#43 – Honoring the Origins of Yoga – Yoga in Portugal with Paulo Martins

Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast Episode #43 – Honoring the Origins of Yoga – Yoga in Portugal with Paulo Martins 

Welcome to Episode #43 of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast! This week, I welcome Paulo Martins onto the show, a yoga teacher and yoga studio owner from Portugal. In Lisbon, Paulo is the founder of Yoga Lumiar which is part of the Chintamani Yoga Association. He teaches and practices Babaji’s Kryia Yoga which includes initiatic techniques and the following Yoga technical disciplines: Asana, Pranayama, Mantra, Yantra, Mudra, Bhanda, Kryia, Yoganidra, Puja, Manasika, Dhyana and Samadhi.

My conversation with Paulo Martins, a yoga teacher from Portugal, was very grounding as we discussed the spiritual understanding of the origins of yoga. I hope that this conversation made you curious about going deeper on the path of yoga, and exploring it’s origins.

If you’re looking to tune into a podcast episode that is all about the transformational power of yoga, then this is the conversation for you. Welcome to yoga in Lisboa!

Tell me more about Paulo Martins 

Paulo started his yoga journey in April 2005, a month after the end of a longterm relationship. This end of the relationship was a strong emotional shock that he had difficulty dealing with. Fortunately, Paulo had several family members who practiced Yoga, and they recommended yoga to Paulo during this time of difficulty. At that time, Paulo was an Infantry Major with an additional degree in Geographic Engineering. However, he fell in love and in 2008 he embarked upon a 2-year journey to becoming a Yoga Instructor. At the end of 2014, Paulo was a Lieutenant Colonel in Portugal for 8 years and was disappointed with the military life. He requested to move into military reserve, as he wanted to open a yoga studio in Lisbon. He opened Yoga Lumiar, which is part of the Chintamani Yoga Association, whose motto is to anchor and expand the Light, Love, and Wisdom. All of his training, both as an Instructor and as a Yoga Teacher, was carried out by the Chintamani Association and he was only taught at the Association’s Studios.The Studio’s primary mission is not profit, but making a difference in the lives of people who choose to practice with us, keeping them healthier and happier.

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

Paulo and I kicked off the conversation by talking about how yoga first came into Paulo’s life. After a heartbreak, his friends recommended yoga. Although he was in the military, he decided to become a yoga teacher and open his own yoga studio— affiliated with the Chintamani Yoga Association.

Chintamani means transformation. Paulo described it as a kind of alchemy. As if they are transforming themselves from the heavy, dullness of our gross bodies into spiritual beings of light. Paulo took us back through the lines of yoga, and explained to us about the origins of yoga and how he seeks to honor them. Of course, he was very explicit that his ultimate goal is Samadhi or liberation. 

I found a lot of what Paulo said to be very curious— how he doesn’t like to teach just a single yoga class as he doesn’t find it to be beneficial for the students. And how he walked us through some of the different layers of the practice and path of yoga.

Of course, we wrapped up the episode talking about yoga in Portugal and what Portugal is like to visit. 

Curious? Tune in! And welcome to yoga in Portugal!

Favorite Quote From Paulo Martins 

“When you are teaching your students, they actually work as a mirror.”

Connect with Paulo Martins

Yoga Lumiar Location: Rua Professor João Cândido de Oliveira nº7 Loja D, 1750-230, Lisboa

https://www.centroyogalumiar.com

https://www.facebook.com/YogaLumiar

https://www.instagram.com/yogalumiar/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/centro-yoga-lumiar/

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Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast Episode #43 – Honoring the Origins of Yoga – Yoga in Portugal with Paulo Martins 

[00:00:00] Lily Allen-Duenas: Namaste family. And welcome back to the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast. I’m so excited today to welcome Paulo Martins, a yoga teacher and yoga studio owner from Portugal, onto the show today in Lisbon. Paolo is the founder of Yoga Lumiar, which is part of the Chintamani Yoga Association. He teaches and practices Babaji’s Kriya yoga. So please welcome Paulo onto the show today. Thank you so much for being here.

[00:00:31] Paulo Martins: Thank you Lily for having me. It’s my pleasure. 

How did yoga first come into your life?

[00:00:34] Lily Allen-Duenas: So Paulo, can you share with us a bit more about your story and how yoga first came into your life?

