The Chai Sessions
Podcast with Judi Farrell
What's The Chai Sessions all about?
The Chai Sessions podcast with Judi Farrell shares the magic of chai and chat at Merchant City Yoga Glasgow wherever you are. Each episode Judi is joined by a special guest from our closest and extended MCY family to chat about all things yoga. Listen with a cuppa to inspiring conversation exploring the fullness of yoga as a whole hearted practice and how it can help us navigate the modern lives we live today.
Latest Episodes
#038 | Scott Johnson - This Is How Ashtanga Works
In this episode of The Chai Sessions I’m talking to friend and fellow Ashtanga teacher Scott Johnson. This is our fourth conversation so I feel we can now say he’s a regular here on the podcast! I start our conversation by asking Scott about a recent Instagram reel he posted that went off the charts in terms of response. It led with the bold words “This is how Ashtanga works”.
#037 | Rose Ann McKean - Ashtanga Love Notes Series
This episode is the fifth and last (at least for now!) in my short series, Ashtanga Love Notes. My guest and I spoke for the first time on the Chai Sessions way back in the depths of lock down and I’m really excited to have persuaded her to join me again. She’s been teaching here at MCY since 2015 and she’s the founder and principal teacher at Yoga Rose in Blantyre. It is of course my good friend and fellow teacher Rose Ann McKean! In this conversation we talk about our yoga practice and experience over the years, and the things we’ve learned along the way...
#036 | Allison Dearling - Ashtanga Love Notes Series
This episode is the fourth in my short podcast series, Ashtanga Love Notes. My guest on this episode is good friend and very favourite Australian Allison Dearling. llison’s the founder and principle of Live & Breath Yoga in Townsville, North Queensland. We met on our teacher training programme here in Glasgow back in 2005. Since then we’ve done a lot of yoga together, drank a lot of tea, laughed loads and shared so many adventures that I can’t even begin to count…
#035 | Cathy Moran - Ashtanga Love Notes Series
This episode is the third in my short podcast series, Ashtanga Love Notes. My guest is friend and fellow Glasgow teacher, Cathy Moran. I hadn’t seen Cathy for ages so was really excited when she agreed to join me in person for a chat! We start by talking about how people are looking for different things from their yoga practice - some folk want to do some yoga now and then and others want to dive deep and learn everything about it…
#034 | Emma Isokivi - Ashtanga Love Notes Series
This episode is the second in my short podcast series, Ashtanga Love Notes. My guest is Emma Isokivi - devoted Ashtanga practitioner, teacher and owner of Ashtanga Yoga Edinburgh. When we talk about what keeps Emma coming back, she says, "There's this moment that is just pure gold for me and it strikes me every single time when I step on the front of the mat. There's always something that illuminates and cuts through and gives me some hope."
#033 | Lucy Crawford - Ashtanga Love Notes Series
This episode is the first in a short series I’m sharing called Ashtanga Love Notes. My first guest on the series is Lucy Crawford! We start our conversation talking about the enduring appeal of Ashtanga Yoga - its traditional roots and systematic approach and how it provides a clear path and framework - for yoga practice and for life. We explore the importance of breath as a means to connect everything in our bodies and much more.
#032 | James Boag on the relationship between the Yoga Sutras & the Bhagavad Gita
We explore the relationship between two of the best known yoga texts, the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. We talk about how each is presented in a different form and how there’s a different purpose for each these texts too…
#031 | Heather Gweneth Bird on Yoga, Personal Development & Wellbeing
In this conversation we explore the concept of well-being and the intersection of self-improvement, self-acceptance and personal development from a yoga perspective. We talk about some of the significant challenges people are facing with their wellbeing just now and what role yoga might be able to play.
#030 | Gareth Magee on The Osteopathy, Anatomy & Yoga
Gareth talks about the work he does as an osteopath, allowing each individual body to find connection again and create place and space for self-healing… “It's a moving miracle and we're living and breathing and feeling the anatomy.”
