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.

Philip Deslippe, author of From Maharaj to Mahan Tantric, talks with J about his research into the real story behind Yogi Bhajan and the yoga empire he created. They discuss Philip's time as a Kundalini teacher, 3HO, the role of students in editing and elevating teachers to master status, legitimizing something by deferring to a false antiquity, value calculations within corrupted traditions, the life and significance of William Atkinson, the paradox of benefiting from hucksters, and possibilities for what yoga teaching might look like in the future.

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.

Ruth White, author of Presence: The Truth of Yoga, talks with J about the earliest days of BKS Iyengar coming to the UK and developing a practice that endures. They discuss practicing in a living room with BKS Iyengar, the difference between classes in Pune compared to the UK, standardization and growth, whether or not Iyengar was an abusive teacher, starting a yoga prop company, why Iyengar focused primarily on postures, going inward, and the dropping away of ego identifications so we can see each other as one and the same.

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.

Cristina & Diego, founders of Origo Shoes, talk with J about the philosophy behind barefoot shoes and our relationship to the natural world. They discuss the developmental issues their daughter faced and how that led to barefoot shoes, the detriment of conventional ideas about footwear, specifications that make a shoe barefoot, educating people about the benefits and making the appearance more accessible, doing business according to your values, embracing simple as better, and the benefits of slower living and a return to basic principles.

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.

Joe Simek, co-owner of Dragonfly Yoga and co-founder of The Fiaria Project, talks with J about coming back from the pandemic and moving forward with purpose. They discuss the reopening of his brick and mortar space, leases and sustainability, competition among centers, re-envisioning memberships and community, shifting from information to transformation, economics of surrender, issues of certification and accreditation, marketing with soul, and the changing dynamics by which we set roots and measure success.

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.

Mark Walsh, host of the The Embodiment Podcast and author of Embodiment: Working with the Body in Training and Coaching, talks with J about facilitating life skills and navigating the world around us. They discuss the emergence of coaching in the yoga world, embodiment as a practice and a principle, creating the largest online embodiment conference ever, trauma work and fads, early days of trolling online, political trends, decadence and the luxury of despair, overcoming grief, and the importance of finding ways to make sense and meaning.

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.

Jason Shaw and Emily Brown, owners of Our Country Hearts and Binghamton Yoga, talk with J about scale, sustainability, and local community. They discuss slow flow circa 2014, grass roots politics and making change by focusing on shared intentions, post-pandemic realities, dedicated yoga spaces, co-creative aspect of in person classes, working inward rather than outward and feeling vs doing, soft sells and attraction over promotion, coming together in grounded states of mind, and opening doorways in a seemingly walled future.

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.

Bobbi Paidel, founder of Tribe of Lambs and host of A Curious Yogi Podcast, talks with J about having a guru and what it means to live the principles of yoga. They discuss how a cattle ranchers daughter ends up becoming part of a spiritual community in India rooted in Vedic knowledge, keeping ourselves safe and surviving in this world, the role of asana, feeling free, unchanged awareness of an infinite self, moments of recognition, staying open and curious, truth and a deeper sense of connection, and expanding our frame of reference for existing.

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.

Rod Stryker, founder of ParaYoga, talks with J about the formative events that shaped yoga becoming part of popular culture and the spiritual underpinnings that call it into question. They discuss Yoga Works and the 80's LA Scene, Manny and Alan Finger, westernizing the message, seeking vs career choices, branding and creating empires, defining Tantra, teacher/student relationship, guard rails in the pursuit of truth, nonduality and divinity, science of energy management, mapping out the nature of mind, and a singular vision of the 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.

Divya Kohli, author of Finding Peace in Difficult Times: grounding techniques for inner calm, returns to talk with J about the post-pandemic crossroads that many yoga teachers are facing. They discuss the halcyon days of wholly committed teachers, maturation in parallel with the evolution of modern yoga, organic communities, sweet spots and scalability, wanting in person vs actually showing up, class issues in marketing, inverting the pyramid of priorities, and countering a dystopian future with the power of shared ritual and intention.

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.

David McGrath, author of The Yogi's Way: Living in Accord with the Yamas & Niyamas, talks with J about Kriya Yoga and embodying philosophical principles. They discuss his teacher Roy Eugene Davis and Paramahansa Yogananda, Self-Realization Fellowship and The Center for Spiritual Awareness, the Camino de Santiago, Lacanian psychoanalysis, moving beyond speculative conversations into the actualization of concepts, Yamas and Niyamas, life and oneness consciousness, and the importance of bringing it back to the miracle of right now.