THE OTHER SHORE – MUSINGS ON THE HEART SUTRA

Recited daily in Mahayana temples throughout the world, The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra or The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge is one of the most well known Buddhist teachings and is said to be the view that leads to complete liberation.
In this episode, Kia shares her personal experience and reflections around this sacred text, as well as the creation of hers and Yotam's latest album The Other Shore – Sounds of the Heart Sutra. This is followed by a recitation of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s exquisite translation of the text.

You find the complete album The Other Shore – Sounds of the Heart Sutra on all platforms where you listen to music.

This recording is best experienced with headphones to allow for a multi-dimensional listening. 

With love & blessings

x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION: SOLAR & LUNAR SWARA

This meditation explores bringing our Swara - the flow through our right solar and left lunar streams of consciousness - into balance. 
In yoga this is traditionally done through harmonising the flow through our left and right nostril where these subtle breath channels terminate. There are many practices devoted to this end in classical Hatha Yoga texts. Yotam and I are offering you a beautifully crafted live recording from Kia's In-depth Development Training  that we invite you to explore with us.
It is said that when our stimulating and generative solar swara comes into a supportive balance with our spacious and receptive lunar swara, inner divisiveness and conflict is able to heal. Entering this sanctuary within, duality and separation begins to soften, even dissolve, and we are left with a deep sense of wholeness and interconnectedness.
This recording is best experienced with headphones to allow for a multi-dimensional listening. 

With love & blessings

x Kia & Yotam

BODY SCAN FOR AN ATTUNED PRACTICE

An embodied approach to yoga requires us to learn our body's subtle language so we can attune what and how to practice to care for its changing nature. Opening and closing with a Body Scan is a powerful way to strengthen our capacity to use own inner reference system for growing somatic intelligence. Without initiating our practice from this place of deep listening, our practice is likely to be rout, habitual or goal-driven. Opening with a compassionate inquiry into our own embodiment opens up our yoga practice to endless creative opportunities and new pathways for healing.

This is a live recording from Kia's In-Depth Training . It is best experienced with headphones to allow for a multi-dimensional listening.

With love & blessings

x Kia & Yotam

RESONANCE BREATHING

Resonance frequency breathing is a very simple, yet powerful practice for restoring balance in our body, breath, heart and mind.  The word resonance is defined as synchronicity or harmony between elements. It´s a way of breathing where we consciously slow down our breath cycle in a way that brings our autonomic nervous system into balance. In only a few quiet minutes, this practice allows us to drop into a natural sense of equilibrium and harmony. In resonance with our true selves…

Thank you for your practice

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION – LISTENING DEEPLY

Kia opens our meditation by sharing a quote from electronic music composer Pauline Olivero's work Quantum Listening. It's an invitation to listen with care and attention. Listening deeply in this way sheds light on the invisible forces that transpires around, within and between us - our inner and outer resonance. Following these subtle vibratory threads, we experience our existence as woven together in a boundless tapestry of sound and breath.

This beautiful sound meditation with crystal bowls by Cristina Monti, is a live recording from this Summers' Retreat in our Mountain Shala beautifully crafted by Yotam.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

SAVASANA: A JOURNEY INTO THE RAIN FOREST

We invite you for a Savasana-Journey: A divine relaxation that takes us to Mother India, the homeland of yogic practices & ancient wisdom teachings. We travel deep into a protected rain forest in Karnataka. In the lush soundscape of the jungle, we find a clearing where we lie down. In this sanctuary, we allow our body to find complete rest and our mind complete presence. Savasana is usually taken at the end of practice, but we truly recommend taking Savasana any time during the day when you need a pause to relax and renew your body and mind. Or, you could simply allow this journey to gently drop you into a restful sleep.

