Synopsis
Candid conversations about yoga and beyond with outspoken teacher and writer, J. Brown, founder and director of Abhyasa Yoga Center in Brooklyn, NY. A leading voice in the Slow Yoga Revolution, J advocates for a more intimate, breath-centered, therapeutic yoga practice geared towards well-being and lessening of pain. On topics ranging from yoga philosophy, to the business of yoga, to subjects unrelated to yoga, J and his esteemed guests always have something interesting and intimate to share.
Episodes
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Hamish Hendry - "Enduring Early Morning Mysore Self-Practice"
16/01/2023 Duration: 48minYou 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.
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Lisa Petersen - "Presence and a New Sense of Self"
09/01/2023 Duration: 47minYou 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.
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John Stirk - "Living at the End of Exhalation"
02/01/2023 Duration: 53minJohn Stirk, author of Deeper Still, talks with J about the non-material aspects of yoga and the importance of noticing. They discuss the influences of R.D.Laing, J. Krishnamurti, and Vanda Scaravelli, sensation and awareness, touching the inner void, the value of not knowing, making a contribution to the field of shared energy, that which lays beyond fear and expresses our capacity for love, understanding nothing in particular, unconditioned sources of wisdom, calcification of the soul, coming gently to a halt, and trusting in our own experience. To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.
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Year End Check-In with J - “Zoloft, MRI’s, and Divine Spirit”
26/12/2022 Duration: 37minJ takes a moment to break from his usual format to reflect on the challenges of the last year and share some of his biggest take-aways. He talks about his daughters mental health struggles and the medical care she has received, conclusions on the results of his MRI and persistent hip pain, scientific lenses in the alternative health sphere, knowing when to follow and when to part ways from existing protocols, acknowledging the unexplainable wisdom at the center of a persons being, and embracing the role of spirit in yoga and healing. J. Brown Yoga Teacher Training - new group starts Jan 2023 To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.
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Richard Rosen - "Who Was I Then? Who Am I Now?"
19/12/2022 Duration: 47minYou 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. Richard Rosen, author of Yoga by the Numbers: The Sacred and Symbolic in Yoga Philosophy and Practice, talks with J about keeping yoga vibrant despite life's challenges. They discuss Richard's long-time friendship with Rodney Yee, the Piedmont Yoga Center, Iyengar method in the early days, teaching headstand and shoulderstand, the appropriate use of pranayama practices, Yogi Ramacharaka and the Worlds Fair, living with Parkinson's Disease, children's poetry for adults, and the intuitive process of living a rewarding life.
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Elisa Malinverni - "Stories of Hope and Self-Healing"
12/12/2022 Duration: 52minYou 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. Elisa Malinverni, author of Yoga for Recovering Addicts: Stories of Hope and Ways of Self-Healing, returns to talk about overcoming addictions. They discuss the ways media and society distort information about addiction, the moral high horse, the open drug scene in Berne in the eighties and nineties, opposing positions on what addiction is, the surprising fact of natural recovery, when yoga becomes addictive, psychedelics and states of consciousness, admitting to vulnerability, and the role of prayer and spirit in overcoming challenges.
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Adam Bucko - "Prayer, God, and Engaged Contemplation"
05/12/2022 Duration: 52minYou 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. Adam Bucko, author of Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide: Lessons in Engaged Contemplation, talks with J about prayer and divine grace. They discuss Adam’s childhood in Poland during the totalitarian regime, a life-defining experience in India, working with homeless youth, occupy wall street and social change, monasticism, being present with your pain, showing up without buffers, a sense of falling apart that leads to a calling, teachers holding their roles differently, being in a state of receptivity, and transforming ourselves into more loving people.
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Bernie Clark - "Your Body, Your Yoga Trilogy"
28/11/2022 Duration: 54minYou 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. Bernie Clark, author of the Your Body Your Yoga Trilogy, talks with J about the completion of the third and final volume on the upper body and the larger picture of biomechanics and yoga. They discuss functional vs ascetic approaches to the body, stressing tissues, what air line pilot cockpits tell us about human variation, anti-fragility and stability, close chain and open chain exercise, open packed and close packed joints, asymmetries and proportions, nocebo, the value of x-rays or MRI, and understanding that each person is unique.
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Rick Olderman - "Systems Thinking Approach to Chronic Pain"
21/11/2022 Duration: 53minYou 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. Rick Olderman, author and creator of the Fixing You® Method at Home Course and for Health Professionals, talks with J about his systems thinking approach to addressing pain. They discuss the limitations of traditional physical therapy education, incorporating Anatomy Trains and Hanna Somatics, biomechanics and common patterns of dysfunction, J's body and right anterior femoral glide syndrome, locking knees and healthy glute activation, pillars of chronic pain, and creating bridges to function so that we can live pain-free.
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Esther Gokhale - "Primal Posture and The Gokhale Method"
14/11/2022 Duration: 45minYou 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. Esther Gokhale, founder of the Gokhale Method, talks with J about alleviating pain through anthropologically informed postural work. They discuss the imprints of her childhood in India, how her studies in biochemistry led to acupuncture and the Aplomb Institute in Paris, the crippling back pain and unsuccessful back surgery that led to her lifelong crusade to vanquish back pain, indigenous cultures and J-shaped spines, the use of wearable technology, butt muscles and gait, and learning to turn posture knowledge into postural habits.
