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.

Max Strom, author of There Is No App For Happiness and A Life Worth Breathing, talks with J about emotional healing and fulfilling core human needs. They discuss experiences and influences that shaped Max's work, the fundamental relationship between bodies and feeling, using breath-work to heal emotional wounds, the ethical causes needed to support well-being, societal factors that present obstacles, and the ways in which we can overcome negative presets and have a more meaningful life. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.

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.

Nicola Belen is a long-time listener of the show who has reached out to J a few times and is currently living in Hong Kong, they discuss her story and what things look like there with the pandemic. Nicola shares her experience of being a "third culture kid," the years she spent in New York and San Francisco, the evolution of her yoga through pregnancy and beyond, the yoga scene in Hong Kong, what is going on with yoga centers now with the restrictions in place, and the universal issues that people are facing everywhere in this unprecedented moment.

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.

Barbara Verrochi, co-owner and director of The Shala yoga studios in Manhattan and Brooklyn, talks with J about surviving all these years and so far in the pandemic. They discuss their parallel paths through the early NY scene of the nineties, the evolution of practice over the years and the sustainability of small independent centers, what has contributed to her longevity and fortitude, managing the uncertainty of the shutdown orders, and the hope and faith that fuels a life-long passion for yoga. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.

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 Wheeler, Ph.D., former President of the Board of Directors at the International Association of Yoga Therapists, founder of Optimal State, talks with J about the current landscape of the "Industrial Yoga Complex" and embodying the principles of yoga. They discuss Amy's work as a sports psychologist, her training with TKV Desikachar and differences between the way he taught compared to what yoga looks like today, outcomes vs protocols, yoga therapy definitions, grim professional prospects for yoga teachers, and the satvic purpose of yoga.

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.

Leana Marie Marshall, founder of Elle Em Consulting and blackyogateachers365, talks with J about her time at Corepower Yoga and the need for better training around diversity and inclusion in the yoga industry. They discuss the reasons why POC don't feel welcomed in yoga spaces, working her way through the Corepower system, her attempts to reform inequities and unfair policies, the harsh actions taken during the pandemic, and working to help everyone feel valued and respected. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.

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.

Dylan Galos, epidemiologist and evaluator, friend of the show, talks with J about the current health crisis and the Black Lives Matter movement. They discuss the role of epidemiology, his background and areas of study, the science behind pandemics, data sets and policy recommendations, effectiveness of masks, impacts of social distance on mental health, the intersection of the shutdown and the BLM protests, a queer black man's perspective on the movement for justice, and aspects of yoga that help people get through the uncertainty of this life.

Resources:

Dr. Michael Osterholm's podcast on masks

Video about herd immunity

Video about why COVID-19 is so contagious

Visualization about why COVID-19 is so contagious

Article on models of COVID-19 contagion

The End of Policing by Alex Vitale

Article on white supremacist organizational culture

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.

Todd Norian, author of Tantra Yoga: Journey to Unbreakable Wholeness, talks with J about his time in community and his path to Tantra. They discuss, his thirteen years at Kripalu, his relationship to Amrit Desai, what to make of fallen gurus, endurance training, desire for partnership and eating meat, coming to know that we are enough, and the Tantric teachings that support us in a process by which we shine the light of consciousness into the shadows of the unknown to gain self-knowledge. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.

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.

Neal Pollack, aka "The Greatest Living American Writer" and author of Pothead: My Life as a Marijuana Addict in the Age of Legal Weed, talks with J about cannabis and addressing addiction issues. They discuss shared history from an earlier time in the yoga world, struggles Neal explores in his book and how marijuana may not always be as safe as advertised, underlying issues at play in addiction, what it took to make the necessary changes and find a better direction, and the honesty and fortitude essential to simply being a good person.

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.

Mugs McConnell, author of Letters from the Yoga Masters, talks with J about the correspondence and lessons she received from Dr. Hari Dickman. Mugs shares the history of her relationship to yoga, how she ended up having access to over 700 letters from yoga figures such as Paramhansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi and Swami Sivananda, what to make of so many gurus falling from grace, whether we can separate teachings from teachers, and the earnest inquiry at the heart of yogic understanding. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.

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.

Charles Eisenstein is an author whose recent essays, The Coronation and The Conspiracy Myth, caused some controversy in the yoga world and J happened into a chance to speak with him in response to the critiques. They discuss separation vs interbeing, whether or not he is a "trojan horse for the anti-vaxx movement," reasonable questions regarding the pandemic and science, conspiracy as a theory and myth, narrative warfare, orthodoxy and the pursuit of justice, and envisioning a new and ancient story of integration and peace.