[00:00:40] Paulo Martins: Actually I started my yoga journey in April 2005. Uh, It was just a month after the end of that relationship. At that time I already had several members who practiced yoga and they recommended this to me. So I started and I never left. It was a long time ago. At that time, I was an Infantry Army Major. So as you may understand, it’s not very common for people in the army doing yoga. By the end of 2010 I wasn’t a yoga teacher. And at the end of 2014, as a Lieutenant colonel for around eight years in the army. I was a little bit disappointed with military life.

[00:01:24] It was a little bit difficult also to conciliate the things, the military ways of doing things with the yoga life. So I asked to move to the Reserve. So I decided to open my own studio. And as I, as you said, it’s part of the Chintamani Yoga Association. And his motto is to anchor the expanding light and wisdom. 

[00:01:50] As I said, my career in yoga is more or less, let’s say short in terms of the path you want to go. And the final product that people that do yoga in, association is to actually seek from the Samadhi, the illumination.  I’m already doing my work every day, practicing everyday.

[00:02:15] And struggling like everybody with the difficulties, we have it as the yoga teacher, just like all persons, doing yoga in their regular life and teaching the best we can to our students. And probably, I don’t know if it’s common for the studios, but my studio’s primary mission is actually not to profit many students nowadays, because yoga has become a very commercial name, a very commercial brand. They are looking for profit. That is not my mission. My mission is making a difference in the lives of people with practice, and keeping them healthier and happier. 

[00:02:53] Lily Allen-Duenas: Beautiful purpose. And it’s such a generous offering to not have profit or any kind of personal gain be at the center of what you do, connecting people to the teachings and illuminating the light on the path. 

“I don’t like to teach single yoga classes”

[00:03:06] Paulo Martins: Well, let me be perfectly. I have nothing against having profits, just the first mission. That’s not the main purpose. I don’t like to teach single classes, because I can do so little with a single class.

[00:03:19] Most of the time, that won’t bring any benefit for the student, the person that is doing a single class. It’s an experience for that person. For me or for the teacher that does that single class. It’s a drain of energy. Not benefiting nothing new for them other than having a new experience. 

[00:03:39] Lily Allen-Duenas: Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

The 12 disciplines of yoga

[00:03:40] Paulo Martins: We practice 12 technical disciplines, asana, pranayama, mantra, yantra, mudra, bandha, Kriya, yoga nidra, puja, Seca, Deanna, and finally Samadhi. Well with those 12 technical disciplines, it’s impossible for me to teach all at the same time in a single class for one person. So those things take time to explain, and for the students to assimilate.

[00:04:13] And to introduce them in their own lives and experience the results they are doing in their body, in their mind, in their emotions. So I’m absolutely able to do that in a single class. 

[00:04:28] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yes, that would be impossible to squeeze all of that in. Actually, when most students expect a class to be one hour or maybe an hour and a half long. And it already feels sometimes for me when I’m teaching and I’m trying to incorporate pranayama, mudra, a yoga asana, and meditation. There’s so much going into it. And it is hard to have it touch on all the things you want to touch on, and have that energy and practice. It’s hard to honor that in just an hour. 

[00:04:58] Paulo Martins: Yeah. It’s Very difficult. And many of the people still get confused that yoga is not really a sport. It’s also exercise, but there’s also some more involved. If you are doing gas properly, you actually are using pranayama, you can also use mantra, you can use Manasika, and you can also do puja. So you are doing, bunch of things at the same time. If you are living properly, if not, okay. They are just doing some gymnastics. 

The layers of the practice of yoga

[00:05:35] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yes, it’s a layered practice. And I think that most people do start or are introduced to yoga with just the asana, just the physical pose. And then I think slowly like uncovering each layer and adding layers to the practice itself.

[00:05:53] Paulo Martins: Yeah, and I do understand and respect that. And they know that there are some schools, they just teach asana, a little bit of pranayama. And that’s it that’s enough. And I’m okay with that. We need to have places for the different kinds of people that tell what they’re looking for. So it’s not just what I’m doing, but that’s okay. And I respect the people that just look for the asana because I used to be in that place. So for me, when I started, it was more or less Asana then bit by bit step by step, working in my body and in my mind, and in my emotions.

Transitioning from the military world to the world of yoga

[00:06:32] Lily Allen-Duenas: There’s places and spaces for all of it. And Paulo, so what was that transition like for you from that infantry into the world of yoga? 

[00:06:42] And when you were making that decision to transition from the military life, to the yoga life, did your family or your friends or your coworkers or your fellow companions. Did they respond positively to that change or were they shocked ? What was the response?

