What does it actually mean to practice yoga — and are any of us really doing it? In this rich and unhurried conversation, Harmony sits down with Tara Mitra: Ashtanga teacher, yoga therapist, and devoted Vedic chanting practitioner who has spent decades tracing the practice back to its roots.Tara's path moved from high-stress corporate life in Toronto to studying Ashtanga with dedicated teachers in Canada and California, then four years assisting in the Mysore shala, and finally into the Krishnamacharya lineage in Chennai — where yoga therapy, pranayama, Vedic chanting, and philosophy became her deepest studies. Today she works with everyone from cancer patients to hospice clients, with the simple premise: if you can breathe, she can teach you something.This conversation is a slow, deliberate unwinding of everything we think we know about yoga — and an invitation back to what it actually is. In this episode you'll explore:Why 'nobody is really practicing yoga' — and what that actually meansThe journey from Ashtanga to yoga therapy: what made Tara go deeperHow chanting and philosophy naturally shift the inner landscapeSamasthiti as 'the pregnant pause' — and why skipping it misses the pointThe monkey mind: drunk, stung by a scorpion, and haunted — and what practice does to each layerChitta vritti nirodha and what the Yoga Sutras actually say about the mindSpiritual bypassing: the 'good vibes only' trap and premature transcendenceThe radical practice of doing nothing — no phone, no tea, just thirty minutes at a windowAyurveda and the body's natural rhythms in the age of artificial light and screen timeThe pancha vayus and why pranayama is far subtler than it looksThe breath as the great friend — and its connection to spirit in every traditionRedefining the guru: someone who isn't caught in your own distortionsSangha: why community isn't optional on the pathHow beginners should start: not by thinkingThe butterfly mind vs. the stability of genuine practiceBoundaries as an expression of love, not a closing offEquanimity (upeksha) as a lifelong practice, not a destination Connect with Tara Mitra:Website: taramitrayoga.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/taramitrayoga/Offerings: Yoga Sutras classes, Vedic chanting, Upanishad study, mentorship program Resources mentioned:Yoga Sutras of Patanjali — chitta vritti nirodha (YS 1.2); the nine obstacles; YS 1.33 brahmaviharasShanti mantra: Purnamadah Purnamidam (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)Krishnamacharya lineage (Mysore & Chennai / Desikachar branch)Ashtanga trishthana — breath, drishti, bandhaAyurveda and the concept of natural daily rhythms (dinacharya)Harmony's upcoming Portugal workshops — harmonyslater.com/events The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation