Yoga Stories with Matt and Monica

OK, so January is almost over, but that doesn't mean we cannot still develop some new habits and work on those resolutions we made at the beginning of the year! Monica tells us it only takes 21 days to develop a new habit - so why not use that power to achieve something wonderful? Our idea (and we don't claim it's original!) is to encourage you to start a personal (yoga) practice. Something simple. Something sustainable. Something you will do every day, and will see and feel a benefit from. ...

We decided to celebrate the end of the year by listening back to the guests we had over the last year; to share the impressions we had, the lessons we learned, the beautiful stories shared. However, we were really only half way through when time was up (a booster vaccination appointment was calling!). So this is just part 1. We will talk about everyone before the year is out... (hopefully!) What have we learned? CHANGE. Everything changes, and we are certainly not the people we were at...

Born in South Africa, Shannon had an idyllic childhood including time at a catholic boarding school. Sensing the world was bigger than what she saw of it in her home country, she moved to London and enjoyed all the big city can offer. Along the way she became acquainted with yoga and meditation, but it wasn't until she went on a month long Buddhist meditation retreat that her life turned a corner and she set out in a different direction. Eventually she ended up working in France at a meditat...

This episode introduces us to Tara - who studied with Monica in Mysore. Tara is based in India but has also lived in Europe. She is a student and teacher of yoga, as well as an artist and mindful cook. Tara's introduction to yoga came from two sources - a grandmother (who instilled the Yamas and Niyamas in her), and later family friends. That introduction was significant - not only did Tara start to learn yoga asanas, but her eyes were opened to the vastness of artistic expression once relea...

In a recording made during the heady days of summer, Monica and Matt talk to Klara and Sigrid, teacher and student at Reykjavik Yoga in Iceland. Why Iceland? We noticed that after Brussels, Reykjavik is the city in which we had the most listeners. So we wanted to meet some of them! Klara was born in the Czech Republic but has traveled the world since then. Yoga was seeping into her life from an early age with an interest in rocks and crystals and wondering what chakras were... in Ireland she...

In this second episode on the Kleshas, we look at Asmita - ego, and Avidya, the mother and father of all Kleshas. We spend quite some time examining our own lives to see how much we have identified with different roles - professional, family, social. Identifying too much with any of these roles - motherhood included - is going to involve some suffering at some point. We also look at the idea that egoism can be negative as well as positive - thinking you're not good enough is just as damaging...

We're back! In this week's episode, before talking about the last three limbs of yoga from Patanjali's sutras: Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. But before we get to concentration and meditation we have to confess that we're not going to be able to share much about Samadhi. There's a very honest discussion about "Why do we do this?" "This" being yoga rather than the podcast 😁. And why do we talk about that? Well, Matt has a confession to make. Don't worry, it's not too shocking. We discuss...

This week, after a week off, Matt has baked diabetic cookies for Monica. They turn out to be not so bad in the end... Our discussion focuses on Pranayama. More than breathing exercises, it's a way to expand and control Prana, the energy that animates not only us, our minds and bodies, but the whole Universe. Matt gets very excited about the reading he's been doing on Prana, from Vivekananda's lecture series. Intensifying, concentrating and controlling Prana are ways to "put more coal i...

Monica and Matt examine the third limb of yoga: asanas. The discussion gets perhaps more serious than one would imagine for the topic... and Oréo can be heard begging for Monica's coconut cookies! There's not much to go on in Patanjali or the Gita... so Monica turns to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (HYP). A marvellous handbook for yoga but it only refers to sitting postures. So where do the standing asana (postures) come from? Of the modern posture styles best known in the west (Hatha, Vinyasa, ...

In this episode Monica and Matt discuss the first two Niyamas - Saucha (or is it Shaucha?) and Santosha - purity and contentment. Saucha can also mean cleanliness and we discover that what comes out of people can be as "defiling" as what goes in - an idea we look at from the New Testament. We also talk about interdictions on certain foods for observant Jews as well as Muslims. Preparations to commune with the divine, including those related to Saucha can be useful to put you in the right stat...

In the second part of our chat on the Yamas, we open with an observation on body positivity and gender identity which leads us to Brachmacharya. Often translated as some kind of sexual restraint, it can also mean balance. We tackle this topic carefully, indeed "careful" is the watchword of the episode! When history is littered with religion, institutions and society seeking to repress different kinds of sexuality and control the bodies of women, how should we regard the teachings surrounding ...

Monica and Matt reflect on what they've learned from speaking to Colin and Robbie: yoga as a preparation for death and a lot of discussion about Savasana (including how to make it competitive, if that's your thing...). They discuss the commercialisation of yoga and reflect on the idea of purity in yoga practice. As we mature do we all become less certain about the important things in life and is that a good thing? Being less sure about things perhaps makes you more accepting and understanding...