#029 | Ema Čulík on The Bhagavad Gita
“It all comes down to life, we’re humans living.” Ema explains we find the verses of the Gita in the middle of an epic story, a drama full of characters and circumstances. In the telling of the story, what it means to be human, what it means to be in this world is revealed. Like any good story we can recognise some of ourselves and our relationships in it. This can help us make sense of things…
#028 | James Boag on the 8 Limbs of Yoga
"The 8 limbs are special because one section of them are highlighted as essential practice. An all times, all places practice for yoga practitioners." 8 limbs of one body of practice. They all grow together and all support and are present in any yoga technique…
#027 | Scott Johnson on a Mindful Approach to Ashtanga Yoga
What is a mindful approach to Ashtanga yoga? Scott Johnson joined me for a chat to explore this ahead of his upcoming visit to Merchant City Yoga. We begin by considering what it is to practise Ashtanga yoga with mindful awareness…
#026 | A Full Heart - Yogability
Debbie is back! She joined me for a catch up and this time brought some very special guests. Listen to what's been going on at Yogability this past year and how your generous donations have made a difference to this incredible charity.
#025 | Lucy Crawford on Practising & Teaching Ashtanga Yoga
This chat is full of inspirational nuggets I know you'll love. We even get into chatting about teaching the practice, the role of the yoga teacher is to empower, and what it is to be Ashtanga practitioners as women.
#023 | Lucie Potter on YOGA Nidra: An invitation to simply be
I think deep conscious relaxation is hugely underrated. I wonder if it might even be getting a bit lost in the modern yoga scene. That’s why I'm so excited to have the opportunity to geek out on the topic with Lucie.
#024 | Laura Breckenridge on YOGA for Children
Yoga can help children self regulate behaviours and really build their confidence. Every child is an individual. Laura's approach to teaching yoga to children is not uniform, there is no one way to do it…
#022 | RANJANA THAPALYAL on YOGA & ADVAITYA VEDANTA
Ranjana is an artist and lecturer living and working right here in Glasgow. We begin by chatting about her first experiences with yoga. How she was introduced to Advaitya Vedanta at a very young age by her parents. We get into what Advaitya Vedanta is too. How it is really about getting to know the Self that is in all of us, all life, all matter...
#021 | Dan Gronan on Freedom & Balance Through Yoga
I'm delighted to welcome and introduce you to Dan Gronan in this, my 21st Chai Session! Dan is offering a brand new weekly class here at MCY on Tuesdays 6-7.15pm. I thought it would be lovely to sit down for a chat and a cuppa to get to know him a little better…
#020 | Ema Čulík on Yama-Niyama & Doing Yoga Philosophy
Ema is back! This time we’re chatting about yoga philosophy, specifically yama-niyama. Ema explains that yama-niyama are a living, breathing, moving, real life practice. Our understanding of them changes depending on where we’re at. Each can offer a fresh perspective at different times in our life.
#019 | Nadia Gilani on her book The Yoga Manifesto
Nadia Gilani is an author, yoga teacher and former news journalist. Her book, The Yoga Manifesto, is what brought us together to chat. For me, Nadia's book is a call to action. An open honest look at modern yoga, how we engage with it and integrate it into our lives.
#018 | Tony Young on The Subtle Body, Mantra, Sound & Music
Tony is one of the specialist guest tutors on our 200 hour yoga teacher training programme here at MCY. He's a teacher of meditation, mantra and the energetic or subtle yogic body. In our chat we consider if these traditional, more esoteric systems of yoga are getting a little left behind in this modern age of yoga.
#017 | Scott Johnson on Yoga Practice - Feel Deeper & Sense Wider
If you haven't had the pleasure, Scott is the founder of Stillpoint Yoga in London, host of Stillpoint Podcast, and good friend and regular visitor to MCY. For Scott, practice is about listening, uncovering and being aware of the conversations we're having with our body. "What communication is happening, what conversations can be had..."
#016 | Magic, Meditation & Candlelight with Nicole McMahon & Ema Čulík
Our annual Candlelit Meditation here at MCY is a really magical event. I love it because it offers us the opportunity to slow down for a short while to connect. Something very magical really does happen in the room when we all get in there. Listen for advice on meditating, what to expect and more.
#015 | Debbie Richie on Yogability, the gift that keeps on giving
Debbie is the founder of Yogability, a wonderful charity who provide free yoga to children and adults with special needs, their families and carers here in Glasgow. At MCY we support Yogability with fundraising every year in the form of our 108 Sun Salutations challenge. Debbie shares what your generous donations have helped them do over the years and much more.
#014 | James Boag on What Makes Yoga Practice Yoga
James is a good friend and regular visitor to MCY. He’s a gifted yoga philosophy teacher, sharing these ancient teachings with us in a way that makes them really relevant and valuable to our modern lives. We begin by considering what yoga poses, have got to do with yoga...
