Hey everybody! Episode 181 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Simon Borg-Olivier. Simon was recommended to me by a listener of the podcast and I was very happy to connect with him. We spoke about his varied life and journey and really focused on his lifelong practice of yoga. Simon has a very nuanced and rooted view of this practice and much more than just sitting on a mat. We spoke about its history, his journey with Pattabhi Jois, Iyengar, and Desikachar, his time in India and China, Qigong, and many other things well. Simon is a great sharer of wisdom and I really enjoyed this conversation and think you will gain much it. Even if you’re not a “yoga” practitioner, Simon has so much wisdom to share. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!

This episode is sponsored by Real Mushrooms. As listeners, visit their website to enjoy a discount of 25% off your first order: https://www.realmushrooms.com/universe

To learn more about or contact Simon, visit his website at: https://simonborgolivier.com

To learn more about our work, visit our website: https://NicotianaRustica.org

To view the recent documentary, Sacred Tobacco, about my work, visit: https://youtu.be/KB0JEQALI_w

I will be guiding our next plant medicine dietas with my colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) in:

February 2026: Sacred Valley of Peru

June 2026: Remote Online Dieta

July 2026: Westport, Ireland

November 2026: Sacred Valley of Peru

If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do or about future retreats, visit my site at: https://NicotianaRustica.org

Integration/Consultation call: https://jasongrechanik.setmore.com

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UniverseWithin

YouTube join & perks: https://bit.ly/YTPerks

PayPal donation: https://paypal.me/jasongrechanik

Website: https://jasongrechanik.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/JasonGrechanik

Facebook: https://facebook.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

Music: Nuno Moreno: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound & Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H
Photography: Alessandro Sigismondi (featuring Simon Borg-Olivier).