In this short announcement episode, I introduce our new online home: the Escaping Samsara Substack — a space where all our content will now live, including podcasts, written pieces, and weekly reflections. Here’s what to expect: 🧘 Weekly Practice Notes Personal insights from my daily practice — exploring themes like working with moon phases in asana and mantra, or extending meditation into the evening hours. It’s an honest, ongoing look at what it’s like to live a spiritual life in the modern world. 🌀 Longform Articles & Interviews Every week, either a new podcast episode or a deep-dive written piece. Topics might include: Dzogchen vs. Theravāda Psychedelics and spiritual distraction A new interview series on Ashtanga Yoga in the post-lineage era, reflecting on the legacy after the passing of Sharath Jois 📱 More Content Channels Podcasts are now also available on YouTube New YouTube Shorts and video content in development Light-hearted expansion onto TikTok Instagram remains the central social hub 💬 Community Join the growing Telegram group to chat with fellow practitioners, ask questions, and share your path. All links are in the show notes. This is a big step forward in professionalizing Escaping Samsara — and I’m thrilled to have you along for the journey. 👉 Subscribe now on Substack (it’s free!) to stay connected and receive all the latest content direct to your inbox. 🧭 Links: 🔗 Escaping Samsara Substack 🗣️ Join our Telegram Group 📺 YouTube Channel 📸 Instagram: @escsamsara If you enjoy the show, please rate, review, and share. Your support helps us reach more people! 🙏
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6:22
Susi Sweeney on Ashtanga's Sixth Series, Aging & Authenticity
In this episode of Escaping Samsara, Nathan Thompson sits down with Susi Sweeney—a lifelong yoga practitioner, teacher, mother, and now grandmother. Her path runs deep through 30 years of practice and cuts across the raw terrain of anxiety, eating disorders, motherhood, and aging. She trained with Pattabhi Jois. She now works through the sixth series. Every movement, she says, pulls something loose—grief, joy, memory. Susie explains how she raised children while maintaining her practice, how her mat held steady through births and breakdowns. Now a grandmother, she reflects on change—not as decline, but as deeper awareness. We discuss how the mat can be altar, battlefield, and therapist’s chair. Susie reminds us that yoga doesn’t ask for perfection. Just honesty. And repetition.
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1:04:53
Cycles Within Cycles: Gregor Meahle Returns
In this episode, Nathan sits down with Gregor Maehle to explore the deeper patterns that shape a lifetime of spiritual practice. Rather than focusing on technique or lineage, this conversation travels into the inner terrain—what changes as we mature in our practice, what stays hidden until we’re ready to see it, and how we relate to disembodied knowledge and the teachers who carry it. Gregor speaks candidly about moving through different phases of yoga—physical, philosophical, devotional—and the quiet shifts that signal growth. The conversation turns to the Yoga Sutras, not as a rulebook, but as a living inquiry: What is spiritual maturity? How do we move beyond surface-level understanding into direct experience? We also touch on: Why certain teachings only reveal themselves at the right time The role of intuition vs. tradition Disembodied teachers and mystical messaging The role of avidya (ignorance) in Yoga vs Buddhism Is someone "tending the light at the end of the tunnel"? This is one for listeners who are walking the long path—those in the middle of a cycle, or perhaps sensing the end of one.
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1:21:57
Sat Inder Khalsa: Going Beyond Yoga Asana into the Depths of Hindu Tantra
What does it mean to walk a path across lifetimes, through lineages, and into the heart of divine practice? In this intimate and powerful episode, we sit down with Sat Inder Khalsa, a teacher of Ashtanga Yoga, student of Tantra, and dedicated seeker who has traveled many spiritual paths—including Wicca, Sikhism, Hinduism, and more—to uncover deeper layers of truth. Sat Inder shares his mission to help others integrate yogic and tantric wisdom into everyday life—guiding students through Sanskrit, philosophy, temple life, and the very human challenges of spiritual growth. With warmth and honesty, he opens up about his life journey, the mentors who shaped him, and what it means to truly embody practice. ✨ Whether you're a curious beginner or a long-time practitioner, this conversation is a heartfelt transmission of lived experience and grounded wisdom. 📿 Follow Sat Inder: @in_her_lap
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1:23:03
Mark Darby Discusses the Synergy of Ashtanga, Hatha, and Kriya Yoga
Known simply as Darby, his story is one of movement, devotion, and surrender, which led him to India in 1979. There, in Mysore, he met Ashtanga guru Pattabhi Jois and embraced the transformative rigor of the practice. Darby’s experiences reflect a deep commitment to both physical and spiritual growth. Today, as a husband, father, and teacher, Darby shares how he balances family responsibilities with his practice, emphasizing surrender as the key to fulfillment. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or new to yoga, this episode offers wisdom on integrating Chinese Medicine, Hatha, and Kriya yoga into daily life while staying true to your spiritual core. We cover: Life in the original Mysore shala The original classical Ashtanga and the modern version Kriya yoga and integrating original hatha practices into modern practice Coming back to practice after parenthood What it really means to walk the yogic path
Escaping Saṃsāra - Yoga and Meditation Podcast about practices that liberate us. Interviews with spiritual teachers from the yoga world and beyond. We are a group of friends dedicated to exploring the deep teachings of yoga and other spiritual traditions to see what unites them in their search for Truth and how each practitioner has danced with the Mystery. We want to learn from today’s elders about their paths and experiences. What has worked, what hasn’t and what is downright weird. From California psychedelic culture to Tantric Tibet we span the globe finding out what has helped people on their spiritual journey. We hope that it will be of benefit to our fellow truth seekers. OM
Ireland