Eddie Stern has been a spiritual seeker and curious contemplative his whole life. He has spent most of his time in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition and was a student of Pattabhi Jois, but along with many in the school, he has worked hard to heal traumas and elected to expand his view of practice participation in the world for the greater good. He recently decided to get his Masters degree (but he skipped college; listen in for the full details), and his dissertation was titled "Can Yoga Reduce Anxiety and Increase Perception of Purpose in life?" This work speaks to the heart of where he sees himself participating in the world for the rest of the time he's got here. The actions he’s taking in the world—such as inventing and sharing the popular The Breathing App, putting on a multi-month program with Deepak Chopra, and actually wanting to get into the ring and debate what he feels are incorrect and frankly harmful academic theories that have been promoted about yoga—are inspiring and, it seems to me, a function of his tireless intellect and desire to "do the work." It was that part that inspired me the most. Enjoy!
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Terms:
1. Sangha: community
2. Ardha matsyendrasana: half lord of the fishes pose
3. Asana: postures, the third of the eight limbs of yoga
4. Pranayama: control of the breath, the fourth of the eight limbs of yoga
5. Pratyahara: withdrawal of the senses, the fifth of the eight limbs of yoga
6. Dharana: concentration, the sixth of the eight limbs of yoga
7. Dhyana: meditation, the seventh of the eight limbs of yoga
8. Kaivalya: experience of absoluteness, non-qualified experience
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References:
1. Eddie Stern
2. The Broome Street Ganesha Temple
3. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
5. Yogananda
9. Aristotle
10. Ramana Maharshi
11. Think on These Things, by Jiddu Krishnamurti
12. Dharma Mittra
13. Ravi Singh
14. Kundalini Yoga
15. Amrit Desai
16. Kripalu
17. Deepak Chopra
20. Holger Kramer
21. Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory on Connection, Consciousness, and Being, by Neil Theise
22. Richard P. Brown
24. Resonance frequency breathing
25. Nature Journal article on resonance breathing
26. Doug Keller's guide to the yamas and niyamas
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Episode credits:
Original music by Kim's band Governess.
Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.
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