Welcome! Something unusual for the Yoga Podcast, this time James Altucher (my husband) is interviewing me (the Yoga Teacher) And he is not holding back, he asks about personal things (very personal), about yoga, about what brought me to it, what it did to me, what it can do for you and how it influences every moment of my life There was talk ranging the whole gamut from Patanjali to Professor Krishnamacharya and his teacher, to  BKS Iyengar to Pattabhi Jois (founder of the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga System) to BKS Iyengar to Paul Dallaghan, Jessica, Kino... everybody! And he asked me about the Periscope LIVE yoga class I offer for 30" EVERY FRIDAY - Why Periscope? Why should you go into it? How would you benefit from it? Will you like it? Is it for you? And we even talked about relationships, specifically our relationships, and the challenges that we face when working, teaching, dealing with children or step-children and god-children, to cooking and travel, to who packs the clothes and who wins at chess, every time! WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT ME I don't want to sound arrogant, I prefer to keep it on the humble side, and even that sounds arrogant, I feel I can win. So, ok, what is special about me is I keep it real, I have spent tens of thousands of dollars circling the globe in search of true teachings, good teachers of asana, pranayama, and on lots of meditation retreats. I also write books and one of them became a WSJ best-seller... Mostly I am into the flow of life, into living each moment and appreciating the subtleties and nuances of how life is always different, with every breath we take. Yoga is fundamentally a BREATHING practice.  And that is the most important part of the message for me. Hope you like it! Enjoy

Let me tell you what happened to me when I read “The Surrender Experiment” by Michale Singer, which by the way, JUST hit the NY Times Best-Seller… Of course. The Surrender Experiment, highly recommended It was a big surprise! Mostly because I did NOT read it. Instead… I EXPERIENCED it! It went something like this, in every chapter, and in an endless loop… – Wait. What!” – Oh C’mon! Seriously!? – And he surrendered to THAT? – Really? – And then THAT happened? – WOW…. wow wow wow Next chapter: Repeat… and on, and on, and on… I could not put it down, in fact,  I switched between reading and listening in audio.  He read the audio himself so it is very special, you are there with him, you feel what is happening, in every blow that life throws him over the past 40 years, and how he just “surrenders”     But this was just the beginning… The book mentions all the things that happened to him, when he decided NOT to listen to the voice on his head anymore… All the things from someone building a property on his land (can you imagine?) to eventually building a company with billions of dollars in revenue. I kid you not. He was managing billions of dollars, and had a big part on Web-Md. I wrote to the Temple Of The Universe Contact page as soon as I finished the book. My heart was literally on fire! Temple of The Universe in Gainesville, FL I told them I wanted to see the Temple of the Universe, I wanted to see the house that was built for “Mikkie” by God, which he received through a “phone call from God” (you HAVE to read the book, that is an amazing story), I told them I was dying to visit, to please let us interview him. Then I sent one more email and said we would be willing to fly and meet them. In true SURRENDERING STYLE, both James and I let it go, and the next day they invited us over. In all fairness James had been trying on his own so they were getting it from both of us… And like magic, within a week, we were at the Temple of The Universe, living in one of the houses that Michael Singer had himself built (through the first company he created by surrendering called “Built With Love) and steps from the Temple of the Universe… We sang songs of all religions, from Our Father (which I don’t know in English so I had to recite in Spanish) to the Gayatri Mantra, to the Sri Atma Guita (in English) some simple songs, some Hebrew songs. It was beautiful… I cried, I released, I cleansed emotions, I loved it!  There is so much love in that place. In his previous NY Times Best Seller book, The Untethered Soul,  Michael speaks of “techniques”, but in the new one “The Surrender Experiment” he tells his LIFE, point by point. And it is excruciating at times, sweet at others, divinely organized ever. It is one thing when you hear someone speak “technique” like, for example: – Use death as your friend – When you get triggered, open your heart and let it pass up so it does not get stuck and become a samskara (blockage) – Realize that the voice in your head has NEVER given you good advise, in fact, quite the opposite All of that is nice, but when you see someone who determines, in full, to just surrender, and make life a “Surrender Experiment” the magic that enters is so HUGE, so bizarre, so coincidentally perfect, it is a miracle! Where is the line? We asked?  How do you decide when to surrender and when not to? You don’t follow the voice inside, he said, you just check: Will this hurt anybody? And if the answer is no, you do it…  With wisdom of course, but in true, deep surrendering style… Then you are free from the tyranny of the mind that is always switching from lust, to desperation, to not liking things, to having preferences… Then life becomes an adventure. And I think that is what I experienced, you know why? Because Michael had never even though of giving an interview ever in his life. He made it a point not to. When Untethered Soul came out, he paid for marketing but said he would not do interviews. …. That is… Until Oprah called him directly. Michael Singer With Oprah She revolutionized half of Gainesville Florida to get his personal cell phone and then called him. They talked on the phone for 45′ and Michael went to Chicago and appeared on the show. He then became a New York Time Best Seller… Remember this is a yogi that 40 years ago moved out to the woods to just be in solitude and meditate. And so it came to be that Oprah was his first and only “in person” interview. The “second only in person interview” was: You guessed it. The one with James and me. Right after releasing “The Surrender Experiment” Because there was ‘something there’. He said. How magical can life get? At The Temple Of The Universe We followed the surrender experiment, we asked, nicely, we offered to fly, we made it easy to say yes, then we surrendered. Imagine my surprise when I opened the email with the invitation? I had to run upstairs to find James and we were both dancing and hugging and celebrating and filled with Joy… We were going to see everything he had created. It was as if after reading Harry Potter you’d suddenly get a chance to visit the magic school. You would want to see all the rooms, wouldn’t you? And that is exactly what we got, a full tour… and a podcast, which is below. The doors of the rainbow opened up and conspired to bring us to the Temple of The Universe. On the day of the interview Michael took us to all the sites he mentions in the book. Like, for example: His house which came to him when God called on the phone (an amazing story on the book). It has a meditation pyramid on the third level. I kid you not. I sat in the center of it for a minute. I loved it. The first house built on the property with all glass on the front…. which is where he was staying when the guy dressed in Egyptian clothes (a story that is not in the book but is on the podcast) helped him grow by bothering him. The Temple, of course where we sang devotional songs ranging from the Gayatri mantra, to a Hebrew devotional song, to the Our Father prayer, to the Gita…and on and on…. He also showed us the huge 5 building office space that “him getting out of the way” Co created while he wad in his CEO days.   A beautiful place of which he calls himself “the grounds keeper”) All of it in Alachua. A few miles north of Gainsville… I highly recommend the book… Read it, enjoy it, and practice it. Life is magical if we get out of the way with all the constant useless thinking we do…

