Recited daily in Mahayana temples throughout the world, The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra or The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge is one of the most well known Buddhist teachings and is said to be the view that leads to complete liberation. In this episode, Kia shares her personal experience and reflections around this sacred text, as well as the creation of hers and Yotam's latest album The Other Shore – Sounds of the Heart Sutra. This is followed by a recitation of Zen Master...

This meditation explores bringing our Swara - the flow through our right solar and left lunar streams of consciousness - into balance. In yoga this is traditionally done through harmonising the flow through our left and right nostril where these subtle breath channels, nadis terminate. There are many practices devoted to this end in classical Hatha Yoga texts. This episode offers a beautifully crafted live recording from Kia's In-depth Development Training that we invite you to ex...

An embodied approach to yoga requires us to learn our body's subtle language so we can attune what and how to practice to care for its changing nature.  Opening and closing with a  Body Scan is a powerful way to strengthen our capacity to use own inner reference system for growing somatic intelligence. Without initiating our practice from this place of deep listening, our practice is likely to be rout, habitual or goal-driven. Opening with a compassionate inquiry into our own embodiment opens...

Resonance frequency breathing  is a very simple, yet powerful practice for restoring balance in our body, breath, heart and mind. The word resonance is defined as synchronicity or harmony between elements. It’s a way of breathing where we consciously slow down our breath cycle in a way that brings our autonomic nervous system into balance. In only a few quiet minutes, this practice allows us to drop into a natural sense of equilibrium and harmony. In resonance with our true selves… The...

Kia opens our meditation by sharing a quote from electronic music composer Pauline Olivero's work Quantum Listening. It's an invitation to listen with care and attention. Listening deeply in this way sheds light on the invisible forces that transpires around, within and between us - our inner and outer resonance. Following these subtle vibratory threads, we experience our existence as woven together in a boundless tapestry of sound and breath. This beautiful sound meditation with crystal...

We invite you for a Savasana-Journey: A divine relaxation that takes us to Mother India, the homeland of yogic practices & ancient wisdom teachings. We travel deep into a protected rain forest in Karnataka. In the lush soundscape of the jungle, we find a clearing where we lie down. In this sanctuary, we allow our body to find complete rest and our mind complete presence. Savasana is usually taken at the end of practice, but we truly recommend taking Savasana any time during the day when...

Shamatha means Calm Abiding or Peacefully Remaining and is the foundation of Buddhist Mindfulness Practice. Taking our seat and placing our attention on an anchor such as the breath,  offers us a home ground, a safe but transient sensation that allows us to return to our embodiment in the present moment. When we pause from the momentum of life in this way, we begin to breed an inner sanctuary, a calm resting place from where we can experience life more fully. This ability to abide in reality...

In this episode we are taking you on a sound journey to one of my retreats in the Spanish mountains where you find our Mountain Shala. We go here to retreat and to practice deeply. But also to simply be together, enjoy and explore. Most practitioners return year after year, and over time many friendships have flourished here. This is not so much a journey away from, as it is a journey towards each other and inside ourselves. Many elements in this Soundscape were recorded live during our last...

This talk on Saṁkalpa is a live recording from our Borderless Online Shala, held only days after the passing of zen master Thich Nhath Hahn. The talk was followed by a meditation on the same theme which you find in the next episode of our Podcast. Saṁkalpa is a very particular word in the Sanskrit language. The most common, but somewhat simplified English translation is "An Intention Formed by the Heart". But the power of Saṁkalpa is really embedded into the very sound of the word itself....

In our previous episode, we shared a talk on Saṁkalpa recorded live  in our Borderless Online Shala. The Meditation you are about to hear was recorded during the same session. So we invite you to listen to the talk first, to lay a foundation for the meditation. Saṁkalpa is a very particular word in the Sanskrit language. The most common, but somewhat simplified English translation is "An Intention Formed by the Heart". But the power of Saṁkalpa is really embedded into the very sound of the...

