Shows
Peter's PodcastBrian McLaren on Wisdom and CourageIn this episode, I talk with Brian McLaren, an old friend and well-respected spiritual voice about his new book, Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart. I was so moved by his book that I asked Brian to discuss it for listeners of Peter's Podcast. The book doesn't focus on gloom and doom, though Brian provides a clear context of where we stand as a planet. Rather, it discusses how we can respond and adapt given the likelihood that our lives will be affected by climate change scenarios ranging from significant changes in the way...2024-12-2651 minPeter's PodcastFour Keys in the Florida KeysIn this episode, Wendy and I talk about the Four Keys and the Yamas/Niyamas, two oft-quoted and oft-misunderstood parts of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which Wendy worked on with Alan Finger to create a Tantric interpretation. These will be the topics of our retreat to Key Largo this February. More info about the retreat is at peterferko.com/retreat/ You can get more info by writing me at peterspodcast108@gmail.com.Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon! Thank you!Namaste.
2024-12-1627 minPeter's PodcastYoga Nidra MeditationToday's podcast is a yoga nidra practice, which is a meditation done lying down. Yoga nidra is very helpful at helping you relax or fall asleep. The meditation is about 20 minutes long and can be done on a yoga mat, on a couch or in bed. If you need to get up after the practice, you might want to set an alarm so you don't fall asleep for too long!Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon.You can find out more about Peter on linktr.ee/peterferkoNamaste!
2024-10-2519 minPeter's PodcastOverwhelmed? with Wendy NewtonIn today's episode, Wendy Newton and I trade ideas for overcoming overwhelm!See this episode on video on YouTube/@peterspodcast. You can take classes, workshops and trainings with Peter and Wendy. See https://linktr.ee/peterferko for links to ISHTA Yoga and other events.Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon. Thank you!Namaste.
2024-06-1527 min
Peter's PodcastFresh Air Friday Yoga RetreatsIn this episode, Wendy and I are getting excited about you joining us for a day of yoga, meditation, and nature on the first Fridays of summer. Hosted by Ascend Center + Collective on Main Street in the Village of Cold Spring. Details and a link to each date are at https://linktr.ee/peterferko.Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon.
2023-05-1017 minPeter's PodcastYoga as a Life Toolbox w/Katrina RepkaIn this episode, I speak with Katrina Repka. Katrina is an ISHTA Yogiraj (master) who has led classes, workshops, retreats, and teacher trainings in her home in London and beyond. She is the co-author with Alan Finger of Breathing Space: Twelve Lessons for the Modern Woman and Chakra Yoga: Balancing Energy for Physical, Spiritual, and Mental Well-being.You can take class with Katrina online at ISHTAYoga.com.Wendy Newton and I are hosting 4 day-long retreats this Spring and Summer. Join us for Fresh Air Fridays, the first friday of May-August at Ascend Center in Cold Spring, New...2023-04-2454 min
Awakening with Dr. JennieThe Genius of Yoga with Yogiraj Peter FerkoJoin me as we delve into learning about yogic meditation with Yogiraj Peter Ferko. Peter has been studying meditation since the 1980s and coauthored the book, "The Genius of Yoga" with Alan Finger. This is not only one of the few books dedicated to yogic based meditation, it is a book that discusses meditation beyond mindfulness. We discuss the purpose of yoga for meditation, why there is a disconnect between yoga and meditation and how you can begin to individualize your practices rather than believe yoga or meditation is not for you. It is an episode worth listening to if...2020-09-2853 minPeter's PodcastBringing Ancient Wisdom into Modern Life w/Ulrica Norberg & Wendy NewtonIn this episode, I speak with Ulrica Norberg and Wendy Newton about using traditional yoga texts as part of practice. We're going to be leading a workshop using the Gheranda Samhita, Yoga Sutras, and Bhagavad Gita this May in Stockholm. Details are on my website: peterferko.com.Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon.
