Transcript
Speaker: Hi, I'm Alan Finger. Welcome to the Genius of Nothing podcast. Nothing is no particular thing.
Speaker: It's all things at once. Genius.
Speaker: Welcome everybody to the Genius of Nothing podcast. I'm Katrina Repka in sunny London and I'm here with Alan Finger in Florida.
Speaker: Sunny Florida. Welcome everyone. And Sebastian Forsman in Sweden. Snowy cold Sweden. Snowy. So here we are. um We have a topic to discuss today, which I think is interesting um in a whole bunch of contexts. We're talking about the masculine-feminine dichotomy. um And I find this is an interesting framework for looking at
Speaker: Everything from how someone teaches to the makeup of their personality, even to fashion. i just got back from California and I was talking to my sister-in-law about like the different adjectives she used to describe the way the clothes she likes. And one of them was whimsical.
Speaker: And I thought to myself... Just in California? or or In California. like She likes to dress whimsically. And I thought, if there's one word that does not describe me or the way I dress, it's whimsical. And that's probably because there's like a ah a masculine element to the way I dress and or to my personality, which is more, I guess, who's stronger. um Coming off of the back of this, it's also interesting to talk about how so many of the kind of famous yoga teachers that we've had have been men, but it's a predominantly women's game and most yoga teachers are women. So yeah, um it's interesting to think about it. Yeah, I mean, all my yoga teachers I've had have been women, except for Alan. He's the only guy. And I think i think for me, it's it's been really nice because I've taken a lot of trainings in the US and Sweden and all over the world. But...
Speaker: Having women as as trainers and and group of majority of women, I know for me at least, this is just personal, I felt that that when I came into the business was was a very loving and safe space to step into.
Speaker: i think partially also can be that, you know, I had a very strong mother as as I was growing up and still have, but I i like strong women. um and And I think some men, I'm i'm going to be little bit bad guy here, but I think some men can shy away from, you know, having a strong woman as a teacher.
Speaker: and But I kind of, I like that. i always like that because it was like the same as I've always had and have now. But then if you look at the the frame if you look at a yoga journal conference, for example, you look at the roster, so many men are on the roster compared to the percentage of men that teach. And actually, before we got on this call, we were talking a little bit about the Epstein files. And so many men in yoga have also had downfalls yeah related to um related to being yeah a man. Yeah, it's not a lot of women. It's it's just basically men. it's an Not a good track record. especially Especially when they've given you rules and laws and then can stand up to them themselves. Fortunately, Ishtar and Tantra and what I teach, I don't give you any rules or laws. Only one is do your practice and tune to that which is infinite.
Speaker: Because when you start getting into the finite world, and you say these are the laws for this and the rules for that, and then you must you don't act up to that, then it's a big issue. You're a failure. yeah so But that's a really great thing I feel about Tantra.
Speaker: It's like in the in the very early Vedic texts and the Hindi texts, it was always like men who, you know, they were the gurus, they were the teachers, they were the ones who wrote everything down. And they were mainly also the practitioners of it. And then just all of a sudden Tantra kind of arrives and kicks in the door and just like, no, this is not at all what we believe.
Speaker: Like saying that, you know, we're not a religion, we're not a dualistic belief, but rather a liberation technology, really. And there's a really important text in Tantra that is called the Kulinava Tantra.
Speaker: And they're really, really adamant there about something called adhikara. And that basically translates to who's who's qualified, really. But in Tantra, that's it's more about balancing these two opposite energies or these two, you know, the yin and the yang, the Shiva...
Speaker: which is more of the male energy, the divine male energy, and Shakti, which is more the feminine divine energy. And it's it's not the role-playing, it's the balancing act of it, really, to be able to unite them and really to rise above these dualities to come to a state of union. That's really the goal of it.
Speaker: Well, if you look at it from Tantra, i mean, basically you've got the Shiva tattvas and the Shakti tattvas. Shiva are male and Shakti are female. The reason of the male and the female is because female is what gives birth to matter and form.
Speaker: and the seed is in the male. So they really call them shudha and ashudha tattvas, those which are without form and with form.
Speaker: And the mother nature, shakti, which is in a female dominant because they give birth in the evolution process to sustain it. so and But both are necessary, they're both actually together.
Speaker: So Shakti gives birth to the vehicle of your body and to be able to exist in this plane. And we all have masculine and feminine within us then.
Speaker: There's this balance. We all have Shiva and Shakti within us. Yeah, Shiva's in the crown and Shakti's at the root. And even within us, that little so That separation happens, which gives birth to manifestation.
Speaker: But do you think some people have more, some women have more masculine and some men have more feminine, like as a ratio or kind of thing? Yeah.