#013 | Jules Harrington on Massage Therapy & Moving into the Body
Jules has been travelling to MCY from Edinburgh to share her magical massage skills since 2016. To start I ask Jules how she describes what she does. It's not just physical body work, what Jules offers is something quite special. We then get chatting about how talk therapy and body work go together...
#012 | James Boag on Yoga Philosophy, ‘Now Yoga Begins’
I first met James in 2011 in Mysore, South India where I took some of his yoga philosophy classes. I was a little bit hesitant but what James very quickly did was show me how practical and relevant texts like the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras could be. These texts and teachings are not separate from what we think of as yoga.
#011 | Siobhan Fitzgerald on Pranayama - Why Practice Breathing?
Pranayama is a vital part of the intricate web of practices and tools we call yoga. We discuss why you would consider doing a more formal breathing or pranayama practice. We breathe anyway, why do we need to give it extra attention? We also ask the question, "Is thinking about pranayama as just a breathing practice actually too small?" It's a whole lot more than just breathing...
#010 | Scott Johnson on Illuminating Your Yoga Practice
How do we shine a light on our yoga practice and be present to whatever is coming up? Scott, co-founder and senior teacher at Stillpoint Yoga in London, says it's all about awareness and enquiry. "What do you notice when you do this thing? When you let everything else fall away…fear, pain, joy. What does that mean? Let's explore that.”
#009 | Matt Evans on Handstanding & Being Upside-Down
Matt’s hand-standing practice started around the same time as his yoga practice. They’ve paralleled over the years and taken Matt places he didn’t expect. Matt says, “There's nothing that brings you more into the moment than being upside down and trying to control your body.”
#008 | Ana Costa on Injuries, The Practice & Teaching From Experience
These past few months every time Ana and I get together we end up talking about injuries! In particular, we've been comparing notes on our own shoulder injuries and chatting about how injury has not only changed our practice but also the impact it's had on how we teach yoga postures.
#007 | June Mitchell on Yoga Teacher Training & the New Generation
I know for sure that I wouldn't be where I am today without June. She's the owner and course director of the Classical Yoga School which encompasses three yoga teacher training programmes. One I lead here in Glasgow. June has been practising and teaching yoga since the 1970s and has some amazing stories to share...
#006 | Katie Boyle on Transitioning Forward, Self Care & Boundaries
Katie and I chat about how we transition forward using the tools of yoga and self care to support us. Practice, whether 5 minutes or 55 minutes, can help us gather our energy and our thoughts. Help us ground ourselves and find steadiness amongst the change. And self care isn't all bubble baths and glasses of wine, nice though they are. It's a practice just like yoga.
#005 | Ema Čulík on The Ups & Downs of Yoga Practice
Ema was 7 months pregnant when the country went into lockdown and had a beautiful baby girl. She's a dedicated yoga practitioner, student and teacher. So having come from a strong practice, through pregnancy, to everything that followed during these uncertain and challenging times… I couldn't think of anyone better to chat to about the ups and downs of yoga practice.
#004 | Nicole McMahon - Do Good To Feel Good
Nicole teaches our Ashtanga Yoga Beginners Class here at MCY. We chat about what brought Nicole to yoga, her experiences now as a teacher, respecting where we and others are, her charity work, her doing good to feel good philosophy and, of course, the JOY.
#003 | Rose Ann McKean on Ashtanga Yoga
Rose Ann teaches our morning and Saturday Mysore classes here at the studio. We chat Ashtanga - where to start, commitment to the practice, the struggle, challenging postures, the difference between guided classes and Mysore-style, managing your energy and taking ownership of your practice.
#002 | Nicola Park on Getting Started with Yoga
Nicola really understands what it's like to be a beginner and even shares her own funny story about an experience she had in our chat. There's so much out there about what yoga should look like - perfect, strong, healthy bodies effortlessly bending and balancing in all manner of positions. But the reality is quite different and that's just not the way it is for most of us...
#001 | Patricia Galavis on Hatha Yoga
When I first started yoga the classes I went to were Hatha Yoga but it seems to me now that Hatha Yoga has fallen a little bit out of fashion. Patricia is passionate that the long established practices of the Hatha tradition are relevant and effective even for the most modern yoga students...
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