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.   Jeff Carreira, author of The Path of Spiritual Breakthrough: From Awakening to Cosmic Awareness, talks with J about the process of awakening into deeper awareness of our spiritual existence. They discuss the realization that there is more to reality than the sum total of everything we’ve ever known or have been told exists, how we make meaning of our experiences, intuitive knowing, organic growth, the disappointment of a spiritual path, aligning your life with your heart, and the courage to embrace a field of infinite possibility as the new paradigm.      

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.   Robin Rose Bennett, author of Healing Magic: A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living and The Gift of Healing Herbs, talks with J about the language of plants and the need for radical revitalization. They discuss the value of dandelion, lessons to be learned from Ginkgo biloba trees, reclaiming the sacredness of dirt, turtle medicine, synchronicity, oat straw, reality as the most magical game around, earth spirit teachings, Robins upcoming course on Radical Self-Care, and the evolutionary impulse towards embodying our "kin-dome" with all of life.    

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.   Glenn Murphy, author and Founder of NC Systema, talks with J about the Russian martial art of Systema and the intersection of self-defense and self-development. They discuss the origins and history of Systema, Glenn's background in other types of martial arts, the limitations of over adherence to form, Vladimir Vasiliev and Mikhail Ryabko, practices that cultivate seeing what suggests itself, remaining calm when someone punches you in the face, breathing as a Rosetta stone for regulating state, and experiencing yourself as part of nature.      

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.   Linda Cassidy, old-school teacher and listener of the show, talks with J about yoga being founded on a exploration and realization of the divine. They discuss her religious background and early studies in eastern philosophies, breaking from dogma, presentations of spirit that meet people where they are, Bhagavad Gita, the action of relating, consensual reality and inner knowing, moving away from materialism in practice and beyond, art of Sushumna Nadi, and tickling the possibility of being in touch with a metaphysical center of being.    

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.   Alma Duran, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist, yoga teacher, and friend of J's who joins the show to talk about the migration of yoga over time and the cultivation of discernment. They discuss the early days of yoga in the eighties and Alma's time as a tv and film producer, Yogaworks in LA in the nineties, being inspired by TKV Desikachar teachings, cultural anthropology and the history of humanity, the progression of yoga from the forest to the palace to the mall to the internet, belief systems, and yoga education as an integrated part of living a life.    

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.   Lauren Walker, founder of Energy Medicine Yoga and author of The Energy To Heal, returns again to further convince J that we are electromagnetic beings with the capacity to heal. They discuss ways to feel your own energy, the nine energy systems of the body and the significance of "Triple Warmer," bringing principles from one-to-one Energy Medicine to group Yoga, democratizing energy practices, the difference between healing and curing, understanding elemental theory, and moving from a field of trauma to a field of magic.    

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 Voss, co-owner and director of Esther Myers Yoga Studio, talks with J about her studies with Vanda Scaravelli and Esther Myers. They discuss her discovery of yoga through Esther and their transition from traditional Iyengar to Vanda's approach, structure and freedom, individual agency and creating your own language, the three fundamental principles behind Vanda's teaching, unwinding, elongating with wavelike pulsations of the spine, tapping into outer realms through poetry, and staying true to your convictions.    

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.   Bari Gratton, coauthor of an Open Letter To Yoga Alliance along with collaborators Meghan Maris, Courtney Ng, Gayatri Sehgal, and Shuo Wang, talks with J about the possibility for change in the yoga profession. They discuss the Masters of Arts in Yoga Studies program at Loyola Marymount University, problems with the Yoga Alliance and how the final project they did together came about, whether yoga teaching ought to be regulated, suggestions for reform, appropriation and racism, and engaging in good faith dialogue that respects differences.    

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.   Blake Tedder, host of Inner Explorations with Angela and Victor: A Yoga Podcast, talks with J about healing trauma and going deeper in personal practice. They discuss Blake's process of recovery after being in a plane crash and having his appearance scarred by burns, discovering yoga and the influence of his teachers, disassociation and ways to embodiment, his evolution in personal practice from chasing healing to going within and listening to the body, and being directed by the intelligent Life Force that flows through us.    

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.   Karin Lynn Carlson, author of the substack Gristle and bone, talks with J about leaving the yoga profession and the power of prayer. They discuss the pitfalls of a group yoga class context, her decision to wind down her teaching, importance of mentorship, a cultural moment defined by repressed futility, the role of practice in bringing about a state of awareness, her turn to writing and most recent post, triage for despair, acknowledging a higher power, choking on hope, and the way prayer renders us responsibility for our humanity.  