2020-02-2039 min
Peter's PodcastThe Elements of Fashion w/Julianne MirabelloIn this episode, I speak to Julianne Mirabello about her unique approach to personal fashion and styling. Julianne studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City and has designed and created costumes and done personal styling in New York and internationally. She is also a Yoga Teacher who did her 200-hr training at ISHTA with me in New York and a Reiki practitioner. Julianne is launching sartorialstrategist.com, a service to help people figure out and create a sattvic relationship with their wardrobes. Keep an eye out for @sartorialstrategist on social platforms this s...2020-02-0344 minPeter's PodcastThe Field and The KnowerIn this episode, I share a meditation class recording where we look at one of the Bhagavad Gita's chapters about our nature as the "field" and the "knower" of that field. It's an interesting metaphor and provides an useful map of our evolution. Following the talk you can join in a meditation, the ISHTA Diksha.Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon. Find out about upcoming retreats, workshops, and training at peterferko.com
2020-01-201h 09Peter's PodcastA Meditation: The Knots that Bind UsToday we head to meditation class to loosen the knots of energy that keep us stuck in limited thinking and keep us from gracefully moving in the flow of nature's cycles. Listen to the talk at the front or join in the practice, too — just not while you're driving!Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon.Find out about upcoming retreats and classes at home and abroad at peterferko.com.Namaste!
2020-01-151h 17
Peter's PodcastA Holiday Roadtrip!Join Wendy and me on our trip across the midwest. We talk about the holidays and the challenges and joys of life! Happy holidays!Find out all about retreats, trainings, and more at peterferko.com
2019-12-2548 min
Peter's PodcastReal Yoga on the Other Side of the World w/Tamara GrahamIn this episode, I catch up with fellow ISHTA Yogiraj Tamara Graham in Perth, Australia. A yoga lover since her teens, Tamara Graham started teaching Yoga in New York at her friends' request. Soon after, she completed one of the first ISHTA Yoga Teacher Training programs, when it was Be Yoga. She had a complete a-ha experience with Al realizing that he was her teacher.
She returned to Perth Australia, as a single mother of 3, and started teaching there. From her first classes in an empty church hall, she’s grown Tamara Yoga to a thriving community of th...2019-08-2856 min
Peter's PodcastWriting from the Heart w/Puy NavarroPuy Navarro is an ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher, Spanish native actress and a theater producer, focusing on Social Issues and Human Rights. She has been working in New York since 2005. Puy began writing when she felt the need to turn the play she had produced at the United Nations into a film script. Puy's script "Life is a Dream" was selected at Dreamago 2014, Stephen Frears' International Writers Lab. She has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from NYU. She has worked for the Rubin Museum of Art as a Story Teller for their “Sleepovers”, she has written short stories and has perfo...2019-08-0752 min
Peter's PodcastWork, Giving Up, and Renewal w/IDGY DEANIn today's episode, I speak with Lindsay Sanwald about our kirtan and her music. Lindsay is the one-woman psychedelic rock musician IDGY DEAN. She has an upcoming single with Run DMC's Darryl McDaniels. She and I created Psych Rock Kirtan, and we met for a chat to discuss our next live kirtan, October 18 at ISHTA Yoga and our recording, which we're mixing as we make this podcast.
Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon.com!
Keep posted on goings-on by getting on the mailing list at peterferko.com
2018-10-1542 min
Peter's PodcastBringing Wisdom into What You Share w/Wendy NewtonIn this episode, Wendy Newton and I discuss how practice informs teaching and life.
You can catch Wendy Newton's new classes (and mine) at ISHTA Yoga and reach Wendy by contacting me at peterspodcast108@gmail.com
Remember: Support Peter's Podcast on Patreon and keep us on the air!
Find out more about Peter and the Podcast at peterferko.com
2018-10-0145 min
Peter's PodcastAll about me — and your own creativity!In today's episode, I reflect on my writing and how you can use your creativity to find answers.
I mention an author whose name I can't remember. He is Ainslie MacLeod and his book is The Instruction
Please support me on Patreon!
You can find my books on Amazon
Sign up for my mailing list at peterferko.com
2018-08-3051 min
Peter's PodcastAyurveda+Yoga w/Kristen Rae StevensIn today's episode, I time travel back to June in Brooklyn to talk to Kristen Rae Stevens. Kristen Rae is a nationally certified Ayurvedic Practitioner. She lectures and teaches on various whole health subjects from the perspective of yoga, Ayurveda and somatic movement and contemplative practices and has maintained a private clientele for 15 years. In addition, she teaches Hatha Yoga from a Shadow Yoga perspective. For current offerings you can find her at www.somarae.com. Kristen and I dig deep into the nuances of authentic yoga practice. I hope you enjoy our own self-study in this episode!