Speaker: Definitely. i remember feeling how like sorry to interrupt you I remember feeling how tolerant I felt that Ishta was because we were talking about um homosexuality and how there's a more of the feminine in a homosexual man, for example, or more of the masculine in a homosexual woman. And it's just like we don't judge it it's it as good or bad. It it is just what is It's just what it is. yeah Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker: Well, I do think that some some gay men can be very madly and some some some gay women can be very feminine. um But did you guys know this, that actually when a man, for example, because I only know about this because I have been in so many trainings all over the world and the same thing always tends to happen when you see men coming into these trainings, which is full of women usually. And...
Speaker: It's kind of interesting that when a man steps into ah training with, you know, that are predominantly with women, his testosterone goes down. And vice versa, when a woman comes into a training with, you know, mostly men or a group of men, predominantly, the woman's testosterone goes up. And for men, this really means that men in these kind of groups with a lot of women tend to soften a lot more and feel a little more safe and, you know,
Speaker: It just tends to soften a little bit more. which is Interesting. yeah it' kind of interesting I think you know evolution is at play and I think there was a male dominance at a certain point where males were more the knowledge and females were more like giving birth and looking after and doing that kind of stuff. But as evolution is coming, growing and happening, it's much more, it's turning a lot. And you see it. You see it all over the place. You see it in newscasters on the news.
Speaker: Before, it was always men. The woman was like a secretary. And the women are the leaders and they're leading. and they so ah To me, they're more clear than the men. The men are like bullfrogs on them. And I watch that. But but I think that but in my day when I started yoga, it was all men. All the swamis. All the swamis and all the yogis were all men. And i've even got ah i'm going to have to update my chart a little bit because… Our lineage practice, because it's all men and it's not that it, it's just what it was in those days. And now it's changing. Did you have any teachers that came to your home and in Africa? Like were any other women? I did. There was from the Shivananda Ashram, ah an eye doctor who who was a Swami and lived in the Shivananda Ashram. And she came to lecture and there was another young Tantric lady who who was weird because she was dressed like a Swami in orange and that.
Speaker: But she was a Tantric teacher, young, younger lady. And she came our school. They were Indian, yeah. I was the only two Indian at that point. I mean, now there's the mother and hugs and all sorts of stuff out there, you know, and different things. But in the old days, yeah, it was all men. But it was also the Brahmins who had access to the Sanskrit texts and could interpret them. And as I understand it, the tantric has really turned that on its head and said, you don't need somebody to interpret the greater wisdom. You can you have everything you need inside you. You are the microcosm of the macrocosm, and therefore you can...
Speaker: as an individual practice um these teachings without having ah like a man tell you what to do. it was very much more about the individual.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Well, Shaivism is very much, you know, woman the the Shakti is very much dominant. When you came to California and started teaching, I mean, of course, ah ah imagine there was a lot of women there in the classes, yeah. But was it a lot of men too? Was that popular among men back then? Or was it just like kind of like now where there's just majority of of women? Oh, when I first came, mainly well, first it mainly men.
Speaker: When I was there, mean, it was me, it was Bikram, it was bo Yogi Bhajan. They were mainly men. There was a Nihengar teacher, Vivekananda, Yogananda. It was all kind you know, it was started off as men. And then Mati came and then there was a few other ladies and and then all of the The women started get teaching and became quite dominant. Yeah, so so i I understand that, but was there a lot of women in the classes? Because there was a lot of men teaching, can know that, but was there a lot of women in the classes like today? Mostly women, but um it it changed pretty quickly that, you know, I mean, there were men and women.
Speaker: in the in the stronger kind of yoga. Strangely enough, you know, in hot yoga, there were a lot more men that did that. Yeah, so so actually it's not strange at all because we actually know from research that men tend to, you know, choose more physical classes from from ah injury management professionals standpoint from performance, strength, endurance, that's why men usually choose yoga classes. And there's there's a good reason for this. And it is basically because men tend to need to have more of an intense physical stimulation really to trigger their relaxation response to activate their parasympathetic nervous system. And women do not in the same regard.
Speaker: And of course, this is not everyone. This is statistics. So, i mean, there's always genetic variations and cultural differences. But the majority of men do need this to be able to be able to relax a little bit more.
Speaker: Yeah, sure. And men like to take their shirts off when they do yoga. And sweat a lot and stink up the room. Exactly. i never got why you wanted to show your nipples to people in class and like be naked half naked. You're lucky I don't sweat. Like Prince Andrew. And I keep my shirt on then. Yeah, no safety, sorry. Oh. Good rule. good But I know you don't like psychobabble, Al, but I guess people would say that in order to be an integrated human being, a man has to...
