Transcript
Speaker: Hi, I'm Alan Finger. Welcome to the Genius of Nothing podcast. Nothing is no particular thing. It's all things at once. Genius.
Speaker: Welcome everyone to the Genius of Nothing podcast. We're very excited that this is our inaugural episode. And so we thought we would take a moment just to introduce ourselves and talk a little bit about Ishta Yoga. Alan is the founder, so I'm going to hand it over to him to start with. Hi, everyone. Nice to meet you all on the air.
Speaker: um I would share with you a little bit my life. ah I was born in South Africa. My father happened to be in the a Second World War and was shell -shocked and kind of like became a drug addict and alcoholic from it. Not kind of, he did.
Speaker: and My grandfather, who was a wealthy businessman, kind of kept sending my father out on trips to, um, it try and get him into business or get him into something, which none of them worked until they sent him to, uh, on a business trip to Los Angeles from South Africa.
Speaker: And it was about two different clothes lines. And in the hotel he was staying, the Ambassador Hotel, Yogananda was giving a lecture, this yogi with long hair. And him and the group of men that came over with him, business people, all went to the lecture ah to see what this yogi guy was talking about in the hotel.
Speaker: and I'm sure my father was drunk but he apparently staggered in and said and listened to the lecture and afterwards Yogananda kind of summoned him and he sort of went up to him, didn't know what he was doing and told him he was ah sort of about a lot of almost psychically what he was about, who, where he was, what he was doing and that he would initiate him into Kriya Yoga, which would heal him. And whatever he said to my dad, of course I wasn't there, but whatever he said to my father stuck very, very strongly and it did change his life. And he learnt with Yogananda who suggested he goes via India home, back to South Africa, which he did,
Speaker: and came back to south africa and he was he started teaching yoga and he cured himself completely from being a drug addict he was really in and out of homes and pretty pretty bad and And he cured himself and became a a yogi. And as Yogananda said, that he would go back and become a famous yogi. And he said one of you that my father's sons would follow in his footsteps. And it so turned out, of course, I and didn't take to the yoga. My brother didn't do anything.
Speaker: and yeah and of my life has become yoga as well. I i taught in South Africa for most probably 18 years and then came to America and ended up in Los Angeles where I taught a lot of the movie people and stars and on sets and all that kind of stuff and then came to New York ah well I opened in Los Angeles the yoga work schools of yoga with Marty and came to open in New York but then it sort of was too hard to do it with with the yoga works and I opened various yoga studios and centers.
Speaker: And now, having been in America for 45 years, I think it is, I have teaching all over. I have got and had a center in New York for 38 years, was a wonderful center and a wonderful ashram, as such, in New York City.
Speaker: And ah then moved to Florida because I couldn't handle the cold. I'm born in Africa and moved to Florida where I've made my center, my home. And I give most of my lectures and that from here, but of course do travel to New York to do workshops. And that is our Ischter Center still exists there.
Speaker: And over this time, formed many students all over the world and spread Ishta Yoga. And that's kind of my history and what I do.
Speaker: Amazing, Al. Thanks. um And we are also joined by Sebastian Forsman. Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself? and Certainly. My name is Sebastian Forsman. I live in Stockholm, Sweden. I'm not blonde, weirdly enough. I have to ask my parents why that is. But I have a past in advertising before I came into Ishtand Yoga. I have also studied cognitive neuroscience, which is a cognition part of neuroscience.
Speaker: I met Al in about 2012 -13 and later moved to New York and studied with him for about five to six years and I met my wife there and we later moved back to Stockholm where we now live and I teach and we're beginning to have little workshops and retreats and yeah that's really my story.
Speaker: Amazing. And I think all of us will divulge more as the podcasts go on. um I'm Katrina Repka. Unlike Sebastian, I am blonde. I live in um London, England. I'm originally from Canada and met Al in New York um in 2001, just after 9 -11.