2018-08-0258 min
Peter's PodcastWhite Nights w/Wendy NewtonIn this episode, from Helsinki, yogiraj Wendy Newton and I shed some practical light on the two padas of the yoga sutras that are about what comes from your yoga practice: magic, ease, and the ability to know when someone's about to contact you!
Join our France retreat: Yoga and the Art of Living Creatively. August 14-19. Details here.
We're teaching in Finland! You can find out about our classes in Helsinki and about our workshops at the Magnesia Festival on the beautiful island of Lonna, a ferry ride from Helsinki, at peterferko.com
2018-07-0657 min
Peter's PodcastFollowing Your Passion – or What Siddhartha Got Right w/Jenny BloomIn this episode, I discuss living creatively, and what Siddhartha got right, with Jenny Bloom.
Jenny Bloom is an eternal creative and all her work is born from that seed. She is a senior teacher at ISHTA yoga. She teaches yoga privately, mentors, and is building her Polarity Therapy practice. She does Strategic Brand Consultations in New York City. To reach her, email jenny@superbloom.nyc
Come to France! Be a part of our retreat, "Yoga and the Art of Living Creatively." See peterferko.com/France2018 for details.
Please support Peter's Podcast on...2018-06-2052 min
Peter's PodcastYoga as an Art Form w/ Douglass StewartIn today's episode, I have a wide-ranging conversation with my colleague Douglass Stewart. Douglass has been teaching yoga since 2001. He is the co-founder of Yoga in Times Square, celebrating the Summer Solstice by uniting the community of yoga enthusiasts across the country. He has received the Community Center Service Award for volunteering his yoga classes at the Lesbian and Gay Community Center. He is inspired by the notion that if peace is our goal, then it is also the means. Douglass is a Yogiraj in the lineage of ISHTA Yoga.
Come to France! Be a part of...2018-06-071h 01
Peter's PodcastYoga in Action! Kriya plus meditationAll about Kriya yoga in several forms, plus a meditation.
Come to France with us this summer: peterferko.com/France2018 Details about everything that's happening are on peterferko.com
Please support me on Patreon.com and keep Peter's Podcast commercial free!
2018-05-3145 min
Peter's PodcastChanging the Big Patterns w/Wendy NewtonIn this episode, Wendy and I discuss how meditation helps you deal with your big patterns. We talk about samskaras, or the major issues you come into life facing.
We manage to connect city living and spiritual evolution in this wide-ranging chat.
Details about what's happening are on peterferko.com
Come to France with us this summer: peterferko.com/France2018
Support me on Patreon.com. Ask me questions there that you'd like me to address on the podcast!
2018-05-2144 min
Peter's PodcastBonus! Meditation Class: Inner SmileIn this episode, you can sample my meditation class. There's an introductory lecture followed by a guided meditation with 10 minutes of silent meditation. Enjoy!
See peterferko.com for all things going on!
Support peter's Podcast on Patreon.
2018-05-1639 min
Peter's PodcastQuestions AnsweredIn today's episode, I address some topics that have been raised over the past weeks while I've been moving from Freeport to Brooklyn. I discuss the Yamas and Niyamas and lots of good stuff about the meaning of life!
Find out about my retreat to France and more at peterferko.com
I mention the Create podcast, by Kristin Hanggi and Natalie Roy.
Please fund me on Patreon, so I don't need to bore you with ads.
2018-05-1143 min
Peter's PodcastFrom Yoga Teacher to Mother and Back w/Rebecca OliveiraToday I have a treat for myself and a lot of New York yogis. I got to speak with my former trainee and substitute teacher of choice, Rebecca Oliveira. Rebecca is a Mom, a beloved yoga teacher, and a weaver newly living in New Mexico.