[00:07:00] Paulo Martins: My family is okay with everything I choose. They respect each other. And they support in the way they like, so that’s not a problem. I have an amazing family. Relating to, let’s say my comrades, the people I work with him, we just didn’t talk about it. So I didn’t hide that I was practicing yoga.. They just looked surprised, but no comments. 

[00:07:20] Lily Allen-Duenas: Okay, that’s good. Then I’m glad that it wasn’t more of a drama or anything that was very shocking or surprising. Just a smooth transition then into yoga. 

[00:07:30] Paulo Martins: Yes. 

What was it like to open a yoga studio in Portugal?

[00:07:30] Lily Allen-Duenas: Great. Paulo, what has opening a yoga studio in Portugal been like? Has there been things that have been really challenging or really exciting in that regard?

[00:07:40] Paulo Martins: It was always a challenge when you decide to open a studio and have a lot of, let’s say, stuff to take care of and prepare for things. The most difficult challenge it’s actually then to have the studio running and have enough students to pay the studio running costs. Without ever compromising the teaching of yoga in the way we want to do it. It’s still a challenge.

[00:08:04] We don’t receive that many students. When then the pandemic arrived. It was really challenging. Suddenly, we lost about 50% of our yoga students. 

What is yoga in Portugal like?

[00:08:15] Lily Allen-Duenas: Paulo, I would love to ask what yoga in Portugal actually is like, or what it was like 10 years ago or where do you see it going in the future.

[00:08:25] Paulo Martins: I think it’s not just in Portugal. I think it’s probably everywhere. It’s less and less a spiritual path, more commercial activity. People just, sometimes they use the term yoga. That’s something in Portugal, it’s called yoga doriso, so it’s a yoga of the laughing and you ask me what does that have to do with yoga?

[00:08:48] They use the name and the name brings some attention. They just put you in there and it’s yoga. So I think that they can get additional visibility. Yoga has been achieved, it’s now becoming a problem. Most of the people actually are looking for gymnastics or for sports. And they think they are doing yoga. So we need to return again to the origins of yoga, it’s mainly a spiritual path. 

[00:09:19] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yes, I hear you there. I actually have tried laughter yoga once I’ve heard of it as well in the United States, but when I was in India and Rishikesh, there was one yoga studio that was offering laughter yoga. And I was also very curious also what they meant. What do you mean? It’s laughter yoga. So I did try it. Yeah. I think there’s a lot of types, but since you also have mentioned where yoga’s going in the future, what it’s like now in the past, was it also like this in Portugal? 

[00:09:52] Paulo Martins: No, no, absolutely the opposite. It was, let’s say, a path of spirituality.

[00:09:58] Lily Allen-Duenas: Okay. So Paulo, at this point, could you tell us more about the Chintamani Yoga Association? It’s not something I’m familiar with.

What is the Chintamani Yoga Association?

[00:10:05] Paulo Martins: The purpose it’s to anchor the light, the love and the wisdom. And that expands as much as we can. Yeah. But actually Chintamani means transformation. So we are looking to transform the people from what they are, do a different thing. So it’s the oldest alchemists, they were looking to transform lead into gold and here it’s more or less the same. And we are transforming into spiritual beings of light. That’s actually the goal. And we see it as preserving the real origins of yoga. I don’t know if Babaji was the master of Yogananda. Maybe yogananda is familiar to you? 

[00:10:55] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yes, but it’s always great to talk for our listeners explaining it a little bit more. 

[00:11:00] Paulo Martins: The master or Yogananda is Sri Yukteswarji the master of Sri Yukteswarji? It is Lahiri Mahasaya and the master of Lahiri Mahasaya it’s Babaji. So that line of yoga at the certain point after the end of Yogananda, lost the origins and they let’s say stop doing some of the things and they just focused in doing the initiatic techniques. So Babaji creates a different line. This is our line. This is Chintamani yoga. And it has recover the full yoga again. So instead of starting to say, ah, we have this yoga , there’s just one yoga. If you practice the full of the technical disciplines and the initiative disciplines and all the things are yoga included the Bhakti including the ones that say just mantra, including the ones that say they are just doing asana. If you are reducing the number of techniques, you can create whatever you want, but you are actually reducing yoga. So the yoga is everything. 

[00:12:25] Lily Allen-Duenas: Thank you, Paulo. And Paulo, what is your definition of yoga? 

What is your definition of yoga?

