Welcome to Episode #61 of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast! My conversation with Kaloyan Popov, a yoga teacher from Bulgaria, was so lovely as we dove into the physiological responses of the body to stress, and how yoga can serve the health of humanity. I hope that this conversation made you curious about how yoga can help those around you on their path to health and wellness.

If you’re looking to tune into a podcast episode that is all about yoga for health then this is the conversation for you.

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Tell me more about Kaloyan Popov

Kaloyan Popov is certified under the Yoga Alliance by Sanjay Yogi. He completed his yoga teacher training in Sofia, Bulgaria, and he will be graduating as a physiotherapist in 2023. Kaloyan is passionate about helping people by seeing the human body as a whole. He teaches vinyasa yoga, and occasionally a specialized type of Kundalini yoga.

What to expect in the Yoga In Bulgaria episode of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast

Bulgaria was part of the communist block so everything around spirituality was forbidden until the 1990s. Kaloyan was born into democracy, just three years after Bulgaria entered into a democracy. When Kaloyan was young, his father was reading him Indian tales, and part of the Bhagavad Gita. In high school, his mathematics teacher would tell stories about sacred geometry.

He acknowledges that when he started teaching yoga, he took a step back in yogic life. It brought him back into “normal life,” having to focus more on the clock and being responsible to show up at certain places at certain times. He knew it was time to share his knowledge. After he started teaching yoga, he decided to study physiotherapy because he felt like it was close to yoga, working with the breath and movement. Kaloyan believes that the answer to our physical ailments, and our stress, is yoga.

Interestingly, Kaloyan says that yoga has a lot of stereotypes. He’s trying to put science to yoga, and show people that yoga is more than the stereotypes that they have in their heads— whether that is that yoga is fitness based, or the only reason that a man would teach yoga would be to look at women’s bodies (so sad that he said this is a stereotype he faces!)

Of course, we talked about yoga in Bulgaria, and about what Bulgaria is like as a country. If you’re curious— tune in to the whole episode!

For the skimmers - What’s in the yoga in Bulgaria episode?

• Reading spiritual books as a child with his father
• Mathematics teacher sharing knowledge on sacred geometry
• Mandala Spiritual Center in Sofia
• The stereotypes yoga faces
• Teaching yoga has made him step back from a yogic life

Connect with Kaloyan Popov

https://youtube.com/channel/UC2XdARB4vvQFTIcDziEf6RQ

https://www.instagram.com/kei_higher/

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https://wildyogatribe.com/thepodcast/

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