Rebecca taught and practiced at ISHTA Yoga and Hosh Yoga and designed fabric for Calvin Klein while living in New York. She headed out West in 2016 and is now living in Albuquerque. We talk about her return to yoga practice and teaching after having a baby, and about living her yoga through...2018-04-2153 min
Peter's PodcastThe Power of Love w/Jenny Bloom + Bonus MeditationOn today’s podcast, I get to talk with one of my favorite guests, Jenny Bloom, an ISHTA yoga teacher and strategic brand consultant. Jenny and I tackle the challenge of dealing with the daily news and living in the yoga way. Then I take you to meditation class. I share my lecture about how to find happiness by understanding the power of intention, the power of vibration, and the power of love. Then, in case you’d like to join in the meditation, I include the practice I discuss in the lecture. Enjoy!
I need you to s...2018-04-091h 39
Peter's PodcastKarma’s Huge, and We’re Puny w/Wendy NewtonWendy Newton and I talk about what it means to have yoga off the mat. We discuss the parts of a yoga practice, and some of the techniques that help make for "miracles" emerge from your practice.
We're going to be covering much more about this in our retreat in France this summer. You can come! See peterferko.com for details. We're also teaching a 200-hr teacher training in Finland. Details on ISHTA's site.
Rate the podcast wherever you listen or on iTunes. You can now listen to Peter's Podcast on Spotify, or direct your...2018-03-2349 min
Peter's PodcastLooking on the Sunnyside w/Roque RodriguezIn this episode, I talk with Roque Rodriguez, co-founder of Suryaside Yoga in Sunnyside, Queens. We talk about Roque's yoga story, his studio, and some other yoga and creative projects he has underway. Roque has an inspiring story and is a model for people looking to combine yoga and entrepreneurship.
We mention:
I Can Breathe Yoga
Live Now! Entertainment
Breath of Life Yoga Teacher Training
Liberation Prison Yoga
Please support Peter's Podcast on Patreon.com. (That's how this is all possible!)
Details about retreats, classes, and more at peterferko.com
2018-03-1154 min
Peter's PodcastGetting to What You Love to Do w/Jen VagiosIn today's episode, I talk with Jen Vagios. Jen has been playing instruments and singing her entire life. She is a 500 hour ISHTA yoga teacher, holds a Master’s Degree from Columbia in Applied Physiology & Nutrition, orchestrates Sound Bath Experiences, gathers unicorns and spreads joy. As an expert in the field of health and wellness for over 15 years, Jen nourishes her students hearts, minds and ears while teaching yoga throughout Westchester County, NY.
Jen assisted my class during her teacher training at ISHTA. We got to catch up recently after meditation class.
JOIN ME for an...2018-03-0256 min
Peter's PodcastPeter's Podcast Live w/Mona AnandIn today’s episode, we go live to ISHTA Yoga where I interview my colleague and friend, Mona Anand. Mona is a fellow Yogiraj in the ISHTA lineage and the co-owner of ISHTA Yoga. She is a Senior trainer with me in ISHTA teacher trainings.
Mona devotes a significant portion of her time to yoga nidra and restorative yoga. She is the co-Founder of Mona Anand’s ISHTA Yoga Nidra, a 9-step system of Yoga Nidra that she developed with Alan Finger. She also developed a restorative yoga training with Gina Menza that incorporates visualization, pranayama, kriya and...2018-02-221h 02
Peter's PodcastFrom Facts in the Brain to Wholeness in the Heart w/Kristin LealIn this episode, I speak with Kristin Leal. Kristin Leal is a NYC based teacher, lecturer and body worker who travels the world with her MetaAnatomy trainings, passionately sharing about the miracle of the human body and the liberating potential of movement and stillness. She is the author of the The Yoga Fan and MetaAnatomy and is currently writing her next book on the poetic energy body. Kristin and I have taught together for years and it’s a treat to get to chat about things we find important in yoga today.
This Thursday, join me with Mon...2018-02-131h 02
Peter's PodcastTrauma-Informed Yoga w/Tara ToniniIn today's episode, I speak about trauma-informed yoga with Tara Tonini, who recently led a training at ISHTA Yoga. Tara is the founder of Bloom Healing Yoga & Wellness. A lover of movement, color and creativity, she is a yoga teacher, doula, Reiki Master and acupuncture student with a passion for women's health.
