Dharma and the Bhagavad Gita, with Alison Smith

For our 21st episode, I had the pleasure to sit down with Alison Smith. Alison is a San Francisco yoga teacher. I met her in one of her workshops. Her presence when she’s teaching is kinda hypnotic. She’s warm, passionate and super knowledgeable. As a student, she made me feel seen and I connected right away with her, I felt this deep trust. If you can’t tell, I really I look up to her as a teacher. She’s been offering some very special things outside of her classes, one of them is called a yoga club and that format inspired me to invite on the podcast to talk about it.

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 ABOUT OUR GUEST

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 Alison is known for her playful fire, inquisitive nature, and technical expertise. Her warmth and enthusiasm creates an engaging practice environment where students feel safe to learn, grow and transform. 

With over a decade of teaching experience, Alison has a down-to-earth approach that makes the complexities of yoga easier to understand and relevant to your daily life.

Alison was initially certified in Anusara Yoga and has spent many years under the tutelage and mentorship of Noah Maze. She continues to draw inspiration from her Ashtanga practice, Shadow Yoga, the classical texts of the Yoga Tradition, and her study of Jyotish. 

Learn more about Alison here : 

AlisonSmithYoga.com

TheSpaceSF.com

QUESTIONS SHE ANSWERED DURING THIS EPISODE :

• Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your yoga journey?
• Can you explain what is the Yoga Club and why you decided to offer this format to your students?
• What’s the concept of Dharma?
• According to the Bhagavad Gita, can we escape or change our Dharma? Does it change over time? Can we have more than one dharma at the time? 
• In your opinion whats the link between Dharma and success? How about Dharma and Happiness?
• Do you feel like you're living your Dharma? How do you know?
• What can people look for if they want to reflect on that? What are the telling signs?
• Do you think we choose our Dharma or do we choose our path for a Dharma that’s chosen for us? Or by us but unconsciously?
• Why does the Bhagavad Gita teaches not to attach to the fruits of our efforts?
• How does devotion and offering our efforts to the divine come into play?
• If the divine is within us, what does it mean to offer to the divine?
• How do we approach it and its concept if we don’t believe in God, if we’re not religious? How would that influence your relationship to dharma?
• The Bhagavad Gita is a story but can still be challenging to read for a lot of Yogis. How do you support people through the book? Which translation do you use? Why?

REFERENCES :

- Steven Cope, The Great Work of Your Life

- Ram Dass, Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita

- Steven Mitchel, Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation

- Jyotish Vedic Astrology

- Allan Watts

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