The Weeks Well

In the conversation on what yoga lineage is and why it matters, I knew that Richard Freeman, Mary Taylor and Barbara Benagh would offer a multidisciplinary, intersectional conversation that carries both deep respect for what has come before us and a passionate, insightful caring about what may be coming—not just for wisdom tradition practitioners but for the world as a whole. These three have contributed so much to modern yoga and offered what I see as a lasting legacy of wisdom, humility, and grace. In this conversation, we talk about all kinds of things: Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, how paradox is something that is loved by the yogic traditions, and how your mind goes into a suspension when you’re really deeply practicing in a wisdom tradition. This talk is deeply philosophical, lovingkindness-based, and community centric.

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Sanskrit:

1. Sankhya: a dualistic school of Indian philosophy

2. Hinayana: small vehicle; a sect of Buddhism

3. Mahayana: great vehicle; a sect of Buddhism 

4. Samadhi: liberation

5. Samyama: simultaneous practice of dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi 

6. Nirodha: cessation of desire)

7. Citta vrittis: the thoughts that clutter the mind

8. Kleshas: the characteristics that cause suffering

9. Pada: part

10. Pragya: highest and purest form of understanding

11. Dharma: duty

12. Prana: breath, life force

13. Tadasana: mountain pose

14. Bhakti yoga: a practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion toward a personal deity

15. Sri vidya: Hindu Tantric religious system

16. Rigvedas: ancient Vedic Sanskrit hymns

17. Upanishads: the most recent part of the Vedas (Hindu scriptures) 

18. Naga: race of half-human, half-serpent beings

19. Vaishnava: Hindu denomination worshipping Vishnu 

20. Vadriana Buddhism: a branch of Buddhism teaching that it's possible to reach enlightenment in one lifetime

21. Shankacharya: a Vedic scholar

22. Daiva: relating to Gods 

23. Shakti: primordial cosmic energy

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References:

1. Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor Yoga

2. Barbara Benagh 

3. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras

4. Bhagavad Gita

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.

Follow Kim on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2023 Weeks Well®.

It's difficult to separate the modern popularity of yoga from Rodney Yee. He was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1999 to talk about yoga after creating his landmark videos AM and PM Yoga a few years earlier. Overnight his videos and teachings sold worldwide as millions wanted to learn how to do yoga the way he taught it.

As a yoga teacher of 40 years, and as a philosopher and artist with, by his own description, an “engineering and scientific mind,” Rodney has a lot to say about the type of expression and inquiry that the yoga practice is in its current form. We start this conversation by discussing his 2002 book, Yoga and the Poetry of the Body, and we move from there into talking about how, to understand or really dig deeply into the meaning of anything, you first need to define terms. We explore questions like: What is yoga? What is classical yoga? What is lineage in yoga? Are the main styles of yoga lineages? What are the “types” of yoga, like “flow yoga,” that are so commonly practiced today? I love his quote of Richard Freeman: "The map is not the territory," and his mention of Robinson Jeffers's poem "Carmel Point" that ends like this:

We must uncenter our minds from ourselves;

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! Drop me a line at [email protected] to let me know what you think!

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Sanskrit:

1. Dharana: concentration 

2. Dhyana: meditation or contemplation

3. Ujayi: a breathing technique, translated to victorious breath or ocean breath 

4. Drishti: focused gaze

5. Trikonasana: triangle pose

6. Asana: postures

7. Urdhva mukha svanasana: upward facing dog pose 

8. Adho mukha svanasana: downward facing dog pose 

9. Pranayama: breath control 

10. Vipassana: a meditation practice

11. Ahimsa: non-harming

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References:

1. Yoga Shanti

2. Yoga and the Poetry of the Body, by Rodney Yee

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Mentioned in this episode: 

1. Angela Farmer

2. Viktor Van Kooten

3. Prashant Iyengar

4. Geeta Iyengar

5. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa

6. Bobby Mann

7. Lilias Folan

8. Richard Hittelman

9. Patricia Walden

10. Richard Freeman

11.  Richard Rosen

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.

Follow Kim on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2023 Weeks Well®.

Jason Crandell has been called a “teacher’s teacher.” He talks about yoga being a mind-body-breath methodology that helps you more skillfully inhabit your body. The three pillars most important to him, “power, precision, and mindfulness” are the things you can find in all of his classes and trainings, and that have helped him form The Jason Crandell Method over the years.

I relearned through hosting Jason that the phrase “plumb the depths” is an old nautical term that refers to sailors determining the distance to the bottom floor by tying lead to the end of the rope and letting it go. This is what practice feels like to Jason, and we talked a lot about the meaning of that phrase in the context of teaching and training.

We also talked about how yoga is less “centralized and conspicuous” now that Covid has taken nearly all activities online, with yoga being no exception. As we discuss here, this shifts the role of the yoga studio, the large group class, the small group class, 1:1s, and trainings and advanced group work of all kinds. It was so fun to talk about how many passionate people Jason comes into contact with all day in yoga.

Enjoy this episode, and as always, I look forward to any feedback or thoughts for future guests or episodes!

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References:

1. Jason Crandell

2. Yogaland podcast

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.

