Dominic Corigliano: On The Road

For a particular generation of Ashtangi, Dominic Corigliano represents that paternal “cool dad” who knows everything that’s going on in your family and is more than happy to tell you too much about it.

He’s like that cool uncle who’s not condescending and knows about the dope hiding in your room. Dom may smoke it with you, but he’s also going to be real honest about the side effects.

He’s the first guy you call when you need bail money… But he’s also going to reinforce, “You really need to tell your mom, you know?”

Sitting with Dominic, feels very much like you’re part of his family. As a father of five, family has turned out to be a focal point of his life. We touched upon our Ashtanga family foibles, but no one is going anywhere in this large Italian like circle… And look, we’re going to sit together at Christmas anyway, so we might as well forgive and forget and get on with loving each other again.

To that end we spoke about Dom’s childhood that was unfortunately littered with abuse and trauma. His interest in beat poetry and the beat life, and how, like Kerouac, he took to the road. Somehow, in the midst of all this chaos, he ended up as a computer engineer in Encinitas, married with three children before stumbling upon yoga with Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois.

Dom is quite frank about his guru, our teacher— what can be loved about him and what needs to be acknowledged about his failings as a man.  This was something Dom knew a lot about as he had to do the same with his own father. He had to learn to forgive in order to continue to be able to love.

“You can’t really understand someone else’s pain, don’t act like you can.” - Dominic Corigliano

Enjoy your time listening to this episode about Dom’s life, which is really another rich story embedded within the living history of the greater Ashtanga Yoga context.

Finding Harmony is about reclaiming balance in a life that has been fractured in some way. For so many of us, Ashtanga Yoga was a vehicle to find balance. Within that structure there were, of course, inevitable frustrations and contradictions along path. To this end, Krishna suggests:

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

Give up all technique and come to me
I shall deliver you from negative reactions
Do not worry

(Bhagavad Gita chapter 18 verse 66)

The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

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The Finding Harmony Podcast is hosted, edited and produced by Harmony Slater and co-hosted by Russell Case.

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Opening and closing music compliments of my dear friend teaching Ashtanga yoga in Eindhoven, Nick Evans. Listen to the entire album on Spotify - Click Here.