 Paul Dallaghan has a yoga retreat that I can only describe as the Richard Branson's Isand for yoga...  Any yoga "real thing" you'd like is there at his place in Ko Samui, Thailand (I've been to the place twice). For example: ayurvedic treatments, infrared saunas, pool, steaming showers, excellent food, exceptional yoga and pranayama instruction and amazingly beautiful accommodations by the ocean... And he is one of the most humble people I know. What We Talked About He drops a bomb on me. I get news about his life right off the start which I did not know. Paul does NOT get jet lag... and he gives tips on how to avoid it as much as possible His start in yoga in New York after business school Since he got clear that yoga was his thing, doubts melted away and he felt a surrendering come over him. Paul is one of ONLY two students of pranayama and yoga master Tiwariji (of the Kayvalyadhama Institute in India)  we talk about it and Paul says it all happened very naturally... We talk about how he met him One thing to notice is that every time he started building the beautiful retreat centers, he had NO money. How the amazing yoga retreat he maintains in Ko Samui Thailand came to be in a very organic way The daily contemplation practice that Paul does in 4 steps, to prepare for the day and practice And how this practice continues to be very useful and helpful for him after more than decade of practice Paul says:  This practice comes from a place where we acknowledge that: "I need help because I don't know anything... And then there is life... And dealing with it... And that is why we ask for help" The Gayatri Mantra and how it helps on clarity He proposes we could all meet together in 20 years and see how the practices helped each of us Paul notices as he sees students around the world a lot of tension in the upper part of the belly and why this is What took Paul a long time to understand... The beautiful yoga room at Samahita Retreat in Ko Samui Thailand About Paul About Paul's International Teaching Schedule Twitter Pinterest Facebook Tumblr Instagram Google Plus Transcript Claudia A. Altucher:   Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Yoga Podcast. I am over the moon to have this guest with me because I've been looking for him for over, I'm gonna say, seven to eight months, and he's just so busy, but I have Paul Dallaghan. He is the co-founder with his wife, Jutima, of Yoga Thailand and Samahita Wellness – Paul Dallaghan:         Ex-wife. Claudia A. Altucher:   Excuse me? Paul Dallaghan:         That's ex-wife. Claudia A. Altucher:   Oh, I didn't know. I'm sorry to hear. Paul Dallaghan:         [Laughs] Nothing to be sorry about, but yeah, go ahead. Claudia A. Altucher:   Oh, okay. So that's news, I guess. Last December, CNN named them as one of the top ten wellness resorts in Asia. He has been trained personally in a one-on-one capacity with Sri O.P. Tiwari, a true yogi master, master of pranayama, and head of the Yoga Institute Kaivalyadhama in India. And amazingly enough, Paul was also trained in advanced asana practice with the great Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, who's the man himself, the founder of the Ashtanga Yoga Vinyasa system as we know it. Both centers – I had the opportunity to visit it twice in the beautiful island of Koh Samui, and he is also, at the moment, on top of all of this and having two children, he has been taken by the Emory University in Atlanta in the USA in the field of biological anthropology, and he's following a Ph.D. program, bringing the yogic practices and philosophy to the scientific field. Paul, welcome. So grateful to have you on the podcast. Paul Dallaghan:         Yeah, thank you, Claudia. Claudia A. Altucher:   So it is 3:38. I guess there have been major changes in your life. I know you just returned from a teacher training in Thailand for a full month. Are you still in Koh Samui time or are you in Atlanta time? Paul Dallaghan:         I'm in Atlanta time. Claudia A. Altucher:   Yeah? You've totally recovered from jetlag, no problem? Paul Dallaghan:         Well, I'm in – I never – naturally, there's a certain amount of drag that goes with the flight, but I find that it's not that big of an issue, and especially, I suppose, when you just kinda regulate yourself or maybe some of the benefit of the breath practice, I think, helps a lot. I mean, I once asked my own teacher, Tiwari G., who had just flown back from Europe to India, I said, "How are things? Any jetlag?" And he said, "What jetlag?" And this is him at 80 years of age, and he said, "What jetlag? If you do the practices, that doesn't really bother you." Now, I'm not saying that, "Oh, this magical thing and everything goes away," but rather, that a certain, I suppose, respect in working with our own natural rhythms, our own internal clock, and – if you can kind of manage the length and the detail of the flight, along with how much and when you're eating, along with when you go to bed, and your own kind of rhythmic, internal setting, which you can kind of play with a lot just via the breath, then I think jetlag is way less. In my case, I feel its presence, but it's sort of minimal. Claudia A. Altucher:   That's very interesting, 'cause I remember in 2009, you gave us sort of like a – somewhat of some suggestions to avoid the jetlag, and you suggested, "Eat before, a healthy dinner, like three or four hours before; don't eat when you're in the airport, and try to relax and move the body, and then in the morning, if you want – " and you said, "Start singing some mantras and – " [laughs] – and it was funny because you looked around like, "What would be the reaction of other passengers if you started singing mantras and do some pranayama?" – all of which I tried, and none of which worked, and it probably is because I haven't been practicing 13 years nonstop like you have, so it didn't work for me. Paul Dallaghan:         Yeah, I mean, I don’t know how or what you did, so – but you know, I think the biggest thing is eating, and how long the flight is and when and how much you eat is a big factor. I mean, a lotta people get on the plane and it's around midnight and the time they get on, and then they're given the plate of food and they eat it, and – which they wouldn't be doing if they were just normally at home or whatever, you know? So avoiding those kinda little mishaps can help a lot. The rest, if you're doing any mantra singing, do that in your head, obviously. Claudia A. Altucher:   Right, yes. [Laughs] Paul Dallaghan:         And that's up to any individual for what they wanna get into, their preference, you know? Personally, I like to relax and watch a movie, you know? But usually, there's work to do. Claudia A. Altucher:   Right. So you started – you discovered, you say, yoga in 1995 in New York City, and you were on course to become an actor? Paul Dallaghan:         No, I had a academic background in economics and business, and I had done a bit of work in that after graduating in Europe, and I came interviewing on Wall Street, but something other, shall we say, was calling me. I wasn't that interested in getting a job, per se. You know, 23, 24, I felt, "Well, there's other things in my heart, and some of them just require exploration, and some, I can't put a finger on or express," but given a space and given a kind of a freedom, which is what I felt New York embodied and which is why I wanted to be there was to pull off the tie, quite literally, and explore. And one of the things I was interested in was the expression that might come through acting, et cetera, and so I went in and out of that over a couple of years there, and in the sense, sort of satisfied that urge or interest, but at the same time, the word "yoga" came into my vocabulary. When maybe I should've been looking at The New York Times help wanted section, instead, I was looking at obscure pages, say, on The Village Voice or whatever, and out of there popped the word "yoga" and my curiosity and so on from there. Claudia A. Altucher:   And so then you began a – it happened kind of fast because you began teaching in New York in 1998, so I guess – and you started with Sivananda, you had mentioned, I think, and had some explorations in that time? Paul Dallaghan:         Well, the first yoga session I ever