[00:12:29] Paulo Martins: Yoga is the unification of the body, the mind, and the consciousness. So what does that mean? That means if you are doing Asana, you are working your body, but you can do, let’s say something when you drive a car, are you using your mind? Are you using your body? Are you using your conscience at the same? Because you weren’t utilizing a car, you are doing something let’s say in automatic mode. So that’s the very basic thing. And sometimes you even forget that to what you are doing.

[00:13:05]  If it’s asana, you are doing that and your emotions, your mind, and your conscience align with the thing you are doing at that point at that moment is instant. So you are completely focused, you don’t get distracted by any other thing. Whenever you focus, you have your mind, your emotions, your consciousness is aligned at the same time. 

[00:13:34] Lily Allen-Duenas: Thank you for defining that for us. So Paulo, what is something that you think is very powerful that yoga has personally taught you?

What has yoga taught you?

[00:13:43] Paulo Martins: Yoga I think it’s a journey of learning about yourself. Some people think you are teaching someone, but actually you are not teaching anybody. When you are teaching your students, they actually work as a mirror. We have different layers and every time we see something in a student, it’s a reflection, it’s a mirror of something you have to look at yourself.. You have to look within yourself. So you are not teaching anything to anybody. You are learning about yourself. You are evolving yourself. And if you are doing it really well, you’ll learn with any of your students, something, even the ones they practice just for a single class, you will have something to learn with. 

[00:14:32] Lily Allen-Duenas: I really agree with you Paulo, that when you teach a student or when you’re teaching a group of students, or just when you’re in the role of the teacher, you’re still in the role of the student. You’re still learning as you’re teaching. And there’s so much to learn from each and every student, and each and every interaction. Holding up the mirror, as you said. So, um, if somebody is curious about Portugal and they’re thinking, okay this has definitely gotten me excited I want to plan a trip. Can you tell our listeners more about your country, more about Portugal?

What is Portugal like?

[00:15:05] Paulo Martins: I don’t know if you know this, but Portugal it’s one of the oldest nations in the world with the same territorial border. We have more than 850 years with the same territorial border, which is really rare. And the people are very hospitable. We have one of the best wines in the world, not just Porto wine. Our climate is usually quite mild. So we have immense beaches and we have beautiful landscapes. We have many castles. We have ancient monuments, monasteries, and churches. We like to learn languages. Most people can speak at least more than one language and we like to travel every time we go to a different country, we have a thing. I really think it’s very good. We like to learn the way the people live there and how they do things.

[00:16:03] And we try to do the same and not like some. They just come to a country but my culture says I should do that. And my religions are shades. I should do that. Okay. But if you want to have all those things, why don’t you remain in your country? Why did you come to a different country? So if you are in Rome behave like a Roman, it’s the way I think. And I think the Portuguese try to do that. 

[00:16:31] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yeah, I love to travel and travel in a way that I get to know the locals and the people, the culture, some of the language, maybe a recipe. I also enjoy really immersing myself. I’ve had the joy of being able to travel and spend, you know, a month or three months in, in different countries at a time. So it’s been really a great joy and a great pleasure to get to, as you said, live with the Romans.

[00:16:58] Paulo Martins: It’s not very expensive to stay for two or three months in one? 

[00:17:02] Lily Allen-Duenas: Usually when I go it’s to teach yoga, it’s to, actually be teaching at a yoga studio or a hotel or a wellness center. And so I’m usually living at the retreat area or center. So it’s a good way to travel and to also get more experiences connecting with other cultures. So Paulo, could you share with us some of the ways that our listeners can find you?

How can our listeners find you?

[00:17:30] Paulo Martins: It’s easy to find me. They just look for the, use, the search in Google for Yoga Lumiar and they will find those immediately. So actually they can also find those on Facebook and on Instagram. 

[00:17:45] Lily Allen-Duenas: Thank you so much, Paulo. It has been such a joy to be with you and have this great conversation. Thank you for joining me today.

[00:17:52] Paulo Martins: Thank you for inviting me. It was an absolute pleasure to have this chapter with you. And it was also very interesting. Learning also new things and it’s something I really love learning new things. 

Thank you for listening to the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast

[00:18:06] Lily Allen-Duenas: Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast. My conversation with Paulo Martins, a yoga teacher from Portugal, was so grounding. As we discussed the spiritual understanding of the origins of yoga.

[00:18:23] I hope that this conversation made you curious about going deeper on the path of yoga and exploring its origins for yourself. Thank you for listening to the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast. Be well.

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