J. Brown Yoga Talks

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Joshua Schrei, host of The Emerald Podcast, returns to talk with J about our place in this alive world. They discuss the context in which yoga arises, implications of an animistic worldview in modern times, dictates of the western scientific tradition, fuzzy boundaries and the animacy of inanimate objects, entertwinement of subjective and objective reality, dualistic nonduality, an expanded vision of personhood, existence as a continuum, evil entities and a creator spirit, musical interelationality, and ceding agency to the theater of stone and time.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   R. Sriram, coauthor of Natya Yoga: Peace Passion Pain Mapping Emotions, reunites with J to talk about the deeper questions of purpose and meaning in yoga. They discuss his understanding of T Krishnamacharya's and TKV Desikachar's view on God, the effects of connecting to source, humility and faith, Vedic chanting with J Krishnamurti, academic bonafides and diverging from Vyasa's commentary on Patañjali’s Yogasūtras, limitations of science and potential of human spirit, and respecting the personal artistic nature of the divine.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Gill Lloyd, former teacher trainer for the British Wheel of Yoga and former chair of both Viniyoga Britain and KHYF-UK, talks with J about her life in yoga and the influence of TKV Desikachar. They discuss her first class in the mid eighties, Vinyasa Krama in principle and practice, stories of watching Desikachar teach, the importance of chanting and heart-to-heart connection, watching "Sir's" health decline and the scandal with his son, religiosity, personal practice and educating teachers, and learning the art of living peacefully in this world.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Hari-kirtana das returns to revisit questions of nonduality and the relationship between an individual sole and a supreme being. They discuss reimagining our definitions of God and religion, divine and ecological person-hood, simultaneous immanence and transcendence, conforming to highest truths vs shaping truth to our desires, the difference between speaking personal truths and the voice of God coming through, freedom within the prison of material life, evil, and the benefit of relying on something greater than yourself.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Jessamyn Stanley, co-founder of The Underbelly and author of Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance, talks with J about body acceptance and challenging preconceived notions. They discuss her entry into yoga and why she started posting her practice on Instagram, how she landed a Gatorade commercial, The Yoga Journal cover controversy, the difference between fat and body positivity, navigating "tokenism,” naked yoga on only fans, Shibari (Japanese Rope Bondage), and the value of starting uncomfortable conversations that foster growth.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Andrew Tanner returns unbound to talk with J about his experience of escaping a yoga cult and shaping the yoga industry. They discuss the life changing moment with his father that led to his commitment to Dahn Yoga, the history and philosophies of Korean Taoist traditions, what went wrong and why he left, scaling the business side, working for Kripalu and Yoga Alliance, what happened with the standards review project, problems with the status quo, and meeting the challenge of our times by keeping soul in the game.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Bashira Muhammad, owner of Zoom Out Mycology, is an old friend of J's and they talk about her work in mycology. They discuss the fact that Bashira was the youngest person to do J's teacher training over a decade ago, the qualities in her that lent to yogic inquiry at a young age and led to her interest in mycology, her time farming through a fire season, some of the ins and outs of fungi and applications for mushrooms, science and spirit of mycelium, the recent farm bill, and the benefits of learning about the interrelationship of all beings and ecosystems.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Lisa Miller, Ph.D., author of The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life, talks with J about a belief in God and the neuroscience showing its benefits. They discuss the passing of J's mother, forms of knowing, empirical evidence for innate spirituality, post-traumatic spiritual growth, spirituality associated with cortical thickness in the regions of perception and a lessening of anxiety and depression, neural seeds of awareness, and being open to receive the intelligent and loving force that is your birthright.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Kamini Desai, founder of I AM Education and Yogeshwari of the Lakulish Lineage, talks with J about her journey to becoming a lineage holding and the principles of divinity her teachings encompass. They discuss the history of Kripalu Yoga, growing up at the ashram and rebelling against the family tradition, learning from the experience of scandal around her father, Yoga Nidra and energetic practices, impermanence and infinite consciousness, and the deeper layers of stillness that reveal our essential wholeness.  