took was Sivananda, but I also had a – got a job in a restaurant in the East Village, and I found a room in the top floor of that same building, but in between me and the restaurant was a small, young Jivamukti yoga studio. Claudia A. Altucher:   Wow. Paul Dallaghan:         So I used to have a key to the studio to go to my room, and – it just turned out, you know? So I sort of found myself, without any prior intention, in a sort of a yoga world zone. And early on, I got sort of a mental message, "Oh, you should teach yoga," but then the slightly erroneous, but rational side, said, "No, you've got other things to do." Claudia A. Altucher:   But when you say you got a message, what do you mean? You got a message from the universe? Did you read it in a billboard? How did that message come in? Paul Dallaghan:         [Laughs] Must've been a text message back in 1996. Oh, they didn't have text messages back in 1996. Claudia A. Altucher:   Right. [Laughs] Paul Dallaghan:         What I mean is you just get – I don't wanna go too much into that, but you just get sort of inner insights – or in this sense, it literally was an inner kind of voice or message that I chose to ignore until I couldn't ignore it after a few years – Claudia A. Altucher:   Well, no, once it puts the Jivamukti studio before your – between your bedroom and the world, it becomes kind of a – I mean, the mythology of that image is just enormous. [Laughs] Paul Dallaghan:         Yeah, but I – I was still intent – and I suppose I had to explore other aspects of my character or desire and ambitions, and they took a couple of years not so much to get satisfied, but to get extracted and somewhat beaten, even, so that I kind of realized what really speaks to me or interests me is, you know, to embody it in a yogic path, but it is sort of working within, working on the inside, working and – you know, via, I suppose, these practices on who I am, and I said, "Okay, let's go with life that way." Claudia A. Altucher:   So that's very interesting to me. So you – because you were very young, and to have that realization at such a young age, "Okay, let's go with what life takes – is sort of guiding me to do," is a little bit of a blessing. Paul Dallaghan:         Yes, but at that age, you don't think you're very young, you know? [Inaudible due to crosstalk] If you're 26, you don't think you're young. You're like, "Well, shouldn't I have done stuff already?" And that was part of my problem before that. It was like, "Well, I'm supposed to have got into this or done that or made that," and that's what was the kind of trajectory coming out of a academic and university setting, and that path, in itself, had to unravel. And if anything, it wasn't – there's no sheer intelligence or genius on my part; it was more just, "Let me explore and take a risk," and in the process, it was kind of frustrating or a little bit challenging to, I suppose, ego and the mental side, but on the other side, it was exciting to just sort of be free and look at things. And within that, I suppose, because being willing to explore within that came a realization, which if you look at a life, you could say it came early, but I mean, I could almost say, "Well, why didn't it happen at 18 instead of 26?" Claudia A. Altucher:   Right, yeah, the mind can always complain. Paul Dallaghan:         Not – no, I wouldn't call it complaining, but it's more like the process of going through things is important to the process, you know? It's important to the discovery, to the understanding. So if you don't allow the process to go through, then it's always something that's one step away or at a distance or – so it's not just the, "Oh," you wake up at 18 or 48, you know, and there it is; it's rather that either life has kicked us into some difficulty or challenge or something inside is unsettled or dissatisfied or wants to search and look, and that actual process is the benefit in and of itself and the kind of revealing factor. So whenever that comes up for – for me, you could say it was coming up early. It wasn't – the thoughts were there as a college student, but you're in kind of a nice, boxed world. You step out of that and then you're in the world, and so then those thoughts really came up, you know? "Okay, I can have a job, but that seems too easy," you know? Or it doesn't seem – "It won't satisfy me, so what else is there?" is the way my mind was looking at things at, I suppose, 24. Click HERE for the full Transcript  

Laruga Glaser couldn't help but being a yoga teacher... It kept calling her, even when she was kicked out of a yoga teacher training! What is Special About Laruga Even though she experienced hardships growing up, meaning abuse, which I can relate to, she learned through yoga to transcend and heal. I was taken by her presence and her pace.  She exudes stillness, and she is very friendly. As a teacher she has a heavy international traveling schedule as well as a Mysore program she runs daily in Stockholm.   I also appreciated how she helps us all give ourselves a break when she says (talking about the brutal winters in the Northern hemisphere)... I do feel it is important to be sensitive to the seasonal shifts and adjust the rhythm of one’s practice during these times of external extremes, instead of trying to force the same pacing month after month What we talked about How she grew up in the United States and stepped into yoga by "chance" How Ashtanga picked her curiosity at a very young age The role abuse played in her life as she developed into her own How teaching came to her How she met her boyfriend in Mysore exactly four months before I met James! Her daily routine (she wakes up at 2:45 AM people!) How she teaches and what her schedule is like How she manages her energy The one thing that took Laruga a LONG time to understand... About Laruga: Website Upcoming Traveling Workshops Daily Mysore Twitter Flickr Blog Youtube LinkedIn GooglePlus TRANSCRIPT: Claudia A. Altucher:   Let me ask you something. It’s 4:00 PM in Stockholm, so I’m wondering: what did you do today? Laruga Glaser:           Oh, okay. Well – [Laughter] Yeah, my usual schedule is – I’ll – first thing in the morning, I practice – I’ll do my practice, which is quite early. Claudia A. Altucher:   What is “quite early”? Laruga Glaser:           My alarm come – goes off at around 2:45 AM. Claudia A. Altucher:   Oh, my goodness. Laruga Glaser:           So – but that doesn’t mean that I necessarily get up right away. It depends on – sometimes I hit “snooze” a few times to be perfectly honest. Claudia A. Altucher:   Well, you’re very allowed. Anyone who puts the clock at 2:45 AM is allowed to “snooze it” in my world. Laruga Glaser:           Yeah, sometimes I need a little bit of a buffer. Sometimes I do pop out of bed right away, but sometimes I’ll – you know, it’s a good way for me to kind of segue myself out of bed. Claudia A. Altucher:   So what time do you go to bed then? Laruga Glaser:           In a perfect world: 8:00 PM. That doesn’t always happen. Usually, I really start winding down between 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM, but the best time for me to be in bed is before 8:30 PM, really. Claudia A. Altucher:   Yeah, you need that. For me, too, only I don’t wake up that early. That’s very impressive to me. Laruga Glaser:           Yeah, yeah, that’s important. [Laughter] So – Claudia A. Altucher:   And then what did you do? Laruga Glaser:           Then – so I’ll do my practice, then it’s like I have to, very quickly, kind of shower and get ready to head to the studio to teach. So my commute isn’t too bad – it’s about, from door-to-door, it’s maybe about 20 minutes? Claudia A. Altucher:   Do you go by train, I guess? Or – Laruga Glaser:           Yeah. Twenty – twenty-five minutes, really, actually. So, yeah, I catch a train into the city center and make my way to Yogayama to teach. So I start around – a little after 6:30AM is when I start teaching. So my boyfriend leaves, actually, earlier to open the doors; he opens the doors at the studio at 6:00 AM. So some students like to arrive before I arrive to get started. Claudia A. Altucher:   Right, right. Yeah. Laruga Glaser:           So he’s a really big help for me because then it