Remember that our sound recordings are best experienced with headphones to allow for a multi-dimensional listening. Thank you for your practice.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION: SHAMATHA PRACTICE

Shamatha means Calm Abiding or Peacefully Remaining and is the foundation of Buddhist Mindfulness Practice. Taking our seat and placing our attention on an anchor such as the breath,  offers us a home ground, a safe but transient sensation that allows us to return to our embodiment in the present moment. When we pause from the momentum of life in this way, we begin to breed an inner sanctuary, a calm resting place from where we can experience life more fully. This ability to abide in reality is what is known as The Lion’s Roar of Confidence.
Thank you for your practice.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

SOUND JOURNEY: THE RETREAT

In this episode we are taking you on a sound journey to one of my retreats in the Spanish mountains where you find our Mountain Shala. We go here to retreat and to practice deeply. But also to simply be together, enjoy and explore. Most practitioners return year after year, and over time many friendships have flourished here. This is not so much a journey away from, as it is a journey towards each other and inside ourselves.
Many elements in this Soundscape were recorded live during our last retreat in the mountains. The scape is 90 mins long so it´s wonderful to listen to it during practice to allow yourself to immerse into the energy of the retreat.
Or: you might simply sit back and enjoy the journey...
As with all our multi-layered sound scapes, they are best experienced using headphones.

Enjoy your practice.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

TALK: SAMKALPA – AN INTENTION FORMED BY THE HEART

This talk on Saṁkalpa is a live recording from our Borderless Online Shala, held only days after the passing of zen master Thich Nhath Hahn. The talk was followed by a meditation on the same theme which you find in the next episode of our Podcast.
Saṁkalpa is a very particular word in the Sanskrit language. The most common, but somewhat simplified English translation is "An Intention Formed by the Heart". But the power of Saṁkalpa is really embedded into the very sound of the word itself. So its potency is directly reliant on our capacity to listen deeply. Kia relates to Saṁkalpa not so much as an intention but as an Inner Resonance that we listen for and reflect upon. She also shares how it speaks to the truth of our fundamental Interbeingness - a word coined by Thich Nhath Hahn.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION: SAMKALPA

In our previous episode, we shared a talk on Saṁkalpa recorded live in our Borderless Online Shala. The Meditation you are about to hear was recorded during the same session. So we invite you to listen to the talk first, to lay a foundation for the meditation.
Saṁkalpa is a very particular word in the Sanskrit language. The most common, but somewhat simplified English translation is "An Intention Formed by the Heart". But the power of Saṁkalpa is really embedded into the very sound of the word itself. So its potency is directly reliant on our capacity to listen deeply. Kia relates to Saṁkalpa not so much as an intention but as an Inner Resonance that we listen for and reflect upon.
It is in quietude that we can move closer to our hearts so that we can hear the resonance arising from within: Saṁkalpa the very depth of our being coming into manifestation.

Enjoy your practice.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION: BREATHING INTO WHOLENESS

The tendency of our distracted mind is to be scattered and cut off from the direct, physical sensations of our body. When we are caught in thinking of the future or past, we leave the nowness of our breathing body. Our body and mind separate from one another. The division between body, heart and mind is first healed by the breath. We anchor our awareness in our breath to yoke body, heart and mind into same place at the same time.
In this space there is a sense of Wholeness.

Enjoy your practice.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

SOUNDSCAPE: THE BREATH SPACE

The Breath Space opens with Kia taking us through a short breath awareness practice where we awaken to the Pranic & Apanic patterns that cause the shape and pulse of our body to change with breath.
With fluidity and spaciousness arising from within, we bring ourselves to Samastitihi where we align body, breath and mind – before moving into 80 mins of Soundscapes designed to carry us through our practice. 
Throughout we are offered gentle reminders to help bring us back home to the openness and presence of our inner breath space. Kia also shares one of her favourite quotes by Ani Pema Chödrön.

Watch a magnificent video of this episode HERE

Enjoy your practice.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION: THE BREATH IN THE BELLY

The most direct portal to presence comes through being awake in our body. Many people think of meditation as a practice solely for the mind, reaching some alternative, transcendent state. But mindfulness meditation is above all a fully embodied practice.
In this meditation we let our awareness drop down into the belly and rest deep within our body. We try not to manipulate or control the breath in any way. Instead we learn to trust the breath to breath us naturally. Bringing our attention to the navel centre we come to know the seat of all layers of our embodiment, our fundamental wholeness and interconnectedness.
Thank you for listening.

