Mark Whitwell - „Heart of Yoga Peace Project“ - english Version
von Stephanie Schönberger in Menschen

The New Zealander Mark Whitwell (65) is one of the most famous international teacher personalities of our time. His teachings are characterized by the understanding of his teachers Sri T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar, who taught yoga as required by the individual skills of the practitioner so that each student can find access to the healing power and essence of yoga. Mark teaches worldwide and is involved with his "Heart of Yoga Peace Project" for the development of yoga communities in areas of conflict.

We talked with Mark Whitwel about the power of love

1.) What’s love got to to with it? What’s love but an second hand emotion? These are questions that Tina Turner asks in her famous song. What are the answers that you would give her, on her questions?

Beautiful question. Tina is talking about that over used word love associated with romance love, which always diminishes and often ends and disappoints if is not also accompanied by the intrinsic love that flows from the heart and forms the whole body and all its relationships. So she is singing rather cynically about romantic love being useless without the inherent love of life, the absolute condition of all conditions.

2. ) Love. What is the role, that love has in Yoga? What is the understanding, of love in Yoga?

Love is everything in yoga. The union of opposites in hatha yoga reveals the source of all opposites. Asana is hathayoga, the non dual tantra of direct intimacy with reality that is nothing but a nurturing force. Hathayoga is the union of all opposites allows the feeling of the source heart of all things to be felt by the mind and emotions. It is known as the hridaya or heart, two syllables Hri and da meaning giving and receiving. The heart arose when the union of male and female occurred and the nurturing force started to flow in you as you, known as mother and father. This is the first cell of life that know blooms like a flower as the whole body. It is the flow of nurturing love through all the time. On this you can depend.

3.) What is the biggest misunderstanding that we have about love?

That it only in succesfu sexual partnering. Love is prior to pairing of people. Sex is not love, rather it is a means to express love. But love is prior.

4.) Love and suffering often are very close relatives. We tend to loose our belief in love, as an act of self protection. What kind of advice would you give us in these moments of life?

Love seems to fails when we loose some one, which we inevitable do. Love fails not when we are unloved but when we fail to love. To learn to love in the midst of the inevitable rejection from others makes us strong and un exploitable. It turns us into pure love.

5.) "The Power of Love". Another song…What special experiences have you made with the power of love?

As Jimi Hendrix said, exchange the love of power for the power of love. Love connects us to the already given vast interconnectedness to everything. You are the powerof this universe arising as extrme intelligence and beauty. Its not just that you are beautiful, which is true enough to be said. But you ARE THE utter beauty of the universe. Everything in the natural world is utterly beautiful. That includes YOU! 

6.) Your book "The Promise of Love, Sex and Intimacy" appears in May. Could you please, explain, in a few sentences, what promise you are talking about and why we should read it?

In the book I promise you the sublime results of yoga if you promise me that you will practice. It is a mutual interwoven beautiful promise between you and me. I promise you love, sex, and intimacy!

7.) Is love possible without sex, without intimacy? Sex, without intimacy or love?

Yes, there is a problem with separating love and sex. They do not belong a part. Just like God and sex should not be separated because clearly sex is God’s mean to create new life. (should we want to use the word God). There is no requirement for sex once love is in place, yet it is a natural expression of love and it is inappropriate to suppress it if it is natural to the life cycle you are in. It is also completely inappropriate and painful to engage in sex where there is no love or intimacy. This is humanity’s issue that has not yet be healed.

8.) In your book you write, the body loves its breath. Why is that?

They are completely together! The body needs its breath like Krishna needs Radha, like Ram loves Sita, like the inhale loves the exhale.

9. ) In your book, you recommend 7 minutes of daily practice. Why seven minutes? What should this practice be, look like?

The practice can be found on my apps iPromise, and Meditations on Breathing. If you establish the discipline of 7 minutes there will be real gifts given to you. Your life will change. Once you have done that for 40 days something remarkable will happen. I promise! But you have to promise me! As you go you will find that you will practice for longer spontaneously and naturally as a pure pleasure.

10.) Where does love live?

It flows through the heart. Source Reality flows from the heart through the whole body.

11.) Lots of people feel unloved and unhappy if they are not in a relationship. What is your advice for them?

Please start a yoga practice. The heart of yoga will be given to you. The heart of yoga is a catalyst that makes all our potential arise naturally. It is a catalyst for intimate relationship, which is likely to arise. If it does not that is ok because you feel the love that is the entire universe.

12.) Perhaps you would like to share the answer to the question: Who or what is the love of your life?

The love of my life is the intrinsic, natural love that flows through my heart. I am in love with my teachers and that has produced this continual feeling. It is expressed with my intimate partner and all relationships. Thank you for reading this dear friends. Please get my books in English and German and get my apps. It will enable you to engage the great matter of this beautiful subject. 

Mark is the author of the books "Heart Yoga - The healing power of inner connection" and "The 7-Minute Promise: A simple yoga meditation for more love, sex and intimacy".

 All further information on his website heartofyoga.com

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Stephanie Schönberger

Stephanie Schönberger ist Yogalehrerin, Autorin und Historikerin. Sie schreibt unter anderem für Magazine wie Yoga Aktuell oder Yoga Journal. Ihr Yoga-Studio befindet sich in Kaufbeuren, Bayern. Hier findest Du den Weg zu Stephanie: 8sam-yoga.de

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