Tara currently serves as Director of Curriculum Development & Mentorship for Exhale to Inhale, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering those affected by domestic violence and sexual assault to transform their lives. ETI uses the healing practice of trauma-informed yoga to empower survivors, while helping communities deve...2018-02-0657 min
Peter's PodcastAUM: The Bliss of Our Creative NatureIt's the morning of the second women's march and I take you to class! I share a lecture about the nature of us as co-creators of the universe. Then I describe how yogis use OM or AUM to reconnect and become whole. This brings us wisdom and inspiration in living.
There's a meditation practice at the end of the episode, so you can try it for yourself! Then come see me for meditation class at ISHTA Yoga.
Only a few days remain to get the reward of a yoga nidra recording on Patreon. Sign up...2018-01-3054 min
Peter's PodcastSpirituality vs. Religion w/Wendy NewtonIn today’s episode, I’m stepping out, from our kitchen to the living room, to talk to my wife Wendy Newton about the fine line between the kinds of practices we use in yoga and their similarities and differences from religion. In case you’re new to the podcast, Wendy Newton is a yogiraj, or master, at ISHTA Yoga, as well as having a profound knowledge of polarity therapy and other bodies of wisdom. She works privately with students as a yoga therapist and polarity therapist (contact her at wendynewtonyoga@gmail.com).
Upcoming events mentioned in the sh...2018-01-2354 min
Peter's PodcastFinding Your Best Self w/Nat MaToday's episode starts with a Cappuccino Q&A session about yoga asana — postures — and the importance of the whole of yoga practice.
I then have an enlightening talk with Nat Ma. Nat is a spiritual adventurer. He spent more than a decade in the marketing world, rising to enviable corporate heights, but he wasn’t happy — in fact, he was the opposite. His attempts to figure out what felt so wrong brought him to ISHTA Yoga, where he began a meditation practice. He then began to rethink his life. Nat spent the last year traveling the world with onl...2018-01-0851 min
Peter's PodcastGood Vibes for Dark Days w/Lindsay SanwaldHappy Solstice, Kwanza, Hanukkah, Christmas, or whatever you appreciate this time of year! The holidays around this time celebrate light, and today’s podcast is about light’s energy: vibration. Here’s a link to a video that shows you how vibrations move matter in beautiful ways. I head over to visit my student and kirtan co-conspirator Lindsay Sanwald where we talk about mantras and kirtan.
But before I head out, I wanted to share something from Oprah’s Supersoul podcast, which Lindsay turned me on to a while back. In Oprah’s recent conversation with Shawn Achor, who...2017-12-231h 03
Peter's PodcastWendy's Yoga Story w/Wendy Newton and Jenny BloomToday on the podcast, I speak with Wendy Newton, my wife and a yoga master. Listeners have commented how much you like our breakfast table chats. I hope you like this one, too. I learned some fun new things about Wendy myself in this one as she shared her story of coming to yoga as a teenager! We mention Wendy's teachers Alan Finger and Heather Principe.
Then, I catch up with Jenny Bloom, and we talk about the #metoo moment in light of yoga insights. I hope you enjoy it.
I’m very excited to an...2017-12-121h 09
Peter's PodcastCulture, Science, and Yoga Happiness w/Rina DeshpandeToday's episode begins with a monolog about deities in mantra. In it, I mention a Polish theatre production. The director's name is Jarosław Fret and the production that involved using ancient components of a mass was The Triptych
Then Rina Deshpande (bio below) joins me to talk first about the Indian cultural aspects of yoga; and then, about scientific research on yoga. Rina talks about growing up Indian in America. We muse about the pros and cons of the way yoga is reaching people today severed from its cultural heritage, and Rina talks about her recent a...2017-12-0348 min
Peter's PodcastGiving Thanks, Cultivating Joy w/Elizabeth ChubbuckHappy Thanksgiving! In this episode, I offer advice for deepening a holiday that often veers far from gratitude. Then I speak with a dear student of mine who has a lot of yoga training and a practice that she uses to find happiness in her professional life.