With Love & Devotion

/Kia & Yotam

SAVASANA – 108 OM

It´s time to take rest. We prepare our Savasana as if for our most beloved in life. Offering this gift of care and kindness to ourselves. The practice of Savasana is passive, receptive. We allow ourselves to be held unconditionally. Our nest, a divine resting place. 
Now lie down, close your eyes and feel yourself lying on the earth.  This is not the time to practice. This is the time to surrender.  We sense our body fully supported, received in our shared space.  As our breath gradually falls into the background, we become receptive to sound.  Listening not just with our ears, but with our entire body. We let 108 divine Oms flow with our breath from the centre of our heart throughout our body and beyond... As our Om breath rolls in and out, we become aware of the oscillation of our inner and outer body, our inner and outer world. Soaked in our own vital life force Prana, we drop into a natural sense of belonging. A sanctuary, a refuge deep within the universe of our own being.

This sound recording is best experienced with headphones to allow for a multi-dimensional listening. 

With love & devotion

x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION ON SOUND

Perhaps the most accessible gateway to begin a meditation practice is through Mindfulness of Sound. Sounds are always happening in the present moment, they arise, change and dissolve. We cultivate a sense of spaciousness for sounds to arise without clinging, rejecting, or being distracted by them.
Mindful Listening is an Embodied Listening. We don´t just hear with our ears, but we listen with our entire body. Being actively engaged in listening directly attunes us to the present moment. When we listen deeply, we create conditions for awareness to naturally arise.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

TALK: ONE YEAR IN OUR BORDERLESS SHALA

This is a live recording from March 29th 2021, one year since we moved our community to our Borderless Online Shala.

”Personally I feel the Shala and its community have never been more important than this last year. As a refuge, a sanctuary – not in a sense of hiding away from the world, on the contrary: as an active process of placing our practice in the midst of our life as it is right now. Holding space for us to draw from these teachings and practices so that we can move through this incomprehensible time with as much compassion and wakefulness as we possibly can.
I wish to thank all of you who have shown up here, some of you every single week since we opened. Quite some re-adjustment and re-imagination had to take place for us to make this transition into a virtual space.
I bow to you for your willingness to re-adapt, to create space and to show up for yourself and each other, because there is something deeper that connects us than physical location. It is thanks to you that Mysore Yoga Paris has survived this challenging year as a community and a Shala. You have shown not only in words but in action that separation doesn´t have to mean isolation. Instead we can allow distancing to be a form of care. In our hearts we can make conscious choice not to close down bu but to close in on each other.
For the awakening heart, supporting the practice of those around us, our Sangha is just as important as our own individual path – because the two are entirely interdependent.”

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

Paris March 29th 2021

SOUNDSCAPE: THE INNER SHALA

The biggest illusion about the Path of Refuge is that we have to journey somewhere else to find this sacred space. Ultimately our refuge is not outside ourselves or somewhere else, but it is always and already here. We are taking refuge in the truth of who we are - our Inner Shala.
This practice soundscape is meant to help open up this sanctuary within. To cultivate an inner experience of wholeness and belonging in your practice. 

The Inner Shala opens with Kia counting through the  traditional standing sequence of Ashtanga Yoga in Sanskrit, after which we float into self practice to our own breath rhythm. We allow ourselves to be carried in Yotam´s soundscapes - and finally soaked in 108 Oms.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION: PRATYAHARA – THE WORLD OPENS TO US

This is a live recording of a Meditation on Pratyahara the 5th of Patanjali´s 8 limbs of Yoga., following a talk given in our previous episode with the same name. It was held in our Borderless Online Shala in December 2020.
We begin by dropping into the body by anchoring down into earth. From a place of groundedness, we become aware of the Midline waking up at the very centre of our body. We connect earth to heaven and heaven to earth through our own central axis. We let the breath flow naturally between our inner world and the outer. As we open to our breath, as we open to sensations, we fall into Pratyahara and the world can open itself to us. The world can come to us.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

TALK: PRATYAHARA – THE WORLD OPENS TO US

This recording is a talk given before one of our Pranayama classes in our Borderless Online Shala 2020.
Pranayama, the Yogic breathing practices is the 4th of Patanjali´s 8 limbs of Yoga. It is said to lead the practitioner towards Pratyahara the 5th limb. Pratyahara is commonly translated as  "sense withdrawal". However, I find this translation quite problematic. Can you really withdraw your senses?
In a time of confinement, distancing and separation I  think it is especially interesting look at the deeper meaning of a concept that seems to ask the yogi to do just that: withdraw from the world.
Thank you for listening.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