allows me to have some breathing room to do my practice because I won’t – you know, it’s – I will not wake up at 2:00 AM or 1:00 AM to do my practice. [Laughs] Claudia A. Altucher:   No, that will be – yeah. That will be going Sharath – like, going a little – like, well, he has to ’cause he opens at 4:00 AM, but – yeah. So your boyfriend is very into Ashtanga yoga as well; in fact, you met him in Mysore, is that right? Laruga Glaser:           Yeah, I did. I met him in Mysore in 2009, and – yeah, so we both have this mutual passion or dedication for the practice, which is really nice. We – but, you know, yoga doesn’t necessarily consume our life and conversation day-to-day, but it really – we kind of just have this steady acknowledgment of that it’s something that we do daily. We support each other’s process, and also he supports my teaching, and I also support his practice and also his teaching. He teaches a little bit – not nearly as much because he has another full-time job. It’s a great thing to share together, so – Claudia A. Altucher:   Yeah, of course. And so you teach from 6:30 AM or so until what time? Laruga Glaser:           Until 10:00 AM. Claudia A. Altucher:   Ah, okay. Mysore – where you’re adjusting everybody depending on the level they’re at. Laruga Glaser:           Yes, yes. So – Claudia A. Altucher:   And what happens after 10:00 AM? Laruga Glaser:           So – oh, gosh. It could be so many things. You know, sometimes I have meetings and different things that have to do with teaching at Yogayama; other times, it’s a matter of me – you know, I’ll come back home, I’ll eat something ’cause, usually, after practice, I really don’t have time to eat, and, actually, don’t like to really eat too much before teaching – so it’s kind of really like my first meal after teaching. So I definitely try to have something to eat. And then I do need to rest and wind down after teaching. Claudia A. Altucher:   Of course, of course, and, you know, it’s interesting what you said right there, and I find this the more I practice. I’ve been practicing daily, non-stop, since 2007 – even though I started in ’05. Like, there’s always a transition between starting Ashtanga, but I find the more I practice, the less I want to eat until late in the day – seems to be – the practice seems to generate that. Laruga Glaser:           Yeah, I find it really interesting. But I have gone through different cycles with that where – you’re kind of in the practice in a way where it seems like the appetite drops where you want to eat later, but then I’ve also gone through some cycles, too, where it’s like – it seems like my body wants food earlier in the day or the metabolism or my appetite has increased. You know, sometimes it waxes and wanes, which I find kind of interesting as well. Claudia A. Altucher:   Well, maybe I’ll experience that when I get to higher levels. I am only in that primary – little bit of intermediate – series. Maybe when I get to the ultra-strong handstands and balances, poses that you have amazing photos of, maybe then my appetite will change. Laruga Glaser:           Well, I mean, that’s still high level. I think just daily practices and consistency and – that’s an advanced practice, too. I don’t know if it’s always – I don’t know if it’s always these other more advanced poses all the time, but – Claudia A. Altucher:   You talked recently – you said that you were – you had been experiencing, I think I heard this in an interview, a little bit of fatigue during a period of your practice, and – Laruga Glaser:           Oh, yeah. Yeah, I did. So, yeah – I just – it was a little bit like I kind of – just – I don’t know if the right term would be kind of “hitting a wall” a little bit – just – I think there are several factors going into it. One thing is, like, just adapting to living in Sweden. So when I first moved, it’s kind of like everything is new. And like, you know, the body and my – and everything is just kind of like calibrating to being in a new place, but Claudia A. Altucher:   Where were you living before Sweden? Laruga Glaser:           I was in the Midwest; I was in Columbus, Ohio. Claudia A. Altucher:   Where you were born? Laruga Glaser:           No, no, no. I actually was born in South Carolina. Claudia A. Altucher:   Oh, you were born in South Carolina? Oh. Laruga Glaser:           Yeah, I was born – but I didn’t stay there for long. So when my sister was born, she – we’re only 13 months apart – Claudia A. Altucher:   Oh. Laruga Glaser:           Yeah, so – yeah, that’s a quick turnover – Claudia A. Altucher:   Yeah, very quick. Laruga Glaser:           [Laughs] When she was born, then we moved away from South Carolina, and we moved to Illinois, where I grew up in a small town called Edwardsville that’s like in the southern part of the state – so, not close to Chicago. Like, every time I bring up the state Illinois, everyone thinks, “Oh, you were from Chicago” – which is actually where my dad is from originally. So I grew up there until about – yeah – the time that I graduated high school. And then I ended up in Columbus, Ohio, when I went to university there at Ohio State. Claudia A. Altucher:   What did you study in university? Laruga Glaser:           It’s really – so I changed my major, like, four or five times. But I actually – I graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in human ecology with a focus on fashion merchandising. Claudia A. Altucher:   Wow. And then from that to yoga teacher? Laruga Glaser:           Yeah, yeah, so – yeah. I mean, it was – I think, too, because of the fact that I changed my major so many times, I was a little bit not – I was just a little bit confused on where to go. You know – Claudia A. Altucher:   But you started yoga really, really early, so you were practicing already by this time. Laruga Glaser:           Yeah, and I wasn’t – you know – I can’t say that I was super, super serious, but I was really – so when I first discovered yoga, and actually before I even started practicing Asana, I was really interested in spirituality, philosophy – you know, I was even dabbling in New Age thought; I was reading about meditation; I was reading about Buddhism – anything I could get my hands on when it came to just spirituality, different views of thought – and through that investigation, I came across like – that’s when I came across Ashtanga yoga, like the eight limbs, before even understanding that there’s an Asana practice called Ashtanga yoga. So it was just like I had all this information, and then yoga just really sparked my interest. I just loved this – I don’t know – it just seemed so holistic in a way where it’s like – it was about self-investigation and about practice and self-reflection and just being guided within and all these things. It really spoke to me versus kind of like more religious establishments, kind of telling you from the outside: follow these rules, “Do this, do that.” The whole path of yoga kind of just – there was something in it that I acknowledged, that I recognized, that kind of sparked something within me. And then to find Asana practice, which was actually the tool of using the body to further this investigation, just really excited me. I just thought joining the use of the body with the mind and the spirit – I just felt like that was so amazing. Claudia A. Altucher:   Yeah, and I especially find that interesting particularly with Ashtanga yoga because it’s a type of – the Asana in the lineage of Pattabhi Jois is so challenging. They take the Asana part so seriously, and the breathing, that it really puts you in touch with the body right away. You start feeling that transformation in the body immediately, and so the questions begin to come because it’s so intense. Laruga Glaser:           Most definitely. Yeah, I mean – yeah, this gateway of using the breath and the body, so breathing consciously and just moving and – I just – I feel like in the Ashtanga yoga practice, yeah, there is an intensity, but it doesn’t necessarily always have to be intense. Sometimes, we can add on layers of intensity that don’t necessarily have to be there, but there’s something about this Asana practice where, you know, you’re kind of uniting breath and movement and you’re using the body as a tool where it’s just – you connect to all the sheaths of your body in a way where it’s not just physical. You feel the mental sheath, the subtle sheath, that all of these just kind of like – it’s like all of a sudden, you kind of connect to it. And I remember, early on, when I was practicing, I didn’t really understand what that was – like, but then, later, when you kind of do something reading and you’re kind of like, “Oh, yeah. Okay. That’s kind of something that I was experiencing or connecting to.” But I will tell you, my first start with Asana practice – I was doing other forms, which I really enjoyed – like kind of softer forms, or a little bit more like Iyengar-type of inspired practices. But when I found Ashtanga yoga, it was like – I don’t know – it was just like the clouds parted, the angels sang – [Laughter] I don’t know. Right away, I just had such a strong connection to it even though it was very challenging. It wasn’t like it just – everything just was so easy, but I just – there was something to it that just ran a little bit deeper inside that I hadn’t really experienced before. Read the Full Transcript Here

