Whole Life Yoga Podcast

The Yoga Top 40 - where song titles serve as the platforms to explore practical teachings from the heart of the yoga tradition.This time the 'chart entry' is COME HOME by British band James, a band with many songs that are full of yogic lyrics and who will likely make further appearances in this series.In this episode:Yoga does not ask us to be or become anything we are not, but to COME HOME to the recognition of who we really are. To remember: to bring all the members of the gang of our being into togetherness where we can relish a fullness so much richer than the sum of the parts.This episode refers to essential, classic teachings from the Bhagavad Gītā and Yoga Sūtra. notably verse 2.14 from the Gītā and yoga sūtra 1.33 .When we practice coming home to the stillness in the core of our being, when we practice attuning to the space in the hub of the wheel, we can infuse our awareness with the steadying, calming support of the light that never goes out, the light of the hearth space at the core of our essence. When we attune to that centre and invite the 'medi-state', it makes it easier to remember that we are always supported. The power and beauty of this witness consciousness is also evoked in the beautiful poem Invisible Kisses by Lemn Sissay, which James recites from around 7:40.For deepening exploration of practical teachings from the heart of the yoga tradition, join James' online satsang and courses, and in person workshops and immersions, sign up for James' newsletter to hear about all these offerings. The sign up form is at the foot of each page on the website: www.jamesboagyoga.com

YOGA TOP 40You give love a bad name Love, like Yoga, is one of those four letter words whose true power is often missed or diluted by its casual overuse. Just as it is tragic to think of love ONLY as adolescent eros, so it is to think of yoga as merely some physical fitness option, as chillaxing, or as throwing some posey shapes in space.Just like love, the word yoga is used to describe something beyond words, something that can be known only through experience. And yet, there are songs, there are poems that do evoke the richness and majesty of love. And I share one of my favourites in this episode. Or I almost do. I hadn’t planned it, and afterwards I realised I did miss out one verse of Lemn Sissay’s magnificent poem Invisible Kisses. I first heard this poem recited by the author at a British film/culture festival in Bangkok in the early 2000s. Right away it struck me as what I would consider a yoga poem, and one that evokes the real power of love that I sometimes describe using the four letter German spelling of PRAG, a place I have said so many times over the years that I would like to live - a place of Presence - Receptivity - Awareness - Gratitude, a place that allows me to experience and feel the living power of love.Practising gratitude brings me more into the present, heightened presense brings greater receptivity, which invites expanding awareness, and in this greater awareness I notice more which invites deepening gratitude. Yes, Presence, receptivity, awareness, gratitude: that’s a good home address. And if I live there, perhaps I can bring forth with generosity and fearlessness the true power of love which is always within us.This episode also mentions the story of how Gaṇeśa became. If you would like to dive deeper into the rich, practical support of yoga teachings and their beautiful transmission in poetry, story and song, be sure to sign up for my mailing list to hear about upcoming courses, retreats and online satsang: www.jamesboagyoga.com

Thanking the teachers - John Suggitt My CDT (Craft Design & Technology) teacher, when I was 11 and 14-15 ]As a schoolboy I enjoyed woodwork. Mr Suggitt gave me the chance to craft dovetail and mortise and tenon joints when I made a table for a school project, but he gave me much more than that! John Suggitt would stay behind after school so we could put in the necessary hours to realise our projects, even though few other teachers showed similar levels of altruism. Kṛṣṇa in the Gītā makes it clear: just because others are behaving like that doesn’t mean you should. Just because others are not giving generously of themselves doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t! Mr Suggitt allowed me to learn from mistakes. When I did something bad, aged eleven, he didn’t condemn me. Instead, he calmly administered the ‘night detention’ punishment, and allowed me to see for myself that I didn’t want to behave like that again. As we continue to practice yoga, we may see ways that we have been behaving that we would like to discontinue. If we are scathing and condemnatory to ourselves it seldom allows us to really let go of the limiting or harmful pattern. Yet, if we own that we would like to be different and acknowledge that we have been ignorant, maybe we can move forwards with greater freedom, supported by stronger awareness. Mr Suggitt helped me craft a table that still stands to this day, its dovetail joints are still beautiful, its mortise and tenons hold good. If practice is to be the great sustenance that it can be, we have to make it our own authentic expression and we have to be kind and compassionate with ourselves as we keep stumbling along. For practical, in-depth exploration of yoga teachings, join James' online satsang, in person workshops and retreats, sign up for his newsletter. The form is at the bottom of his webpage: www.jamesboagyoga.com 