MEDITATION & PRAYER FOR ALL ESSENTIAL BODHISATTVAS

In this episode we want to share with you a Prayer for all of the Essential Workers written by zen priest Ando Jaune Evans, gently adapted by Kia.
With this prayer we place our practice in the midst of the world we are living in, and we acknowledge all of the essential Bodhistattvas that are at work amongst us every day, carrying us through these pandemic times.
The Prayer is followed by a guided Meditation and a Blessing of Loving Kindness for all beings.
This is a a live recording from an early morning sit with our Borderless Online Shala community, Friday Nov 20th, 2020

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

SOUNDSCAPE: THE MOUNTAIN SHALA

This practice sound scape will transport you to our Shala in the Spanish Mountains where we retreat every summer to deepen our practice.  Our outdoor Shala - far from the business of the city, nestles in Olive Groves and overlooks the magnificent Sierra Nevada. The unique soundscape enveloping our practice is created by the landscape itself and all its habitants - birds, cicadas, wind blowing through olive branches and soft mosquito nets. Breaths, bodies moving, quiet conversations between teacher and student… Many elements in this Soundscape are recorded directly in the Mountain Shala, and it is meant for you to play during practice to allow you to immerse in its energy. 

We chant the Ashtanga Opening Mantra and I count you though the fundamental standing postures before we dive into self-practice. For 90 minutes we are immersed in Yotam´s gentle Soundscapes opening our practice to our inner and outer landscape.

The music which carry a wide range of frequencies, is best experienced with a good sound system or headphones.

Yotam and Kia would like to dedicate this Soundscape to our beloved Sangha from near and far that every summer travels up to the mountains to retreat and deepen their practice together. A special thanks to David & Emma at Las Chimeneas who make everything possible and delightful!

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

SAVASANA: UNDER AN OPEN SKY

We invite you to lie down for a ten minute Savasana: a divine relaxation where we allow our body to find complete rest and our mind complete presence. Savasana is typically taken at the end of practice, but for those practicing in the middle of the day or in the evening, I truly recommend taking Savasana both before and after practice. Or at any time during the day when you need a pause to relax and renew your body and mind.

This sound recording was done using binaural technology that allows for a multidimensional listening - best experienced with headphones. It was captured right after practice in the desert without any editing. This is our interpretation of silence today.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

Linktr.ee offers a comprehensive list of resources for raising awareness, driving donations and sharing information in support of justice and equality.

MEDITATION: AWAKENING THE COMPASSIONATE HEART

This meditation is directly inspired by the the talk with the same name (in the previous episode), and was recorded live in our Borderless Online Shala , on the same occasion.

We begin reciting the traditional Buddhist Prayer to Take Refuge in the Triple Gem.
We follow with a sitting cultivating open attention. Holding whatever arises in our hearts and minds with mindfulness and compassion.
We close with traditional metta - loving-kindness, wishing peace to all beings.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

Linktr.ee offers a comprehensive list of resources for raising awareness, driving donations and sharing information in support of justice and equality.

TALK: AWAKENING THE COMPASSIONATE HEART

This talk is a recording from Kia´s philosophy session in our Borderless Online Shala , June 17th 2020 - less than a month after the murder of George Floyd. 

It is a talk about suffering, protest, solidarity and compassion. How to undo our deepest conditioning to run away from fear and discomfort and awaken our heart to compassion.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

Linktr.ee offers a comprehensive list of resources for raising awareness, driving donations and sharing information in support of justice and equality.

SOUNDSCAPE: THE BORDERLESS SHALA

This practice sound scape is born out of Mysore Yoga Paris Borderless Online Shala and many elements are recorded during our practice together in this virtual space.
It is meant for you to play during practice, inviting you to tap into the energy of coming together beyond physical location and with shared intention.


It is also a journey into our inner shala - our most intimate space that holds the universe and all beings in its heart.


We begin by counting 12 Ujjayi breaths together before coming to Samastitihi chanting the Ashtanga Yoga Opening Prayer. Kia counts you through the first 3 Suryanamaskar before diving into self-practice. For over 100 minutes we are soaked in Yotam´s gentle Soundscapes opening our practice to our inner and outer landscape.


The music which carry a wide range of frequencies is best experienced with a good sound system or headphones.