Speaker: be in touch with his feminine side and a woman should be in touch with her masculine side. You don't really want to be denying a side of yourself. But do you think that it's important to have, I know you don't like the psychological psychology talk, but do you think it's important that somebody balances, because we can also look at it as a balance of strength and flexibility, right? A balance of hardness and softness.
Speaker: So, you know, Katrina, i don't I think that's the end product because within us we have Shiva and Shakti. We have these two opposing or these forces that create our world of duality and Maya.
Speaker: And... The goal of yoga is not to do all, as as you say, psychobabble talk of balance your feminine and your masculine your feminine. It's balance.
Speaker: Your Shakti has to reunite with Shiva, which is a process internally in a human being. but But the balance is inside us.
Speaker: The balance is when you unite male, she when Shakti unites with Shiva, you get into a state which is non-dual. So there's no longer male or female.
Speaker: When you're in that state, you go into a state that's other than mind, genius of nothing. You get into that state which is beyond mind. And it's so hard for people because we're in maya.
Speaker: in the world of opposites, of time, of matter, of reason, of attraction and repulsion, and then we' got ah it leads to manifestation of matter. So when we're in that world of Maya, we try and resolve it in the world of opposites.
Speaker: But in Tantra, you're doing it internally. And if you can reach that state, that genius state which is beyond mental ah reason, and you sit and you get into it and you come back, you just know.
Speaker: And then you act differently. You've got your masculine, your feminine, and you and they come out at the right time. Yeah, definitely. and And I do think you're a person that is very good at knowing and and seeing when you're wrong in something and admitting it and taking responsibility for it. And I learned a lot about that. Well, I learned after three, mine this is my third marriage. And so I did well, I studied well, and I learned that, yeah,
Speaker: The Shakti is always right. For sure. But, you know, I'm i'm two marriages behind you. So I'm like, i'm I'm coming up. I'm just a little slow. So it'll take a while, but I'll get there. Don't worry. i'll I'm on my way.
Speaker: But the Shaktis are always right. Oh, totally. The Shakti is always right. That's why I don't have to have the same learning that you guys do. Because obviously I'm always right. Exactly. yeah That's very easy for us Sorry that you do.
Speaker: but But it's true. It's true that, you know, we process information and emotions very, very differently. Men and women, we all know this, but there's huge individual variations, both genetically and socially. But women's nervous system and tend to need more softer practice ah to activate their relaxation response, while men need a to a higher degree need a more physical activation to activate their relaxation response. And it's interesting because women, women we know from a lot of research now that that and strong research that shows that women are more affected by GABA than men are. and
Speaker: And GABA is something that that is increases in the brain when we do practices like yoga and meditation. And GABA is a neurotransmitter, or I should say, actually, a neurotransmitter inhibitor. Think of it like a brake pedal in your brain, basically. Yeah. So it slows down neural activity, decreases anxiety and stress, basically.
Speaker: So GABA increases in yoga and meditation, and women are more receptive to the changes when when GABA kind of increases than than men tend to be. And this means that men women have a tendency to...
Speaker: have an easier time to get into yoga and activate their parasympathetic nervous system and get into meditation and these deeper practices than men tend to have. And and that kind of language also. men men men have that, but they they need a little bit longer of ah of a run to... Sebastian only learned that since he got married. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: Lucky was in New York back then, so I had some help. Have you seen a difference in that, Al, from you know when you started it to now? There's definitely a difference, and there definitely has been a difference ah between men and women. men Women are far more receptive at first than men, unless the man has a good balance of male and female in themselves.
Speaker: But, um yeah, when ah when I used to teach women, they were so receptive and would be easy to teach. And men would, you know, you'd have to kind of like use the right, you know, language. at But now it's it's very different.
Speaker: And I've taught a lot of men privately, and I found them very easy to teach. And I think it's because my way of teaching is quite, it's not that flowery. It's quite concise, and it's I'm pretty direct, and so I don't tend to wander into the floral. um And I think i've men have related to that. Yeah, I think I think yeah i think you can see that. I mean, I think men respond very well to you and your classes. I think what we what we have all learned and what I've taught always to teach to the person.
Speaker: Yeah, always. But male and female obviously had its role. Yeah, but if you're teaching a yoga class, and let's say you're new to teaching, and you're trying to teach more of an Ishta way to the individual, but you have a huge class perhaps of 50, 60 people. Yeah. How do you how do you like find those ways of changing that class? Because a good teacher will change a class if if you know if that's what needs to be done. They'll throw up the whole class they planned, and you know you just have to feel what people Yeah.
Speaker: You know, I think you're absolutely right, but as you become more proficient at meditation and teaching, it's like when you look at the ocean and you see waves.
