Swami Ji, the OG
by Atmarupa Saraswati
Hello fellow yogis! Welcome to Swami Ji, the OG. I am the Founder of Atma Center, a yoga studio that serves as a safe space for you to connect, move, relax, collaborate and engage. I have been teaching yoga for twenty five years, so I wanted to share all of the knowledge that I've collected in a new podcast, called Swami Ji, the OG. I believe that yoga is so much more than headstands and splits. Yoga heals the body. Yoga heals the mind. On Swami Ji, the OG, we are exploring what that means. On this podcast, we are going to delve into the science of yoga. If you are ready to expand your knowledge of yoga, and learn what it can do to change your life, this podcast is for you.
Episodes
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Is Yoga Cultural Appropriation?
What is cultural appropriation? Cultural appropriation is defined as the process by which Intellectual property, artifacts, dance, clothing/fashion, language, music, food, religious symbols, medicine, wellness practices and more are used for purposes that were unintended by the original culture…
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Journey Into Your Being Plus a Meditation Practice
Today we are going to discuss the components of who you are, and then you will be guided through a short meditation. Feel free to listen to the discussion portion, but then stop the recording before doing the meditation if you are not in a location where you can sit quietly and still with the…
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Making Life Simple and Easy
Is your life simple and easy? I believe it can be and for the last couple of years, I've challenged myself to create a life that is becoming simpler and easier. Prior to this time my life was so full it was overflowing, and it often left me drained to the point where I felt so weighted down that…
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3 Steps to Healthy Boundaries
A boundary is a limit or space between you and another person. It is a clear place where you begin and the other person ends, physically, mentally, energetically and spiritually. The purpose of setting a healthy boundary is, of course, to protect and take good care of yourself at all levels of...
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Letting Go To Find Balance
When we feel we are losing our balance we grab hold of something to feel secure and to prevent falling. This is a normal reaction to be able to maintain our physical balance and hopefully prevent pain. At that moment of uncertainty, that moment of being out of balance, we would think it strange…
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Still Body - Still Mind
Sometimes we keep busy moving from one thing to another and believe this will keep us from thinking too much. However, we are only creating a distracted mind, the part that is overdeveloped to start with, and all this busy-ness keeps feeding this part of the mind that is processing sensory...
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5 Keys To Improve Discipline
When you think or hear about the word discipline what comes up for you? "Oh, I wish I had more of it," or "I don't have time for discipline," or even "did I do something wrong?" The last implying that the word discipline is a form of punishment. Today we are going to discuss our misperceptions...
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From Change Comes Growth
Today I will discuss the inevitability of change, why we find it difficult, how change and growth go hand in hand, the importance of having goals, and to welcome change! WHEW! That's a lot to think about! And all of those thoughts are also part of the mechanism that keeps us "stuck" where we are...
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Just Relax!
Just relax! I'm sure someone has said this to you at some point in your life! As if the ability to relax is like flipping a switch and something so easy you can just do it spontaneously at any time. When we were growing up, did anyone ever teach us how to relax? Do you know how even now? From my...
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What Is Resilience and Why Do You Need It?
Some think of it as endurance, but when I think of endurance, I think it means the power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process without giving up. Or fortitude? Fortitude is courage in the face of pain or adversity. Indeed, both of these words can be a part of resilience, but don't...
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Moving Forward in the New Year
Welcome to Season 3 of SwamiJi the OG. It's the beginning of a New Year and today I'll discuss how to move forward into 2022 with a sense of purpose and potentiality. I keep hearing so many people wishing each other a Happy New Year with a thin layer of hope but often with an undercurrent of…
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5 Steps To Living With Intention
This year has been filled with challenges! Never one to turn my back on challenges, I have used this time to sort out many feelings, many less than optimal relationships, and many goals. It has made me stronger. It has made me more intentional. And it has allowed me to have more space to find the...
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The Need for Kindness
On New Year's Day of 2020, I taught a yoga workshop called Perfecting Your Vision in 2020! And yes, the pun of perfect vision being 2020 was intentional! In this workshop I talked about the necessity of self-study. In the yoga sutras, self-study is called swadyaya and is one of the 5 codes of...