I had to go. Badly. But one of my three roommates was taking a luxury long shower in the only bathroom. What to do?! No oh no! The thought crossed my mind... Use the Indian bathroom?  Me? None of the four of us sub-leasing that house in Mysore, South India circa 2008 had yet opened THAT door. None of us had dared step into the vortex of how two thirds of the world do their business. But I had to. What was the alternative? So I did. I opened the door.... Slowly.  Would the walls be splashed? Would there be water in the pot next to it? Would it even be clean? Would I fall into an infinite tunnel of shit? No. Phew! Very clean. I went outside to refill the pot with clean water, grabbed some extra toilette paper, closed the door, and did what I had to do. Wait. What is this? Fascinating! Even though it was uncomfortable, everything was easy... It almost felt... Hm, what is the word? NATURAL, human, normal. DIFFERENT. Imagine my delight when I saw the episode of Shark Tank in which Bobby and Judy presented what they have come to call "Squatty-Potty" a company that created a stool so we can, IN THE WEST, squat easily... Here is the episode which is fun to watch Because I have this habit of calling anyone who helps me evacuate my intestines better I picked up the phone and gave Bobby and Judy a call and they agreed to go on the podcast that I do with lovely husband, "Ask Altucher". The four of us had a lot to talk about. Almost every illness out there starts in the intestines. Bobby shipped me two Squatty-Potties ahead of the podcast recording so I could try it myself, and I have to tell you, I noticed a few things right away... If you get put off by talk of how the body works, maybe skip these points... As a yogi, I am fascinated by this type of things 1) It works JUST like the Indian toilette, only it is EASIER because my muscles don't have to hold me in position, my legs simply raise to the occasion 2) It works.  It is the right position in which to do "our business" 3) This is only for women... I know... But I noticed that I was able to empty my bladder to an extent I had never done before... I mean, it kept going and going... Like the pink bunny I will let you hear the episode and I hope you try it...

Julie Piatt is my woman crush... She is the embodiment of a yoga teacher, mother, musician, artist, supportive mother and wife, healer, and song writer. Listen to her for a few minutes and you will feel elevated.  She excudes calm confidence and centeredness. Ever since I spoke with her last week I have been doing the meditation she "downloaded" -  I cried on the first try, it touched something very deep within me.  Then I was able to just sing to the beautiful humming and mantras, and I plan on continuing for 40 days. Julie has just released THE PLANTPOWER WAY: Whole Food Plant-Based Recipes and Guidance for The Whole Family together with her Vegan Ultraman husband Rich Roll In this episode we talk about how what kept her going even when she was first married to Rich and he would eat so differently (he was a recovering alcoholic), what is like to UN-SCHOOL 4 children, why the plant power way is so powerful, how it healed her and how it can heal you and me too. Oh.... And I also ask her to marry me. The meditation she offers can be found here, at her husband's Rich Roll page  It's the best 9 dollars I ever invested, and I don't say that lightly. Find more about Julie at SriMati.com Instagram Twitter Facebook And remember to subscribe to my newsletter so you can stay in touch! Claudia

Joy Marzec is a movie writer, producer, director, a music band member, an idea machine, a complete choose yourself case (she invested what she would have paid in film school into making her own films), OH AND... A yogi practicing the fourth series of Ashtanga Yoga (which in plain terms means something like winning an olympic gold medal three times, not that asana should EVER be on the olympics... But just to give you an idea) If you cannot see the episode photo with the big play button click here to listen, or play in I-Tunes or Stitcher For the full post and all info click here

What Is Special About Jessica It seems to me Yoga choose Jessica rather than the other way around. She had a great job in Paris in IT, she travelled all the time, and she was making money. But a workshop with David Swenson and meeting Pattabhi Jois in London between 2000 and 2002 changed everything. She could not believe how people would show up early in the morning to "sweat together", and practice this dynamic form of hatha yoga. And she liked it. So she started practicing and traveling to Mysore and meeting people and ... She  joined Yoga Thailand in its early stages as a teacher and by invitation! and met Tiwari who is one of the most serious and advanced practitioners of pranayama in the world today. That, meeting Tiwari, is something I envy her for (in a good way of course) because she got to study under direct supervision from him... they still talk on the phone. What We talked About Jessica's life in the corporate world, working for IT and traveling most of the time How she started getting into yoga slowly Her workshop with David Swenson clarifies things for her Her visit to London to take Pattabhi Jois's tour classes India An Invitation to Teach and "take over for a few months" Yoga Thailand!!! I mean. Wow. Her yoga sabbatical, and did she fear running out of money? What is it like to learn directly from Pranayama World Authority Tiwari? Opening her own studio in 2008 in New Orleans Getting married and having a baby The delivery story - It was painful but not as crazy as some videos women get to watch... How the studio is doing today What took Jessica a long time to understand. Books Jessica Recommends on The Podcast Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution (Your Ayurvedic Constitution Revised Enlarged Second Edition) Paperback - by Dr. Robert Svoboda Prakriti It means "nature" in Sanskrit. Dr. Svoboda, says Jessica, is a great writer, very entertaining, very clear and practical.  He is a teacher and a yogi. Ayurveda The Science Of Self Healing by Vasan Lad.  