Follow Kim on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2023 Weeks Well®.

If you had to label Doug Keller's yoga, you might be safe putting him in the Tantra category. He approaches yoga through both a physiological practice-based lens as well as a philosophical, academic one. Here he connects academic, historical yoga and what we can think of as modern "practitioner" yoga. Most important, Doug addresses how lineage and the assertion of authority run problematically in parallel. This talk is a Cliff’s Notes version of Doug's Yoga History and Philosophy course on Yoga International. Enjoy!

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Sanskrit:

1. Prakriti: un-manifested cosmic energy

2. Purusha: the true self

3. Pada: part

4. Tantra: yoga that seeks to experience the union of siva and sakti within the individual 

5. Siva: God as auspiciousness 

6. Sakti: energy 

7. Kundalini: the energy stored at the base of a person's spine

8. Chakras: energy vortices

9. Jnana yoga: yoga of knowledge

10. Karma yoga: yoga of action

11. Mantra: a word or sound repeated to help with concentration in meditation 

12. Laya yoga: yoga of dissolution 

13. Hatha yoga: practice of physical postures

14. Raja yoga: yoga of mind and body control

15. Sanyasi: a religious ascetic who has renounced the world 

16. Bandha: locks used to direct the flow of energy

17. Pranayama: breath control

18. Dharma: path to fulfillment 

19. Vedanta: Hindu philosophy based on the Vedas

20. Vedas: ancient Hindu scriptures

21. Bhakti: attachment or devotion

22. Shramanas: one who labors for a higher or religious purpose

23. Samkhya: dualistic school of Indian philosophy

24. Srtha: appropriate wealth

25. Karma: pleasure

26. Moksha: liberation

27. Shruti: heard knowledge

28. Smrti: what is remembered 

29. Puranas: a genre of Sanksrit sacred writings

30. Yamas: moral disciplines

31. Niyamas: individual disciplines 

32. Kleshas: mental states—ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear

33. Ashtanga: eight limbed path

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References:

1. Doug Keller

2. Doug's Yoga History and Philosophy course 

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.

Follow Kim on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2023 Weeks Well®.

One of the most interesting aspects of this conversation with Judith Hanson Lasater and her daughter Lizzie Lasater was when Judith described the group yoga class a kind of disruption in the long lineage of yoga. The economic demands of teaching yoga in the west have necessitated it, she noted. We’ve gone from the intimacy of the original 1:1 contact between teacher and student to a worldwide industry of big classes and insta-influencers everywhere you look.

What of the 1:1 relationship you have with yourself in your practice? We talked about this and so much more. Aside from the depth of inquiry we all swam in during this conversation about current, modern yoga, it's worth repeating that Judith co-founded Yoga Journal, the Iyengar Institute of San Francisco, and the esteemed California Yoga Teachers Association. Now, nearly 50 years later, Lizzie is pressing on with her own presence, teaching, and writings to carry on her mom's lineage. In the meantime, Judith has written 11 books and—as I see it—has become a specialist in the art of restorative yoga.

I loved listening to Judith talk about the early days of American yoga in the Bay Area, to Lizzie talk about her own personal journey, and to both of them about what it really means to authentically teach a wellness practice like the one we’ve all embraced. I look forward to knowing what you think!

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Sanskrit:

1. Upavista Konasana - wide-legged seated forward fold

2. Sangha - intentional community

3. Parampara - direct transmission of learning and connection

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References:

1. Judith Hanson Lasater

2. https://lizzielasater.substack.com/

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.

Follow Kim on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2023 Weeks Well®.

I wanted to talk to Amanda Kingsmith, host of the popular podcast Mastering the Business of Yoga (M.B.Om), because she has a structured, fascinating, and very hopeful approach to the yoga industry and community. Her mission is for everyone in the world to be able to experience the benefits of a long, slow, steady breath, and she wakes up every day thinking about how to help yoga professionals be their best selves in teaching students how to do this very thing. Trained in business first and then in yoga, Amanda started her yoga career with an idea of helping her contemporaries put their best foot forward in auditioning for jobs, setting up their sites and marketing plans, and—vitally—managing their own self care while caring for others. She offers educational and other support for yoga teachers and studio owners, and I learned so much about how she has responded to the cottage-industry demands of her own yoga and wellness consultancy market. 

We talk a lot about where the industry has been, where it’s going, and why the online/hybrid yoga sphere has liberated yoga teachers to offer their services in ways they could never have imagined. I so enjoyed this conversation! Check it out and always let me know your thoughts! 

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References:

1. M.B.Om

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.

Follow Kim on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2023 Weeks Well®.

In the first episode of season two, I talk with Jivana Heyman, author of Accessible Yoga and Yoga Revolution. Jivana started his yoga teaching career supporting communities with disabilities, HIV/AIDS, MS, and heart disease patients. He coined the phrase "Accessible Yoga" after creating the Accessible Yoga Training in 2013 and, as co-founder of the Accessible Yoga School, wants yoga teachers at a basic level of training to be able to teach a spectrum of abilities in the same class at the same time. 

