The Self Beyond Identity: A Conversation with Ryan Kurczak
1h 11m
In this episode of the Integral Yoga Podcast, Avi Gordon speaks with Ryan Kurczak about the deeper teachings of Yoga, meditation, the Self, identity, awareness, and spiritual freedom. They explore how meditation can help us step back from conditioned identities without disconnecting from everyday life, and how the Yoga Sutras and Sankhya philosophy offer a framework for understanding the relationship between the Seer and our experiences.
Ryan and Avi also discuss letting go, emotional patterns, trauma, truthfulness (Satya), discipline, the gunas—Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas—and the importance of bringing spiritual understanding into everyday life. The conversation explores how curiosity, consistent practice, and honest self-observation can support a deeper experience of presence and inner freedom.
Ryan also shares insights from his book, The Samadhi of Water, including the practice of samyama and using water as a way to move from gross physical experience toward subtler states of awareness.