Parampara, Paper, and Power: The Politics of Ashtanga Certification After Sharath
In this deeply reflective solo episode, host Harmony Slater addresses a heated debate currently circling the global Ashtanga yoga community: certifications and their legitimacy. Drawing from her own decades of practice and personal memories of studying with Sharath Jois, Harmony offers her perspective on what certification really means — and what it doesn’t.
She invites us to step back from the noise of division and instead consider the larger crises happening across our world: climate disasters, hunger, war, and the erosion of human connection. With tenderness, honesty, and wisdom, Harmony explores grief, impermanence, and the essence of yoga as union—not fracture.
Through stories, reflections, and quotes from Sharath, she reminds us that yoga is not a piece of paper, nor is it found in hierarchy, but in how we live, love, and treat one another.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why certification has never truly defined a yoga teacher
- How grief and loss are showing up in the yoga community
- The role of impermanence in practice and in life
- Stories and teachings from Sharath Jois that reveal his heart
- The importance of Yamas and Niyamas—especially Ahimsa—in today’s world
- How division distracts us from the crises that actually need our energy
- A call to action: turning practice into presence, compassion, and service
Check out Harmony's upcoming events:
https://harmonyslater.com/events
FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation
FIND Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/
JOIN the Finding Harmony Community: https://community-harmonyslater.com/
FOLLOW Harmony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/
FOLLOW the Finding Harmony Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/
FREE AUDIO GUIDE - Download your 2 min breathwork practice: https://harmonyslater.com/morning-breathwork-optin
JOIN ANCIENT BREATHING 2.0 and Live Classes with Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/ancient-breathing-2-0
Find your Spiritual Entrepreneur Archetype! Take the Quiz! https://harmonyslater.com/spiritual-entrepreneur-archetype-quiz
BOOK Your Spinal Energetics Session: https://harmonyslater.as.me/
00:00 - Introduction to Finding Harmony
01:25 - Current Controversy in the Yoga Community
02:48 - Global Issues and Perspective
03:54 - Personal Reflections on Certification
10:38 - The Essence of Yoga and Legacy
10:59 - Quotes and Teachings from Sharat
13:24 - The True Meaning of Yoga
19:57 - Call to Action and Final Thoughts
28:57 - Conclusion and Community Invitation
Harmony Slater
Finding Harmony Host / Coach / Spiritual Wellness Teacher
Harmony Slater is a Spiritual Wellness Coach whose mission is to support spiritually-curious entrepreneurs with “science-backed woo” to create a deeply fulfilling life and a business they love.
She's a National Board Certified Health Coach, Certified in both Quantum Coaching and in the Mastery Coaching Methods. She's also Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, one of less than 20 women in the world to hold this honour, after training in India for 15 years.
She began travelling to East Asia in 2002 to study Buddhism, after completing two degrees in Philosophy and Eastern Religious Studies. In 2004, I began a life-long love affair with India, spending the next 15 years living there for extended periods of time immerse in Yoga practice, Vipassana meditation, Ayurveda, and Philosophy.
For the past 20+ years Harmony's been focused on sharing these deeper teachings + practices of multidimensional wellness to support women around the world in eliminating midlife burnout + restoring joy, to create a life and wellness business that nourishes both their soul and bank account. She's taught workshops and retreats in over 30 different countries.
She’s the host of the Finding Harmony Podcast, an active Board Member for the non-profit organization Yoga Gives Back, and has been featured in two anthologies on yoga, pregnancy, and motherhood in: ‘Yoga Sadhana for Mothers’ and ‘Strength and Grace: A collection of Essays by Women of Ashtanga Yoga.’