Speaker: And I was in New York studying for five years after that. And then I've been in London for 18 and I teach workshops and retreats. I'm teaching less these days and just chilling. But um yeah, so we're very excited to be doing this podcast and maybe I'll you want to talk a little bit about Ishta Yoga and the kind of philosophy behind the podcast. But, you know, everything is going to be um very contemporary. So the background is Ishta Yoga, but actually we're going to be talking about a whole bunch of different pertinent things um to people's lives today. So, Al, do you want to tell a little bit? Sure.
Speaker: um So, Ishta Yoga was developed by me and my father and my teachers, Swami Venkatesh and Swami Nisarayasananda, mainly. And um I wanted to somehow systemize this vast sort of endless amount of information that yoga has in so many different areas from the Vedas.
Speaker: And, but it, to a Westerner, it was kind of overwhelming. And so I really tried to systemize all of this, these practices into a system that would relate to the Westerner, well, to an Easterner as well. And, but was sort of more scientific than religious.
Speaker: And the three major sister sciences of India are hatha yoga, Tantra and Ayurveda. And so these three different sciences that I was exposed to, I really wanted to put into a system and show how they interrelate, and what an amazing science these really are. So these three sister sciences, we put together and we called our system ISHTA, Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda.
Speaker: And ishta, which stands for the acronym, also means in Sanskrit, the that the practice that relates to one's own personal soul. So what identifies to your soul what practice it is you need? The ishta practice,
Speaker: really is what resonates with your soul. And therefore it's kind of unique what each person needs. And unfortunately in our day and age now and in what the has happened when America took over yoga, well they added a lot of music and hard and hot and sweaty classes and And all of that became really, and still today, very much what yoga is. But there's so much more to it. And I kind of appreciate what they what America has done and what these different practices are, because it does open people up and ultimately make them want to search deeper.
Speaker: So I find that a lot of people have done all these other pairs, ultimately, want to know more. And so a lot of them so sort of find Ishta later on in their practice as well, because it puts together hatha yoga. um Tantra how brings the tantric philosophy into it.
Speaker: which is a very sort of scientifically related experience of who you are and how you relate to a unified, and unbound field of consciousness.
Speaker: We're all born from a quantum consciousness and it comes into us. It gives birth to us, to our brain and makes our brain conscious and makes us live. And Tantra is the science of all the, how this all happens in us and motivates us in our life.
Speaker: Ayurveda means the science of life to find out what is life force itself and how does it become unique in a being and how, what it is we need to do to resonate with our constitution.
Speaker: of life force that we're born with. And of course we'll go into these things much deeper, into the go the different Rajas, sorry, into the Doshas, which are Vata, Pita, and Kapha, which are the different kinds of energy that constitute life force.
Speaker: So all of these things in the future podcasts, we're going to be discussing with you and sharing with you how different you can use all of these different practices to put yourself in tune, to open yourself up and how to live in tune with the greater forces that govern the universe, our planet, and all creatures on our planet. We're all governed from this greater intelligence. Although we form personalities and identities and then think this is what we are and we are all better than this or but this is who I am, we're actually a collective consciousness.
Speaker: going through life. And these things I will appreciate i will share with you in the podcast and how they affect you and how they'll support you when you know how to access these forces and use them to open you up or to absorb more direction and how to live a life, a life filled with inspiration, intuition, insight, how to live a life where your cells are filled with light so that you are healthy and clear -minded. That in a short summary is Ishta, but we're going to have many podcasts to go more and more into this with you.
Speaker: We should also mention that we have a webpage called GeniusOfNothing dot .com where you can listen to episodes, read about the techniques and the different terms that we use during the podcast. You can also contact us and ask us questions and read more about Al and Ishta.
Speaker: So we thought it could be kind of interesting if me and Katrina perhaps explained a little bit of why we do Ishta Yoga. What's so special about it from our point of view? and compared to other schools of yoga. So personally for me, I think when I came into yoga, Ashtanga really attracted me because it was a strong practice and I used to compete in fencing and when that really didn't become anything and I got kind of tired of getting stabbed every other weekend, you kind of look for that same kind of intensity in the practice as I had and you know when I was competing in fencing.