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Becoming Who I Am
You may think that I am going to talk about becoming a swami, but I'm not. If you want to know that story, then look back through previous podcast to "What it means to be a swami and the journey I took to become one." Today I'm going to talk about who I am as a person, approaching 70 years of…
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Forgiveness and Respect
In this podcast I will be talking briefly about the classical codes of conduct prescribed by the Yoga Sutras and then we will delve into more modern lifestyle practices that are greatly needed in our world today. In Classical Yoga, we study the Yoga Sutras and the eight limbs of Patanjali's yoga…
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A Meditation for Modern Living
There have been so many studies in recent years advocating meditation for managing stress, improving mental functioning and overall health and wellbeing. But in the 25 years that I've been teaching yoga, very few people really understand meditation or make it a regular part of their lives. Why is...
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Chanting for Life & Death
I have a confession. I love chanting. The chanting of mantras resonates in my soul. I often feel when I am chanting that I have been chanting for endless lifetimes. There is such a feeling of connectedness to some primal power that allows me to get out of my head. To let go of my intellect and...
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Transforming Negativity
I don't know about you, but I feel like there is far too much negativity these days. Don't get me wrong, there are many things to be negative about. After all, we are in the middle of a pandemic that is poorly managed in this country and we are dealing with all of the associated issues. There's...
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The Happiness Chakra
Last week I talked about your comfort zone and the need to re-examine it based on the philosophy and psychology of yoga in relation to the sense of security mediated via mooladhara, the root chakra. Today, I will be talking about the chakra of happiness. Just to remind you that the chakras are...
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Re-Examining Your Comfort Zone
We are creatures of comfort. When we feel comfortable, a feeling of security and contentment is engendered. Because we like feeling this way, we spend an inordinate amount of energy trying to stay in that comfort zone and feel threatened when we are pushed out of it as is happening during this…
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Can You Be Like A Swan?
Can you live in the world like a swan? Even though a swan lives in water, the water does not penetrate and it remains dry. Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in this world and let our troubles roll off without being soaked by them? - In this episode I will discuss the yogic process of self-study to...
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Breathe and Heal
The breath is important. We all know that if you stop breathing for more than a few minutes you will not survive! Our breath keeps us alive. But did you know that the breath is just the more familiar aspect of a more subtle, yet complex force that not only animates you but upholds the world?...
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Got Anxiety? Yoga Can Help!
There's a lot going on these days that can trigger significant anxiety! We have an ongoing pandemic. We have an upcoming presidential election that is often feeding cultural divisiveness. Our cities are experiencing protests and riots. Our forests are on fire. Our oceans are producing more...
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Awaken Your Potential with Yoga Nidra
How do we still the mind? How do we go beyond the surface thoughts and emotions and reach that unchanging, pure consciousness that lies within? How do we access that potentiality? One way is through the practice of Yoga Nidra. Key Concept In deep relaxation, receptivity increases. During fully...
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Can You Manage Your Thoughts Or Do They Manage You?
This episode will explore how yoga defines the mind and provide you with information to help you believe that you can manage the mind. To do this Understand our thought patterns called samskaras Develop and focus our awareness Observe where our response is coming from – the root of the pattern…
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Normal is Not Always What it is Cracked Up to Be
We are experiencing a pandemic that has disrupted our way of life. We are yearning for normalcy! Today I will discuss how we can use this time to make a mental shift that will allow us to move from our yearnings to be able to see new opportunities. For much of my life, I did not feel normal. This...
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5 Simple Yoga Techniques to Find Calmness in Minutes
The holidays are a fun and exciting time but it's also a time that becomes stressful for a lot of people. So this week we are talking about how you can stay calm. I am going to discuss five different yoga techniques that are also quite simple. You'll be able to take a few moments everyday to...
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BONUS - Antar Mouna
In this bonus episode, we are going to practice a technique called Antar Mouna. It is a technique to start cultivating the witness. Cultivation of the witness allows us to be less reactive to what we are experiencing. This is a practice episode so if you are driving, please pause and tune in when...
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Yoga Practices For Positivity
This week on Swami Ji, the OG we are talking about how the various types of yoga practices can help change the current state of the mind and emotions to free yourself from negative thoughts and actions. Yoga isn't just about bending into unusual shapes-it helps you lead a more positive life! So…
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The Codes of Joy
Today I am taking the time to discuss the Codes of Joy. The yoga sutras is one of the classic writings of yoga and covers the philosophy of Raja Yoga. In Raja yoga one learns how to rule the mind. To govern the emotions. It is a path whereby we can achieve Self-realization but for most of us it…
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Realizing Your Potential by Overcoming Resistance
We all have a vision of the person we want to be, so why aren't we that person yet? It's because of resistance. On Episode 9 of Swami Ji, the OG we are going to talk about overcoming resistance so you can move towards becoming that person you see in your vision. I'm going to talk to you about…
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Chakras, and Koshas, and Gunas...Oh My!