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.   Nick Beem, co-founder of Grateful Yoga, talks with J about the implications of yoga as ritual vs technology. They discuss the contrasts between Nicks training in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and ParaYoga, why framing yoga as a set of tools for self improvement is lacking, becoming fatigued by intellectual gyrations, intention empowering practice more than some universal metaphysics, recognizing our animistic ancestry and a More Than Human world, and learning to ride the slippery edge where doing and surrender blend together.  

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.   Kat Rosenfield, author of No One Will Miss Her and co-host of the Feminine Chaos Podcast, talks with J about her recent article on politics in the yoga space. They discuss Kat's evolution as a freelance pop culture and political writer, her separate life in yoga practice and teaching, the merging of those worlds in her article regarding the high tension and fierce infighting in online yoga communities, broader patterns and implications around identity politics, and reserving the right to let yoga remain a more neutral ground in the culture wars.  

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.   Sophie Strand, author of The Flowering Wand: Rewilding the Sacred Masculine and facilitator of the online course, Myth & Mycelium: Rerooting & Rewilding the Gospels, talks with J about summoning enchantment and healing beyond hope. They discuss Sophie's health journey and the misgivings of the medical industrial complex, epiphanies around fungi organisms and fungal networks, metabolic environment, cultural stories vs lived experience, gating out miracles, "the animate everything," and alchemical storytelling.  

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.   Nischala Joy Devi, author of The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras, returns to talk with J about her revised interpretation of Patanjali's last two padas. They discuss what led to doing a revision of her writing on Yoga Sutras, the criticism she has received since the first edition, why so little consideration is given to the third and fourth padas, going beyond practice and mind, renunciation, the grace of intuitive wisdom, and relinquishing our efforts so we might effortlessly reside in our heart.  

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.   Leslie Kaminoff, founder of The Breathing Project and coauthor of Yoga Anatomy, returns to talk with J about the changing professional landscape and deeper inquiries into the nature of healing. They discuss Leslie's bout with long covid and the procedure that reset his heart, working on the third edition of Yoga Anatomy, TKV Desikachar and teachings on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Leslie's coming show examining one-to-one teaching, having faith, surrendering to dharma, intuition and knowledge, and forever continuing to learn and discover.  

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.   Dr. Shamini Jain, Founder and Director of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative and author of Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health, talks with J about how there need be no divide between science and spirituality. They discuss healing as the absence of disease (pathogenesis) vs a reflection of harmony (salutagenisous,) what placebo research tells us about the power of consciousness to heal ourselves, Jainism, and how when it comes to healing the biggest aura (nature) always wins.  

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.   Amy Matthews, co-founder of Babies Project and Program Director for the Somatic Movement Educator (SME) and Infant Developmental Movement Educator (IDME) programs at Sonder Movement Project, returns to talk with J about redefining what it is to be human and reimagining educational models. They discuss the jarring stop to being a traveling teacher, the third edition of Yoga Anatomy, yoga and somatics, embodiment, ourselves as more than individuals, and developing pedagogical starting points based in curiosity.  

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.   Lorin Roche, author of the Radiance Sutras and creator of the Radiance Sutras School of Meditation, talks with J about instinctive meditation and the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra. They discuss the natural unfolding of meditative experience, formalities and spiritual cosplay, distrust and ethics in meditation teachings and groups, unpacking sanskrit texts and the language of spirit, discovering that which captures our attention and brings delight, and the awareness that a current of love energy between earth and sun flows through us.  

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.   Harmony Slater, host of the Finding Harmony Podcast, talks with J about reconciling the past and moving forward with grace. They discuss a recent podcast episode with Eddie Stern and some of its implications for modern practitioners, if there is such as thing a 'yoga community,' rigidity in form, hierarchies of power and influence, philosophical underpinnings of eastern and western faiths, radical vs qualified nonduality, and keeping ones mind on God without falling into the trap of religion through an understanding of divine consciousness.  

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.   Indu Arora talks with J about the history and philosophies of yoga. They discuss the traditions she grew up with and when her formal studies took hold, being curious about the origins of yoga and respectful of the cultures that have heralded it into the world, sun salutations and utilizing sanskrit words to understand root ideas, distinguishing between yoga nidra and meditation, going from 'external thrill to internal still,' duality and oneness, purusha and prakriti, making nature your guru, and the co-creation of knowledge to empower.