YOGA TOP 40 - using song titles as platforms to explore practical teachings from the heart of the yoga tradition.I JUST DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELFWhat if owning 'I do not know' is actually a key foundation to develop practical wisdom?What if we could learn to relax in not knowing, to feel easy amidst the inevitable uncertainty of life?Yoga begins, again and again when I acknowledge I do not know, when I orient towards life with curiosity and wonder, when I loosen my grip on what I think I know.Modern society often seems to expect that people hold a position on a particular issue, including deeply complex issues they likely know nothing about! Instead of parroting positions that more or less coincide with our existing world view, what if we could loosen our grip on our presuppositions and allow ourselves space to be surprised?As André Gide said, 'seek the company of those who seek the truth, but beware those who claim to have found it... the colour of truth is grey'And we only see the rainbow in the grey! This world is not a black and white, binary coded pixelated program, no! It is a world of infinite variegation, subtlety, nuance and wonder!May we learn to relax in the face of the unknown. May we learn to be at ease amidst uncertainty. May we learn to collaborate and dance with the forces of nature, rather than conspiring against them in a battle we are bound to lose.If you would like to dive deeper into practical perspectives from the living yoga tradition, sign up for James' newsletter the form is at the foot of his webpage: www.jamesboagyoga.com

So much useful information on the internet, and so much rubbish. There are lots of great channels sharing loads of great insights and information. However, so many 'influencers' are proselytising from the shallows, making bold declarations and false promises: 'THIS solves everything', 'THIS changes everything', 'the GREATEST...' In a marketplace that rewards volume and superficial attraction, where does one find real wisdom? Not with the latest thing, not through the miracle technique. Yoga begins when we own that we do not know. Humans want to be certain, but this desire for certainty is unfulfillable! Instead, how about we learn to be steady amidst the inevitable ups, downs and challenges of life? This takes practice - not of a miracle technique, but the long term, consistent, dedicated, wholehearted cultivation of steady presence. This is what yoga can help us do. It's not a quick fix, nor a yes/no formula, it's far too wise for that. Yoga offers robust, vital principles that can help us connect more deeply to the pilot of our conscience, wrestle with all it means to be human, so we can drink deeper from the cup of life, with reverence, patience, good humour and resilience. And as we practice, and work through the veilings of our attachments and false beliefs, we can access more of the wisdom that we all carry within. www.jamesboagyoga.com

Italo Calvino’s Il Barone Rampante / Baron in the Trees is one of my favourite ever books. It was one of the texts/aesthetic experiences/works of art that gave me an undeniable experience of what is known in Sanskṛt as rasa - the flavour that art can invoke and evoke. When I first read it, in my second year of studying Italian, I also read the English translation. Curiously, my favourite episodes were different in the original and in the translation. Of course, any translation, however masterful ,will never be able to represent all of the same nuance of the original. Still, even if you don’t read Italian, I highly recommend Baron in the Trees.In this episode, I talk a little about the theory of rasa and bhāva, principles elaborated in Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra and Abhinavagupta’s Abhinavabharati which have rich application in yoga practice.Sign up for my newsletter via the form at the foot of any page on my website to hear about upcoming courses and the membership in which we explore yoga texts, stories and principles in depth and in living relation to our lives today. www.jamesboagyoga.com

So do you have a yoga practice? This episode includes: What does sādhana mean? Is your practice helping keep your life orienting in the direction of your soul’s deeper and authentic longing? The potency of allowing some time for deep silence and meditation every day. The Medi-state as the foundation for yoga practice. Meditation and silence allowing us to connect to source, disconnect from the clutter and chaos of our conditioned perspectives, attenuate our attachments to the fleeting externals that will never bring us lasting peace or satisfaction and bathe in the influence of our deathless essence. And what else constitues a yoga practice? Yoga treats the whole human being. Physical, sensory, mental, intellectual, emotional. The Upaniṣadic image of the chariot and the horses. How to train our horses, the need to exercise them with respect. How ’that which does not kill me can only make me stronger’ is a partial truth at best. Am I becoming a more skilful charioteer? Am I handling my horsepower skilfully? And what if it feels like I don’t have a lot time to devote to practice? Remembering the classic definition of yoga practice: the effort to foster steadiness. An effort that is long term, uninterrupted, attended to ith genuine presence, with dedication and devotion so it can become well rooted, able to grow and withstand storms. Does such a definition mean I have to devote all the day to technique? No! Techniques are for the sake of attuning to what it means to be buddhiyukta - joined up, integrated, present with all our intelligences functioning together in mutual support. Considering the structure of a traditional ‘full time practitioner’ in the haṭha yoga tradition and how this can inform a practitioner with less time to devote to technique. Practising to nourish the whole.

