Alive as Life: An Interview with Mariana Garcia Flores
The Heart of Yoga
What if you are already everything you're looking for? What if the power of the cosmos is not out there, but pulsing through your breath, your body, your life right now? In this conversation, I welcome Mariana Garcia Flores, a radiant presence from Mexico City, and a Woman of the Americas in her full power. Mariana shares her story of transformation from counselor and seeker to embodied yogini and teacher. She speaks of the moment the search ended, when she realized: I am that. Not as an idea, but as a lived, undeniable reality. It is the story of Yoga as life itself, not a technique, not a...
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Yoga for a Better World with Mark Whitwell and Jonathan Cassell
The Heart of Yoga
What if true activism doesn’t begin with protest signs or policy change, but with the way we breathe? In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Cassell in the lush Fijian islands to explore the profound intersections between Yoga, ecology, and the urgent need for human change. We speak about our shared grief for a world in ecological crisis and ask: how can we act from love, not just outrage? Yoga for a Better World isn’t a lofty ideal, it’s a daily, grounded intimacy with life. We explore the emotional cost of caring deeply, why burnout is so common among changemakers, and how a...
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From the Archives: Mark Teaching in Saanen, Switzerland
The Heart of Yoga
This talk was recorded live at a workshop in the Swiss town of Saanen. A very interesting place for yoga and spiritual history and the transmission from East to West! Among the ‘himalayas of the north’, Mark is unravelling the core of modern spiritual systems and the search for enlightenment. Summarising the teachings of Krishnamacharya, Desikachar, and the radical honesty of U.G. Krishnamurti, this episode presents Yoga as an intimate participation in what is real—life itself. Subjects… J Krishnamurti, UG Krishnamurti, BKS Iyengar, and the history of the Saanen Valley Why...
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The Source and the Seen: Reclaiming Intimacy, Yoga, and the Power of the Feminine
The Heart of Yoga
The Yoga Tantras that Krishnamacharya graciously brought forth teach us direct participation in Reality and the qualities or nature of Reality. They flush from the living body the restive patterning and traumas that culture and society has put in us. These Tantras disappeared in India & Tibet after the 14th century replaced by authoritarian power structures. In this powerful episode of The Heart of Yoga Podcast, Mark returns with scholar and heart of Yoga teacher Andrew Raba for a deeply vulnerable & piercing conversation on the core wounds of society: the denial of the feminine,...
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The Yogic Arts Series: Yantra & the Tantric Arts with Melissa Forbes
The Heart of Yoga
In this episode of "The Heart of Yoga " Rosalind kicks off the Yogic Arts Series with a deep and enlightening conversation with artist and Yogini Melissa Forbes. They explore the intersection of art and spirituality through the study of Yantra, numerology, and Jyotish (Vedic astrology). Melissa shares her personal journey into sacred geometry and how these ancient traditions have shaped her practice, teaching, and artwork. Through this conversation, listeners are invited into the rich, intricate world of sacred Yogic arts and the deeper meaning behind these practices. They...
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The Lifesaving Power of Yoga with Raúl Petraglia
The Heart of Yoga
In this episode of the Heart of Yoga podcast, Raul Petraglia, a former high-flying corporate executive, shares his incredible journey from the high-stress world of luxury hospitality to finding profound peace through the practice of Yoga. Raul opens up about his past life of excess and stress, the physical and emotional toll it took on him, and how a serious health crisis led him to discover Yoga. This transformative experience not only saved his life but also inspired him to dedicate himself to sharing the healing power of Yoga with others, including the corporate world he once inhabited....
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From The Archives: Are You Born In The Wrong Body?
The Heart of Yoga
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...
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Demystifying Tantra - A Conversation with Domagoj Orlić - Part 2
The Heart of Yoga
In this episode, Rosalind and Domagoj have an enlightening discussion demystifying Tantra. They explore how Tantra is a path to freedom that teaches you to fall in love with life. Tantra aims to help one realize everything is infinite and discover naturalness, spontaneity and openness to the mystery of life. Rituals in Tantra go hand in hand with meditation and realization of the teachings within oneself. The goal is freedom and absolute independence. They talk about transcending duality between matter and spirit, external rituals and internal experiences, embracing life and...
