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    Bernardino (Bala) Machado - Healing with Yoga (#008)

    In this episode, Yoga teacher Bernardino (Bala) Machado shares ancient yogic wisdom on healing, overcoming suffering by accepting reality, regulating the nervous system, releasing trauma stored in the body, and remembering our true nature beyond narratives. Read the full Show Notes below!

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  • "I see healing to overcome suffering. That is a different thing from pain because pain, we're bound to feel pain in this body the same way we feel pleasure, we're going to feel pain. It's inevitable, but suffering is all the stories, the narratives we build on the pain.”

    - Bernardino (Bala) Machado

  • Today's Guest

    BERNARDINO (BALA) MACHADO

    Bala’s first approach to Yoga was in 2000 while he was studying sociology (UCV), which aroused great interest in the study of yogi philosophy, the sacred texts of India and Sanskrit, which motivated him to direct his curricular line to study of eastern religions. In 2006 he received Vaishnava initiation in Brazil, receiving the name "BalaKrishna Das".

     

    He became certified as a Yoga teacher in Miami and began a long career of studies and practices around the world, which took him to various countries such as India, Nepal, the United States, Greece, among others.

     

    After a few years of practice, he decided to study physiotherapy, obtaining his degree with honors, finally specializing in myofascial pain and orthopedic manual therapy at the UE-Madrid.

     

    He is currently dedicated to teaching in one-to-one sessions, groups, and serving as a certifier for the International Yoga Alliance, E-RYT500, YACEP, Including raga (traditional Indian music) in the classes as a tool for healing.

     

    How to get in touch:

    Email: balamachado@gmail.com

    Instagram: @ombalayoga

    Email or Message Bala to join his expert guided trip to India in January 2024!

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  • Show Notes

    Join Amanda and yoga teacher Bernardino “Bala” Machado to dive deep into profound yet accessible wisdom on yoga’s incredible power to heal people emotionally and physically. In this episode, Bala shares how he himself overcame lifelong vertigo through yoga, along with stories of students who cured cancer, ruptured discs and more serious issues that once seemed hopeless.

     

    Bala reveals that yoga's ultimate aim is not contorting into crazy poses to show off flexibility. Rather, it’s to help people release stuck emotions, shift beyond limiting identities, and rediscover inner peace that passeth understanding. Along the way, he shares fascinating experiences with Indian gurus, mystical landscapes and esoteric concepts demystified for the modern learner.

     

    Bala explains conceptual foundations like overcoming suffering by accepting reality as-it-is and releasing traumatic imprints encoded in the body's tissues through yoga postures and breathwork. The conversation explores advanced but practical teachings like grasping less in life to allow more abundance to flow effortlessly. Bala examines yoga's role regulating nervous system imbalances being affirmed by science.

     

    We learn ancient techniques to meet even intense discomfort by turning inward and learn from Bala’s incredible wisdom as he shares practical tools like special breathing techniques, hand positions (mudras) and poses supporting mind-body health.

     

    Consider embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual adventure to India in January 2024 with Bala himself as your guide into yoga's place of origin. Journey to India’s magical sacred sites seldom seen by Westerners, places whose geography itself encodes consciousness-altering wisdom. Rethink what’s possible through yoga, this beloved ancient practice modernized and demystified for sanity today. Discover your own untapped power to heal, transform and awaken.

    Key Takeaways

    • Healing comes through accepting reality as it is, rather than resisting or building narratives around pain. Being present helps end suffering.
    • Physical yoga poses bring up stored tensions and trauma in the body. The real "work" happens through breathing into those sensations non-judgmentally.
    • Letting go and "grasping the sand less tightly" paradoxically leads to more peace and abundance according to yogic wisdom.
    • There are many forms of yoga to balance different constitutions and energetic needs. Listening inwardly guides the right practice.
    • Releasing trauma stored in the tissues happens through yoga's stimulation of the vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system.
    • Going on an inner journey to discover our true nature provides freedom from false identities and worthiness narratives.
    • Remembering that intricate biological processes keep us alive can reveal how much support and love is keeping us going.
    • Yoga provides practical tools to work with difficult emotions and sensations so they have less control over our lives.
    • No one can fully understand our inner world and tell us exactly what to do - we must connect to our own inner wisdom.
    • Staying open rather than grasping a particular outcome allows life to unfold with more ease and flow.
    • All spiritual paths and healing modalities ultimately reconnect us to the same ground of being through different cultural lenses.
    • We have everything we need right now, even when externals are challenging. Our perspective determines our experience.