Jessica says this one is for those of us interested in learning more about the pulse, and a good introduction. Ayurvedic Nutrition - By Atreya Smith, one of Jessica's teacher. This book is  clear on diet and the benefits of it. ANOTHER BOOK WE MENTION IN THE PODCAST: The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World's Healthiest People by Dan Buettner (Here is the interview James did with Buettner on living to 100) About Jessica Her Studio in New Orleans Her book: Yoga Thailand's Healthy Lifestyle Cooking  I've tried recipes from this book for the past five years, in between visits to Ko Samui, and they are delicious and packed with nutrition. A Meal Plan to eat healthy she is offering for free Twitter Facebook Instragram Youtube Samahita Retreat - or Yoga Thailand Transcript Claudia A. Altucher:   Hello and welcome to the Yoga Podcast. Today I have for my guest Jessica Blanchard. She is the founder of Balance Yoga and Wellness in New Orleans. She is a trained yogi for years, authorized by Pattabhi Jois in the Ashtanga yoga tradition. She has also studied at Yoga Thailand under Paul and Jutima Dallaghan, and also Master Tiwari, one of the most authoritative authorities in Pranayama in the world. And Jessica has an interest in Ayurveda. She is a member of NAMA, the national organization which governs and protects Ayurveda here in the United States, and she studied at the European Institute of Vedic Studies and Ayurveda as well. She’s a co-author of Yoga Thailand’s Healthy Lifestyle cookbook, which is in Amazon, and Jessica had the life I think I wish I had when I was in the corporate world. Jessica, welcome to the Yoga Podcast. Jessica Blanchard:      [Laughter] Thank you, Claudia. Claudia A. Altucher:   It’s great to have you. So I want to ask you – I’m insanely curious. You started practicing around ’99, 2000 – is that so? Jessica Blanchard:      That’s right, yeah. Claudia A. Altucher:   And you had a job. Jessica Blanchard:      Oh, yeah, yeah. I worked at Accenture, which is a big consulting firm, multinational. And at that time I was based in Europe Claudia A. Altucher:   Where in Europe? Jessica Blanchard:      Well, in southern France. Officially my base was called Sophia Antipolis, which is close to Nice, so – but I was traveling a lot because most of the clients were in other places. It was kind of a pan-European office, so I would travel to, say, Dublin, Ireland – that’s actually where I was when I first started Ashtanga yoga, and… Claudia A. Altucher:   Uh-huh. So do you speak French? Jessica Blanchard:      Yes, I do. Claudia A. Altucher:   So were you born in France, or – Jessica Blanchard:      No, no, I was born in Louisiana, and there’s a strong connection between South Louisiana and France ’cause it was originally settled by the French. So I always had a fascination with France. My grandmother spoke French; she spoke Cajun French. Claudia A. Altucher:   Oh. Jessica Blanchard:      Yeah, but I learned it in school, maybe starting when I was 13, and I did spend some time over in France when I was in university, in eastern France, in Noce, which is a small place not too many people go to, but it was great because I learned to speak really well ’cause there weren’t too many foreigners. I made very good friends there. Claudia A. Altucher:   That’s great. But let me ask you – so did you live in Paris with your job because you were living there, or did they hire you, or how did that happen? Jessica Blanchard:      That happened – they hired me in New York, and – Claudia A. Altucher:   I see, and you spoke French. And your job was IT, right – IT related? Jessica Blanchard:      Yes, it was. It was very different, and I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I started. I was a sociology and French major, in a small school outside of Philadelphia, an all-women’s college. And I managed to do well in the interviews – I don’t know how – ’cause I didn’t – Claudia A. Altucher:   That’s great. Jessica Blanchard:      Yeah, and I – Claudia A. Altucher:   But you know, the thing is, I also had a job in IT, so I remember reading your bio – it must’ve been 2006 or so – and going, “Oh, my God, she is like what I want to do.” It’s amazing. I mean, I think you were in Dublin one day and you take a workshop with – well, tell us. Who did you take a workshop with? Jessica Blanchard:      Well, this was actually – first it was just a yoga teacher. I am having trouble remembering her name, ’cause she doesn’t teach Ashtanga anymore. But my first Ashtanga classes were with her – her name was Paula; that’s right – and then soon after that I took a workshop with David Swenson. He was probably one of the first – the first ever yoga workshop I took, and that was in early 2000, I think January of 2000. I still remember it was very cold and dark – Claudia A. Altucher:   Yeah. Jessica Blanchard:      ______ Dublin, and it was ______ gym. But there were all these people. I was surprised because it didn’t seem like many people did yoga. There were no yoga studios. All of the classes were in very cold church halls or gyms. We would push the equipment out of the way. The first time I met Paul was at this very funny gym; there was carpet on the floor and he was traveling and teaching there. But – Claudia A. Altucher:   And David Swenson is like a huge – is like – within the Ashtanga yoga world, probably everyone has seen his book because he teaches both the primary and the intermediate series in that book with modifications. So for those of us who can’t get into the pretzel, he has sort of like side images so that you feel like, okay, yeah, I can do this, and it’s very reassuring. Jessica Blanchard:      Yes, and he’s a very – yeah, he makes yoga very accessible, so it’s been – yeah – nice. Claudia A. Altucher:   And something happened to you there, like you caught the Ashtanga bug. You liked it Jessica Blanchard:      I loved it. I really did. I can’t exactly say why. I think it’s a constellation of factors about it: the moving, the breath, the fact that it does require – because it’s physical, you concentrate. It requires concentration. And there was less talk and fluffiness and I think – Claudia A. Altucher:   Yes. [Laughter] Jessica Blanchard:      And it’s interesting ’cause in Europe I feel like yoga was less fluffy than it is in the US since – you know, now I moved back in 2007, but Ashtanga – to me it seems like it’s a little more popular in Europe than it is here in the US. READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE

I had a chance to record this episode "live". And what a difference it makes! You can listen on  Stitcher -  I-Tunes   - Lybsin or click here if you are not sure Kino is one of those teachers that barely needs introduction because she is super famous, he has a quarter million subscribers to her YouTube channel, 679,000 followers on Instagram, 43,000 followers on Twitter and another quarter million (almost) Facebook likes to her page. She has also been on the cover of Yoga Journal many times. She is one of those very rare teachers who has gone very deep down the asana route, currently learning the 5th series of Ashtanga Yoga which is the equivalent of performing an athletic feast worth of many gold medals in the olympics, and she is a pleasure to talk to. What is Special About Kino Reading her book "Sacred Fire" her story feels like a fairy tale.  She caught the yoga bug very early on and started traveling to India in her early 20s.  Her ability in asana and her power to communicate and teach make her a great combination, so much so that she attracts massive numbers of students wherever she travels. But it was not all fairy tale. She also had to take a lot of heat from the "yoga police" which as you know by now, does exist.... I know... I can barely believe it myself but there is such a thing. She has been bashed and criticized for her outreach and for trying to expand the circle of people she reaches with her passion, which is yoga. Today the Miami Life Center is a vibrant store front on 6th street in South Beach.  It is always full of people and great energy and there are great instructors always present, with assistants.  They also have great workshops going on all the time. And the best part about Kino is that she comes with Tim.  Tim Feldman, who is also a very advanced and serious practitioner is her husband and together they created the center.  