Yoga Podcast Episode 36: Richard Freeman
Richard Freeman has been a student of yoga since 1968, beginning in the Buddhist Zen tradition and then later studying both the Iyengar and Ashtanga Vinyasa methods of yoga. Which may explain why Richard can be notorious for dodging questions that beg for ONE answer. Because, as he says, “It’s sometimes more complex than that.”
Though by sometimes, I believe he means ALL the time. You see, this knowing is a trap according to Richard. “All of a sudden, we understand something and at that point, we think we got it … but what we got or what we’re taking away is just this one little point of view of something. So look again. It’s much deeper.” Richard tells us to instead, be like the curious child, always asking, why? And then, look again. Or in the case of this podcast, listen again. Because no doubt, with so many fascinating nuggets and stories, layered throughout – this is one episode, you will want to come back to, again and again.
“Through discriminating awareness, you’re able to see that the basic subject matter that you find interesting is actually different than the theories you make about it. That’s why they say the name of something and the form of something are actually two different things.
But the mind gets them mixed very quickly because it needs to make a symbol for something and that way it can process the symbol really quickly in the computer of the mind and then it forgets that the symbol and the form – or in Sanskrit, they call it the namā and the rūpa – are not the same thing.” // Richard Freeman, The Ashtanga Dispatch Podcast
Show Links
Freeman + Taylor: Richard and Mary’s website where you can find their schedule, shop their extensive library of books and videos, and even try out their favorite recipes!
The Art of Vinyasa: Awakening Body and Mind through the Practice of Ashtanga Yoga, by Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor
The Yoga Workshop, Boulder, Colorado
This episode of the Ashtanga Dispatch Podcast was edited and hosted by Peg Mulqueen along with Meghan Powell, and Chris Lucas as producer.
But mostly, this show is made possible by those of you who generously support us through your online donations and shop purchases. We truly appreciate your friendship and kindness.