Speaker: And Ashtanga is a great practice and it's very physical and very strong and it's great, but when I took my first teach training and I was starting to teach Ashtanga, it was great and I loved it. But I still always had this kind of feeling that I needed something else. And that also had a lot to do with that I have ADHD and anxiety. I didn't have the diagnosis of ADHD back then, but I knew that Ashtanga sometimes even made it worse almost.
Speaker: and I started to understand what I needed rather than wanted. And that was a big shift for me. So when I met Al and I started practicing Ishta Yoga, it was actually a big shift for me because it alleviated a lot of my symptoms of ADHD and that was really what made me fall in love with it from the beginning.
Speaker: And it's just that you have a very individualized practice to, you know, wherever you are in life. So really having all these kind of different techniques of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda, I kind of think it's like a tool belt I have in life that I can kind of use depending on, you know, the life circumstance I'm in and, you know, to fix me up. And that kind of makes me feel very secure in life that I can, you know, go through a lot of things and still feel you know, balanced and happy and kind of be in life rather than looking in like I kind of was in better half of my life. I don't think I know what you started out with, Katrina. Did you start out with Ashtanga or? Yeah, yeah, I was in Ashtanga as well, attracted to the physical practice mostly and the kind of um
Speaker: feeling that I got after, um, which I still get from working out. Um, it really helps calm my mind. Um, but then I started to be slowly opened up to the philosophical um way of being in yoga. And I think I knew at some level I needed meditation, even though I really hated it and, um you know, still struggle with it um because sitting and being still and doing nothing is hard for me. um But I find that that sitting and doing nothing and being in myself is what's essential for me.
Speaker: to balance out my more um frenetic nature and particularly my frenetic mind. um So yeah, I think that, you know, I was attracted to Al probably because he's the exact opposite of it me. And, um you know, I thought, oh, if ah only I like sit and meditate, I'll get some of that magic juice.
Speaker: And, um, I realized that after almost 25 years of study with him, I'm still the same person that I've always been. Um, but you know, I've evolved. Um, so yeah, I mean, his magic dust kind of sprinkled, but, um, it only goes so far. Um, so yeah, that's how I found it.
Speaker: Al, do you get a lot of um former Ashtanga teachers coming to you? I would say that Ashtanga is a very good practice to begin with before you become an Ishtangi. Good word play. Fantastic. It's going to be one of those podcasts.
Speaker: So, you know, it' it's ah it's a very good practice, very physical. And, you know, it gives a very good base, but ah I have many people who did that Shranga first, and then finally want to learn more and understand what's going on and what's happening and what's, where does this come from, what it's all about. And Anyway, so yeah, so a lot of people do come from a stanga, from hot yoga, big crumb, all these things where it's very physical. And most people today are actually taken initially to a very physical form of yoga. And now, you know, hot yoga is very popular.
Speaker: And I say, yeah, so hot yoga is there so that you can learn how to become cool. We can teach you what's beyond just sweating, what's beyond your physical body, what you're made of, and how you arrive here. And I think that very much is the essence.
Speaker: So Alan, could you just explain a little bit about the nothingness or just being nothing? Because I personally, I do think that's one of the most important things you ever taught me is to be able to meditate and just sit and be. And especially today, I think it's so important for society and for people to be able to have that because we're bombarded by phones, TV, podcasts. You know, we have all these kind of things that make all this noise. And today, you know,
Speaker: less and less people are ever you know in a quiet space and with their own thoughts or with their mind. And I do think that you know when you can't even go to the bathroom and poop without your phone, and something is wrong. And we do need to be able to create no space in ourselves. And we do know that when you meditate and you go down in deeper meditation, you go into delta waves and that kind of reunites cells kind of like the same thing as when you go into deep sleep. So could you elaborate a little more on the nothingness because I think that's pretty much what keeps me and insane and, you know, being half normal at least. Half normal is good. When you become... It's better than most. When you become nothing. Not normal. When you become no thing.
Speaker: Right? It's almost like, whoa, what? I don't want to be that. I don't want to be something. But it's when, and so it's a hard thing to grasp. But when you, when you become still, it's only then that You can bring information through your brain, and I'll explain in the future talks how quantum consciousness comes into a being and makes them conscious. But it's that consciousness that inspires us and directs us through life.