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Jonni Pollard - "Vedic Meditation and Subtle Dimensions"
07/11/2022 Duration: 42minYou 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. Jonni Pollard, cofounder of 1 Giant Mind and author of The Golden Sequence, talks with J about Vedic Meditation and the universal nature of our existence. They discuss going from punk kid to spiritual lover, Bija mantras, creating a movement around social and environmental coherence, scaling group meditation to alter the larger fields, a meeting with the Dalai Lama that changed everything, the split within science, guru function, prying open subtle dimensions, and the innocent instinct to nurture a deeper sense of belonging
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Tanis Fishman - "What Do You Trust?"
31/10/2022 Duration: 47minYou 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. Tanis Fishman, founder of the School of Sankulpa, talks with J about experiencing unity consciousness. They discuss surrender and awakening moments including a bad car accident Tanis was in at age 19, her travels and time at the Bihar School of Yoga, "I-ness" and distortion fields, feeling beyond our mental impression storehouse, touching pure frequencies, using the word God, prayer as communion with higher consciousness, being ready to give up everything so you can come to knowing, and being witnessed upon the humble path.
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James Swanwick - "Blue Light, Alcohol, and Circadian Rhythms"
24/10/2022 Duration: 41minYou 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 Swanwick, co-founder of Swanwick Sleep, talks with J about wearing blue light blockers and eliminating alcohol consumption for better health. They discuss the positive effects James observed when he stopped drinking, how it lead to producing glasses with orange lenses to block blue light, the evolution from natural to artificial lighting, screens and the ill effects of blue light on melatonin release, alcohol toxicity, caffein consumption, optimal sleeping conditions, and creating habits that help optimize performance and well being.
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Sam Wilde - "Connection, Liberation, and The Great Mother"
17/10/2022 Duration: 47minYou 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. Sam Wilde, founder of The Sacred Order of the Great Mother and host of the Fertile Feminist Podcast, talks with J about a connection they made years ago and nurturing a felt sense of The Great Mother. They discuss a formative conversation they happened into together two decades back and the import it held, Sam's experience of not fitting into the yoga world, her work as a minister and study of feminist liberation theology, fertility as shakti and feminism as shiva, and being a midwife to the desires of the heart and spirit of mothering for all.
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Laurel Beversdorf - "Grace, Purpose, and Resistance Bands"
10/10/2022 Duration: 50minYou 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. Laurel Beversdorf, creator of Yoga with Resistance Bands Teacher Training and host of the Movement Logic Podcast, talks with J about the integration of resistance bands and other implements into the deeper aspects of yoga. They discuss the tendency of persistent pain to shape practice, conditioning the body and the value of strength training, maturing beyond the demonization of yoga poses, titles and descriptions, the fallacy of certifications, definition of training, and decoding the subtle elements of discovery that make yogic unique.
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Eric Shaw - "A Comprehensive Yoga Timeline"
03/10/2022 Duration: 48minYou 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. Eric Shaw, author of Sacred Thread: A Comprehensive Yoga Timeline: 2000 Events that Shaped Yoga History, talks with J about the arc of yoga and its relationship to culture from ancient times to modern day. They discuss Eric's early efforts to translate yoga scholarship into more common vernacular, life on the yoga circuit, the infamous Facebook post, his tendency to collect little known details and facts about yoga, bifurcation at odds with unitary philosophy, and anchoring ourselves in transparency and truth.
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Catherine Annis - "Evolution of Yoga Teacher Training"
26/09/2022 Duration: 47minYou 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. Catherine Annis, core teacher for Intelligent Yoga Teacher Training, talks with J about Scaravelli-inspired yoga and the evolution of yoga teacher training. They discuss her start as a dancer and early inspirations, discovering her primary teacher, moving into a space of ease rather than seeking out challenge, structure and the use of form in somatic-based practices, meeting people where they are while still offering a deeper inquiry, defining parameters for training teachers, and having the courage to share your authentic experience.
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Libby Hinsley - "Yoga and Hypermobility Syndromes"
19/09/2022 Duration: 43minYou 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. Libby Hinsley, author of Yoga for Bendy People, talks with J about the prevalence and education gap regarding hypermobility syndromes. They discuss the lack of understanding and confusion around diagnosing Hypermibility Spectrum Disorder and Hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, varied issues that overly lax collagen can present, distinguishing between mobility and flexibility, the benefit of slower and simpler movements, appropriate strength training, and the role of yoga in addressing pain and easing suffering.
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Nikki Costello - "Reimagining the Classroom"
12/09/2022 Duration: 50minYou 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. Nikki Costello talks with J about the changing dynamics between yoga teachers, students, and institutions. They discuss their parallel trajectory of practice over the last thirty years, Nikki's evolution and identity as an Iyengar lineage holder, the pedagogy of liberation, dogma and co-creation, the role of a teacher in facilitating inquiry, discernment of students in the information age, the problem with the scaling of yoga teacher training, and reimagining the classroom to embody the qualities and values that are fundamental to healing.
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Sukadev Bretz - "How a Spiritual Community is Created"
05/09/2022 Duration: 54minYou 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. Sukadev Bretz, founder of Yoga Vidya, talks with J about going from being a disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda to founding a democratically run non-profit spiritual Yoga organization. They discuss what it was like to become a disciple and take vows in the eighties, when institutions become more about rules than people, bearing witness to the hypocrisies of gurus, choosing to leave and creating something with community rights and safeguards, adapting to the needs of our passing times, and allowing ourselves to be guided by the Divine.