I hope to have Tim on the podcast soon as well. What We Talked About - Her beginnings with yoga... Her first class - Kino meets Govinda, her first teacher of Ashtanga - Her first trip to Mysore - Meeting Tim and the love story - The hardships of a long distance relationship - Her first Vipassana Silent Meditation 10 day retreat, and her second - Discovering body image issues around the legs and hips - Opening the Miami Life Center - It was NOT easy - The "yoga police" and how she deals with haters - The stereotypes around women being more flexible and men stronger - Not necessarily true - What took Kino a very long time to understand Books and DVDs By Kino DVD Yoga For Beginners DVD Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series DVD Ashtanga Yoga Intermediate Series DVD Introduction to Ashtanga Yoga DVD Ashtanga Yoga Third Series The Power Of Ashtanga Yoga The Primary Series [Book] The Power Of Ashtanga Yoga II: The Intermedia Series [Book] Sacred Fire: My Journey Into Ashtanga Yoga [Book] Audio CD The Mantra Collection About Kino Website Miami Life Center Twitter Facebook Instagram Tumblr YouTube Cody Online Course The Transcript Announcer:                 Welcome to The Yoga Podcast, keeping it real, with your host, Claudia Azula Altucher. Claudia Altucher:        Hey, it's me, Claudia. Thanks for listening to the podcast. I'm really grateful to all of you who've been giving me some amazing feedback. I wanted to give you a little – very quick intro to this special episode. I actually interviewed Kino in person and that was the first time I did this, because I've been doing ridiculous hours of waking up to interview people who are in Asia, Japan, Bali, Australia, and then some other teachers that are not so far, but it was never really – even though that Skype face-to-face, sometimes you are able to do it, it was different to do it at the studio. And I was also in Miami, so I was practicing in the studio, and I thought that was something that was very interesting. We arrived about half an hour early, and opening the door, there was one of Kino's senior teachers. His name is Patrick Noland, and he recognized me from prior times that I've practiced at the Miami Life Center, and we started to talk, you know, sort of introduction. Kino was doing a final exam for some students on another room, so what I found curious that I wanted to share with you is the schedule that Patrick told me he had had on that day. And I had it in a recording on my phone, but I apologize, I can't put it here 'cause the quality is really bad and I didn't want it to affect you, but he told me that on that day, he had woken up at 4:00 AM to walk his dog and then he taught, at 6:00 AM, a Mysore class all the way to 8:30 AM, then he was gonna practice his own practice – he does something serious, something really advanced. Then he was gonna go and – no, then he was gonna teach a led class. So instead of Mysore, a led class is very – he actually does the count and all the students go at the same time, and then, after that, he was going to drive to the other side of town to give a one-hour private lesson. So I thought that was very eye-opening for all of us who are thinking, "Oh, I would really like to be a yoga teacher," because I think it may put things in perspective a little. I couldn't believe the level of activity that Patrick had on that day. But anyways, we chit-chatted for a little bit, and then Kino finished her class and exams, and we started talking. And so here she is, Kino MacGregor. Claudia Altucher:        Okay, so – yeah. Okay. So before we start, Kino, I just want to say that I'm a little jealous of you. [Laughter]  Actually, not a little, but a lot, and it happened because I started reading Sacred Fire, which is a book that it feels very confidential, like you tell a lot of little stories that are not in a proper, you know, Ashtanga book, and it felt like a fairytale, like a really good fairytale. So it's the good kind of envy, but – [laughs] – at the same time, it's envy. So – but I want to introduce you to my listeners although you don't quite need that much introduction, but Kino MacGregor is an international yoga teacher. She is the author of two books, The Power of Ashtanga Yoga and Sacred Fire, and you have another one coming up, which we'll talk about soon. She's also the producer of six Ashtanga yoga DVDs. She's the co-founder of Miami Life Center, and the founder of the Miami Yoga Magazine. Now, the amazing thing about her is her YouTube channel has almost five million views, her Instagram account has 514,000 followers, and she has almost 40,000 followers on Twitter. Amazing. Kino is one of the select group of people to receive the certification to teach Ashtanga yoga by its founder, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of India, and she was – you received this before the age of 30, which is an amazing accomplishment. Welcome to The Yoga Podcast, Kino. Kino MacGregor:       Thank you. Thanks for having me. Claudia Altucher:        I'm very happy that you not only joined me but you let me do it here in the Miami Life Center. You were just doing a final exam or something like that? Kino MacGregor:       There was a course, an intensive course, that we just wrapped up right before Christmas. Claudia Altucher:        Ah, okay, so that was the end of it and then – that was very interesting. We have some sounds of that, so… Kino MacGregor:       Yeah. Right. Claudia Altucher:        So as I said before, I'm a little envious of you. Yoga came so easy, in a way, and at the same time, not so easy. You were very young. You were 19 or so? Kino MacGregor:       I was 19 when I did my first yoga class, and it was not an Ashtanga yoga class; it was a Sivananda class, more focused on relaxation and sort of a restorative view of how to use the postures, and I did my first Ashtanga yoga class when I was 22 years old, and it was really then that I kind of committed to doing the practice more regularly. Claudia Altucher:        Right, and you said in this book that I find fascinating, Sacred Fire, that you were looking for every kind of exercise before that. You had done Zumba and aerobics, all kinds of things, but something clicked for you in the yoga right away. What would you say – what was it, do you think? 'Cause you went to a class and the instructor even said to you, "Do what you can," right? Kino MacGregor:       Yeah. My first Ashtanga yoga class, the thing that really sort of resonated for me was that the practice answered a searching, sort of a latent searching that I'm not sure I was aware of consciously. But when I did the practice, there was something that really settled inside of me, and it instinctively drew me back to keep practicing, and so that's really the first and probably most fundamental feeling to really go deeper into the yoga path. Claudia Altucher:        And then, at the age of 22, you find yourself in New York City, right? Kino MacGregor:       Exactly, yeah. Claudia Altucher:        And you were studying something in the university? Kino MacGregor:       Yeah, I moved to New York City after some years of sort of just partying and kind of losing yourself in youth and fun and this sort of thing, and I moved to New York City to join a Master's degree program from New York University, and I sort of thought, "Well, I'm gonna get my life back on track." That's sort of what I thought. I thought that I would go to graduate school and maybe get a Ph.D. and get some internships and sort of get a real job and that sort of thing. But when I moved to New York, what actually happened is that I joined a traditional Mysore-style class, and that, for me, really solidified my connection to daily practice. I never thought that I would do yoga every day. It's not something that I, "Oh, I'm gonna do yoga every day." Claudia Altucher:        I don't think anyone thinks that. Kino MacGregor:       No, yeah, I mean, some people are sort of all-or-nothing. Some people who are fitness-oriented people or they go to the gym every day or something like that, I never had any physical discipline before yoga, so it was never really like – I didn't have a daily fitness regimen or routine, not when I was growing up, or really anything. I would work out randomly or something like that. So when I moved to New York and I joined the Mysore-style class, the teacher, he said to me, "This class meets six days a week. You can come at 8:00." And there was no option to come three days a week or drop in or something like that. It was just sort of like, "You're here every day or you don't do it." So I came every day, and after my first week, I could barely move my arms, and after about a month, I had changed my sleep cycle, and after three months, I wanted to change the way that I was eating. It changed everything about my life 'cause now I had this thing I did every day in the morning, and it required me to make different lifestyle decisions and different lifestyle choices. And very quickly, after that first class, I got the inspiration to actually go to India, to go to Mysore. So I actually