Speaker: But it's hard because in life we attach to whatever it is that we have been exposed to. Then we start to think that's who we are. And when that gets shattered, because it will cause down your, at the end of the day, everything disappears when you pass on. So you need to learn.
Speaker: What is beyond my mind? It's your essence. It's who you are. But your mind is always so busy. distracting you from who you are. So if you can learn daily, we'll teach you how to sit and experience no thing, all things at once. The inspiration will fill your living. And that inspiration
Speaker: that insight, that in intuition, that thought, that guiding force is so amazing because you ultimately, when you know it well and you're well established in it, you actually stop trying. You just do as best you can and let it go. And that totally changes your living.
Speaker: I hope to share this with you and get you to experience this in your living.
Speaker: So I met Al 2012 and I hadn't really had any teachers that I really followed before I met Al. And something that was amazing about Al that made me instantly kind of connect with him was that he taught me one thing that enlightenment is not serious.
Speaker: And that was something I'd never heard before. And I do think Al uses a lot of laughter and a lot of humor to you know not take himself too serious or to make you not take yourself too serious.
Speaker: I found that we talked about cameras the first time we met and not yoga, really, because we're both photographers. So we started talking about cameras. And that made me very much more interested in Ishta and Alan than if he started you know talking about yoga or that he was Yogi Raj. I was serious.
Speaker: You know, I really believe that that that laughter is such an amazing tool to snap people out of the mode there they well that they get trapped in. So you really get trapped. And then if you become trapped in laughter, we're going to have to snap you out of that too. yeah But when you're really concentrating and you're in the depth of all of it,
Speaker: Making a joke and making a person laugh helps them release out of that serious mode to really know what yoga is. Yeah. Because yoga is no thing.
Speaker: It's tuning to that which is unbound, to that which is before things develop, before the atomic world develops, there's quantum energy. And learning how to relate to that energy It's what it's all about. Do you think that can be fun? Can it be a laugh? It's only fun. If you can laugh and it's only when you snap out of the seriousness about it, right, that you get there. We'll try to make it fun. We'll try to do a lot of slapstick jokes and yeah. Fall down on a banana.
Speaker: ah Exactly. This is a visual media. What's up? I have a joke book I study from. Yes. And if you don't remember, I'm sure Sebastian and I can jump in with some of your own jokes that we've heard over the years. You can improve on them, I'm sure. ah One or two times.
Speaker: So just to kind of come back to what our aim is with this podcast, I think we're going to have like practical techniques and tools and like philosophies that people can understand and take away. And then interviews with different guests who've been working with you, Al, or some of them we may end up who've not worked with you, but are looking for Some kind of life advice and our hope is really that people listening can also then like come on the show or write us questions and kind of have their own lives like enhanced by this knowledge. um One of the things that Sebastian and I do very much is work with you.
Speaker: one -on -one in like what we call a Dharma talk, where we bring you our truckload of problems and you help us solve them and look at them in a different way. And I think that that's been so helpful for me, everything from you know thinking about how I parent my child to how I deal with money to helping Someone die. um It's been, you know, really, really of substance um to me. And so hopefully we'll you know be able to help other people through this podcast as we've been helped.
Speaker: Excellent. Sebastian, please make a double recording of that so and remind Katrina here. and You mean when you're contradicting me? and so so you know what guys i agree I'm making a joke of it because the path is not always just smooth. Sometimes you've got to learn something. You've got to learn how to make a shift. And when you you know when you're in an emotional place,
Speaker: And you're viewing life from that. You protect it. You try and protect it. What your false identity is that you've developed in your life. The product of all your egos.
Speaker: that identity you protect. And so to help people free themself and see themself and see that, whoa, there's other ways I can deal with things. And we share the tools, et cetera, of how to get there. Well, I think that's a great place to end our first episode. I think so. Thanks, guys. Thank you. We'll see you next week.
Speaker: Namaste. Thank you. Namaste.
Speaker: Thank you for joining us today and have a super wonderful week. Namaste.