Genny Wilkinson, co-founder of Mission, talks with J about what has happened to yoga centers, lessons learned, and the new space that she is opening. They discuss why she departed from triYoga and the role she played there, the reasons why so many centers had to close, the genesis of the new center and what they are doing differently, dismantling elitism, transparency and honor around both pricing and teacher pay, online vs in person classes, and the need to orchestrate human interaction after the hangover of so many years in isolation.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Dona Holleman, Honorary President of The Centered Yoga Dona Holleman Association, talks with J about her storied career and the formative relationships that shaped yoga in the west. They discuss the Theosophical Society and the origins of J. Krishnamurti, world wars and being born in a prison camp. talks with Krishnamurti in Saanen and Gstaad, Iyengar as a young man, Vanda Scaravelli's influence, the emergence of teaching certification, emptying your body to fill it back up, consciousness, and the individual path of finding your true self.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Lolly Stirk, teacher at Mothertime and teacher trainer at YogaBirth, talks with J about the history of the active birth movement and prenatal yoga classes. They discuss her arrival in London during the summer of love, opening one of the first vegetarian restaurants down the street from Abbey Road, hanging out with the Beatles and making dinner for BKS Iyengar, softening practice, how Vanda Scaravelli taught, studying with Sheila Kitzinger and Michel Odent, and the power of learning to surrender to the process of life.  

Peter Blackaby, author of Intelligent Yoga, talks with J about ways of perceiving the phenomenal world and the emergence of spirit. They discuss what is meant by the term "nonmaterial," ways of understanding how a human being takes in censorial information, intuitive resilience as the by-product of accumulated experience or divine intervention by a higher power, using words like God or spirit or soul, what materialists and mystics fear, and recognizing the unifying connection we all share as co-inhabitants of nature in all its wonder.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   James Matthew Brown talks with J about the boom years for yoga in the early aughts and the legacy of his teacher, Maty Ezraty. They discuss his gigs teaching the Gore family during the 2000 election and touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, how he became a student of Maty, the formation of Yoga Works teacher training, alignment vs flow, the sale of the centers to venture capitalists and the conundrum of scaling, leaving the yoga world only to learn that its where you truly belong, and the aspects of teaching that remain true over time.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Mike De Masi, student of Srivatsa Ramaswami, bassist for Ali Omar El-Farouk, and founder of the Worldwide Krishnamacharya Yoga Community Facebook Group, talks with J about honoring the many different traditions of yoga. They discuss Mike's early studies and inquiring into the teaching of T. Krishnamacharya, the experience of learning from Ramaswami's elucidations on Patañjalayoga, Vinyasa Krama, the nuance of the breath in āsana practice, and finding vehicles for dialogue so that we can learn and grow from one another.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Acharya Shunya, founder of The Awakened Self Foundation and author of three bestselling books including Roar Like a Goddess, talks with J about the source of yogic wisdom. They discuss her grandfather's return to ancient vedic roots, Sanskrit grammar and translations, priestly caste and the growth of dogmas, embracing shadows, deep inner soul propensity, the role of a guru, three frames of mind as a seeker, authenticity and householder paths, universal spirit, and staying connected to divine truth and a Great Omniscient Dimension.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Monica Gauci, co-founder of 8 Limbs and Chintamani Yoga, talks with J about learning how to heal ourselves. They discuss her early studies with Shandor Remete, pursuing a degree in chiropractic, studying with Patabhi Jois, overemphasis on asana, incorporating other healing modalities, the myth of sequencing, hyper-mobility and the need to develop strength, re-educating the deep spinal stabilizing muscles, active vs passive therapies, being an expression of divinity, and cultivating an integrated understanding of your body.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Colin Dunsmuir, founder of True Yoga and author of How to Find Stillness Within, talks with J about the teachings of TKV Desikachar and the nature of yoga transmission. They discuss Colin's decision to forgo the final stages of authorization in Ashtanga Vinyasa and become a yoga therapist, the training process he went through, distinguishing characteristics of an individualized approach, Desikachar's unique example, principles of personal practice, and understanding the stages that lead to deeper spiritual truths and awareness.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Hamish Hendry, owner of Astanga Yoga London and publisher of Pushpam Magazine, talks with J about tirelessly teaching a daily Mysore program in London for over 25 years. They discuss the purpose of chanting, avoiding dogma, finding Ashtanga Vinyasa in the late eighties, becoming authorized or certified back when and how it changed, ways in which he has evolved as a teacher and runs the center to stay in line with his beliefs, and the humble consistency of always remaining true to a deep and abiding commitment to service.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Lisa Petersen, somatics innovator and yoga teacher, talks with J about the cross pollination of somatic movement modalities and traditional yoga. They discuss her training at Vivekenanda Kendra, defining a felt inner sense experience, Body Mind Centering and Hanna Somatics, resetting the nervous system, pandiculation instead of stretching, deliberately simplified spaces, strategies for changing underlying patterns, form and finding newness, radiating from the fluidic pathways of our earliest being, and discovering divinity.