Elizabeth Chubbuck is a New York City business professional with a long-standing yoga practice. After studying at Trinity College in CT, she spent 4 years working for Hearst Magazines at Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping. Her side interest in gourmet cheese led her to Murray’s Cheese shop in Greenwich Village where sh...2017-11-1954 min
Peter's PodcastFrom Bad News to Actual Happiness w/Jenny BloomIn today's episode, I tackle the onslaught of bad news. I start with an essay I wrote in response to a frustrated yoga teacher's blog. (You can find the essay here). Then I talk with ISHTA yoga teacher, strategic brand consultant, and regular podcast contributor Jenny Bloom about all the topics in this month's news. Plus we touch on dealing with lousy bosses, not-quite-right romances, and people on the other end of the political spectrum from you.
You can post comments or ask me questions under the show notes at Simplecast.
If you enjoy this...2017-10-0959 min
Peter's PodcastBONUS! Live Meditation Class: AUMThis month I'm teaching abroad, so I've arranged for a special episode of Peter's Podcast for people missing my classes in New York. In this episode, we have a live recording of a full meditation practice, with an explanatory lecture beforehand. You can just listen to the lecture, or try the meditation, too.
The lecture begins with a description of Tantra, which is a foundation of ISHTA Yoga. We then cover the practice, which uses mantra — or sound vibration — to create a shift in your state of mind. This allows an easier and sometimes deeper meditation than you...2017-07-2859 min
Peter's PodcastYoga and Politics w/Wendy Newton & Jenny BloomIn today's episode, I discuss a yogic approach to political realities with Wendy Newton and Jenny Bloom. We tackle how to be concerned about what's going on while operating from a place of balance. We touch on some current events, like the travel ban and this summer's controversial Julius Caesar. We also try to clarify the distinction between the nature of the universe to oscillate between action and withdrawal and our role as the conscious actors within those oscillations.
I decided not to interrupt my podcast with advertisements, so if you like it, please support it on...2017-07-2139 min
Peter's PodcastArt, Music, and Yoga w/Lindsay Sanwald, a.k.a. Idgy DeanIn this episode, I chat with Lindsay Sanwald. Known to her music fans as Idgy Dean, I know Lindsay as a yoga teacher and as part of a kirtan project, where we join forces to put a psych-rock vibe to traditional Sanskrit mantra.
We cover a lot of ground between the arts and yoga, including the way both serve as a "way" to help find one's purpose, or ISHTA devata — the energy that helps you experience the whole of who you really are.
We mention several artists in the episode, including:
Singer Mira Lu Ko...2017-07-1450 min
Peter's PodcastFour Keys to Dealing with People w/Jenny BloomIn today's episode, I chat with Jenny Bloom about what the Yoga Sutras describe as keys to staying balanced when confronted by challenges with the people you encounter. These could be people who are out to harm you, but we also have trouble staying contented around people who are happy, sad, or successful.
Jenny and I also discuss what it means to be a yogi; what karma is — and why it's not good or bad; and how looking for happiness in things outside you is a mind trick.
I decided not to interrupt my podcast wi...2017-07-0748 min
Peter's PodcastDeep Living w/Wendy NewtonToday’s guest is Wendy Newton. She is a yogiraj, or master of ISHTA yoga and a practitioner of Polarity Therapy, a yoga-based wellness system developed by Randolph Stone. She’s also my wife!
Today we invite you into our morning breakfast conversation, which is always about yoga and life. We broach the topic of deep living, which is one of the areas I want to explore via this podcast. We talk about living the way — like the Tao — of yoga, the challenges of dealing with political realities, and how deep living comes from deep study and consiste...2017-06-3044 min
Peter's PodcastLike Happiness, but More Permanent w/Jenny BloomThis is our inaugural episode, where we introduce the broader scope of yoga and meditation. I am joined by yogini Jenny Bloom, a student of mine who is now a teacher. We discuss santosha, a yoga concept that defines happiness as contentment with what is. Jenny notes that my line about happiness could make a good tattoo, so we're going to make that a Patreon reward!
We go deeply into how you can be okay with what is while being deeply engaged with life. We also talk about where happiness comes from, and the temporary nature of...2017-06-2035 min