In this episode of Swami Ji, the OG we talk through the seven chakras. We will discuss where they are located and the main qualities of each. We will also learn about what the gunas are and how they play a role in the chakras. On Episode 8 we are talking about the seven chakras and how the three...
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BONUS- Yoga Nap
IF YOU ARE DRIVING SAVE THIS EPISODE FOR LATER. This week we released an episode about balancing our autonomic nervous sytems. One of the ways we can do that is through yoga nidra which we also talked about in that episode. So today, on our bonus episode we are giving you practice where you can…
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Make Space For Peace
Do you ever get into a mode of "rest and digest" or are you always in the "fight or flight" mode? Those are the two branches of the autonomic nervous system and I have a feeling that for many people, the "fight or flight" mode is more prominent. Sure, it's important to activate that in moments...
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BONUS Episode: 5 Steps to Happiness
In this bonus episode, I am giving you five simple ways to feel happy every morning. Stay tuned for a meditation practice towards the end of the episode. To follow on on social media, find me on Instagram. Want to engage in more practices like the one in this episode? Come take a class at the…
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Why Do We Suffer?
In today's episode we will look at the mental afflictions known as kleshas or afflictions. These afflictions permeate our existence and prevent us from making that connection with our higher self. The physical practice of yoga does help us feel better in our bodies and this can indeed help us…
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What it Means to Be a Swami, and the Journey I Took to Become One
In Episode 5 of Swami Ji, the OG, I am discussing what a Swami actually is. I will walk you through what it means to be a Swami, and the journey that I took to becoming one. Topics in the episode include: -What the word Swami means -The origin of the word -What it means to be one -The process one...
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What do Bees Have to do With Yoga?
What do Bees have to do with yoga? Anxiety is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder in the US, with 20% of people actually being diagnosed. Now, we all have moments of anxiety, but learning how to manage these moments can take us from a frazzled, dissipated state of mind that saps our…
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Relationships...Ugh!
Did you know the Yoga Sutras gives advice about relationships? The Yoga Sutras is one of the classic texts studied in yoga and was written over 2000 years ago. It contains 196 short phrases that summarize what is known as Raja Yoga. How could it still be relevant in this day and age? Because yoga...
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Chanting is Weird
Do you think chanting is weird? Well, I used to think chanting was weird too. When I first came to yoga, like many people, I came for the more physical practices, but at some point I was introduced to chanting and even though it seemed odd to add my voice to a group who were chanting, it was a...
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BONUS | Natural Breath Awareness
This bonus episode is a practice episode. We will be practicing natural breath awareness. This guided practice should be done in an environment that is not distracting and should not be done while driving. Want to learn more? Come take a class at the Atma Center to delve even deeper. Check out…
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How We React in the Face of Storms
Welcome to Episode ONE of Swami Ji, the OG. I am so glad you are here. Today we are exploring what it means to become a witness, rather than a reactor. There are bright days, and there are dark days. How do we react to them? It is easy to react positively when everything is going your way. But…
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Swami Ji, the OG | Coming Soon!
Hello fellow yogis! Get ready for a new podcast, hosted by me, Atmarupa Saraswati. I am the Founder of Atma Center, a yoga studio that serves as s safe space for you to connect, move, relax, collaborate and engage. I have been teaching yoga for twenty five years, so I wanted to share all of the...
About this show
Hello fellow yogis! Welcome to Swami Ji, the OG. I am the Founder of Atma Center, a yoga studio that serves as a safe space for you to connect, move, relax, collaborate and engage. I have been teaching yoga for twenty five years, so I wanted to share all of the knowledge that I've collected in a new podcast, called Swami Ji, the OG. I believe that yoga is so much more than headstands and splits. Yoga heals the body. Yoga heals the mind. On Swami Ji, the OG, we are exploring what that means. On this podcast, we are going to delve into the science of yoga. If you are ready to expand your knowledge of yoga, and learn what it can do to change your life, this podcast is for you.
Hosted by
Atmarupa Saraswati
Categories