got that inspiration and I followed that dream, really, all the way to Mysore, to India, where I met ____, I met Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Claudia Altucher:        But before that, I even want to point out the teacher that said to you, "This meets six times a week," he's just no ordinary teacher either, right? [Laughs] Kino MacGregor:       Right, no, this was Govinda. His name was Russell at the time, so Govinda Kai, and – Claudia Altucher:        He's an amazing teacher. He's awesome like you are. Kino MacGregor:       He's really awesome. He's really, really awesome. Yeah, for sure. Claudia Altucher:        So it's amazing, and you said he directed you to some books on – you had some struggles with food, like I think every woman in the planet. I know I do. He directed you to some books on eating, one called Conscious Eating, was it? Kino MacGregor:       Yeah, for sure. I remember, after I had been practicing for maybe a couple of months, I remember looking at what I brought for lunch for my internship, and it was just this sort of hodgepodge of things, and I remember that dessert was Mentos, and I thought, "This doesn't really seem so healthy," and I kind of read the ingredients, and I was like, "What are even the ingredients in this?" It was like sugar and Red No. 5 and Blue No. 2 and Yellow No. 20, and I thought, "That doesn't seem really good for me," and I went to my yoga teacher and I said, "What recommendations do you have for how to eat in a correct yoga lifestyle?" And he said, "Well, you could try to read this book called Conscious Eating. So I read that book and it really changed the way that I thought about things, and one of the most important takeaways from Conscious Eating was Gabriel Cousens, he sort of did this research, they cited this statistic where he said that if we took all of the grain that feeds the livestock for all of the animals that are raised for meat production and consumption and we took that grain and we fed that to people, then world hunger would end today. Claudia Altucher:        Wow. Kino MacGregor:       So if we just simply redistributed that grain, then all the people who are starving in underdeveloped countries and all the people who are homeless and starving in our own countries, we would be able to feed them all, and I thought – Claudia Altucher:        Wow. Kino MacGregor:       I just really thought there was no moral and ethical argumentation for eating meat on even on that level. I care about the environment and I care about doing the right thing morally and ethically. And so pretty much after I read that paragraph, I pretty much woke up the next day and made the choice to vegetarian. Claudia Altucher:        Wow, radically, just like – and you haven't come back to eating meat ever? Kino MacGregor:       No. Claudia Altucher:        Wow, and you're fine? You never miss the protein or the – Kino MacGregor:       Well, I don't – Claudia Altucher:        I mean, you do some pretty intense yoga moves. Kino MacGregor:       Yeah. [Laughs] Yeah. I mean, I don't miss the protein. I make a concerted effort to eat the vegetarian sources of protein, and if I'm feeling really depleted, like if I'm doing a lot of asana, I'm doing a lot of teaching, I make sure to maybe take a protein shake or something like that, that's gonna help create sort of a balanced approach to nutrition. In the beginning, I really wasn't into that. I just kinda stopped eating meat, just kinda ate whatever for a little while, but I mean, there's a lot of argumentation about which is more health-related issue, and I really think that's a personal decision that you need to figure out between you and your nutritionist or your doctor or something like that based on every individual's health needs, 'cause some people have serious health concerns that maybe they need to eat a particular food or even a particular meat in order to sort of save their life, which is completely acceptable, but I don't have anything like that. Claudia Altucher:        Right. Kino MacGregor:       I feel really good eating the vegetarian diet. I try to do the extreme version, where I was vegan for a while, and I've tried to be raw vegan for a while, and that was really extreme, and I did not feel so healthy. Claudia Altucher:        It's hard. Kino MacGregor:       Yeah, it was really difficult and I really felt sort of – I don't know – a little too restrictive. It felt a little bit almost like an addiction on some level for me. Other people do it and they don't feel like that, but I did. And so you asked me if I ever miss the protein. I don't miss protein, like, I haven't eaten meat for so long that even when I see it, it kind of – I start to think about it and makes me physically uncomfortable when I think about what that was and what that came from. Like, that was a being and it had a life, and then now it's sitting there, cooked, you know, like your thigh muscle was once attached to you and then it would be cooked and served to someone. Kind of trips me out. But what I do miss – and this is gonna sound completely random – what I do miss sometimes is the fun experience of it, you know, like a community experience of not having to be like, "Oh, do you have a vegetarian option?" or, "Do you have this?" or, you know, or you walk by and you – like, on the 4th of July in the United States and you smell barbecue. You know, barbecued vegetables also smell good, but when you smell barbecued meat and that sort of thing, none of those smells bother me, but there's a community aspect that I think slowly is starting to shift, but 15 years ago, when I kinda made that choice or 14 years ago when I made that choice, it was really sort of like a flag in the North Pole, sort of staking out new territory. Claudia Altucher:        Wow. Kino MacGregor:       And there's more options and you're sort of less ostracized for making those choices now than maybe before. Claudia Altucher:        Than back then, yes. And so is it true, then, when you got to India for the first time, I believe you were 22 or something? 23? You had no hair? Kino MacGregor:       Yeah. So one of the things that I did in my first year of practice is, when I was practicing, it seemed like this was the first time that I really began to question all the choices that I'd made up until then. Before yoga, again, I had no physical discipline. I was either an academic, or when I wasn't studying, I was intensively partying. So I sort of had this party on the weekends, study during the week, and somehow it all managed to balance itself out.   Claudia Altucher:        Typical New Yorker. Kino MacGregor:       Yeah, typical Miami Beach too, you know, Miami Beach. Kino MacGregor:       Yeah, something more typical East Coast, something like that. So what I did was, slowly, I realized, "Well – " so I was looking at my clothes and I thought, "Well, who am I when I wear these clothes? Is this me or am I trying to put on – am I trying to be the party girl or am I trying to be the studious girl or am I trying to be this girl or that girl?" So I gave away almost all my clothes and then I used to have so many different colors of hair. I used to have light blue hair, red hair, and then I had orange hair and strawberry-colored hair. I used to have all these crazy colors. I used to wear wigs and then cut it and grow it and cut it in weird ways and all these kinda strange things, and then, I don’t know, I was sitting there in New York after I practiced for a little bit, and I just kinda got fed up with just READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE

Saraswathi Jois is the legendary daughter of Sri K Pattabji Jois, who founded the Asthtanga Vinyasa Yoga System out of Mysore, India. She has been teaching yoga for over 50 years, and has taught hundreds of thousands of students all over the world. She is also a pioneer and a woman who lives by her own rules.  When her husband was no good to her, even in India, in the 70s, she divorced him.  She was also the first woman accepted to the Sanskrit College of Mysore, and a pioneer woman to teach yoga to both men and woman in India.  She has had her own yoga institute for 40 years. For the full episode description read here For The transcript click here