The tendency of our distracted mind is to be scattered and cut off from the direct, physical sensations of our body. When we are caught in thinking of the future or past, we leave the nowness of our breathing body. Our body and mind separate from one another. The division between body, heart and mind is first healed by the breath.  We anchor our awareness in our breath to yoke body, heart and mind into same place the same at time.  In this space there is a sense of Wholeness. With love...

The Breath Space opens with Kia taking us through a short breath awareness practice where we awaken to the Pranic & Apanic patterns that cause the shape and pulse of our body to change with each breath. With fluidity and spaciousness arising from within, we bring ourselves to Samastitihi where we align body, breath and mind – before moving into 80 mins of Soundscapes designed to carry us through our practice.  Throughout we are offered gentle reminders to help bring us back home to the...

The most direct portal to presence comes through being awake in our body. Many people think of meditation as a practice solely for the mind, reaching some alternative, transcendent state. But mindfulness meditation is above all a fully embodied practice.  In this meditation we let our awareness drop down into the belly and rest deep within our body. We try not to manipulate or control the breath in any way. Instead we learn to trust the breath to breath us naturally. Bringing our attention...

It´s time to take rest. We prepare our Savasana as if for our most beloved in life. Offering this gift of care and kindness to ourselves. The practice of Savasana is passive, receptive. We allow ourselves to be held unconditionally. Our nest, a divine resting place.  Now lie down, close your eyes and feel yourself lying on the earth. This is not the time to practice. This is the time to surrender. We sense our body fully supported, received in our  shared space.  As our breath gradually falls...

Perhaps the most accessible gateway to begin a meditation practice is through Mindfulness of Sound. Sounds are always happening in the present moment, they arise, change and dissolve.  We  cultivate a sense of spaciousness for sounds to arise without clinging, rejecting, or being distracted by them.   Mindful Listening is an Embodied Listening. We don´t just hear with our ears, but we listen with our entire body. Being actively engaged in listening directly attunes us to the present moment....

This is a live recording from March 29th 2021, one year since we moved our community to our Borderless Online Shala. ”Personally I feel the Shala and its community have never been more important than this last year. As a refuge, a sanctuary – not in a...

The biggest illusion about the Path of Refuge is that we have to journey somewhere else to find this sacred space. Ultimately our refuge is not outside ourselves or somewhere else, but it is always and already here. We are taking refuge in the truth of...

The biggest illusion about the Path of Refuge is that we have to journey somewhere else to find this sacred space. Ultimately our refuge is not outside ourselves or somewhere else, but it is always and already here. We are taking refuge in the truth of...

This is a live recording of a Meditation on Pratyahara the 5th limb of Yoga, following a talk given in our previous episode with the same name. It was held in our Borderless Online Shala in December 2020.  We begin by dropping into the body by anchoring...

This recording is a talk given before one of our Pranayama classes in our Borderless Online Shala 2020. Pranayama, the Yogic breathing practices is the 4th of Patanjali´s 8 limbs of Yoga. It is said to lead the practitioner towards Pratyahara the 5th...

In this episode we want to share with you a Prayer for all of the Essential Workers written by zen priest Ando Jaune Evans, gently adapted by Kia. With this prayer we place our practice in the midst of the world we are living in, and we acknowledge all...

This practice sound scape will transport you to our Shala in the Spanish Mountains where we retreat every summer to deepen our practice. Our outdoor Shala - far from the business of the city, nestles in Olive Groves and overlooks the magnificent Sierra...

This practice sound scape will transport you to our Shala in the Spanish Mountains where we retreat every summer to deepen our practice. Our outdoor Shala - far from the business of the city, nestles in Olive Groves and overlooks the magnificent Sierra...

This meditation is directly inspired by the the talk with the same name (in the previous episode), and was recorded live in our Borderless Online Shala on the same occasion. We begin reciting the traditional Buddhist Prayer to Take Refuge in the Triple...