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Demystifying Tantra - A Conversation with Domagoj Orlić - Part 1
The Heart of Yoga
In part one of this two part episode, Rosalind is joined by Domagoj Orlić to demystify tantra, a profoundly misunderstood spiritual tradition. As both a scholar and practitioner of Tantra, Domagoj sheds light on what Tantra actually is, its key principles and aims, and how it differs from the "Neo-Tantra" appropriated in the West. They explore Tantra's emphasis on liberation through feeling unity with the divine feminine, why ritual and initiation by a guru matters, and how Tantra can help overcome conditioning to realize inherent power. Domagoj clarifies Tantra's nuanced...
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Discovering Wholeness and Beauty Amidst Suffering
The Heart of Yoga
This episode features Kathrin, a Yoga practitioner and mother of two living in Germany. She shares how she came to Yoga to relieve suffering during the pandemic, and through her daily practice discovered a profound intimacy with her own body and breath. Kathrin describes how Yoga helped her shift from feelings of "not being enough" to simply receiving and participating in each moment just as it is. She and Mark discuss how Yoga connects us to the miracle of life, and talk about translating this experience into everyday life and language. Key topics include releasing shame, rebuilding...
info_outlineThis talk was recorded live at a workshop in the Swiss town of Saanen. A very interesting place for yoga and spiritual history and the transmission from East to West! Among the ‘himalayas of the north’, Mark is unravelling the core of modern spiritual systems and the search for enlightenment.
Summarising the teachings of Krishnamacharya, Desikachar, and the radical honesty of U.G. Krishnamurti, this episode presents Yoga as an intimate participation in what is real—life itself.
Subjects…
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J Krishnamurti, UG Krishnamurti, BKS Iyengar, and the history of the Saanen Valley
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Why the ideal of a “perfect person” has deeply disempowered humanity
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How Yoga has been distorted by systems of effort, hierarchy, and branding
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U.G. Krishnamurti’s radical realization and the myth of spiritual seeking
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The social hoax of striving, self-improvement, and enlightenment fantasies
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How true Yoga arises spontaneously from intimacy with breath, body, and life
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The feminine principle and restoring our natural intelligence
Key Phrases:
“The Guru has no followers. The Guru has friends to help.”
“Stop looking. Start living. Your Yoga is the living of it.”
“No more gymnastics. No more spiritual gymnastics. Yoga is just your participation in life.”
Gratitude to Moritz Kuebler who recorded this, and our host in Saanen, Stephanie Iseli.
Resources Mentioned:
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Teachings of T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar
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The lives of J. Krishnamurti and U.G. Krishnamurti
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The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice book
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History of Theosophy and the Saanen Valley gatherings
Timestamps:
[00:00:00] Opening invocation: You are the power of the cosmos
[00:03:00] Stephanie’s story and how Yoga found a home in Saanen
[00:08:00] Mark shares the deeper purpose of the gathering
[00:11:00] What makes a true Guru: no more than a friend, no less than a friend
[00:16:00] The myth of spiritual hierarchy and the problem of “perfection”
[00:23:00] Why modern Yoga and meditation have become systems of disempowerment
[00:27:00] Reframing the idea of enlightenment as a harmful distraction
[00:32:00] U.G. Krishnamurti’s “calamity” and the end of seeking
[00:39:00] The mind is for relationship—not for searching
[00:44:00] Healing trauma through natural breath and spontaneous Yoga
[00:49:00] Revisiting the Yoga of Krishnamacharya and the legacy of Desikachar
[00:55:00] The Saanen gatherings and spiritual history of the valley
[01:02:00] The rejection of modern Yoga branding and spiritual consumerism
[01:10:00] A new view: Yoga as participation, not performance
[01:17:00] The body is intelligence, the breath is healing
[01:25:00] Embracing life without effort: no more spiritual goals
[01:32:00] How to practice a Yoga that serves your real life
[01:38:00] Preparing to receive a personal, breath-centered practice
“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.”
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