What is special about a whole life yoga retreat at Casa Cuadrau in the Spanish Pyrenees? From 2012-2019 I enjoyed the great boon of sharing retreats every year at beautiful Casa Cuadrau. Between the travel restrictions and Brexit complications of recent years there has been a painfully prolonged hiatus in my visits to this wonderfully nourishing part of the world. This year, 20-27 June 2026 I am very grateful to be returning to Casa Cuadrau at one of my favourite times of the year there.June 20-27 Yoga and the Sun Celebrate the solstice on this immersive whole life yoga retreat with James Boag and Daniel Benito Po. https://www.casacuadrau.org/retiro/whole-life-yoga-james-boag/ You can see Dani and I talking a little about the retreat in this short video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6XFN_t0Wras In this podcast episode I share a bit more about why I find Casa Cuadrau such a nourishing place to live the yoga teachings. This June 20-27: Every day: we will walk in the wonderland of the valle de vió and its majestic surroundings, including the gorgeous Añisclo Cañon and the mythical Brahmapan mountain. We will live the teachings, simply and joyfully, infusing every day with the supports of intelligent yogic movement practices, meditation, quiet time, satsang and song. James will share subtle, powerful practices you can easily weave into daily life and we’ll explore the practical supports of yoga principles through the lens of the elements, fire and the sun, with story and song along the way. Nourishing food, uplifting company, the simple luxury of nature. Holistic and integrated yogic practice in an unsurpassed setting in a house built with love, tended with care, where we can remember our deeper gifts and experience deep renewal.  Book now to guarantee your place. https://www.casacuadrau.org/retiro/whole-life-yoga-james-boag/

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai in una selva oscura perchè la dritta via mi era smarrità In the middle of the journey of our life, having lost my way - not seeing the clear way forward, in a dark forest, I came to myself... So begins Dante's Inferno, in a way that bears a striking resemblance to the beginning of the Bhagavad Gītā - in which the protagonist, Arjuna comes to realise the ways he has relied on up to that point are no longer adequate for the challenge he now finds himself in front of... Yoga reminds us that challenges are often great opportunities, as we learn to find our way through the dark wood, we fathom more of the light of our deeper resources and capacities...NEW ONLINE COURSE on the Bhagavad Gītā starts Monday 23rd February 2026. Twelve weekly sessions of 90 minutes, Mondays in English. Wednesdays in French 18:30-20:00 Switzerland timezone. It's also possible to participate even if you are unable to join the live sessions. All participants have access to all recordings and can attend in either or both languages. The course also includes 5+ hours of video with the background story of the Mahābhārata and along the way participants will also receive notes and questions for reflection. We'll work direct from the original Sanskṛt verses and consider the text as a whole with particular emphasis on its practical application in our lives now. Sign up here: https://jamesboagyoga.thinkific.com/courses/BG26 Read more here:https://jamesboagyoga.com/bg26/ 

Centralised control and domination? That's an outdated story. Past its use by date.Thinking we are smarter than Life? No, that story of hubris never sustains.The new world is one of deeper harmony and cooperation, in which we remember our innate capacity to collaborate with all of life.NEW ONLINE COURSE on the Bhagavad Gītā starts next Monday 23rd February.One of the key teachings in the Gītā is how we can enact our dharma to support lokasaṅgraha - the wellbeing of the whole. How we can express our gifts in such a way that it supports the cohesion and harmony if all of life.The course will run for twelve weeks starting 23rd February 2026. Mondays in English. Wednesdays in French 18:30-20:00 Switzerland timezone. It's also possible to participate even if you are unable to join the live sessions.All participants have access to all recordings and you can attend in either or both languages. The course also includes 5+ hours of video with the background story of the Mahābhārata and along the way participants will also receive notes and questions for reflection.We'll work direct from the original Sanskṛt verses and consider the text as a whole with particular emphasis on it's practical application in our lives now.Sign up here: https://jamesboagyoga.thinkific.com/courses/BG26Read more here:https://jamesboagyoga.com/bg26/Read the article version of this podcast here: https://jamesboagyoga.com/blog-articles/a-different-story-of-a-new-world-order/