This is just one of the solutions he sees for changing the public perception of what a yoga teacher is. We talk about what, at heart, anyone is really practicing yoga for, and how Jivana wants to support those underserved and under-represented in modern yoga, which faces a fundamental problem in its lack of community. 

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Sanskrit:

1. Sangha: community of like-minded seekers

2. Viveka: discernment  

3. Karma yoga: performing actions as selfless service without attachment to the results 

4. Pratipaksha bhavana: a practice of substituting opposite thought forms in the mind 

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References:

1. Accessible Yoga School

2. Accessible Yoga, by Jivana Heyman 

3. Yoga Revolution, by Jivana Heyman

4. Accessible Yoga Association

5. Jivana's cover story in Yoga Journal

6. Accessible Yoga 200-hour Teacher Training 

7. Introduction to Chair Yoga

8. Jivana's article on yoga teacher training in Yoga Journal

9. Cheri Clampett

10. Yoga Sutras

11. Anjali Rao

12. Bhagavad Gita 

13. The Trauma of Caste

14. M Camellia

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.

Follow Kim on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2023 Weeks Well®.

Here I review the first season of Practicing Well, discussing my favorite episodes and guests. I also talk about the plans for the podcast in 2023, which will begin with two really different conversations, the first with the Accessible Yoga School's Jivana Heyman and the second with M.B.Om's Amanda Kingsmith. After the first season, which combined folks in what I call the three main "generations" of mindfulness and yoga practitioners, these two exchanges preface where I want to take the podcast and the many wellness practices that it explores.

There's lots to look forward to! Let us know what you think via audio message or email anytime! We look forward to growing these conversations with you.

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Sanskrit:

1. Sangha: intentional community of people

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References:

1. Keep the wisdom holders deeply involved: Practicing Well episode with John Kepner

2. Amanda Kingsmith of the Mastering the Business of Yoga (M.B.Om) podcast

3. Jivana Heyman with the Accessible Yoga School

4. What is yoga lineage and why does it matter? Part 1: Practicing Well episode with Gary Kraftsow, Monique Schubert, and John Schumacher

5. Kim's Yoga Lineages series

6. Bad Stretching, good stretching, and yoga: Practicing Well episode with Matthew Sanford 

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.

Follow us on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell). 

Copyright © 2022 Weeks Well®.

John Kepner, Emeritus Executive Director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), grew IAYT into the global standard for yoga therapy training and credentialing. He did it by accomplishing the things he says a professional membership needs to do—establish community via yearly member meetings, ground the profession in research, and publish a peer-reviewed journal as well as a professional member publication. In short, Kepner says, IAYT needed community, research, and standards, and he created all three. He did it working with hundreds of devoted professionals while "on the shoulders" of the giants who founded IAYT late last century.

Kepner believes passionately in integrating yoga therapy into the complementary and alternative medicine field and for yoga therapy to be a recognized and respected therapy. As a yoga therapist himself who was also a non-profit executive with an extraordinary administrative mind, he built IAYT, piece by piece, into the organization it is today.

This is a dense and fascinating conversation that includes many topics, ranging from our joint worry over the “race to the bottom” in yoga-teacher credentialing and training to how HSAs and FSAs are a real—if not the best—current way for yoga therapists to be remunerated for their work. This conversation is for anyone interested in the policy, leadership, and the professional future of yoga. Listen in and drop me a line to let me know what you think!

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References:

1. IAYT

2. Why the scientific research on yoga matters: Practicing Well episode with Sat Bir Singh Khalsa

3. The genius of yoga in America right now: Practicing Well episode with Stephen Cope and Sat Bir Singh Khalsa

4. How well is the business of Yoga? Practicing Well episode with AJ Schneider

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com. 

Follow us on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2022 Weeks Well®.

In this episode, I sit down with Joan White and Patricia Walden, two of the most senior practicing women yoga practitioners in the world. This episode continues a discussion the three of us began in 2021 about Iyengar Yoga, one of the most influential modern lineages in the world. You'll hear what it was like to study with—and be utterly devoted to—just one teacher, BKS Iyengar, and what the Iyengar Yoga system is like now in the wake of his passing several years ago. This is a deep dive into the experience of devotion to a "guru," or bringer of light, what is occurring through teachers most influenced by this guru, and how Joan and Patricia specifically have internalized all of this to continue sharing everything they've learned with their students and with yoga more broadly. If you love practice, you'll love this episode.

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Sanskrit:

1. Urdhva dhanurasana: wheel pose

2. Sirsasana: headstand

3. Trikonasana: triangle pose

4. Viparita dandasana: inverted staff pose

5. Kapotasana: king pigeon pose

6. Adho mukha svanasana: downward facing dog

7. Virabhadrasana 2: warrior 2

8. Purusha: inner seer

9. Anamaya kosha: the first of the five koshas (layers of the body), the physical body

10. Pranamaya kosha: the energy body

11. Manamaya kosha: the mental body

12. Vijnamaka kosha: the wisdom body

13. Ananandamaya kosha: the wisdom body

14. Pranayama: breath control

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References:

1. Joan White

2. Patricia Walden 

3. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com. Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter.

Follow us on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).

Copyright © 2022 Weeks Well™.