  • What We Talked About

    • Bala's perspective on healing and overcoming suffering by accepting reality as it is
    • How he got into the study of yoga, Eastern religions, and became a yoga instructor
    • The meaning of yoga and different styles of yoga practice
    • How yoga poses release stored trauma and tensions in the body
    • Breathing into discomfort to work through difficult sensations/emotions
    • Letting go rather than grasping situations to allow more flow and abundance
    • Bala's personal story of overcoming a lifelong fear of heights via yoga
    • Emotional and physical healing stories from Bala's students
    • Recommendations for beginner books and resources on yoga philosophy
    • Upcoming trips Bala is hosting to sacred sites in India
    • Remembering the support and love behind all of existence in each moment
    • Finding freedom from narratives by discovering our true nature

    Guest Quotes

    • "All is well now. We have everything we need in our life, even in the moments it doesn't appear like. This is no mistake. The universe, the reality, nature is taking so much trouble to keep this body alive, to keep all the thousands of millions of cells in your body doing complex processes in real time at every moment, just to keep you breathing. So there's a lot of love behind and because the story we're telling ourselves of who we are and who we need to be, we're losing the amazing. miracle that we already are in this moment."
    • "Healing comes when you start to live with reality, the way reality shows."
    • "The poses bring up tension in the body. The real work is breathing and allowing space for that sensation to be."
    • "Yoga is the dissolving of the patterns of the movements of the mind."
    • "There's a lot of love behind keeping this body alive with complex processes in real time."
    • "The excellence of action is one of the definitions of yoga."
    • "Healing would be going in that direction, just relaxing and trying to be more in the present moment with reality."
    • "Suffering is all these stories, the narratives we build on the pain."
    • "The tighter you try to grasp the sand, the less sand you have. It's the same in life."
    • "It's not really too much about what you do. It's more about from what space you're doing it."
    • "Nobody can know completely what's going on inside of you and take responsibility for you."

  • Resources to Learn More

    Books

    Other Techniques Mentioned

    • Wim Hof breathing method
    • Hover breathwork 

  • Terms & Tools to Dig Deeper

    • Ashtanga yoga - Athletic, dynamic style of yoga with set sequences to build internal heat and purify the body.
    • Bandhas - Energy locks created by contraction of muscles to direct flow of prana.
    • Bhagavad Gita - Ancient Hindu spiritual text, a dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna on duty, action and spirituality.
    • Chin Mudra - Common yoga hand gesture, thumb and forefinger touching to stimulate mindfulness.
    • Doshas - Ayurvedic term referring to biological energies which govern physiological activity (vata, pitta, kapha).
    • Gunas - The three qualities or constituents of nature according to Samkhya philosophy.
    • Hatha Yoga - Form of yoga using physical postures and breathing exercises to ready the body for meditation.
    • Jnana mudra - Hand gesture (thumb & index finger touch) symbolic of knowledge or wisdom.
    • Jnana yoga - Path of yoga focused on cultivating inner wisdom through introspection and contemplation.
    • Kapalabhati - Yogic breathing technique rapidly engaging the diaphragm and abdomen.
    • Koshas - The five sheaths or layers of the human system according to Vedantic philosophy.
    • Kriya yoga - Yogic practice of purifying body and nervous system via breath, sound, and meditation.
    • Mantra - Sacred utterance repeated to expand consciousness and connect with divine.
    • Mudras - Symbolic hand gestures used to channel energy flow in the body according to yogic philosophy.
    • Niyamas - Codes of observance or self-discipline in yoga philosophy.
    • Prana - Vital life-force energy, the source of breath and vitality.
    • Pranayama - Yogic breathing exercises used to expand and control flow of prana.
    • Samadhi - State of higher consciousness free from thoughts or ego.
    • Swastika - Auspicious symbol representing self-realization or the Self in yogic context.
    • Vinyasa - Flowing sequenced-based yoga connecting movement with breath.
    • Vritti - Fluctuation, modification or movement of consciousness in yogic context.
    • Yamas - Codes of restraint and self-regulation within yoga philosophy.

  • Read the Full Transcript

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