Speaker: And there's but lots of waves, not just one. And you see one come up and another one fall back and another one pull up. And I often just sort of watch these waves forming and going back and forming and going back. And then little ones because of the big ones forming and going back. And when I teach, ah when I used to teach a group class,
Speaker: a you know, live class in years ago, maybe a few hundred people, I i could see their doshas and their qualities and their asana, their position, just like us was watching the ocean with all the different waves.
Speaker: And that's become that again comes from the genius of nothing. Because when your mind is expanded, you get this like wide-angle vision where you see it all rather than locking into one thing.
Speaker: But I do find that in a bigger class, it really you really It really comes through when your mind is not limited, when the teacher's mind is not limited. Yeah.
Speaker: What I think is fantastic in this is that we have these great tools, really, that we can use to to balance you know towards our partner and in our relationships that we can... you know, used to understand, you know, those dual powers in each of us and and how we can balance them between us in a way. So I'm going to let you, you know, mention one of those techniques that we use to to kind of synchronize to the other person in a relationship. You know, what what makes us alive is our breath.
Speaker: And our breath feeds and animates the actual elements in our body. If you can synchronize your breath with your partner, you can sit even back to back because you can sort of feel the breath in the in the person behind you. And you just start breathing both of you. And it takes a little while. And then suddenly your breath, you sigh, you yawn, and your breath begins to synchronize. When you synchronize your breath with your partner,
Speaker: You're going to sync all your chakras, all your doshas start to come into the right balance with each other. So there's a very simple technique which is far surpasses any mental technique.
Speaker: But because you're going you go to the essence of the fuel that fuels your thoughts, your senses and your thoughts. And it's all from your breath.
Speaker: So Katrina, do you think about that? Like in your relationships, have you have you thought about that? Like how you balance with your partner, how you balance the Shiva and Shakti, the male and the female part of you? and Because there's also some parts of it that that is...
Speaker: not in our control really. which if if For example, did you guys know that that we restore men and women store our episodic memory very, very differently, for example. And where women have a tendency to you know remember the the event, the context, and the feelings they felt during, for example, an argument that happened earlier.
Speaker: that they kind of are trying to remember. When a man, going back to do the same thing, more remember the event, but not those other, the context or the emotions connected to it. So you can actually have two people having an argument, but remembering two totally different conversations. And this can sometimes create these kind of clashes. so I think...
Speaker: I know we hate the psychobabble, but I grew up in a relatively toxic masculine environment. My dad was really a strong personality, and he was also an alcoholic and had anger issues. So my initial model of what was...
Speaker: a man was kind of intimidating and, and, and fear inducing. And so when I first was dating and the people I married were more feminine getting, because I, I think I was scared. So I'm really scared of someone like raising their voice or being aggressive. And i would consciously not want to get into a situation with somebody close to me where I was in that. And I think as I've aged and gone through life, and my current partner is a much more balanced, he has a strong masculine side, but he's also extremely sensitive and caring and loving and He's raised his voice and it hasn't been super frightening for me. And um so i think that like there's, yeah, in in my own relationships, i i I've actually now I'm seeking someone who's more of
Speaker: the balance to me, which allows me to be more feminine, because I think when I was with people who were more feminine, i was more masculine and in some degrees like holding on. So yeah, I think, I think it is interesting. And I feel like I'm probably at the most balanced place I've been and that's years of yoga and probably lots of therapy as well. Um,
Speaker: but yeah That's amazing. But I do think there is a certain type of evolution in this. I think men are becoming more in touch with their feminine side more and more. goes slow, but i think you there is an evolutionary piece of this that is evolving. Oh, absolutely. and And the female is becoming much more dominant and sharp and clear and accurate. It's unbelievable. And on that note, maybe we should you know buckle up and hope that, yeah, we can yeah have that in the future. Well, until then, we have that exercise we just taught you, with like sit back to back and breathe. And it's magical because your breath feeds your mitochondrion and changes it to bioelectric energy in it and makes you alive, all of your cells. So when you synchronize your breath, it's better than talk.
Speaker: who I remember something I do need to say because sometimes one partner is not into yoga and won't want to do this. Why do you do that?
Speaker: Well, When you lie in bed at night, put your hand on your partner's back or, you know, somewhere coming non-threatening or challenging or sexual and just feel their breath and synchronize through feeling their breath, feel your breath synchronize with them.
Speaker: And that will do it too. Thank you all. From my so feminine side, namaste. And from my masculine side, hariyo. Namaste. Thank you.
Speaker: Namaste. Namaste. Thank you. Please don't forget to like and subscribe. It really helps us out a lot. Thank you. Namaste.
Speaker: Thank you for joining us today and have a super wonderful week. Namaste. Namaste.
