Integral Yoga Podcast

Avi Gordon and Shankar Fern discuss the long term changes as a result of Yoga practice, faith and trust, enlightenment, the key to healthy relationships, and working with troubled young people.Biographical Notes:Bruce was given the Sanskrit name Shankar directly by his Guru Sri Swami Satchidananda who is one of the great Yoga Masters and God Realized Saints of the centuryShankar is one of Swami Satchidananda’s senior disciples and a teacher having taught all aspects of yoga to many hundreds of students in the US and CanadaShankar practices deep spiritualty while actively living in the world as a householder He will be the first to tell you anything good that comes from him comes from the Divine Force which of its own accord chooses to use him as an instrumentShankar is an Integral Yoga Minister who does humanistic coaching and spiritual counseling (he was trained as a psychotherapist) as well as spiritual wedding ceremonies, family and pet memorial services, birth ceremonies and house blessingsHe is also on the Board of Directors of the NY Integral Yoga Institute, the Vice Chairman of the Integral Yoga Global Ministry Board of Trustees, and a Chaplain in the NY Putnam County SPCAIn the business world he is the president of Change-Ready Solutions which provides business with coaching and consulting to help them curate of culture which elevates people to achieve remarkable business results.Prior to this role, Shankar was an executive with Citibank, IBM and other consulting and business organizations.

Mia Velez and Avi Gordon discuss Yoga and kung fu, connecting to something bigger, finding divinity within, the tao of activism, our relationship with words, inclusivity in Yoga and more.Mia entered Integral Yoga in 2016 through the kitchen, by cooking community lunches and silent retreat meals. Even though she'd been teaching yoga since 2008, she certified as an Integral Yoga teacher in 2018 to learn more of the IYI approach and be part of the lineage. She is an IYI trainer and co-trained the BIPOC 200 YTTs in San Francisco. She's led a stress management course for new parents, teaches at a men's jail in California, and is a student of kung fu. Mia is a disciple of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu lineage and is highly influenced by her martial arts training. She sees an undeniable parallel in Yoga and Kung Fu, and feels they are complements to each other. Yoga and Kung Fu are integrated into her daily life as a mother, preschool teacher, and advocate for gender, race and class equality through multiple non-profits groups.Links:Mia's preschool: https://www.facebook.com/OMSchoolSF10-minute Video Bio for the BIPOC YTT: https://youtu.be/Lv3hKk0a4yc

Genevieve Georget and Avi Gordon discuss "wrestling with God", what it means to be ok, acknowledging the smallness of the mind, surrender, community building and other topics.Genevieve is a full-time writer, photographer, and storyteller whose work has been seen on Oprah.com, “The Good Mother Project,” “Addicted 2 Success,””Real Leaders Magazine,” “Simplify Magazine,” the “Huffington Post,” and among her online community of 35,000 people. Genevieve’s first book, “Her Own Wild Winds,” was published in September 2016 and her second book, “Solace,” was released in the fall of 2019 and named Ottawa Faces Magazine’s 2020 Book of the Year. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with her husband, two children, and their golden retriever.Links:Instagram: @gen_georgetFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/genevieve.v.georgetGray and Granite Magazine: https://gengeorget.com/storyteller