Yotam and Kia would like to dedicate this Soundscape to our beloved Borderless Online community - a true lotus flower grown out of the muddiest of waters. 

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

Watch the beautiful video trailer for this Soundscape by Sandra Schultze HERE

More music by Yotam Agam HERE

PRANAYAMA: THE SACRED BREATH

This is a recording from Kia´s last Pranayama class before the confinement held in Glasgow in February 2020. Kia teaches in the lineage of Kaivalyadham and is one of the first few in the world to receive Kaivalyadham´s highest teaching certification in advanced Pranayama and Kriyas. Here she offers a practice specifically designed to support and balance our immune-, respiratory and nervous system. She is sharing detailed yet poetic insights into these practices, their techniques, effects and the yogic texts from which they are derived. The entire session is held in Yotam´s gentle Soundscapes, helping to focus the mind and relax into the body and breath. When practiced according to the instructions, staying fully within ones own capacity, these Pranayamas can be practiced by everyone and continued at home. Having said that, Pranayama should always be learned directly from a qualified Pranayama teacher within the lineage of Kaivalyadham in order to deepen your practice.

In this session you will learn:
- Focused vision vs peripheral vision and their effect on the nervous system.
- Brahma Mudra technique and practice
- How to cultivate an effortless posture for sitting and Pranayama, and its effect on the heart rate, metabolism and nervous system.
- Extending the exhale, CO2 and its effect on the nervous system.
- Cultivating a 1: 2 breath ratio suitable for Pranayama.
- Vishnu Mudra: Playing the nose - how to manipulate our nostrils for Pranayama.
- Anulom Vilom / Nadi Shodhana technique, practice and effect.
- Textural references from Hatha Pradipika
- What is Unmani?
- Ujjayi Pranayama technique, practice and textural reference.
- Om recitation
- We finish with a beautiful quote by Lama Gendun Rinpoche that Kia chose for her beloved friend Rosina Bonsu (1955-2020)

MEDITATION: INHABITING THE MOMENT

We invite you to take a seat with us for a sacred pause - a short guided meditation by Kia Naddermier held in gentle Soundscapes by Yotam Agam. We anchor ourselves in presence by fully inhabiting our body. Taking a moment to appreciate this miracle that is our life breath moving in and out of our body. When we practice we are not closing down. We are not controlling our mind. We are fully awake. Fully alive. Fully here.

With love & devotion
x Kia & Yotam

This meditation was recorded at Kia´s Pranayama session in Glasgow, February 2020.

SOUNDSCAPE: THE SHALA

This is a virtual sound-journey into our Shala in Paris and is meant for you to play during practice to give a sense of actually being IN The Shala. We begin by taking our seat in togetherness, aligning body, breath and mind before counting 12 Ujjayi breaths together. Then we come to standing in the sacred midline of our body, Samastitihi. We chant the Ashtanga Yoga Opening Mantra before we dive into self-practice... For one and a half hour we are soaked in Yotam´s gentle Soundscapes that holds and carries us through. Sometimes they help bring us back to the present moment. We immerse in sounds recorded in the shala: breaths, bodies moving, quiet conversations between teacher and student, and some surprises too... For those paying attention all the way to the end - you can even hear the buzzer from the old shala on Rue Eugene Varlin in Paris! Now take practice.  

With love & devotion x Kia & Yotam

TALK: THE TEACHINGS OF YOGA IS NOW

...is a talk on Yoga Sutra 1:1. exploring how to move through uncertain times of pain and loss with an awake heart, giving room for not knowing. Then our practice can become a sacred pause that invites all sides of reality into awareness...

Includes Sahana Vavatu - Shanti Mantra with interpretation. 

The talk was recorded at Rosina Bonsu´s remembrance in Glasgow 15/2 2020. Sounds Scapes by Yotam Agam. I recommend listening before practice!

TALK: CLOSER TOGETHER

In light of the rapid changing developments with the Corona Virus, Mysore Yoga Paris Shala is closing its physical space for the time being. But this sacred space lives in all of us. This is what our practice has prepared us for: with compassion, mindfulness and generosity we remain connected to each other and the world around us.
Although we may have to keep physical distance at this moment, in our hearts we move closer together than ever before.  

This message from Kia Naddermier to the yoga community was recorded 15th of February 2020, at the Remembrance Weekend for Rosina Bonsu in Glasgow.