links:
(Blue Throat Yoga is directed by Mark’s principal teacher, Paul Muller-Orega. Mark is a teacher in the Blue Throat Yoga community).

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#002: Myth, Metaphor and Mantra: The Power of Language and Narrative with Susanna Harwood Rubin

September 22, 2017 Hacking the Self Podcast 59:19

In this episode I discuss the power of myth, metaphor and mantra with yoga teacher and writer Susanna Harwood Rubin.

Guest Bio: Susanna is a yoga teacher, writer, and artist whose work is rooted in South Indian Philosophy. An artist by training and a former educator at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York, Susanna is a storyteller who is passionate about Hindu myth and the philosophy of Rajanaka Tantra, which she has studied for over 15 years in the U.S. and in South India with Dr. Douglas Brooks, one of the great living scholars of Hindu Tantra.

In our conversation we explore the power of narrative, myth, and metaphor and how viewing the world through these lenses can enrich our lives. We consider this from the perspective of various viewpoints, including why those who might not identify as religious or spiritual might find value from myths. We also discuss the power of language and what mantra can contribute to one’s meditation practice.

Links:

http://susannaharwoodrubin.com/

http://www.rajanaka.com/

Please help to make Hacking the Self a sustainable project by:

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You can also help us to get the word out by:

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