My guest this week is Sadhguru, a yogi, mystic and visionary, who has been named one of India’s 50 most influential people. He is the world’s most-watched yogi, he has more than 20 million followers on social media and more than a billion views on his YouTube channel, where he regularly shares guided meditations, wisdom, stories and guidance for living a more contented and meaningful life.

He has written two New York Times bestselling books, has been a lead speaker at the United Nations General Assembly, a special invitee at TED and has also founded the Isha Foundation, a volunteer-run social outreach organisation, that aims to improve mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing for all.

I start off this conversation asking Sadhguru for his perspective on the current sleep loss epidemic and I think his thoughts on this topic, may surprise you. Instead of focussing on sleep, Sadhguru actually wants us to widen our consciousness and concentrate on what really matters - being awake for life.

He also explains the importance of living life, more through perception rather than expression, and why he has managed to thrive on only 2-3 hours sleep a night, for much of his adult life.

Sadhguru is keen to encourage people to become more in tune with their own bodies. He believes that instead of always looking to external ‘experts’, we should spend time cultivating our own inner expertise.

Listen to your body, he says. What is it telling you? External input is not intelligence, it’s merely information. When it comes to what or when to eat, when or how much to sleep, our prescription should be what feels right and what makes us feel alive.

We also talk about modern, allopathic medicine and how that fits alongside more holistic, traditional modalities like Ayurveda. We both agree that while modern medicine can be an effective solution for infection and injury, it is at its core, best at emergency care not health care. And that most chronic illness comes as a result of our collective modern lifestyles - things like diet, environment and stress.

He also explains the true meaning of yoga – more than a series of postures, it’s a way of understanding the world. Yoga means union, and we are in union with every other organism in the living world.

This podcast is a little different from my usual episodes. Sadhguru introduces some challenging, unusual ideas and turns them into compelling arguments for living a yogic, united life. It’s an engaging conversation with a charismatic guest – I hope you enjoy listening.

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Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/372

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#372 Sadhguru: Why You Should Stop Focusing on Sleep, How To Listen To Your Body & The True Meaning of Yoga

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee